the result? If we set Christianity aside, as having nothing to do with the question, will it not still be evident, that of all the wars of Christendom, there has not been so many as one in a hundred, which was "manifestly just and necessary," and which might not have been avoided, to great advantage to the parties concerned? However, in deciding what is just and necessary, people in general are greatly, but unconsciously, influenced by the popular opinions and customs of the age in which they happen to live. But whatever may be said in excuse for the wars of former ages, while the rulers of Christian nations were so enveloped in darkness and barbarism, as to see no better method for settling their disputes, than that of imitating the pagans, the savages, and the beasts of prey; we may not hence infer, that there will be the same excuse in a more improved state of society. The time certainly may come, if it be not come already, when Christians will see that they can do much better without war than with it, and as well as the people of this age have done without other sanguinary customs which are now so generally exploded. Blessings of the Millennial State. Isaiah lxv. 20-22. THIS passage is generally understood to refer to the glory of the latter day, of which Longevity will be a distinguishing blessing. I shall transcribe the improved version of the words from Bishop Lowth: "No more shall there be an infant short lived; Nor an old man who hath not fulfilled his days; For he that dieth at an hundred years shall die a boy; And the sinner that dieth at an hundred years, shall be deemed accursed. And they shall build houses, and shall inhabit them; And they shall plant vineyards, and shall eat the fruit thereof; They shall not plant, and another eat: For as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people; And they shall wear out the works of their own hands.' The connexion of this passage with the rest of the chapter, plainly shows that the prosperous state of the Christian Church is the object in view; and that "the new heavens and the new earth," signify that glorious and happy state of believers, when the knowledge of the Lord shall be universal, when War shall have ceased, and peace and joy prevail all over the world. The duration of human life will then be lengthened. At At present nearly half of the human race die in infancy; but this sad mortality shall cease, and there shall be no more an infant short-lived;" one that " comes up like a flower" in the morning, and fades before noon. The man who now dies at seventy, is thought to have lived long; but then, he who shall die at an hundred, shall be thought to have died-a youth; and the sinner (for a few such will be found even in the Millennium) will be judged to have perished by an early and untimely death, if he complete only a century. But, generally, the people of that period shall enjoy a continuance of life, equal to that of a long-lived tree; and some trees have doubtless remained for a thousand years. Not that every one born in the Millennium shall live exactly that period; the expression denotes a great length As the days of a tree. Bishop Lowth, in his note on this passage, says, "It is commonly supposed that the oak, one of the most long-lived of the trees, lasts about one thousand years; being five hundred growing to full perfection, and as many decaying. See Evelyn, Sylva, B. 3. c. 3. The Emperor of China, in a poem, a translation of which was published at Paris 1770, speaks of a tree in his country, which lives more than one hundred ages; and of another, which after eighty ages is only in its prime. His commentator carries the matter much farther, but the chronology, &c. of the Chinese is often extravagant. The prophet's idea seems to be, that they shall live to the age of the Antediluvians. The cedars of Lebanon are reputed to be almost incorruptible and immortal. In of life, probably equal to that of the Antediluvians, who lived seven, eight, nine hundred years, or more. Some suppose that their longevity was for the purpose of the more speedy population of the earth, and that, when that design was accomplished, the duration of life was reduced. The restoration of the original duration of life may be intended for similar, yet for superior purposes, which may presently be noticed. One advantage, mentioned in the text, to be obtained, will be the enjoyment of man's labour. It was a curse denounced on a wicked man of old, Deut. xxviii. 30, "Thou shalt build a house, and thou shalt not dwell therein; thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof;"-death shall cut thee off, and so deprive thee of the expected fruit of thy toil. And how frequently do we still behold instances of this nature! But in the millennial state, the case will be reversed-the builder of a house shall live long to enjoy the accommodations he had planned and produced; and he shall be gratified with the rich produce of the orchard which he planted. And this enjoyment shall be so extended, that he shall have occasion to build and plant again, for "he shall wear out the works of his own hands." This is rarely, if ever, the case now. Even a slightly-built house will generally be habitable long after its builder is in the grave; and mansions, such as men of affluence erect for their own use, may be tenanted by succeeding generations of the same family but in the Millennium the builder must set to work again, and build another house, which may accommodate him and his increasing family for a few centuries longer. It may be asked, "What advan the Temple of Apollo at Utica, it is said there were cedar trees nearly two thousand years old. Maundrel and others describe cedars twenty-two or more yards in diameter. See Encyclopædia Britannica, under the word Pinus." tage will there be in all this? Do we not find that old age is usually attended with labour and sorrow; that desires fail; the senses become blunt, and the man of many years says, I have no pleasure in them?" True, it is so now, but the longevity which we contemplate will be vigorous and tranquil-the old age of Moses, concerning whom, when he had finished his one hundred and twentieth year, we are told that "his eye was not dim, neither was his natural force abated." Grey hairs will then indeed be a crown of glory. These aged saints will descend the hill of life, rejoicing in the consolations of the Gospel; and their hearts exult in the pleasing hope of being ere long removed from earth, and united to the general assembly and church of the first-born in heaven, where they shall be ever with the Lord.