THE SCOTTISH CHRISTIAN HERALD, CONDUCTED UNDER THE SUPERINTENDENCE OF MINISTERS AND MEMBERS OF THE ESTABLISHED CHURCH. THE TREE OF LIFE AND THE TREE OF THE PRICE 1d. even in the garden of God was like unto him in beauty. I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches; so that all the trees of Eden that were in the garden of God might envy him."* Such may be considered as a very general and faint description of the trees of the garden. But two of the trees of that blissful spot require our consideration in a more particular manner. These are the most interesting trees that ever the eyes of any of the sons of men saw, or of which the ears of any of the sons of men heard. They are called in the Sacred Scriptures the tree of life, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. About this latter, there is no dispute with respect to the reality of its existence, except by deists, who deny the whole of revelation. But this is not the case with the former of these trees, for many who receive the Scriptures, and profess to believe their holy doctrines, dispute the reality of the existence of the tree of life." The arguments of those who oppose the reality of the existence of the tree of life may be arranged under the three following heads: 1st, The translation of the ninth verse of the second, and the twentysecond of the third of Genesis; 2d, The uselessness of such a tree; 3d, A general view of those parts of the Holy Scriptures which seem to refer to this tree, with interpretations suited to this To describe the productions of the garden of I. The first of these arguments has the famous Kennicott for its author, as far as I know, and it must be granted that he has displayed both amazing learning and genius in support of it; but it does not appear to me that he has displayed equal powers of reasoning and sound argument. He appears to have first formed his theory, and then The grandeur and beauty of the trees of Para- used his learning and genius to support it. But, dise will faintly appear from the language of the in my opinion, both this theory, and the arguprophet Ezekiel, chap. xxxi.: "Speak unto Pha-ments supporting it, may be overthrown by the raoh, and unto his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness? Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, of an high stature; the waters made him great; the deep set him up on high; his heart was exalted above all the trees of the field; the cedars in the very garden of God could not overtop him; the firtrees were not like his boughs, and the chesnuttrees were not like his branches; not any tree VOL III. two following positions: 1st, The translation of Kennicott is fanciful and overstretched; 2d, No one of all the translations, of any eminence, of the Scriptures of the Old Testament, for two thousand years back, has given the least countenance to such a theory. This famous literary character finds fault with our English version of Gen. ii. 9, and gives one Kennicott's Dissertation. of his own in the following words: "And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that was pleasant to the sight, and that was good for food, and a tree of life; and in the middle of the garden the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” But he shows more attachment to his favourite theory, and less critical knowledge of the Hebrew language in his version of the twenty-second verse of the third chapter, which runs thus: "And the Lord God said, Behold, the man hath behaved as if he were equal to one of us, as to the test of good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take again of the tree of life, and eat, and live on happy all his days." There really could not be a more vague or fanciful translation than this given by a schoolboy. A simple and literal translation of this verse differs very little from our English. We may offer it in the following words: "And the Lord God said, Lo! the man hath become like one of us, to know good and evil; but certainly he shall not put forth his hand, and take any more of the tree of life, and eat, and live (in sweet communion with his Creator, without sin and without fear) all the days of his appointed time, as he hath heretofore done." Now, I presume this translation will appear literal, simple, and natural to any Hebraist and judge of the subject. And as for the second argument, that all the early translations are against Kennicott, any Oriental scholar may satisfy himself upon this point, by opening a Polyglott, and casting his eye over the various versions. II. Let us now, for a moment, examine the second argument of those who oppose the reality of the existence of the tree of life. It is strongly argued by Kennicott and others that there could be no possible use for such a tree in Paradise as the tree of life. But when we carefully consider what the garden of Eden was to Adam, we shall at once perceive the great propriety and utility of the tree of life. The garden was to Adam instead of the Church on earth. Adam was not created in the garden; the garden appears to have been made for him. He was put into it to dress it and keep it. We think it highly probable that Adam did not spend the whole of his time in the garden from the day he was placed in it until he fell; he might doubtless visit his kindred earth occasionally, and thereby learn the difference and the design of his Creator in placing him in it more clearly. If we admit that it answered the great purposes of the Church on earth to Adam, then it clearly pointed out to him a future state. He saw it was very different from the place in which he was created. He could thereby infer that God could remove him to another place of still higher felicity, after his sojourning the time appointed by God in this lower world. Thus the garden pointed out a future state to Adam, in innocence. In the garden he spent his Sabbaths, his times of prayer, and more immediate communion with God. The Lord also afforded Adam, holy and perfect as he was, means of still higher attainments. