Sunday; now there are twenty-one, in ten different languages. There was not a single Protestant school twenty-five years ago; now there are thirteen.

Another of the American Missionaries, from Constantinople, spoke in very glowing terms of the French soldiers in the East, stating that hundreds of Testaments had been distributed amongst them, and were received with great cordiality.

THE LORD'S DAY.

The subject of Sabbath Observance next occupied attention, when the Reports were read by several gentlemen, referring to France, Germany, and England. These Reports were far from gratifying. We had been taught to believe, by the amiable Mr. Cochrane, lately deceased, that great things had been achieved in Paris, and other places in France. We learn from the Alliance, however, that the whole thing has passed away like a vision. Neither the police regulations, nor the voluntary associations, formed by Mr. Cochrane, assisted by the clergy, in Paris, and in other places, have been productive of any permanent good. Things have resumed their old course; the day of the Lord is again trampled under foot, and no voice is raised in warning or in protest.

HUNGARY.

The last fact, of any moment, respected Hungary, where Protestantism is much stronger than is generally imagined. There are there no fewer than 3,000,000 of Protestants, with 2,800 churches, which may be considered a very large supply, as things go on the Continent. These Protestants are, nevertheless, as may be supposed, in a very depressed condition.

This memorable Conference terminated by the observance of the Lord's Supper, when the number of communicants was very great. Pastor F. Monod presided; and addresses were delivered, in various languages-by Dr. Duff, in English; Dr. Krummacher, in German; and Pastor Recollin, in French. The words of the institution of the Supper were pronounced in six different languages-French, English, German, Dutch, Italian, and Swedish. The Ministers present discharged the duty of Deacons.

Such is the substance of all that our readers are mainly concerned to know of this every way memorable Conference. We are indebted for the facts to an excellent Report, officially prepared for an excellent publication-The News of the Churches.

And the everlasting mountains were scattered ;7

The ancient hills bowed down: his ways are everlasting.

I beheld the tents of Cushan in affliction: 8 The curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.

Was the displeasure of Jehovah against the rivers? 9

Was thine anger against the rivers ?
Was thy wrath against the sea,
That thou didst ride upon thy horses-thy
chariots of salvation?

Thou hast lifted up thy naked bow [fulfilling]

the oaths to the tribes [even] the word. 10 Thou didst cleave the rivers of the earth. 11 The mountains saw thee-they were in pain: (Psa. xxix. 8.)

The overflowing of waters passed by: 12

They swept like a tempest to scatter me: 20
Their rejoicing (or exultation) was, as it were,
to devour the poor in secret.-
Thou didst tread (or walk) through the sea
with thy horses-

The heap of great (or many) waters.
I heard, and my belly trembled: 21
My lips quivered at the voice:
Rottenness entered into my bones,
And my inward parts did shake
That I might rest in the day of trouble;
When he cometh up to the people, 22 He
will rush upon them (margin, cut them in
pieces).

Although the fig tree shall not blossom, 23
And there be no increase in the vines;
The produce of the olive shall fail,
And the fields shall bring forth no food;
The flock be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd (or beeves) in the stalls,
Yet I will rejoice in Jehovah,

I will exult in the God of my salvation;
Jehovah my Lord is my strength,

And he will set my feet like those of the hind 24 (or gazelle),

And I will tread upon my high places.

NOTES.

1 God came from Teman.-Teman, a city and district in Judea, so called from Teman, grandson of Esau (Gen. xxxvi. 11.) Paran, a mountainous desert between Midian and Egypt: Compare Deut. xxxiii. 2, where we have Seir for Teman; Judges v. 4, where God is represented as marching "out of the field of Edom." The same view occurs Psa.

lxviii. 7, 8. The vulgate reads "ab austro " from the south, in allusion to the geographical position of Teman, southward of Judea. The prophet refers to the glorious appearance of Jehovah when he descended on Mount Sinai.

2 Horns coming out of his hands; Karnaim, rather 66 rays of light issuing from his side," so called from their resemblance to horns; the same Hebrew word answers to both.

Comp. Exod. xxxiv. 29. Yad signifies either a side or hand.

3 There was the hiding of his power.-So Milton: "Yet half his strength he put not forth."

* Before him walked the pestilence.-Perhaps with reference to the plagues of Egypt Exod. v. 3. So speaking of the judgments which disobedient Israel might expect, God says, "they shall be devoured with burning heat and with bitter destruction," Deut. xxxii. 24. The Psalmist uses similar language when describing the omnipotence of God to save him: "There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured." So Nahum i. 5: "The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burnt at his presence. The rendering of the Vulgate is rather extraordinary: "Ante faciem ejus ibit mors, et egredietur diabolus ante pedes ejus." Jerome seems to have had in his eye the Apocalyptic vision of the pale horse and his rider.

