chance." appears that Esau went on purpose to meet Jacob; therefore, wi, and not, is here used. Again: "And he met him on the mountain of God." (Exodus iv. 27.) Here, also, it appears that Aaron ; as it came expressly to meet Moses "And he also goeth to meet is said, thee." (Exodus iv. 14.) And, in a figurative sense, the Psalmist says, Mercy and הסד ואמת נפגשו truth are met together." (Psalm lxxxv. 14.) In various other passages of Scripture we may venture to define these two verbs according to the nice distinction here stated. ברח and נוס denotes t ברח THE principal idea of these verbs is " a removal from a place of danger The shades to a place of safety." which distinguish them are these: a clandestine escape," and expresses the flight at a great distance, with the probability of the party never returning again. But D1 conveys the idea of "running away from immediate danger," and A few exmay be effected openly. amples will suffice to explain this: When Moses fled from Pharaoh, it is said, w ", "And Moses fled," " &c. (Exodus ii. 15.) He fled from Egypt, not to return until he 66 All * כי מתו כל האנשם,heard the men are dead who sought thy life." (Exod. iv. 19.) And, in a figurative sense, we find, by п'1, "And he fled like a shadow." (Job xiv. 2.) This verb is often followed by the possessive, or the pre Flee" ברח לך אל,As : אל according to the position פגע The verb learned author, is composed of two words,, "here," and y, "to touch." The verb w, which he thinks is a compound of w and expresses a meeting by design and purpose;" namely, that the persons thus met had to accomplish a certain object or purpose: And in this sense thou to Laban , to ,מצא it is cognate with the verb find out the object looked for, or searched after." A few examples When "כי יפגשך : will explain this my brother Esau should meet thee." (Gen. xxxii. 17.) By the context it * R. Salomon Pappenheim. בריחה in Rabbinical Hebrew, is In addition to what we have thus stated, it becomes our duty to elucidate some passages of Holy Writ which have led many to entertain the erroneous opinion, that God subjects man to predestination. Such a passage is the one in which the Deity saith to Abraham, "Thou must know, that thy seed shall be strangers in a land which belongeth not to them; and they shall be enslaved, and they shall be maltreated, during four hundred years. But the nation to whom they shall be subjected will I judge." (Gen. xv. 13, 14.) From this prediction, many deduce this argument: "Is it not evident that the Egyptians were predestined by the Deity to oppress the seed of Abraham? Why, then, were they punished? Were they not forced, in accordance with the Divine decree here predicted, to enslave the seed of Abraham?" The answer to this argument is: Suppose we say the Divine decree is, that "of the men to be hereafter born, some are to be observers of the law, and others transgressors; some are to be wicked, and others pious ;"this decree would certainly be accomplished. But it does not thence result, that those evil-doers must necessarily and unavoidably do evil, or that this righteous man must necessarily and unavoidably do what is right. On the contrary, every evildoer becomes such from his own choice Had he preferred to be righteous, it was in his power, and no one prevented him. And the righteous likewise, had he preferred to do evil, was unimpeded in his choice. For the Divine decree was not pronounced against certain individuals only, of whom it might be said, "They are predestined, and must obey what is decreed against them.” It was pronounced against the whole human race generally; every individual of which does, nevertheless, retain the free choice and volition which is one of the constituent principles of his nature and being. According to this definition, every or any individual Egyptian had it in his power not to maltreat or injure the seed of Abraham, if such had been his determination; as no one was peculiarly predestined to be their oppressor. The same answer will also apply to that other passage which is sometimes used as an argument for predestination; namely, Behold, when thou sleepest with thy fathers, this people will arise, and prostitute itself to the worship of the strange gods of the land to which they are coming, and forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them. Then will my anger be kindled against them in that day, and I will abandon them, and I will hide my face from them," &c. (Deut. xxx. 16, 17.) There is no real distinction between what is here said, and these words subjoined : "Whosoever is guilty of idolatry will meet with certain punishment." But should no one be found who commits that offence, the denunciation becomes a nullity, and all the curses unfulfilled. (To be continued.) LONDON :-Printed by James Nichols, 46, Hoxton-Square. I. ON THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS IN THE COUNTENANCE AND BEARING OF NATIONS, ARISING FROM MORAL (Continued from page 293.) CAUSES. WE trust it has been satisfactorily shown, that through the proper administering of the Divine laws, and by their observance of them, the Israelites had, at the time of the death of Solomon, not only attained to a powerful and happy condition among the nations, but that the beneficent and ennobling character of those laws had produced corresponding effects on the bearing. and expression of countenance of the people generally. It is now our melancholy task to treat of that part