indeed, evinces further that this is the impression concerning her which was generally entertained, for Boaz knew her then only from the appreciation of her motives and feelings which was current in Bethlehem. It hath fully been shown me,' he said, 'all that thou hast done to thy mother-in-law since the death of thine husband; and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come to a people which thou knewest not heretofore. The Lord recompense thy work; and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.' Boaz knew-and we know better than Ruth herself didthat from the moment she had cast her world behind her back, and thrown herself in simple trust upon God, his blessing surrounded her and overshadowed her, and would not fail to be manifested in due time. Those that honour Him, He will honour; and as she had honoured Him by her faith, He was bound, by all his covenants of mercy, to honour her before men and angels. Boaz knew that godliness has the promise of this life, and of the life to come; he knew that they who truly fear God, and yield up anything for Him, are entitled to look for the recompense of reward, which in due time they shall receive to the full-double measure, and pressed down, and running over-if they faint not. Boaz knew all this when these words were uttered; but he did not then know the important part secured for himself in the providence of God, in being the instrument of blessing to her, and of sending down, through her, blessings to distant generations. It is admitted that the blessings of the Old Testament have generally a more material character than there is any reason to expect, since the gospel brought life and immortality-the blessings beyond the grave-into fuller light than had previously shone upon them. Yet God is one, and He has at all times taken pleasure in the prosperity of his servants, although He has retained the right to judge wherein the true prosperity of all his servants lies. He has fixed our eyes upon the treasures of heaven, and has taught us to garner up all our hopes there. Yet He has not shortened his own hand, nor precluded himself from allowing his servants so much temporal prosperity as may be safely permitted to them, without danger to their great spiritual inheritance. If He give trouble, if He withhold prosperity, it is for our sakes; it is owing to the weakness of our hearts; it is because we cannot endure much prosperity without finding this world becoming too dear to us, and our desires less fervent for the treasures which He has laid up for those that fear Him. No doubt, if man, who is but dust, were able to bear worldly prosperity uninjured, it might be otherwise; and if, indeed, there be those who, through his grace, are so strong in faith, so raised above the world, as to be able to bear an unbroken flow of temporal blessing, that may be their lot, and in fact is their lot, so far as their real welfare will allow. Indeed, the words of our Lord himself respecting such as had left all to follow Him, furnish the best commentary and the most striking parallel to the words which Boaz addressed to the woman who had, according to the light of her day, left all, that she might come to put her trust under Jehovah's wings: Verily I say unto you, that there is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, but he shall receive an hundred-fold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come, eternal life.' Mark x. 29, 30. This is as ample a promise as any the Old Testament contains of earthly blessedness, for its language is 'now, in this time,' with the gospel addition of far more distinct and still greater blessings for the world to come-the blessings of eternal life-than any which the Old Testament affords. This magnificent extension of the promise richly counterweighs the gospel limitation of 'with persecutions,' as connected with blessing in this world. But, indeed, that also is part of the blessing; seeing that it pledges that God's fatherly care is to intermix the temporal benefits afforded to us with such trials as may be needful to hedge up our way, and to prevent the blessings of the life that now is from becoming too dear to us, and from leading us to forget that we are but strangers here, in the midst of all the enjoyments that may be afforded to us in this house of our pilgrimage. Twenty-eighth Week-Second Day. TWO WIVES.-I SAMUEL I. I-12. THE first chapter of the first book of Samuel is of peculiar interest, from the picture of domestic life which it offers; from its furnishing the only description in the Old Testament of the visit of a family to the place of ritual service at the yearly festivals ; and from the glimpses which are afforded in it of the course of proceeding on such occasions at the holy place. The opening of the chapter presents to us the singular spectacle of a man in a private station possessed of two wives. Not long since we had occasion to allude to this case, and to remark that, although a plurality of wives was not forbidden by the law of Moses, the possession of more than one was exceedingly rare, except among chiefs and princes, as is still the case in those eastern countries where the same permission exists. The popular feeling, even in the presence of such a permissive law, is, and we have reason to suppose was, averse to the exercise of this privilege, except in particular cases. This is evinced by the notion of some old Jewish commentators on the case before us, that one of this man's wives was childless, as a punishment upon him for having taken more than one. This shows the tendency of Jewish opinion; and among the Jews at this day, polygamy is scarcely ever practised, even in those eastern countries where the public law offers no restriction. In this particular instance, however, it is likely that Elkanah had taken a second wife only because the first had given him no children. As to the modern Orientals, the country in which polygamy most prevails is Persia; but even there it is not common to find a man who has more than one wife. The extent to which public feeling is against it, especially among the women themselves, may be judged of from a curious native book, on The Customs and Manners of the Women in Persia.1 In this we read-'That man is to be praised who confines himself to one wife; for if he takes two it is wrong, and he will certainly repent of his folly. Thus say the seven wise women: "Be that man's life immersed in gloom Who weds more wives than one : With one his cheeks retain their bloom, His voice a cheerful tone; To this the translator adds in a note:-'The learned seven have here, as indeed on all occasions, meritoriously shown a proper regard for strictly moral conduct, and the happiness of domestic life. They very justly insist upon it, that a man ought not to be burdened with more than one wife at a time, being satisfied that the management of two is beyond his power, if not impossible.' To this effect he quotes the sentiments of a widow, named Wali, as expressed in the old Eastern drama of 'The Sultan :' 'Wretch! wouldst thou have another wedded slave? Presume to try th' experiment; wouldst thou not Be linked to misery? Sleepless nights and days To these Mr. Atkinson adds the short but decisive testimony of Mirza Abu Taleb Khan:-'From what I know, it is easier to live with two tigresses than with two wives.' 1 Translated by JAMES ATKINSON, Esq., for the Oriental Translation Fund, among whose publications it appears. London, 1832. All the discomfort which these popular oriental notions on the subject allot to him who dares to take two wives, was realized in the fullest extent by Elkanah. It is in some degree the story of Jacob and his wives over again, though it would appear that the fortunate wife Peninnah, the one favoured with children, was more outrageous than Leah; while the childless one, Hannah, was certainly a more meek and pious woman than Rachel. As in that case, so also in this, the childless wife seems to have been the one whom the husband best loved. At least it is said, as if to point a contrast, that 'he loved her,' although the Lord had shut up her womb. The man was a Levite, and hence it peculiarly behoved him to be heedful to all the requirements of the law. By the law it was obligatory only upon the adult males to visit the place of the Lord's house at the three yearly festivals. But it seems that pious persons took their wives and families with them. Thus Joseph took his wife Mary, and her son, the blessed Jesus, with him when he went up to Jerusalem at the passover. We account for that instance by observing that this was when our Lord was of the age of twelve years, and that at that age the obligation upon the males to attend the great festivals commenced. But from the case before us, we learn that whole families were taken to these holy solemnities; for Elkanah was accompanied not only by his two wives, but by the children of Peninnah-not only by the sons, but by the daughters. It seems that on these occasions, Peninnah was wont to make a special display of her ill-will towards, and contempt of Hannah, by reason of her having no children, and of her abortive prayers from year to year for that coveted blessing. From day to day poor Hannah was at home subject to these insults, and could then bear them better, because they were unwitnessed by others. But as they journeyed in company with their neighbours to Shiloh, and there consorted with them, the bitter sarcasms of Peninnah became more pointed, from her desire of mortifying and degrading her rival in the presence of others; and they were then, in such goodly company, the more keenly felt by her who was the object of them. She had reason; for in |