5 He stood and measured the earth.-How sublime an idea! The land surveyor, in measuring a field, has to move the chain, and shift his position from place to place. Here, Jehovah needs only to stand and extend his rod, or mark out the earth with a compass. Prov. viii. 27; Isa xl. 12.

6 He beheld and drove asunder the nations. His look was sufficient to fill them with dismay. So, it is said, the Lord looked through the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians. How superior to Cæsar's proud boast, "Veni, vidi, vici!"

7 The everlasting mountains were scattered: in allusion to the commotion produced on Mount Sinai at the giving of the law, Exod. xix. 18. "The whole mount quaked or shook greatly." Compare Psa. lxviii. 8. "Sinai itself was moved, or shaken, at the presence of God." The language of Psa. cxiv. is still bolder: "the mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs." How much greater the commotion at the coming of the great day of wrath, when "every mountain and island shall be removed out of their places."

8 I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction.This seems another name for Midian, a country lying south of Moab, and the passage represents the terror which seized on the surrounding nations, on hearing of the miraculous passage of the Red Sea, and other wonders wrought on behalf of Israel; and we know how the curtains or pavilions of Midian did tremble, when Balak heard of the victories gained by Moses over the Amorites, Num. xxii. 2, 3. The same fact is confirmed by the testimony of Rahab, Josh. ii. 9, 11; and the Song of Moses foretells the same result, Exod. xv. 14, 16.

9 Was the Lord displeased against the rivers?-This alludes to the passage of the Jordan and of the Red Sea; these reservoirs of nature are represented as greatly agitated from some mysterious cause, while the great Creator rode through the waters in his triumphal car. Virgil represents the sea as calmed by the presence of Neptune, as he rode along in his marine chariot:

"Temperat æquor, Atque rotis summas levibus perlabitur undas.

The Psalmist alludes to this commotion, Psa. cxiv. 5: "What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest?" etc.

10 The 9th verse is very obscure and abrupt, and I am not sure that any translator has hit on its true meaning. The words are Erya theor Kashteka, shebuoth_mattoth, omer." The common version reads, "Thy bow was made quite naked according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word." In this view, God's word is compared to a bow, which he is represented as drawing out of its case or sheath, ready to shoot against the enemies of Israel, in pursuance of the oaths he had sworn to the twelve tribes. And no doubt the word of God may be compared to a bow, as its denunciations are likened to arrows, Psa. xlv. 5; Rev. vi. 4; but the use of so many supplements seems to show that our translators were not very sure that they had expressed the true sense of the words. We read of God having confirmed his promise to Abraham with an oath, and the promise was afterwards ratified to Isaac and Jacob; but "the oaths of the tribes" is an unusual expression, and there is no word for "according to," nor is it "thy word," but simply the word. The Seventy translate the passage, "Thou didst surely stretch or bend thy bow against the sceptres, (q. d. of the Canaanitish kings), and insert the supplement for Jehovah before omer, translating this term as a verb, "saith the Lord." The Vulgate reads," Suscitans suscitabis arcum tuum-juramenta tribus quæ locutus es: Thou wilt surely raise thy bow-the oaths which thou hast spoken to the tribes." Parkhurst gives a different turn to the expression: "Thou hast lifted up thy bow naked, commanding abundant arrows (or lightnings)," understanding the word omer as a verb in the present participle, and the word shebuoth as denoting fulness or sufficiency. So Psa. xviii. 14: "He sent out his arrows and scattered them, and he shot out lightnings and discomfited them." Compare Psa. cxlviii. 8; cxlvii. 15, 18; but it may be questioned whether mattoth ever signifies shafts or arrows; its proper signification is a staff-a sceptre, and by synecdoche, a bribe-so that, on the whole, the common version may be considered as giving the spirit, if not the most literal sense of the words.

11 Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.So our translation reads the words, and it is true the great Creator has made the rivers to run in their appointed channels, which may be said to cleave or cut through the earth. Psa. civ. 10: "He sendeth the springs into the valleys which run among the hills." Pool applies it to the striking of the rock in Horeb, when the waters gushed out; but it is more natural to refer the expression to the dividing of the Jordan, when the Israelites passed through as on dry land. Compare 2 Kings ii. 8, 14.

12 The overflowing of the waters passed by.— So in relating the miraculous passage of the river (which overflowed all its banks at the time) we are told that the waters which came down from above, stood and rose up upon a heap, and those that came down towards the sea of the plain (or Dead Sea) failed and were cut off, or passed by.

13 The deep uttered his voice.-It is probable

that, both at the Red Sea and at the Jordan, the stopping of the waters in their natural course would be accompanied with the noise of a great rushing, while "the deep," by a lively figure, might be said to "lift up its hands," as in terror or admiration, when the waves were arrested by the hand of God, and reared up their heads like a liquid wall on either side, till the ransomed of the Lord had passed over. Compare Psa. xciii. 3, 4.