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil answered all the purposes of the Holy Scriptures to Adam, and taught him to observe the law of God more perfectly. It was like the law itself, threatening the transgressor with death. Thus the gardenthe Church-taught Adam to observe the will of his Creator. This Church, besides this tree, answering to a revelation, contained another tree of equal importance,—the tree of life, whose use and virtue was that of a sacrament. And as Adam needed no initiatory sacrament, he being formed in covenant with God, this tree of life was for spiritually strengthening, confirming, and comforting him in his innocency, his holiness, and communion with God. And we have every reason to believe he did eat of it at such times as had been appointed by God. And, in this point of view, we see the great use and importance of the tree of life. And thus considering the garden as the Church upon earth to man in innocence, pointing out life and immortality to man in another world, and the tree of knowledge answering the purpose of the Scriptures, and the tree of life answering the purpose of a sacrament, we get a striking view of the goodness of God to man in his state of innocence, and we perceive that man had other helps besides his own rational powers to preserve him in a state of happiness and favour with God. Adam, before his fall, had no need of any symbol of a sacrament but one; being created in the Church, he needed no initiatory sacrament. III. Let us trace those places of Scripture which speak of the tree of life. This is almost superfluous. The Scriptures abound with allusions, references, figures, and allegories, all founded upon the hypothesis of the real existence of this tree in Paradise. We shall mention but one place of Scripture which speaks in this manner, exhibiting the heavenly state under the allegory of the earthly Paradise: "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." Rev. xxii. 1, 2. Now, should we with Kennicott dismiss this figurative allusion, as merely the language of Oriental accommodation or fancy, and affirm that it affords no argument of the real existence of such a tree at any time, then it follows, by the same mode of arguing, that when the Scriptures represent heaven by a temple, by a city, or by a kingdom, or country, that there never was such a building as Solomon's temple, such a city as Jerusalem, such a kingdom or country as Canaan. And, of course, this reasoning falls to the ground, and Kennicott's theory is false and visionary. It may be worthy of remark, before we quit the subject, that men in general, both the righteous and the wicked, are characterised, both in the Old and the New Testament, by trees. The first psalm compares the righteous to a tree planted by the dividing streams of water; and the prophet Isaiah calls the righteous trees, the planting of the Lord. On the other hand, the wicked are called an abominable branch, bramblewood. In the New Testament, John the Baptist "The axe is laid to the root of the trees: every tree, therefore, that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire." And our Lord says, "Either make the tree good, and his fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt, for the tree is known by his fruit." See also Matt. vii. 17-20. says, What symbolic reference the tree of life, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, may have had to the righteous and the wicked, I cannot at present presume to determine; or how far they might have symbolized the Church below and the Church above, I cannot determine. But we may with safety affirm, whether we can point out the symbol or not, that these two trees in the garden of Eden were symbolical. THE AGE OF THE EARTH. EGYPT, like India, has been long a field in which the infidel has catered for materials to overturn the truths of revelation. In that country of wonders and antiquities, it was vainly hoped that some lucky fact would ultimately turn up to prove the great antiquity of the earth, and thus disprove the record of Moses, and free the world for ever from the dominion of ignorance and superstition. It was not, however, till the invasion of that country by Napoleon, that sufficient opportunities were afforded for the exploring of its antiquities, and in this highly curious and interesting undertaking, the savans of France were encouraged by their republican leader. Among the many relicts of antiquity then dragged to light, were the famous Egyptian zodiacs, which for some time occupied almost the entire attention of the antiquaries, and of learned men in most parts of Europe. There were two of these zodiacs, one in the ceiling of a temple at Dendera, in Upper Egypt, and another in a corresponding position in a temple at Esire, the ancient Satapolis. These works were eagerly seized upon by the atheistical disciples of the French school of philosophy, and were supposed to afford the most conclusive evidence, that no history yet known had recorded the true epoch of the creation of man; and not a few writers exulted in the belief, that at last reason and science had triumphed, and that now the minds of men were no longer to be held in religious bondage. The zodiac mania for some time went a great length in France, and infected with the same leprosy not a few in this country. But to let the reader understand the meaning of this phrenzy, for it seemed to be little else, it is necessary to state, that the zodiac is the path in the heavens in which the sun, moon, and planets seem to move, and is formed of the Greek word signifying animal, because the constellations in the zodiac have the forms of animals given them. In that at Dendera, the same figures are employed that are chosen to represent the constellations at the present day. Here the sign of the lion is made to head the band. He is directing his course towards the north (the temple faces the north) and his feet towards the eastern wall. Then follow the other figures of the constellations in succession. Now the force of the argument for the antiquity of this monument, lies in the supposition that the peculiar distribution of these figures represented the exact state, or relative positions of the constellations, with respect to each other, at the time when it was constructed; and that, by astronomical calculations made backward, from the present state of the constellations, it could be ascertained at what period they were actually in the position represented by this be known. Figures of the zodiacs were first published zodiac, and thus the period of its construction would by Denon in his work on Egypt; and it appears that the subject excited the most intense interest among learned men of Europe, and particularly of France. Science struck out into systems very bold; and the spirit of infidelity, seizing upon the discovery, flattered itself with the hope of drawing from it new support. In the midst of this apparent triumph of infidelity, a circumstance happened which gave a new excitement to the subject of the zodiacs. This was no less than the arrival of the planisphere of Dendera at Paris. M. Leloraine, an enterprising young traveller, in spite of many obstacles, was the means of detaching this celebrated monument from the ceiling of the temple, and of transporting it to the sea, whence it was shipped, and finally reached Paris in 1821. M. Greppo describes the intense interest it there excited: "An object of interest," he says, "to educated men, and of vanity to those who thought themselves such, it could not remain unnoticed by the multitude; and classes of society, who knew not even the signification of the term zodiac, rushed in crowds to behold it. In the journals, in the saloons, the zodiac was the only topic of discussion. Have you seen the zodiac? What do you think of the zodiac? were questions to which every one was seemingly compelled to give a well-informed answer, or to be degraded from a place in polished society." It was pretended, that the zodiac exhibited the state of the heavens at a very remote date; but how far back, philosophers could not agree among themselves. M. Burkhard pretended to demonstrate, that the temple of Esire had stood seven thousand years; while M. Mouet, from the same data, proved that this temple was built four thousand six hundred years before the Christian era, or six hundred years nearly before the creation, according to the Mosaic chronology. M. Dupuis, taking a still different view of the subject, and making his demonstrations from some peculiar data, which his learning and sagacity had discovered, shows, by calculations through which few could follow him, that these temples must have stood at least fifteen thousand years. The figures of the zodiac, be it known, were engraved on wood; so that the sight of a piece of timber fifteen thousand years old, must of itself have been an object of great curiosity. A man of ordinary sense would at once have said, that the existence and entire preservation of an organic piece of matter for such a length of time was an impossibility. But infidelity is easily deluded; and although it would not believe in the record of Moses, yet it would believe in the existence of a carved piece of timber at least eight thousand years older than the surface of the earth on which it grew. At the very height of the discussion of the zodiac system of unbelief, a circumstance arose, which gave a new turn to the arguments of the philo sophers; who, it would seem, had no correct notions as to the actual age of the temples in which the zodiacs were found, and far less of the zodiacs themselves. This was the arrival of no less a personage than M. Champollion the younger, the celebrated antiquary, from a visit to Egypt. This youthful philosopher, in the course of his peregrinations, had contrived, like our countryman Dr Young, to master the Egyptian hiero glyphics. He had visited the zodiac before its removal from Dendera, and had there decyphered not only the inscriptions which it contained, but also several others, inscribed on various parts of the temple itself. It was reserved for him to show, that the following letters AOTKPTP, with certain letters interspersed, which are written on the zodiac, form the Greek word for Emperor. He also discovered in the temple of Dendera, the names, titles, and surnames of the Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero, and Domitian; and upon the portico of Esire, whose zodiac has been judged many centuries older than that of Dendera, he read the names of Claudius and Antoninus Pius! In this simple circumstance, the entire substratum of the "zodiacal system of infidelity," so carefully concocted, so zealously fostered and propped up by its fanatical friends and abettors, is at once and for ever annihilated; and, like the hopes of those by whom it was fabricated, flies off in smoke like the mists from the summits of the mountains on the approach of the "lord of day." In proof of its utter want of foundation or stability, it is only necessary to state, that it is now demonstrated, beyond a doubt, that the Egyptian zodiacs can boast of no greater antiquity than the Roman dominion in Egypt, which commenced one or two centuries after the Christian era; and that these signs do not, in any respect, relate to astronomy, but are connected with the idle phantasies of judicial astrology! The figures, therefore, which were so lately and confidently expected to revolutionize the Christian world, and reduce it to heathenism, are nothing more than what adepts in the pretended science of astrology call themes of nativity! done's theory is evidently at fault. But, on the other mieu says, I shall only allude to one other notorious piece of jugglery respecting the lava beds of Etna, which has been practised upon the too ready susceptibilities of the infidel, by an individual of our own country, the well known Brydone, author of a volume of travels in Sicily. Brydone, in the present instance, is cautious enough not to publish his own opinions, but those of the canon Recupero, who lived in the neighbourhood of Etna, and who, it is stated, was a competent judge in such matters. This man of undoubted piety, of great simplicity of life, and well known for his hospitality, is made by Brydone to say that, in his opinion, a bed of lava requires two thousand years' exposure to the weather, in order to undergo sufficient decomposition to form a soil of a certain thickness. On examination, it was found that Etna afforded seven beds of lava, with a thickness of soil between each equal to that which the canon had said could only have been formed in two thousand years. By this mode of calculation, it was therefore proved that the first eruption in this series must have been fourteen thousand years ago, and there would, of course, be reason to suppose that the mountain itself might be much older than the first bed of lava. This pretended discovery was, as usual, instantly seized upon by the infidel press, and was at once set down as an undeniable proof that the world is much older than the record of Moses But before yielding our judgments supposes it to be. to the theory of Mr Brydone and his lava currents, let us see upon what grounds the assertion is made, and how far he and the canon are trustworthy on such a It must be gratifying to the Christian to know, that subject. In the first place, supposing Mr Brydone's the bulwarks of his holy religion are proof against the statement to be correct: that no estimate of time can be obtained from any such circumstances is proved by united attacks of its ablest and most powerful enemies. observations on other beds of lava. M. Daubuisson It is also a singular circumstance, that most of these shows that some of the lavas of Auvergne have main- attacks have, under the providence of God, been re tained an entire surface, all over blistered, and bristling futed by infidels themselves; and thus all idea of colluwith asperities, whose edges and angles are still sharp sion, on the part of the friends of religion, is precluded. and well preserved. We might even imagine these At the present moment, it is not the fashion for philolava streams to have just flowed from the bowels of sophers generally to attack the truths of revealed relithe earth, and that they had hardly had time to cool. gion; they have been so often beaten off, that they are at length ashamed of their own futile attempts. We It is, however, probable that these lavas have lain on the soil of Auvergne for three thousand years, exposed have the testimony of the chairman of the British Asto the action of the elements, so that here Mr Bry-sociation, that philosophers are now rather favourable Another portion of philosophical speculators try to prove the antiquity of the globe by its internal heat, discovered by those scratches on its upper crust termed mines and artesian wells; and also by the saltness of the sea: but the arguments furbished up for the occasion, are too childish, and too superficial, to require notice. to the truths of religion. Comparing this statement with former statements from the same class, especially in infidel France, we may truly say, "This is the doing of the Lord, and it is wondrous in our eyes." THE SECOND REFORMATION; OR, AN [PRECISELY two hundred years have elapsed since the | testification of their right to be present. The din and clamour within the cathedral, were such as to grieve all who had any reverence either for the venerable place, or the important occasion of their meeting. Each party had a portion of the house appropriated to their adherents. At the one end, the chair of state was erected on a platform for his Grace; at his feet, before and on both sides of him, sat the chief lords of the council, Traquair, Roxburgh, Argyle, Mar, Moray, Southesk, Belhaven, and others, in number about thirty. At a long table on the floor, were seated Rothes, Montrose, Eglinton, Loudon, Balmerino, and the other lords of the Covenant, being almost the whole barons of note in Scotland, with the other elders, in all to the number of ninety-five, and their assessors. On commodious forms, rising up by degrees around this low long table, were arranged the ministers from the several presbyteries, to the number of one hundred and forty. A little table the moderator and clerk. was set in the middle opposite the Commissioner, for At the unoccupied end of the church a high gallery was erected for the accomOn the Friday before the