A MUMMY THREE THOUSAND YEARS OLD.

45

in one of the elements of civilization-these create a demand for something that will give forth heat, and yet be independent of the bowels of the earth. Lo! it comes. A solar engine is invented, which, disdaining forests and coal mines, draws its motive power from the sun itself. Collecting and concentrating the radiating heat of the sun, the inventor forces it to feed the furnaces of his engine, and thus drive the spindles of the factory or the wheels of the steamer. Captain Ericsson claims to have invented a Solar Engine, kept in motion solely by the sun's radiant heat. He has constructed three solar engines; one is driven by steam generated by the concentration of the heat of the solar rays, and the other two by the expansion of air heated directly by the concentrated radiant heat. The exact nature of the invention has not been made public, but Captain Ericsson has shown that he can collect a force equal to one horse power from the sun's heat on every one hundred square feet of the earth's surface.

If his experiments prove successful, he has introduced a new motor, and thus marked an era in civilization. The question of the economy of fuel receives a new solution. He has turned the sun into fuel, and put it in the power of every family to use a steam engine, and every traveller a "pet" locomotive. Joshua commanded the sun, and it stood still. Ericsson gathers its rays, and they move the spindles of a continent, the navies of a world.

A MUMMY OF PHARAOH, THREE THOUSAND

YEARS OLD.

ONE of the oldest relics of humanity extant is the skeleton of one of the earlier Pharaohs, encased in its original burial robes, and wonderfully perfect considering its age, which was deposited about eighteen or twenty months ago in the British Museum, and is justly considered the most valuable of its archæological treasures. The lid of the coffin which contained the royal mummy? was inscribed with the name of its occupant, Pharaoh Mykerimus, who succeeded the heir of the builder of the great pyramid, about ten centuries before Christ. Only think of it-the monarch, whose crumbling bones and leamery integuments are now exciting the wonder of numerous gazers in London, reigned in Egypt before Solomon was born, and only about eleven centuries or so after Mizraim, the grandson of old father Noah, and one of the Pharaohs, had been gathered to his fathers! Why the tide-mark of the deluge could scarcely have been obliterated, or the gopherWood knee timbers of the ark have rotted on Mount Ararat, when this man of the early world lived, moved, and had his being! His flesh and blood were contemporary with the progenitors of David -but his bones and shrivelled skin are still to be seen in the nineteenth century, and the date of the Crucifixion is only about midway between his era and ours!

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The Editor's Desk.

QUERIES AND ANSWERS.

QUERY 1.-ON FINAL PERSEVERANCE.

DEAR SIR,-In Philipp. i. 6, Paul says-"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." This verse is by Barnes, in his notes thereon, made to teach the doctrine of final perseverance. He says:-"He would not leave it unfinished. It would not be commenced, and then abandoned. This would or could be 'performed' or 'finished' only by keeping them from falling from grace. It would be impossible," he continues, "for Paul' to express a stronger conviction of the truth of that doctrine (perseverance of saints) than he has done here. Language could not be clearer; and nothing can be more unequivocal than the declaration of his opinion, that where God has begun a good work in the soul it will not be finally lost." Please then explain the above passage.-J. W.

ANSWER.-The explanation of this text by Barnes is not Scriptural. The doctrine of "Final Perseverance," as he states it, is not taught in this text, nor in any other part of Scripture. Paul had the most confident assurance that he was converted, yet he did not believe in the absolute certainty of even his own final perseverance. Hence he speaks, with a trembling sense, of the possibility of his falling, and being finally a "castaway (1 Cor. ix. 27). If, therefore, Paul did not believe in the absolute certainty of his own final perseverance, neither did he believe it in respect to others. On the contrary, he describes the state of some who had been saved and made partakers of the Holy Ghost, falling away into the deepest apostasy; even crucifying to themselves the Son of God afresh, and putting him to an open shame; becoming so hardened, indeed, as never to be restored, and finally perishing in the wrath of God, like thorns and briars which are burned in devouring fire (Heb. vi. 4—8). Peter also speaks of some, who had once been enlightened and saved, "becoming spiritually blind, and even forgetting that they were once purged from their old sins" (2 Peter i. 9). If men may fall into this awful state, and fall so deeply that it is not

THE EDITOR'S DESK.

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possible to renew them again unto repentance, and perish in God's wrath, as thorns perish in the flames, what becomes of the doctrine of "final perseverance ?" And Jude speaks of backsliders as being "twice dead, plucked up by the roots, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever (verses 12, 13). In the face of this description, what becomes of the doctrine, once in grace always in grace?" It vanishes as a mere figment of man's teaching, contradictory alike to the Holy Scripture and the free agency of man. But you then ask, What does the apostle mean when he says he is confident "that God will perform or finish his work until the day of Jesus Christ ?" He means this, that God will be faithful in doing his part, and that the fact of his having begun his work is of itself an evidence of his gracious intention to finish it, if we are faithful. This condition, though not expressed in words, is implied. Indeed, however absolute a promise may be in words, there is always a condition implied on which the fulfilment of the promise is suspended. Hence, when it is said emphatically in one passage, "There remaineth a rest to the people of God," it is said in another, Let us therefore fear lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it." But how could they come short of it, if God had eternally decreed they should have it?

