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The Evening and The Morning Star/1/5
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| Source document in Mormon Publications: 19th and 20th Centuries online archive: The Evening and The Morning Star Vol. 1
Note: Some headings and bracketed texts are editorial and not part of the original text. |
| THE EVENING AND THE MORNING STAR | ||
| Vol. 1. | Independence, Mo. October, 1832 | No. 5. |
THE TEN TRIBES.
Perhaps some might think, that we ought to embrace the scattering of the twelve tribes in this article, but a moment's reflection will show the propriety of taking the ten lost tribes first. We have a sufficient foundation for the scattering and gathering of Israel in the 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and 33rd chapters of Deuteronomy: That glorious blessing, The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasures, if thou shalt hearken unto the commandments to do them; that solemn curse, But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments, that thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a by-word among all nations whither the Lord shall lead thee, and that sacred promise: And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, that the Lord will have compassion upon thee and will return and gather thee from all the nations whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee,-when traced through the bible and fully explained, would be more than the world would believe at once, or do believe now, and so we take the ten tribes as the subject of this essay, allowing all men their own privilege of searching the scriptures for themselves, to know whether these things are so or not; and how much of the blessing fell to the lot of Israel, from the day it was pronounced till Solomon showed the queen of Sheba his glory; and how much of the curse came upon this elect nation, when it went into captivity and was scattered to the four winds: that they may the better judge whether the Lord will return according to his sacred promise, and gather his elect from every country where they were scattered in a dark and cloudy day.
The division of Israel was foretold by Ahijah the prophet, in the days of Solomon, when he tore the new garment of Jeroboam into twelve pieces, saying, Take thee ten pieces: for thus said the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee. Some time after this, the destiny of the ten tribes was made known, for Jeroboams' wife went to the same prophet to inquire concerning the life of her sick child, and received for answer that it should die, For the Lord shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the Lord to anger. And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin. Some where about 250 years after this prophecy was given, it was fulfilled: Shalmaneser king of Assyria made Hoshea, king of Israel, tributary, and soon after, finding conspiracy in him, he took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them; until the Lord removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets.-So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day. This is the captivity of Jacob or Israel, and it happened 124 years before the Babylonish captivity of the tribe of Judah. Ezekiel speaking of the whole captivity, says, Thus said the Lord God, I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant upon a high mountain and eminent: In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell. And all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the Lord have spoken and have done it.
The highest branch of the high cedar, is Israel, for Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure: For they are gone up to Assyria, A WILD ASS ALONE BY HIMSELF. Having thus traced Israel to Assyria, where he is figuratively declared by Hosea, to be a wild ass alone by himself, and where he has remained in complete obscurity from the world, 2556 years, let us consider what else is to become of him. The Savior declares that he was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and in another place he says: And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. These words admit of no cavil or supposition; if the Savior came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and declared that he had other sheep besides the Jews at Jerusalem, we believe him; let us then take his words to the Nephites as recorded in the Book of Mormon:
And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, he said unto those twelve whom he had chosen, Ye are my disciples; and ye are a light unto this people, which are a remnant of the house of Joseph. And behold, this is the land of your inheritance; and the Father hath given it unto you. And not at any time hath the Father given me commandment that I should tell it unto your brethren at Jerusalem; neither at any time hath the Father given me commandment, that I should tell unto them concerning the other tribes of the house of Israel, which the Father hath led away out of the land. This much did the Father command me that I should tell unto them, That other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. And now because of stiffneckedness and unbelief, they understood not my word; therefore I was commanded to say no more of the Father concerning this thing unto them. But, verily I say unto you, that the Father hath commanded me, and I tell it unto you, that you were separated from among them because of their iniquity; therefore it is because of their iniquity, that they know not of you. And verily, I say unto you again, That the other tribes hath the Father separated from them; and it is because of their iniquity, that they know not of them. And verily, I say unto you, That ye are they of which I said, Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. And they understood me not, for they supposed it had been the Gentiles: for they understood not that the Gentiles should be converted through their preaching; and they understood me not that I said, They shall hear my voice; and they understood me not that the Gentiles should not at any time hear my voice; that I should not manifest myself unto them, save it were by the Holy Ghost. But behold, ye have both heard my voice, and seen me; and ye are my sheep, and ye are numbered among them which the Father hath given me. And verily, verily I say unto you, That I have other sheep which are not of this land; neither of the land of Jerusalem; neither in any parts of that land round about, whither I have been to minister. For they of which I speak, are they which have not as yet heard my voice; neither have I at any time manifested myself unto them. But I have received a commandment of the Father that I shall go unto them, and that they shall hear my voice, and shall be numbered among my sheep, that there may be one fold, and one shepherd; therefore I go to shew [show] myself unto them. And I command you that ye shall write these sayings, after that I am gone, that if it so be that my people at Jerusalem, they which have seen me, and been with me in my ministry, do not ask the Father in my name, that they may receive a knowledge of you by the Holy Ghost, and also of the other tribes which they know not of, that these sayings which ye shall write, shall be kept, and shall be manifested unto the Gentiles, that through the fulness [fullness] of the Gentiles, the remnant of their seed which shall be scattered forth upon the face of the earth, because of their unbelief, may be brought in, or may be brought to a knowledge of me their Redeemer.
