6 by whom the worlds were made and are upheld, whose throne is for ever and ever:' in one word Christ Jesus, who is over all, God blessed for "You are well aware that the doctrine which we wish to establish is in the present day violently opposed; and while it is maintained in this place, it may be perhaps in the next street the subject of profane mirth, or of serious argumentation. Thinking as we do, we will not enter the lists of controversy. We will not employ your time, nor endeavour to enlist your passions, by running down one name, party or opinion, and exalting another, but will simply and humbly, though at the same time, firmly and unreservedly, propose for your instruction and improvement, what appears to be the meaning and object of Scripture; and, considering the divinity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as the first leading object of all revelation, we will uniformly bring it forward in every discourse. If therefore these exercises are at all frequented, or attended unto, it will be by such as expect, and are well pleased, to hear of the great Mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus, in his original, everlasting, unchanging glory, and in his humiliation, as the son of man, to the form of a servant; to the death of the cross, a propitiation for sin. To this, we trust, not unknown God, our altar is erected and dedicated, and on it we would again present our whole selves a living sacrifice unto the one true God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever ' and ever'." conceals it from mortal eyes. It is "Who shall declare his generation?' Incapable thou art, Ŏ man, to trace back the short and slender thread of thy own existence and descent. Thou mayest have some faint recollection of weak and dependent childhood; of a father's early care, and of a mother's tenderness; of the amusements, the companions, the solicitudes, the sorrows and joys of thy boyish days. But all beyond is a blank; to thee creation began a few years ago; the second or third, at most, of thy own immediate progenitors, is blended with the men who lived beyond the flood. We are ig norant of and unknown to each other. How much more so are the men of distant nations and of times self in the person of the Redeemer, in a manner still more incomprehen sible, for perfecting the plan of re demption? Shall I reject as untrue or absurd whatever I do not clearly understand or am unable perfectly to explain? The consciousness which I have of my own being must be renounced then among the first, and every thing within and around us must be reduced to darkness, doubt, and uncertainty. "Blessed Jesus, we cannot declare thy generation, and would not be wise above what is written, but we adore in silent wonder, we rejoice that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us,' and that men beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.' We rejoice that what we know not now we shall know hereafter. Suffice it now that we 'see Jesus, who was made a little 'lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honour, that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man:' that it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons 'unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through suf more remote? But family tradition, national record, the inspired page can supply the want of personal knowledge, can carry us back to departed forefathers, and bring them down to us. But what recollection, what tradition, what record, can carry us be yond the birth of nature, can convey us to a state of existence previous to the lapse of time? Now the person of whom the prophet speaks, as we saw in the preceding lecture, is the WORD who spake all things into existence, who built the world, who spread the flood, who set time a flowing, who breathed into man's nostrils the 'breath of life.' Who then of the sons of men, which of the angels of God shall declare the generation of him who made them what they are, who placed them in their stations, who prescribed to them bounds which they cannot pass? The slightest detail of nature, O man, presents a mystery which thou canst not solve, a world which thou canst not comprehend unto perfection. That seed cast into the ground cannot be ‘quick'ened except it die ;' canst thou declare the generation of this insect, to day a butterfly, yesterday a moth, the third day a mere lifeless incrustation, and presumest thou to explain the great mystery of godliness, Godferings.' We can form no concep'made manifest in the flesh;' at so many different times, in such divers manners made known unto the fathers by the prophets; and in these last days unveiled to us in the person of the Son, the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image of his person? We repeat the question, understandest thou, and art thou able to unfold the union that exists in thy own frame, between the clay tabernacle and the immortal mind; earth and heaven blended in thine own person? And shall it be thought a thing incredible,' that he who, in the uninterrupted course of his providence, produces this union which every one is conscious of existing, though no one is capable of explaining, should form other combinations, unite other natures, to declare his power and manifest his glory? Wherefore should it be thought a thing 'incredible,' that he who unites himself to every one of us, through the medium of reason and conscience, for carrying on the plan of nature, should have united humanity to himVOL. I. tion of a state pre-existent to this frame of nature, for imagination itself must draw its ideas from reality; and to give scope to a faculty so fantastical, in treating a subject of such high moment, were presumptuous and profane. Let us reply then to the prophet's challenge, with the modesty and humility becoming creatures so ignorant, so limited, and so imperfect. We presume not to explore the records of eternity, to pry into the counsels of peace, to measure the infinite Jehovah, his nature, his decrees, his operations, by the contracted line of our finite understand. ing; but, taking Scripture for our instructor and guide, we will with reverence and joy contemplate the manifestation of the Son of God in the likeness of man, the mystery of the incarnation, his