* It is true that long life is in scripture, a promise rather of the Old than of the New Testament. It seems then to have been earnestly desired even by the saints, and to have been esteemed as a token of the Divine approbation. Under the New Testament, which is more spiritual in its constitution, precepts and promises, it is rarely mentioned; and the happiness of being with Christ was preferred by the chiefest of the apostles to the most useful and honourable station in the church. But we may reasonably suppose that God has wise and gracious designs in restoring to the millennial saints the longevity anciently enjoyed by the Patriarchs. A Believer of three or four hundred years standing will be able to entertain the youth of his day with the pleasing relation of what he has witnessed in the growing advancement of the Saviour's kingdom; the success which has crowned the labours of missionaries in distant regions; and the triumphs of divine grace in the subjugation of whole nations to * See Dr. Bogue's Discourses on the Millennium, page 122. the sceptre of Immanuel. Men of God, who have preached his word for five or six hundred years, will be heard with profound attention, sacred delight, and unspeakable edification; and the rising generations will be stimulated to holy zeal in promoting the kingdom of the Saviour, and diffusing to all around them the blessings of the benevolent Gospel. It is highly probable that the Scriptures will be far better understood in those happy days than they are at present. The developement of the prophecies will afford a high degree of delight, and prove a key to those which remain unaccomplished. The observation and experience of wise and good men, who have walked with God longer than Enoch or Noah did, will throw a wonderful beauty and lustre on the sacred book, and render the study of it inconceivably gratifying to pious minds; while the nearing prospect of the final consummation of the whole system of redemption, will produce an anticipation of bliss, creating" a heaven begun below." If it be asked, How can these things be? we answer, By the abundant effusion of the Holy Spirit, a specimen of which was afforded on the day of Pentecost. What God has done, he can do again; and we are persuaded he will do so, because he has promised it. Why then should it be thought incredible by any, that a nation should be born in a day?" See Isa. xxxii. 15.* 66 dary means, the reading of the Scriptures, which must be translated into all languages, and dispersed over all countries. Blessed be God, these means are already in operation, and every one who sincerely prays, “Thy kingdom come," must lend his aid to these holy efforts. We have seen, with admiration and thanksgiving, what effects have been produced in the last twenty years; and should the same means be continued and multiplied for twenty or fifty years more, we may hope for, at least, the commencement of the glorious season of which we speak. Probably there are subsidiary means which God may be pleased to employ for the same purpose. We cannot observe without heartfelt satisfaction the endeavours now used to promote to promote "universal Education," by which millions of human beings will be enabled to read, and hear with understanding, the great things of God. We perceive, in some instances, that kings are becoming nursing fathers, and queens nursing mothers" to the church of Christ. The wonderful improvement in the art of Printing, by which, under the auspices of Bible Societies, copies of the Scriptures are easily multiplied and rendered astonishingly cheapthe great discoveries in Chemistry and Medicine, which may tend to the prevention or ready cure of many diseases, and consequently to the prolongation of life; the discoveries of nations before unknown; the improvements in Agriculture, by which a population, vastly increased, may be amply provided for-and a variety of other favourable circumstances, already appearing, may, with others yet unknown, conduce to the pleasing object in view-a happy, holy, and useful longevity. G. B. Although the foregoing article has recently ap peared in a periodical publication of immense cir culation, we yet could not resist the inclination to give it a place in The Herald of Peace; so highly do we estimate its intrinsic beauties, heightened as they necessarily are by our admiration of the laboriously benevolent and public useful life of its venerable Author.-Ed, War against Naples. It is with no small degree of disappointment that we rise from the perusal of the very recent long debates in the two Houses of Parliament on the Neapolitan War, without being able to abstract any thing of a pacific tendency: the subject appears by the reports to have been handled in a political view merely; and the promoters of the discussion failed completely in their attempt to ascertain the British Government's share in the transaction. In the meantime there seems no reason to doubt, according to the latest continental advices, that the Austrian army, to the number of 40,000, passed the Po on the 28th and 29th of January, and were advancing upon Naples in three columns by three different routes. It is also confidently stated, that in case of resistance on the part of the Neapolitans, the above troops will be followed by 80,000 more! This ominous intelligence