from the air, retarding the sudden elevation of temperature which would otherwise ensue. Hence the approach of winter, in our climate, is greatly retarded by the congelation of water, which begins to take place as soon as the cold has reached a very moderate degree of intensity; and in the severest weather, when the increasing cold threatens to annihilate all things, the spacious floods of water instantly change their form, and pour forth from their secret chambers torrents of heat, that limit and mitigate the severity of the frost. The liquefaction of large bodies of snow and ice, exert, on the other hand, an agency no less beneficial, to retard the too rapid advances of the summer heat. The excess of temperature is absorbed by this means, and is again stored away to meet the exigencies of the returning win

ter.

Now let us consider these facts in relation to the polar regions, and we shall soon discover that these "vast and frightful" accumulations of ice, are so far from being designed to afflict the inhabitants of those dreary climes, that, but for these, all those regions must have been totally uninhabitable. In a latitude where a winter's night lasts three long months, and a summer's day as many more, what could stay the severity of the frost or the intensity of the heat, did not the processes of congelation and liquefaction perform these kindly offices? The shivering Greenlander or Esquimaux ought, therefore, when he hears the forest-trees rending, and the ice groaning around him, to hail, with thankful emotions, these agonies of nature as the means which his beneficent Creator, mindful of the lowest of his creatures, has provided to save him from destruction. The benevolence of God is indeed eminently conspicuous in these frozen regions. Of all the bodies that are fitted to imprison and economize heat, it is found by chemists

that none are so effectual as those which have a downy texture and a white color. Such is the raiment with which the Creator has invested the polar animals; and the Greenland bear with his robe of matted fur of snowy whiteness, grows up strong and majestic, amid frosts so bitter, and winds so piercing, that man, with all his boasted resources, sinks down beneath them in despair, or dwindles to a pigmy.

Had our author sufficiently reflected on these facts, he would never have thought of placing the polar ice among those things in the natural world which indicate the displeasure of God against mankind; and we are inclined to think that no part of creation, no laws of nature, will be found, on close inspection, to warrant our belief that any such indications exist--his tender mercies are over all his works.

We pass now to the third posi tion of our author in the chapter under review, namely, that the discoveries which have been made in the system of nature, illustrate the doctrine of the Resurrection of the Dead.

The transformations of insects af

Before

ford us a beautiful illustration of this subject. All the butterflies we see fluttering about in the summer months, were originally caterpillars. they arrived at that highest state of their existence, they passed through four different transformations. The first state of a butterfly is that of an egg; it next assumes the form of a loathsome crawling worm; after remaining some time in this state, it throws off its caterpillar skin; languishes; refuses to eat; ceases to move; and is shut up as it were in a tomb. In this state the animal is termed a chrysalis; it is covered with a thin crust or shell, and remains, sometimes for six or eight months, without motion, and apparently without life. After remaining its allotted time in this torpid condition it begins to acquire new life and vigour; it bursts its imprisonment, and comes forth a butterfly, with wings tinged with the most

beautiful colours. It mounts the air; it ranges from flower to flower, and seems to rejoice in its new and splendid existence. How very different does it appear in this state from what it did in the preceding stages of its existence! How unlikely did it seem that a rough, hairy, crawling worm, which lay for such a length of time in a death-like torpor, and enshrouded in a tomb, should be re-animated, as it were, and changed into so beautiful a form, and endued with such powers of rapid motion! Perhaps the change to be effected on the bodies of men, at the general resurrection, may not be greater nor more wonderful in its nature, than are the changes which take place from the first to the last stage of a caterpillar's existence. In such transformations, then, we behold a lively representation of the death and resurrection of a righteous man. A little while he shall lie in the ground, as the seed lies in the bosom of the earth; but he shall be raised again, and shall never die any more.' p. 329.

"There is another illustration, taken from a consideration of the chemical changes of matter, which has a still more direct bearing on the doctrine of a resurrection. We know that substances which are invisibly incorporated with air, water, and other fluids, and which seem to be destroyed, may be made to re-appear in their original form by the application of certain chemical re-agents. For example; put a small piece of solid camphor into a phial halffilled with alcohol or spirits of wine; in a short time the camphor will be dissolved in the fluid, and the spirit will be as transparent as at first. If water be now added, it will unite with the ardent spirit, and the camphor will be separated and fall to the bottom of the phial. In this way the camphor may be nearly all recovered, as at first; and by distillation the alcohol may also be separated from the water, and exhibited in a separate state. p. 329.

