laws of God as their father, were entitled to be called the sons of God; and others, who, on account of the very opposite character they sustained, were justly styled the offspring of men. At a subsequent period of history, when the confusion of tongues had separated the families of mankind in different directions, this distinction became more marked. The original light which shone in perfect lustre in the minds of our first parents, and instructed them on all points of necessary knowledge of their Maker and themselves, was obscured by their fall from rectitude. It became dimmer and dimmer in proportion to the length of time through which it flowed, and could scarcely maintain its existence in the thick atmosphere of moral turpitude by which the spread of iniquity environed it. In one chosen family, that of Shem, was it preserved and increased by occasional and express revelations from God; but when by the division of nations, and the diversity of languages, that family had no longer an immediate influence on the other branches of the human race, the latter, left to the flickering and uncertain light, afterwards dignified by the title of the light of nature, lost all right conceptions of the character of God, and with that all consciousness of their duty and their state. | centre of the whole circle of Judaism, every radius tended: to this doctrine the types, the sacrifices, the temple, yea, the whole body of Judaism, gave a perpetual testimony. This was what rendered intelligible the otherwise inscrutable hieroglyphics of the ceremonial law: this alone could render the moral law consistent with the hopes of sinners. Nor was it the intention of this system merely to advert to the abstract truth of such a means of salvation as alone consisted with the perfections of God, but it also contained a body of testimonies sufficient to identify the person of the future Saviour; and by a combination of natural types, and the living and oft-repeated voice of prophecy, it announced to the minds of the expectants all the circumstances of his life, death, and successful work for men. These were the privileges of this chosen portion of the family of Shem; and from their contemplation of the great difference between themselves and others, in the relation in which they severally stood towards God, they called the other nations of the earth by a name which we have translated Gentiles. I have already asserted that at a very early period these nations, unblessed with the counteracting influence of revelation, fell into gross ignorance. That ignorance In process of time, one of the most became more and more profound, as it illustrious descendants of Shem was was acted upon by sensuality, and manisingled out from his family, and removed fested itself in very early periods of pafrom his country, that his posterity might triarchal history in an entire forgetfulbecome a visible testimony to the true ness of the spirituality of God. The principles of religion. That people, after a existence of God was a fact unquestioned; series of migrations, afflictions, and cap- but they had lost, by the wilful indulgence tivity, were at length fixed in the posses- of a depraved appetite, all perception of sion of the land of Canaan, and distin- and communion with him: the necessity guished from the rest of mankind by a of a reverential worship of some superior code of religious laws, and a ritual of cere- being was forced on their convictions by monial observances, of a kind totally dis- a sensible experience of their own weaktinct from those which were possessed by ness, and their consequent dependence the other nations of the earth. The most for existence and preservation, on some observable feature in this revelation was powerful and benevolent being. They its clear assertion of the oneness and sim- looked around them, they looked above, plicity of the Godhead, and of those duties they were forcibly struck by the beauty which rational and accountable beings and splendour of the heavenly bodies, the owe to that one God, and to each other, harmony of their movements, the influence in consequence of their common descent which they had on universal nature, and, from him, and mutual relationship. above all, by the benefit which their light Another feature, not less characteristic of had conferred on them in their painful this system, was the subordination of all and dangerous migrations from the plains its symbols and ceremonies to the eluci- of Shinar to their distant abodes; and, paydation of one great principle in the eco-ing to the creature the debt of gratitude nomy of salvation, namely, the pardon of sin through the offering of an atonement to God. Towards this point as the they owed to the Creator, they soon fell into the first and most widely spread avowed deviation from the worship of the one true God, called originally, Sabaism, or the worship of the planetary system. To the existence of this system of worship all antiquity testifies; yea, even in later periods, when the complicated mythology of Egypt, Greece, and Rome had multiplied deities to an almost incredible extent, and portioned out the whole universe into innumerable sections, each possessing its distinct and local god, the worship