14 The sun and moon stood still.-An obvious allusion to the supernatural prolongation of the day, at the command of Joshua, when he said, in the sight of all Israel, "Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and thou moon in the valley of Aijalon."

15 At the light of thine arrows, they went, or, as it is in the margin, "Thine arrows walked in the light, thy glittering spears in the brightness." This may allude to the extraordinary storm which occurred on the same memorable occasion. We are told that "the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them (probably accompanied with lightning), and they died; there were more that died of the hailstones, than the Israelites slew with the sword." Thus he thrashed the heathen in anger.

16 Thou wentest forth for salvation with thine Anointed.-This name may be applied to Moses or Joshua, as consecrated to be the leaders of the Hebrews, or to the people collectively, who are elsewhere called a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation (Exod. xix. 6) and might therefore be styled the anointed of the Lord: but there may be a further and higher reference to that spiritual deliverance which is effected for the true Israel of God by the great Messiah, of which the conquest of Canaan by Joshua was only a type or shadow. The translation of the Seventy is remarkable: "Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, to save thy Christ."

17 Thou didst wound the head out of the house of the wicked.-Bishop Newcombe applies this to the destruction of the first-born in Egypt. Compare Psa. lxxviii. 51; but may it not refer to the submersion of Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea, when God broke the head of the Egyptian dragon in the waters? Compare Psa. xviii. 15.

18 By discovering the foundation; that is, uncovering. Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered. This sense of the word "discover" is now obsolete. It occurs again Psa. xxix. 9: "The voice of the Lord discovereth (bares or strips) the forests." The Seventy translate the words, "Thou didst raise up those that were bound to the neck," reading yesor instead of yesod, and referring to the situation of Israel, as bound with the chains of slavery in Egypt.

19 Thou didst strike through with his staves or rods. This alludes to the slaughter of the kings of Canaan. These were so many petty chiefs, whose power was limited to a single city, with its suburbs or villages. In Josh. xii. we have a list of thirty-one of these kings or heads of towns slain in the wars of Joshua.

20 They came out as a whirlwind―yisaruliterally," they were tempestuous." So we read (Josh. xi. 4), that the Canaanitish kings, on being informed of Joshua's victories, com

bined their forces, and "went out with all their hosts, as the sand upon the sea shore," as if they would swallow up Israel, like a hurricane sweeping all before it-not doubting that by coming suddenly or secretly upon them, they would obtain an easy triumph over the poor Hebrews, wearied and dispirited by their long wanderings in the wilderness.

21 When I heard, my belly trembled.-Similar was the effect produced on the Hebrews when they heard the voice of God from Mount Sinai: "All the people that was in the camp trembled," and so terrible was the sight, that even Moses said, "I exceedingly fear and quake." So, when the angel appeared to Daniel, he says, "My comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength;" and such shall be the consternation of the impenitent, when the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout. Rev. vi. 15-17.

22 When he cometh up to the people.-The common version refers these words to the judgments of God upon the enemies of Israel; the Seventy apply them to the prophet himself, as explanatory of the source of his rest: "I will rest in the day of trouble by going up to the people of our sojourning," reading jegurennu instead of jegudennu.

23 Though the fig tree shall not blossom.— This is justly considered as one of the most poetical and beautiful passages in Scripture, or indeed in any language. It exhibits the triumph of faith, and explains what the prophet means when he speaks of "resting in the day of trouble." He anticipates the desolation of the land by the Chaldean invasion; he sees all the usual springs of human happiness dried up; he imagines himself stripped of every earthly possession; but, having the Almighty still upon his side, he can

calmly survey the wreck of all his comforts, and exult in the thought of having the God of his salvation for his shield and portion. Such was the spirit of Job, when he saw himself plunged from a state of affluence and honour into the lowest depths of poverty and shame: " Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." Such were the feelings of the believing Hebrews, when they took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing that they had in heaven a better and enduring portion.

24 He maketh my feet like the hind's; not only as swift as the stag's, but as nimble to climb the mountain height, and as able to overcome difficulties as is the wild goat to stand firmly on the rocky crag. Compare xxxiii. 29. We have frequent allusions to the swiftness of the stag or doe, in other parts of Scripture (Psa. xviii. 33; Sam. ii. 18); and the spouse in the song thus prays for the speedy return of her lord: "Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart on the mountain of spices." The sentiment is well expressed in the paraphrase,

"He to my tardy feet shall lend The swiftness of the roe,

Till, raised on high, I safely dwell Beyond the reach of woe."

