THE BELIEVER A MYSTERY. It is sometimes rather startling to consider how exactly the enjoyments of earth seem fitted to gratify all the desires of the great bulk of its inhabitants. As children find their delight in the sports and toys fitted for their age, so do the trifles and mean enjoyments of sense appear amply sufficient to satisfy the wishes of the majority of mankind. They are content with the quality of the gratifications they find here, though indeed they would much like that the quantity should be increased. They ask no new pleasures, though we hear loud complaints, that the old ones will not last. At times, some misfortune falls upon them, which, one would think, might remind them of the vanity of worldly delights, and bring to a sudden stop their anxious search after them. But no exclaiming, "When one vein of silver's exhausted, 'Tis easy another to try," they rush on,-over the relics of ruined hopes, over the graves of onceloved friends, over the withered leaves of perished joys,-to pursue with increased eagerness some new scheme of pleasure or ambition. Even from the very sorrows of human life, while not actually smarting under them, they contrive to extract amusement. The gaunt shadows of misery that stalk across the earth, are by them summoned to form for their entertainment, a kind of skeleton-dance, at which they look and laugh. To one who feels within himself the capability for higher enjoyments, this consideration, while taken by itself, is necessarily an exceedingly melancholy one. "If these persons are so well satisfied with a mere provision for their bodily senses, as the ox is with his provender, Why," such an one may ask, "should I ambitiously look for more? Whence comes this bold aspiration after communion with heaven, and an immortality of purity and peace? Why should the narrow horizon, which forms the limit of their wishes, be the starting-point of mine? Upon what just grounds do I thus separate myself in motives and in hopes from those around me? If their views of human life are right, I am of all men most miserable." And yet, notwithstanding the surpassing strangeness of the thing, there are, as there have ever been, some who stand isolated among their fellows, some who, though in the world, are not of it. Seeking a better and heavenly country, they confess themselves to be strangers and pilgrims on the earth. They glow with wishes which nothing earthly can gratify: the fairest scenes of earth are to them beautiful, as being the image of others still fairer they look not downwards to the ground, but upwards to that heaven where their Father is. These persons are the sons of God-believers in Christ: and their existence in the midst of this lower creation, is an inexplicable mystery, and a standing evidence that there is an immortality reserved for man. If Believers are a mystery to themselves. Why they should be singled out to become lovers of God and his Christ, rather than lovers of pleasure, they do not know. This they know well, that it is only by the grace of God that they are what they are. they love Him, they are certain that it is because He first loved them. That it is the free mercy of God which has called them out of their natural darkness into His marvellous light, they are fully conscious: but why that mercy has been shewn to them, rather than to others, they cannot tell. The life of God in the soul of man is a mystery both in its origin and in its development. That the spark of Divine grace should be kept alive in believers, notwithstanding surrounding temptations, is a perpetual miracle. They find themselves possessed of the same appetites as other men: their ear is not deaf to the luxury of sounds, their eye is not blind to the seductive forms of loveliness. Conscious of the force of sin, and the weakness of human nature, they are at times filled with terror, lest, after all, they should be cast-aways. A continual struggle is going on within them, between the external and the internal,-between the flesh and the spirit. In former times, this war took a corporeal shape. Men fought against the flesh with fleshly weapons. Convinced of the danger of suffering the body to gain dominion, they strove to subject it by stripes and maceration. Some withdrew to a desert, and lived on roots; some raised themselves aloft on pillars; some hid themselves in caves; many congregated in monasteries. But all these austerities were but an outward symbol of the inner conflict; though there are not wanting some enthusiasts now-a-days who lament the disuse of them, and declare that faith is weak and love is cold, because Christians do not sound a trumpet before them and call the world to witness their combats with Satan. But what do these complainers know of what is taking place in christian bosoms? What do they know of the secret struggles of the pious man of business; for instance, while following the daily duties of his calling? In the mart of commerce and by the domestic hearth, may be fought and won as severe a conflict with evil as ever hermit carried on in his cell; and a self-denial may be practised which it costs human nature many a piercing pang to accomplish. Is it not carrying the conflict out of its proper sphere, to make it a matter of an ounce of bread more or less, or some lashes from a scourge ? "I am tempted on every hand," the devout tradesman may say; cases are continually arising, when I have to renounce facilities for taking unfair advantages, when I have to shun what is considered a venial laxity in morals, to curb the risings of temper, to keep my mind calm amidst the engrossing cares of life, and to take good heed to my ways lest I incur the accusations of conscience; and am I to be said to have no opportunities for exercising self-denial, because my dietary is more liberal than that of a monk?" Let these objectors be certain, that those who live godly must suffer persecution from the world if they come into contact with it, must fight the good fight of faith, must war with evil, and must stand isolated from the great mass of their fellows, an isolation felt far more