of the history of our people, in which the laws of man were substituted for those of the Deity-The will of a mortal prince for that of the Governor of the universe; its unfavourable consequences, both on their condition and appearance, may easily be foreseen and imagined. The Israelites were about to learn, by sad experience, that the warning given them, when they asked for a king, emanated from the highest authority; and that the happiness and salvation of future generations were involved in their obstinate adherence to that request. It is evident that Solomon, shortly before his death, had already begun to enact laws of his own, which were directly at variance with the spirit of the Divine laws: For the great wealth derived from the sources already mentioned proving insufficient to support his luxurious establishments, and to meet his inordinate expenditure on objects tending as little to the glory of his God as to the happiness of the people, he appears to have laid on them unbearable burthens, in order to supply the deficiency. The change which at this time was about to take place in the laws, manners, and customs of the Israelites, had been productive of such vital consequences, not only to themselves, but to the whole human race, that we shall be held excused for dwelling here, a little, upon a topic of such absorbing interest. If we examine into the nature of the laws and government of the Hebrews under their judges, (and the kings, until the latter days of Solomon, regulated themselves entirely by them,) we shall discover nothing in ancient or modern history to be compared to them. No people ever possessed more personal liberty, and yet none were ever under such great, but wholesome, restraints. The head of the government was in reality the Sovereign of the universe: and we must call to mind that when constituting the Israelites a nation, He, for the second time since the creation of man, most clearly and impressively gives it to be understood, that a voluntary service was that which alone was acceptable to Him; for we learn that, at Sinai, the people, having been sanctified and brought before him, were asked, in the most solemn manner, whether they were willing to undertake His service. At the moment of conferring upon them the highest favour it is possible for us to imagine, He still makes it known that it will be bestowed only on their expressing a willingness to receive it; He will not impose it upon them. And what a law was there offered them! Whilst probing the innermost recesses of his heart, and exposing every weakness of his nature, we perceive that all its ordinances are for the good of man. is a tender, an affectionate and wise Father, advising and regulating the conduct of his beloved children; in It viting them to lay their disconsolate head, when under afflictions inseparable from this temporary state, upon his paternal breast,-to lean upon his strong arm for support when likely to fall-to make of him their confidential friend as well as ruler. Every thing is given by Him -blessings are poured out without measure; and what does He ask in return? That his children should live and enjoy his benefits by lending a willing ear to his admonitions and advice; the only object of which was their own good. We may inspect as minutely as we please the laws given by the Deity to the Israelites, and we shall find, as might be expected, that they contemplate nothing but the well-being of the whole community,-of the lowest as of the highest. None could draw from them any sanction for sacrificing the national welfare to his own selfish purposes. This is so clearly inculcated in them, that, from the death of Solomon until the destruction of the temple he built, when the nation lost its independence, we find the wicked princes that reigned over Israel and Judah respectively during that period, were anxious about nothing so much as the obliterating, out of the minds of their people, all recollection of the divine laws; for they were so many witnesses against them. They consequently encouraged, and even compelled, the people to bow down to false gods, and to adopt the impure rites and horrid customs which belonged to their worship, in conjunction with that of the true God. They put the Levites to death, and must have taken such special care to destroy every transcript of the law, as well as recollection of its contents, that the greatest exultation was expressed by Josiah the good king of Judah, and the whole nation, on the discovery of the original copy of it; but the greatest consternation soon succeeded their joy on learning its awful denunciations; proving most clearly the success that had attended the impious efforts of the wicked princes to suppress all knowledge of it, for the purpose of substituting their own twill for the laws of God. Immediately after the death of Solomon, the people, with Jeroboam at their head, apply to Rehoboam for some alleviation of the burthens laid upon them by his father. The young prince rejects the advice of his ancient counsellors, and adopts a quite contrary course, recommended by his juvenile courtiers. The people on coming, according to his appointment, at the end of three days, to learn his answer, are roughly told," My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add thereto; my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions." Whereupon ten of the tribes immediately declare themselves absolved from his service, and