victims. Murder would be almost entirely extirpated from the list of crimes if every wilful murderer was immediately and adequately punished.

Second. From prehistoric times, when there were many small semi-independent, or entirely independent, tribes, there was no general government to enforce the law and exact justice when the men of one tribe committed a crime against those of another. Also, in many cases, the government within each tribe was not strong enough to enforce exact justice among its own members. Hence there grew up the custom of blood revenge, according to which the relatives of the murdered person, or the tribe to which he belonged, were themselves compelled to punish the murderer. There was no one else to do it.

This custom lasted under similar circumstances down to modern times; and even in our own day we find traces of it in the more secluded, or less well-governed, portions of the world.

II. FOUR DANGERS IN THIS METHOD. There were four especial dangers in this method of punishing those who were guilty of killing others. Hence with the advance of civilization and the gradual evolution of the centralized State, the duty of safeguarding the rights of the community became the duty of the State and not of the individual.

First Danger. That of using this method as an instrument of private revenge, or as cloak for stealing.

Second Danger. Long, bloody feuds, continued enmity, and almost extermination of the families concerned has often resulted. Among the Arab tribes of the present day any bloodshed whatever, whether wilful or accidental, laid the homicide open to the duteous revenge of the relatives and family of the slain person, who again in their turn were then similarly watched and hunted by the opposite party, until a family war of extermination had legally settled itself from generation to generation, without the least prospect of a peaceful termination.'". Cambridge Bible.

Third Danger. Great injustice by not making a distinction between criminality and carelessness; between deliberate murder and accidental homicide.

Fourth Danger. The escape of those who had money, so that justice was frustrated by riches, and the poor had not an equal chance.

For many years under Joshua and the Judges there was but a very simple general government, and to a large extent "every man did what was right in his own eyes.' The custom of blood revenge must wisely remain; but it must be guarded against the evils that so frequently became attached to the system, and it must become a training of the people for a better system.

III. THE AVENGER OF BLOOD, vs. 3-5, 9. The Gō'el, as he was called, was the one appointed by custom to this work. Here, this Hebrew word is translated 66 avenger of blood," and in Ruth "kinsman," ,"" next of kin," because it was the duty of the next of kin to perform the duties of the Goel. He is really the vindicator, one "whose duty it was to secure justice to the injured," " to restore the violated family integrity," one who is authorized to obtain blood for blood as an act of justice,' ," "the balancing of a blood account."

"His mission was not vengeance, but equity. He was not an avenger, but a redeemer, a restorer, a balancer. By the requirements of the Mosaic law, it is evident, that the primal idea of the Goel's mission was to restore life for life, to secure an adjusted equivalent of a lost life [as when the support of a family was killed], not to wreak vengeance, nor yet to mete out punishment." H. Č. Trumbull's The Blood Covenant.

IV. THE SIX CITIES OF REFUGE. Under the circumstances referred to above, the importance of having some asylum for those who had been so unfortunate as to kill another accidentally was so great that the need of the Cities of Refuge is referred to four times, twice in Deuteronomy (4 : 41-43; 19: 4−21); in Numbers (35); and in Joshua (20 : 1−9).

"There were six cities appointed for this purpose, three on either side of the Jordan, almost equally remote from each other." Note each one on the map.

THE LORD also spake unto Joshua, saying,

2. Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses:

3. That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.

"It requires only a look at the map to see how wisely these spots were marked out, so as to make a city of refuge easy of access from all parts of the land. They were chosen, it will be observed, out of the priestly and Levitical cities, as likely to be inhabited by the most intelligent part of the community.".

4,

Cambridge Bible.

The Right of Asylum, vs. 7, 8. The necessity for some inviolable place of refuge has been recognized in the lawless ages of the past in almost all nations. These refuges have usually been religious places, as groves, altars and temples. These have been the safest, because to attack them was to defy the gods to whom they were dedicated, and to array against the invaders the unseen forces supposed to be at their command.

These places were so carefully guarded that not even a bird could be molested in the sacred precincts. Thus, in the 84th Psalm, verse 3,

Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God."

Herodotus says that when Aristodikus disturbed the birds' nests in the temple at Cumea, and took the young from them, a voice spoke out from the interior of the temple, "Most villanous of men! how darest thou do such a thing as to drive away such as seek refuge in my temple!" And the Athenians were so enraged against Atarbes for killing a sparrow which had built a nest in the temple of Esculapius that they killed him. It is said that the Arabs never dis

turb the birds which build their nests in the temple at Mecca.