On the whole, there never was a time when the prayer of Habakkuk was more applicable than the present, whether we consider the low state of religion at home, or the judgments inflicted on the land by the war raging abroad: "O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years; in the midst of the years make known-in wrath remember mercy!"

W. L.

THE American Biblical Repository for July presents an article of great ability and interest on the subject of Millenarianism. The Author, Professor Sanborn, of Dartmouth College, shows, we think, with irresistible force, that the Millenarian doctrine, tested by the Scriptures, is, in its principles, doubtful and uncertain, and in its details impossible; that, as tested by history, it is in its infancy an error, in its maturity a heresy; that, as tested by reason, it is absurd; that, as tested by the universal belief of the Church, it is another gospel; and that, as tested

VOL. XII.

by its merits, it is "evil only, and that continually."

These propositions, it will be seen, make short work of the system. Any one of them, fairly established, is sufficient for its overthrow. The closing section is what may be termed the practical part of the dissertation; and that we shall set before our readers, since it is peculiarly adapted. to meet the wants of the time, and to furnish an antidote to certain popular poisons now in circulation amongst ourselves.

The best authorities assure us that 2 M

it was attended, in the early ages of the Church, with disorder and fanaticism. On this point, testimony has been already adduced. Whenever it has been agitated in later times, it has always borne the same bitter fruit. It was never known to be productive of any good. It was a prevailing belief in the middle ages that the thousandth year from the Nativity would usher in the end of the world. As the hour approached, signs and wonders were multiplied. Miracles abounded. On the heavens above were written tokens of coming wrath. The sun shone with a sickly hue. The moon refused to give her light. Strange voices were heard proclaiming "woe" to the nations. Apparitions and visions disturbed all classes. The monk at his vigils, the prisoner in his dungeon, and the serf at his task, all saw omens of approaching ruin. The devil walked in open day. Wizards and witches, prophets and magicians, were multiplied. Terrible calamities fell on men and nations. Wars and rumours of wars disturbed all classes. Misfortunes thickened. The very elements seemed to sympathise with the fevered state of the public mind. The fruits of the earth were blasted. Pestilence and famine stalked through the lands. Terror drove the multitudes to fasts, vi

The

gils, and prayers. The roads were thronged with pilgrims. The churches were crowded to suffocation. victims of disease and hunger died in the attitude of worship. The common feeling was, It is better to fall into the hands of God than to await his judgments. The rich bequeathed their wealth to the church, introducing their bequests with the solemn declaration : "The end of the world draweth nigh." Every class of society was smitten with terror, and trembled in agonizing apprehension of coming woes.

But

the fatal day came, and passed, and the earth still rolled on as before. "The seed of the doctrine of gross Chiliasm has always remained in the Christian Church. It has shown itself in various forms, and been taught in a more or less visionary manner. At the time of the Reformation, this belief was revived and widely spead by the enthusiastic Anabaptists, Thomas Münzer and his associates. They wished to establish this kingdom of Christ with fire and sword, and to put an end to all earthly power. Hence

Luther and Melancthon set themselves against this doctrine with great earnestness." Calvin, too, speaking of the Millenarians, says, "Their fiction is too puerile to require or deserve refutation." The Fifth-monarchy men in Cromwell's time held the same notions. They believed in no king but Jesus, and proclaimed his immediate coming to judge the world. They set at defiance all law, and the sword devoured them. The followers of Edward Irving gave great celebrity to their pre-millennial views in England about thirty years ago. They owed their success to the genius and eloquence of their leader. All the miracles of the Apostolic age were revived; and they succeeded so well in speaking with tongues that they almost deceived the very elect. Good men looked on in wonder, and doubted whereunto the thing would grow. But the light was a mere ignis fatuus, and, when left to itself, it expired. More recently, an illiterate farmer in Vermont studied the " sacred arithmetic," and announced the end of the world in 1843. Multitudes were alarmed by the apparent accuracy of his computations. Churches were divided, families were broken up, and insane asylums were filled with lunatics. This moral epidemic did not cease when the predicted day had passed. The deluded followers of Miller still renew the date, and disturb the peace of the community with their pestilent heresy. They are denounced as fanatics and impostors by men who commend the works of Dr. Cumming as containing valuable religious instruction. Dr. Cumming uses the same data, and bases his calculations on the same symbols and numbers employed by Miller. only difference between them is, that Dr. Cumming places the date of the coming of Christ a little later than his predecessor did. They are both of the same school; they preach the same doctrines, and are obnoxious to the same charge of trifling with the dearest interests of men. Dr. Cumming not only predicts terrible judgments upon the nations, but affirms that present commotions are "the beginning of the end." "The stone cut out without hands" is now rolling. Many European nations have already felt the shock, and have reeled under it as from the rocking of an earthquake. * Knapp's Theology, Vol. ii., p. 636.

The