subsequently make Jeroboam king over them; Judah and Benjamin only now remaining under the government of Rehoboam. From thenceforward the kings governing the ten revolted tribes were denominated, "the kings of Israel," while those over Judah and Benjamin were called, "the kings of Judah." Thus the nation, divided into two separate and hostile kingdoms, became incapable of keeping the nations they had subdued in subjection; and their frequent and bloody contests with each other tended still further to weaken and render them, at length, an easy prey to the enemies that attacked them. Jeroboam, apprehending that his own people, resorting to Jerusalem to keep there the appointed festivals, might thereby be led to place themselves again under the government of Rehoboam, and put himself to death, takes the bold and impious step of raising an insuperable barrier to a reconciliation ever taking place between the now separated bodies of the nation, by causing to be made, and presenting to his people, two calves of gold, 'and telling them, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.' It would not be easy to account for the Israelites immediately falling into the idolatrous worship offered them by Jeroboam, were we not, in some measure, relieved from the difficulty by the recollection, that Solo mon, in his latter days, had done the nation the irreparable injury of weakening their attachment to the pure and sublime religion of their fathers, by his impious and execrable example of erecting altars to false gods, to please his foreign wives. Such an example set by one who was looked upon by his people as possessed of wisdom beyond all men, must have had a most pernicious effect on their minds, and would deservedly render the name of this prince detestable to the descendants of the people whose subsequent unhappy destiny he has most probably been instrumental in producing, by so criminal an act. Jeroboam, likewise, addressed himself to the guilty indolence of mankind, when he put the matter on the footing, that "it was too much trouble for the people to go up to Jerusalem to serve their God." Ungrateful mortals! ye are prone enough to call upon your Maker for protection when in need of it, for blessings to be showered upon you without measure; but when it is the question to evince a sense of your obligations, ye seek a thousand excuses to evade the performance of the slightest of your duties towards Him; and his house of prayer may be desolate and the receptacle for noxious and unclean creatures, for what ye care. The festivals which Jeroboam instituted at the same time in honour of the gods he had erected, were, no doubt, such as ministered to sensuality and impure desires-too apt to cause mankind to give up heaven itself for their disgusting and transient enjoyments. Hence we perceive how the selfish interests of princes induce them often to mislead a whole people. They care not what irreligion or immorality they introduce among them, provided they can securely reign over them; not for the nation's good, but for their own selfish purposes. In no history, as in this of the Jews, has the rise of false religion and the establishing of immoral and cruel rites and customs, been so clearly traced to its true source. It is quite unnecessary for our purpose to go over all the events of this dark period in the annals of our nation, which was not, however, without some gleams of sunshine, and notable instances of more auspicious intervals; proving, beyond contradiction, that their wicked princes were mainly to blame for the derelictions of the people; for, as often as a good prince reigned over them they are found ready to follow rejoicingly the better road in which he led them. The source at which the flame in their breasts had been lit was too pure for it ever to be totally extinguished, and we consequently perceive, that whenever they approached again the sacred fountain, the law, it burst out afresh in all its wonted brilliancy. During this period the evidences crowd upon us to show the purpose for which the Deity had selected the Israelites, and the most anxious care is displayed in consequence, for keeping them to his service, or for inducing them to return when they had swerved from it; but every reproof, remonstrance, and punishment proving unavailing, both with king and people, there really appears to have remained no other means for preventing the Israelites becoming as abandoned in their conduct, and as ignorant of true religion as other nations, than the withdrawing of them, through the interposition of the Deity, from the government of their guilty princes, the principal cause of those disorders. We consequently learn, that in the time of Hoshea, king of Israel, the king of Assyria comes against Samaria, conquers the whole of it, makes the greater part of the inhabitants captives, and distributes them in the cities of the Medes. (2 Kings xvii.) Judah subsequently receives her punishment for her misdeeds; for, in the reign of her prince Zedekiah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, comes against and takes Jerusalem, burns the temple and principal edifices, dismantles the city, and takes all the better classes of inhabitants captives to Babylon and its provinces. We have intentionally thus briefly adverted to the terrible catastrophe which befel our nation at that distressing period, to avoid harrowing the feelings of our readers with details of the horrors of the siege. |