CHAPTER VI.

THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD WITH RESPECT TO THE HEBREW NATION.

THAT the providence of God is concerned in the affairs of political bodies, no less than in the affairs of individual men, will be denied by no one who credits the testimony of Holy Scripture, and has paid due attention to the history of the world.

It was the will of God that the posterity of Noah, after the general deluge, should spread themselves over the islands and continents of the earth, so as to bring the whole under cultivation, and to render the brute creatures subservient to their use. The people were unwilling to acquiesce in this design, and resolved rather to remain united in one body, and in the same neighbourhood. They combined therefore to erect a tower, apparently intending it to be a centre of union; and thus to get for themselves "a name," and prevent their being "scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth :" (Gen. xi. 4 :) an object from which it would seem they were greatly averse. But "there is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord." (Prov. xxi. 30.) He interposed, so as to confound their language, and to render them in their speech unintelligible to one another. The consequence was, that, notwithstanding their reluctance, "the Lord scattered

them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth : and they left off to build the city.” (Gen. xi. 6-8.) The earth, so far as it was then known, was divided among the posterity of Noah's three sons. Asia was assigned to Shem; Africa to Ham; and Europe to Japheth; without any attempt to define the exact boundaries of these divisions. A remarkable prophecy, delivered by Noah, and describing the fortunes of these three branches of his family, has been in a course of fulfilment for more than four thousand years. (Gen. ix. 25-27.) Canaan, "the servile progeny of Ham," is still doomed to servitude; Japheth is indeed "enlarged," and "dwells in the tents of Shem" in a mystical as well as in a literal sense; Europeans mingling largely with Asiatic nations for commercial purposes, and freely participating in the spiritual benefits which are connected with those revelations of Divine truth that were made to Abraham and his posterity, who belonged to the family of Shem.

In whatever locality any number of people might settle, they formed themselves into a political body under the government of a chief, or a king. We read, therefore, that in the time of Abraham, which was less than a hundred years from the death of Noah, there were kings in several places; the people everywhere feeling the necessity of combining together for their defence against hostile tribes as well as against private wrong. (Gen xiv. 1, 2.)

As time advanced, nation after nation sprang into existence, till at length four great empires arose, which successively gained the dominion of the world; the Assyrian, the Medo-Persian, the Greek, and the Roman ;

all of which are exactly described by the prophet Daniel. (Dan. ii. 36-43.) Contemporary with these great empires were many minor states and kingdoms; and when the Roman empire, the last of the four, was dissolved, there arose out of it ten different states, symbolized by the ten toes of Nebuchadnezzar's image; (Dan. ii. 41– 43;) some of which still remain, after they have undergone various changes in the lapse of ages.

According to the teaching of Holy Scripture, God is pleased to deal with nations in the way of retribution as certainly as He deals with individuals. He holds them responsible for their conduct, inflicting punishment upon them when it is merited by flagrant crimes; and in respect of obedience requiring the most of those nations upon whom He has bestowed the greatest advantages and favours. To the inquisitive Athenians St. Paul said that God "hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us." (Acts xvii. 26, 27.) From this statement it appears that God "determined" "the times" at which the various nations should appear, and assume their respective forms of government; together with "the bounds' of every territory they should occupy. He gave the land of Canaan by a special grant to the people of Israel; but refused to put them in possession of it till "the iniquity" of the original inhabitants was "full," so that they could be borne with no longer. (Gen. xv. 16.) He "gave unto Esau" and his posterity "Mount Seir,

to possess it;" (Josh. xxiv. 4;) and so of other communities.

That nations, as such, are held responsible to God for their conduct, is especially manifest from His declaration to Jeremiah: "At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; if that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; if it do evil in My sight, that it obey not My voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them." (Jer. xviii. 7-10.) There is, however, this important difference between the retributive dealings of God with individuals and with nations: The rewards of obedience and the punishment of sin, so far as individuals of mankind are concerned, are mostly reserved for a future state; but nations receive their retribution in this world, because as nations they have no existence in a future state. Nations are judged in time; individuals will be judged when time shall end.

While God is pleased to hold every man responsible for his own conduct, it is important to observe that He does not deal with all in precisely the same manner. To one man He commits five talents, to another two, and to another one; charging them all to "occupy" till He shall come to reckon with them. (Matt. xxv. 15.) The man who has received one talent is accountable for that one, and no more; but more, in the way of improvement, is required of the other two, who have received a greater amount. And so it is with respect

to nations, some of which are more highly favoured than others, especially with respect to religious knowledge, and therefore lie under greater obligations: for "unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required." (Luke xii. 48.) All nations owe allegiance to God, but in various degrees. In this respect England and China, for example, are not upon a level in His sight, although both of them claim the superiority with regard to intelligence.

The nation that was the most highly favoured by God in ancient times, and was therefore placed under the greatest obligations to Him, was that of the Hebrews, with whom He entered into a special covenant. He delivered them from a state of cruel servitude by a series of plagues inflicted upon their oppressors, by which Egypt was all but ruined; He divided the waters of the Red Sea, to give them a free passage; He fed them with manna from heaven for the long space of forty years; He sent them a miraculous supply of water from the smitten rock; He defended them against every hostile power during their sojourn in the wilderness; He divided for them the wide stream of the Jordan; by a series of miracles He put them in possession of a land of unexampled fruitfulness; and He gave them His law in a manner which produced a universal terror, and caused even Moses to say, "I exceedingly fear and quake." He gave them a written revelation of His will; a form of religious worship, typical in its character, and full of spiritual and moral instruction; He dwelt in the midst of them, so as constantly to display among them His power and goodness; and among them He was pleased from time to time to raise up inspired prophets, who came to them with messages of