desecration of the sanctuary by the sacrifice of a sow, and the sprinkling of its blood in the most holy place, his subsequent destruction of the city, his policy of forcing the Jews into Heathenism and of burning every copy of the law, and his dedication of the temple of Jehovah to Jupiter Olympius, —a chapter in Jewish history full of melancholy interest.-But the darkness of this part of the narrative is soon relieved by the appearance of the illustrious Asmonean race,-Mattathias and his five sons, by whose courage and skill the nation regained its independence, and by whose zeal for the glory of the God of Israel idolatry was exterminated.-The successes of Judas Maccabæus, the restoration of the temple, the judgments of the Most High upon Antiochus, the achievements of Jonathan and Simon, brothers of Judas, belong to this period.-The erection of a Jewish temple in Egypt, the successful government of Hyrcanus, and his victories over the Idumæans, are followed by the brief reign of Aristobulus,-the first who assumed the diadem and title of royalty; the longer and more prosperous reign of Alexander Janneus, who subjugated the Philistines; and the prudent government of his wife Alexandra, who reigned over Judea ten years.—Then springs up a contention for power between Alexandra's two sons, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus; on which we trace the success of the latter, the renewal of the contest, the arbitration of Pompey the Great, the restoration to Hyrcanus of the government, Pompey's visit to the temple, and his entrance into the holy of holies. These events are followed by the pillage of the temple by Crassus, and the procuratorship of Antipater, the father of Herod the Great, who succeeded him in his government, and who was in office at the birth of CHRIST. Even this brief resumé shows the great variety of topics which Jewish history includes. Neither Greece nor Rome supplies such materials. We are carried along a period of fifteen hundred years, during which the great Assyrian empire became extinct, and Babylon, Persia, and Greece rose and declined, while Rome ascended to the zenith of her might and influence. The scene is ever varied by reverses and successes; by war, famine, and desolation, on the one hand; by peace, plenty, and prosperity, on the other. Were it not for the religion which pertains to the subject, our merely literary men would consecrate to it the incense of their genius and admiration. Our Gibbons and Robertsons, our Arnolds and Macaulays, have selected no theme equal to this, in compass, variety, thrilling interest, and sublimity. They secured no equal opportunity of eliciting great principles in government, law, morals, and religion; or of educing from the past great lessons for the present and the future. It is scarcely just, either to Mr. Smith or to our readers, that we should have occupied so large a space without transcribing various passages, which we had marked for incorporation with this article. Our space, however, will admit but a few of them. Our anxiety on this point is greatly relieved by the persuasion, that the work will be extensively circulated. MOSES ON PISGAH. The Lord commanded Moses to ascend Mount Abarim, and from thence view the land which He had promised to give for an inheritance unto Israel, assuring him at the same time that, after he had been thus far gratified, he should be gathered unto his people, as Aaron his brother had been gathered; because they had both sinned against God in the wilderness of Zin. Few scenes in history are more interesting than this; and seldom do we see human nature presented to our view, invested with more real grace and dignity. Although to Moses especially it must have been an object of paramount interest and importance to see his people take possession of the land of promise, yet, when this man of God heard the fiat which destroyed all these hopes, and consigned him to an obscure grave in the wilderness, no murmur escaped his lips: he did not deprecate his doom, or supplicate a reversal of his sentence. Nor does this silence arise from a confounded mind, or a paralysed intellect bending beneath the weight of his fate and his years. His spirit is still active, his judgment retains its strength, his soul is as ardent as ever; but, even here, all these are called into lively exercise, not for himself, but for his people. On hearing the mandate of Heaven, Moses gave utterance to the following earnest and important prayer: "Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd." (Num. xxvii. 