Jeremiah xxiii. 18:

'Who hath stood in the privy council of Jehovah,

And hath seen and heard the matter

Or hath listened to and heard his words?'

Daniel vii. 9, 10: I saw, and the thrones were placed, and the Ancient of days was seated: the council sat, and the books were opened.'

"It is plain that all these expressions are used by the Supreme, Eternal Spirit, in order to adapt himself to human apprehensions, and to render the description more intelligible..........

"It was in this council, convened for special purposes, that the spirit here called Satan' presented himself. The others who attended are called the sons of God,' a term evidently applied to angels in this book, chap. xxxviii. 7. He is plainly one of them; at least, he is in no way distinguished from the rest except by his name; and this name has the definite article before it, showing that it is merely an appellative, and not a proper name. He is called 'the Satan; and as the term 'Satan' in Hebrew, like Alaboλos in Greek, is a name of office or character, we are not in this place necessitated to understand it of the evil spirit, but of one of the ministering angels, who held the office, in the celestial court, of public accuser, or delator, or perhaps of general inspector of manners. The whole composition of the poem requires us so to understand it.

"Besides, it would be utterly incongruous to imagine that the enemy of God and man, the impure spirit, should have free and undebarred access, whenever he chose it, to the Divine presence; that the Almighty should hold colloquies with him, and condescend to gratify him, especially for the accomplishment of purposes which might appear wholly malignant. Farther, the Epistles of Peter and Jude give us. a very different idea of the actual condition of evil spirits, and of course of their chief. According to them, they are cast down into Tartarus, and delivered into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment, even the judgment of the great day. Perhaps, during the period at which Christ

sojourned upon earth, there might be an intentional remission of their sentence, since we find the tempter endeavouring to ensnare our Saviour, and numberless persons possessed by demons, in a manner not heard of in preceding or succeeding ages.

"But, leaving this mysterious subject, there appears among the celestial ministers to be one who holds the office (whether stated or occasional, we cannot say) of being an inspector or censor of human manners, in every part of the family of man, and who carries his reports to the Divine judgment-seat accordingly. For aught we know, instead of one, there may be many such, whose function it is to observe, to report, and to record, the proceedings of men upon earth. That such a one should make his appearance, therefore, at the privy council of God, is no way surprising; and the colloquy that follows, countenances the view we have taken. Inquiry is made of the angel as to his mission, and a particular reference is made to Job, as a perfect character; on which the official accuser suggests some doubts of Job's integrity. If this functionary shows some distrust in regard to the disinterested nature of Job's piety, it is only a consequence of the employment with which he was invested. Such an officer is bound, on the one hand, not lightly to condemn those of whose conduct he is called to take the oversight, nor yet to believe too readily in the mere appearances of virtue. God, to put the matter to the fullest test, is pleased to give permission to inflict certain calamities on his servant, on the express reservation that his life should be spared. Let it be observed, that those sufferings to which Joh is subsequently exposed, are not only with the permission, but by the express will, of God. On this part of the subject the whole history hinges; all that succeeds is an illustration of it; and the result is, that Job is pronounced upright, and is acquitted of every charge against him; while his friends, who seem to have acted as the instruments of the accusing angel, are blamed and condemned, though afterwards pardoned at Job's intercession. So that the book not merely exhibits the external picture of the patient sufferings of a

righteous man, but places us behind the scenes, and shows us in what his sufferings first originated.

"If it be objected, that the suspicion of Job harboured by the angel was unjust, and represents the latter in no pleasing light, let it be remembered, that angels are fallible : 'Even his angels he chargeth with folly,' as we are told in this very book; (chap. iv. 18;) and, besides, as already remarked, agreeably to the nature of his office, it was the employment of this angelic censor morum to detect any thing that might wear to him the semblance of insincerity, or of doubtful piety.

