all fear, all doubts, all questionings. Then we have David's memorable words, addressed to his servants on the death of his son, “While the child lived I fasted and prayed, for who could tell whether God would be gracious to me that it may live; but now that he is dead wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me." Surely this answer alone would afford conclusive evidence of his faith in a world beyond the grave. Again, how may we construe the following words of Abigail to David, if not persuaded that they allude to immortality,-"The soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God"? thence showing that the belief not only animated the king, but had taken firm hold on the minds of the whole people. Although more worldly-minded, Solomon spoke no less forcibly or distinctly of a future state than did his father David. His words are not to be misunderstood, being entirely free from all ambiguity. Thus in Ecclesiastes we read, " All go to one place; all are of the dust and all turn to dust again, who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward ?" And chap. xii. "Man goeth to his long home, then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." Then, in Proverbs, which were especially adapted for the people, we read, chap. xi., "Righteousness delivereth from death;" also we are told, "When the wicked man dieth, his expectations shall perish;" and again, "In the way of righteousness is life, and in the pathway thereof there is no death." We now turn to the Book of Job, supposed to have been written in the time of Moses; and therein we find additional proof that the blissful hope of immortality was then a belief, a fixed trust. Thus we read, chap. xix., “And after this body is destroyed, out of my flesh shall I see God." Again, "God looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, then will yo deliver his soul, and his life shall see the light." A few practical incidents calculated to strengthen the belief in immortality, may be here introduced. For example: when Elijah prayed to God that Zarepath's child's soul should come into him again, the Lord granted his request, and the soul came back unto him again, and he revived." Then also the translation of Elijah clearly proves that there is another habitation for the souls of men. Turning next to the Book of Kings, we find that in more than one instance death was promised as a blessing, as a reward for virtuous conduct, as in the case of that excellent monarch Josiah. Yet could this have been deemed such by monarchs in the zenith of their prosperity, had they not firmly and fixedly believed in immortality? And now we may add some quotations from the books of the prophets, written at various epochs, most of them in the reigns of the Jewish kings, but some few, when a portion of the Israelites had become captives and exiles in the land of their enemies. Thus we read in Isa. xxvi. 19, "The dead shall live. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust!" etc. Again, chap. lv. 3, "Incline your ear and come unto Me, saith the Lord, and your soul shall live. Let the wicked man way forsake his and turn unto the Lord and God will abundantly pardon." Next, extracting from Jer. xxii. 10, Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him : but weep sore for him that goeth away [into exile]: for he shall return no more." Then what words could be more significant of eternal life than Ezek. xiii. 19, " Thus saith the Lord God, Will ye pollute Me among My people, to slay the souls that should not die?" Again, speaking of a righteous man, chap. xviii. 9, "He hath walked in My statutes and kept My judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord." Also alluding to the evil-doer, "When the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive." And again, xxxiii. 15, "If the wicked restore the pledge, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die." Turning next to Daniel, we read, chap. xii., "And at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust shall awake, U some to everlasting life. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the sun; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever." Then in Hosea xiii. 9," O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help. I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death." Lastly, in Mal. iii. 16, "They that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name. Truly a reiteration of the words of Moses containing the same glorious promise to the good and righteous. Profane history further yields ample evidences that the biblical teachings of immortality were not lost upon the Jewish nation. During long years thousands died for their religion, and by their willing martyrdom not only proved their love and trust in the one sole God, but also practically demonstrated their belief in a future and happier state. To those who thus perished death was not annihilation, but an entrance into realms of bliss. The writings of the learned Israelites of successive generations give additional testimony that this belief has never been extinct in the nation. And finally, as a conclusive proof that the immortality of the soul ever was an essential principle among the Jews, we need only turn to the thirteen fundamental articles of their faith, wherein this belief is clearly embodied. Now, had not Moses in his five books inculcated this doctrine, had it been a mere instinct or the offshoot of another creed, this tenet could not possibly have found a place there. Assuredly, that which Moses taught or commanded, and nothing else, forms the basis of the Jewish faith. To his teachings is this belief due; and if it has in a measure grown and strengthened in succeeding generations, such is but the natural consequence of the increase of enlightenment and the ever-growing supremacy of reason and faith. S.