meeting of Assembly, the modation of the sons of the nobility, and other speccovenanted nobles and leading ministers, backed by tators of distinction. The vaults still higher, were great numbers of their friends and vassals, arrived at filled with great numbers of gentlemen and ladies. His Glasgow from the west. On Saturday forenoon, the Grace, says Burnet, judged it a sad sight to see such lords, barons, ministers, and burgesses in the same in- an Assembly. There was not a gown among them all, terest, with a very great company of assessors, arrived but many had swords and daggers about them,—an unin a body from Edinburgh. As a rumour had been lucky omen, thought the Bishop of Sarum, to his brethcirculated that the surrounding country was infested ren. Indeed, many, he continues, who came there to with robbers, and that the courtiers meant to take up judge of heresy, and condemn Arminianism, could neithe town, all of them were well armed. On the after-ther read nor write; all depended on a few more learned noon of Saturday, his Grace, with most of the lords of Privy Council, came down from Hamilton. Rothes, Montrose, and other leading Covenanters, went out to meet them. Mutual complimentary speeches were made, in which the Covenanters declared, that they would ask nothing but what Scripture, reason, and law entitled them to; while his Grace with equal courtesy affirmed, that all such demands would be readily granted. By the time that all had assembled, there was the greatest confluence of people perhaps that had ever met in that part of the kingdom. Besides an enormous crowd of peasantry, all the nobility and gentry of any family or interest were present, either as elders, assessors, or spectators. From half-a-dozen of supplicants led on by Henderson, the Covenanters had now increased in such numbers, authority, and talent, as to be able to speak with their adversaries in the gate of judgment, and to build up the old waste places against all opposition. Amid the many causes of triumph on this occasion, on the part of the Covenanters, it was a singular favour of Providence, that several of the old ministers, as Calderwood, Scott, Bonnar, and John Row, who had seen the glory of the first house soon after the reformation, who sadly mourned the defections under Prelacy, and who had kept their garments clean for forty years," were of the number of those who now met to effect a second reformation. Henderson and Calderwood took rooms adjoining to each other in the same lodgings. Calderwood was not a member of Assembly, because he had no charge at the time, but by his abilities and long experience he was expected to be of service to the cause. On Wednesday, 21st November 1638, a day memorable in the history of our Church, the proper business of the Assembly began in the cathedral of St. Mungo. The anxiety of all to hear, and even to see the members when assembled, was so intense, that it was almost impossible to force a passage to the church through the dense crowds. The authority and personal presence of the magistrates, town guard, nobles, gentry, ministers, and even of the Commissioner, were called into requisition. A strong guard was placed on the gate of the church, and none were admitted but those who had a token of lead bearing the Glasgow arms, in and grave, who gave law to the rest. When order was obtained, the venerable pastor Mr John Bell, the oldest minister of the bounds, began the service, and preached from John's account in the first chapter of Revelations, of the vision of the Son of man with the seven stars and seven candlesticks. The sermon was pertinent, but could not be heard by a sixth part of the people present. At the end of this service, Bell came down to the little table, and offered up a solemn prayer, expressing gratitude for the great mercy now vouchsafed them, and praying fervently for the outpouring of the Spirit of truth and peace on the members convened. After this prayer, which melted most of the audience into tears of affection, Bell solemnly constituted the Assembly in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the alone king of the Church. His Grace next gave in a Latin commission, appointing Mr Sandilands from Aberdeen, clerk; and also his own commission, written in semi-barbarous style. After desiring it to be read and recorded, he stated, that this was a time not for talking, but for action. He had come hither to make good to the whole people the king's profession, which had been misdoubted. It had, he said, been surmised that the king intended to alter the religion established by law; such a thought ought not to be entertained, after the negative Confession of Faith had been commanded to be subscribed by him. Another foul surmise was, that nothing promised in the last royal proclamation was meant to be performed; and that time only was to be gained, till by arms the king might oppress his native kingdom. To assure his Majesty's subjects of the contrary, he now desired that all he had promised be enacted in the Assembly, and afterwards by the Parliament, respectively. The marquis sent a gentleman to ask the advice of the bishops, then in the castle of Glasgow, about the particular way of procedure. The several commissions were next given in, but the examination of them was deferred till a moderator and clerk were chosen. In the meantime, a roll of the members was made up, according to the order of the old Assemblies. The list contained some who had filed from the persecutions in Ireland, as Blair at Ayr, Livingston at Stranraer, those who had formerly suffered for non-conformity, as Dickson at Irvine, Rutherford |