DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4642#0060
BETHLEHEM.
~W"¥7^E now enter on that portion of our Volume which traces the early steps of Christianity; and we
approach it with a reverence due to the most solemn transaction of the world.
Religion is the key of History; and the more closely we investigate the course of Providence, the more
distinctly shall we comprehend the course of man. The three great Revelations, the Patriarchal, the Jewish,
and the Christian, will be found to have been adapted to the three great periods of Society, and to have been
adapted with a foresight and a completeness, which argue their origin Divine. In each instance, the Religion
long preceded the period, a proof that it was not the work of human necessities; and the Period was always
the subject of both Prophecy and Miracle, a proof that it was also the operation of the will of Heaven.
The first stage of human society after the Dispersion of the descendants of Noah was Clanship; an
existence by small tribes, widely separated, and roving over the wastes of the world. That this form of
society was by a Divine ordinance is evident, from the prophetic name of the Patriarch, Peleg (Dispersion),
in whose time this extraordinary change was to be effected; and from the miracle expressly wrought to
counteract the establishment of an Empire at Babel; that miracle, too, having the object of even increasing
the dispersion, by breaking up the universal language. The Religion had been given five hundred
years before, by the Covenant with Noah, itself only a renewal of the Religion given at the gates of
Paradise; its simple tenets being, the Existence of a God, the Sin of Man, and the hope of a Redeemer; its
simple ritual being Sacrifice, and its only priest the father of the family. A Religion whose simplicity,
while it contained all the essential truths of Revelation, was obviously suited to the narrow means and
rude capacities of wanderers through the wilderness of the globe.
But another Period was to come, when a new and vast stimulant was to be given to the progress of
mankind, by a new system of Society. The scattered clans were to be gathered into condensed masses.
Government was to begin; and the passions, powers, and enjoyments of mankind, were to be moulded,
excited, and elevated by the force, the fear, and the splendour of the Sceptre. In this period, the civilized
world was to be placed under four successive great Sovereignties; and the singularity of this system was,
that, unlike the perpetual competitorships of later kingdoms, each was to be, for its time, wholly without a
rival, the supreme governor and guardian of civilized mankind. That this period was equally the work of
the Divine will is proved, as in the former instance, by both miracle and prophecy; the miraculous vision
of Nebuchadnezzar revealing the existence of the four successive and only Empires; and the prophecies of
Daniel giving the detail of their origin, their objects, and their dissolution. To meet this period, a Religion
had also been prepared, nearly five hundred years before — the Mosaic Covenant. For, although the Religion
of the Jews was local in its ordinances, it was universal in its principles: and although expressly devised to
keep the Jew separate from the profanations of the Heathen, yet in the "proselytes of the gate" it at once
provided for the reception of the Gentile, and dispensed with those ordinances which were dependent on
locality. But the code of Judea, besides the purest Religion, exhibited to the surrounding nations an
example of the purest government. In all conditions of mankind, the two chief elements of public happiness
are, the Supremacy of Law, and the Security of Property. In the Jewish constitution, the Heathen saw
those two elements placed in the highest point of view; a Law superior to all human change, and binding
king and people; and a succession of property equally beyond the caprice of man. May it not have been
with the direct purpose of impressing this example on mankind, that the Jewish kingdom was constantly
connected with the four successive Empires: the lesson running parallel with them all, Judah surviving the
three Eastern; and perishing only when the "Period of Empire" was to fall with Rome.
♦ •«
~W"¥7^E now enter on that portion of our Volume which traces the early steps of Christianity; and we
approach it with a reverence due to the most solemn transaction of the world.
Religion is the key of History; and the more closely we investigate the course of Providence, the more
distinctly shall we comprehend the course of man. The three great Revelations, the Patriarchal, the Jewish,
and the Christian, will be found to have been adapted to the three great periods of Society, and to have been
adapted with a foresight and a completeness, which argue their origin Divine. In each instance, the Religion
long preceded the period, a proof that it was not the work of human necessities; and the Period was always
the subject of both Prophecy and Miracle, a proof that it was also the operation of the will of Heaven.
The first stage of human society after the Dispersion of the descendants of Noah was Clanship; an
existence by small tribes, widely separated, and roving over the wastes of the world. That this form of
society was by a Divine ordinance is evident, from the prophetic name of the Patriarch, Peleg (Dispersion),
in whose time this extraordinary change was to be effected; and from the miracle expressly wrought to
counteract the establishment of an Empire at Babel; that miracle, too, having the object of even increasing
the dispersion, by breaking up the universal language. The Religion had been given five hundred
years before, by the Covenant with Noah, itself only a renewal of the Religion given at the gates of
Paradise; its simple tenets being, the Existence of a God, the Sin of Man, and the hope of a Redeemer; its
simple ritual being Sacrifice, and its only priest the father of the family. A Religion whose simplicity,
while it contained all the essential truths of Revelation, was obviously suited to the narrow means and
rude capacities of wanderers through the wilderness of the globe.
But another Period was to come, when a new and vast stimulant was to be given to the progress of
mankind, by a new system of Society. The scattered clans were to be gathered into condensed masses.
Government was to begin; and the passions, powers, and enjoyments of mankind, were to be moulded,
excited, and elevated by the force, the fear, and the splendour of the Sceptre. In this period, the civilized
world was to be placed under four successive great Sovereignties; and the singularity of this system was,
that, unlike the perpetual competitorships of later kingdoms, each was to be, for its time, wholly without a
rival, the supreme governor and guardian of civilized mankind. That this period was equally the work of
the Divine will is proved, as in the former instance, by both miracle and prophecy; the miraculous vision
of Nebuchadnezzar revealing the existence of the four successive and only Empires; and the prophecies of
Daniel giving the detail of their origin, their objects, and their dissolution. To meet this period, a Religion
had also been prepared, nearly five hundred years before — the Mosaic Covenant. For, although the Religion
of the Jews was local in its ordinances, it was universal in its principles: and although expressly devised to
keep the Jew separate from the profanations of the Heathen, yet in the "proselytes of the gate" it at once
provided for the reception of the Gentile, and dispensed with those ordinances which were dependent on
locality. But the code of Judea, besides the purest Religion, exhibited to the surrounding nations an
example of the purest government. In all conditions of mankind, the two chief elements of public happiness
are, the Supremacy of Law, and the Security of Property. In the Jewish constitution, the Heathen saw
those two elements placed in the highest point of view; a Law superior to all human change, and binding
king and people; and a succession of property equally beyond the caprice of man. May it not have been
with the direct purpose of impressing this example on mankind, that the Jewish kingdom was constantly
connected with the four successive Empires: the lesson running parallel with them all, Judah surviving the
three Eastern; and perishing only when the "Period of Empire" was to fall with Rome.
♦ •«