bitterly and deeply when associating with them, than when shut up in solitude with a few congenial spirits. Yes, this wonderful conflict must rage in the renewed man; and a mighty mystery it is. The Christian thus finds in himself a twofold cause for wonder he is astonished, on the one hand, that any good desires can arise from so corrupt a heart,-and, on the other, that having once tasted of the joys of religion, sin should ever trouble him more, that the law which is in his members should still persist in warring against the law of his mind. That the love of God should have entered his heart is a mystery; and it is also a mystery that he should ever again be entangled with a love of the world. Does he not hate sin? and yet over what rebellion, what relapses, he has to mourn! "Save me, O God, for the waters are come in unto my soul" is his plaintive cry, as the floods of temptation howl around him, and their foaming fluctuations hide for a time the very stars of heaven. "Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed:" thus has the holy Apostle described the Christian's mysterious condition, in that wonderful series of paradoxes in which language seems too weak to express his sublime conceptions. And as believers are mysterious in their sorrows, so are they also a mystery in their joys. As they are strangers and pilgrims on the earth, so have they received power to become the sons of God. They do not attempt by arts of human reason to pry into the secrets of the invisible world, or to attain unto knowledge unmeet for humanity. The thoughts and desires of their renewed nature, when the chains of outward circumstances are loosened, go out easily and spontaneously into the regions of the unseen, as into their congenial sphere. They do not, "Like the boy Icarus, presumptuous, rise On borrow'd pinions into unknown skies; But, like the prince of birds, by th'impulse driv'n, Of their own nature, seek their kindred heav'n."* * Isaac Da Costa Wijsbegeerte en Dichtkunst. They commune with God. They hear the Shepherd's voice, and in obedience to it, they go in and out, and find pasture. The Spirit of God bears witness with their spirits that they are the children of God. And as the blessings of which they partake, are mysterious, so also are the means through which they have received a title to them. They and all their privileges were bought with a price, with no less a price than the blood of the Son of God. Through the mysterious sacrifice of Calvary it is, that they have become partakers of mercy; there, were bought for them, pardon, immortality, and glory, -every joy and every hope they experience. The covenant of grace, ratified by the death of Christ, secures their salvation and happiness. Their justification, sanctification, and adoption into God's family,-blessings, each of which is a deep mystery, all depend on the central mystery of the cross. And when the believer has attained unto his glorified state, he will be a far greater mystery to himself than before. That he should have been borne through the thousand dangers of the world, that his repeated acts of ingratitude should not have entailed on him final rejection,—that he should have survived the dissolution of his frame, that he should have lost nothing but what his better nature hated, and preserved everything worthy of his love, will fill him with wonder and admiration. But still more will he be astonished when introduced into the fields of Divine love and truth, there to be laid open. His intellect, which here flagged and grew weary, while engaged in holy contemplations, will there mount boundless heights, and gain fresh vigour as it ascends. Unexpected delights will spring up around, like flowers starting from the soil at the approach of spring; but not, like them, trembling at their very birth on the verge of decay. The most ardent burst of earthly rapture will not equal in intensity the calmest flow of heavenly bliss: the song of joy which here faintly murmured on the strings of the soul, will there swell forth high-toned and full. With wonder will the believer discover that all danger and all apprehension have passed away: the gentle bird, escaped from the fowler's hand, will have flown to her mountain and be safe. There, will the Father display His love there, will the Son-the Bridegroom of the soul-claim His affianced spouse: there, will the Holy Spiritnever more to be grieved by the sins and coldness of the beatified saintshed in sparkling abundance the dews of His grace. O mystery, in which all other mysteries will be solved! Oh, glorious consummation of the strife and struggles of this tempestuous world? A But the believer is also a mystery to others. The world cannot understand him. "Who is this sturdy rebel," it is asked, "who remains erect when so many are bowing down to our golden images? To what invisible deity and vacant shrine can his vows be paid, for whom our gailydecorated altars have no attraction?" Christians are not of the world, and therefore the world hateth them. difference of opinion even on trivial subjects, often causes estrangement and lasting enmity; but here we have a total difference of opinion,-a difference as wide apart as are the kingdoms of flesh and spirit. It is no wonder, then, that the Christian seems a mystery to unbelievers. That he should be able to resist the seductions by which so many fall, to beat back opponents apparently invincible, and keep on his way amidst ridicule and contumely, is a miracle to the children of this generation. To him may be applied the language which Homer makes Pandarus use respecting Diomed, "Not without some deity's assistance does he display this enthusiasm in the fight: but some immortal stands by him, veiled in a cloud, who turns aside from him the swift-rushing dart." His true life is one hid with Christ in God, and therefore concealed from their scrutiny. And as they cannot explain his victories, so are they puzzled by his defeats. His weaknesses and errors are pointed out exultingly by those who thus find, as they think, their sagacious accusations of hypoerisy and delusion