ne to give his reflections on the Word of God. With the
most devout feeling of the infinite value of such an article or the
great evil which might result from the complexity of its appearance,
we have concluded that nothing but the most reverential feeling of the
sacredness of the subject can secure us from falling into dangers not
to be lightly regarded, not merely in regard to facts, but in respect
also to comments and reflections; but with this caution such an
article may be rendered eminently edifying and interesting.

Why should we conclude this work, in this age of infidelity, without
at least stating what was known of the Bible? Why should we not bring
the "cloud of witnesses" of the ruins we have already described? The
discovery of the Assyrian and Babylonian historic records running
contemporaneously with Scripture narratives have afforded innumerable
points of proof. From the ruins of Nineveh and the Valley of the Nile;
from the slabs and bas-reliefs of Sennacherib and the tombs, the
catacombs with their 1,100 Christian inscriptions, and the monuments
of Pharaoh; from the rolls of Chaldee paraphrasts and Syrian
versionists; from the cells and libraries of monastic scribes and the
dry and dusty labors of scholars and antiquarians, the skepticism of
history has almost been silenced by the vivid reproductions of the
ancient and eastern world.

An attentive perusal of the present volume will afford many
illustrations of these remarks. Knowing that the substance of the
narrative is drawn from sources of indisputable authority, the reader
can have no anxiety respecting the truth of the facts recorded. He
will, therefore, be able to resign himself altogether to the gracious
influence which such a history is calculated to exercise on the mind.

The assistance which the reader will derive from a well-arranged
narrative of these sublime events will be found of importance, not
only as exciting attention to facts, otherwise less noticed, but as
habituating him, in perusing the divine originals, to arrange and
classify the several portions of the history for himself. When this
ability is acquired, the mind will have a readier command over the
materials of reflection, and the several arguments on which the proof
of heavenly truth is founded will be seen with greater distinctness,
and appreciated with a more practical feeling of their strength and
value.

With the assistance of the many scholarly productions on this matt