And it is in this conception of something higher, and in the effort to reach it, that our hopes lie. Let the present struggles, then, prove unavailing. Let Fourierism explode, and non-resistance die; let intemperance stalk abroad as ever of old, and the gallows continue, as a relic of barbarism, to lift up its arms in the face of high heaven; let the slave groan on in his bondage, and war continue to devour the nations, and call it glory. Is there, therefore, no hope? Will these yearnings for a higher good all cease? Will the world sit down in despair? Believe it not. It will have grown wiser by its very defeats. It may fail in its present efforts. It may fail a thousand times in similar efforts. But, so far as good is involved in the end desired, it will succeed at last. And every failure will aid its final success. Dr. Arnold, in his "Lectures on Modern History," has somewhere remarked, that he "cannot conceive of a state of things so bad, that sincere efforts will not improve it." A long time, success may be deferred. Many a toiler may grow weary, and many a heart may grow sad. But those who have faith, can cheerfully wait the final issue. The destiny of humanity must be wrought out in sweat and tears. The race cannot attain to its blessings without effort, and would not preserve them if it could. To be qualified to enjoy them, it must be able to acquire them. The prodigal son, in the beautiful parable of our Saviour, received his portion of his father's wealth, and how soon did he squander it! But, having toiled his way back from poverty and wretchedness to the joys of his childhood-home, it does not appear that he ever again wandered. A fit representative is he, of the race. Created in puri'y, it has fallen from its first estate, and is toiling on, in chains which sin has forged. There are many stages in its progress to its better destiny, a glimpse of which even, can scarcely now be had. "Earth-like, the heart must undergo all change, Is all earth now can boast." 4 4 Festus, p. 342. Let every toiler, then, take courage. As the coral insect, washed by the ocean's wave, is content to add his little portion to the sub-marine mountain reef, which shall one day uprise, an island in the midst of the sea; so ought we to be content to add our little portion, in working out the destiny of humanity. Besides, we shall not toil alone. There is an ever-present providence guiding the affairs of men. We are oft enshrouded in darkness; but the power above sits ever enthroned in light. We journey, we sometimes know not whither. God always moves the nations of the earth to a certain end. Amidst the sinfulness of man, he planted Christianity. Like a tender plant, has it been borne down to the earth by the winds of passion. Like an outcast, has it been driven from the abodes of men. Like a malefactor, has it been nailed to the cross. Yet from every estate it has returned again, possessed of new energy and power. By its silent, yet most effective. influence, is it moulding the institutions, and subduing the hearts, of men. And, if I have not mistaken the temporal destiny of man, it shall bear him on to a gladsome state, in which the earth shall look green again; peace shall prevail; and Christianity walk forth in its glory. I cannot better close this article, than in the words of the poet, ascribed to the angel of Hope, who is supposed to be viewing the regenerated earth, with the work of Christianity complete upon it. "How sweet, how sacred now, this earth of man's! I marked it from the first, while yet it lay The deluge and idolatries of men I viewed, though shuddering, and with faltering eye, E'en to the incarnation of Heaven's Lord, And dawning of His faith; that faith which was An infant and anon a giant; was A star, and grew a Heaven-fulfilling Sun; Which was an outcast, and became, ere long, A dweller in all palaces; which hid Its head in dens of deserts, and sat throned, Which was poured out in mortal blood, and rose Was sold for gold and prostrated to power; And now that lowly bondmaid is a Queen; The Bride of the all-worshipped, one with God! 5 5 Festus, pp. 389, 390. A. A. M. ART. XIII. Authority of Moses. It is not our object in this brief essay, to give an extensive and minute delineation of the character of the great lawgiver of Israel. We aim rather at a few prominent traits. We have a higher object in this undertaking, than merely to survey the life of an individual, however interesting that life might appear. With the character of Moses, the credit of much that is found both in the Old and New Testaments, stands in no small degree connected. It is proper, then, that we seek for some adequate knowledge of this connection, and that we be able to maintain a proper consistency in our views of it. We have a single point in the character of Moses to make a matter of inquiry; and that is, whether it be good or bad, whether he was a true prophet of the God of heaven, or an impostor. Many have become embarrassed on account of the discrepancies which they have found between the law of Moses and the gospel of Jesus Christ, as made known by the writers of the New Testament. Instead of endeavoring to reconcile the difficulties in which they find themselves involved, we learn that in many instances they lay aside the injunctions of Moses, as worse than worthless. They account a portion of them as absolute perversions of all that are or ever were good and profitable to men. Yet we find, of this description, those who profess to be Christians, and receive the New Testament as the rule of their faith and conduct. How far they reject the Old Tes Proba tament in general, we are not able to determine. bly, some embrace more of it, and some less. We should be ready, however, to conclude that most of those who embrace the gospel, would be willing to unite with it, as a part of the same inspired word, the books of the prophets. We have no peculiar attachments to Judaism. St. Paul tells us, the law "was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come, to whom the promise was made." (Gal. iii. 19.) The law seems, then, to form a part of the great chain that composes the system of divine revelation. If we strike it out, we may find ourselves in more difficulty in maintaining the divine authority of the gospel, than many are aware. Indeed, it is to be suspected that most who profess to embrace the gospel, thus disconnected from the Mosaic dispensation, embrace it more from its apparent consistency, than from the persuasion of its having any divine authority. They may acknowledge it to be divine; but it is only on the ground on which they would concede that any other thing which is good or true is divine. We propose now to institute an inquiry respecting the character of Moses, as gathered from the New Testament. This will show us in what light, we, as Christians, should view our subject. It will so far open to our view the state of the question, as to make it plain, whether, in discrediting the character of Moses, we do, or do not violence to the very ground of faith we profess to respect. This is a matter in which every person ought to be informed who wishes to act consistently on the subject. In Acts xxviii. 23, we find that St. Paul classes Moses with the prophets, and treats both as of divine authority: "And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening." In view of this passage, we would ask, if the apostle held that the law of Moses was never of divine authority, why did he make use of it to persuade his hearers of the Messiahship of Jesus Christ? Why did he class the law of Moses with the writings of the prophets? Will it be said, in reply, that he did it to accominodate Jewish prejudices? If the apostle's aim was merely conquest in argument, this course might be pardonable; but we conclude, and we think reasonably, that he was laboring to establish faith in Christianity, on a solid foundation. We cannot, therefore, believe that he would quote from an author, as a prophet of God, in whom he had no faith as a divine writer. In the account that is given of the rich man and Lazarus, Christ puts it into the mouth of Abraham to say to the rich man concerning his brethren, "They have Moses. and the prophets; let them hear them." When the rich man, in his deplorable condition, offered a still more earnest plea for his brethren, he received for an answer, "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." Our readers will do well to mark the bearing this last passage has on our subject. It attaches an importance to the teachings of Moses, which compares with the information that might be received from one who arose directly from the dead. It makes little difference, so far as our subject is concerned, in what light the account of the rich man and Lazarus is held. Interpret it as we may, its force is the same, in giving to Moses an authoritative character. The testimony of St. Paul to the Hebrews, iii. 5, is much to our purpose. "And Moses verily was faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after." Moses is called the servant of the Lord, in Deut. xxxiv. 5, and in Joshua, i. 1. In Num. xii. 7, we find very nearly the language of the apostle. We quote this with the preceding verse. God is there represented as saying, " Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all his house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth; even apparently, not in dark speeches." We find here a double testimony to the high prophetic character of Moses. In the first place, we have the testimony of St. Paul, that he was faithful in all his house, which would include no less than the whole house of Israel. In the second place, the apostle quotes almost literally the language of Moses, as his own, bearing testimony that he was not only a ser |