be altogether unreasonable, by attending to the circumstances under which it was made, and its connexion with the other parts of the discourse. And here we may observe, by the way, that much misapprehension might have been prevented, and many false doctrines and opinions might never have been conceived, had not the connexion of Scripture been so much disregarded by its readers, and insulated passages been made to express sentiments, which other passages, in immediate relation with them, would have modified, or entirely changed. In the chapter from which the passage before us is taken, Jesus is represented sending forth his twelve disciples to preach the kingdom of heaven "to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," conferring on them the power of working miracles in support of their mission, and giving them instructions with regard to its performance. He warns them not to indulge any high raised hopes of immediate and unobstructed success; he bids them "beware of men," for he sends them innocent and unsuspecting to contend with fraud, violence, and passion, or to use his own figurative and energetic language, "as sheep in the midst of wolves." He cautions them, therefore, not to flatter themselves that the purity of his doctrine, nor the divine power by which it was enforced, would be able to conquer prejudice, or convince bigotry. He assures them, that, on the contrary, they would be hated of all men for his sake, and be delivered up to the councils, and scourged in the synagogues. Again adopting a figurative mode of expression, he thus repeats the same caution, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword." We will endeavour to express the full meaning of these words in the following paraphrase. "Think not that my coming is to be a signal of perpetual harmony; think not that my doctrine, all pure and peaceable as it is, will at once communicate its spirit to those among whom you are to preach it, for those very qualities will be one cause of the opposition which it will meet with. The religion, which pronounces a blessing on humility, can expect no favour from the proud; the teacher who acknowledges as his disciples, only the meek, the righteous, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, cannot be cordially received by the insolent, the unholy, the cruel, the sensual, and the contentious. Deceive not yourcelves; you will be opposed, persecuted, rejected, and put to death. Ignorance, pride, power, superstition, and interest, will league themselves against you. Nor is a common submission to my authority to be looked for, even among the well disposed. All cannot see with the same eyes, nor hear with the same understanding. And thus will dissension be sown between friends and kindred; a man will be set at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law, and a man's foes shall be those of his own household. The path of your duty is eminently dangerous and difficult. It will permit no rest, no peace. It will demand your constant struggles, and it will be marked with your blood." That such is the true meaning of the text, must be manifest to every one, who reads with attention the whole discourse in which it is contained. It is not at all meant to represent the genius and temper of the, Gospel, but to anticipate the fierce opposition, which it was destined to excite, and the divisions and calamities, of which it was to be the innocent occasion. Should it be asked, whether the single circumstance of its being the cause of contention and violence ought not to be considered an objection to the religion of Christ, it would be sufficient to answer, that there is no reason why truths of the utmost consequence to mankind should be withheld, because they might be fated, at first, to encounter their passions, their weakness, and their blindness. Our race would make but little improvement indeed, were every truth to be silenced, the moment it was resisted. Have not discoveries, which are now regarded as among the most splendid and useful, been precisely those, which on their first publication were the most loudly decried? But prejudice cannot reign forever; error will recede, step by step, and truth will triumph in the end. Jahn's Biblical Archæology. THIS work was originally published in five octave volumes, and in the German language, by Dr. John Jahn, formerly Professor of oriental languages in the University of Vienna. A Latin abridgment of it was afterwards made by the author, and printed in one volume. From this abridgment a translation into English has lately been made by Thomas C. Upham, A. M. Assistant Teacher of Hebrew and Greek in the Theological Seminary at Andover, and published in that place. The Translator, however, has not entirely confined himself to the Latin abridgment, but, "where he noticed an observation in the German, which seemed to be important, and which promised to instruct and interest the English reader, but which, nevertheless, was not in the Latin, he has ventured, in a considerable number of instances, to translate and insert it." He has also added some notes and extracts, distinguished from the text by being enclosed in brackets, which increase the value of the book. The following extract from his preface will explain the character of the work itself. "One of the greatest difficulties in interpreting the Scriptures will be found, it is apprehended, in the want of facility in throwing one's self back into the age, in which the writers lived, and into the situation of those for whom they wrote. To remove this difficulty in some degree, as the reader will observe by consulting the second section, is one of the prominent objects of the present work. It is thought, that the object itself will be found to be in a good measure secured, and that the person, who has carefully studied it, will no longer find himself at a loss in forming a conception of the once splendid scenery of Judea, nor in understanding and estimating the nature and the worth of the domestic, religious and civil practices and institutions of its inhabitants." The translation, as far as we have had an opportunity of examining it, is correct and lucid; and the translator has rendered an acceptable service to the cause of biblical learning. Gerard's Biblical Criticism. THE Institutes of Biblical Criticism, by Dr. Gilbert Gerard, Professor of Divinity in the University of Aberdeen, has been used for some time as a text book by the Professor of Sacred Literature at Cambridge. It having proved both difficult and expensive, however, to procure a sufficient number of English copies of the 25 work, for the use of the theological students, it was deemed expedient to print an American edition, which has been recently published at Boston and Cambridge, in one volume, octavo. In this work, the principles and rules of sacred criticism are systematized, under the two general heads of its sources, and its objects. The subjects are arranged in a number of short propositions, under which are examples, and references to those authors who are to be consulted by the student. Dedication. On Wednesday, the 30th of April last, the Second Congregational Church in Lynn, Massachusetts, erected by a Society of Unitarian Christians, was dedicated to the worship of Almighty God. The sermon was preached by the Rev. Mr. Colman, formerly of Hingham. The rest of the services were performed by the Rev. Mr. Walker of Charlestown, Rev. Dr. Abbot of Beverly, and the Rev. Mr. Bartlett of Marblehead. The following hymn, composed for the occasion, was sung by the choir. O, bow thine ear, Eternal One! On thee our heart adoring calls; To thee the followers of thy Son Have raised, and now devote these walls. Here let thy holy days be kept! And be this place to worship given- Here may thine honour dwell;—and here, |