Among the Greeks and the Romans the number of these places became in process of time very great, and led, by abuse, to a fresh increase of criminals." J. R. Beard.

Even those who had actually committed crimes of murder might go to the Cities of Refuge, and might have their cases tried there.

But more especially were these provided for the refuge of those who had not wil

4. And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.

5. And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand; because he smote his neighbour unwittingly, and hated him not beforetime.

6. And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days: then shall the slayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house, unto the city from whence he fled.

fully slain any one. A list of such cases is given in detail, to which the law should apply, slaying another, not seeking his harm (Num. 35: 23); when no dangerous weapon, indicating design to injure, was used (Num. 35: 16-18; compare vs. 22-24); accident (Ex. 21: 13); sudden collision (Num. 35: 22); something thrown upon a man without the thrower seeing him (Num. 35: 23), as an ax head slipping from its handle (Deut. 19: 5).

Not only was the situation of these cities such as to present the easiest access from all parts of the country, but roads were to be built to them (Deut. 19 : 3). “According to the Rabbins, in order to give the fugitive all possible advantage in his flight, it was the business of the Sanhedrim to make the roads that led to the Cities of Refuge convenient, by enlarging them and removing every obstruction that might hurt his foot or hinder his speed. No hillock was left, no river was allowed over which there was not a bridge. At every turning there were to be posts erected bearing the words, Refuge, Refuge, to guide the unhappy man in his flight, and two students in the law were appointed to accompany him, that, if the avenger should overtake him before he reached the city they might attempt to pacify him, till the legal investigation could take place." J. R. Beard.

V. THE RIGHT TO FAIR TRIAL, vs. 4-6. The American Revision makes the conditions given in the fourth verse much clearer. "And he shall flee unto one of those cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city; and they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them."

Here he must remain, away from his home and business, till the death of the high priest. This seeming hardship was necessary and just, because there is usually some fault of passion or carelessness in even accidental murders, and this great inconvenience would tend to carefulness and safety. There is often real guilt in carelessness, and innocent persons should be protected from its effects. This was an indeterminate sentence; and the manslayer may be said to have been released on probation, proceedings much like some of our modern methods of dealing with criminals. VI. THE HEART OF THE LESSON.

I. That sin must be punished, whether committed by the individual or the nation, or by any firm or corporation, whether accidental or wilful, in order that they and others may be deterred from sin and crime, is taught both in the Old Testament and in the New.

2. Nevertheless, God in his punishments makes a distinction between wilful sin against light, and sins which are more or less unconsciously done, or done by those ignorant of the truth. And the lesson of his word is that we should do the same. 3. The Avenger, the Goel. His mission is not vengeance, but equity, justice. "Who is the avenger? Law. What law? Criminal law, sanitary law, social law, natural law. Wherever want stares, and vice reigns, and rags rot, there the avenger takes his stand. Delay him not. He is the messenger of Christ. The very nature of things is God's avenger.' Professor Drummond.

4. Our Responsibility toward Personal Offenders. "If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him, and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent: thou shalt forgive him." (Luke 17:3.)

"If it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all men. Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto wrath for it is written, Vengeance belongeth

7. And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjath-arba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah.

8. And on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.

9. These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person at unawares might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation.

unto me; I will recompense, saith the Lord. But if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him to drink for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. (Rom. 12: 18-21.) "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." (Eph. 4: 32.)

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The question of forgiveness of injuries is a practical one for all, young and old ; for we live among many evils and among imperfect people that try our temper and test our souls. Offences and wrongs and misunderstandings, mixed with cunning sparks of hell," are sure to come. For we do not live in a monochrome civilization,' but amid great divergencies of temperament and opinion; and it is a blessed thing that we do. But from this fact arises another fact, that it is in these little daily things that most of us need to cherish forgiving love. Mr. Brandeis has remarked that nine-tenths of the serious controversies which arise in life arise from misunderstanding, from the fact that men do not know the facts which to the other party seem important, or otherwise fail to appreciate his point of view.

We

The forgiving spirit seeks to do all the good possible to the one who has wronged us. It yearns to help him and to save him from his sin. We must, however, distinguish between private wrongs and injuries against society and the state. are to harbor no feelings of revenge. We can and ought to forgive those who have injured us, and render good for evil. But it is not in our power to forgive those who sin against others. Only those can forgive against whom the wrong has been done. The question of punishing criminals is not involved in our duty of forgiving others.