While quoting the Book of Mormon let us take a small extract from the parable of the Lord's vineyard, where it is likened unto a tame olive tree, viz:
And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard saith unto the servant, Come, let us go to the nethermost part of the vineyard, and behold if the natural branches of the tree hath not brought forth much fruit also, that I may lay up of the fruit thereof, against the season, unto mine ownself. And it came to pass that they went forth whither the master of the vineyard had hid the natural branches of the tree, and he saith unto the servant, Behold these: and he beheld the first, that it had brought forth much fruit; and he beheld also, that it was good. And he saith unto the servant, Take of the fruit thereof, and lay it up against the season, that I may preserve it unto mine ownself: for behold, saith he, This long time have I nourished it, and it hath brought forth much fruit.
And it came to pass that the servant saith unto his master, How comest thou hither to plant this tree, or this branch of the tree? for behold, it was the poorest spot in all the land of thy vineyard. And the Lord of the vineyard saith unto him, Counsel me not: I knew that it was a poor spot of ground; wherefore, I said unto thee, I have nourished it this long time; and thou beholdest that it hath brought forth much fruit.
Here we have a clue to the place where Israel is; for while standing upon the centre [center] of the earth, it would be perfectly natural to call the north, south, east, and west, nethermost, or lowest; and as this branch was the first that the Lord had hid, it would evidently mean the ten tribes as they were the first carried away. Again, when the Lord begins to call home his branches that were hid about in the lower parts of his vineyard, he says to the north first, [because first planted] Give up.-The world has been troubled a good deal to find Israel and to get to the north pole, and to search out the Northern Lights, but when the Lord shall utter his voice out of Zion, and shall speak from Jerusalem; and his voice shall be heard among all people; and it shall be as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder, which shall break down the mountains, and the valleys shall not be found, he shall command the great deep, and it shall be driven back into the north countries, and the islands shall become one land; and the land of Jerusalem and the land of Zion shall be turned back into their own place, and the earth shall be like as it was in the days before it was divided,-the saints will know how much further the wisdom of God extends on earth, than the knowledge of men. The time must soon come, as the prophet Jeremiah hath said, when they shall no more say, The Lord liveth which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt: But the Lord liveth which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, for the Lord hath said: Go and proclaim these words toward the north, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger forever, Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the Lord. Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: And they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers. And they shall come with weeping, and they shall
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come and sing in the height of Zion, for it shall come to pass, as the Lord hath watched over them to pluck them up for their iniquity, so also will the Lord watch over them to build them up and to plant them, for good.
We have already brought evidence enough to convince an unprejudiced mind how the ten tribes were scattered; where they went to, and how they will be gathered, but to make the subject still plainer, we add a few more extracts. Firstly, Esdras, (who it may be perceived, by comparing the first chapter of his second book, with the 7th chapter of Ezra, was Ezra, as near as the Hebrew and Greek languages can be defined,) gives this full, and, fair account of the ten tribes.
But he shall stand upon the top of mount Sion. [Zion] And Sion shall come, and shall be shewn [shown] to all men, being prepared and builded, like as thou sawest the hill graven without hands. And this my Son shall rebuke the wicked inventions of those nations, which for their wicked life are fallen into the tempest: and shall lay before them their evil thoughts, and the torments wherewith they shall begin to be tormented, which are like unto a flame: and he shall destroy them without labor by the law which is like unto fire. And whereas thou sawest that he gathered another peaceable multitude unto him: Those are the ten tribes, which were carried away prisoners out of their own land in the time of Osea the king, whom Salmanasar the king of Assyria led away captive, and he carried them over the waters, and so came they into another land. But they took this counsel among themselves, that they would leave the multitude of the heathen, and go forth into a further country, where never mankind dwelt, that they might there keep their statutes, which they never kept in their own land. And they entered into Euphrates by the narrow passages of the river. For the Most High then shewed [showed] signs for them, and held still the flood, till they were passed over. For through that country there was a great way to go, namely, of a year and half: and the same region is called Arsareth. Then dwelt they there until the latter time; and now when they shall begin to come, the Highest shall stay the springs of the stream again, that they may go through: therefore sawest thou the multitude with peace.
This plain unvarnished history of the ten tribes, shows itself to be true as much as the account of the creation in the first chapter of Genesis, and for all that has as yet appeared to the contrary, is as much the word of the Lord. Not to quote a tenth part of the prophets in relation to this subject, (for the last paragraph ought to convince the world where Israel went, and when he will return,) we turn to the Savior's parable of the Gentiles and Jacob, which, while it alludes to the whole house of Israel, is so plain that it makes one's heart leap for joy, when he reads it in the spirit of God.
And he said, A certain man had two sons: and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them their living. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat; and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat, and be merry: for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they begin to be merry. Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in; therefore came his father out, and entreated him. And he answering, said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: but as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me; and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
Here we have a plain parable of the Gentiles for the elder son, and Israel for the younger son; or, in other words, Esau, and Jacob: For it is written, that Esau is the end of the world, and Jacob is the beginning of it that follows, for when they were born, Jacob's hand held first the heel of Esau. It has been often remarked, that the Two Sons was one of the greatest parables of our Savior, and true it was: For when the younger son came to himself, and said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, who can mistake our day? who, with the love of Jesus Christ in his heart, can view the thousands of meeting houses, chapels, temples and churches, thronged with men, eager to preach; and witness the missionaries sending some to India, some to Africa, some to New Holland, some to one place and some to another; printing the bible in every tongue and language, and blending almost every means on earth with religion,-can mistake the day in which this parable is fulfilled? No one that is lead by the spirit of the Lord. Pardon us, beloved reader! for quoting the parable of the Two Sons, as touching the ten tribes: the allusion is so great; the figure so strong; the reality so true; the language so melting; and the application so merciful, so heavenly and so tender, that we could not omit it, when the Lord left us welcome to it.
Elijah was translated to paradise in a chariot of fire, and Malachi says he shall return before the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers. Now the Savior said he is come already, but the Jews knew it not, so he did not turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the following extract from Ecclesiasticus [Ecclesiastics], chap. 48th, shows that Elijah, as he is called in Hebrew, and Elias in Greek, will yet come and restore the tribes of Jacob:
Then stood up Elias the prophet as fire, and his word burned like a lamp. He brought a sore famine upon them, and by his zeal he diminished their number.-By the word of the Lord he shut up the heaven, and also three times brought down fire. O Elias, how wast thou honored in thy wondrous deeds! and who may glory like unto thee! Who didst raise up a dead man from death, and his soul from the place of the dead, by the word of the Most High: who broughtest kings to destruction, and honorable men from their bed: who heardest the rebuke of the Lord in Sinai, and in Horeb the judgment of vengeance: who anointedst kings to take revenge, and prophets to succeed after him: who wast taken up in a whirlwind of fire, and in a chariot of fiery horses: who wast ordained for reproofs in their times, to pacify the wrath of the Lord's judgment, before it brake forth into fury, and to turn the heart of the father unto the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob. Blessed are they that saw thee, and slept in love; for we shall surely live.
