To which glorious inheritance may God, of his infinite mercy, be pleased to bring us all, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

SKETCHES OF THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL.
BY THE REV. GEORGE MUIRHEAD, D. D.,
Minister of Cramond.
No. VI.

PSALM 1xxviii. 54-72.

III. THE third period of the history of Israel includes the time from their establishment in the promised land until their being led captive to Babylon. In the portion of Scripture above referred to, there is contained a specimen of some of the remarkable occurrences of this long period. There was at times a revival of the Lord's work among them. But the general character of this period was that of forgetfulness of God, abuse of his mercies, and a proneness to turn aside into heathen idolatry. When the Lord visited them with chastisement for their transgressions, they repented, and cried unto the Lord for deliverance. And the Lord heard them, and graciously interposed; but soon they forgot his mercies, and, by their backslidings and provocations, again brought down upon themselves the judgments of God. Thus it is recorded of them in Psalm cvi. "Many times did he deliver them; but they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity. Nevertheless he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry and he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies. He made them also to be pitied of all those who carried them captive.

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During this period, however, as during the two preceding periods, the great ends, for which the nation of Israel was taken out from among the nations, were answered. The knowledge of the one true and living God, and the worship due to him, were preserved in Israel, when all the other nations had corrupted their ways, and had turned aside from the worship of the true God to the service of vain idols. The land of Israel was the only lucid spot, when darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness the people. And doubtless not a few of the other nations, from residing among them, or having occasional intercourse with them, derived advantage from the light of divine truth that shone in Israel. They were thus brought to know, that God was the Lord, and that among all the gods of the nations, there were none like to the mighty God of Jacob. And in the arrangements of God's providence towards the people of Israel, there was represented a type of the dispensations of God's providence towards the spiritual Israel, his elect Church gathered out of all nations. Among them, too, during this period, were deposited, and carefully preserved, the lively oracles of God. And by means of the prophecies and types contained in them, there were held forth to them continually intimations of the coming of the Saviour; and thus preparation was made for his appearance upon earth in the fulness of time.

But it may be useful to notice more particularly some of the remarkable dispensations belonging to this long period, that we may know what instruction we may learn from this portion of their history; for it has been recorded for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

The time immediately after their establishment in the promised land, and during all the time of Joshua, and during the time of the elders who survived Joshua, and who had seen all the wonderful works of the Lord, in bringing them into the land, and subduing all their

enemies, and enriching them with their spoils, appears to have been a time of great favour to the Israelites, wherein they were more stedfast to God's covenant, more careful to abstain from idolatry, and manifesting greater thankfulness to God for his mercies than was generally the case in other periods of their history. And this was according to what the Lord had foretold respecting that generation. For when the people of Israel, discouraged by what the spies who were sent to search the land, had reported, that there were giants in the land, and cities strongly fortified, and walled up to heaven, refused to go into the land, and preferred returning into Egypt, and murmured against God, for bringing them into the wilderness, where their children would become a prey; God declared to them, in anger, that they should not enter into the good land which they despised; but that their children, who, they said, would become a prey, should enter therein. They were accordingly taken under God's special care; they survived all the toils, fatigues, and dangers of the wilderness; and, under the conduct of Joshua, the captain of the Lord's hosts, they obtained possession of the promised land. And, from what is recorded of them in the book of Joshua, they appear to have been very attentive to his instructions, and to have exercised a firm reliance on the promises of God's Word, and to have faithfully kept his statutes and commandments. As a testimony of God's favour to them, we are told, that the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he sware to give unto their fathers, and they possessed it, and dwelt there. And the Lord gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware to their fathers; and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them. The Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. There failed not any good thing, which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel: all came to pass.

