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divide Shechcm, and mete out the valley of Suc- coth:*' which allusion to these two places, carries us hack to the time of Gideon, when he destroyed the men of Succoth for not refrei^luug him and hU 116^ THK KIKO^ or THE KAST, [Atf- three hundred men in tbe pursuit of Zebsih and Zalmuunah,aiid ofhicgonAbim^lecb, who destroy* cd the men of Shcchcm who had rebelled against him. lliift allusiou to these tvro events gives us a bint that they wf re typical of the retributions whirh Gi.id will ifiid^r iv tlie fwlr»^ and Ireacheroii* friends of his people in the day of their greatest trial and victory. Then it is added in the Psalm, "Gllcad 13 mine, and Manassch is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head : Judah is my lawgiver.'' Of Judab, it is the constant attribute lo give law, to guide and direct; "The sceptre dolh nol depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from bet\^eenbifl feet until ShilcJi come" in the day of the exaltation of ihe mountain of the Lord ; "The law shall go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from JcniMilcm," which is the seat of the men of Judah. If this be the characteristic of Judah, then 13 strength thatofEphraim; "Epbiaimifttbe strength of my head." I tliiuk the allusion ia to the most valiant men who were chosen to keep the bead of the king: as when David fled to Achisfa king of Gath. As Achish was going out to battle igainHt Saul and Jonalhan, he said unto David, whose prowess he had oft beard of, " Therefore I will make ihee keeper of mine head for ever/* (1 Sam. xxviii. 20 This same office of strength, valour, and trust is given to Ephraim in tbe cviiilh Psalm, as aUo that of government unto Judah. Now I ask wtiere has this been prov- ed in Ephraim hitherto t Itwasprovedin Jiidahby the rending of the empire from them, and shall be more so in the time referred to in the Psalm, " When all nations ^hall go up to Jcru^lcm from year lo year to worship the King, the l-ord of OB THE TEW TRIBKfl- 1150 ^ Hofits, and to k4»ep the feast of iab<^rnaclo5." (Zech, riv, 160 But by Ephraim nothing great or uabic hatb yet been done to entitle him to thifl high dcgfree in the Lord'^ confiflence. Wherefore we (xmclude, that it remuirK-ch (o he accomplished in the time of thu Psalms where it iR mentioned, which, in thelxth and thecviiiih, is beyond ail question that of the victorious and tniimphant dehverance of his people, 1 cannot help making one remark further^ before leaving thcficPsalms, that noneof thetribew is mentioned, «ave tho*e of Jowpli and Juda