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of her past genius and greatness, nobler than the proudest of her rock-hewn temples, and lasting as the eternal hills themselves! And whatever may be the conflicting opinions of the commentators, assigning the poem, as they do, to different authors and periods, from Moses to Isaiah, - the best critics have, at least, admitted that there is about some portions of it a breadth and simplicity of style which breathes the very air of the infancy of the world, which seems like the unstudied and majestic utterance of the first inspired fathers of mankind. If we are thus to regard it, its incidental notices of the arts, wealth, and refinement of the people among whom it was composed point to a state of civilization almost equalling at the same period that of the Egyptians themselves, in regard to their ideas of the nature and attributes of the Almighty, indeed, far higher."— p. 141.

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To a person standing, as our author stood, on Mount Hor, and surveying the rocky hills which were the strongholds of thedukes of Edom," it would be, doubtless, a pleasant thought that he saw before him the source from which proceeded that venerable and sublime composition, the Book of Job. But we know no good reason for assigning to it such an origin. Without going fully into the argument, for which we have not space, it is decisive to our mind, that the book in question is included in the canon of the Hebrew Scriptures, where it never would have been found, in all probability, had it been the production of a foreign country, especially had it come from a writer of Edom, a country and race against which the Hebrew writings exhibit a marked aversion, an hereditary antipathy. The rivalry of the two people that sprung severally from Esau and Jacob began early, and seems never to have ceased. In the account, in the sacred record, of the meeting of the two brothers, we see the extreme caution with which the patriarch Jacob advances, having sent forward valuable presents to secure the favor of his powerful brother. Moreover, the original rivalry was aggravated by the hostile refusal, on the part of the Edomites, to allow the Israelites to pass through their territory to the land of Canaan. A feeling of injury seems ever to have rankled in the breasts of the Hebrew people, and the writings of their Prophets furnish frequent instances of strong denunciation against Edom. The Prophet Joel joins Edom with Egypt in his threatenings: "Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in

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1849.]

their land."

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Such being their feelings against the Edomites, it would seem to be the least likely occurrence imaginable, that a nation so exclusive as the Hebrews were should fetch wisdom from their enemies, and should tolerate among their sacred books a production of a people of whom it was said, "I will destroy the wise men from Edom, and understanding from the mount of Esau."

Thus we may reason on the supposition that the Edomites could have produced such a work as the poem of Job. But this is too much to take for granted. From what we know of their character, it is fair to conclude that they never had a literature, and that they were unable either to create or to appreciate any literary composition. In the absence of all history of this people, which circumstance is itself a presumption against their claims to a high civilization, we have a right to judge what they were from the character of Esau, to whom they trace their origin, and from the wild Bedouin of the desert, who still hovers about the rocks where Edom "exalted himself as the eagle, and set his nest among the stars." Esau is described in the Scriptures as "a cunning hunter," a reckless, improvident man, who sold his birthright for a mess of pottage. "By thy sword shalt thou live" was the expressive sentence in which his father foretold his destiny. And this wild, roving, predatory, warlike disposition is characteristic of the tribes that still linger near the seats of Edom's former power. The Edomites were then, as we must infer, essentially and exclusively a military people. Mount Seir was made the seat of a line of "dukes," who issued forth from their stronghold on warlike excursions against the neighbouring tribes. Their dwellings were excavated from the rock in the simplest manner. In the turbulent scenes with which they were familiar, and from the violent passions which were native to their minds, and which only alternated with a sluggish and vacant condition of mind, there could be no possibility of such a composition as the Job proceeding, a work of art, which must have been the fruit of calm, long-continued, sublime meditation. We can look for no literary record and monument of a people who sought to make their mark on the earth's surface with the sword, and not on the world's memory with the pen.

Of course, the finished works of art that delight the modern traveller in the city of Petra, the façades of temples beautifully wrought upon the face of the rock, the amphitheatre with

its rows of ascending seats, the tombs, the remains of waterpipes, and other evidences of a high and refined civilization, are to be ascribed to an origin long subsequent to the overthrow of Edom's power. The Jews, in the time of Solomon, had their Ezion-geber, a commercial dépôt near to Petra, on the eastern branch of the Red Sea; and the Romans afterwards made this the channel of their communication with the East. To the skill and taste of the last-named people we must refer much, it may be the most, of what now remains to surprise and charm the traveller. Only the very rudest of these works can be assigned to the distant period of the Edomites. It is not unlikely, that, at or before the time when Esau seized upon Mount Seir, the original inhabitants whom he drove out might have been engaged in the commerce which has always flowed through this passage from the fragrant and golden East. And Duke Esau and his men of war may have been the pirates of the desert, who spoiled the carriers of this rich traffic. But it seems improbable to us that they engaged in the commerce themselves, and so grew to be a wealthy, civilized, refined nation, or that they were ever any better than freebooters. To Jacob belongs, as was promised, the blessing. All history, every thing that remains to help form a conjecture concerning these two distinct branches of a common stock, proves that they stood in direct contrast to each other. The arts of peace were cultivated by Jacob and his descendants; the arts of war by Esau and his. The consequence has been, that they who "took the sword have perished by the sword." They "died, and made no sign" by which the memory of the world should note their existence. They live in the thoughts of men only through the records and monuments of the wiser, more humane, more powerful race of Jacob. They are immortalized by the denunciations of Israel's prophets. It would seem preposterous to ascribe a finished and sublime composition like the Job to such a race. "Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah?" The vision seen by the Prophet who asks this question-and this is all we are permitted to see is not the spirit of a lofty wisdom, wrapped in the mantle of poetry, going forth from Edom, with benignant mien, to enlighten and bless the world, but an avenger of the Almighty, "glorious in his apparel," stained with the blood of unrighteous men whom he had been sent to trample to the earth.

