"There is no real antagonism, but the two realities are in perfect harmony." "In the light of these remarks, the reader may turn to Psalm cx., which our author emphasises. The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.' Let me say at once, that our author is all at sea about the rod and the gospel. The rod did not go forth on the day of Pentecost, nor is there any allusion to the gospel in the Psalm. The day of power and the day of wrath are one. The rod of his strength is the iron rod of the passages already quoted. The iron rod of triumphal power and immaculate justice will go forth from Zion in the appointed time. Hence we learn that the people who gather not to worship the Lord, and keep the feast of tabernacles, shall be smitten with plagues or famine according to righteous judgment, and the power goes forth from Jerusalem, the centre of authority and glory. Sit thou at my right hand.' How long? Until I make thine enemies thy footstool.' What happens then? Simply this, that the Lord leaves the central throne comes down from the right hand of God to the throne of Jerusalem, and is absolute and sole potentate on earth. It is from that point that the action and rule proceeds which is pointed out in the Psalm by the rod of his strength passing forth. His enemies are all subjected-some by immediate destruction, some by iron compression, some by the transformation of love. To be subjected and to be entirely destroyed are different ideas. There is, doubtless, during the whole thousand years a smouldering element of evil in the flesh, though justice be enthroned in glory and righteousness rolling like the waves of the sea. But during this grand period the Son of God reigns in majesty and power with his associate princes, and no power of evil comes with hostility to the front, or gathers to a head. At last comes the final trial, when, upon the release of the infernal chieftain, the forces of impiety July 1, 1868. marshal in sudden insurgency, and meet their destiny in no battle-field, but under the descending fire of God,” The Study of the Bible: A Series of Chapters intended to promote Truth and Unity. By HENRY DUNN. Second Edition, Revised. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. IN searching for an answer to the question, " Why is it that Christian people read the Bible so differently"? Mr. Dunn concludes that the true explanation will be found in that prevailing neglect of the Bible, as a whole, which arises from its being almost always read in mere fragments; in forgetfulness of the particular purpose for which the Book was given; in confusions regarding its inspiration; in errors relating to the Holy Spirit; in the confounding of revealed facts with human inferences; in bias of one kind or another; in reading, either for edification or for the kindling of devout feeling, without first ascertaining the meaning of that which is read; in the habit of accommodating Scripture, or of perverting it, by the exaggeration, projection, or other misapplication of texts; in allegorizing, under the influence of an unbridled fancy; in the abuse of parallel passages and references; in that darkening of the sense which is frequently occasioned by injudicious division into chapters and verses; in the acceptance of interpretations drawn only from hymns; in the neglect and consequent abuse of unfulfilled prophecy; in inattention to the character of the particular dispensation under which we are living; in errors as to church authority, and the value of tradition; in undue reliance on the professional labours of the clergy; in turning helps into hindrances; and, above all, in habitual indifference to the demand Scripture makes on every man for prolonged study, as an essential pre-requisite to the elevation, by its means, of moral character. To each of these important points the author draws attention with dignified calmness, clearness of expression, THE RAINBOW. July 1, 1868. and logical force. The result is a book of great value-an introduction to the Holy Scriptures which no intelligent man can read without being wiser and stronger in consequence. Mr. Dunn has removed with firm hand, and yet with that philosophical reverence which is worthy of the grave student, many of those evil things which darken the bright pages of revelation, and divide and distract the Church. With all earnestness we suggest to all parties an early and careful perusal of this instructive volume. A The Voice upon the Mountains. Journal of Prophetic Testimony and Evangelistic Effort. Edited by T. GEORGE BELL, LL.D. London : S. W. Partridge & Co. THIS journal is published monthly, at a penny; and as our esteemed brother the Editor bears faithful testimony to the great truth for which we pleadthe premillennial coming of our Lordwe heartily wish for it a great number of readers. Dr. Bell is at once a student of prophecy and an evangelist -a living contradiction, if what our opponents say be true: namely, that Millenarians are indifferent to labours for the conversion of men." But, then, it is not true. The "Voice" happily combines prophetic testimony with evangelistic effort. In apostolic days these were united, and apostolic truth shows where the principle of union is to be found. We quote the following from the June number, to show our readers how clear Dr. Bell is on fundamental truths, and how deserving his paper is, therefore, of a large circulation: 1. The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, so often spoken of in the New Testament, is a real, bodily appearing of that blessed One, according to His own promise, "I WILL COME AGAIN;" and according to the word of His apostle, "THE LORD HIMSELF SHALL DESCEND." 2. There are two distinct resurrections, with a thousand years between them, the first being that of "they that are Christ's at His coming;" and the second, that of the wicked dead, raised to be judged at the Great White Throne. 