generation as one of our brethren. In the next lecture therefore, if God permit, we will endeavour to lead your attention to some of the remarkable circumstances which immediately preceded the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, зн and which give celebrity and notoriety to that illustrious event, and mark the interest which eternal Providence took in it, and the importance thereby stamped upon it to every serious and reflecting mind. "We conclude at present, with suggesting from what has been said, and from every view which is given us in Scripture of the person of the Saviour, that there is spread around it at once an effulgence that dazzles and repels, and a mildness and simplicity which composes and attracts. Is he spoken of as a man, we are sent to Bethlehem to behold a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, to Nazareth to converse with the carpenter's son, to Cana of Galilee to join with him in the innocent festivity of a marriage solemnity, to Bethany to witness the endearments of private friendship, to Gethsemane to sympathize with the agonizing mourner, to scenes such as daily occur in human life; but we are never left long to 'consider a mere man in situations and employments like our own, a man of like passions with ourselves; the glory of the Lord arises, the Son of God stands confessed, a generation not to be declared, a power that nothing can resist, at which devils tremble, which winds and seas obey, to which death and the grave are sub-servient. He speaks as never man spake, legions of angels are continually on the wing to minister unto him. Prophecy and history represent him in the self-same lights, in alternate humiliation and majesty, obscurity and splendor." p. 21-31. seldorf; and while the Count was staying in this place a timber float passed upon the Rhine, of which he gives the following account in the 3d letter. "A timber float having been announced, we went yesterday in the afternoon to Dusseldorf to see it; for which purpose we hired a boat, and rowed up the Rhine. The spray of oars was seen from far, and we presently discovered a swimming village; for such is the appearance of the wooden huts that are built on the float. "There are four floats that go every summer from Andernach to Holland. Each is about a thousand feet long, and a hundred and thirty wide. The number of the floatmen is four hundred and fifty. The rapidity of the stream, and the bulk and unwieldiness of the float, make the navigation dangerous. The passage, if good, will be from six to seven days; but if the water be low and the wind violent and adverse, it may be as many weeks. Several anchors are carried, and the float lies at anchor every night. In the evening the anchors are taken into the boats and brought to the shore. The strong motion of the float drags them at first; but this motion slackens, and the float at last becomes stationary. "The worth of the wood, of which the float is composed, is estimated at five hundred thousand florins. The toll it pays is heavy. At Dusseldorf it amounts to a hundred and sixteen pistoles; at Kaisersworth, which is likewise a town palatine, eighty pistoles; and the Prussian tolls are still more severe. floatmen is estimated at upwards of "The daily maintenance of the a hundred rixdollars. The pay of each man for the whole voyage is only five rixdollars. Having arrived at their place of destination, they form themselves into parties of seven each, club their pay, and then shoot for the whole, and the losers are obliged to beg their way home. "The good cheer of the floatmen during the voyage delights and well repays them for their hard labour. We saw fat oxen on the float, and were informed that one was slaughtered daily. The cabin of the master is as spacious as that of the captain of an eighty gun ship. The wood di the float is chiefly for the use of flooring and carpenters." p. 15-17. From Pempelfort our traveller passes through Frankfort on the Main, and we stop with him at Karlsruh to view two curious pieces of mechanism, and to give a biographical sketch of a young mechanic." Counsellor Böckman has very kindly shewn us his instruments for the promoting of mechanical and experimental discoveries, and explained their uses. He possesses a large astronomical clock, constructed by the reverend pastor Hahn, which not only contains the common divisions of time, but has likewise, divisions of ten, of a hundred, and of a thousand years. The spectator contemplates with pleasure the contrasted quick motion of the second hand and the thousand year hand, which turns on a small dial plate not larger than that of a Parisian watch. The progress of the latter in fifty years is very small, so that its motion is imperceptible. The ten, hundred, and a thousand year hands are not a mere display of the art of the maker, they are of great use; for on the large dial plate, which contains all the lesser, the globes are described, and the progress of the stars denoted, so that the hands, by their combining motions, display the variations, positions and appearances of the earth and the heavenly bodies. We saw a watch made by Mr. Auch, of Stutgard, a scholar of the minister, Hahn. He is only six-and-twenty, yet, in the opinion of some,, he already surpasses his master. This watch contains the divisions of time, from a second to a century. On the opposite side, on a clouded azure ground, is seen the course of the sun and the moon, with its nodes and eclipses. The artist means to improve this watch, and describe the course of Venus as a morning and an evening star. The price of the watch is only three hundred rixdollars, which is but about half the sum paid for an English time-keeper, and which does not describe the course of the heavenly bodies. "This artist has likewise construct, ed an arithmetical machine, that works the most difficult questions with incredible expedition by the aid of a comprehensive table; in about five hours he worked all the sums, from eleven times eleven to one hundred and sixteen times a hundred and sixteen, while an expeditious writer could scarcely copy the products fast enough *. "Mr. Auch is now (1790) five-andtwenty years old, and is the son of a peasant of Wurtemberg. When a child about the age of four or five, he often rose with the