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seeking, but in vain, the happiness of created beings; the latter too successfully opposing his benign intentions; delighting in human degradation and misery, and scattering around, as it were for his sport and satisfaction, the arrows of death and the firebrands of destruction. From the Book of Nature we must either conclude this, or else that the whole was the mere effect of chance, and that it exists altogether without order, object, design, or government. How truly thankful, then, ought we to be, who are not left, to this obscure and mysterious Book of Nature, in order to guide us through the mazy paths of perplexity and darkness; but, by the aid of the volume of Revelation, are enabled to trace the whole-to understand the mighty scheme-to see the plans of providence in their commencement-to trace them in their progress and to perceive their ultimate accomplishment and destination. But in speaking thus figuratively of the volume of Revelation, as opposed to the volume of Nature, let it not be imagined that we fall into the common error of supposing that the Bible is, what it is generally termed, the word of God;" that is, a book divinely inspired, and written, as it were, by the hand of God: on the contrary, it is evident that the volume now called the Bible was written without the aid of inspiration, by various men, at various times, and under the several different forms of history, poetry, prophecy, biography, letters, &c. Still, although not itself a Revelation, yet it contains a history of the successive Revelations which God has made to man; and, consequently, it is with that view that we now introduce the book. It contains, at once, the most enlightened and the most authentic views of the Divine Government, and of the designs and intentions of the Deity, throughout the whole. In this book, then, we learn that every thing is under his divine superintendence and direction; that what we call good and evil are only and equally his instruments to accomplish his wise and gracious purposes; that all which now, to our limited understanding, appears dark and mysterious, will, in the end, be made clear and intelligible; and that every event, however the mode of its operation may elude our present inquiry, is intended to promote, and will ultimately accomplish, the collective happiness of the whole human race. In this book the past and the present state of things, in the moral world, are represented as "the mystery of God"-it is, perhaps, beyond our finite comprehension; but we are also assured that it shall not always remain thus, but that "the mystery

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"of God" shall be finished. I was envious" (says the psalmist) "at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the "wicked: when I sought to know this, it was too painful for me; until I went into the sanctuary of God then understood "I their end." (Ps. 73.)

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The powers, which have tyrannized over mankind, are, in the scriptures, uniformly described under the figure of Beasts: -beasts of prey, which shall ultimately be destroyed. The time, we are told, shall come when "the thrones shall be cast "down, and the dominion, and the greatness of the dominion, "under the whole heaven, shall be given to the saints of the "Most High;"-not to the hypocritical and canting saints of the present day; but to the truly wise, virtuous, and good-when "he that killeth with the sword, shall be killed by the sword; he that leadeth into captivity, shall go into сар"tivity;" and this righteous retribution is called "the faith and patience of the saints." To the present dark days of misery and oppression, shall succeed, we are assured, a period of joy, of peace, and righteous government; a new order of things, under which men "shall beat their swords into plough"shares, and their spears into pruning hooks, and shall learn war no more; when every man shall sit down under his own vine, and his own fig tree, and none shall make him afraid." Why then all the cant, which we daily hear, of loyalty to legitimate monarchs, and devotion to established governments, when, according to those sacred writings-which the defenders of these men and their institutions, themselves profess to call the revealed word of God-he has doomed their ultimate destruction; and when they are represented in that book, under the semblance of wild and ravenous beasts, which, although endured by man, and tolerated by God, whilst the earth is in a savage and uncultivated state, yet have always, in the natural world, as the scriptures teach us to expect they will in the moral world, retreated and fled before the progress of civilization, knowledge, and true wisdom? Directed by this light, and supported by these hopes, the Christian is consoled in trouble-comforted in adversity-and enabled to look through those dark clouds, impenetrable to every other eye, which seem to cast trouble and uncertainty around. Lifting up his heart in love, admiration, and gratitude, to his heavenly Father, he is prepared to exclaim, with the poet,

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From seeming evil still educing good

And better thence again, and better still,
In infinite progression."

The Bible, we have said, is a history of the Divine Government—of the dealings of God with his creature man; by means of the revelations therein described, which he has, at various times, made to him, he lifts up, as it were, the curtain, and gives us some insight into the vast machinery which would otherwise be impervious to our view. From what we there learn of his government, we may infer how he will act, with what views, and upon what principles, upon similar occasions, even in our own times. When Nebuchadnezzar was stricken with madness, we are told, in the scriptures, that it was as a punishment from God for his impiety and pride. When a king not a hundred years since, was stricken with a similar calamity, it was imputed, by the professors of religion, to natural causes; and the subject of it was almost idolized for his misfortune, and represented as the fit object of the deepest sympathy of his people. But if that king had, in fact, been a shedder of human blood-if he had proved himself an inveterate enemy to liberty, and bitterly hostile to the improvement and happiness of man-if he had joined himself with the oppressor, and used all his power to support what God had threatened to destroy-should we not, in such a case, from the example of scripture, be justified in pronouncing this, as in the case of Nebuchadnezzar, to be a visitation, arising from the righteous judgment of God? To give another instance:-Cyrus is declared to have been raised up by the Almighty, as an instrument to accomplish his purposes; whilst Napoleon was considered as a tyrant of his own creation, instead of being regarded as an instrument to fulfil the designs of Deity. But if we have reason to believe, as a study of the scriptures would lead us to do, that it is the same God who directs and governs all things now, as he did then, we must conclude that all these events stand precisely on the same ground, and admit of a similar interpretation.

