seed of Abmham" a.re the children of the promise (Ilom. ix. 8), but they who have the Rpirit of tho believing and obedient patriarch; they who are Jews, "not outwitrdly, but inwardly, ... whose praise is not of men, but of God" (P.om. ii. 28, 29). This is the pater':1itf to which we shou)d. aspire\ 11:nd to which we may a.tt~in .. By (1) cultivati':1g a Christian character and spmt; (2) hvrng a blameless and beautiful life; (3) speaking, m love and wisdom, enlightening and redeeming truth ;-we may become parents of faithful souls; we may be the means of quickening to newness of life those who, in their tum, will lead others also into the way of life. We may thus generate sources of holy influence through which, in distant times, the erring shall be restored and the dead sha.ll live.-C. Ver. 19.-Tlie human race; unity and division. In the midst of this genealogical table we have a. statement that "the earth was divided." We are reminded of the same fact of the dispersion of mankind by the reference to different familie~ and separate countries. But all are shown to spring from one source, to have a common origin in the first father whose name heads the list, and is the first word of the Book of Chronicles. We a.re thus admonished of that twofold fact which is daily con- fronting us. I. THE DIVERSITY WHICH MANKIND PRESENTS. These are distinguished from one another by many features, and a.re separated from one another by many barriers. Dis- tinguishing or dividing us, man from man, a.re (1) physical obstacles (seas, mountains, varieties of climate); (2) colour; (3) creed; (4) language; (5) social habits, mental tastes, and moral dispositions. II. THE ESSENTIAL ONENESS OF THE HUMAN WORLD. Notwithstanding all interposing obstacles and all separating divergences, man is everywhere the same. The blood of one human father is in his veins. One human nature, bodily and spiritual, he inherits; above it he cannot rise, and beneath it he cannot fall. He is the son of Adam, and he "was the son of God" (Luke iii. 38). Sin has scattered and slain him, but he may rise and be revivified. In him still are those germs of good which, under heavenly culture, may spring into the most perfect flowers that can adorn the garden of the Lord. In mankind, under a.11 conceivable diversities, a.re (1) the same animal instincts, (2) the same family attachments, (3) the same capacity of mental culture, ( 4) the same spiritual nature, which is able to receive the truth and know the will and live the life of the eternal God himself. The unity and diversity of our kind suggest to us: 1. That there are variations and separations which a.re due to God's providence rather than to our sin. These a.re either to be cheerfully borne or bravely and intelligently overcome. They are given us either to try our faith and pntience or to excite our enterprise and activity. 2. That there a.re separations and distinctions which are the penalty of sin; these should humble us. 3. That in the gospel of Christ we have resources which can raise the lowest and reunite the most spiritually distant. The hour will come when the" earth that was divided" so long ago will be united in one most blessed bond, worshipping one God, loving one Father, trusting one Saviour, living one life, travelling to one home.-C.
Vers. 47, 48.-Though transient, not vain. As we read tbcso following verses nnd find one king mentioned and then another, with simply the record of his name, his reign, and his death, we feel how swiftly flows the current of human lire, how mauy generations have come and gone, how slight attention posterity can spa.re for thoso who were once great and honoured. Three thoughts befit the theme- I. To EACH MAN IN HIS TIME ms HERITAGE SEEMS LARGE Al\7) r,ASTING. No doubt Samlah of Masrekah looked eagerly forward to the occupancy of his seat of power; rejoiced greatly as he took possession; said to himself, "'fhou hast made my mountain to stand strong;" thought that many days of honour and wealth and joy were beforo him; was one more instance of the truth that "All men think all men mortal but themselves." His day of authority and enjoyment seemed bright enough to him in anticipation, and he rejoiced in his heritage. To every human eye a long and happy human life seems, a.t the outset and for some way on, a very possible a.nd desirable thing. But to us, who look back on that which is over, it seems that- H. THE BEBT EARTHLY ESTATE 18 4 PAlNFllr.LY TRANSIENT T!UNG. What, to all l, CIIRONICLEB. g 18 TUE FirrST DOOK OF THE crrno'.'\ICU:s. [CII. II. ]-53
these nnd to all other kings of all other countries, are their sccptrns now? \Vhat havo they been for m~ny thousand years? 'l'heii· grave is not more quiet, nor is it bottcr known, than the last rcsting-placo of their meanest subjects. Looking back, it seems as if their honour was but a brief flash that struck a. sudden splendour and then went out into the darkness. .A. brief day is ours below, a. littlo sunshine for a fow fast- jJeeting hours- "And then night sweeps along the plain, And all things fade awny." Dut we nave a third correcting thought, namely- III. 'l'RAT OUR SHORT EARTHLY LlFE IS LONG ENOUGH TO ROLD AND TO WORK MUCH EXDURlNG GOOD. Though ~u~ human !if~ is ~ransi~nt, and though its beauty and honour soon pass away, yet 1t ts not lived m vam. Spent in the fear of God devoted to the glory of Christ, and having regard to the well-being of the world, it has an excellency which true wisdom docs not despise. It is not in vain (1) that it contains pure and ennobling joy; (2) that it illustrates Divine principles; (3) that it diffuses bounty and blessedness on every hand; (4) that it leaves behind it something better than it found-the harvest of its own thought and toil; (5) that it has been a. prepara- t:tt::i for a. wider sphere and a larger lifo beyoud.-C.