:

rection the one represented the atonement made for the sins of the world, as the ground of justification; the other, Christ's victory, and the removal of sin, in the sanctification of the soul.

The hair of the goat is of two kinds; the one, long and coarse, is used in the manufacture of tent curtains, sails, and other fabrics of the same kind; the other is much finer, growing under the former, and is fabricated into stuffs, which almost equal silk in fineness. Of the coarse kind of hair were manufactured the curtains for the tabernacle (Exod. xxvi. 7, xxx. 26), and it is still used in the East as a covering for tents.

The tresses of the bride, in the Canticles, are compared to a flock of goats from Mount Gilead (ch. iv. 1), that is, to their hair, which, as Le Clerc observes, is generally long and of a black colour, or very brown, such as that of a lovely brunette may be supposed to be.

IX. THE HOG.-The hog, in its domestic state, is the most sordid and brutal animal in nature, and its flesh was expressly forbidden to the Jews, by the Levitical law (Lev. xi. 7), on account of its filthy character.

In the time of Isaiah, (ch. lxv. 4), the eating of swine's flesh is enumerated among the abominations that had been adopted by the degenerate Hebrews; and their punishment is denounced in the next chapter (lxvi. 17).

CHAPTER II.

FEROCIOUS WILD BEASTS.

I. THE LION. Accustomed to measure his strength with every animal he meets, the act of conquering renders the lion intrepid and terrible. Wounds rather serve to provoke his rage than to repress his ardour, nor is he daunted by the opposition of numbers; a single lion of the desert often attacks an entire caravan, and, after an obstinate combat, when he finds himself overpowered, instead of flying, he continues to combat, retreating, and facing the enemy till he dies. To this trait in his character Job alludes, when he hastily said to the Almighty, “Thou huntest me as a fierce lion" (ch. x. 16). We hence see, also, the propriety with which Hushai describes the valiant among the troops of Absalom, as possessing the "heart of a lion,” (2 Sam. xvii. 10).

When incited by hunger, the lion boldly attacks all animals that come in his way; but as he is so formidable an enemy, and as they all seek to avoid him, he is often obliged to hide, in order to take them by surprise. For this purpose he crouches on his belly, in some thicket, or among the long grass, which is found in many parts of the forest; and in this retreat he continues, until his prey comes within a proper distance, when he springs after it, fifteen or twenty feet from him, and often seizes it at the first bound. To this feature in his character, there are

many beautiful allusions in the Scriptures (Job Xxxviii. 39, 40; Psalm x. 9, 10).

When the lion rises for the combat, his voice is most terrible. Lashing his sides with his long tail, throwing his mane in every direction, which seems to stand like bristles round his head, the skin and muscles of his face all in agitation, his huge eyebrows half covering his glaring eye-balls, his monstrous teeth, his prickly tongue, and his destructive claws, all exhibited to view, he roars forth his formidable and terror-inspiring cry. This furnishes the sacred writers with several striking images (Jer. xxv. 30; Amos iii. 8; Hos. xi. 10).

After depriving his victim of life, which he generally effects by a stroke of his paw, the lion tears it in pieces, breaks all its bones, and swallows them with the rest of the body. To these circumstances there are frequent allusions in the Scriptures. "Save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, where there is none to deliver" (Ps. vii. 1, 2). "And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people, as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep; who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver (Mic. v. 8). Nor is his voracity left unnoticed. Buffon assures us that the lion not only devours his prey with the utmost greediness, but that he devours a great deal at a time, and generally fills himself for two or three days to come. Hence David compares his enemies to lion that is greedy of his prey " (Ps. xvii. 12), and Jehovah, threatening Israel for its transgressions, declares that he will "devour them like a lion "

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(Hosea xiii. 8). The prophet Nahum describes, with equal energy and elegance, the care with which the lion provides for its mate and young ones (ch. ii. 11, 12).

God often threatens to be as a lion to His ancient people. He discerns at once who it is that transgresses His law, and is prompt in taking vengeance on the sinner. "For I will be unto Ephraim as a great lion," that leaves the forest and approaches the habitations of men, and is therefore more to be dreaded; "and to the house of Judah as a young lion," that hunts his prey in the desert or the forest, and is therefore less to be feared (Hos. v. 14). How exactly this corresponds with historical fact, is well known to every reader of the Scriptures; for Ephraim, or the ten tribes, were driven away from their own land into a distant region, where they were doomed to suffer a protracted exile; while Judah continued to hold his possessions a hundred and thirty-three years longer, and when carried into captivity at the end of that period, by the king of Babylon, it was only for the short term of seventy years, till the land had enjoyed her sabbaths.

The lion is made the symbol of our exalted Redeemer. He was a lamb in his sufferings and death, but he became "the lion of the tribe of Judah," when he burst asunder the bands of death, forced open the grave's devouring mouth, and returned to his father a triumphant conqueror over all the powers of darkness. In the rapid diffusion of the Gospel and the conversion of many nations to the Christian faith, which commenced in a few days after his ascension, were fulfilled the words of Joel: "The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall

shake, and the Lord will be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel" (Joel iii. 16). Nor is the preaching of the Gospel improperly compared to the roaring of a lion, for it has been heard in every part of the world, and has not only struck the ear, but by its energy has opened a way for itself into the heart, and produced a concern about salvation which neither length of time nor change of circumstances could subdue.

The strength and power of the Jewish nation are often described in the sacred volume by the symbol of a lion. "Behold," cried Balaam, when from the top of Pisgah he looked down on the innumerable tents of Israel, "the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion; he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain." Such hyperbolical expressions are frequent in the sacred volume; and, when viewed. in the light of other scriptures, admit of a sense equally consistent and profitable. Thus, in the reproof which the Psalmist addresses to the wicked judges, he declares, "the righteous shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked" (Psalm lxviii. 11); and in his prayer at the removing of the ark: "The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea: that thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thine enemies, and the tongue of thy dogs in the same" (Psalm lxviii. 4). These phrases only denote that the victory, which was to crown their exertions, should be completely decisive.

The symbols that represented the Jewish people, were often applied to particular tribes, of which a striking instance occurs in the farewell benediction of Jacob: "Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey,