as created beings, are insignificant-by inheritance, mortal-by actual guilt, polluted and debased? To us, death comes as wages earned by guilt; but even were it otherwise,-did death come to us as an accident of our being, how should we complain of the hardness of our lot, when Christ himself declares, 'I was dead?' Did the Redeemer die,-he in whose sympathy and care we are commanded to confide, and to whom we are taught to look, in every hour of danger or distress, for needful succour and consolation? And is it no encouragement to reflect, that he, into whose hands we commit our case, when in the extremity of mortal agony, and when vain is the help of man, has himself drunk the cup before us, and felt its bitternessthat evey inch of that dark valley was trod by him, and that, from his own experience, he knows what strength and succour we need in that dreadful hour? Did the Redeemer die, as the surety and representative of sinners; was his death a solemn expiation of our guilt, and an adequate satisfaction to God for the penalty which we had incurred? Is there no reason then to suppose, that dying, as he did, in the room, and on behalf of the guilty, death met him in a more formidable shape, aud put into his hands a bitterer cup than can now fall to the lot of any of his people; and that their dissolution will be greatly less terrible than it would have been by reason of his enduring in their room the heaviest part of it? For what is it that mainly embitters death, and surrounds it, even when viewed at a distance, with innumerable terrors? Not surely the mere pain with which it is accompanied for equal, or greater, pain we have often endured; not the mere dissolution of the tie betwixt soul and body-for if that were all, however our sensitive nature might shrink from the shock, our rational nature might enable us to regard it with composure; not the mere separation from the society and business of the present world-for that, however it may awaken a feeling of melancholy regret, can hardly account for the forebodings and terrors of which every mind is more or less conscious when it contemplates death. No; it is something more than the mere pain of dying, or the mere dissolving of the elements of our being, or the mere separation from this world, that embitters the cup of death. The sting of death is sin,'—the same sin which gave us over as a prey to death, makes us also slaves to the fear of death; for, by the unvarying law of conscience, sin and fear are bound up together, and it is a conscience burdened with guilt, and apprehensive of punishment, which, in our case, arrays death with terrors unknowu to the inferior aud irresponsible creation. But Christ died to expiate and cancel the guilt of his people; he has also endured, and by enduring, has taken away the penalty of their transgression; death remains, but its sting is taken away; so that we may 'thank God, who hath given the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord,' and may exclaim with the apostle, 'O Death, where is now thy sting? O Grave, where is thy victory?' THE CHARACTER OF CALEB. THE evil report brought by so many of the spies respecting the promised land produced the most unhappy results to the Israelites. Men sent out to explore distant regions have generally returned with the most encouraging accounts; and the multitude are disposed to yield to them ready and implicit credit. What specious accounts have been given, in the present day, of various foreign countries! The climate has been represented as most salubrious, the fields as marked by beauty and fertility, and the inhabitants as mild and courteous. Influenced by such delusive statements, many have abandoned comfortable situations in their own country, and repaired to places where they expected to find ease, plenty, and independence, but have found poverty, despair, and death. But the spies sent to explore Canaan brought a most unfavourable account of it. They said, it is a land which eateth up the inhabitants thereof, and the people in it are men of great stature, before whom we are as grasshoppers. To this the Israelites gave a ready ear, and wept and murmured, and said,- Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.' In vain did Caleb and Joshua assure them that Canaan was an exceeding good land, and that they had no reason to fear its inhabitauts, for their defence was departed from them. Such was their infatuation and their fury, that all the congregation bade stone them with stones. At this moment the glory of the Lord appeared before them; and he said to Moses, I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation, and a mightier than they' Although this declaration was most honourable to Moses, and though he had been long harassed by their turbulence and folly, he could not bear the idea of their destruction, and pleaded for mercy to them as a parent does for a rebellious child. God listened to his prayer; but while he did not destroy them all in his wrath, he marked out as its victims the spies who had deceived them, and declared that not one of that generation should enter the promised land. In the midst of these testimonies of his displeasure, he bears the most honour able witness to the character of Caleb, and opens the most gratifying prospects to him and to his family: 'But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.' Though Joshua is not mentioned in this verse, it obviously points to him as well as to Caleb; for he was animated by the same temper, and bore the same testimony, and the names of both are conjoined afterwards in the narrative as the two honourable exceptions in the wickedness and the doom of the messengers. The reason why Joshua is not here mentioned may