To proceed further, we collect, from the scriptures, that the Deity, for the accomplishment of his wise purposes, and particularly in order to punish other guilty nations, raises some nations to great power, and bestows upon them important and distinguishing privileges; but that, when these have accomplished his purposes, and having become vain and lifted up, abuse their power and privileges, he, as suddenly, casts them down-exalting others to punish them in

their turn, and to shew their utter insignificence. This was his course in days of old; and, his government being still the same, may we not reasonably, and even necessarily, infer that he continues to direct the moral government of the world upon precisely the same principles, in the present day? That every nation, therefore, which has abused its privileges and its power, in enslaving others, will become subject to the same righteous retribution; and, in its turn, be enslaved, and finally destroyed from the face of the earth? If this be the just inference, what, it may be asked, are we to expect will be the fate of our own country-blest as we have been, above all the nations of the earth, with light, with liberty, and prosperity :—whilst it is a fact, too palpable to be denied, that we have corrupted, oppressed, and enslaved every other people, over whom we have gained dominion-—and, when it is equally a fact, that, for the last quarter of a century, we have been openly leagued with despots, civil and ecclesiastical, in order to destroy the rising liberties of mankind; to preserve or restore the despotism of kings and priests; to re-establish the holy inquisition; and above all, to maintain the power of antichrist, of the city set upon seven hills, against which, also, and equally against all those who openly or covertly espouse her cause, the Deity has, unequivocally, denounced punishment and destruction-if we, as a nation, have done these things, making ourselves parties, and active parties too, with the corrupters and oppressors of mankind, what excuse have we? Or what plea can we put in, that we should escape the righteous judgment of God-or that we should not rather expect even a more signal and dreadful retribution in our turn? The least that we could look for being that we should be enslaved and manacled with those same chains which we have so eagerly endeavoured to cast around, and to rivet on others. Much do we fear, indeed, that this must be eventually our lot; and that, too late, we shall find, with Macbeth, that

"In these cases

We still have judgment here. That we but teach
Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return
To plague the inventor. Even-handed Justice
Commends the ingredients of our poisoned chalice,
To our own lips."

May our fears prove groundless! May our beloved country, before it be too late, see its error; and, like Nineveh of old, repent in sackcloth and ashes! May it, like that wicked and devoted city," cry mightily unto God

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and turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence "that is on their heads; for who can tell but that God will "turn from his fierce anger, and ye perish not?" If, fellowcountrymen! ye thus act, the same God, who, in his mercy, spared Nineveh, may also spare you; but, if ye persist in the iniquity of your doings, then slavery and destruction, as a righteous retribution, must inevitably be your lot!

We have been thus diffuse and general in our preliminary remarks, because this Review is not intended to record merely the passing events of the day, which any one may gather from the daily newspapers-nor yet written with a view merely to the present times: our objects being to mark the signs of the times, in order to enable the Christian properly to estimate the period in which he lives; to point out the tendency of different events, as elucidating the plans of the Divine Government, in the destruction of all antichristian power; and in preparing for the approach of that glorious kingdom of peace and righteousness, which God has promised to set up, in the latter days, upon the vast and mighty ruins of all those beast-like powers, that have so long ruled over, and oppressed, the children of men. If we, at this time, cast our eyes over Europe, the prospect is truly appalling: society seems reverting back to the darkness of the middle ages, when kings and priests were every thing, and the people nothing. Two questions naturally arise from this survey. Is man for ever destined to be the sport and prey of perjured kings and bloodthirsty, avaricious priests? Are there no means by which we can pierce through the dark clouds of ignorance, oppression, and cruelty-by which the world is now surrounded? It is to the Bible alone that we can look for an explanation of these difficulties; the prophetic parts of that volume foretell all the events of striking importance, which are to take place in the world, previous to the establishment of the kingdom of the Messiah. We know, indeed, that much doubt has been thrown on this hypothesis, by the many mistaken views which the interpreters of prophecy have taken on the subject; but this, we feel, ought not to discourage future inquiries, which, if judiciously conducted may be important in themselves, and valuable in their application. A respected friend of ours, who has paid considerable attention to the subject of prophecy, has furnished us with some observations, which, whilst not absolutely adopting them as our own, we shall insert, because they appear to us to be both

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