10 11 12 13 14 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,-nor a lawgiver from between his feet, 1 Binding his foal unto the vine,-and his ass's colt unto the choice vine." And he shall be for an haven of ships;-and his border shall be unto Zidon.4 15 And he saw that rest was good,—and the land that it was pleasant; 16 6 17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way,-an adder in the path, That biteth the horse heels,-so that his rider shall fall backward. 19 20 21 22 Gad, a troops shall overcome him :-but he shall overcome at the last. Joseph is a fruitful bough,-even a fruitful bough by a well; Whose branches run over the wall: 23 The archers have sorely grieved him,—and shot at him, and hated him: 1 Some of the most ancient versions give this word the meaning, He to whom it (i. e., the sceptre or kingdom) belongs.' But as the text now stands it is better to render it 'peace,' or the peaceful one.' Having announced the sovereignty of Judah, the patriarch goes on to declare that it should have no end, until one should come bearing the name of Shiloh,' whose sway both Israel and all mankind should acknowledge. The subsequent history presents the fulfilment of this prediction. In the journeyings of the Israelites through the wilderness, and under the theocracy in the promised land, this tribe took the precedence; after the return from Babylon, it absorbed the others, and gave its name to the whole nation; and even under the dominion of the Romans it retained a measure of authority. But, on the appearance of Christ, all this quickly passed away to make room for the spiritual and universal reign of the Prince of Peace. * On the hills of Judah the vine was extensively cultivated, and numerous flocks were pastured. 2 The appearance of the people would indicate their happy lot. These verses (11, 12) describe, in poetical terms, the peace and plenty of Messiah's reign. 4 Probably not the city, which lay far to the north, but the territory of the Zidonians: the word 'haven,' referring either to the Zidonian ports, or, more probably, to the coast of Zebufun on the sea of Galilee, Tiberias was in this tribe. Israel :) lay the rich plain of Jezreel, bordered by the range of Carmel and the hills of Galilee. The patient and laborious ass aptly represents an orderly, industrious people, who prefer agricultural pursuits to military or commercial enterprize. The men of Issachar, however, occasionally displayed both valour and wisdom. See Judg. v. 15; Ì Chron. xii. 32. So the name Dan signifies. The stealthy character of their warfare (resembling that of the Bedouin) is illustrated in Judges xviii.; and aptly represented by the attack of the cerastes or horned viper, which lies unperceived in the sand. Or, 'I am expecting thy salvation, O Jehovah :' possibly referring to some unrecorded revelations of the great redemption. The words 'troop' and overcome are allusions to the name Gad, whose tribe was most exposed to predatory incursions from the Syrian and Arabian deserts. At last' may be rendered, in the rear,' or, in return.' 6 9 Partly from his proximity to the commercial Phoenicians, and partly from the fruitfulness of his own land on the western mountain-slopes. 10 This verse is very obscure; and may be translated, as by Bochart, from the Greek, Napthali is a spreading (terebinth or oak) tree, producing beautiful branches;' or, ‘Napthali is a free (or graceful) hind, bringing forth beautiful young ones' (or 'occasioning beautiful sayings.") 11 Or rather, as the Samaritan and Syriac, 'by the name of;' answering to the former part of the parallel, by the hands of." This blessing 25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; And by the Almighty, who shall bless thee-with blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lieth under,-blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: 26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors Unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills:1 27 They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren. on Joseph, which was fulfilled in the portions of Ephraim and Manasseh, is the fullest and most elaborate of all. 'Heaven above,' with its rains and dews, the deep,' the western sea, the lake of Tiberias, and the Jordan through much of its course, and 'the everlasting hills, mount Ephraim, and mount Gilead,-promoted the increase of their families and of their possessions, and made Joseph as a fruitful bough by a well.' See Deut. xxxiii. 13-17. 1 Or, The blessings of thy father exceed the blessings of the eternal mountains, the desirable things of the everlasting hills.' Comp. Deut. xxxiii. 15. 2 In the first times of Israel, the Benjamites were noted for their courage and success in war. From them sprang Ehud the second judge, and Saul the first king. They were afterwards united with Judah, returned with it from Babylon, and shared in its privileges. We will add a specimen or two of longer notes of a doctrinal character. The following is on Exodus xxiv. 8, "And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words." "On this ratification of the covenant with blood, see the inspired comment in Heb. ix, 18-22. It implied that neither the persons of the people or their sacrifices would be accepted by God, except through the shedding and sprinkling of blood; and that all the blessings granted to them, even by their national covenant, were the fruits of Divine mercy." On the consecration of Aaron and his sons to their office as priests, Exodus xxix., we have the following observations: "These ceremonies are highly significant. (1) The ablution indicates the need of personal purity in one who appears on behalf of sinners. (2) The investiture with the sacred robes shows the dignity of the mediator's office. (3) The unction of the high priest represents the qualifying gifts and grace of the Holy Spirit. (4) The triple