Here, then, we stop to pause upon the awful story we have been contemplating. In Abel we behold a righteous man falling beneath the murderous hand of his elder brother. The ways of Heaven are mysterious; and when inconsiderate man observes such scenes as this, he is apt to question the rectitude of the divine proceedings. But the time is not yet come for us to form a judgment upon these dispensations. GOD cannot possibly err or do wrong. It is therefore our place to submit humbly to his will, and to acquiesce in his providential dealings. ABEL rose from a wretched world of corruption and trouble to a crown of righteousness which fadeth not away, happy in being the first of the human kind who obtained a seat in the heavenly paradise, even though it was by a violent death. In him certainly we have a lively type of the blessed Redeemer. Abel was a shepherd, and doth not Jesus Christ call himself the "good shepherd who giveth his life for the sheep?" Abel presented an offering unto the Lord of the very best of his flock, as a sacrifice of atonement for his own sins; but Christ made an offering of himself as a lamb, without spot and without blemish, for the sins of the world. The blood of Abel cried unto Heaven from the ground for vengeance upon the murderer; but the blood of Christ "speaks better things than the blood of Abel," (Heb. xii. 24,) being shed to procure pardon and peace for guilty man. Abel fell by the unnatural hands of his brother, and that for righteousness' sake. Christ was betrayed by a favored disciple, and crucified at the instigation of his brethren the Jews, though he was declared innocent by the governor who condemned him. Here the parallel closes. But what abundant and various matter of instruction may we not gather from the whole narrative! How should we learn to crush every envious and jealous principle in the bud, lest it rankle in our hearts, and render us miserable to ourselves and odious to all around us! In Abel we perceive the beauty and excellence of true religion; it has crowned him with immortality and honor: in Cain we see the deformity of irreligion; it has covered him with shame, and transmitted him to far-distant posterity as an object of universal detestation. ENOCH. TRANSLATED IN THE YEAR OF THE WORLD 988, aged 365. HERE are many characters in the sacred history of whom, though they were the excellent of the earth, little memorial is recorded. While the narratives of some are drawn out at great length, and even the actions of wicked men are delineated in copious and expressive language, the names of the most pious and extraordinary persons are just passed over with some striking epithet, which leaves a pleasing regret in our minds that more is not said of them. They appear for a moment to excite our admiration, and are then removed, without having fully gratified our curiosity. The busiest life is not always the best; and that which is drawn out to the greatest extent, or varied with the greatest number of incidents, is not the most to be envied He who pursues the "noiseless tenor of his way," keeping closely in the path of duty, and living in communion with his GOD, is a far higher character than the bustling and illustrious man of the world. Short is the account given of the patriarch Enoch, but the character which he bears, and the circumstance recorded of him, render his name peculiarly venerable, and present him to our notice as a personage of great importance. He was born in the year of the world 623, and, being contemporary with Adam, he had every opportunity of learning from his lips the story of the creation, the circumstance of the fall, the terms of the promise, and other valuable truths. Enoch profited by his intimacy with the venerable father of the human race, and his mind became richly stored with wisdom. An ancient author affirms that he was the father of astrology, or rather of astronomy; and Eusebius hence infers, that he is the same with the Atlas of the Grecian Mythology. There is, indeed, great reason to believe that most of the deities of that mythology are but Scripture characters grossly corrupted; but whether the present conjecture is well founded matters little. Enoch's fame rests upon a better basis than upon his real or reputed skill in astronomy. Although that science is noble and divine, tending to enlarge the ideas of man, and to fill his mind with reverence for the great CREATOR of the universe, yet the profoundest knowledge of it is less valuable than an acquaintance with divine truth, and the cultivation of moral excellence. To subdue the proud and irregular passions of the mind, to live above the vanities of gy otyorld, and in a constant obedience to the will of Heaven, is a course infinitely mehe walted than the pursuit of earthly wisdom. A man may be able to name all thuntars at sight, to calculate their distances, and to ascertain their magnitudes with deeme accuracy: he may also be able to enumerate and class the different orders of plants, from the "cedar which groweth on Lebanon to the hyssop that springeth out of the wall," 1 Kings iv. 33; he may, moreover, be