3. The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is for the gathering together of His people, and the establishment of His millennial reign-His kingdom having to be set up in the midst of His righteous and desolating judgments. 4. Whilst this coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is a certain event, most distinctly declared, the time of that coming is hidden from us, in order that we may be kept in the right posture of soul, waiting and watching for our Lord. 5. Though we have no assured date when He shall come, yet are there signs given-signs corresponding so much with the circumstances of these very times-calculated in every way to assure us that "THE COMING OF THE LORD DRAWETH NIGH." A Glimpse of the Great Secret Society. London: W. Macintosh. WHEN we first opened this volume, we had, for what reason we cannot say, an idea that it was an exposé of Freemasonry; it turned out, however, to be one of Jesuitism, which certainly has a better claim to be called "The Great Secret Society." The book consists of 148 pages, 104 of which are occupied by a translation of the "Report on the Constitution of the Jesuits," delivered by M. de la Chalotais, the AttorneyGeneral of the King of France, to the Parliament of Bretagne, in 1761-a document of more than mere historic interest and value. Most thoroughly do we agree with the translator when he says, "No person who has taken the trouble to inform himself on this subject can with truth assert, that in affording our readers this Glimpse of the Operations of the Great Secret Society,' we are inviting them to accompany us while we rummage among the musty records of a danger that is past." Death is Ours. By G. V. W. London: Crocker. WE cannot express a favourable opinion of this tract. It is very ill written; and to speak of "death" as "our boast and song" is quite unscriptural. Death, according to Paul, is "the wages of sin." Can "the wages of sin" be, under any circumstances, "our boast and song?" The Divine Ways with the Jew, the July 1, 1868. pensational dealings of God with mankind. We have read it with considerable interest, and agree with much of what the writer advances, though we demur on some points. The author has evidently studied his subject, and his little book will be found useful by those who have not. The Saviour. The Petition. London: W. Yapp and Co. (Price 6d. per dozen.) BEAUTIFUL little poems; admirable alike in sentiment and expression. THE RAINBOW: A Magasine of Christian Literature, with Special Beference to the Bevealed Future of the Church and the celorld. MAN AN is nothing; GOD is all. That is our motto. Success through failure; that is the history of the past, and the rule of Divine procedure for the future. Man has always failed, and God has always taken the opportunity of these failures to work out his own sublime purposes according to the counsel of his will, and the riches of his grace wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence. Failure in Paradise, failure under law, failure under grace, that is man's history, the human side of the story of all time. But it has also a divine side, luminous with the manifold wisdom of God, proving that He has been advancing the settled design of his heart through all the fluctuations and all the tempestuous storms of the world. Not one step backward has He ever gone, not one erasure is found in the book of his purposes, not one disappointment has He ever met, and not one casualty has ever checked for a moment the majestic progression cf his thoughts towards their glorious ultimate goal. To feel this, to be firmly persuaded of this with a conviction so certain and deep that nothing can shake it, is strength, repose, joy to the soul. The "fall" of man! Why, it is failure throughout, and nothing but failure, so far as mere man is concerned; but the thought that God's eternal purpose in Christ Jesus-which can be nothing less than infinitely worthy of Himself is steadily and unswervingly advancing towards its settled issue, is unutterably consoling. It gives the peace which cannot be described, and fills the lips with praise even when the wisest are at their wit's end, and ecclesiastical anarchy threatens, as at the present time, to destroy everything that the best revere. It does not rejoice in evil; for that is impossible to the Scriptural faith which is of the operation of the Holy Ghost; but it is glad Z LAugust 1, 1868. in the Lord, and rejoices to know that evil is powerless to prevent the realization of his grand designs. "The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." That is enough. We believe the Divine Speaker. "The word of our God shall stand for ever." He will not go back from his purpose, nor alter the thing that has gone out of his mouth. The glorious things uttered by his prophets must come to pass; and all attempts to explain them away by the introduction of figure where there is none, are only attempts to weaken our faith in inspiration, and to rob us of those holy treasures of truth with which our Father seeks to enrich us. But we will not allow the robbery. Our obligations to Him who came to give us life and immortality are too great to permit us silently to acquiesce in doctrines that would keep Him for ever from that throne of universal empire "under the whole heaven," to which He is entitled, and which He alone is competent to occupy. We have no scholastic theory to advocate, no system of human theology to build up; we only claim for our Saviour and Lord the right He has to his own, the full possession of all that the Father has said He will bestow upon him; and that is, in the words of the seer of Babylon, "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." We only echo the marvellous doxology, the rehearsal of which was heard by the seer of Patmos "And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the living ones, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and in the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four |