sacrifice—sin-offering, burnt-offering, and consecration-offering, whose blood, mixed with the holy oil, was applied to each of the priests-shows that the removal of all legal disability from guilt is indispensable. And (5) the concluding feast exhibits the friendship with God resulting from the priest's work." After what we have said, we need scarcely add that we wish this work extensive circulation among our friends. The Old Testament Pocket Commentary also, a companion to the New Testament Pocket Commentary published some months ago, will be found useful to many, as it gives some original explanatory notes with the practical observations derived from well known commentators. Either work, or both, on account of their brevity as well as other excellencies, might be used very advantageously in family worship. The Annotated Paragraph Bible is, however, the shorter of the two, and on some accounts it would have our preference. The Theory of Human Progression, and Natural Probability of a Reign of Jus tice. London: Johnstone and Hunter. 8vo., pp. 523. Cloth. WE have never imagined that there is any warrant for the assertion that Christians should not concern themselves with politics. We regard it as at once the highest glory and the strongest evidence of Christianity, that it not only is adapted for all men whatever their circumstances, but that it adapts all for their duties whatever their duties may be. It is a light guiding in the selection of principles, and it is a force supplying the motive for action in accordance with them. It comes not to man to call him from his business, but it comes to man in his business, and fits him for it. It is opposed to monkery whenever or however it manifests itself; nor is this more necessary for the spiritual growth of the individual than for the regeneration of society. Christianity has a function to discharge in the closet and the meeting-house, at the plough and at the loom, in the study and on the throne, in the senate-house and at the poll-booth. The last prayer of our Saviour had reference to his disciples in all ages-"I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil;" and it is not a little noticeable that the men who pay the least attention to the announcement-"My kingdom is not of this world," are the most constant and the most vociferous in their assertion that Christians should not interfere with politics. Christians have not interfered with politics; and in Britain, under the influence of class-government, the masses of our countrymen are so debased-physically, mentally, morallythat it is next to an impossibility that Christianity should act upon them at all. Christians have not interfered with politics; and in Ireland the same statesmen using religion as a tool of their state-craft, have forced upon an unwilling six millions the religious forms of one million, and by their intolerance and injustice have embued them with a deep hatred of the truth. Christians have not interfered with politics; and in the parliament of the most enlightened country of Christendom, a man of indisputable talent, and who has conferred signal service on the nation, is treated with ridicule when daring to open his mouth in favour of the principles so emphatically enounced by the Prince of Peace. Can any one believe that such a state of things is in accordance with the religion of the bible? Can any one believe that such would have been the state of things had Christians testified boldly against it? Can any one believe that it behooves Christians now, witnessing these things, to make no effort for their destruction? But if Christians should act politically, politics should be studied; there must not be zeal without knowledge; politics must be a science and not a superstition. At present, however, it is almost entirely the latter. Senators propose, empirics declaim, electors vote, almost all of them equally ignorant and equally indifferent concerning the principles on which legislation should be based. Millions of quires of print are yearly issued in reference to pofitical measures, every one talks of politics, but very few are the books that are written on the science, and very few are the readers of those books. It may answer the purpose of those who are interested in the preservation of abuses to go on nibbling for ever at the branches; but the true citizen must lay the axe at the root of the tree, and not only note the evils as they appear, but trace them to their source And we think that here again Christians have been wanting in their duty. They have, in fact, been afraid of their principles. They have come to the bible to seek a knowledge of man's duties to his God, (the main end of revelation indeed) and they have found it, and found, too, that they must publish it to those that have it not. They have come to the bible to discover what acts of love are due from man to his brother, and as the result hospitals have been built and schools established. But they have not come to the bible to ascertain what it teaches concerning the bonds which hold society together. It is true that the word of God was not intended as a manual of the science of politics, any more than of any other science; but yet we cannot but believe that in the bible there are principles enounced bearing closely on political institutions, principles that are yet one day to be evolved,—and principles which when they are discovered will call forth the astonishment of mankind that they have so long lain unapplied. On these grounds we welcome every effort to throw new light on political science; especially such a one as the present, which, if it does not directly aim at supplying the want to which we have alluded, is written in a Christian spirit, and throughout manifests a reverence for the Christian record. But we may go a step further. Christianity assures us that a time shall arrive when truth and justice and love shall have a universal reign upon our earth. 