the air. And then he adds: but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Let us dwell a few moments upon his history. He was the son of Lamech, and born in the year of the world 1056. His name, like the other Scriptural appellations, is significant. It means repose, rest, or consolation and here we may advert to a very curious circumstance connected with the explanation of the meaning of the names of the patriarchs. According to good Hebrew scholars, those names will bear the following interpretations, from which some have argued that in those names, taken in their consecutive order, there is found a clear prophecy of the coming Messiah. The interpretation is as follows: Adam, man: Seth, placed: Enos, in misery: Cainan, lamentable: Mahalaleel, the blessed God: Jared, shall descend: Enoch, teaching: Methuselah, that death shall send: Lamech, to the miserable: Noah, consolation. Omitting the names, they make the following sentence: Man placed in misery lamentable, the blessed God shall descend, teaching that death shall send to the miserable consolation. I advert to these explanations as a matter of curiosity, and not, of course, as containing any solid argument for a doctrine, which is abundantly established by the plain letter of inspiration. Of Noah's early life we have no account. Like the rest of his compeers, he came into the world with a depraved nature. The contagion of evil example was all around him the universal atmosphere was tainted with corruption; and, as we saw in a former article, there was but one man who maintained his integrity, and walked uprightly. given him: he did not merely enter upon the path of the just; he continued to walk therein, and that path shone more and more unto the perfect day. This is the character given to him by pen of inspiration: He was a just man; perfect in his generation; and he walked with God. Let us analyze these expressions: a just man; that is, in its lowest acceptation, one who gives to all their due; who is honest in his dealings; who takes no advantage of the ignorance or the weakness of his neighbors; a character sufficiently rare even in our own day, and not always exemplified even by those who profess the religion of Jesus Christ. Noah was also perfect in his generation. Perfect: I have never met with any consistent interpretation of this word as applied to Noah which at all lessens the fullness of its meaning. Those who deny the possibility of man's attaining perfection in this life, do indeed contend that the word is here used with a latitude of meaning, but the amount of the argument is, that perfect does not mean perfect; a course of interpretation, which, if carried out, would throw a vail of obscurity over the whole of God's revelation, and convert the plainest teaching of the Holy Spirit into unintelligible jargon. Thus, as in the case before us, the same reasoning which would destroy the fullness of meaning in the word perfect, would bear equally against the term just, and the result would be, that the Holy Spirit has made a mistake in applying to Noah these epithets, or, at the best, has been very unhappy in his selection of adjectives to describe his character. Into such absurdities do men run when they are determined to sustain a creed at all hazards, and to make everything bend to their own preconceived notions. The plain and simple interpretation of the words in question is evidently the true one. It is very probable that Noah was indebted for his religious instruction to Enoch; that he listened to his prophetic warnings, and endeavored to follow his bright example. Nor did he try in vain. But it is said he was perfect in his genHe found grace, says Moses, in the eyes eration. Is it contended that this latter of the Lord. And why did he find grace? phrase qualifies, so as to lessen the force of First, I answer, because he sought it; the meaning of the word perfect? I think and, secondly, because he improved that not. On the contrary, we shall see that the grace thus vouchsafed unto him. Had addition of these words heightens very much his fellow-men sought the same grace, the admirable character of this eminent they also would have found it; for it has saint. What was the state of that generaever been, as it will always continue to We have seen that it was one of be, a glorious truth, that God is without abounding wickedness; without doubt, expartiality; and that every one who seek-ceeding in this respect any other generaeth, findeth. I said he improved the grace tion that have ever dwelt upon our earth. tion? All flesh had corrupted its way, is the testimony of eternal truth; but, adds the sacred writer, Noah was perfect in his generation. He had, of course, after the translation of Enoch, no one with whom he could take sweet counsel. The communion of saints, a privilege with us so common that we are apt to underrate its value, was to him unknown. There were none to unite with him in singing God's praises, or to join him in offering prayer to the Father of all his mercies. You may get some tangible idea of the meaning of the phrase, in his generation, by for a moment supposing yourself placed in the midst of the dreary darkness of a heathen land. There, solitary and friendless, take up your residence. The sky is bright above you. Inanimate nature is all beautiful. The flowers and fruit proclaim God's handiwork. The