the Jews, it is being fulfilled every day before our eyes. But prophecy has one peculiarity, which especially fits it for proving doctrine, namely, that the doctrine is often enunciated along with, and as part of, the prophecy. In this respect, prophecy carries us at once to the doctrine, independently of the intervening step, or any other proof of the power of the author of the prophecy that, like the reality of the prophecy, is made apparent by the fulfilment. The mighty power and works of God and prophecy were singularly blended in impressing the fact of God's government on the Jews; and, through them, upon us. For we also ought to be taught the lesson, though we do not see it so obviously, that God rules us on the same principle. But we believe, both on the authority of Scripture and from experience, that it is never wholly laid aside, and that in the course of a little time, if not contemporaneously, sorrow will be found still" dogging sin." To the Jews, however, God gave a promise,—that is a prophecy, a part of which was the assertion of His government, and another part an assurance of blessing if they cordially accepted it; and the fulfilment of this promise or prophecy is proof of His power in controlling the course of nature, all the occurrences of domestic life, the intricacies of society, and the fate of nations. This is one of the great truths which are too much forgotten in our time, and might just as well never have been revealed, so far as affects those who are for treating the Bible just like any other book. But to the Jews this was a matter that could not be treated with indifference. It was the law of their domestic and national life, as they were told in Deut. vii. 9 and 10: "Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; and repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face." And then the chapter goes on to the end with a promise or prophecy, that if they keep the law, God will love them and bless them, and multiply them, and add a blessing on all these blessings: with deliverance from the sickness of Egypt, power over the nations, and God's aid in driving them out. But this truth also runs through the whole of Deuteronomy; and who can read the 28th chapter without emotion even now, or find any difficulty as to the fulfilment of it, looking at the Jew as he is? This system of government, then, was adopted, not for the sake of the Jews only, nor for the sole additional purpose of our instruction generally; but we may use it as part of the foundation of our faith, amidst the harassing delusions which we are taught to expect. And when we see how men are now at a loss for the foundation of their belief, we may the better understand, and the more thankfully acknowledge, the Divine wisdom, which made His favour as the reward of obedience to Himself the principle of the Jewish religion and polity, working it into their daily life, so that they could never escape it; and has impressed upon us the same truth by making the law of Moses introductory to our dispensation. In fact, unless we regard miracles as used to prove doctrine, they lose their moral and religious significance, and become, as they have become to many, mere unmeaning wonders; and then it follows that they become the objects of unbelief, as uncalled for exhibitions of power without an object, and at last they are regarded as oppressing and bearing down the book and the principles they were intended to enforce. And what will men have to decide upon hereafter? The prediction of our Saviour is very clear, that there are to be false prophets; therefore we conclude, and we think with reasons for our confidence, that there will be prophecies, but false ones only; and that in this respect the power of the evil one will be limited and restricted. This also affords us a further proof that the signs and wonders will be of the same nature as the false prophecies, that is, without any foundation in reality or truth. Indeed, it seems scarcely possible to express this in stronger terms than those which are used in 2 Thess., signs and wonders of falsehood, or a lie. If these false prophecies be of distant events, they will necessarily be without proof of fulfilment; and a mere prophecy of this kind is not of itself any proof of anything. If unaccomplished prophecy be connected, as this scriptural prophecy of our Saviour is, with other predictions, the fulfilment of which we are warranted in hoping for, that gives us the more reason to expect it will be found to be true, but still does not render it in itself any evidence in any way, until it be actually fulfilled also. If the future false prophecies be of imminent events, which admit of their becoming evidences, then it may be expected that there will be a colourable or asserted fulfilment of them. And this throws light on the nature of the signs and wonders, which no doubt will be asserted to be real works, and will have a colour of being really such, but it will be only a colour. To return, then, to the inquiry: what will men have to decide upon? On the one hand, the extraordinary power, the signs and the wonders, opposed to God's authority, covered with all deceivableness of unrighteousness; and on the other, these very prophecies foretelling exactly what will then have come to pass, and so by their accomplishment establishing their divine origin, and adding a new proof to the authority of the Bible; besides all the mighty acts recorded in Scripture from the giving of the law and the works in Egypt to the ascension of our Saviour, and the last mighty act in the New Testament, which have already been wrought into the history of the world for ages; and we must add the comparison of the doctrines and moral conduct of the leader of evil with the purity and holiness of the conduct of our Blessed Master. We shall have the deceivableness of unrighteousness against holiness: the history of real works against present signs and wonders; but we shall also have prophecy and nothing to match against it. The nature of the case will secure us the sure ground of prophecy ranging over thousands of years, and even then receiving its fulfilment, whilst this particular prophecy, so full and decisive, will bring every truth of the Bible home to the believer. And hard though it will, no doubt, be to hold the faith, yet it can scarcely be thought it will be for want of light enough, if men will but use it; and that agrees with the Scripture, for the faith of the servants of God will not be overthrown. But there is a lamentable tendency in men at present to throw down the defence thus afforded them in the Bible; and, indeed, this seems to be a time of preparation for the revealed trial, by men becoming incapable, not merely of appreciating, but even of discerning, the grounds of their security. The general laxity of the prevailing notions as to the authority of Scripture has now been carried (as might have been expected) beyond doubt, as to verbal inspiration, to a broad assertion that the narratives of the Pentateuch are not historically true. And this disease is most powerful in one who is filling most improperly one of the highest offices in the Church. But this sliding away of men's minds from the proper proofs of the authority of divine teachers is also an evidence of the truth of Scripture; for it is the fulfilment of prophecy. (2 Pet. iii.