QUERY 2.-WHAT ARE THE KINGDOMS MEANT BY THE GREAT
IMAGE IN NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S VISION?

DEAR SIR,-I ask your opinion on Dan. ii. 36-45. What kingdoms are meant by the great image, and also what is meant by the stone that was cut out of the mountain without hands?

H. ROLLASON.

ANSWER.-This great image was a prophetic symbol, foretelling that four successive kingdoms, or empires, should, in their turn, flourish and fall. The great image had a head of gold. This meant the Babylonian kingdom, properly set forth by the head of gold, because it was the richest kingdom in the world, and Babylon was the most splendid city upon earth. It was surrounded by a wall eighty-seven feet in thickness, and three hundred and fifty feet high, sixty miles in compass, and entered by one hundred gates of brass; its extensive palaces, temples, and hanging gardens were the wonder of the world; and it contained riches incredible which had been brought from many conquered nations. Because of this grandeur, Babylon was called in Scripture "Babylon the Great,"

"Babylon the beauty of the Chaldean excellency," "Babylon the golden city," and "the glory of kingdoms."

The breast and arms of the great image were of silver. This meant the Medeo-Persian kingdom. It is represented by the two arms, because it consisted of two kingdoms, the Median and the Persian, which had become united into one at the time Babylon was taken by them. It is set forth by silver, because it was inferior to the kingdom of Babylon, even as silver is inferior to gold.

The belly and thighs of the great image were of brass. This represented the Grecian Empire, which overthrew the Persian, even as the Persian had overthrown the Babylonian. It is set forth as brass, because the armour of the Greeks was made of brass or bronze. They had helmets, breastplates, greaves, shields, and swords made of this metal; and they were called by historians and poets "the brazen-coated Greeks."

The legs of the great image were of iron, and its feet part of iron and part of clay. This indicated the Roman Empire, which conquered the Grecian Empire. It was represented by iron, because of its strength; for as iron is stronger than all other metals, so the Roman Empire was stronger than all the other empires before it, and had a wider and more powerful dominion. But the feet were partly iron, and partly clay. This meant that the Roman Empire should be made up of diverse nations, which could not become amalgamated. And so it happened; the numerous and diversified nations it included became the cause of its weakness, and hastened its dissolution.

The stone cut from the mountain without hands meant the kingdom of Christ. This was not a grand image, but a plain stone, because it had no pretensions to earthly grandeur. It was not of human origin, but of God alone; like a stone severed from a mountain without any human power. This wondrous stone was to come while the fourth kingdom was standing; and so it did, for it was in the reign of Augustus, Emperor of Rome, that Jesus was born. This stone smote the feet of the great image, and broke them into pieces; and the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold were broken to pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floor, which the wind driveth away. This meant that the kingdom of Christ should take the place of those great empires as a conquering and subduing power, destroying their idols, demolishing their temples, changing their customs, and annihilating their authority, and civil dominion. But the stone itself became a

great mountain, and filled the whole earth. So the kingdom of Christ, at first consisting of a few disciples in Judæa, became enlarged, until it prevailed over all the wide extent of the Roman Empire, and far beyond it. The stone is rolling still in Africa, India, China, Japan, and the Islands of the Sea, and it shall prevail over the whole earth, and fill it with the glory of God.

The four great empires indicated by the image have long since passed away, and we now live in the time when the stone is rolling -the kingdom of Christ is enlarging everywhere around us. In this we rejoice, and earnestly pray, "Let thy kingdom come. Let the nations praise thee, O God; let all the nations praise thee; and let all the ends of the earth see thy salvation." But we must take care that we ourselves belong to the kingdom of Christ; for, if not, we shall as surely perish as the wicked nations who resisted his holy reign have perished in their sins.

QUERY 3.-WHY WERE THE DISCIPLES TO TAKE NO SCRIP, NO MONEY, AND NO BREAD WITH THEM WHEN THEY WENT FORTH TO PREACH ?

DEAR SIR,-I read in Mark vi. 8 that our Saviour commanded the twelve to take no scrip, no bread, and no money in their purse. I have got your valuable Volume of Queries and Answers, but I don't find an answer; and I meet with parties who say ministers ought not to be paid. Your explanation on the subject will greatly oblige,

W. R.

ANSWER. This passage, instead of teaching that ministers are not to be supported, teaches just the reverse. For what do we find in this passage? We find, first, that the disciples were not to take with them any of their own property, no, not even provisions for their own subsistence; nor any money with which to purchase either food or clothing. Yet they were not required to work at their trade, or in any other kind of secular labour, in order to acquire money for their subsistence. Were they, then, to starve ? Nay, says our Lord, "the workman is worthy of his meat." And he commands them to eat and drink such things as were given to them. This plainly shows that they should be supported by the people for whose benefit they laboured. This was exactly the principle which God had ordained under the Jewish dispensation; for in appropriating the land of Canaan to the eleven other tribes, he commanded that one tenth of all the produce should be for the priesthood.