With regard to the transformations of certain insects, if this example be intended merely as an illustration of the changes which man undergoes in the different stages of his existence (such different stages of existence being proved) we do not object to it-it may serve

the purpose of comparison. But such instances cannot be offered as affording the slightest proof of the doctrine of the Resurrection. After all, the analogy fails in the principal point--the insect in making its transitions to the different states of being, does not die. If while in either of these states of transition, it be crushed between the fingers, or be drowned, or burned, it lives no more. In the examples of chemical decomposition which are adduced, the analogy is still more imperfect, or rather there is no analogy at all, and we noticed them with no little surprise. How slight an illustration does the mere fact that the same matter may exist under different forms, or in different states, as the solid and the fluid, afford of that sublime and holy doctrine which teaches, that this organic being, though reduced to a cold and lifeless clod, though dissolved in dust, though scattered in the winds of heaven or in the depths of the sea, shall be re-animated, and glow with renovated youth, and flourish in immortal bloom! We cannot but think (although such a purpose was far from the heart of our author) that this mysterious and sacred subject is degraded and almost profaned, by such a compari

son.

The fourth proposition, that the discoveries of science tend to illustrate the doctrine of the General Conflagration, is maintained like the preceding, by a feeble train of reasoning, and amounts to nothing more than this, that the Creator has abundant means within his reach for the accomplishment of this purpose.

Should the Creator issue forth his Almighty fiat-'Let the nitrogen of the atmosphere be completely separated from the oxygen, and let the oxycontrol-from what we know of its gen exert its native energies without nature, we are warranted to conclude that instantly a universal conflagration

would commence, throughout all the kingdoms of nature-not only wood, coals, sulphur, bitumen, and other combustible substances, but even the hardest rocks and stones, and all the metals, fossils and minerals, and water itself, which is a compound of two inflammable substances, would blaze with a rapidity which would carry destruction through the whole expanse of the terraqueous globe, and change its present aspect into that of a new world." p. 331.

The foregoing passage (which by the way is incorrect, in point of fact, in several particulars*) is one of those which we had in view when

we said, that the indiscreet application of natural phenomena to the support of doctrines of Theology, had an unfavorable influence upon the mind of the skeptic, and indeed upon the minds of men of science generally; and that they in this way tended to weaken the salutary impression made by other parts of the same work. But, while we have felt it our duty to censure what we have deemed a

perversion of the evidence, which the voice of nature speaks in favor of Revelation, we still cordially recommend the Christian Philosopher,' as a work replete with valuable information respecting the creation, and radiant with devout and pious sentiments towards the Creator.

The Reference Bible, designed to facilitate the acquisition of scriptural knowledge, in Bible Classes, Sunday Schools, Common

*Rocks and stones might, in the case supposed, become melted or even converted into vapour, but they would not blaze nor burn, not being inflammable bodies. Water is not composed of two inflammable substances as the author says -hydrogen is the only inflammable ingredient, while its union with oxygen prevents its being combustible in the state of water. The presence of oxygen in a body is rather a reason why it will not burn than why it will.

VOL. I.-No. III.

21

Schools, and Private Families. By HERVEY WILBUR, A. M. Boston, Cummings, Hilliard, & Co. Crocker & Brewster, also by the American Sunday School Union, Philadelphia. 1826.

THE pleasure to be derived from reading the word of God, is described by Chrysostom, the most eloquent of the Fathers, with his usual vividness. He compares it with that arising from witnessing the beautiful objects of nature, and shows how it surpasses this in richness and permanence. The meadow and garden, says he, are sweet, but far sweeter the perusal of the divine scriptures. In those are withering flowers; but in these are living thoughts. In them is the whispering zephyr; in these, the breath of the spirit. There you tection; but in these you may learn may see the thorny hedge for a prothe securing providence of God. There you may listen to the chirping crickets; but here to the sounding prophets. The garden is confined to a single spot; the Scriptures may be every where enjoyed. The one suffers from the inclemencies of seasons, but the others in summer and winter are rich in foliage, and laden with fruit.

The wonderful volume of inspiration is indeed replete with all which can yield pleasure and improvement to the mind, or awaken, correct, and gratify the feelings. He who employs in its study intellect merely, finds it a mine inexhaustible, and rich in the quality of its contents. It furnishes material for the most intense thought and ardent investigation. It is a transcript of the "living manners," that flourished in the various ages during which it was composed; which but for this had long since descended to oblivion. It has transmitted to us, as it must to the last generation who will inhabit this earthly vale, the literature of a people sin

gular for intellectual and moral worth,--a literature rich in its own material, and nervous with underived strength. It has made us acquainted with a language simple, noble, strong, tender; so like the works of God, it seems to have been created by himself rather than formed by the tardy and gradual invention of men. This literature and language were chosen by the Holy Spirit in ancient days as a medium of revealing to man what feeble reason could not teach. No book can afford so much food for the mind as the inspired scriptures. So new and striking are their subjects, so peculiar the customs of church, and state, and private life, pourtrayed in them; so inexhaustible the sources from which materials for their illustration may be drawn, they call into exercise whatever feelings of admiration, and whatever powers of understanding, we may possess.