Their zeal for the glory of God, and for the preserving of the purity of his worship, was manifested in a striking manner, by an occurrence that took place, after the armed men of the two tribes and a-half, who had assisted their brethren in subduing their enemies, had left them to return to their own possessions, on the other side of Jordan. The ten tribes of Israel having learned that their brethren of the two tribes and a-half had built an altar over against Jordan, on the border of their possessions, were afraid that it was erected for idolatrous worship, and resolved at once, with one accord, to take up arms, to avenge so daring an act of rebellion against the Lord. But, before coming to an open rupture with their brethren, they sent an honourable deputation, consisting of the son of the high priest and ten princes of their tribes, to remonstrate with them concerning the atrocious nature of the sin of idolatry, and to warn them of the wrath that would come upon them from the Lord, in consequence of their being chargeable with so aggravated a transgression. It turned out, however, that they were mistaken as to the purpose for which the altar in question had been erected. Their brethren had not intended to forsake the worship of the God of their fathers: but the building was erected for an opposite purpose, to be a witness to the generations to come, that though separated from their brethren by the Jordan, they had still part with them in the worship of the same one living and true God. Thus the matter was amicably adjusted, and both parties united in giving thanks to God, that they had been prevented from rashly engaging in a quarrel, without previously inquiring into all the circumstances of the case. The whole history of this affair bears a decided testimony to this, that the whole congregation of Israel were, at that time, distinguished by a commendable zeal for the purity of the worship of God, and by a dread of offend ing him, by taking part in the idolatrous worship of the other nations.

The same thing is made manifest, from that solemn | and affecting interview which Joshua had with the people of Israel shortly before his death. After putting them in mind of all that the Lord had done for them, and exhorting them to fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and truth, and to put away the gods which their fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt, and to serve the Lord, he makes this forcible appeal to them, "If it seem evil to you to serve the Lord, choose ye this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods that your fathers served, that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." In answer to this appeal, the people declared, with one accord, "God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods. For the Lord our God, he it is that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed: and the Lord drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites that dwelt in the land; therefore will we also serve the Lord, for he is our God." This they repeatedly declared to Joshua. And Joshua made a covenant with them that day, and set up a large stone, and said, "Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which he spake unto us; it shall be a witness to you, lest ye deny the Lord." And that the people of Israel, in general, acted sincerely on this solemn occasion, is testified by the historian, when it is recorded, "Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, and who had known all the works of the Lord that he had done for Israel." It is to this generation, too, that there is reference made in Jeremiah, when it is said, "I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Israel was holiness to the Lord, the first-fruits of his increase." Such a description does not apply to those who were grown up, when they came out of Egypt; for they were generally a stiff-necked generation, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness. It must refer to the young generation among them, who, under Joshua, came into the possession of the promised land.

The consideration of this first portion of the third period of the history of Israel, including the days of Joshua, and of the elders who survived him, may suggest to us the following instructions :

1. We are called to contemplate the faithfulness of God in fulfilling his promises to his people. God promised to Joshua and the people of Israel that he would give them possession of the land of Canaan, and that he would subdue all their enemies, and that he would enrich them with their spoils. They believed the promises of God; they went forth relying on God's faithfulness to fulfil them. And they found that, according to their faith, so it was to them; and that not one thing of all that God promised failed of being accomplished. What an encouragement is thus held forth to us to place unshaken confidence in God's unchangeable faithfulness! Did we only believe what God hath promised us in Christ, we should, in like manner, experience the Lord's faithfulness, and that in Christ all his promises are yea and amen for ever. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is staid upon thee, because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever; for with the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength."

2. In this rest from the assaults of all their enemies, which the people of Israel enjoyed for a short time, under Joshua, there was a type of another rest which the same people of Israel shall enjoy in the same

GENERAL ASSEMBLY'S SCHOOL AT CALCUTTA; SIXTH ANNUAL EXAMINATION. THE examination, which had as usual excited a great deal of interest, attracted a larger and more respectable concourse of visitors than I remember to have observed on any former occasion. It was conducted by Messrs Mackay and Ewart, and by the Reverend Mr Charles, senior chaplain of St. Andrew's Church, who, as moderator of the presbytery of Calcutta, presided on the occasion.

The range of studies in which the pupils were declared capable of being examined, was more than usual varied and extensive; and it is enough to say, that the manner in which they acquitted themselves, throughout the prolonged and sifting process of examination to which they were subjected, was worthy of the brilliant appearances made by them in former years; and fully justified the many high encomiums which have been pronounced on the Assembly's school, and the system of tuition pursued in it. It is due to all parties to say, that there was not the slightest appearance of previous concert or preparation; every thing was conducted with the greatest fairness and impartiality; and the increase of reputation achieved has been fairly won.

The examination of the elementary classes, which was soon got through, commenced a little after nine o'clock; and after them two classes of the seminary at Takee, which is carried on under the superintendence of the Assembly's Missionaries, though supported chiefly by the Roy Chowdry Baboos, were called in succession.

The third class of the Assembly's school was next brought forward, and with this the most interesting part of the examination commenced. This is the first class of such high standing, that has been trained wholly in the school, and never has attended any other; and certainly it is only justice to say, that the progress already made by the lads who compose it, places in the clearest light the excellence of the system under which they have been taught; and that, if they advance at a proportionate rate during the remaining years of their course of study, they will in all likelihood rise to higher attainments than have yet been reached by any seminary in India. The taste, accuracy, and comparative freedom from peculiarity of accent, with which they read a portion of Marshman's Brief Survey, selected by Miss Eden, have, I am sure, been rarely equalled in this country; and the ease and correctness, with which they gave in good English the meaning of the words that occurred

From the Appendix to the Report of the General Assembly's Committee for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts.

in it, excited the astonishment and called for the applause of all around me. I will just add, that the manner in which, in answer to Mr Ewart's questions, they traced the course of the great Gulph stream on the terrestrial globe, and accounted for the change of its direction at different places, was one of the most interesting exhibitions of the kind I ever experienced.

The first and second classes were next examined in succession; and though there was not any thing like time to do justice to their attainments in general knowledge and in the evidences and theory of Christianity, the readiness, accuracy, command of English expression, intelligence and reach of thought which they displayed on these subjects, were truly astonishing, and far exceeded what, only a few years ago, it would have been deemed Quixotic to predict as attainable. The manner, if I may descend to particulars, in which the lads in the highest class stood a very severe examination on the whole of Mylne's excellent treatise on astronomy, in which both Mr Mackay and Mr Charles took part, was acknowledged on all sides, to be a most masterly exhibition, and such as very few even of the well educated Europeans present could have approached.

In short, the whole scene was in the highest degree interesting; a splendid proof of success during the past, and full of promise for the future; and must have been as gratifying to the feelings, as it was creditable to the talents and exertions of the faithful and devoted persons who represent the General Assembly's Mission on this side of India.

CHRISTIAN TREASURY. Choice sayings. While the chosen servants of God speak his words to the faint heart, the Lord putteth forth a power to enable them to do all that wherefore they are spoken. While the soul is sore troubled, there is danger in delay. A bruised spirit is like a bone out of joint; the longer it be let alone, the parlier it is set. With one cross, God can work two cures: first, a correction for bypast corruption, and after, a direction for time to come.-Hath not God made death like a chariot to wearied man, to carry him to his everlasting rest?-If a lord shall give to one of his servants some cottage-house of clay, and some little piece of ground for colewort or cabbage, to live upon, saying, this will I give thee for thy lifetime. But, if afterwards, this lord should say, fetch me my good servant out of his clattie cottage, and bring him to my palace, that he may eat at mine own table for ever.