We have said enough on so plain a subject, and, will therefore, leave the reader to search for himself, and know for himself: The word of God is free; the Spirit of God is free, and the children of God will soon be free. Let us then, close, by saying that suppositions never go before facts: that man's wisdom soon fails, but the word of the Lord endures forever, and his purposes never fail: For I am with thee, [Israel] saith the Lord, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have driven thee, I will not make a full end of thee.
Revelations.
ITEMS OF LAW FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, GIVEN FEBRUARY 23, 1831:
Every person who belongeth to this church of Christ shall observe to keep all the commandments and covenants of the church; and it shall come to pass, that if any person among you shall kill, they shall be delivered up and dealt with according to the laws of the land; for remember that he hath no forgiveness; and it shall be proven according to the laws of the land. But if any man shall commit adultery, he shall be tried before two elders of the church or more; and every word shall be established against him by two witnesses of the church, and not of the world; but if there are more than two witnesses it is better; but he shall be condemned by the mouth of two witnesses; and the elders shall lay the case before the church, and the church shall lift up their hands against them, that they may be dealt with according to the law; and if it can be, it is necessary that the bishop is present also. And thus ye shall do in all cases which shall come before you.
And if any man shall rob, he shall be delivered up unto the law; and if he shall steal, he shall be delivered up unto the law; and if he shall lie, he shall be delivered up unto the law; if he do any manner of iniquity, he shall be delivered up unto the law, even that of God. And if thy brother offend thee, thou shalt take him between him & thee alone, and if he confess thou shalt be reconciled, and if he confess not, thou shalt deliver him up unto the church, not to the members, but to the elders; and it shall be done in a meeting and that not before the world. And if thy brother offend many, he shall be chastened before many; and if any one offend openly, he shall be rebuked openly, that he may be ashamed, and if he confess not, he shall be delivered up unto the law. If any shall offend in secret, he shall be rebuked in secret, that he may have opportunity to confess in secret to him whom he has offended, and to God; that the brethren may not speak reproachfully of him. And thus shall ye conduct in all things.
EXTRACT OF A REVELATION GIVEN FEBRUARY, 1831.
Again, I say hearken, ye elders of my church whom I have appointed: ye are not sent forth to be taught, but to teach the children of men the things which I have put into your hands, by the power of my spirit; and ye are to be taught from on high; sanctify yourselves and ye shall be endowed with power, that ye may give even as I have spoken: Hearken ye, for behold the great day of the Lord is nigh at hand; for the day cometh that the Lord shall utter his voice out of heaven, the heavens shall shake and the earth shall tremble, and the trump of God shall sound, both long and loud, and shall say to the sleeping nations, ye saints arise and live; ye sinners stay and sleep until I shall call again. Wherefore, gird up your loins, lest ye are found among the wicked; lift up your voices and spare not, call upon the nations to repent, both old and young, both bond and free; saying, Prepare yourselves for the great day of the Lord, for if I, who am a man, do lift up my voice and call upon you to repent, and ye hate me, what will you say when the day cometh, when the thunders shall utter their voices from the ends of the earth, speaking in the ears of all that live, saying, Repent, and prepare
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for the great day of the Lord; yea and again, when the lightnings shall streak forth from the east unto the west, and shall utter forth their voices unto all that live, and make the ears of all tingle that hear; saying these words, Repent ye, for the great day of the Lord is come.
And again, the Lord shall utter his voice out of heaven, saying, Hearken, O ye nations of the earth, and hear the words of that God who made you; O ye nations of the earth, how often would I have gathered you, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but ye would not; how oft have I called upon you by the mouth of my servants, and by the ministering of angels, and by the voice of lightnings, and by the voice of tempests, and by the voice of earthquakes, and great hailstorms, and by the voice of famine and pestilence of every kind, and by the great sound of a trump, and by the voice of judgments, and by the voice of mercy all the day long, and by the voice of glory, and honor, and the riches of eternal life; and would have saved you with an everlasting salvation, but ye would not; behold, the day has come when the cup of the wrath of mine indignation is full. Behold verily, I say unto you, that these are the words of the Lord your God. Wherefore labor ye, labor ye, in my vineyard for the last time, for the last time call ye upon the inhabitants of the earth; for in mine own due time will I come upon the earth in judgment, and my people shall be redeemed, and shall reign with me on earth, for the great millennial which I have spoken by the mouth of my servants, shall come; for satan shall be bound, and when he is loosed again, he shall only reign for a little season, and then cometh the end of the earth. And he that liveth in righteousness, shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and the earth shall pass away so as by fire and the wicked shall go away into unquenchable fire, and their end no man knoweth on earth, nor ever shall know until they come before me in judgment. -Hearken ye to these words, behold I am Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world; treasure these things up in your hearts, and let the solemnities of eternity rest upon your minds, be sober, keep all the commandments, even so: Amen.