of the sun, moon, and stars was never superseded. In our own country, and even in these days, we have a relic of this worship in the application of the name of the sun, moon, and the other planets, in the original language of our ancestors the Saxons, to the seven different days of the week, days originally consecrated to the worship of these supposed deities. The patriarch Job has left us an undoubted testimony to the prevalence of this system of worship in chap. xxxi., verses 26, 27, 28: "If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness; and my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand: this also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above." I need scarcely inform you that the kissing of the hand was an ancient symbol of religious adoration, a symbol to which the psalmist refers in his exhortation, "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry;" and that the conduct here alluded to by the patriarch is to be restricted to a purely religious ceremony, is attested by his reflection, "this were an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above." False worship, however, though it began in the adoration of the planets, did not confine itself to them. By an easy and, indeed, a necessary transition, whatever was remarkable in nature for the singular beauty of its appearance, whatever possessed the power of elevating the mind to sublime conceptions, was invested first with the robe of mystery, and then worshipped as a god. The sea, the earth, the air, the mighty torrent, the fountain secluded from ordinary observation by precipitous rocks, the impervious forest, all excited ideas of grandeur; and, acting on minds framed with the keenest susceptibility to sublime impressions, but destitute of the knowledge of him who is alone their adequate object, and throbbing with feverish pulsation for the attainment of some end commensu 66 rate with the energies and capabilities they possessed, were enthroned as deities : They became vain in their imagination, and their foolish heart was darkened." Poetry, music, and statuary lent their aid, and the witchery of these arts completed the delusion by a palpable representation of the mysterious object to the ear and eye. The apostasy was now appalling. The statues of ancestors and benefactors, carved originally, perhaps, only to perpetuate the revered features of those who were lost, soon became objects of veneration; what was to those who had known the original but a remembrancer of his virtues, and an acknowledged medium of veneration, became to posterity the very object of respect; time, and the indistinctiveness of vision caused by time, transformed that respect and veneration into religious awe, and what was once a statue stood forth a god. -C. N. Davies. THE BOUQUET AND THE BIBLE. THE day was a fine day, but an unexpected shower suddenly drove two or three little parties into the cottage for a temporary shelter: a Bible and a bouquet of flowers lay upon the table. A shrewd looking man, one of the company, approached the table; he was an infidel. He opened the Bible, and closed it again with a smile that was mingled with derision. He then took up the bouquet. "This suits me best," said he, with an exulting air; "for it has no mysteries. I can understand it; its colours are fair, and its scent delightful." Saying this, he pulled a flower from the bouquet, and stuck it in his bosom. A pause succeeded, but it was soon broken by an old gentleman, whose meek and mercy-loving face was grateful to gaze on; and whose grey hair entitled him to respect. He had heard the observation of the infidel, and felt anxious to counteract its influence; advancing to the table, he also took up the bouquet. "How bounteous in his gifts," said he, "is the Father of mercies! This bouquet is delightful. How delicately formed are these beautiful flowers! How rich are their varied tints, and how sweet_is_the_ fragrance they exhale! But shall we forego the joy of inhaling their fragrance, and the delight of gazing upon their beauty, because we cannot explain the hidden mysteries of their existence? We know not how the dry, husky, unsightly seed, when set in the | than that of bullfinches. At first they ground, could start up into such glorious forms. We cannot tell how it is that from the same soil such different stems should spring, and on the same flower such varied tints appear; nor know we why some of the fairest and sweetest of flowers should be thickly pointed with thorns. These things are mysteries; but if we wait till we can comprehend them, the flowers will fade away, for their life is short. Let us gaze then on their beauty, and inhale their fragrance while we may. are formed into classes of about six in each; and after having been kept a longer time than usual without food, a privation which children think it very hard to endure, and still more, confined in a dark room, the tune they are to learn is played over and over again on a little instrument called a bird-organ, the notes of which greatly resemble those of the bullfinch. For a time, perhaps, the birds sit moping and in silence, not knowing what to make of such proceedings; but, after "And why should we not," continued a while, they