16, 17.) Here is the same loftiness of spirit, rising high above every selfish consideration, the same zeal for the honour of God, the same devoted concern for the welfare of his people, which had heretofore marked his entire public character. We may wade through many folios of history and biography, narrating the mighty deeds of warriors, statesmen, and professed patriots, before we find another case equal to it in interest. (Pp. 103, 104.) THE GREAT DAY OF ATONEMENT. The services of this day developed, beyond all reasonable doubt, that great principle of the scheme of redemption, the pardon of sin through vicarious sacrifice. It is no valid objection to this doctrine, that the atonement was not made by the death of the animal, but by the sprinkling of the blood afterward by the Priest. For it was clearly as necessary that the sacrifice should be presented to God, as that the life of the victim should be taken. And "for what purpose can we suppose the blood to have been carried into the most sacred part of the Divine residence, and that on the day of atonement, except to obtain the favour of Him in whose presence it was sprinkled?" In fact, the manner in which this atonement was made shows how fully the wisdom of God is here displayed. It was necessary that vicarious suffering should be exhibited; the animal is therefore slain: It was equally necessary that this forfeited life should be presented to God; the blood is therefore carried into the sanctuary. And, as if to rebut the objection referred to, on a question of fact, the blood must be sprinkled; which could not be done unless still reeking with the life of the creature. If the animal was quite dead, and the blood coagulated, it was unfit for sacrificial purposes: it must be "the blood of sprinkling." Lest this important point should be overlooked, the people were told, "The life of the flesh is in the blood and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul." (Lev. xvii. 11.) (Pp. 148, 149.) DAVID A WANDERER. There is perhaps no more interesting object in history than David, during this time of his fugitive career. A young man, called from the sheep-fold to a court, he not only conducted himself with consummate address, and by his musical powers rendered himself exceedingly useful to the afflicted King; he also proved himself a hero: he dared to meet, and succeeded in killing, a giant-warrior, whom no other man in Israel would venture to encounter. Beyond this, he exhibited all the qualities of a military leader, and rendered himself highly popular, by a display of united prudence and valour in the conduct of the several important opera : tions, with the management of which he was intrusted. Having thus shown his capacity, this young man meets with what is not one of the usual occurrences of court life he is hurled from his position, and, without friends, wealth, or resources beyond himself, he is persecuted and hunted by an energetic and malignant Monarch, with an army at his beck. Yet this youth not only escapes all his enemies, but, amid all this danger, gathers around him a trusty band of six hundred warriors; he makes himself feared by his foes, respected by his friends; and, even while suffering under injury and persecution, is found silently, but steadily, preparing his way to the Apology of Ben Mordecai," p. 797. + Outram De Sacrificiis, d. i., c. xix., sect. 3. VOL. VI.-FOURTH SERIES. 3 c throne. If this conduct evinced great talent, still greater were the piety and genius which shone in this noble Hebrew. Throughout his critical career, David displayed unbending integrity and high religious principle: when his deadly enemy lay asleep before him, he steadily refused to allow "the Lord's anointed to be injured. Nor is this the only or the greatest peculiarity of his case. In the midst of his wandering, wilderness life, harassed by day and night, hunted like a partridge on the mountains, David gave expression to the feelings of his heart in soul-inspiring song. That these compositions should display energy, and breathe impassioned feeling, we might have expected; but that they should be marked by a brilliancy of genius, a chasteness of expression, and a purity of taste unsurpassed in any nation or age of the world, must be regarded as a most remarkable fact. "Compare the Book of Psalms with the Odes of Horace or Anacreon; with the Hymns of Callimachus, the Golden Verses of Pythagoras, the choruses of the Greek tragedians; and you will quickly see how greatly it surpasses them all in piety of sentiment, in sublimity of expression, in purity of morality, and in rational theology."* THE LAST DAYS OF KING DAVID. Perhaps there never was a Sovereign who made wiser preparations for the future well-being of his kingdom, or retired from public life with more grace and dignity, than David. Having assembled all the ecclesiastical, civil, and military authorities of the kingdom, (1 Chron. xxiii. 1, 2,) and given them his arrangement for the service of the house of the Lord, (chap. xxiv.—xxvi. 19,) propounded the order of military service, (chap. xxvii. 1-23,) and the stewardship of the royal domains; (chap. xxvi. 20-32; xxvii. 24—34;) he exerted all his remaining strength, and stood up before this august meeting. We cannot claim unparalleled importance for this assembly on merely human grounds. Persia and Egypt, Greece and Rome, may have produced congregations as rich in wealth, as elevated in intellect, and as dignified by martial prowess as this meeting of the Hebrew Monarch and his Priests, Princes, and Captains; although we are strongly inclined to think that, on these grounds, the King of Israel, surrounded by his people, would bear a respectable comparison with any national assembly ever convened. There are, however, reasons for investing this meeting with supreme dignity and importance from its truly religious tone and character. Here we behold a pious King-one who had stood in the first rank as a poet, a musician, a statesman, and a warrior-resigning the sovereignty into the hands of his (Pp. 270, 271.) son, in obedience to the will of God; and, in doing so, giving utterance to sentiments the most noble and pious. See him handing to his anointed successor plans of all the most important parts of the glorious temple which he was appointed to build to the honour of Jehovah. Observe the munificent donations which he and his Princes make on the spot, for the purpose of carrying out this great object. Hear his noble address prior to the inauguration-feast, (1 Chron. xxix. 10—20,) and mark his charge to his son and successor. (Chap. xxviii. 