'A good time coming' has been man's hope in every age; it has always been the cherished dream of the poet; to realize it has been the aim of the reformer; and mankind at large has ever been peering into the future to see if any signs of its approach were visible. We have a more sure word of prophecy; but are we treating it as though we believed it sure? Men, though longing for it and looking for it, are yet prone to regard this period of universal happiness as but the poet's dream after all; those who arrogate to themselves exclusively the name of politicians laugh at it as visionary and absurd; whilst Christians either speak of it with bated breath, or allude to it as far off in the dim vista of futurity, and under the poetical garb with which it is clothed in scripture. But surely this is not all that is demanded, and it is due to our religion, and must furnish a collateral evidence of its truth, to show not only that such a period is not opposed to reason and analogy, but that there is a positive probability that such a time will arrive, and that there are already indications of its approach. To accomplish this is the object of the author of the volume before us. Positing as certain that the millennium of scripture will arrive, and that this, though including much more, necessarily involves a reign of political justice, he seeks to show that such a period may reasonably be anticipated, and to discover at what point of scientific evolution it may be expected to appear. We shall endeavour to present a view, as condensed as possible, of the line of argument he adopts. The science of politics treats of equity, and the relations of men in equity; it prescribes what man may do, what he is bound to do, and what he may not do. Considering man's actions objectively they may be regarded as having reference to liberty and property, the latter, however, being merely a branch of the former. Liberty signifies a condition, the condition in which a man uses his powers without the interference of another man. To preserve liberty to all,—that is, to prevent any man from doing that which is naturally unjust,—that is, to secure non-interference, is the end of all political association; but governments may interfere, as indeed they have done, and their interference is no less prejudicial than that of the individual. As man emerges from barbarism the government does everything for himinterferes with him in everything; and it is only as a nation becomes more advanced that step by step it recovers its liberty of thought, speech, action. "The source of the evil that weighs so heavily on the unprivileged classes of society is to be found in the doctrine, that rulers are competent to legislate for everything and anything." As a nation becomes aware of the source of its evils, the intelligent combine, and in physical conflict, at first, wrest their rights out of the hands of their oppressors. But there is another kind of combination—that of knowledge with reason -"credence] based on sufficient evidence with "the power of perceiving consequences ;" and this, being directly opposed to despotism and superstition, which are invariably linked together, is the grand instrument by which the world is to regain its liberty. The first condition of true knowledge is the bible; the second is the knowledge of material nature. Man's ignorance of material causes has ever brought about his degradation; for some causes he must assign, and he therefore in the early ages of our history, filled the world with half-material beings, whose natures harmonize with those of the inventors. light of Heaven was converted, not into the lamp that lightens, but into the lamp that casts a shade. Piety died away, and theology took her place. Creeds and confessions were substituted for living virtue. Christians forgot to fix their eyes on heaven, and deified the symbols of religion. "The wisdom that is from above is not a and when the church forgot the life, the truth creed, but a principle of life embued with truth; vanished from the symbol, and left the dead remains of unspiritual knowledge. shadows were dark before, but now night shrouded in a veil. The "Now was the night of degradation. Now was man seen, not in the energies of his pride, not in the brilliant colours of his fancy, not in the heroism of a noble heart, that had framed its country for its God, and rushed to death self-sacrificed-but in the drivelling wretched- "Causes now were demons and demi-demons. The atmosphere of earth was filled with spirits "Still wherever there was intellect there was beauty. False as were the credences, we cannot now turn to them without recognizing the glorious attributes of reason with which mankind has been endowed. Nor can we wonder at the spell of fascination, when we find the mere abstractions of our thought presented in the forms of a Hebe, a Venus, or Minerva. Dark as were the times of ancient paganism, there was a beauty of imagination that speaks home to the intellect of man, and leaves a sad regret. Let us not forget, however, that we behold, not as actors in the scene, but as the spectators at those gladiatorial shows where the contest of man with death was the absorb-purer day dawned, and causes ing drama for the onlooker, while the victims seen to be the laws by which the One in the arena poured forth their blood and God operates. perished. "It was reserved for the corruption of Christianity to throw the darkest shade. It is said that the shadow is nowhere so dark as immediately under the lamp;' and the true VOL. XIII.-FOURTH SERIES. But when man turned his attention to the observation of the phenomena, and the discovery of their causes, a were But next to a knowledge of material existence there must be a knowledge of the mind. Philosophy has been long oscillating between universal scepticism 4 L |