minutely acquainted with the various tribes of animals, the properties of minerals, and have besides the most extensive knowledge of men and things-yet with all this store of information he may be still poor and ignorant, knowing nothing of the value of his immortal soul, having no acquaintance with religious truth, nor enjoying any communion with GOD. that cometh to GOD must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Heb. xi. 5, 6. The intent of the apostle, in the discourse whence this passage is taken, is, to show that there has been but one way of obtaining the divine favor ever since the fall, and that is by faith, or a firm belief in the atonement to be made for human transgression, by the obedience, sufferings, and death of the MESSIAH. The cloud of witnesses which the apostle has produced of Old Testament worthies all bore, in their respective generations, their testimony to this great doctrine, in opposition to the moral theism and gross idolatry which prevailed around them. All the patriarchs are celebrated for their being faithful to this great truth, and for preserving this principle of pure religion in the midst of a corrupt and crooked generation. Enoch, therefore, is said, by another evangelical writer, to have preached CHRIST unto the antediluvian sinners; a position strange and unnatural, if the knowledge of the MESSIAH was not communicated to man at that early period. The words of the apostle are remarkable: And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold the LORD cometh with ten thousand of his saints: to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." Jude 14, 15. This prophecy is a clear and it is also an awful description of the day of judgment, when the MESSIAH shall sit upon his throne of justice to determine the final condition of mankind according to their works. Where the apostle found this prediction has been matter of much speculation and inquiry. Some, indeed, have produced a spurious treatise, called "The Book of Enoch," which they pretend contains the cited passage; but its authority is not proved, and there fore it is to be supposed that either the prophecy was traditional, or that it was specially revealed to St. Jude. Thus Enoch was found faithful in his generation, not only as a pious and an upright man, but as a powerful preacher of righteousness. His mind, strengthened and directed by the Spirit of GOD, penetrated through a long series of intervening ages, and beheld the incarnation and death of the MESSIAH, saw him rise triumphant from the grave, then ascend to the throne of GOD, and, lastly, at the consummation of all things, descend in glory, surrounded with his holy angels, as the judge of all the earth. The patriarch, being grieved at the abominations which he beheld every day, denounced the terrors of the ALMIGHTY against the authors of them with that zeal which became one who had received a divine commission. He was not content with living according to the rule of righteousness himself, but it was his desire to see the authority of GOD universally respected. It is impossible that we can hear the name of the object we love slightingly spoken of, without expressing a friendly zeal. And can any one pretend to love God, and be unconcerned at seeing his holy name, his law, his word, and his ordinances despised and blasphemed? Where this love is really seated in the heart, there will be a zeal for all that concerns the honor of GoD and for the credit of religion. This will be not a blind, persecuting spirit, mixed up of bigotry, prejudice, and conceit, but an open, generous, confident readiness to defend truth, to reprove vice, and to confute error. A person of this disposition may be despised by the ignorant and wicked, and he may be spurned by the proud man and the philosopher, but his name shall be recorded with honor; the good of every age will mention him with reverence; and, at the great day of account, he shall receive the approbation of GOD himself, in the presence of an assembled world. The divine favor eminently distinguisheth the righteous man both in life and death. It is true he may not enjoy great distinctions among men, he may not roll in riches, or be cried up as a prodigy of wisdom and genius, but he will possess an inward comfort and pleasure which the world can neither give nor take away. While he "walks with GOD," who is the fountain of all good, he cannot but enjoy serenity of mind, which is above every earthly delight. The sense of the divine favor is a cordial to him in every trying season, and sweetens every calamity. If he is visited by affliction, or is deprived of any temporal good, he sorrows not as those who have no hope, but he is comforted by the consideration that he “has an inheritance beyond the skies which fadeth not away." There "remaineth a rest for the people of GOD," (Heb. iv. 9,) even a mansion of bliss, where no pain shall torment, no sin defile, nor any wicked to trouble them. They who "walk with God" in the path of holy duty and virtue, continue to have that glorious state before them in every circumstance of life. Prosperity does not |