Tell me,

if by the change, that servant hath lost? Would that servant, think you, say, ay lord, I will not come to thy table, for thou hast promised me this cottage-house for my lifetime. What lord in the land was ever troubled with such an answer? Who, for all that he can beg on earth, desires to live out of heaven for one hour? God is so bound up unto mercy, that while he scourgeth sinners for their faults, he is said to bring to pass his strange work and strange act.-There is both gall and guile in earthly mindedness.-Satan can forge temptations, like glass, of whatever colour he pleaseth, through which things seem to be of the colour of his temptations.-God was more offended at Cain for despairing of his mercy, than for killing his brother. Judas kindled more of God's wrath for the desperate hanging of himself, than for the betraying of his Lord that was hanged by his treason. He who offered his mouth to receive a kiss from that traitor, had never refused him mercy, if he had sought it with a repenting heart.-ZACHARY BOYD. (Last Battle of the Soul.)

Now is the Door of Mercy open.-How soon may the wrath of God, which is both threatened and justly merited, seize upon the unconverted! How suddenly may it destroy them beyond all possibility of remedy! God is angry with the wicked every day, and as they

grow more wicked, God becomes more angry. If they turn not, God hath whet his sword, he hath bent his bow, and made it ready. To signify the patience of God, and his unwillingness to destroy, the slaughtering weapons are represented as lying by him unprepared. His sword is not whetted his bow is unbent; but if sinners refuse to turn, the sword, yes, the sword and the bow too, may quickly be made ready; and God may come to that peremptory resolution :-(Is. i. 24.) "Ah! I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies." You see, then, that turning is in the highest degree necessary, for you must turn or die. If a city were on fire, and there were but one gate at which there might be an egress, to fly from the fury of the flames, oh! what flocking would there be to that gate. If sinners had but any sense and knowledge, they would turn to God by thousands and by millions, since conversion is the only door through which they may escape the vengeance of eternal fire. Those obstinate wretches that will not turn in time, God will make them burn in hell for evermore.-An Old Author.

The Soul. Our inquiries about the nature of the soul, must be bound over at last to religion, for otherwise they still lie open to many errors. For since the substance of the soul was not deduced from the mass of heaven and earth, but immediately from God, how can the knowledge of the reasonable soul be derived from philosophy? It must be drawn from the same inspiration from whence its substance first flowed.-BACON.

Conversion.-Q, reader, conversion is another kind of work than most are aware of: it is not a small matter to bring an earthly mind to heaven, and to shew man the amiable excellencies of God, till he be taken up with such love to him that never can be quenched; to break the heart for sin, and make him flee for refuge unto Christ, and thankfully embrace him as the life of his soul; to have the very drift and bent of the heart and life changed, so that a man renounces that which he took for his happiness, and places his felicity where he never did before, and lives not to the same end, and pursues not the same design in the world as formerly he did. In a word, he that is in Christ, is a new creature: old things are passed away, behold all things are become new. 2 Cor. v. 17. He has a new understanding, and new will and resolution, new sorrows, and desires, and love, and delight; new thoughts, new speeches, new company, if possible, and new conversation. Sin, that was before a jesting matter with him, is now so odious and terrible to him, that he flees from it as from death. The world, that was so lovely in his eyes, now appears but as vanity and vexation. God, that was before neglected, is now the only happiness of his soul: before he was forgotten, and every lust preferred to him; but he now occupies the heart, and all things must give place to him, and the heart is grieved when he hides his face. Christ, who was wont to be slightly thought of, is now his only hope and refuge, and he lives upon him as his daily bread; he cannot pray without him, nor rejoice without him; nor think, nor speak, nor live without him. Heaven itself, that before was looked upon but as a tolerable reserve which he hoped might serve his turn better than hell, when he could not stay any longer in the world, is now taken for his home, the place of his only hope and rest, where he shall see, and love, and praise that God who has his heart already.-BAXTER.

A Christian's duty.-The first duty of a Christian which must be inviolably kept, is to think of God, in full agreement with the revelation he hath given of himself; to meditate on this with diligence, humility, and prayer, not daring to indulge fallacious reasonings, lest forming an imaginary God, he worship the creature of his own brain.-VENN,