will present every Saracen in the army with a suit of clothes, a turban, and a piece of money, while the general shall receive ten suits, and a hundred pieces; and your master the Kalif Abubecker, a hundred suits and a thousand pieces." "Hold!” cried Kaled, "such proposals are unnecessary; your army may be numerous and valiant, but God, by his prophet, has promised us the victory; we are not to live on your bounty; we shall soon be masters of your houses and lands, your wives and your children. No, you must become tributaries or Mohammedans, otherwise the sword must decide between us."

7. Kaled and the other officers now went through the ranks, encouraging the soldiers to steadiness and valour, with the assurance that hell-fire was behind them, and victory or paradise before them. When they came to the regiment of women (for the women fought as furiously as the men), Kaled addressed them thus:-"Noble girls, be assured that your valour is pleasing to God and His apostle; if the Greeks attack you, defend your honour and your lives valiantly; if the Arabs give way before the enemy, drive them back to fight for their families, their prophet, and their God." Coulah and Ophirah, the ladycommanders, assured him they were ready to fight till they died. And now this terrible battle of two days commenced. The shout of the Christians reverberating through the field of battle, was answered by the more terrible Teckbeer of the Saracens :

"God and the prophet Allah Hu!

Up to the skies with the wild halloo !
He that first downs with yon red cross
we crave,

His heart's dearest wish, let him ask

it and have!"

Now then commences this terrible, bloody, and decisive battle. It is no light work on either side, for the Greeks fight, well conscious of their superiority as to numbers, and well knowing the consequences of defeat. The burning sun sheds down his fervid rays on the exhausted warriors (it is Friday, July 13th, A.D. 633) who will not retire, and are unable to advance. It is hot work in every sense of the word. Yet the battle continues till the night throws its curtain over them. Nothing is decided, though the Greeks seem to have had the worst of it, and the Arabs

boast that they had already sent 40,000 infidels to hell! The crafty Werden now lays a trap for Kaled, by proposing an interview, but Derar discovers it, counter-works it, and Werden himself is taken in his own trap, carried to the presence of Kaled, charged with his treachery, and then beheaded. This was a dreadful blow to the Christians. The morning dawned red and sultry, ushering in the last day of Greek dominion in Syria, and the last day of the independence of the Oriental Church. The Moslem prayers are over, and the battle begins again, but it does not long continue with the steadiness and fervour of yesterday. The Christians show symptoms of lassitude, they lose ground little by little; they give way. The Moslems advance at the shout of the Teckbeer, "God is victorious," and with redoubled fury press down the foe. It is no longer a battle, but a massacre, and the terrible victory of Ainadeen has opened to the Saracens the dominions of the East.

8. I would conclude this letter with a few remarks of a moral and political kind, that my pen might not always be employed in tracing characters of blood. (1.) As Islam could not have risen and prospered without the will and providence of God, we must humbly seek for some probable cause of the Divine indignation. This I think may be found in the general corruption of the Oriental nations at that time, and more especially the immorality, false worship, superstition, and idolatry of the Greek Church. It had become a sink of iniquity. Hence God let loose upon them the locusts from the bottomless pit, and certainly their punishment, like that of the Jews, has been long and terrible. (2.) We see how all error and fanaticism are founded upon truth, and take strength and permanence from it alone. Of the two Articles of Islam, one is an eternal truth, and the other a palpable falsehood. God is one, but Mohammed is not the apostle of God. Thus all heathenism, fanaticism, popery, and even infidelity, are systems of error and lies, built upon and sustained by some cardinal and universal truths. (3.) How powerful is the principle of faith when it passes out of theory into positive conviction! The nation that has a real faith, whether political or religious, is strong and victorious, even though much of what is believed be false and erroneous. It was so with the Saracens, it may be so with the French revolutionists; it

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was so for a time with the Crusaders, and, in a sublime and moral sense, it was emphatically true of the progress and triumphs of the apostolic church. There indeed the faith was pure, and the victories were peaceable and bloodless. Again I say, "How strong and victorious is faith!" This is the victory that overcometh the world, even your faith. Lord, increase our faith. (4.) Finally, we say that fervour arising from falsehood and fanaticism exhausts itself. It flows from no perennial fountain. Hence Islam is dying. The sick man is

getting sicker, and, what is still better, his physicians are determined to let him die! England and France will support the Osmoulies no more! All the signs of the times point out the determination of the West to let the sick man die. May God, the ruler of all nations, hasten his death! May the Ottoman Empire perish utterly and speedily, for it has been, and it is, the oppressor of the nations, and the mortal enemy of all I hold dearest in heaven and on the earth. Amen. May God hasten it in His own time.