"Again it is plain that the angel never exceeds his commission in the calamities with which Job was tried, but acts throughout in perfect accordance with the Divine command, and like a minister who simply obeyed the mandates of his sovereign; a character scarcely attributable to him who is commonly called Satan and Abaddon. Had this last been intended in the history, we should have had some allusion to him in the conclusion of the book, by way of triumph over a malignant adversary; but nothing of the kind occurs, nor would such triumph be decorous, if we admit the view here taken. The Satan of the book of Job, then, is simply the recording angel of God; a messenger sent forth to examine and discover, to put to the test, and to correct. This accounts also for the intense anxiety of Job to plead his cause before God himself, who, he felt confident, would vindicate his conduct, and deliver him. And so at last God does; the great Sovereign appears with majesty, appeals to his own stupendous works in answer to the vain reasonings concerning him, and pronounces sentence in Job's favour, who is restored to prosperity, and amply indemnified for all his sufferings. Thus there is a perfect unity of design throughout the book, which, viewed as a whole, is not only the most ancient, but the most finished, composition now existing.

"Yet it must be remembered, that the scene here presented is not to be considered as a literal history, but rather as a figurative representation of what passes in the interior

of the celestial sanctuary: in condescension to human capacity, the decorum of the scene being evidently borrowed. from the custom of oriental kings, surrounded by their ministers of state.

"And though the spirit, called here the public accuser or inspector,' is represented as inflicting certain sufferings. upon Job, yet, throughout the poem, the patriarch's calamities are uniformly ascribed, both by himself and by his friends, immediately to God; and for a very good reason,no human being knew, or was permitted to know, what was passing in the cabinet of Supreme Deity; and, besides this, whether the matter was known or unknown, all that a monarch transacts, or allows to be transacted, by his ministers or deputies, is justly considered as being transacted by himself, because it emanates from his authority.'

We commend this subject to the serious attention of the reader. The exposition of Mr. Wemys is ingenious, and may be correct: if well founded, it certainly obviates a serious difficulty; but in this case we are not so fully satisfied as to feel at liberty to decide between these conflicting opinions.

It will not be necessary for us to pursue a more extended investigation into the religious character of that period: this part of our task may be closed with the single observation, that, whether we have been successful in our effort to exhibit the religious doctrines prevalent in this age or not, it is indubitable that enough light was manifested to enable pious men to realize the Divine favour, walk in intimate fellowship with God, and give up their lives in unreserved obedience to his will. Throughout all revelation these privileges and blessings are uniformly ascribed to the mediation of the Redeemer, and to the exercise of personal faith in him. Hence it is certain, that, so far as the personal religion of the patriarchs was real, it involved an acquaintance with the great doctrines to which we have referred, and a knowledge of the Saviour in whom these holy men were called to trust.

* WEMYS'S "Job and his Times,"

CHAPTER X.

THE RISE OF EMPIRES, AND THE PROGRESS OF
IDOLATRY.

ANTIQUITY of monarchical Institutions-BABYLON-Dynasty of Nimrod -Arabian Dynasty-ASSYRIA-Its Origin-List of Ctesias-Ninus-Invasion of Babylon-Semiramis-Nynias-CHINAFirst Emperors-Hia Dynasty-Transactions of the most important Reigns-Religion-Progress of Idolatry-PERSIA-MahabadPaishdaddin Dynasty-Invasion of Zohauk-Intellectual Character of the Persians-Religion-EGYPT Commencement of the Monarchy-Chronology of leading Events-Shepherd Kings-The Pyramids Learning, Art, and Science--Religion.

THE origin of monarchical institutions is lost in remote antiquity. From the result of our researches into the subject we are persuaded, that the primitive mode of government was patriarchal. The father exercised authority over his family, and on the same principle the patriarch ruled over his tribe; yet, long before the era of authentic history, personal prowess, aspiring at dominion, broke down these paternal authorities, and established kingly government. As several of those monarchies rose into power and influence prior to the death of Isaac, we shall have to direct our attention to the most prominent of them in succession.

The first of which we read is the usurpation of Nimrod at BABEL. To this we have already referred; we have now to observe the results of his efforts. Strange as it may seem, and seldom as it has been noticed, we are able to subjoin a list of the sovereigns who reigned over this kingdom from the time of Nimrod,,until its subversion by the dominant power of Assyria. We will first record these lists of rulers, with the duration of their reigns; and then give some explanation of the authority upon which these data rest.