begin one by one to imihe, putting down the bouquet, and taking tate the notes they hear. As soon as up the Bible, "Why should we not use they do so, light is admitted into the the word of God in the same way? This room, and they are allowed a small supblessed Book prompts us to all that is ply of food. The sound of the organ, good, warns us against every thing that and the circumstance of being fed, beis evil, and amid the darkness of this bad come by degrees so associated, that the world, points us to a brighter and a bet-hungry bird is sure to imitate the notes ter. Mysteries it has, deep and awful mysteries, which its Almighty Author alone can explain; but shall we waste our short lives in brooding over them, and neglect the greater part which is quite plain, and overlook the manifold mercies it proffers for our acceptance? While the Holy Scriptures reprove us in error, guide us in difficulty, console us in sorrow, and support us in sickness and in death, shall we undervalue and neglect them? Never! Let us leave, then, all mysteries, both of providence and grace, till it shall please God to unravel them to our understanding; and in the mean time, let us, while rejoicing that God's works and word both show that he is The Wonderful,' gratefully place the glowing flowers of the bouquet in our bosoms, and the glorious consolations of the Bible in our hearts." SCHOOL FOR BULLFINCHES. A SCHOOL for bullfinches may sound oddly, and to speak of their education may appear equally strange; yet, what is the fact? It appears that in the month of June, the young ones, which are sought for in the nests of wild birds, are taken when about ten days old, and brought up by a person, who by care and attention so completely tames them, that they become perfectly docile and obedient. At the end of about two months, they first begin to whistle, from which time their education begins; and no academy can be more diligently superintended, or have pupils more effectually trained, as soon as they are heard. They are then given to the care of boys, whose sole business is to carry on their education, each one having a bird placed under his charge, who plays away as many times as the bird can attend, during which their first teacher or feeder goes his regular rounds, scolding or rewarding his feathered scholars by signs and modes he has taught them to understand, until the tune becomes so familiar that they will pipe it to the end of their lives. R. SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD. HOMER tells us that Ulysses held the winds in a bag, to enlarge or shut up at his pleasure! We know, however, that it is only the true God that can do this. He alone hath the winds in his custody, which, when he pleaseth, "he brings out of his treasuries." He hath the full exercise of power, both for the dispensation and execution of laws, the portion of shame, or the crown of glory. Judgment or mercy are the pay of his exchequer. He destroys and he saves; he scatters abroad and collects again, banishes and repels, kills and makes alive; ruling the grave by so high a hand, that when the first death has arrested these bodies of ours, he by his power can bail them, can recall the breath which is fled, and transplant the defaced ruins of nature, out of that corruptible mould wherein they were buried, into the kingdom of glory; for as the kingdom, and the power, so the glory is His.-Henry King. JOURNEY FROM CAIRO TO MOUNT JUST without the city, near the splendid but now neglected tombs of the califs, we halted for a time, to adjust the loads of the camels for the journey, which could not so well be done in the narrow streets of the city. Then we launched forth into the desert; and travelling onward till darkness overtook us, we pitched our tent for the night in a shallow wady, or bed. It was a new and exciting feeling, to find ourselves thus alone in the midst of the desert, in the true style of oriental travel; carrying with us our house, our provisions, and our supply of water for many days; and surrounded by camels and the wild sons of the desert, in a region where the eye could find nought to rest upon but dreary desolation. It was a scene which had often taken possession of my youthful imagination, but which I had not dared to hope would ever be realized. The desert of Suez is not sandy: its surface, for the most part, is a hard gravel, often strewed with pebbles. During the present season, there had been no rain, and the whole appearance of the desert and its wadys was dry and parched. Nor did the desert change its character for the better as we approached OCTOBER, 1839. Suez. Hills and mountains, and the long narrow strip of salt water, were indeed around and before us; but not a tree, nor scarcely a shrub, and not one green thing was to be seen in the whole circle of vision. Nor is a drop of fresh water to be obtained, All the water with which Suez is supplied for personal use, is brought from three hours' distance across the gulf, and is so brackish as to be scarcely drinkable. In the desert, we had frequent instances of the mirage, presenting the appearance of lakes of water and islands; and as we began to descend towards Suez, it was difficult to distinguish between these appearances