9, 10.) But these dignified and pious exercises do not terminate when David recedes from the public eye. Follow the aged Monarch into his retirement, and see him prostrate before God, praying for Solomon, (Psalm 1xxií.,) under this special Divine teaching, while his mind, by a glorious afflatus of Divine influence, is carried out to a contemplation of the glory and triumphs of the Messiah's kingdom, until his rapt spirit loses all sense of want, and his full heart exclaims, "The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended." Take all these into account, and you have a scene scarcely equalled in sublimity and beauty by anything seen in this world prior to the advent of the Messiah. This was the last act of David's life. "He died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honour." (1 Chron. xxix. 28.) (Pp. 290, 291.) ISRAEL TAUGHT AND TRAINED BY GOD. The special Divine interposition which constantly watched over the Israelites in the wilderness, and which, by unceasing influence, was directed to imbue the individual mind of the whole community with a clear perception of *Bishop Watson. the immediate government of God, and a strong faith in His truth and power, which was indeed the spirit of their religious system, has not been sufficiently recognised. Many portions of Scripture which clearly exhibit this interposition might be quoted; it will be sufficient to refer to one, which, while bearing decisive evidence on the subject under consideration, is a very remarkable specimen of pure revelation embodied in the most exquisite poetry. In that inimitable ode which Moses composed shortly before his death, speaking of the watchful care of Jehovah over his people during their wandering in the wilderness, and the incessant operation of His grace to guide them into all His will, he says,— "As an eagle stirreth up her nest, All the exquisite beauty and incomparable tenderness of this description bear immediately upon the great purpose of God in His dealings with His people in the desert, to bring them to imitate Him, that, influenced by His truth, they might act upon its teaching, and thus fully enter into the Divine will. This process of teaching and training is here described with exquisite pathos. But the imagery, in point of order, is not arranged, according to the habits of the bird, by the circumstances of the Israelites. Hence we first read "As an eagle stirreth up her nest." By these words the inspired Prophet describes the eagle, when her young are of an age to be taught to fly, as agitating, disturbing, and even tearing her nest, to induce them to acquire the practice of locomotion. Thus in the wilderness did Jehovah lead His people about from one place to another, making the place of their residence and the manner of their life disagreeable, that they might be induced to seek rest and happiness in a conformity to His will, and in the word sense. of His promise. But the Hebrews were carnal and corrupt in their hearts; and therefore as an eagle "fluttereth over her young," so did Jehovah shed His influence upon them. This clause deserves very particular attention. The word which our translators have here rendered "fluttereth," is which occurs only three times in the Hebrew Scriptures. It is not easy, therefore, to define its Jeremiah appears to have used the term to signify the tremulous motion occasioned in the human body by extreme fear. (Chap. xxiii. 9.) In the the parent eagle over her young, for the text its seems to denote the brooding of warmth of her own body. Moses empurpose of imbuing them with the ployed the word to express the primitive action of the Spirit of God upon the chaotic mass in the work of creation. (Gen. i. 2.) From the supposed reference of this term to the action of a bird in hatching her young, Parkhurst supposes the Heathen nations to have acquired their notion that this world was formed from an egg. (Parkhurst, sub voce. See also Grotius, De Verit. Rel. Christ., lib. i., cap. 16, note 1.) Here, then, Jehovah represents himself as teaching and training His people, as the parent eagle does her young. Their residence is frequently changed, and made very inconvenient, that they may be led to expect and hope to realise the promised rest. The Spirit of God overshadows His redeemed; and as the parent imparts her own living heat to her young, so God sheds the vitality of His own spiritual life upon the souls of His people; as the eagle teaching her feeble offspring would spread abroad her pinions, even bear them on her own shoulders, if their strength