birds, on quivering wing, are echoing his praises. Yea, every prospect pleases, and only man is vile. All around this loveliness is spread the pall of desolation: the milk of human kindness is unknown, or changed into the bitterness of gall; the endearing associations that cluster around the name of mother are unknown parents, in the startling language of the apostle, are without natural affection their throat is an open sepulcher : the poison of asps is under their lips: their feet are swift to shed blood: the very atmosphere is redolent with oaths, and cursings, and blasphemy. In the midst of all this, God's own voice proclaims to his servant Noah, Thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation; and the testimony of the historian does but confirm this declaration when he says, Noah was perfect. Let it be observed, too, that not only was Noah without associates in his deeds of piety, he was also without that clear revelation which we have in the sacred Scriptures. In contrast with our privileges, his was but the twilight, in opposition to the full blaze of a meridian sun. There was no Bible in his day. Equally with ourselves, also, he had the cares and anxieties incident to humanity. He was the father of a family, and was doubtless concerned for their temporal as well as spiritual and eternal welfare. The New Testament opens to us another trait in his character. He was, says St. Peter, a preacher of righteousness; and to his preaching, the apostle evidently refers when he speaks of Christ, by the Spirit, preaching to the spirits in prison when the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah. His meaning is, that as with every other true minister of righteousness, Christ was with Noah, by his Spirit, and put words into his mouth, whereby those whom God had condemned to destruction (called spirits in prison) were yet allowed space for repentance; and had held out to them the way of escape from the threatened destruction. To them for the space of one hundred and twenty years Noah preached. The mantle of the ascended Enoch had fallen upon him; and while his example gave evidence of the possibility of even then serving God with a perfect heart, his warning voice is lifted up among the floods of the ungodly, whom he invites and entreats to forsake their evil ways, and return to their Creator and their God. Indeed, it is impossible to conceive circumstances more unfavorable to the practice of piety than those in which this man was placed, and his conduct will ever remain a standing reproach to those professors of religion who, because of the obstacles in their way, faint and grow weary in welldoing. Let us now turn our attention to the notice taken of this man by the Almighty. Alone as he was, and unsuccessful as his preaching appears to have been, God saw him. Thee have I seen, says the Great Jehovah. The world heeded him not; perchance they ridiculed him; what then? He continued unfaltering in his course. They regarded not his warning voice; they were eating and drinking, says Jesus Christ, marrying and giving in marriage, and knew not until the flood came and took them all away. What then? Noah's soul was doubtless grieved within him at their impenitence and impending danger, but his soul was kept in perfect peace; his record was with his God. In the strong and striking language of the historian, he walked with God. What is implied in this expression? Evidently, on the part of Noah, progressive piety; he walked. But he walked with God; implying that God was with him. The figure is taken from the journeying together of two friends; they pass on, by mutual conversation they beguile the tediousness of the way; and O! what a Friend was that! Well might Noah say, with one in a later age, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. We shall devote another paper to the history of Noah, to the Deluge, and to the re-peopling of our world by his descendants. In the meantime let us regard the character of this eminent preacher of righteousness as an example for our imitation. We are not to look upon him as a bright sun shining afar off and dazzling by his splendor. He was just and perfect, and walked with God. How was he enabled to do this? He found grace in the eyes of the Lord. The same grace we too may find, for God is rich in grace toward all that call upon him. If he attained in that twilight of God's gracious dispensation this elevated character; if in that era of darkness he walked with God; if, when every example around him was evil and only evil continually, he was enabled to maintain the character of a just man, O what excuse can there be found for us if we seek not that grace whereby we also in this day of light may be enabled to follow in the path marked out by him; the path in which the Saviour's footsteps shine. And there is no higher dignity, no brighter eulogy than that which we may all through God's grace attain, when it may be said of us: Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright! And when death shall close our career on earth, we can leave behind no legacy more valuable or more endearing for our children and our fellow-men, than the simple inscription upon the stone which marks our last resting-place He walked with God. That answers all questions relative to our destiny and our dwelling-place on the other side of Jordan's swelling flood. Now