taunt and a mocking sneer against him, and say: Woe to him who piled up what was not his-how long?-and who loaded himself with a burden of guilt! Will not suddenly rise up those that pay tribute to thee? Will not those rise who shall expel thee? And thou shalt be a booty to them, because thou hast spoilt many nations; all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee on account of man's blood and of the violence done to the land, the town, and all its inhabitants. Woe to him that covets the evil gain of the covetous for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may save himself from the hand of the wicked! Thou hast devised shame for thy house by cutting off many people, and hast brought guilt upon thy soul. For the stone cries out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber answers it. Woe to him that builds towns with blood, and founds cities by iniquity! Behold, it is decreed by the Lord of hosts, that nations shall labour for the fire, and the people shall toil for nothing. For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. ... The cup in the Lord's right hand will be turned against thee, and disgrace shall fall upon thy glory. For the violence of the Lebanon shall cover thee, and the destruction of the beasts which terrified them, on account of man's blood and of the violence done to the land, the town, and all its inhabitants.'

In such language the prophet describes the judgment of God against cruel oppressors. To enhance the effect of the picture by contrast, he adds a few words deriding the impotence of the idols, on whose protection the invaders relied: What does the graven image avail, that the maker thereof has graven it? the molten image and the teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusts therein, making dumb idols? Woe to him that says to the wood, Awake! to the dumb stone, Arise! Shall it

teach? Behold, it is set with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all within it! But the Lord is in His holy temple. Silence before Him, all the world!'

Once again the scene is changed. Habakkuk is no more the chronicler of political events; and his language, no longer vague and oracular, conveys his innermost feelings with fervent enthusiasm. He chose in this concluding portion the form of prayer unusual in prophetic works; for he evidently desired to give vent to his own feelings, rather than to compose a public address. Remembering the guilt of his countrymen and of their heathen enemies, and reflecting on the deserved punishment of both, he prays with trembling lips: 'O Lord, I have heard Thy report, and am afraid! O Lord, achieve Thy work within years; within years make it known: in wrath remember mercy!' Then leaving his immediate theme, he describes in a few words the miracles wrought by God on behalf of Israel at the time of their deliverance from Egypt― the consternation of their proud foes, the drying up of the sea, the revelation of God on Sinai, and the other marvellous events of that time. In this survey, which combines the glow of the poet and the elevation of the prophet with the patriot's earnestness, Habakkuk approaches the genius of Isaiah, while in fervour and in aptness of similes he is equal to the most gifted of the Psalmists. He dwells upon God's greatness and anger not with the unadorned plainness of Zephaniah, nor with the terror-inspiring sternness of Hosea; but he breathes into his words that deep regret and pathos which pervade the strains of Jeremiah, and infuses into them the power and the spirit of a war song:

'God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. [Selah.] His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise. And His brightness was like the light of the sun, rays beamed forth from His

hand, and there was the veil of His majesty. Before Him went pestilence, and consuming plagues came before His feet; He stood and measured the earth, and made the nations tremble; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills were bent low; He went His eternal ways. I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction, and the curtains of the land of Midian trembled. Was the Lord wroth against the streams? Was Thy anger against streams, was Thy wrath against the sea, that Thou didst ride along upon Thy horses and Thy chariots of victory? Thy bow was bare and unsheathed, the arrows were satisfied. [Song of triumph. Selah.] Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers, the mountains saw Thee and trembled, a flood of water rushed by; the deep uttered its voice, and lifted up its hands on high. The sun and moon stood still in their habitation, like the light went Thy arrows, and like splendour Thy glittering spear.'

Why did the prophet recall these wondrous scenes? The Chaldeans were no less dangerous to the Hebrews in his time than the Egyptians of old had been to their ancestors: would God show the same mercy to His people, and punish their enemies with the same rigour, in order to glorify His own name and truth? The prophet is full of confidence, for he sees the signs of approaching deliverance :

'Thou marchest through the land in indignation, Thou crushest the nations in anger; Thou goest forth for the salvation of Thy people; for the salvation of Thy anointed Thou dashest to pieces the head of the race of the wicked, laying bare foundations high up to the neck. [Selah.] Thou piercest with his spears the head of his leaders, who storm along to scatter us, whose delight it is to devour the poor in an ambush. Thou treadest the sea with Thy horses, the mire of great waters.'

Yet he knows that the Hebrews must first suffer misery, want, and oppression; and he is full of sorrow when he

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thinks of these bitter trials that await his people. I heard it,' he exclaims, and my body trembled; my lips quivered at the voice, rottenness entered into my bones, and my knees trembled that I must look forward quietly to the day of trouble, to the approach of the people that presses upon us. For the fig-tree shall not blossom, nor the vines yield produce, the crop of the olive shall fail, and the fields bring forth no food; the flock will be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no ox in the stalls.'

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But he is sure that the day of redemption will come, and he is firm in his hope and confidence. He silences all doubts and dismisses all evil foreboding, and he preserves his calmness and resignation: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will exult in the God of my salvation. The Lord is my strength, and He will make my feet like the hind's, and He will cause me to walk upon my heights.'

There can be little doubt as to the place which Habakkuk occupies among the Hebrew prophets. In depth of feeling and largeness of sympathies, he resembles Jeremiah; while in vigour of thought and pithy expression, he rivals the greatest masters of Hebrew song. He combines the past, the present, and the future into one grand historical picture, and indeed by his immortal work he has in no slight degree contributed to the glory of that people for which he alternately trembled and hoped.

IX. OBADIAH (about 580).

Between the two Books of Amos and Jonah, our Canon has placed the vision of Obadiah. We are left in complete ignorance with regard to the life of the author from whose hand one solitary oration has been transmitted to But tradition has endeavoured to associate him with

us.

several familiar events of Jewish history. It was variously suggested that he was a disciple of Elijah, and a leader in the army of Ahab; or the husband of the poor woman whose cruse of oil was miraculously replenished by Elisha. However, as in the case of Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and others, his writings alone can help to dispel the mystery which veils his life, and they lead us to conclude that he lived during the Babylonian captivity and in the distant land of exile. At this period of Jewish history, when the prophet could no more rouse the warrior or counsel the statesman, remembrance and hope were left as the only themes of his eloquence; and it is natural that his mind should have reverted to those nations with which the Hebrews had so often been brought into hostile contact. Among these tribes the Edomites were the most conspicuous. They had from very early times displayed a hatred to the Hebrews, which gradually increased into fierce enmity, and at last, when Jerusalem fell, gave rise to ungenerous exultation. Obadiah, whose affections clung to the home of his fathers, looked on their conduct with indignation. He declared that, in spite of their vaunted power, they would not be able to escape destruction. He described their callous unconcern, which arose from their belief that they were secure within their rock-encompassed fastnesses, doubly shielded by their cunning and worldly wisdom, for which qualities they had become proverbial. But all their advantages would be unavailing against the wrath of God, which they had provoked by their cruelty. The pride of thy heart,' said the prophet, has deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rocks, whose habitation is high, that says in his heart, "Who shall bring me down to the ground?" Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, says the Lord. . . Shall I not in that day, says the Lord, destroy the wise

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