"WITHOUT father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life." These words sound strange, and require an explanation. It is worthy of notice that Philo, one of the Jewish philosophers who flourished about the time of Christ, uses similar expressions in reference to Sarah, whom he declares to have been without a mother, simply because the name of her mother is not mentioned in the Scriptures. The same Philo, speaking of Cain, says that he remains for ever, because his death is not recorded in the Scriptures; intimating thereby that the wickedness of Cain remains for ever. Then, again, it is a Jewish saying, that when a heathen turns a Jew, he has no father, no father as far as Jewish law is concerned. For the proselyte a new life begins; he is cut off from the past, and in this sense he has no father; and even classical writers speak of persons as having no parents, if those parents happen to be little known or not known at all. It is not said that Melchizedek had neither father nor mother, but simply that, as far as his typical history goes, we know nothing of his father or his mother, nor of a genealogy which would entitle him to the priestly dignity. All the three attributes, "without father, without mother, without genealogy,"-decidedly show that neither royalty nor priesthood were vouchsafed to Melchizedek on natural grounds, but were given him on account of his personal

dignity. When this description is applied to Christ, it tells us that Christ is without father as far as his earthly, and without mother as far as his heavenly, nature is concerned.

The truth to which Paul attaches special importance is the dignity of Melchizedek's person and office, since he, though a man of whose family nothing whatever is known, exerted so great an influence over Abraham. Chrysostom, commenting on this passage, says: "There is Melchizedek, and here is Christ; of both it is true that they were without father and mother; of Melchizedek because the names of his father and mother are not recorded, and of Christ because as Son of God he cannot be said to have had either father or mother." In a similar manner it is said of Melchizedek, that, as neither his birth nor his death, neither the beginning nor the end of his priesthood are mentioned, he is without both, being made like unto the Son of God. The Son is not made like unto Melchizedek, but, on the contrary, Melchizedek like unto the Son, so that the Son is the original, and Melchizedek the copy-the shadow. Christ exists from all eternity as the Word which was with God; all others are types— shadows of the reality which existed in Him. This holds true of all the figures of Scripture. God is compared to our earthly father; but the real father is not the earthly, but God. True, in Psalm cx., the Messiah is called

'a priest after the order of Melchizedek,' and so it appears to be when the Promised One comes in the course of time; but when we climb to the councils of God, and view this up matter in the light of His eternal mind, then we perceive that Christ is in reality not after the manner of Melchizedek, but Melchizedek is made "like unto the Son of God." And again I quote the words of Chrysostom,"Wherein is this likeness seen? In the fact that we know the beginning of days and the end of life neither of the one nor of the other, with the difference, however, that it is not recorded of the one, and does not exist of the other." The Eternal One has no beginning of days, and He has no end of life; for even when He is manifested in the flesh He cannot be overcome by death, but overcomes death, swallows it up in the victory of His life, which no death can touch.

Another startling sentence follows,—" He abides a priest continually." Methinks it must be explained even as the preceding declarations. Nothing in the whole Bible intimates that the priesthood of Melchizedek has ever passed away, or was given to another, even as the priesthood of Aaron descended from the father to the son; hence it may be said of Melchizedek, that he continueth a priest, because the priesthood is not expressly taken away from him. And, again, we have in Christ the reality of this shadow; for His priesthood is not only not abolished, but He abides a Priest for ever, yea, "He ever liveth to make intercession for us." In a word, Melchizedek, the priest and king of righteousness and peace-without father, without mother, without genealogy, and without beginning of days and end of life-is a type of the Messiah, and a copy of the Son of God.