and the distant real waters of the Red Sea. We reached Suez on the fourth day, from Cairo; pitched our tent on the shore without the walls, and remained there twenty-four hours. Leaving Suez late the next day, we took our course around the head of the gulf, the better to observe the features of the country. We pitched our tent at night over against Suez, but somewhat lower down, not far from the place where the Israelites probably came out upon the eastern shore. Here, at our evening devotions, and near the spot where it was composed and first sung,. we read, and felt in its full force, the magnificent triumphal song of Moses: 2 E 362 JOURNEY FROM CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAI AND JERUSALEM. "The Lord hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea." A desert plain extends along the eastern shore of the gulf for nearly fifty miles, bounded on the east by a range of hills or mountains twelve or fifteen miles from the coast. We took the upper road to Sinai, which leads across a portion of the great sandy tract lying between the high northern ridge Et-Tih, and the more southern clusters of Sinai. Et-Tih is a long level ridge of sandstone, stretching across the whole peninsula. We turned aside also to the right a short distance, to visit the solitary and mysterious monuments of Surâbit el-Khadim. Travellers have supposed these monuments to be tombstones. They are evidently of Egyptian origin, being covered with hieroglyphics indicating a high antiquity, but they have nothing of the character of an Egyptian cemetery. We approached the central granite mountains of Sinai, directly from the N. N. W., through a steep, rocky, and difficult pass, between rugged, blackened cliffs, eight hundred to one thousand feet high. Approaching in this direction, we were surprised and delighted to find ourselves, after two hours, crossing the whole length of a fine plain, from the southern end of which that part of Sinai now called Horeb, rises perpendicularly, in dark and frowning majesty. This plain is above two miles in length, and nearly two-thirds of a mile broad, sprinkled with tufts of herbs and shrubs, like the wadys of the desert. It is wholly inclosed by dark granite mountains, stern, naked, splintered peaks and ridges, from one thousand to fifteen hundred feet high. On the east of Horeb, a deep and very narrow valley runs in like a cleft, as if in continuation of the south-east corner of the plain. In this stands the convent, at the distance of a mile from the plain, and the deep verdure of its fruit trees and cypresses is seen as the traveller approaches-an oasis of beauty amid scenes of the sternest desolation. On the west of Horeb, there runs up a similar valley, parallel to the former. It is called El-Leja, and in it stands the deserted convent El-Erbayin, with a garden of olive and other fruit-trees, not visible from the plain. The name Sinai is at present applied, generally, to the lofty ridge running from N. N. W. to s. s. E. between the two narrow valleys just described. The northern part, or lower summit, is the present Horeb, overlooking the plain. About three miles south of this, the ridge rises and ends in a higher point; this is the present summit of Sinai. The plain above mentioned, is, in all probability, the spot where the congregation of Israel were assembled to receive the law; and the mountain impending over it, the present Horeb, was the seene of the awful phenomena in which the law was given. As to the present summit of Sinai, there is little reason to suppose that it had any connexion with the giving of the law. I know not when I have felt a thrill of stronger emotion, than when in first crossing the plain, the dark precipices of Horeb rising in solemn grandeur before us, I became aware of the entire adaptedness of the scene to the purposes for which it was chosen by the great Hebrew legislator. We were kindly received at the convent, after being hoisted to its narrow entrance; and remained there five days, visiting in the interval the summits of Sinai, Horeb, and St. Catherine. We left the convent March 29, on our way to Akabah. * * * * * * We left Akabah late in the afternoon of April 5, and recrossing the plain of wady Araba, began to ascend the western mountains by the great Hadj route. We soon encamped for the night; and. from this point we had seven long days' journey to Hebron. The ascent afterward is steep and difficult. The way is almost literally strewed with the bones of camels, and skirted by the graves of pilgrims; all testifying to the difficulty of the pass. On arriving at the top of the pass, we soon came out upon the great plateau of the western desert, and found ourselves higher than the mountain peaks which we had seen from below, and through which we had just ascended. Not far from the top of the pass we left the Hadj route; and turning off in a direction about N. N. w. we launched forth again into "the great and terrible wilderness." For the first two days, the general character of this desert was similar to that between Cairo and Suez; a vast unbounded plain, a hard gravelly soil, irregular ridges of limestone hills in various directions, the mirage, and especially the wadys or water-courses. |