be, that Caleb took a more active part than he did on this occasion; or because it had already been foretold that Joshua, as the successor of Moses, was to conduct the Israelites into Canaan. The character and promise here given are rich in instruction, and are especially applicable to aged saints, whose conversation is in heaven, and who have lived a long and useful life in all godliness, and kindness, and honesty. God styles Caleb his servant. He was so, not only as sent by him on this important business, but because, in his general conduct, he was influenced by a regard to his authority, and by a solicitude to please him. Amidst the most honourable testimonies to the piety of good men, Jehovah delights to speak of them by this term; and in their most favoured moments this is the epithet which they love to employ, as a memorial of their dependence and subjection. The enthusiast, when his mind is puffed up with what he regards as tokens of the Divine complacency, considers himself as the favourite of Heaven, and delights to exhibit himself to the world in this light. The language of humility and self-denial accords not with his feelings; and if he does use it, it is obvious that he employs it to secure to himself the more ample applause; but Simeon, after a most signal manifestation of the divine complacency, speaks of himself as God's servant, whose office it was to obey his orders, and who was willing to be disposed of by him according to his pleasure. The honour put on him, and the kindness shown to him, made the will of his Lord more dear to his heart. Thus also the apostle John, while about to detail the astonishing visions which had been vouchsafed to him alone, and in which there had been presented to his mind's eye everything in the history of the Church, and in the triumphs of the Redeemer, which could dazzle by its splendour, or charm by its blessings, tells us, that the things which he details Jesus Christ had sent, and signified by his angel to his servant John. When men speak of themselves as God's servants, they may do it in hypocrisy or in delusion, deceived in their apprehension of their own character, or wishing to deceive others; when others speak of them in this manner, they may do it in the language of a charity, whose conclusions, though amiable, are not infallible; but when God calls any one his servant, it is a certain intimation that he hath put his laws in his heart, and that it is the business and the delight of that person to do his will. Jehovah states that he had a different spirit in him from that of the rest of the messengers. His conduct made this evident to all around; but Jehovah saw it before it was possible for him to evince it in his conduct. Their spirit was the spirit of unbelief. Notwithstanding the many proofs they had seen of the power of God, and of his fidelity to his promises, they questioned his ability or his willingness to put them in possession of Canaan; but Caleb believed that no obstacle could resist the course of Omnipotence, and that no event could make his promise to fail. While the infidel scoffer ridicules the hope of immortality as a delusion, and while the carnal mind cleaves to this world as its only portion, it is your attainment, ye aged saints, to sing, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again to a lively hope, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and which fadeth not away.' He Their spirit was the spirit of cowardice. They trembled at the idea of the stature, and fierceness, and number of the Canaanites, and at the magnitude and the strength of their cities, and said-'We are not able to go up against this people, for they are stronger than we;' but the spirit of Caleb was that of courage and resolution. stilled the people before Moses, and said, -Let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it. Through God we shall do valiantly; for he it is that shall tread down our enemies under us.' While others shudder at the idea of dying, and are discouraged by every difficulty which presents itself in the way to Zion, your resolution is-I will go in the strength of the Lord God. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.' Their spirit was that of pride and turbulence. Though they had reason to be satisfied with the honour conferred on them in being chosen from their various tribes to visit Canaan, yet they envied the higher repute of Caleb and Joshua, and the peculiar favour shown them on other occasions by Moses. This superiority they could not brook, and eagerly did they seize this opportunity of raising a tumult, that they might obtain a greater influence in the camp. But Caleb was meek and lowly in heart; he was satisfied with the distinction to which Providence had raised him, and felt more solicitous to deserve than to advance it. And is this your spirit? 'Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lotfy: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. I have surely behaved and quieted myself as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.' How suitable is such a spirit in those who must say 'The graves are ready for me!' they credit; whatever it enjoins them to avoid, they shun; and whatever it enjoins them to observe, they do. Caleb had received the Spirit of God, and he obeyed his dictates. The oppor tunities of utility which he excited him to embrace, he did not let slip, and the acts of self-denial which he urged him to perform, he did not decline; from the sacrifice to which he prompted, he did not shrink; the petitions which he suggested he offered in prayer; urged on by him, he did not listen to the solicitation of indolence and languor; and when he restrained, he did not hearken to the urgency of passion