He coucheth, he layeth himself down, as a lion,
As a mighty lion who shall rouse him up?

Never will the sceptre cease from Judah,
Never the staff of command fail from his march,
Until there come-,

And nations cheerfully submit to him.

Then bindeth he his foal to the vine,
To the choice branches his ass's colt;
And washeth his garments in wine,
His vesture in the blood of grapes.
His eyes glow with wine,

His teeth shine with milk.

Would you read the finest commentary on the words, read Isaiah. He was himself of Judah, a regal prophet. He represents his Messiah, the son of David, in all the majesty of his ancestor and progenitor, as a king, as a lion, as a conqueror, as a peaceful prince, as triumphant in red apparel "like the gar ments of him that treadeth the wine-press," yet with the gentle speech of pure innocence and mildness. The whole manner of Isaiah lies as it were in these images.-A royal lion in prophecy and language, David, the first and most powerful king out of Judah was so in exploits: the Messiah, as the greatest son of Judah, is so here as the Ideal.

But I am dwelling almost too long on this first part of the illustration of Jacob's blessing from the characters of his sons : I come to the second reflection which I have to add,-how wholly the spirit of the dying father hovers over the land of promise, after which even his bones are languishing. There, far off, he builds habitations for his sons, and bestows on them what each of their hearts would desire :--on Judah a land full of wine and milk, and the sceptre among his brethren; on Zebulon the sea-coast, a secure haven for shipping and commerce: Issachar's is a quiet rural prospect; Dan, as his name imports, is to judge his people; and Gad to pursue his foes. So it is with the rest. We do not find that each prediction was perfectly fulfilled, because the country was not occupied and divided exactly according to the idea of Jacob and Moses in general, however, it is undeniable, that Israel took possession of its inheritance in the land of promise according to the model of this prophetical arrangement. Where such coincidence fails to appear, we must not be seeking for mysteries, but acknowledge that we are not acquainted in every little particular with the Hebrew history. The case is here as with that piece of land in the coun

try of the Amorites, which Jacob especially assigns to Josephi, (Genes. xlviii. 22.) or as it is with the father of Melchisedec.* They are only in this sense mysteries, that we know nothing about them; that among the fragments of these primitive times no historical account of them has been transmitted. We have only to thank God for what we possess ; and the best thanks is a good understanding of it. More in my next of the bless-: ing of Moses, the song of Deborah, and other songs. Farewell.

ON REVIVALS OF RELIGION.

WE occasionally hear much of revivals of religion,-or, as they are sometimes also called, reformations. And if, by a revival of religion, is meant a reformation from a thoughtless and stupid life, to a life of serious consideration and earnestness in duty, from selfishness to benevolence, from worldly mindedness to a solemn regard to the concerns of eternity, and from vicious dispositions and habits to those of christian piety and virtue. there is no intelligence that can be so important, or that should be so interesting. The advancement of the objects of our religion, is the advancement of the everlasting improvement and happiness of those who receive and obey it. Surely, therefore. it should fill our hearts with pious gratitude and joy, to learn that any have been recovered from the snares of temptation, and the bondage of depraved passions; and brought to the liberty: and life, and hopes of the gospel. The genuine repentance of a single sinner gives joy even to the angels in heaven; and wilf it not also rejoice our hearts, in proportion as we have the tem per and affections of angels?

*The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews (vii. 3.) describes Melchisedec as "without father, without inother, without descent, &c." He means nothing more than that the descent of that prince was not recorded, as nothing is known of him but the single incident related Genesis xiv. This omission seemed remarkable, because Moses and indeed all the Eastern writers were so fond of genealogies, and rarely omitted distinguishing the persons of whom they spoke by recounting the name of their several fathers at least. Of this custom the scriptures every where afford continual exam2 ples.-Shilo even speaks of Sarah as without mother, and not a partaker of female extraction, nes veus queros, because only the name of her fa ther Terab is mentioned, and we are but informed who her mother was not. Gen. xx. 12.

There is nothing so desirable, nothing for which we ought so earnestly to pray, as for a revival of religion;-an actual reformation among men. But before we pray for it, we ought distinctly to understand what it is that we ask of God. Mistaken notions I think, have prevailed on this subject; and either from aversion to the view of religion, in which these mistakes have originated, or from dread of their consequences, the very terms, a revival of religion, have become suspicious. Let us then attempt to form as clear and just conceptions as we can of religion; and comparing our hearts and characters with its principles and objects, inquire whether a faithful application of its principles, and exercise of its duties, could not produce effects on our hearts and conduct, to be fairly accounted a revival of religion.

First, then, What is religion?