it is: Lo, I am with you always; then it is: So shall we be ever with the Lord. Forever! in the language of a recent author, to be with him a few years as John and Peter were; to be with him one Lord's day, as the beloved disciple was; to be with him a few moments, as Paul caught up into the third heavens was; how blessed! but to be ever with the Lord, not only to-day, but to-morrow; nay, neither to-day nor tomorrow, but now, now, one everlasting now! Beautifully sings the poet in the well-known lines: "Forever with the Lord! Life from the dead is in that word; AWFUL FATE OF A PIRATE SHIP. IT was a terrible storm. The wind, with all the awful accompaniments of rain, hail, rattling thunders, and fiercely glaring lightnings, had burst down upon the liquid plains of the startled deep, in all the fury of a tropical tornado. The black heavens were in terrific commotion above; and the smitten and resilient waters, as if to escape the impending wrath of the aroused sister elements, were fleeing in galloping mountains athwart the surface of the boiling ocean beneath. Could aught human, or aught of human construction, be here, now, and survive? It would seem an utter impossibility; and yet it was so. Amid all this deafening din of battling elements, that were filling the heavens with their uproar and lashing the darkened ocean into wild fury and commotion, a stanch-built West India merchant-ship was seen, now madly plunging into the troughs of the sea, and now quivering like a feather on the towering waves, or scudding through the flying spray with fearful velocity before the howling blast. On her flush deck, and lashed to the helm, with the breaking waves dashing around his feet, and the water dripping from the close cap and tightly-buttoned pea-jacket in which he was garbed, stood her gallant master, in the performance of a duty which he, true to his responsibility, would intrust to no other, in such an hour as this that of guiding his storm-tossed bark among the frightful billows that were threatening every instant to ingulph her. Thus swiftly onward drove the seemingly devoted ship, strained, shivering, and groaning beneath the terrible power of the gale, like an over-ridden steed, as she dashed, yet unharmed, through the mist and spray and constantly-breaking white caps of the wildly-rolling deep; thus onward sped she, for the full space of two hours, when the wind gradually lulled, and with it the deafening uproar subsided. Presently a young, well-dressed gentleman made his appearance on deck, amidships, and, having noted a while the now evident subsidence of the tempest, slowly and carefully, from one grasped rope to another, made his way to the side of the captain at the wheel. "A frightful blow, Mr. Elwood," said the latter; "for the twenty years I have been a seaman, I have never seen the race-horse the ship must be driving ahead! like." I looked not ten minutes ago, and nothing was to be seen; and now there is the headland, in full view, but two or three leagues distant! And stay-what is that dark object around and a little beyond the point? A ship? Yes, it grows distinct now-a large, black ship. That, sir, is an American frigate. Hurra to you, Elwood! We will now soon be safe, and in safe company." 'It certainly has exceeded all my conceptions of a sea-storm," said the other. "But do you know where we are, and where driving at this tremendous speed?" "Yes, I think I do both. When we were struck by the gale, which I saw was going to be a terrible norther, and saw it, too, very luckily, at a distance that enabled me to become well prepared for it, look at my reckoning, and make all my calculations-when we were struck, we were three hundred and fifty miles out of Havana, north'ard, and about forty from the American coast. I at once put the ship before the wind, and set her course southeast, which, being perfectly familiar with these seas, I knew would give her a safe run, and, in about sixty miles, carry her by the southern point of the Little Bahama Bank, where, rounding this great breakwater against northers, we should be in a comparatively smooth sea, that would admit of either laying to or anchoring. It is now over two hours since we started on this fearful race, which has kept my heart in my mouth the whole time; and I am expecting, every minute, to get sight of that rocky headland." "But that," rejoined Elwood, "will bring us, according to the late rumor, into one of the principal haunts of the pirates, will it not?" "Yes, partly, perhaps," replied the captain; "but I hear that Commodore Porter has arrived, with the American squadron, in these seas, to break up these pests, and I presume has done it, or frightened them away, so that we shan't be molested. At any rate, I saw no safer course to outlive such a tempest. You are the owner of ship and cargo, to be sure; but you put on me the responsibility of her safety." "Certainly," rejoined the other, "for my guidance would be a poor one; and, instead of any disposition to criticise your course, Captain Golding, I feel but too grateful, with the life of a beloved wife at stake, to say nothing of my own, and so much property, that your skill has enabled us to outride the storm-now nearly over, I think so unexpectedly well. But what is that, a little to the left of the ship's course, in the distance ahead?" "Ah, that is it!" cheerily exclaimed the captain, casting an eager look in the indicated direction. 