Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." (Rom. i. 16.)

PRAYER.

O! LORD God, Heavenly Father, I am Thy servant help me and teach me to serve Thee. Thou hast redeemed me unto Thyself that I may be peculiarly Thine, and zealous of good works. May this redeeming love of my Master incline my heart to serve Him faithfully and zealously. Lord, I do love my Master, but, Oh! make me to love Him more. May I choose His service before everything else. Teach me, O God, to do Thy will. May I daily see clearly what Thou wouldst have me to do. May I never be a servant of the world, or live in bondage to its sinful customs and ways. May I never find Thy yoke heavy or any of Thy commandments grievous. Grant that I may never shrink from an open avowal of my Lord and Master. May Thy grace enable me plainly to declare to the world, and to all who know me, that I love my Master, that I desire to honour Him, to serve Him here and to be with Him and serve Him for ever hereafter. Lord, hear me for the same blessed Saviour's sake. AMEN.

CAPITAL CRIMES.

"He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.

"And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.

"But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die. "And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.

"And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.

'And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death." EXODUS XXI. 12-17.

MANY of the Jewish laws seem to have been very severe. Death was the punishment inflicted for many crimes. Some which we should have thought too light, were yet thus severely visited. Of course God had good reasons for this severity. Our ignorance of the nature of sin, holiness of God, and other things, make us judge harshly of His laws, and many in their ignorance and folly would think to be wiser and more merciful than God

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Himself. But whence shall we learn what is right and what is wrong in these matters, but from the Lord Himself? Are we wiser than He? Are we more merciful ?

No real harshness is in God. Mercy is over all His works. If peculiar laws, strictly enforced, helped to magnify His justice, to show His utter hatred of sin, and the excessive purity of His holy nature, and if they helped to make His people see sin in the same light, then His wisdom is seen in framing such laws, and His mercy shines in them as brightly as His justice.

One striking point may be observed in these laws concerning death. Death was in no case inflicted where only property, and not person was injured.

The crimes punishable with death were these. Idolatry, witchcraft, and the false prophet. (Deut. xviii. 20.) Every species of incestuous connexion and unnatural crime, murder, man-stealing, disobedience to parents, and confirmed disobedience to the magistrate, judge, or priest. (Deut. xvii. 12.) The deliberate Sabbath-breaker was also punished with death. We have an instance given in Numbers xv. 32. Also the blasphemer was punished with death, as we find in the case of the son of Shelomith, mentioned in Leviticus xxiv.

Another thing we may note of these and other of the Jewish laws. Just retribution seems to have been a principle which God intended His laws to enforce. This principle is laid down in this same chapter. In certain cases of injury inflicted, it is added, (23—25) "And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe."

It is a great mistake to think that this doctrine was intended to teach the Israelites to exercise a spirit of revenge. Certainly this passage, taken by itself, might mislead people, and make them think this; but a moment's consideration will show it is not so. Remember, these were not rules laid down to guide private individuals in their conduct one toward another, when it was said, "eye for eye, tooth for tooth, &c.," but rules to guide the judges, who had to decide what punishment was due in cases that came before them.

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No doubt the Jews did often in aftertimes greatly abuse these rules, and act upon them in order to satisfy private feelings of revenge. To this our Lord refers, when He says, have heard that it hath been said, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you that ye resist not evil." (Matthew

v. 38, 39.) Our Lord did not mean to say that the same spirit of meekness under provocation was not taught under the law, for He plainly said that the law taught them to love their neighbours as themselves. And in Leviticus we find it said, "Thou shalt not avenge nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord." (Lev. xix. 18.) What our Lord spoke against was an abuse of the law, and a wrong interpretation of that commandment, which is "holy, just, and good."

Let us now consider some of those crimes mentioned in this part of Scripture, as punishable with death. We cannot but observe how often the crime of murder is spoken of as a capital crime, and the murderer is declared to have forfeited his life.

"He that smiteth a man so that he die shall

surely be put to death." And again, "If a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour to slay him with guile, thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die." This shows that much as he may pity, the judge may not spare the man that is wilfully guilty of murder. This is not like some of the other laws here named, peculiar to the Jewish nation. We have seen it was given to mankind in general, when it was declared to Noah, as God's law,