sun, and diligently employed himself in mechanical pur suits. He conducted water through tubes of elder; dug wells; made con duits of quills; and about his sixth year made a pendulum clock from shingles, with a kind of English cogs, which would go tolerably for a quarter of an hour. In his tenth year he wished his school-master to teach him arithmetic; in which request he was not indulged. At eleven, he was permitted to stand in a corner, while the teacher heard the other scholars their lessons, all of whom he soon excelled, and was often cited by the master as an example, and as capable of working sums too difficult for the other pupils. His father wished to bind him apprentice to a barber, but for this the boy had no inclination. "At last he was brought acquainted, by his own pastor, with the Rev. Mr. Hahn, at Kornwestheim, near Ludwigsburg, who found in him a scholar as apt to learn as he was thankful for instruction. He afterwards quitted his teacher, and resided at Vaisingen, a small town in the province of Wurtemberg, where he married, and lived highly respected for his talents and his morals. He employed his leisure hours in reading, much to the improvement of his heart and understanding. Astrono mical knowledge was that which he most eagerly endeavoured to acquire. He constructed a meridian line for himself, with other necessary astronomical instruments, and began, with great ardour, to observe the motions of the heavenly bodies, proceeding to draw ingenious plans, to simplify astronomical watches, and the whole system of the universe. "I have the less difficulty in sending you these anecdotes of a living artist, because I think it highly probable that this young man, who has *The above particulars, and what follows of his life, are to be found in an essay by professor Böckman, inserted in the first part of the second volume of the Journal der Phy sick, published by Dr. Gren, professor at Halle, 1790. already displayed so much genius, will hereafter make very valuable discoveries." p. 51–55. From Karlsruh our traveller journies through Ulm, Lindau, and Constance, describing each place, and the surrounding country, as he proceeds, particularly the fall of the Rhine. He enters Switzerland with these reflections: "About a league before we came to Schaffhausen, we saw the Rhine in the valley, among woody shores, strongly coursing its clear waves of emerald green, after having refreshed itself in the lake of Constance. The top of a hill, in the forest over this stream, divides the German empire (there no longer German) from Switzerland, half a league before we come to Schaffhausen. No longer German ! "No 1-by the sacred waves of the Rhine, which rises among the mountains of our more free allies; and which, watering the plains of the Ba tavians, lovers of liberty, empties itself into the sea; no: our brethren of these hills, and our brethren of these plains, are no longer German, because they would no longer endure the yoke of tyranny. We contemplate them with respect; yet may they never forget their origin! We cast a retrospective look of admiration over their dark valleys, with a hope that the time may come when the clouds that envelope our own hills shall disappear. Here and there, where and when it shall be necessary, may the mountains be visible! If they portend storms, they likewise portend fertility. But oh, never may Germany, like France, mistake the brand of exterminating discord for the fire of heaven! With such a deJuge may her parched plains never be fertilized!" p. 84, 85. After repeating their visit to the fall of the Rhine, they proceed on their journey by Eglissau, and observe, as they travel in this country, that "the same beneficent marks of prosperity which distinguish the town are visible in the country. The people, well fed, well clothed, laborious, and cheerful, live in roomy, clean, and airy houses. Their fields have the appearance of gardens, by which they are the more strikingly contrasted with the wild beauties of surrounding nature. "As we travelled through them we suddenly perceived the pleasant town of Zürich built in a fruitful valley, and arriving there notices the attention of the government to the convenience of the inhabitants, and describes the nature and mode of government. Lavater took us the day after our arrival to a public walk, which, some years ago, was laid out on the south-east side of the town. There are high terraces among these walks. These, and their various prospects, some gently rising towards the hills, some to the lake, discovering the situation of Zürich, the lake beside which it is built, the Limmat, and the water sluice, make this a charming place. Those liberal expences, which characterize a free people, are incurred here as well for the profit as the pleasure of the burghers. The ingenious author, whose acute and just remarks have from the lines of the face pointed out the propensities of the man, maintains that the police of a town may be known from its pavement. It is natural that free citizens should equally consult their convenience and their advantage; and where the government is in one, or in many, it would be equally advantageous to the one, or the many, were the enjoyments as well as the necessities of the whole their undeviating rule of action. A standing army, a brilliant court, a thousand expences of never satisfied caprice, and a vain and ruinous luxury, exhaust in many kingdoms the riches of their impoverished lands, but do not give happiness to their inhabitants. The fountain, which should water the fields of the farmer, is made to rush through the brazen throat of a dragon, or the marble breast of a mermaid, and is the token of a royal garden, the gates of which are shut upon the citizen, by whose labour and at whose expence it has been constructed. "In these cantons, where the expence is so trifling, the state is rich. The walks I have described cost above a hundred thousand florins. A wise government estimates the advantage which poor day labourers derive from works like these. Zürich is wealthy by the wisdom of its economy. It expends great sums for the benefit of the country. Its buildings and public institutions are becoming the dignity of a free town. Patriotic simplicity ornaments the regulated welfare of the happy burgher. |