But the intellectual enjoyment and profit cannot for a moment be compared with the moral improvement derived from the study of the scriptures. It is impossible to say what this divine word has done to elevate man, and how much of the civilization of this world is to be attributed only to it. Where then is the man who would not wish this book to be placed in the hands of every son of Adam ?

But if it be a subject of lamentation, that millions are without the Bible, it is also to be regretted, that thousands of those who do posgess it, and even habitually read it, remain in a great degree ignorant of its contents. They have been accustomed to course over its chapters so familiarly from their childhood, that it has come to be like an often repeated story, heard but not heeded. They pass over its beauties, of language and of sentiment, without perceiving either; over its facts and doctrines, without being interested or instructed; and even

over its obscurities and difficulties, without suspecting their existence. To devise a plan which shall tend to correct this habit, and fix the mind of the reader, to perceive and feel the import of the sacred word, is to subserve the end for which the Bible was bestowed upon us. And this is the object of the "Reference Bible." By the use of various letters of the alphabet affixed to the verses, or larger portions of scripture, as the connexion may require, reference is continually made to a "Key," or sheet of questions judiciously prepared by the editor, and by this means, the Bible, ceasing to be a passive book in the hands of an idle reader, is made the active interrogator respecting its own contents, requiring the reader at every step, to pause, investigate, and comment. The method may be understood from a specimen. Take for example the 97th Psalm. Prefixed to the first verse we find the letter d, and on referring to the key, we find this letter asks the following questions: "What DUTY is here enjoined? On whom? Is it taught by precept, by example, or by inference? How enforced?" To these questions severally, the attentive reader answers. The duty enjoined is, delight in the government of God, and it is binding on all the inhabitants of the earth: -The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice : let the multitude of isles be glad thereof. It is taught by precept, as well as by the example of the Psalmist; and is enforced by a variety of motives drawn from succeeding verses. Prefixed to the second verse we find the letter S, which the key informs us asks the following questions: "What SUBLIMITY of thought or of language is here? What inference follows?" To the first of these questions the reader might reply, that clouded majesty, vivid lightnings, the trembling earth, and melting hills, all conspire sublimely to announce the

presence of Jehovah; and it might strike his mind as an inference that the "shepherd king,"-uttering language so much above the most admired passages of the heathen poets respecting the divinities they announced-must have "spoke as he was moved by the Holy Ghost;" or in other words, the Psalmist was inspired. For other passages different letters are employed, as D, f, g, o, t, &c. with which are associated such questions as the following, together with various subordinate ones, severally growing out of them; namely, What difficulty in this passage? what facts stated? what geographical information, oriental custom, doctrinal truth, &c.? To aid the learner in answering these questions, various compendiums of useful information are appended to the volume, which we shall notice more particularly hereafter.

The Bible though read in the closet or the family, will fail of salutary effect unless its truths are apprehended and felt. A commentary may explain a difficult passage, but it will not cause the mind to form strong conceptions of divine truth, nor the breast to feel its force. But the references of Mr. Wilbur are suited to lead the mind to think strongly of the subject of revelation. Divine truth becoming thus the subject of investigation, is incorporated with our fund of knowledge. It is associated with our trains of thought. We no longer recollect scripture as we do the alphabet with an artificial memory, we remember its ideas. The tenderness of Jeremiah, as he pours forth his mournful elegies, has sunk into our soul. We admire the abrupt sublimity of the Psalms and the prophets, and our souls expand with the eloquence of Paul. As we read we make our own commentary, and it is deep and original according to the strength of our minds and feelings. The difference in the

knowledge of the scriptures acquir. ed by merely reading a commentary and imbibing its explanations, and that gained by studying and meditating on each sentence, is as the difference between the knowledge acquired by doing a thing ourselves, and that gained by examining it after it is done by others.

One of the most common difficulties in the way of understanding the scriptures arises from its division into verses. Each verse stands by itself, as if it were an insulated proposition. The unpractised mind therefore is predisposed to search for its meaning as though it were a proverb, unconnected with the context. Mr. Wilbur has we think remedied this difficulty in part by making but one reference where several verses are intimately united in sense, and that at the first of these verses. The mind is thus led to consider them all as containing the same idea, repeated, it may be, under another form, for the purpose of enforcement or illustration.

For ourselves such seems to us the evil of this division into verses by breaks such as are used in other books only to mark paragraphs, we could wish that in the next edition of the Reference Bible, the whole text should be thrown into a solid form after the manner of Knapp's, Titman's, or Griesbach's Testament, and the paragraphs only be designated by breaks. ions into chapters and verses might be retained in the margin. The sign ¶ inserted by the original editors of our version to mark paragraphs, is too liable to be overlook. ed, is often inserted where the sense does not require it, and often omitted where it does.

The divis

If this alteration and one other in the Poetical books which we will mention were adopted, we should be quite contented with our version, The alteration now alluded to is a change in the somewhat absurd punctuation of the Psalms