or of appetite. Caleb followed the Lord fully. We are not to suppose that this expression intimates that he had attained perfection in the qualities of his heart, or in the discharge of his duty. Its meaning is, that he had attained a pitch of religious excellence which was. uncommon, and which Jehovah marked with delight. It is like the testimony borne to Job:- Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil?' Their spirit was the spirit of malignity. Amidst all their pretended solicitude for the safety of the Israelites, and their unwillingness to see them discomfited and slaughtered by a powerful and bloody enemy, they wished to keep them from going forward to possess a country where they should be great and flourishing, and to induce them to remain in the wilderness, where they must soon have perished for hunger or thirst, or to return to the bondage in Egypt from which God had redeemed them. But the spirit of Caleb was that of patriotism and benevolence. His wish was, to see Israel triumphant over the enemies whom God had called them to subdue, and happy in the inheritance which God had assigned them. And is this your spirit? While the wicked try to hinder the salvation, and to ensure the ruin of others, the good wish them redemption from sin and wrath, and the enjoy-blessings heaped on his name. But human ment of grace and glory. Samuel intimated to Saul, that when he should meet with the company of the prophets, the Spirit of the Lord should come upon him, and he should be turned into another man, and God, it is said, gave him another heart. His subsequent history shows that he was not renewed in the spirit of his mind, and that this change can only refer to some mental endowment with which he was favoured. But when persons experience the change wrought on Caleb, they put off the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.' Jehovah states that Caleb had followed him. This expression points out his compliance with the calls of his Word, and with the impulse of his Spirit. God had given his Word to Israel as a light to their feet, and as a lamp to their paths; and that Word good men carefully examine; and whatever it enjoins them to believe, Jehovah expressed his approbation of him. He had done so to Caleb himself in the testimonies of conscience on various occasions, but now he did it publicly. Much will men do and sacrifice to attain human praise. The warrior thinks his toils and struggles well rewarded in the approbation of his sovereign; and the man whose public spirit has led him to successful exertions for his country's good, deems himself more than repaid in the applause is vain and transitory: it is often bestowed where it has not been merited, and is soon withdrawn to deck the name of some new candidate for popularity; but the approbation of Jehovah is that of a Judge impartial and unerring, and whose favour is better than life. This approbation of God was expressed in opposition to the reproach cast upon him by his associates and by the people. It was thus shown, that it was not in their power to blast his name, and that however their abuse of Caleb might appear to them while under the influence of passion, it was in the estimation of Heaven a persecution of him for righteousness' sake. It is a remarkable circumstance about this approbation, that it is unqualified. The character of Caleb had doubtless its frailties; and these could not escape the notice of Him who searches the hearts and tries the reins of the children of men; but these infirmities he had graciously pardoned; he had no pleasure in exposing them, and dwelt with delight on his gene ral excellence. How opposite is this to the conduct of many! They will pass by all the holy beauties of a good man's character, and expiate on a single fault, as if this was its leading feature, and showed that he was under the power of sin. The charity of worldly men is marked by excessive indulgence to its own, but by the most unrighteous severity to the saints of the Most High. This approbation, too, was recorded in the Bible, that it might transmit the piety and fidelity of Caleb to every succeeding age, and might hold him up as a pattern of holy courage, and stedfast devotedness to duty. The records of human praise which in former ages were deemed a security for lasting fame, have passed away. The pillar of memorial crumbles down, the finest eulogy of human praise is written on the sand, and cannot be placed beyond the reach of the flowing tide of time; but the word of the Lord endureth for ever, and the characters which it celebrates shall be made known in every language, and be admired in every era of the world. I may add, that it was a pledge of the approving sentence of the day of judgment when to Caleb as well as to every holy follower of the Lord, it shall be said from the great white throne, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.' He promises him a happy settlement in Canaan. To Caleb, who was so sensible of the beauty and fertility of that country, this would appear a most desirable blessing, and to him the assurance of it must have been most solacing, when he had heard the confident assertions of the spies, that it was in vain to invade it. In spite of every opposing effort, God would conduct him to it in safety. It was a circumstance connected with this privilege which must have deeply affected the mind of Caleb, that he and Joshua were the only two of that generation who should enter it. Goodness thus great, thus distinguishing, and thus constant, must have bound him more strongly to the service of his God. We have in the Book of Joshua, an account of Caleb's presenting his claim to the heritage promised him in Canaan, and of his obtaining it. Caleb the son of Jephun neh the Kenezite, came and said unto Joshua, Thou knowest the thing that the Lord said unto Moses, the man of God, concerning me and thee, in Kadesh-barnea. Forty years old was I when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart. Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt; but I wholly followed the Lord my God. And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord my God. And now, behold the Lord hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel_wandered in the wilderness; and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out and to come in. Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day; (for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced;) if so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said. And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh, Hebron for an inheritance. Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel.' It is most delightful to mark in this passage Caleb's grateful impressions of Jehovah's goodness, and to see him actuated by the same devotedness to God in old age as he had been in the former periods of life. He trusts not in his vi gour, which he felt to be yet undiminished, but in the help of his God, and complains not of the delay of the fulfilment of this promise, but asks it now, as if conscious that the appointed time had arrived. How beautiful is it to see Joshua blessing him, and promptly granting his request! Instead of regarding him with envy, he loved him as a companion in toil, danger, and duty, and regarded it as his honour to assign him the reward which his zeal and courage had won. As Caleb was a pious man, we may believe that he saw in this promise of Canaan, an assurance of an inheritance in a better country, of which in all its beauty and fruitfulness, and security, it was only a type. Earthly kings must limit their rewards to the present state. They have nought to give beyond the grave, but God's chief blessings are allotted there. The rewards he promises to worldly men, when he employs them in executing his purposes, are limited to the advantages of the present scene; and such were these which he promised to Nebuchadnezzar and to Cyrus: but godliness is profitable to all things, and hath the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. In the blessings of Canaan Caleb beheld a prelude of a felicity more noble, which should be marred by no evil, and from which death should never remove him. Such is the land to which God will conduct all the faithful followers of his son. For them it is purchased by the blood of their Leader, and he hath taken possession of it in the character of your forerunner. It is occupied, not as Canaan was, by nations which must be assaulted and conquered, and extirpated, ere you can possess it, but by angels and saints eager to welcome you to their society and their bliss. It is a land where no sin defiles, no curse blasts, and no fear darkens, but where all shine in God's light, rest in his love, and rejoice in his blessing. "Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy, and at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.' He assures him that his seed shall possess it. This good man felt a strong solicitude for the happiness of his children, and, amidst the fullest assurances of his own felicity, he would have felt anxiety and uneasiness had nothing been said respecting his family; but God declares that the heritage which should be allotted to him, they should enjoy; and the expression intimates, that they would approve themselves the children of such a father, and that they should not be left to forfeit such a portion by their degeneracy. Such an example as that of Caleb constantly before their eyes could not but impress them; and the testimony borne to it by Jehovah was a motive to stedfast and active goodness of the strongest kind. It it a remarkable circumstance, that Caleb and his descendants inherited that portion of Canaan which was possessed, when the spies visited it, by a race of men so formidable as to inspire all but himself with terror and despondence. In the very spot which his companions deemed inaccessible to Israel did Caleb dwell, and there his family flourished for many gene rations. To thy pasture folded there, Thou shalt have thy needed rest, Thou shalt lean upon my breast, Thou my people's peace shalt know; But I lead not always so.' 'Since with Thee my soul hath gone, All thy preciousness I've known, And where'er Thou leadest me, Master, I will follow thee.' 'Is't to serve Thee night and day? Is't to labour and to pray? Striving thus to conquer sin, Striving souls for Thee to win? While temptation round me raves, Like a storm of mighty waves; Wheresoe'er Thou leadest me, Master, I will follow thee.' 'Thou shalt have my work to do, 'Is't to give this comfort up? Is't to drain that bitter cup? Is't this idol to resign, That my love may all be thine? Trusting in Thy promised aid, Let the solemn vow be made ; Still, where'er Thou leadest me, Master, I will follow thee.' And when all the way is passed, There with Thee for aye to be, I. C. ORIGINAL POETRY. FOLLOWING JESUS. 'SINNER, rise! I call on thee, Is it in thy love to rest, THE BIBLE ABOVE ALL PRICE. WERE we permitted to adduce the testimony of the Scriptures in their own favour, as a proof that their contents are highly interesting, our task would be short, and easily accomplished. But it is possible, that to this testimony some might think it a sufficient reply, to apostrophize the Sacred Volume in the language of the captious Jews to our Saviour: -Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true.' No similar objection can be urged, however, against our avail |