It has been defined to be, "virtue, founded upon reverence of God, and expectation of future rewards and punishments." It is derived from a word that signifies "to bind fast;"* and it properly signifies, that sense of obligation to God, which binds the heart and will to his service. To be religious therefore, is to have this sense of obligation to God. And that only is a religious feeling, or disposition, or affection, which is thus excited in us; that only is a religious action, or course of conduct, to which we are prompted by this sense of obligation to God. There is however a right, and a wrong sense of obligation to God; and there are just and unjust views of the nature of God, and of his service. There are therefore proportionally just and unjust views of religion, even among those who profess to feel, and are accustomed to appeal to, this sense of obligation. We know, for example, how unjust were those views of religion, under the influence of which Paul persecuted and wasted the christian church. Yet so far was Paul right, that he acted from a strong sense of obligation to God. He verily thought that he was doing God service. His mistake was, in his views of the service of God. And the great change in Paul's heart and conduct in becoming a christian, is to be ascribed to the change he obtained in his views of the temper and duties God requires of those who would serve him here, and enjoy him hereafter. In answering the question, what is religion? It is therefore of the last importance to conceive rightly of the service of God. The example of Paul, before his conversion, is not a solitary one, of a strong sense of obligation to God, impelling to a remorseless violation even of some of the plainest expressions of God's will.

What then is the service of God? Or, what does God require of us, as the conditions of his present favour, and his final acceptance? This is the great inquiry, in answering which, the christian world has been divided into so many sects, and the seamless coat of Christ has been rent into a thousand unseemly fragments. Great numbers of creeds are formed, in open hostility to each other, and all claiming the sanction of God's word for all their unintelligible, and for all their contradictory expressions and articles. Ask a Roman catholic, what is christianity, and what are the conditions of the final favour of God; and he will refer you to the authority, and worship of his church. Propose the inquiry to a protestant, and all the articles of the creed adopted by his church will be arrayed before you. He will perhaps shut out from hope all who are not elected by the sovereign pleasure of God, even without any foresight of their faith or good works. He will tell you, that all mankind were, for Adam's sin, doomed to eternal torment; that some, however, by God's election, are to be saved; that Christ died to satisfy the divine justice in their salvation; and that it is by an almighty and irresistible grace, that God calls, sanctifies and saves those, whom he has thus elected to eternal life. He will tell you that man, by nature, is not only incapable of God's service, or of doing his will, but that he is born an enemy of God, and with a heart at enmity with all goodness; that even before an infant has done any evil, he may be condemned to everlasting burnings; that an unrenewed man is incapable of doing any thing to obtain a renewal of his heart; and that his very prayers and endeavours to please God, while yet he is not thus sanctified, are sin. But because we sometimes see religious zeal running out into these excesses, and because some of its primary principles, as we think, are in direct opposition to those of the gospel, it would be very unjust to infer, that there are not many who adopt these very sentiments, of a truly christian temper and life. Their christian affections and conduct however are derived, not from these peculiarities of their faith, but from the influence of the word and will of God upon them; of that very word and will of God, which are equally acknowledged by many who widely differ from them, as by themselves. They are mistaken, as we think, in several of their views of the character and service of God; and it is particularly in their erroneous conceptions of God, of the nature and condition of man in this world, and of the design of the coming and of the death of our Lord, that the excitements of passion originate, which are mistaken for revivals of religion. And it is through the influence of these mistaken views of religion, that terror is employed as the great agent, for accomplishing the purposes of the gospel.

But would you understand, what indeed is christianity, and what are the conditions of the present, and the eternal acceptance of God; inquire not at Calvin, nor Arminius, nor at the leader of any sect, nor at any sectarian. The word by which we are to be judged in the last day, is the word that Christ has spoken to us. Let him then be our only master, and his word our only guide. To the gospel let us bring the inquiries, what doth the Lord our God require of us? and, what must we do to be saved? and wherein must the work of religion be revived? Let us bring home its instructions to our hearts; and very much am I mistaken, if they will not convict us of much evil, of great prevailing vices; of great cause of humiliation before God; and will enjoin upon us a reformation, which however it might be scoffed at by enthusiasts who decry good works, would be indeed and in truth a most important and happy revival of religion.

I ask again therefore, what is the service of God? Hear the answer of our blessed Saviour. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first and great commandment. And who is prepared to say I have kept this commandment? Let us consider what is necessarily implied in it; and ingenuously inquire, if our hearts were under the uncontrolled influence of this single command, whether the most important and salutary changes would not be produced in our affections and tempers, our character and happiness.

The love of God is the main spring of all the duties of the christian life. We attribute to God's love to us, our existence and capacities; all that makes this life a blessing; all that Christ has done for us; and all for which we hope in heaven. The love we owe to God therefore, necessarily implies that love of Christ, and that humble, grateful and affectionate acceptance of him, to which we are called by our religion. It implies a constant regard to the presence, attention to the providence, and submission to the will of God. It implies not alone the obligation of prayer, but that love of communion with God, and that strong sense of the privilege and honor of intercourse with him, which will make it indispensable to our happiness. It implies the highest estimation of the opportunities we have as christians, to worship him daily in secret, and in our families; and to join with those who meet for his worship on the Sabbath. It implies habitual gratitude for his benefits, and an unreserved trust in the wisdom and goodness of all his appointments. I might even say, that the love of God implies universal obedience; for our religion makes it the first principle of all obligation; the life giving principle of every personal and social virtue, as well as of