The Apostle goes on to describe the priestly work done by Melchizedek in his relation to Abraham. For the dignity of Christ's person and the all-sufficiency of His priesthood are the hinge on which the salvation of Christ's Church turns. We are led back to the days of Abraham, to the origin of the institution of tithes, and told that inasmuch as Abrahamfrom whom the whole people, including the Levitical priests, derived not only their privileges, but their very existence-paid tithes to Melchizedek, Melchizedek excels above the whole nation, yea, even above❘ Abraham. "Art thou greater than our Father

can succeed in proving, as I believe he does, that Christ is more than Abraham, it followsof necessity that He must be superior not only to the children of Abraham in general, but to the Levitical priesthood, which derived all its blessings, yea, its very existence, through and from Abraham.

Abraham is the patriarch, the father of the tithe-paying Israelites, and tithe-receiving Levites; not only the father of a family or of a tribe, but of the whole nation. And Abraham gave the tenth of the booty, choosing the tenth part not from the common, but from the very best parts of the booty. Abraham thus acknowledged the priestly office of Melchizedek. The sons of Levi, who received the office of the priesthood, got the tithes in consequence of their being born of Levi; all their privileges came to them by the right of natural descent. It mattered little in a certain sense whether the priest was a faithful servant of God or not-whether he was like Aaron before he made the golden calf, or after; the mere fact of his belonging to the tribe of Levi qualified and entitled him to receive tithes. It was an ordinance of God, independent of the spiritual state of the persons to whom these tithes were paid.

Another fact is to be noticed. The duties and privileges of the Levitical priests were regulated by a command of God. Irrespective of their personal worth, they were priests if they belonged to the family of Abraham, and they did receive the tithes according to the special commandments of God. It was otherwise with Melchizedek; he neither became a priest by natural birth, nor did he receive the tithes by a special law. Being without father and mother, he could claim no hereditary right, and there is no law to be found in Scripture which bound Abraham to pay tithes to Melchizedek. The claims of Melchizedek rested therefore entirely and. solely on the special position which he occupied as king and priest to God, the Most High. Abraham honoured him in consequence of that position, and in him the whole nation paid tithes to Melchizedek; even Levi himself received tithes from his brethren, who, like. him, came out of the loins of Abraham.. Moreover, Abraham was not only the fatherof the whole people of Israel after the flesh,,

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but also its spiritual representative; for all the promises and blessings were given to the nation in and through Abraham. Just as Adam is the representative of his whole posterity, and all mankind was, so to speak, contained in his loins, so also Abraham represents Israel. By Adam's sin, all humanity❘ which was contained in him fell, and by Abraham all Israel and Levi contained in his loins, paid tithes. Now it holds true that he who blesses is greater than he who is blessed; the very fact that he who is to be made a blessing to all the nation was blessed by Melchizedek, the fact that Abraham and all the nation in him paid homage to

Melchizedek in his kingly and priestly capacity, clearly establish the superiority of Melchizedek to Abraham. On the other hand, we know that Christ was to be a priest after the order of Melchizedek, and Christ must therefore be greater than Abraham, even as Melchizedek was, who was made like unto the Son of God.

Thus far goes the argument taken from Genesis xiv. It now remains to be seen what consequences are to be drawn from an accurate investigation of Psalm cx., which magnifies Him who is to be David's Son and Lord, a King and a Priest for ever, after the manner of Melchizedek.

XXXIII.-WOLTERSDORF'S DEATH.

The hour of Woltersdorf's death drew nigh. Long and earnestly did Schulz pray that God might spare his friend to him; or, if this were not according to His will, that He might shorten his sufferings. Often and often he spent the night on the house-top in earnest supplications, and many times was he seen by his friends to fall on his knees by the seashore. At length, at an early hour of the morning of the 12th August, 1755, the moment of separation arrived; and at first Schulz did not believe that he was dead, though the man who helped to nurse him, named Hannah (a Maronite Christian) said, "Thy brother is gone;" still Schulz imagined he was only asleep, till, gazing on the face of the departed, he perceived his was a sleep that knows no waking.

