1: 17, and 16:18-20). They were not even allowed to favor the poor man in his cause against justice (Ex. 23: 3 and Lev. 19: 15)-there being sometimes a temptation to do this out of sympathy with his poverty and his necessities. But God put justice in law above sympathy for even the necessitous poor.--The public anathema fell on him who took a bribe to slay the innocent (Deut 27: 25).

2. The seat of justice-the place for holding courtwas "in the gates of the city." Hence this being with all Orientals the place of public resort, the courts were public-open to all.

3. The processes of prosecution are not specially described. În cases of a personal, private character, the aggrieved party brought suit. In cases of a public nature "the elders of the city" bore responsibilities, as we see in the case of murder by an unknown hand. A remarkable case of appeal to the sensibilities of the whole nation is given Judg. 19: 25-30, under which the people woke to a consciousness of horrible wickedness in Israel, and their indignation became irrepressible; yet they carefully sought counsel of the Lord in this terrible case.

but

4. Advocates. We find no notice of professional advocates. The "lawyers" of New Testament history were men versed in the law and were teachers of law, not by any means the modern advocate. Every man might be his own advocate, and even women were heard before no less a king than Solomon himself (1 Kings 3: 16-18). Noble-hearted, disinterested men seem in Oriental life to have undertaken this service voluntarily for the poor and the fatherless, of which Job gives a touching description (Job 29: 7-17). Isaiah exhorts to this duty: "Plead for the widow” (1: 17). It was the noble doctrine of this system-"Our law judges no man before it hears him and knows what he doeth" (Jn. 7:51). Moses puts it thus-“Ye shall hear the small as well as the great" (Deut. 1: 17). "If there arise a matter in judgment between blood and blood, between plea and plea," etc. (Deut. 17: 8).

5. Of Witnesses-the points of chief importance are

these:

(1.) They testified under oath-the manner of administration being this: The witness listened to the re

hearsal of the words, and gave his oral assent, "Amen,” or, "As thou sayest." The passage (Lev. 5: 1) describes the case of one who sins in this way, hearing the voice—i. e. the words of the sacred oath, adjuring him to testify whether he has seen or known any thing in this case. Then if he will not make known, "he shall bear his iniquity."-A special statute for the case of a wife suspected of conjugal infidelity shows how she is to be put under this solemn oath (Num. 5: 19–22). She listens to the words of the oath and responds, "Amen, amen." (See also Prov. 29: 24 and Mat. 26: 63).

(2.) That the witnesses were examined separately and in presence of the accused appears probable from a comparison of Mat. 26: 61 with Mk. 14: 55-59. Jesus was present (Mat. 26: 62).

(3.) As to the requisite number of witnesses-a criminal case of capital crime required two besides the accuser (Deut. 17: 6 and 19: 15). Hence the phrase "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established" (Mat. 18: 16). A supposed case is stated (Ex. 22; 10, 11) in which the complainant and the accused are the only witnesses. Both are put under oath; but the testimony of the accused under oath seems to be accepted as his vindication.

(4.) By another peculiar provision of the Mosaic statutes, the witnesses in certain cases must be first to execute the penalty (Deut. 17: 7, and 13: 9, and Acts 7: 58, and John 8:7). This provision was doubtless morally wholesome.

IX. Punishments.

A few points not already brought to view deserve a brief notice.

1. Fines.-Some were fixed by statute. The highest known to the law (one hundred shekels of silver) was laid on the man who falsely accused his wife of previous unchastity (Deut. 22: 19). Another case among violations of the seventh commandment appears (Deut. 22: 28, 29).— In the case of an ox goring some one fatally, the penalty of death upon his owner might be commuted to a fine at the discretion of the judges (Ex. 21: 28– 31)-a wise provision because the real culpability of his

owner must vary with circumstances. In another case (Ex. 21: 22), the suffering party and the judge fixed the amount of the fine.

2. The sin and the trespass offerings sustained a slight relation to fines, since the party bore the cost of the animal sacrificed-a young bullock, a kid of goats, etc. These laws may be seen in Lev. 4 and 5 and in Num. 15: 27-29. They pertain to sins of ignorance and of remissness; never to presumptuous sins. In addition to the cost of the sacrifice the penalty included a public confession of the offense, and was well adapted to make a good moral impression.