is further confirmed by news from Naples, where every preparation appears to be making for the reception of an enemy: a considerable cargo of arms and ammunition had arrived there from England-the strong fortress of Gaeta, the key of the kingdom on the side of Rome, was entrusted to a lieutenant-general-the Prince Regent was about to review the troops, consisting of 12 battalions of national guard, 2 regiments of cavalry, 3 battalions of local militia, and a portion of the Neapolitan legion-while General Pepe reported from the Bruttian provinces, that 36,000 militia and legionaries were embodied, and that a spirit of ardent patriotism prevailed universally amongst the inhabitants: Nothing therefore remains but to conclude that the die is cast-that the Peace of Europe, so loudly vaunted and so dearly earned, is at an end before the authors of it have ceased to laud its praises, or those who purchased it with their blood and treasure have begun to taste its promised good fruits. To those who can peruse the above intelligence with indifference, and can look forward to the probable consequences of these hostile movements without a thrilling sensation of horror, we earnestly recommend a serious attention to the following borrowed REFLECTIONS: When it is considered how little the most boasted governments have been able or inclined to prevent the greatest calamity of the world, the frequent recurrence of war, it is natural to conclude, that there has been some radical defect or error in all government, hitherto instituted on the face of the earth. Violence may be used where there is no government. Governments pretend to direct human affairs by reason; but war is a dereliction of reason, a renunciation of all that refines and improves human nature, and an appeal to brute force. which philosophers and legislators Man descends from the heights to had raised him in society; takes the sword, and surpasses the beasts of the forest in ferocity. Yet, so far from thinking himself culpable, he most honourable of all human occudeems his destructive employment the pations, because governments have politically contrived to throw a glossy mantle, covered with tinsel and spangles, over the horrors of bloodshed and devastation. We hear much of necessary real, absolute, unavoidable necessity wars; but it is certainly true, that a for war, such as alone can render it just, has seldom occurred in the history of man. The pride, the wanton cruelty of absolute princes, caring nothing for human life, have in all ages, without the least necessity, involved the world in war. He who would have shuddered to spill a drop of blood, in a hostile contest, as a private man, shall deluge whole provinces, as an absolute prince, and laugh over the subjugated plains which he has fertilized with human gore. What are the chief considerations with such men, previously to going to war, and at its conclusion? Evidently the expence of MONEY. Little is said or thought of the lives lost, or devoted to be lost, except as matters of pecuniary value. Humanity, indeed, weeps in silence and solitude, in the sequestered shade of private life; but is a single tear shed in courts, and camps, and cabinets? When men high in command, men of fortune and family, fall, their deeds are blazoned, and they figure in history; but who, save the poor widow and the orphan, enquire after the very names of the rank and file? There they lie, a mass of human flesh, not so much regretted as the horses they rode, or the arms they bore. While ships often go down to the bottom, struck by the iron thunder-bolts of war, and not a life is saved; the national loss is estimated according to the weight of metal wasted, and the magnitude and expence of the wooden castle. Ploratur lachrymis amissa pecunia veris ! Juv. There is nothing which one can so reluctantly pardon in the GREAT ONES of this world, as the little value they entertain for the life of a man. Property, if seized or lost, may be restored; and without property, man may enjoy a thousand delightful pleasures of existence. The sun shines as warmly on the poor as on -the rich; and the gale of health breathes its balsam into the cottage casement on the heath, no less sweetly and salubriously than into the portals of the palace. But can the lords of this world, who are so lavish of the lives of their inferiors, with all their boasted power, give the cold heart to beat again, or relume the light of the eye once dimmed by the shades of death? Shew me, one might say to them, your authority for taking away that which ye never gave, and cannot give; for undoing the work of God, and extinguishing the lamp of life which was illuminated with a ray from heaven ! Where is your charter to privilege murder? You do the work of Satan, who was a destroyer; and your right, if you possess any, must have originated from the father of mischief and misery. There is nothing so precious as the life of a man. A philosopher of antiquity, who possessed not the religion of philanthropy, who knew not that man came from heaven, and is to return thither; who never heard the doctrine authenticated, that man is favoured with a communication of the divine nature by the holy Spirit of God; yet under all these disadvantages, maintained that, homo est res sacra, that every HUMAN TURE IS CONSECRATED, to GOD, and therefore inviolable by his fellow man, without profanation. All the gold of Ophir, all the gems of Golconda, cannot buy a single life, nor pay for its loss. It is above all price. CREA Language has found no name sufficiently expressive of the diabolical villany of wretches, who without personal provocation, in the mere wantonness of power, and for the sake of increasing what they already possess in too great abundance, rush into murder! Murder of the innocent! Murder of myriads! Murder of the stranger! neither knowing nor caring how many of their fellow creatures, with rights to life and happiness equal to their own, are urged |