A REVELATION, GIVEN NOVEMBER, 1831.
My servant, Orson, was called, by his ordinance, to proclaim the everlasting gospel, by the spirit of the living God, from people to people, and from land to land, in the congregations of the wicked, in their synagogues, reasoning with and expounding all scriptures unto them: And behold and lo, this is an ensample unto all those who were ordained unto this priesthood, whose mission is appointed unto them to go forth: And this is the ensample unto them, that they shall speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and whatsoever they shall speak, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost, shall be scripture; shall be the will of the Lord; shall be the mind of the Lord; shall be the word of the Lord; shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation; Behold this is the promise of the Lord unto you, O ye my servants: wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God; that I was; that I am; and that I am to come. This is the word of the Lord unto you my servant, Orson; and also unto my servant, Luke, and unto my servant, Lyman, and unto my servant William; and unto all the faithful elders of my church: Go ye into all the world; preach the gospel to every creature; acting in the authority which I have given you; baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; and he that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned; and he that believeth shall be blessed with signs following, even as it is written: And unto you it shall be given to know the signs of the times, and the signs of the coming of the Son of man; and of as many as the Father shall bear record, to you it shall be given power to seal them up unto eternal life: Amen.
And now, concerning the items in addition to the Laws and commandments, they are these: There remaineth hereafter in the due time of the Lord, other bishops to be set apart unto the church, to minister even according to the first; wherefore it shall be an high priest who is worthy; and he shall be appointed by a conference of high priests. And again, no bishop or judge, which shall be set apart for this ministry, shall be tried or condemned for any crime, save it be before a conference of high priests; and in as much as he is found guilty before a conference of high priests, by testimony that cannot be impeached, he shall be condemned or forgiven, according to the laws of the church. And again, in as much as parents have children in Zion, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance; faith in Christ the Son of the living God; and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old: the sin be upon the head of the parents, for this shall be a law unto the inhabitants of Zion, and their children shall be baptized for the remission of their sins when eight years old, and receive the laying on of the hands: and they also shall teach their children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord. And the inhabitants of Zion shall also observe the sabbath day to keep it holy. And the inhabitants of Zion, also, shall remember their labors, in as much as they are appointed to labor, in all faithfulness, for the idler shall be had in remembrance before the Lord. Now I the Lord am not well pleased with the inhabitants of Zion, for there are idlers among them; and their children are also growing up in wickedness: They also seek not earnestly the riches of eternity, but their eyes are full of greediness. These things ought not to be, and must be done away from among them: wherefore let my servant Oliver, carry these sayings unto the land of Zion. And a commandment I give unto them, that he that observeth not his prayers before the Lord in the season thereof, let him, be had in remembrance before the judge of my people. These sayings are true and faithful: wherefore transgress them not, neither take therefrom. Behold I am Alpha and Omega, and I come quickly: Amen.
=Selected.
COMPARISON BETWEEN THE HEATHENISM AND CHRISTIANITY.
Continued.
Revealed religion removes these difficulties, and decides the question. It tells us, that there are two beings in man, &, if I may express my self so, two different men, the material man, & the immaterial man. The Scriptures spake on these principles, thus; "The dust shall return to the earth as it was," this is the material man: "The spirit shall return to God who gave it," this is the immaterial man. "Fear not them which kill the body," that is to say, the material man: "fear him, which is able to destroy the soul," that is, the immaterial man. "We are willing to be absent from the body," that is from the material man: "and to be present with the Lord," that is to say, to have the immaterial man disembodied. "They stoned Stephen," that is, the material man: "calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit," that is to say, receive the immaterial man.
