back to my old argument: 'how could any book ever have been afterwards introduced among the people as one they had heard before, if they never had heard it?'

"The same thing is also related of Joshua, and of many of the prophets. Under the kings also we hear of public readings of the law, etc.; and this being clear, another thing is equally so, which is, that the narrative must be all true. For what people would have suffered documents recording their own misdeeds to pass for genuine, if they were not so correct that they could not be contradicted?

"Certainly the book of the Judges is not much to their credit," Harry said. 'Why, the people seem to have been nearly always in slavery."

"Oh, no; there you are quite mistaken; for out of the whole period during which the judges ruled-according to St. Paul (Acts xiii. 20), a space of about four hundred and fifty years-you will find, if you reckon, that not one-fourth was spent in bondage. So that more than three hundred quiet, peaceful years remained, during which we may think of the Israelites as living in some sort of order and obedience to their heavenly King, and in a state morally and spiritually far above the surrounding nations, though far below the standard they ought to have reached. But you see history always dwells on eventful periods; and those are usually the times of war or revolution. When the Israelites were quietly feeding their flocks, and cultivating their cornfields and vineyards, there was not much to be said about them. And many and many a pious man and woman may have lived and died in the fear of God, and in the hope of a coming Deliverer, during such times, of whom we never heard. Still, on the whole, and perhaps particularly during the latter part of the time of the judges' rule, the people do seem to have gradually sunk

to a low point, both in religion and morals; and just towards the conclusion of this epoch things were bad indeed.

"With such priests as Eli's sons, men had come to despise the service of God. Indeed, in their time it did look as if, in their religious worship, as well as other things, the Hebrews were fast sinking to the level of other nations. In truth, the faith of such people as Elkanah and Hannah must have been sorely tried.

God had

"But it is often darkest before the dawn. not forsaken His people, though He was leaving them to themselves just then, to eat the bitter fruit of unbelief, and that they might learn how ill they could get on without Him."

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CHAPTER XI.

THE GREAT REFORMER.

"As long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord."-1 SAM. i. 28.

"W

ELL, the Philistines continued to invade the land, and to leave the people no peace, in spite of all Samson's daring acts of prowess. The high priest was weak, and his sons wicked; and at last the very symbol of God's presence among His people was taken," Mrs. Conway said, as she took up her Bible.

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'Yes, mamma,' " said Stewart. "I have so often wondered that God let the Philistines have the ark."

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"Have you?" returned his mother. Why, the Israelites were making a god of it. They were using it as it ought not to be used. It was a profane act to take it out of the tabernacle, or to allow any but priests to touch it; but it was worse still to put it in God's place, and treat it as a sort of charm, or defence, instead of consulting the Lord in His appointed way."

"How do you mean, mamma? I do not understand." "The high priest was the authorized medium of communication between God and the sinner, under the Jewish dispensation, Stewart. Do you not remember the Urim and Thummim which he wore on his breastplate?" 'Yes; but I don't know what they were."

"Neither do I exactly; nor do even Jews of our day. But in the olden time all Jews knew; and they knew that by this Urim and Thummim God was wont to reveal

His will to them. You will recollect that after Saul's rejection we are told (1 Sam. xxviii. 6), that God answered him 'neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.' It is surmised that the twelve bright stones' on the breastplate assumed certain appearances according as the Lord was pleased or displeased; but this we cannot tell, as no priest has possessed this gift for long centuries past, and we have no description of it. I think, however, that there was frequently a voice heard also when the high priest went to enquire of God for any one. It seems to me that the answers which came when Saul and David and other kings went to find out the will of God, came in that way.

"But the children of Israel at that time put all this aside; they forgot Jehovah's conditional promise of help, went on serving false gods, and at the same time looked for some supernatural assistance when they were in trouble. So the Lord let the ark be taken; and that in some measure brought them to their senses. During those seven months that the ark was in the land of the Philistines, they felt themselves deserted; and for twenty years after, when it had been sent back, not to Shiloh, but to Kirjath-jearim, and was in the house of Ahimelech, they 'lamented after the Lord.' They wanted His help then badly enough, and could not be happy without Him; and yet, strange to say, even all that time they never seemed to think of going to Him in the regular way." "You mean that they did not enquire through the high priest then," Martin said.

"Yes; and not only that. There was Samuel among them, too. It seems to have been very soon known that he had communications direct from God, though he was only a Levite, and not a priest; for early in his history we read that all Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba,' that is, from the extreme north to the extreme south, 'knew that

he was established to be a prophet of the Lord.' Why did they not consult him? Yet, you see, even at last, he had to suggest to them how they might regain God's favour. 'Put away the strange gods,' he said, and then He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.' "They took Samuel's advice then, though," Martin said, "and then there was another of those great national gatherings which must have been so extraordinary. We never see such sights in these days. Fancy all the nation gathering at Mizpeh, and pouring out water before the Lord in token of their repentance, and then in the midst of it all that cry, 'The Philistines are coming!'

"Yes; and then the other cry to God for help, or rather their all asking Samuel not to cease crying for them," said Janet, "and then his taking the lamb, and offering the sacrifice in presence of the whole nation, in the midst of their alarm, and God's immediate answer to the prayer! His thundering on the Philistines, too, and causing them to flee before the Israelites, and to be so beaten that they never came back again all the days of Samuel! Dear me, I never thought how much there was in that chapter before."

"But about the ark, mother," said Stewart; "I can't find out when it was taken back into the tabernacle at Shiloh."

"It never was," returned his mother.

"You will see,

if you look at 2 Sam. vi., that after the Philistines returned it, the ark remained in the house of Abinadab at Gibeah, until David fetched it thence, with pomp and triumph, intending to bring it into what he had made the capital city, Jerusalem, which he had taken from the Jebusites, and which was therefore called the city of David. We do not think of Jerusalem as the capital before his time. Being, however, terrified at the death of Uzzah, he left it with Obed-Edom, the Gittite. And when at last it was