-L. MOCATTA. The Preacher's Finger-Post. Subject: A TRANSCENDENT EX- "Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool : where is the house that ye build unto Me? and where is the place of My rest? For all those things hath Mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word."-ISA. lxvi. 1, 2. These words reveal two subjects, I. AN EXISTENCE THAT STANDS IN CONTRAST WITH ALL THAT IS CREATED. First: Here is an Omnipresent Existence. One whose throne is heaven, whose footstool is earth, and to whom all places are alike. One who fills heaven and earth, not merely with His influence, but with His actual presence, as much at all times in one point of space as in another. The incommensurable One, not only everywhere, as the pantheists teach, as a substance, but everywhere as a Personality, free, conscious, active. Now, all created existences are limited by the laws of space, and those that occupy the largest space are mere specks in immensity. Concerning the stupendous fact of God's Omnipresence, I observe (1) This fact is agreeable to reason. It transcends reason, it is incomprehensible to the understanding. Albeit the denial of it would involve a contradiction. It enters into our very conception of God. A limited God would in truth be no God. (2) This fact is essential to worship. It is essential to the spirit of worship. Worship implies mystery. Take away the incomprehensibility of the Eternal, and you take away the power to evoke in the soul all the awe and the wonder which enter into the very essence of worship. The soul craves for mystery. It is essential to constancy of worship. True worship is not an occasional or specific service confined to times and places, it is an abiding attitude of the soul. "God is a Spirit," etc. (3) This fact is promotive of holiness. Let men realize the constant presence of God, and how strongly will they feel restraint from sin, and stimulation to virtue and holiness! (4) This fact, is assurative of retribution. Who can hide himself from the Lord? "All things are naked and open unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." Wherever we are He is, and wher ever He is He sees. No sin escapes His notice. There is no escaping, therefore, from punishment. "Whither shall we flee from His presence?" etc. (5) This fact is illustrative of heaven. There is nothing local or formal in the worship of heaven. "I saw no temple in heaven, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it." He is felt to be everywhere, and He is worshipped every where. "Soul of the world, All-seeing eye, Where, where shall man Thy presence fly? Say, would we climb the starry height? All heaven is instinct with Thy light. Dwell in the darkness of the grave? Yea, Thou art there to judge and save. In vain on wings of morn we soar, In vain the realms of space explore, In vain retreat to shades of For what can veil us from Thy Secondly: Here is a Creative Existence. "For all those things hath Mine hand made," etc. Because He made all, He owns all. Creatorship implies Eternity, Sovereignty, Almightiness, and Proprietorship. Who else creates ? None. II. A DOCTRINE THAT TRANSCENDS HUMAN DISCOVERY. What is the doctrine? "To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word." The doctrine is this, that this Infinite Being, who is everywhere, who created the universe and owns it, feels a profound interest in the individual man whose soul is in a humble, contrite, and reverent state. Could reason ever have discovered such a truth as this? Never. Reason has in some cases regarded the Almighty as retired into some grand pavilion of immensity, taking no interest in the universe He has created, allowing it to work out the laws He had first impressed upon it. In other cases, reason has represented the Almighty as taking an interest only in the vast, and utterly disregarding the minute. It sees Him in the revolutions of planets and systems, and sometimes in the rise and fall of empires; but cannot entertain the thought that He has to do with the individual affairs of individual men. It would be easy to show that reason is unreasonable in all this, but this is not the point. Now, although this doctrine transcends reason, it does not contradict it. Nay, it agrees with it; for consider First-That a human soul is a child of God. Mountains, oceans, worlds, systems, are His productions but not His progeny, His |