2. The disciple of natural religion can obtain only an imperfect knowledge of the obligations, or duties of man. Natural religion may indeed conduct him to a certain point, and tell him, that he ought to love his benefactor, and various similar maxims. But is natural religion, think ye, sufficient to account for that contrariety, of which every man is conscious, that opposition between inclination and obligation? A verry [very] solid argument, I grant, in favor of moral rectitude ariseth from observing, that, to whatever degree a man may carry his sin, whatever efforts he may make to eradicate those seeds of virtue from his heart, which nature has sown there, he cannot forbear venerating virtue, and recoiling at vice. This is certainly a proof, that the Author of our being meant to forbid vice, and to enjoin virtue. But is there no room for complaint? Is there nothing specious in the following objection? As, in spite of all my endeavors to destroy virtuous dispositions, I cannot help respecting virtue, ye infer, that the Author of my being intended I should be virtuous; so as, in spite of all my endeavors to eradicate vice, I cannot help loving vice, have I not reason for inferring, in my turn, that, the Author of my being designed I should be vicious; or, at least, that he cannot justly impute guilt to me for performing those actions, which proceed from some principles, that were born with me? Is there no show of reason in this famous sophism? Reconcile the God of nature with the God of religion. Explain how the God of religion can forbid what the God of nature inspires; and how he, who follows those dictates, which the God of nature inspires, can be punished for so doing by the God of religion.
The Gospel unfolds this mystery. It attributes this seed of corruption to the depravity of nature. It attributeth the respect, that we feel for virtue, to the remains of the image of God, in which we were formed, and which can never be entirely effaced. Because we were born in sin, the Gospel concludes, that we ought to apply all our attentive endeavours [endeavors] to eradicate the seeds of corruption. And, because the image of the Creator is partly erased from our hearts, the Gospel concludes, that we ought to give ourselves wholly to the retracing of it, and so to answer the excellence of our extraction.
3. A disciple of natural religion can obtain only an imperfect knowledge of the duration of man, whether his soul be immortal, or whether it be involved in the ruin of matter. Reason, I allow, advanceth some solid arguments in proof of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. For what necessity is there for supposing, that the soul, which is a spiritual, indivisible, and immaterial being, that constitutes a whole, and is a distinct being, although united to a portion of matter, should cease to exist, when its union with the body is dissolved? A positive act of the Creator is necessary to the annihilation of a substance. The annihilating of a being, that subsists, requireth an act of power similar to that which gave it existence at first. Now far from having any ground to believe that God will cause his power to intervene to annihilate our souls, every thing, that we know, persuadeth us, that he himself hath engraven characters of immortality on them, and that he will preserve them forever. Enter into thy heart frail creatures! see, feel, consider those grand ideas, those immortal designs, that thirst for existing, which a thousand ages cannot quench, and in these lines and points behold the finger of thy Creature wrighting a promise of immortality to thee. But how solid soever these arguments may be, however evident in themselves, and striking to a philosopher, they are objectionable, because they are not popular, but above vulgar minds, to whom the bare terms, spirituality and existence, are entirely barbarous, and convey no meaning at all.
Moreover, the union between the operations of the soul, and those of the body, is so close that all the philosophers in the world cannot certainly determine, whether the operations of the body ceasing, the operation of the soul do not cease with them. I see a body in perfect health, the mind, therefore, is sound. The same body is disordered, and the mind is disconcerted with it. The brain is filled, and the soul is instantly confused. The brisker the circulation of the blood is, the quicker the ideas of the mind are, and the more extensive its knowledge. At length death comes and dissolves all the parts of the body; and how difficult is it to persuade one's self, that the soul, which was effected by every former motion of the body, will not be dissipated by its entire dissolution!