66 Why, how like a It was about sunset. The merchantman, having passed the protecting promontory, and swept around the tall ship of war, had gained an offing, about a half mile beyond, under the lee of a thickly-wooded, long, narrow island; and was now lying snugly at anchor, riding out the heavy ground-swell occasioned by the abated storm; while all on board, unsuspicious of molestation, were making preparations to turn in for the night. "A sail to the leeward!" shouted a sailor, just sent aloft to make some alteration in the rigging. She The word was passed below; and the captain, mates, and Elwood, were instantly on deck, and on the look-out. They at once descried a large black schooner, creeping out from behind the farther end of the island against which they were anchored, about a mile distant, and tacking and beating her way toward them. carried no colors by which her character could be determined; but the very absence of all such insignia, together with the sinister appearance of her long, low sides, which exhibited the aspect of masked portholes, and also the peculiar stir of her large and strange-looking crew, at once marked her as an object of suspicion. "Elwood, your fears were prophetic," said the captain, lowering his glass from a long, intent observation. "That craft is a pirate, with scarce a shadow of doubt. But don't the mad creature see the frigate, and the frigate her?" With this, they all turned toward the ship of war; but she was no longer visible. A narrow vein of land fog, put in motion by some local current in shore, had been wafted out on to the water, and completely enshrouded her from their view. "I see it all," exclaimed Elwood. "That pirate has been lying, all the afternoon, concealed behind this island; and his spies, sent into the woods on the island, and to this end of it, probably saw both our ship and the frigate take their positions, and this intervening fog coming on, and reported all to their master; who at once conceived the bold design which he has now started out to execute-that of snatching us, as its prize, from under the very guns of the frigate!" the only alternative, stood, with knitted A brief, earnest consultation was then held, when, knowing the uselessness of trying to signalize the frigate, they first thought to weigh anchor and try to escape to her protection; but a little reflection told them the enemy would be down upon them before this could be effected, and they would be taken, unprepared for defense. The only other alternative left them was, therefore, quickly adopted; and in pursuance, the second mate and two | seamen were lowered in the life-boat, with orders to keep the ship between themselves and the schooner till they got into the screening fog. and then make their way, with all speed, to the frigate, to invoke her aid and protection; while all the rest should arm themselves with the muskets, swords, and pistols on board, and, if possible, hold the enemy at bay till succor arrived. And scarcely had these hasty preparations been made, before the piratical schooner, which had made a wide tack outward to catch the wind, came swiftly sweeping round to their side, like a tower-sulphurous smoke that was rolling over ing falcon on his prey. But, by some miscalculation of her helmsman, she went twenty yards wide of them—not, however, without betraying the full extent of her bloody purposes; for as, under the impulse of a speed she found herself unable instantly to check, she swept by on the long, rolling billows, a score or two of desperate ruffians, headed by their burly and still more fiercelooking captain, stood on her deck, armed to the teeth, and holding their hooks and hawsers, ready to grapple and board their intended prey. But, still forbearing to unmask their batteries or fire a gun, lest they should thus bring down the frigate upon them, her grim and silent crew sprang to their posts, to tack ship and come round again, with the narrowest sweep, to repair their former mischance. And, with surprising quickness, their well-worked craft was again, and this time with no uncertain guidance, shooting alongside of the devoted merchantman. Still the crew of the latter quailed not; but, well knowing there was no longer any hope of escaping a struggle in which death or victory was VOL. XI.-4 them, the astounded defenders heard the gurgling rush, as of waters breaking into newly opened chasms, in the direction of the enemy; and they comprehended all. The frigate, unperceived by the eager pirates, had dropped down, rounded to, and sent a whole broadside directly into the uprolled hull of the devoted craft, which had been reduced to a sinking wreck by that one tremendously heavy discharge of terrible missiles. Within two minutes the lifting smoke disclosed her, reeling and lurching for the final plunge. Within one more, she rose upright, like some mortallysmitten giant, quivered an instant, and, with all her grim and hideously-screeching crew, went down, stern foremost, amid the parting waves of the boiling deep. OUR friendships hurry to short and poor conclusions, because we have made them a texture of wine and dreams, instead of the tough fiber of the human heart. The laws of friendship are great, austere, and eternal, of one web with the laws of morals and of nature.-Goethe. |