failed, so did Jehovah come down to their weakness that he might raise them to His holiness. We have here therefore an incomparable picture, but one as replete with truth as with beauty, in which are represented to our minds the love, care, constant influence, and devoted energy which God Himself employed on behalf of Israel. (Pp. 398-400.) But we must desist from quotation. Our earnest hope is, that this volume will be instrumental in reviving the taste for Hebrew history. Let our Christian families, our literary youth in general, and (in brief) all who aspire to an intelligent use of the Old Testament, hasten to avail themselves of Mr. Smith's labours. VARIETIES. San CHURCHES AND PRIESTS AT LoANDA, SOUTH-WESTERN AFRICA.There are still three churches in Loanda, of which the cathedral opposite the palace is unquestionably the finest. The tower is handsome, and the interior is richly adorned with pictures and images of saints. The second church stands in the centre of the city, close to the marketplace an ever-burning lamp is, indeed, maintained in it; but I never saw any person enter this church for devotional purposes. The third church, called Nazario, lies at the north end of the city, and seems to be the most frequented. On Christmas-day it was well lighted up in the evening; but the day was not at all observed at the other churches. Nazario was crowded by Negroes and Negresses, dressed in their holiday attire, which they had been displaying all day in the streets. The entire wardrobe of the Negresses consisted of large handkerchiefs of different colours, which were put on with so much art that, however numerous they were, none were ever entirely concealed. In the evening the church was always crowded, and the floor so covered with persons kneeling that we could with difficulty pass between the people. Meantime the Priests, a Mulatto and a Negro, dressed in full ecclesiastical costume, did their utmost to entertain their visiters. When Donna Catarina, with the Physician and myself, approached, they instantly set before us a table spread with wine and Brazilian sweetmeats, and, cordially inviting us to partake of them, appeared to consider it their duty to set us a good example. As there was a constant succession of guests, it was no marvel that the two Priests should at length fall victims to the performance of their duty as good hosts, and leave the church in a very tottering condition; nay, one of them had the misfortune to have his priestly garments torn in a little affray, as he was going home. This affair was afterwards talked of as a pleasant story, and nobody appeared to think it at all extraordinary.— Dr. Tams's Visit to the Portuguese Possessions in South-Western Africa. THE RAGE FOR THE ANTIQUE. A foreign correspondent of the "Philadelphia North American," remarking upon the fashionable mania for articles that seem old, says, that such is the rage for Italian antiques, that regular manu factories, subterraneous, are established at Rome. Arms of heroes, heads of gods, feet of satyrs, and fragments of— nobody, are formed in endless variety, and coloured so as to resemble the most perfect specimens of antiquity. When ready, they are concealed among ruins by goatherds; and travellers are, as if by chance, directed to them. England is full of these antiquities of six months old; as English travellers generally are wealthy, and easily gulled. Similar establishments abound, also, for the manufacture of coins; and coins of the Cæsars, Antonines, &c., of a similar antiquity, are carried off to the cabinets of London in great numbers. Medieval antiquities are the rage in Paris; and similar manufactories abound there. A young antiquarian showed lately, with great pride, to an artist, a very fine specimen of Gothic furniture, which he had just bought at great cost. "It is very fine," said his friend, "and it will last you long; for it is quite new." MASSES OF CORAL AT THE MAURITIUS. On the coasts we meet with enormous masses of coral rock, torn from their parent beds in the depths of the sea, and thrown high on the embankment of sand which girts the island. Such is the magnitude of many of these blocks, that it is difficult to conceive how the mere force of water in motion could have removed them to their present position. Here it may not be altogether out of place to advert to those curious and isolated masses of coraline formation which are found at the distance of a mile from the sea-coast, and are scattered about the cane-fields at the southern extremity of the island, particularly between Mahêbourg and the Morne. The largest which we remember is about forty feet long, twenty broad, and fifteen high, and rather of an oval form, as if it had been rolled. It lies on the estate of Beauchamp, in the Savanne, about half a mile from the present margin of the sea, but not more than three hundred yards from the edge of the basaltic stratum, on which it now rests, where the boundary of the ocean was in former times, the intermediate space having been formed by the debris of the coral reefs. Other ponderous masses of the same kind occur along the coast at various distances from the sea. On the plain to the eastward of Souillac may be seen several of these detached |