Are they the vulgar only, to whom philosophical arguments for the immortality of the soul appear deficient in evidence? Do not geniuses require, at least, an explanation
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of what rank ye assign to beasts, on the principle, that nothing capable of ideas and conceptions, can be involved in a dissolution of matter? Nobody would venture to affirm now, in an assembly of philosophers, what was some time ago maintained with great warmth, that beasts are mere self-moving mashines [machines]. Experience seems to demonstrate the falsity of the metaphysical reasonings, that have, been proposed in favor of this opinion; and we cannot observe the actions of beasts, without being inclined to infer one of these two consequences: either the spirit of man is mortal, like his body; or the souls of beasts are immortal, like those of mankind.
Revelation dissipates all our obscurities, and teaches us clearly, and without a may be, that God willeth our immortality. It carries our thoughts forward to a future state, as to a fixed period, whither the greatest part of the promises of God tend. It commandeth us indeed, to consider all the blessings of this life, the aliments that nourish us, the rays which enlighten us, the air that we breathe, sceptres [scepters], crowns, and kingdoms, as effects of the liberality of God, and as grounds of our gratitude. But, at the same time, it requireth us to surmount the most magnificent earthly objects. It commandeth us to consider light, air and aliments, crowns, sceptres [scepters], and kingdoms, as unfit to constitute the felicity of a soul created in the image of the blessed God and with whom the blessed God hath formed a close and intimate union. It assureth us that an age of life cannot fill the wish of duration which it is the noble prerogative of an immortal soul to form. It doth not ground the doctrine of immortality on metaphysical speculations, nor on complex arguments, uninvestigable by the greatest part of mankind, and which always leave some doubts in the minds of the ablest philosophers. The gospel grounds the doctrine on the only principle that can support the weight, with which it is encumbered. The principle, which I mean, is the will of the Creator, who, having created our souls at first by an act of his will, can either eternally preserve them, or absolutely annihilate them whether they be material, or spiritual, mortal, or immortal, by nature. Thus the disciple of revealed religion doth not float between doubt and assurance, hope and fear, as the disciple of nature doth. He is not oblieged [obliged] to leave the most interesting question, that poor mortals can agitate, undecided; whether their souls perish with their bodies or survive their ruins. He does not say, as Cyrus said to his children; I know not how to persuade myself, that the soul lives in this mortal body and ceaseth to be when the body expires. I am more inclined to think, that it requires after death more penetration and purity. He doth not say, as Socrates said to his judges; And now we are going, I to suffer death, and ye to enjoy life. God only knows which is the best. He doth not say as Cicero said, speaking on this important article; I do not pretend to say, that what I affirm is as infallible as the Pythian oracle, I speak only by conjecture. The disciple of revelation, authorized by the testimony of Jesus Christ, "who hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel;" boldly affirms, "though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. We, that are in this tabernacl [tabernacle], do groan, being burdened; not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him, against that day."
III. We are next to consider the disciple of natural religion, and the disciple of revealed religion, at the tribunal of God as penitents soliciting for pardon. The former cannot find even by feeling after it in natural religion, according to the language of St. Paul, the grand mean of reconciliation, which God hath given to the church; I mean the sacrifice of the cross. Reason, indeed, discovers that man is guilty as the confessions, and acknowledgements [acknowledgments], which the Heathens made of their crimes, prove. It discerns that a sinner deserves punishment, as the remorse and fear, with which their consciences were often excruciated, demonstrate. It presumes, indeed, that God will yield to the entreaties of his creatures, as their prayers, and temples, and alters testify. It even goes so far as to perceive the necessity of satisfying divine justice, this their sacrifices, this their burnt offerings, this their human victims, this the rivers of blood, that flowed on their alters, show.
But, how likely soever all these speculations may be, they form only a systematic body without a head; for no positive promise of pardon from God himself belongs to them. The mystery of the cross is invisible; for only God could reveal that, because only God could plan, and only he could execute that profound relief. How could human reason, alone and unassisted have discovered the mystery of redemption, when, alas! after an infallible God hath revealed it, reason is absorbed in its depth, and needs all its submission to receive it, as an article of faith?