1849.]

Wayland's Sermons.

399

After quitting Petra, our author's course lay from Akaba, across the high desert, to Cairo. The only incident of special interest, on this return-journey, was meeting the great caravan on its way to Mecca, of which his book furnishes a lively and picturesque description.

W. P. L.

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WAYLAND'S SERMONS. - TERMS OF
ACCEPTANCE WITH GOD.*

DR. WAYLAND's volume of Sermons recently issued well sustains his reputation as a thinker and a preacher. They are characterized by the analytical power, the clearness and force of statement, and, in general, by the soundness of logic, which we are accustomed to expect from him. Though the topics are suited to any pulpit, they are often treated in a manner peculiarly adapted to a university pulpit. The preacher does not forget the character of the audience before him, and avails himself of every fair opportunity of applying the doctrine he discusses to what may be supposed to be their condition and wants. His discourses consist of serious and earnest expositions of his views of Christian truth, and could not fail to be impressive and edifying, especially to those who concurred with him in opinion. It is well that the head of a university should thus occupy the highest place of instruction in it, and to the authority of his office add that of a spiritual guide. The first twelve of the discourses are a compendious body of practical divinity. We have read them with much interest. We find much to which we entirely assent, and when we differ from the author, his clear and definite mode of statement enables us to see distinctly the grounds of our difference. After discussing, in the first two discourses, the fundamental doctrine of all religion,the existence of God, in its twofold aspect as a speculative and a practical truth, he proceeds, in the three following, to discuss the moral character of man, beginning with a definition of his position.

"We desire," says he, "to deal not with names, but with

University Sermons. Sermons delivered in the Chapel of Brown University. By FRANCIS WAYLAND, President of the University. Boston: Gould, Kendall, & Lincoln. 1849. 12mo. pp. 328.

things, not with words, but with matters of fact. It has sometimes, for instance, been the custom to designate the moral corruption of man by the term, total depravity. Definitions, I know, may be given of this phrase, which would render it not inconsistent with what I suppose to be the revealed truth; still I think that this truth might be expressed by more fitly chosen words. When we modify an adjective by the epithet 'total,' we mean, I think, to declare that the quality pervades the subject without admixture or alleviation. That thing is not totally black which presents any intermingling of colors. If depraved mean sinful, totally depraved would seem to mean sinful in such a sense as to exclude the existence of virtue. Now I do not perceive that such a character is ascribed to man in the Scriptures. If, on the other hand, this expression indicates, that, though there may be virtue in human action irrespective of Divine grace, yet that in no case it fulfils the conditions of the laws of God, this may be true; but the truth might, as I think, be expressed by more appropriate terms.

"Ruined and helpless as the moral condition of man is represented to be in the Scriptures, they do not assert that there is in his nature none of the elements of goodness. So far as we can discover, they nowhere assert that filial or parental affection, patriotism, generosity, or benevolence, are [is] either vicious, or to be classed with the instinctive and therefore morally neutral impulses of brutes. The principles of ethics would teach us that such a view was erroneous. The intentional fulfilment of a moral obligation must, as it seems to me, be virtuous. It may not be as virtuous as it ought to be. It may be wanting in some of the elements necessary to a perfect moral action, and therefore it may come short of the praise of God. So far, however, as it is the intentional fulfilment of a moral obligation, it is virtuous, and I think that all men correctly honor it as such. There are surely gradations in moral character irrespective of the transforming influences of the grace of God. When the young ruler came to inquire of Christ, there was much that was wanting to render him acceptable to God, yet the Saviour looked upon him and loved him. Our Lord clearly beheld in him a character very different from that of the Scribes and Pharisees who surrounded him." - pp. 35, 36.

In the discussions that ensue, respecting the moral condition of man, the means of his restoration to holiness, and the terms on which he may seek acceptance with God, the principal propositions maintained are briefly these : that the true standard by which the moral condition of man is to be tried is the Evangelical requisition of supreme love to

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