*) Even a bishop is publishing that all things have continued as they were from the beginning of the creation-i. e. in a uniform course, unbroken and undisturbed by the mighty works which the Bible attributes to the working of Omnipotence. But the greatest change in the course of nature was at the Flood, when the heavens, the earth, and the whole race of men and animals, were opened, broken up, and overthrown. And this St. Peter treats as the greatest instance of the ignorance, forgetfulness, and sin of man; as if, when they could ignore that mighty change, the power of unbelief could go no further. In the present day (as we might by analogy have expected), when the real acts of God Himself are disregarded and denied, we see men trying to catch a glimpse of the spiritual world by various prevalent delusions. And we have even heard some refer to the results of these attempts, in mesmerism and the like, which they could not account for, as *We had marked the following passages for citation, but our space does not allow it: the sun standing still, Hezekiah's sign, and raising the dead; as well as Psalms lxxviii., cv., compared with Exod. xiv. and xv. But Forster's Sinai (see last number of the Christian Observer) has given a reality to far more than we should have ventured to suggest. obstacles to their belief in the gigantic works recorded in the Bible, with which these unrealities can no more be brought into comparison as to power than as to their beneficence and moral purpose. There is a feverish anxiety for such discoveries, proving that man cannot rest without something beyond himself to depend on, strongly reminding us of Hugh Miller's* words as to a particular providence, which, with a slight adaptation to our present subject, are too apposite to be omitted:-"There perhaps never was a time in which the doctrine of a particular providence (or, as we should say, of really miraculous power and works) was more questioned and doubted, than at present; and yet the scepticism which obtains regarding it seems to be very much a scepticism of effort conjured up by toiling intellects in a quiet age and among the easy classes; while the belief which partially and for a time it overshadows, lies safely entrenched all the while amidst the fastnesses of the unalterable nature of man. When danger comes to touch it, it will spring up in its old proportions; nay, so indigenous is it in the human heart, that, if it will not take its cultivated form as a belief in Providence, (or God,) it will to a certainty take its wild form as a belief in Fateor Destiny," -or, as our subject suggests, in delusions, signs, and wonders. The Church of Rome, still claiming and believing in miraculous powers, will probably be less prepared than those who believe that such powers have long since ceased, for withstanding the signs and wonders which are to be so dangerous to the faith. And on the other hand, if the conclusion be correct, that it is only signs and wonders, and not works, which are to be expected hereafter, then it is scarcely consistent with this expectation to believe, that miraculous powers are still in existence, or are to continue till the approach of the end, and at that juncture to be succeeded by signs and wonders only. But this is of comparatively small importance. We fear there is quite as much danger of being deceived for those who disregard or disbelieve prophecy, and the real works recorded in the Bible; and that they will be among the first to yield undoubtingly to the expected signs and wonders; for their minds will not be fortified by the defence which our Lord has raised by his prophecy, that signs and wonders will be brought forward to support false doctrine, false Christs, and false prophets or teachers. Our Lord's coming will admit of no question as to its reality, and will be attended with one sign about which there will be no mistake. "As the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be." Our object has rather been to elucidate the past than to * Hugh Miller's "Schools and Schoolmasters," p. 287. explore the future. But the time is certainly coming, perhaps it is near at hand, when we shall be in the midst of these signs and wonders which are the subject of prophecy. And we are taught what the difficulty will be to withstand them. We can hardly overestimate it. They seem to be surpassed by one thing only. However great their deceivableness, extent, diffusion, and power, they are marked as inconceivably below the awful majesty and universality of the glory attending the coming of the Son of Man. They will, as the Bible itself tells us, admit of differences of opinion, for some will not be deceived. His appearance will admit of none. And it seems as if the only security or escape will be, the expectation and looking for those signs of the coming of our Saviour, which will leave no possibility even of a question whether they are to be yielded to or not. It almost appears as if the power of the delusions would be so strong (Matt. xxiv. 24; Mark xxiii. 22) as to make this the turning point (2 Pet. i. 19), and the only test which will not fail. The lightning coming out of the east and shining unto the west, reaches every individual on the face of the whole earth at once. It is not gradual in its development; it is not partial in its influence; it is not resistible in its might; it is not to be traced nor diffused by the testimony or opinions of men. His coming is to be sudden, decisive, universal, and overwhelming. "Behold he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him." "Even so," will then be the feeling of every heart. Blessed will they be who can add, "Amen." G.S. SIR G. C. LEWIS'S ASTRONOMY OF THE ANCIENTS. An Historical Survey of the Astronomy of the Ancients. By Sir George Cornewall Lewis. London: Parker, Son, and Bourne. 1862. IN the midst of a useful career, Sir George Lewis has been taken from us. His works remain to attest the conscientious care with which he pursued his researches. If in his lifetime he failed to achieve the reputation of a brilliant orator, or to find a place among the most eminent statesmen of modern times, he has at least left behind him the character of having been one of the most learned men of his generation. As a man of letters, few subjects escaped the grasp of his comprehensive observation. Ancient literature was his favourite study. Untrammelled by preconceived theories, whatever the subject |