But that, which natural religion cannot attain, revealed religion clearly discovers. Revelation exhibits a God-Man, dying for the sins of mankind and setting grace before every penitent sinner: grace for all mankind. The schools have often agitated the questions, and sometimes indiscreetly, whether Jesus Christ died for all mankind, or only for a small number? Whether his blood were shed for all, who hear the gospel, or for those only, who believe it? We will not dispute these points now: but we will venture to affirm, that there is not an individual of all our hearers, who hath not a right to say to himself, if I believe, I shall be saved; I shall believe if I endeavor to believe. Consequently, every individual hath a right to apply the benefits of the death of Christ to himself. The gospel reveals grace, that pardons the most atrocious crimes, those that have the most fatal influences. Although ye have denied Christ with Peter, betrayed him with Judas, persecuted him with Saul; yet the blood of a God-Man is sufficient to obtain your pardon, if ye be in the covenant of redemption. Grace, which is accessible at all times, at every instant of life. Woe be to you, my brethren; woe be to you if, abusing this reflection, ye delay your return to God till the last moments of your lives, when your repentance will be difficult, not to say impracticable and impossible! But it is always certain, that God every instant opens the treasure of his mercy, when sinners return to him by sincere repentance. Grace, capable of terminating all the melancholy thoughts that are produced by the fear of being abandoned by God in the midst of our race, and of having the work of salvation left imperfect. For, after he hath given us a present so magnificent, what can he refuse?
[To be continued.]
COX'S TRAVELS.
Any thing relating to travelling [traveling] is directly within our province; and were it not so our interest would scarcely be diminished, in the following, Mr. Ross Cox in his six years pegrinations, and singular adventures, and painful sufferings among various tribes of Indians on the Columbia river, hitherto unknown; all of which have been thrown before the public in the shape of a goodly octavo, by the Messrs. Harpers. Numerous extracts had previously come to us, and been published from the London magazine, and our minds were prepared for a work of entire originality and commanding interest. In this we have not been disappointed. Mr. Cox, on his voyage out, in 1811-12, stopped at the Sandwich Islands, of which, and of the manners and customs of the inhabitants, he presents some highly amusing sketches. He next proceeds to the northwest coast, reaches the Columbia river, ascends it for some distance, and enters upon a course of adventures in that remote region, that are not only extremely curious, but in some instances, almost marvelous. He then journies [journeys] through the interior, and arrives at Montreal in 1817.
"In general appearance, and in certain characteristics, the American savage is the same from Chili to Athabasca, and from Nootka to Labrador. There is an indescribable coldness about him, that checks familiarity; he is a stranger to our hopes and fears, our joys and our sorrows. His eyes are seldom moistened by a tear, or his feelings relaxed by a smile; and whether he basks beneath the vertical sun on the burning plains of the Amazon, or freezes in eternal winter on the ice bound shores of the Arctic ocean, the same piercing black eyes, and stern immobility of countenance, equally set at nought [naught] the skill of the physiognomist. But in moral character and personal habits, the various tribes, even living adjacent to each other, differ almost as much as do civilized communities. Most of the tribes at the mouth of the Columbia, for instance, are a treacherous, misshapen, thievish set, who smear themselves with fish-oil, and live in filthy hovels, while, as an exception, there are bands which, like the Chinooks, are well formed, frank in their manners, cleanly in their persons, and every way trustworthy. These ingenius [ingenious] people have houses of wood eighty feet in length, by forty feet broad, divided by partitions 18 feet high; they construct canoes 50 feet in length, which will carry 30 persons; and besides the usual offensive arms of the Indians, they wear armor of elk skin, with leather helmets, so prepared as to be arrow proof, and frequently even turn a ball. Again, in advancing into the interior, some miserable, squalid looking, skulking tribes, who live by trapping, are to be found in the immediate vicinity of a thriving race of men, whose habits and appearance are totally the reverse. The last are generally, those who hunt the buffalo on horseback, and with frames invigorated by the chase and spirits nerved by the constant encounter of peril, are equally fearless in character and noble in their carriage. Both on the coast and in the interior, some tribes are entirely absolved from the restraints of chastity, while others punish incontinency with death; many clans again are addicted to stealing and lying, while these vices are held in such abhorrence by others that those who commit them are driven from their communities. Cruelty to their enemies and fortitude under the infliction of pain, seems to be the only qualities which are common to all.