amply justified. They see his sin, but they see not his repentance they see the actings of human nature, but they cannot trace the workings of the inner man. Hence arise continual mistakes on their part; which are multiplied by the circumstance that some of the outward acts of grace are often counterfeited. Thus there are three causes which combine to render the believer a mystery to the world: the inscruta bility of his spiritual nature; the anomalous phenomena produced by the workings of indwelling sin, not yet totally destroyed; and the counterfeits exhibited by those who have a form of godliness without the power. Still, though mantled in mystery, the children of light move through the world, testifying that the works thereof are evil, protesting against its corruptions, and declaring that the fashion thereof passeth away. M. N. THE ORIGIN OF ALL THE NATIONS UPON EARTH. In anticipation of the meeting of persons from all the civilized nations of the earth in our great metropolis, it may be interesting to some of our readers to have pointed out to them from the Scriptures, the origin of those nations. The following brief summary, extracted from Scott, may serve as a starting point for interesting and instructive conversation upon the only authentic source from which such information can be derived. "Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth and unto them were sons born after the flood." GEN. X. 1, (see the whole chapter.) SHEM, the progenitor of Abraham, and of the Messiah, is constantly placed first, when the sons of Noah are enumerated; and Japheth last: yet it is generally supposed that Japheth was the eldest and Shem the youngest of his sons; as in this chapter we find, 1st, the posterity of Japheth, then that of Ham, and then that of Shem. Before the sacred writer entered upon the history of Abraham and his family, he was led to give a general account of the several branches of Noah's family, from which the origin of many nations may be distinctly traced. This chapter may therefore be considered as a kind of introduction to universal history. It is supposed by many learned men, that the descendants of Gomer, Japheth's eldest son, settled in the northern parts of Asia Minor, and then spread into the Cimmerian Bosphorus and the adjacent regions; and that from them the numerous tribes of the Gauls, Germans, Celts, and Cimbrians descended. Misraim was the ancestor of the Egyptians, Cyrenians, and Lybians; or (the word being plural) it may be the general name of the family or tribe whence they sprang. Phut was the ancestor of the Mauritanians, in short, all Africa is supposed to have been peopled by Ham's posterity, besides the Philistines, Canaanites, and Phoenicians. Eber, the descendant of Shem, was the ancestor of the Hebrews, and of many other nations. The Persians are supposed to be the posterity of Elam; the Assyrians and Chaldeans, of Asshur; and the Syrians, Armenians, and many tribes inhabiting Mesopotamia, of Aram. The immensely numerous inhabitants of the East Indies, China and Japan, may perhaps be considered as the descendants of Joktan, the son of Eber. Indeed many learned men suppose that they find all Joktan's descendants in the large peninsula between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulph; and appear to derive the Arabians in general from him. But the mention of a mountain in the East, warrants us to look for his posterity more to the East. At least, if they settled in Arabia at first, some of them seem afterwards to have migrated to a greater distance. Indeed, this appears to be the most accurate account of the peopling of the regions in the eastern parts of Asia, south of Tartary. It is likewise certain, that many of the Arabians trace back their original to Ishmael and Keturah. In verse 25, we read that in the days of Peleg, the son of Eber, the earth was divided. The name Peleg signifies division; and this division of the earth seems to have been made by Divine appointment, though it was not com plied with till after the confusion of tongues. PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS. As all mankind are of one family, and nearly related in Adam and Noah, how reasonable is it that we should love and do good to each other! Whenever we behold a human being, whatever be his language and garb, or wherever he was born, we should recognize a relation, and behave to him accordingly. In this view, how unnatural and absurd is that prejudice against foreigners, and that contempt of them, which generally prevail! And how can it consist with love to our neighbours, our brethren,-" bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh-to treat them with rigour or hold them in slavery? "But whence come wars and fightings amongst us?" From that first murderer, who so early stirred up in fallen man the vile lusts of ambition, covetousness, revenge, and cruelty, and armed brethren against each other in horrid war; and who hath in all ages filled the earth with slaughter and devastation, which it might previously have been supposed could gratify none but himself. But the very existence of war, and the necessity of being always ready for it, and of sometimes waging it, too plainly prove man's depravity, as well as Satan's influence. Blessed be God, the days are coming, when all the "nations shall beat their swords into plow-shares and their spears into pruning-hooks, and they shall learn war no more;" and then ambitious or rapacious conquerors, will no longer be adjudged illustrious characters, as in man's partial histories; but they will be branded with infamy, as in the impartial records of the Bible. THE GOLDSMITH AND HIS APPRENTICE. THERE is something peculiarly interesting in an apprentice boy, especially if he is connected with any of the superior trades. He comes probably fresh from school, to be taught, for seven long years, the mysteAPRIL-1850 ries of a trade which is to be his support afterwards; and, if the fond dreams of parents could be realized, the source of honour and wealth to their child, when they themselves were laid low in the grave. The L |