5. Jesus Christ came into this world to be a City of Refuge. He is anxious that we should come to him and be saved. He does everything possible to bring men to himself. He calls on them to repent. "If the wicked turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of his transgressions that he hath committed shall be remembered against him : in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked? saith the Lord Jehovah ; and not rather that he should return from his way and live?

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"Cast away from you all your transgressions, wherein ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die?" (Ezek. 18:21-23, 31, 32.) The Poem, Beautiful Snow." This poem was suggested by a brilliant Irish lawyer and soldier, while walking with a friend in the streets of New York after a snow-storm, when the snow had been defiled with mud. I became well acquainted with him, and knew the brave fight he kept up against strong drink. I am not certain who put the poem in its present form; but the last verse was a picture of the eloquent soldier. He died fighting, and victorious. The poem may be found in a book of the same title, originally published by the American Tract Society. The last verse runs :

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6. Spurgeon in one of his sermons said: O God has done all he can to aid and draw men to Jesus. Now, beloved, this is a picture of the road to Christ Jesus. It is no roundabout road of the law; it is no obeying this, that, and the other; it is a straight road : 'Believe and live.' It is a road so hard that no self-righteous man can ever tread it; but it is a road so easy that every sinner who knows himself to be a sinner may by it find his way to Christ and heaven. And lest they should be mistaken, God has sent me and my brethren into the ministry to be like handposts in the way, to point poor sinners to Jesus, and we desire to ever have on our lips the cry: Refuge, REFUGE, REFUGE."

Sinner, that is the way: walk therein and be saved.

VII. THE MODERN METHOD OF DEALING WITH CRIMINALS. In all past years, even in Christian lands, there have been great wrongs done to those who have been put in prison. Some prisons have been vile and in unhealthy surroundings; the prisoners have been maltreated or neglected by officials; neglected by acquaintances. The worst has been that young men and old offenders have been thrown together, and the younger have really been at school, learning the criminal life. The idea of prison reform, so far as we know it, originated with John Howard, who was born in England in 1726 and died there in 1790. He was so convinced of the need of reform, and interested himself so deeply in the condition of the prisoners that men of his day first thought he was crazy. But his work led to changes in the conditions there; the men were treated more as human beings, and less like beasts; and the influence of his work is seen in all the reforms of to-day. A vivid idea of the condition of the English debtor's prison in the early part of the nineteenth century can be obtained from the pages of Dickens' Little Dorrit. And we must remember that the conditions in the United States were full as bad at the time.

If we read through the lists of books, pamphlets, and published addresses on this subject which are to be found in a large city library it will convince us that it is not because people have been entirely blind and careless that so little has been done. But there is still a vast need of reform. Prisons are exploited by selfish and brutal men; they are mixed up with politics, so that some utterly incompetent men have been put in control; and in many cases those outside of the prison who were supposed to have an oversight of its conditions have been grossly careless, if not worse.

There are very many who think that our whole system of prison life is wrong. "To say that punishment deters the criminal from repeating his crime is nonsense. All study of criminal facts proves this; it makes him more prone to crime, not less; and all the great crimes are committed by men who have been still further ruined in jails. Whatever good jails do, lies in the fact that they isolate the unhealthy from the healthy community, and so stop for a time infection, as do hospitals with disease. But the hospitals do not discharge the patient till he is cured; the jail but aggravates the liability to the disease, and turns out the sufferer worse than before.' From an article by H. Fieldin-Hall, in the Atlantic Monthly.

There is, and should be, a distinction made between those who may be sent to a Reformatory, for cure; and those sent to State prisons, for punishment. But we must be sure that the Reformatory is so conducted that it will cure.

Some years ago when Mr. W. A. Wilde (then head of W. A. Wilde Co., publishers) was one of the prison commissioners, I had occasion to help a young man who had been guilty of a very serious crime. The question was between State Prison and a Reformatory. The Commissioner declared that to send him to the State Prison would be his ruin.

He was sent to the Reformatory, was finally released, and became, after some years of hard times, one of the best stenographers of a city court.

But our responsibility does not cease with the proper conducting of the prisons and reformatories; nor with the proper distinction as to where the offender should be sent. The problem of the discharged convict is a great one. There have been many cases where a man who had fully determined to live a clean and honest life after his discharge was forced to crime because of the attitude of the community to a man who had once been in prison. The same is true as to the man freed on parole.

A still harder problem is that of the youthful offender. It has been proved conclusively that to put them in with older men but makes them hardened criminals, instead of reforming them. The children's courts established in many of our cities are, under a good judge, one of the very best methods of dealing with them. The offenders are put on probation, and are required to report regularly to either the judge,