The funeral, though far from home, and in a strange land, was numerously attended. Not only was the bier followed by the Greek clergy, but also many of the Greek, as well as of the English and French merchants and the captains of all the vessels that lay in the harbour, lowered their flags in taken of respect to his memory. Schulz, deeply as he felt the loss of his friend, was yet able to praise God for his release; and in announcing his death to Dr. Callenberg, in Halle, he wrote thus :-"I

have to inform you that God, in His goodness, has, after two years of suffering, taken my beloved Woltersdorf to Himself, now to praise the Lord his Saviour with unmingled joy." Woltersdorf did not depart this life without giving a strong testimony to the power of Christ's spirit. In every hour of trial, however severe, he held fast to God's Word, for it was his life, and every one who visited him received edification-Jews, Christians, and Mahometans all came, but not one went empty away. One day, when explaining the 53rd of Isaiah to an Arabian sheik, though he was so ill as to resemble a corpse, the subject of our reconciliation to God through Christ, who bore the chastisement of our sins, excited him so much that the colour of health returned to his cheek, and this made so much impression on his visitor that he went away with the words, "that is the patience of an angel," whilst tears stood in his eyes. A Jew also exclaimed, when he heard of Woltersdorf's death, "That man showed a degree of patience only an angel could show."

His attendant Hannah told of the words of strength and comfort the holy man spoke shortly before his end, and of how touching it was to him, and believed if ever a man was a saint it was certainly Woltersdorf; and he said to Schulz, "As thou hast a holy brother, he will certainly pray for thee, that thou mayst reach home safely and in health.”

XXXIV. — ENTERTAINMENT AT
LEBANON AND SMYRNA.

Now that Schulz was set free to resume his missionary work, he began a journey from Acre to Damascus, which place he reached the 5th of September, 1755; then traversed the Lebanon range to Smyrna; arrived there the 17th of January, 1756, and then sailed to Europe. On this last tour he was the means of sowing good seed everywhere amongst Jews, Christians, and Mahometans. At Damascus he fell into conversation with a Chacham, or learned man, who inquired if he had jewels to dispose of, and he showed the Word of God to be the finest jewel. Under the cedars of Lebanon, where he and his company had their repast, he read the 120th Psalm after dinner, and all around listened with deep attention, during the hour he unfolded to them the instruction it contained.

In Smyrna he was entertained by a very rich Portuguese Jew, called Da Costa, who spoke of Christ and the Apostles in such a manner that he seemed only to lack baptism, and a public confession of his faith. He associated much with true Christians, but would not listen to Schulz's proposal that he should labour amongst the Jews. He thought he had

higher duties to perform, and that this was comparatively insignificant.

XXXV.-THE EVENING REST.

Nothing remarkable occurred on his journey home. October 16, 1756, he safely reached Halle, and Dr. Callenberg and he made it their first business humbly to thank the gracious God for his fatherly guidance and protection. Schulz endeavoured to discover amongst the students in Halle a suitable person to join him in future enterprises; but whilst so engaged was offered the post of upper deacon in St. Ulrick's Church, which he accepted. In July, 1760, Dr. Callenberg, seeing his end approaching, proposed that Schulz should be his successor in the training of the Jewish students, to which he consented, and soon after received the confirmation of his appointment from the King. Certainly no one was more fitted for the office, as his previous life had given him the most exact acquaintance with this nation, and he had had such varied experience amongst them.

O that in our times many such witnesses for the truth might be raised up, endowed with his spirit and zeal, to preach the Gospel of the truth as it is in Jesus to the people of Israel, and to the heathen and Mahometans !

YE hills around Jerusalem,

So bare and verdureless to-day;
Ye ancient olives, bending low,
Hoary with ages passed away;
And thou, lone city, ruin-rent,
Where towers profane insult the skies,
From whose polluted altars yet

Streams of unhallowed incense rise;
Ye mountain-slopes, that stretch away
In solemn desolation, far
As the unwearied eye can stray,
I see you not as now ye are.

I view you as you were, what time

With favouring dews your soil was wet, And as, in coming years sublime,

Of hope fulfilled, ye shall be yet.

Not always shall unhallowed feet

Your lone, deserted hill-sides tread, Nor strange adventurers crowd your streets, Or throng your tombs of kingly dead; Not always, sad Jerusalem,

Profaned, insulted, shalt thou lie, With fallen towers and glories dim,

A blot beneath the unpitying sky! For, backward, as, with faltering feet, I grope along the track of yearsDark, mournful, sin-stained years-I meet Pale prophet-faces wet with tears; Whose voices, through the crash of war,

The roar of conquest and of strife, In living tones still breathe from far, Undying words of truth and life!