The special cases which come under this general head of sin and trespass offerings were-(1.) Unintentional transgressions of the Levitical law.- 2.) The rash oath, ill-considered and not conscientiously kept (Lev. 5: 4).(3.) Perjury in a witness;-not however the case of false swearing to condemn the innocent, which was punished by retaliation; but the offense of not testifying what he knew when put under oath (Lev. 5: 1).- (4.) Debts due to the sanctuary-a failure to pay tithes; the penalty being, one-fifth added to the original amount and all paid, coupled with the trespass offering (Lev. 5: 14-16). (5.) Denying any thing given in trust, or retaining another man's lost property which he may have found, and similar offenses, coupled with false swearing (Lev. 6: 1-7); the penalty being, to restore with one-fifth added and to make his trespass offering.—(6.) Adultery with a slave. The penaltya sin-offering and the punishment of death commuted to stripes.

3. Stripes were made the penalty of certain specified crimes (Lev. 19: 20 and Deut. 22: 18). The law was careful to limit the number of stripes to forty, giving as the reason-"Lest if thou shouldest exceed" [this number] "then thy brother should seem vile unto thee; i. e. not merely lest the man might lose his selfrespect, but lest he lose the respect of the community, and be hopelessly degraded. In usage the Hebrews limited the number to thirty-nine-said to have been administered by thirteen strokes of a triple cord.

4. Of retaliation ["lex talionis"] notice has been taken already.

5. Excommunication; excision; being cut off from his people. When executed by God himself, it meant destruction by some providential agency. Compare 1 Kings 14: 10 with 15: 29 and 2 Kings 9; 8-10.When executed by human agency, it was capital punishment, usually by stoning (Ex. 31: 14, and Lev. 17: 4, and 20: 17, 18).

6. The customary modes of capital punishment were two: stoning and the sword. (Deut. 13: 9, 10, and 17: 5, and Josh. 7: 25.) The sword appears in later ages.

7. Disgrace after death in some cases heightened the penalty, e. g. by burning the dead body (Gen. 38: 24, and Lev. 20: 14, and 21: 9). That in these cases the death was by stoning and the burning was only that of the dead body, seems to be sufficiently proved from Josh. 7: 15, 25. All Israel stoned him" [Achan and his family] "with stones and burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones." Their very bodies seem to have been thought of as polluted and polluting.Another method of posthumous disgrace was by hanging on a tree (Num. 25: 4, 5 and Deut. 21: 22, 23). The body must not remain suspended over night "that thy land be not defiled; for he that is hanged is accursed. of God." See cases of the execution of this law in Josh. 8: 29 and 10: 26, 27.

Several forms of punishment were introduced from other nations in later ages which we may omit as foreign from our subject.

In closing this topic let it be noted that judicial procedure and punishment were summary-both the trial and the execution being carried through with apparently no delay. Compared on these points with the most highly civilized countries of our age, the Hebrews have greatly the advantage, and the efficiency of their law must have been for this very reason surpassingly great. Their methods afforded but the smallest possible hope of escape. Punishment followed close on the heels of detection, and usually, we must presume, of crime. Furthermore, these punishments, compared with those of other nations in that age were by no means severe. Indeed the modes of capital punishment which come to view in the Scriptures as existing among other nations were terribly barbarous compared with

those of the Hebrew code; e. g. burning in a fiery furnace; being torn in pieces by lions; being sawn asunder; crucifixion.

The design of punishment is put in the plainest terms. In its severer forms it is not the discipline of the criminal but the good of the public-to deter the evil-minded from crime and so to make society safe from outrage. In the case of presumptuous sins we read-“That man shall die, and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel, and all the people shall hear and fear and do no more presumptuously" (Deut. 17: 12, 13 and 19: 20).

It is worthy of special notice under this head that we find in this code a considerable number of statutes with no penalty attached which human hands were to inflict. God reserved the infliction of the penalty to himself. The fear of his displeasure, coupled with his promised rewards for obedience were the only forces coercing obedience to these statutes. They were left upon the conscience of the people, and upon their fears and hopes under a system in which God's hand in providence was often made most palpable. For cases in point I may refer to the laws against usury and requiring favors to be shown to the poor;-as for example (Deut. 15: 9, 10): "Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying-The seventh year, the year of release is at hand, and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother and thou givest him naught, and he cry unto the Lord against thee and it be sin upon thee. Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him; because that for this thing the Lord thy God will bless thee in all thy works," etc.

It

The moral power of this invisible force upon the heart and conscience of the people we shall be able to appreciate more justly if we carefully study the words which stand (Ex. 23: 20–25), i. e. at the close of the first catalogue of the "statutes and judgments." seems to come in here legitimately as a moral force to induce a conscientious and careful obedience to these statutes. "Behold" (calling special attention) "behold, I send an angel before thee to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice; provoke him not, for he will not pardon your transgressions, for my name is in him. But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice and