In the second age men were restrained neither by government nor law.

Thus the first dispensation ended in failure, yielding as its result a mournful proof that man is a being too weak to retain his innocence even in the most favourable circumstances. It now remained to be seen whether after the experience of the fall, after tasting the bitter consequences of sin, he could recover his position and become again obedient and holy. Of this God made trial in several ways.

And first, in what we may term the age of freedom, during the lapse of which He left Adam and his descendants almost entirely to their own devices. Marriage had indeed been instituted: and they were instructed to approach God by means of typical sacrifices, and commanded to toil for their bread by tilling the earth. But beyond this God would neither Himself issue laws nor suffer men to do so. The sword of the magistrate might not be used for the repression of crime: even the murderer should be unpunished, as we may see by the case of Cain. No government was permitted: every man should go in his own way, and so that which was right in his own eyes.

Thus the fitness of man for a condition of extreme liberty, and the worth of a trust in the innate justice supposed to lie at the bottom of the human heart, have been already tested by the great Creator. Modern philosophers are urging a repetition of the experiment; but the history of the times of old proves the fallacy of their views. For the wickedness of man became great: all flesh corrupted its way upon the earth, and the earth was filled with violence. And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man.

Hence a consideration of the second age should be peculiarly interesting to us: for it will help us to understand our own times, and, by the course of events before the Deluge, give us some idea of what may be expected in the present dispensation, the closing scenes of which seem to be already projecting their dark shadows before them.

The stages of our journey to God are prefigured in Eden, and also in the Tabernacle.

After the expulsion of Adam from Paradise God does not appear to have removed the beautiful garden: but its gates were inexorably closed, and at the east end of it were placed the Cherubim, and the flaming sword which turned itself to and fro and guarded every access to the tree of life. And so we seem to find here also the rudiments of a Tabernacle, just as we found them in the Eden of Satan. The tree of life, with the Cherubim underneath it and the Shechinah or glory around it, is the Holy of Holies; Paradise the Holy Place; and Eden, the district in which the garden was planted, the Court of the Tabernacle.

And both in Paradise and in the Tabernacle we may, perhaps, discern an outline of our way to God. For as the district of Eden was to Adam, so to us is this earth, which was once, like Eden, a realm of delight, but is now blasted with the curse of sin. The fallen Adam prayed and offered up sacrifices before the closed gates of Paradise, in sight of the tree of life and the glory: and so do we with the eye of faith behold the throne of grace beyond the limits of this present world, and casting ourselves before it plead the once offered sacrifice of Christ.

But at death the Paradise of God will be thrown open to us: for the very word is used in the New testament of the place in which we abide during the intermediate state. "To day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise," said our Lord to the dying thief.

Now the word is of Persian origin, and had a well defined meaning, which the Saviour surely intended to suggest when He used it. For the Persian kings and nobles were accustomed to surround their palaces with parks of vast magnitude, planted with beautiful trees and shrubs, and stocked with beasts wild and tame. Some suppose these parks to have been reminiscences of a tradition of Eden: at any rate a place of the sort was called a paradise. And so, by adopting the word, Christ appears to indicate that at death we pass, as it were, into the wondrous garden that surrounds the Father's house, but not into the house itself.

For He declared to His disciples that He was going to prepare abodes for them in that glorious palace, and would shortly return to fetch them; return, as angels subsequently announced, in like manner as He went up, in actual bodily presence. At death, therefore, we shall enter into the garden: but only at the return of Christ and the resurrection can we obtain access to the tree of life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God, and which seems to correspond to the actual place of the presence.

So also the Court of the Tabernacle seems to represent this present world, during our stay in which we must offer up the slain victim on the brazen altar by thankfully believing in the sacrifice of Christ, and must afterwards be cleansed and sanctified in the laver with the washing of water by the word.

Then, being clad in the white robes of Christ's righteousness, we shall, in the intermediate state, enter into the Holy place, where the implements of our service will be no longer of the baser metals - which are continually subject to the rust of sin - but only of pure gold.

Lastly; at the resurrection we shall be admitted into the holy of Holies, the dwelling-place of the glory, into the mansions prepared for us in the Father's house.

The Cherubim.

Of the Cherubim we must speak as briefly as possible; but the subject is very important, since these glorious beings appear to be closely connected with the redemption of creation. In mentioning them for the first time, the Hebrew original nevertheless styles them " the Cherubim," from which we may infer that their forms were familiar to the Israelites of Moses' time; and, therefore, that they were the same as those of the Cherubim represented in the Tabernacle. Indeed, the words by which they are introduced, if literally rendered, are, "And He caused the Cherubim to tabernacle at the east of the Garden of Eden." The most detailed account of their appearance is that which is contained in the first chapter of Ezekiel, which we will now examine.

Ezekiel's description of them.

The prophet tells us that he was among the Hebrew captives on the banks of the Chebar, when the heavens were opened to him, and he beheld visions of God. He saw a storm coming from the north, a mighty cloud having an infolding fire within it and a flashing brightness round about it. In the midst of the fire there was, as it were, the glancing of furbished brass: and as he gazed upon this glittering splendour with its terrific surroundings, it drew nearer to him, and he began to distinguish glorious forms. There were four living creatures, each standing beside a wheel dreadful in height. Stretched over the heads of these wondrous beings was the likeness of the firmament, of the colour of the terrible crystal. Above the firmament was a sapphire throne, and upon the throne the likeness of a man radiant with heavenly glory and surrounded with the appearance of a rainbow. It was the chariot of the Lord: it was Jehovah borne upon the Cherubim, and coming forth to judgement.

Each Cherub was in the form of a man, that is, displayed the body and upright position of a man, But every one had four faces: the first face was that of a man, the second that of a lion, the third that of an ox, and the fourth that of an eagle. Now the lion, the ox, and the eagle, are the representatives of the beasts of the field, of cattle, and of the fowls of the air. Hence from this vision arose the Jewish saying;- "Four are the highest in creation: the lion among the beasts, the ox among cattle, the eagle among the fowls, and, man above these; but God is the highest of all."

In the temple of Ezekiel the Cherubim are associated with palm trees, in that of Solomon with palm trees and flowers. Now, the palm was considered to be the king of trees. Humboldt calls it "the noblest of plants, to which the nations ever assign the prize of beauty." And the flower is the glory of the herb of the field.

Thus the Cherubim and the accessories with which they were surrounded seem to have been made up of the highest forms of the animal and vegetable kingdoms, and to have been representatives of creature life in its perfection, and in obedience to and union with its Creator.

Each Cherub had also four sides, and, apparently, six wings, though four only are mentioned at first. Of these we are told that two were spread out and joined to the wings of those on either side, while with another pair the Cherubim covered their bodies in reverence. But it quickly becomes evident that in the commencement of the description Ezekiel is speaking only of their appearance form one point of view: for a little later he tells us that "every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies." Underneath their wings were the hands of a man, and their feet were straight feet, sparkling like the colour of burnished brass, and the soles of their feet were as the sole of a calf's foot. Lastly; their whole body, their backs, their hands, and their wings, as well as the wheels beside which they stood, were full of eyes, indicative, perhaps, of intense vigilance and intelligence.

Description and possible significance of the wheels.

Each of the wheels was, as it were, a wheel within a wheel, that is, one wheel passing transversely through the centre of another, so that the chariot might go in the direction of either of the four faces without turning. In appearance the wheels were like to the colour of beryl, or rather of chrysolite: their rings, or felloes, were full of eyes: and the spirit of life, or, perhaps, of the living creature, was in them. Wherever the Spirit of God willed to go, thither would the chariot of the Cherubim speed and return as the flashing of lightning.

Since the Cherubim appear to be symbols of creature life, it is not improbable that the wheels represent the forces of nature;- "Fire, and hail; snow, and vapours; stormy wind fulfilling His word."

The Cherubim are identical with the living creatures in the Apocalypse.

Such were the Cherubim as seen by Ezekiel. And though there are some differences of detail - owing, probably, to differences in the circumstances For instance, in Ezekiel each Cherub has four faces, which is not the case in the Apocalypse. The reason of the difference seems to be that in the former passage, where the Cherubim are in attendance upon the chariot of the Lord, their four faces and four sides correspond to the wheel passing transversely through the centre of the other, and enable them to move in any direction without the necessity of turning. But in the Apocalypse they are before the Throne, and movement is not required. - there can be no doubt that they are identical with the living creatures which John saw at the foot of the throne. The word used in the Apocalypse is a literal translation of Ezekiel's "living creature," being indeed the very word by which the Hebrew is rendered in that passage of the Septuagint. But, unfortunately, in our version of the New Testament it is translated "beast," though it simply means a living being. It is quite a different term from that used of the ten-horned, and also of the two-horned, beast of the later chapters.

And probably also with the Seraphim of Isaiah.

Again; the six-winged Seraphim of Isaiah seem also to be the same as the Cherubim. For the number of their wings corresponds, and they hold the same position in the glory, just beneath the throne. And again; their cry, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts," is similar to that of the living creatures which John saw.

The word Seraphim appears to signify the "burning ones," and perhaps the Cherubim were so called form the fervour of their worship. Or it may be that the change of name indicates a different function. For the Cheru bim are represented as taking up coals of fire for the execution of the wrath of God: but a Seraph brings a live coal from the altar, and by applying it to Isaiah's lips purifies him from his iniquity and sin. Thus it may be that the former name is used when the Lord appears as a consuming fire, the latter when His glory is acting as a purifying flame.

They are not angels, nor do they wield the flaming sword.

The Cherubim are evidently not angels; for if they were, their connection with the animal and vegetable kingdoms would be without a parallel in Scripture. Moreover, they are distinguished from angels in two passages of the Apocalypse, in the first of which we read of "many angels," and in the second of "all the angels," standing round about the Throne, and the Loving Creatures, and the Elders. Wherever, therefore, they appear in Scripture, whether in the Garden of Eden, upon the Ark of the Covenant, or before the Throne, we must remember that they always retain their own peculiar forms.

Nor did they, according to the popular conception, handle the fiery sword turned itself, that is, was a revolving flame, corresponding to the glory which appeared above the Cherubim in the Tabernacle.

Probable significance of their number.

In the number of the Cherubim we may, perhaps, discern another proof of their connection with the earth, since four is in Scripture, and especially in the Apocalypse, the number of terrestrial creation. Thus, among other instances, we read of "the four quarters of the earth," "the four corners of the earth," and "the four winds of the earth." Again; created beings are described as "every creature which is in the heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea": the human race is summed up as "every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation"; and there are "four sore judgements" for creation - "the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence." So, too, the destined earth-rulers were directed, when marching through the wilderness, to pitch their tents in four camps, turned towards the four cardinal points. And lastly, the visions of Daniel disclose four world-empires, and dispensation, and causes the glad cry to go forth, "The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our God and of His Christ."

They appear to stand before God as representatives of the four earth-tribes to which the promises of the Noachian covenant were made.

Passing, then, from these preliminary considerations, we proceed to inquire into the real significance of the Cherubim, the clue to which seems to lie in the terms of the Noachian covenant.

We have already seen that during the Six Days God created six tribes of living creatures to inhabit the earth - the fish, the fowls of the air, the cattle, the creeping things, the beasts of the earth, and man. Of these, the first five were placed under the dominion of man: but three of them were subsequently distinguished from the others on two memorable occasions.

When God brought the living creatures to the father of our race, " Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field": but he is not said to have done so in the case of the fish and of the creeping things.

And again, there is a similar omission in the Noachian covenant, which is expressed in the following term;- "And I, behold, I establish My covenant with you, and with your seed after you, and with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you."

Now if we observe that the fur tribes specially included in the covenant - man, the fowls, the cattle, and the beasts of the earth - are also those which are indicated by the forms of the Cherubim, we shall readily perceive the meaning of the latter. They stand before God as the representatives of the four great earth-tribes with which He has made a covenant that He will never again destroy them utterly from the face of the earth.

Their representative character appears to be still further set forth by their Hebrew name Mybdn, the obvious derivation of which is obtained by separating it into Mybd?n, that is, "as the many."

And their connection with the Noachian covenant would seem to be demonstrated by the additional fact that, in two of the three subsequent passages in which their forms are minutely described, the great sign of that covenant, the rainbow, is seen above them. In the third passage, the tenth chapter of Ezekiel, it is not actually mentioned; nevertheless there also its presence is implied, since the prophet observes that the glory of the God of Israel appeared on this occasion, just as he had previously seen it in the plain.

The reason why the tribes of fish and creeping things are neither mentioned nor represented in the covenant is uncertain.

What is signified by the omission of the two tribes, or at least of any special mention of them, in the lists of those which are said to have been named by Adam, and to have been included in the Noachian covenant, and why they are not represented in the symbolism of the Cherubim, it is difficult to conjecture. If we also remember that sin entered into our world through the medium of the serpent, and that in the renewed earth there will be no more sea, we may be led to infer that the tribes of creeping things and fish will ultimately disappear. On the other hand, it is possible that they may be included in the higher forms of life. Still, however this may be, it does not interfere with the fact that the Cherubim represent all the creatures which God is pledged to save.

God's covenant with the four earth-tribes involves also a promise of their redemption.

But if the great Creator has entered into a covenant that He will never destroy the four earth-tribes, there is also of necessity much more involved in such a promise. Other Scriptures, in drawing back the curtain of futurity, disclose the glad truth that times of refreshing and restitution are approaching, when earth will be freed from the curse, and its inhabitants once more restored to innocence and peace. Since, therefore, the four tribes are to be preserved through this glorious age, they must also participate in its conditions, or, in other words, be redeemed from the consequences of sin.

And such a destiny is certainly implied be the position in which we find the Cherubim on the Ark. For there, each of them displaying the four heads as described by Ezekiel, It is scarcely necessary to remark that there is no authority whatever for the conventional pictures of the Ark in which the Cherubim appear as angels. We have no right to represent them in any forms save those which are attributed to them in Scripture. And since the four heads are evidently necessary to the symbolism while there are but two Cherubim on the Ark, we must not in this case take our pattern from the description given in the Apocalypse, but must understand each Cherubim to have had four heads as in the vision of Ezekiel. they appear in close proximity to the awful Shechinah; while the violated law beneath them is covered by the golden Mercy-seat upon which they rest in security. They thus set forth in wondrous symbol the redemption and reconciliation of man and beast through the merits and death of the Lord Jesus.

But a significant feature of this symbol shows us how exclusively its prophetic fullness looks forward to the future, to the great changes of a coming dispensation. The Cherubim stand in the immediate presence of the Almighty, and yet two of the living beings represented by the heads are unclean. But God shall presently cleanse them, and they will then be no longer common or unclean. They are also creatures of prey; but when the age of rest has come, "the lion shall eat straw like the ox," and the eagle shall cease to behold the prey from afar, nor shall it any more be said of her that "where the slain are, there is she." For, to quote the glowing words of the apostle, "the creation itself also," which is now groaning and travailing in pain together, "shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God."

Standing, then, in the presence of God as memorials of His promise, the Cherubim also act as the ministers of His will.

Thus the Cherubim stand before the Lord for a purpose similar to that of the Book of Remembrance of which Malachi speaks, as memorials of those-tribes which he has pledged Himself to save. Their special office appears to be attendance upon the Lord when He is engaged in the government of the world: they co-operate with Him in all that tends to its redemption: they act as His higher executive, calling forth the powers which inflict His judgements, and furnishing angels with the means of carrying out His will.

Thus, at the successive breaking of the first four seals, each of the Living Creatures in turn cries, "Come!" and instantly the horses and their riders appear. Our version has "Come and see," as though the cry were addressed to John: but it is now generally admitted that the words "and see" are a gloss entirely destructive of the sense. Again, in Ezekiel's vision of the departure of the glory from the temple, one of the Cherubim gives to the man clothed in linen coals of fire to scatter over Jerusalem. Lastly, it is one of the Living Creatures who brings to the seven angels the seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God.

Significance of the Cherubim of Adam.

It will now be seen that the appearance of the Cherubim in paradise was a glorious prophecy of hope to the banished Adam. For it told him that although the crown had fallen from his head, and himself and all creation were now subjected to decay and corruption, yet the time would come when he should again have access to the Tree of Life, again draw near to God, and be reinstated in his sovereignty over the world, which should also be brought back to its original perfection and beauty. Thus did the mercy of God support him in his present trouble by glimpses of future restoration.

The flaming sword.

But, though the emblems of hope were ever before him, there was also a revolving sword of flame, ceaselessly turning with lightning flashes to guard the tree of immortality, a fiery circle which kept him from his God and from life. For Jehovah is a consuming fire to those who are in sin: He dwells in the light unto which no fallen man can approach.

That the sword was connected with the Shechinah we can see from its counterpart, the fire infolding itself, in Ezekiel's vision of the glory. Its destructive power was shown when, at the consecration of the tabernacle, it flashed forth and consumed the burnt-offering upon the alter; and when its lightning flame smote Nadab and Abihu, so that they died before the Lord.

Henceforth, therefore, man's whole attention was to be concentrated upon the means provided by God for the removal of the flaming barrier, that he might at length regain his natural position and be at rest.

Birth of Cain and Abel. Significance of their names.

Adam now commenced his labour of tilling the ground, the toil of which, owing to the want of implements and experience must have been doubly distressing. But after a while the first infant was born into the world: and we can imagine the joy of Eve at the thought that the promise was now realised, that the delivering Seed had appeared. In happy exultation she called his name Cain - that is, "acquisition," or "possession," exclaiming, "I have gotten a man with the aid of Jehovah!" The grammar of this sentence admits the rendering, "I have gotten a man, even Jehovah!' but it is, to say the least, uncertain whether this could have been Eve's meaning. For we have no intimation that the great mystery of godliness, God manifest in the flesh, had as yet been revealed. She believed, however, that the promise, as she understood it, has been fulfilled: she thought she had gotten the Deliverer: she would call her son the possession of that which was promised.

Alas! How little did she know of the bitter disappointments, the heart-sickening succession of hopes deferred, which were henceforth to be the lot of herself and of all her descendants. For she was not merely mistaken in supposing Cain to be the Deliverer: nay, the son whom she loved, of whom she hoped so much, was actually the first of the serpent's hostile seed, the first link of a chain which would end, not in Christ, but in Antichrist. By the time of her second son's birth she seems to have had some apprehension of the truth; for her joy had then given way to depression, and she called his name Abel - that is, "a breath," or "that which passes as a breath" - thus showing her consciousness of the speedy mortality of her offspring and the fall of all her high hopes.

Their wives.

Now since the birth of Seth must have followed quickly upon the death of Abel, and we are told that Seth was born when Adam was a hundred and thirty years old, there was, probably, a lapse of some hundred and twenty-nine years between the birth of Cain and the death of Abel. During this time Adam doubtless had many other sons and daughters, and Cain and Abel seem to have been directed to take them wives of their sisters. Such marriages could not be avoided in the beginning of man's history, since the whole race was to be united in descent from a single pair; and it must be remembered that the children of Adam were not merely a family, but the whole human family. As soon, however, as the necessity had disappeared, such connections were discountenanced, and afterwards rigorously prohibited.

Their pursuits.

As they grew to manhood the brothers adopted different pursuits. Cain became a tiller of the ground, and, therefore, had reason to feel the curse in all its bitterness: but Abel was a keeper of sheep. And, since men were not, at that time, allowed to touch animal food, these sheep must have been kept for sacrificial purposes and for the manufacture of garments. Hence Cain assisted in the production of food for the primeval family, while Abel's duties wee concerned with their religious services and clothing.

Their sacrifices. Reason of Cain's rejection.

In process of time the brothers brought each an offering unto the Lord, presenting it, probably, at the gate of Paradise. And God had respect unto Abel and to his offering; but unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect.

The reason of this difference is fraught with the deepest interest to us: for there are many in these latter days who, according to t he prophecy of Jude, have gone in the way of Cain: the theology o f the f irst murderer is that of a large and perpetually increasing school of our times. He neither denies the existence of God, nor refused to worship Him. Nay, he recognised Him as the Giver of all good things, and brought an offering of the fruits of the ground as an acknowledgement of His bounty. But he went no further than this; and, therefore, though he may have passed among those with whom he dwelt as a good and religious man, he failed to satisfy God. For being yet in his sins he presumed to approach the Holy One without the shedding of blood: he was willing to take the place of a dependent creature, but would not confess himself a sinner guilty of death, who could be saved only by the sacrifice of a Substitute.

He is a type of the many in these times who will descant upon the benevolence and love of the Creator, and are ever ready to laud Him for those attributes, and claim the benefit of them, without any reference to their own unworthiness and sinful condition, without a thought of that perfect holiness and justice which are as much elements of the mind of God as love itself. But the Most High did not accept the sacrifice of Cain; for none may approach to worship Him except through the shedding of blood, even the blood of the Lamb which He has provided: the sin-offering must come first, then the thank-offering: we can enter into the Holy of Holies, and cast ourselves before the Mercy seat, only by passing through the rent veil of Christ'-flesh.

Abel knew something of this, and confessed it: therefore he brought of the firstlings of his flock, and poured out their life-blood in humble avowal of his own deserts. And God at once accepted his offering; perhaps - as many have thought - by sending forth fire from the Shechinah to consume it, and thus showing in a type that His wrath in regard to Abel would be satiated upon a Substitute.

God's unavailing remonstrance with Cain. The murder.

At the sight of this Cain's countenance fell, and he was angry: he committed the appalling sin of judging his Creator, and stirring up human wrath at His just dealings. Nevertheless God would not at once abandon the sinner to his fate. He patiently reasoned with Cain, as with a wilful child: He sought to bring him back to a right mind, pointing out his evil condition, and that a dire sin was crouching at his door ready to spring upon him like some ravenous beast upon its prey. Nor did He cease without promising that, it the offender would repent and well, he also should be accepted, and preserve that ascendancy over his brother to which, as being chosen by his Creator for the position of firstborn, he was lawfully entitled.

But the gracious expostulation was wasted: Cain took his opportunity, and the germ of sin which had been planted in Adam ripened into murder in his eldest son.

The conviction and the sentence.

It was not long before God made inquisition for blood. "Where," He asked of Cain, "is Abel thy brother?" And so again, as in the case of Adam, He inquired, though He had full knowledge, to give the transgressor an opportunity of judging himself and confessing his guilt. Had Cain done so he would yet have found hope. But he branded himself a second time with the mark of the serpent by adding lying to murder. "I know not," he replied; "am I my brother's keeper?" So hardened had he become that he would fain deny the truth even in the presence of the omniscient God. Therefore he was instantly dragged forth to judgement: his covering of lies was torn away, and his crime in all its blackness laid bare by the piercing words, "What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto Me from the ground."

Cain was speechless: he could offer neither defence nor excuse, and God went on to pronounce sentence. The earth, which had drunk up his brother's blood, should be laid under a second curse, and should no longer yield its strength, even in response to the severest toil. Nor should the murderer remain with his parents in Eden: he should be banished from the presence of the Lord, from the sight of the Cherubim and the glory, and of forth as a fugitive and wanderer upon the earth. But no human hand should touch him. Neither the other members of his family not the descendants of Abel, if there were any, might avenge the crime upon pain of a sevenfold punishment: for magisterial power was not yet entrusted to man.

Thus were our first parents deprived of both their sons in one day. How appalled must they now have been with the progress of the mischief which their transgression had brought into the world!

Adam and Eve are comforted by the birth of Seth.

But the God of all consolation was merciful, and about this time gave them another son, whom Eve called Seth, that is, "appointed." "For God," she said, "hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel whom Cain slew." It is curios to notice that she here attributes the gift to Elohim and not to Jehovah, which is probably an indication that her hope had given place to despondency. After expecting the promised Seed for hundred and thirty years she had at length lapsed into despair, and, seeing in Seth nothing more than a natural son, pours forth her thanks to Elohim, and not to the covenant-keeping Jehovah. But she was again mistaken. Long and weary had been the time of waiting and bitter the disappointments, but she had at last obtained the first link of the chain that was to end in the promised Seed: from the line of Seth Christ was to spring.

Characteristics of the Cainites. The city of Enoch.

Henceforth we find a twofold development in the human race: the Sethites and the banished Cainites remain separated for a while, and represent the Church and the World. The Cainites, with the restlessness of men alienated from God, were ever striving to make the land of their exile a pleasant land; to reproduce Paradise artificially, instead of longing for the real Garden of Delight; were ceaselessly trying by every means to palliate the curse, instead of patiently following God's directions for getting rid of it altogether. Cain himself, who had been condemned to wander, was the first to build a city, which he called Enoch, after the name of his son; the first to attempt to settle comfortably upon the blasted earth.

Some have wondered where he sound inhabitants for his city. But they forget that, for aught we know, he may have built it centuries after his flight from Eden, and so not take into account the prodigious increase of population in an age when an ordinary life extended through eight or nine hundred years, and a man was contemporary with seven or eight generations of his descendants. Besides which, the city of Cain may have been at first nothing more than a fixed and substantial habitation for himself and his family.

Lamech and his sons. Mention of women among the descendants of Cain.

Beyond a mere enumeration of names, we have no further record of Cain's posterity till we come to his descendant of the fifth generation. But the few particulars concerning Lamech and his family present a vivid picture of human corruption, of the way of the children of this world. We see it beginning in sensuous life that involves the loss of the God-consciousness, and of all fear of breaking the Divine laws: we trace it as it goes on to make present circumstances as comfortable and as indulgent as possible, substituting arts sciences and intellectual pursuits for spiritual aspirations, and, with the aid of divers amusement: and at last we find it ending in a thorough concentration upon self, and a hardened defiance of God.

Lamech broke the primeval law of marriage, and was the first polygamist, thus giving proof of the utter godlessness into which the Cainites had lapsed. The mention and names of his wives are perhaps suggestive of the state of society in his circle. Adah signifies "ornament," or "beauty"; while Zillah means "shade," in reference, probably, to her rich and, as it were, over-shadowing tresses. His daughter also was called Naamah, that is, "lovely." Now in the genealogy of Seth's family there is no mention by name of either wives or daughters. Here, therefore, we, perhaps, having an intimation that the women among the Cainites were unduly prominent, and that personal beauty and sensuous attractions were the only valued qualities.

Of the sons of Lamech, Jabal was remarkable as being the first man who accumulated cattle in large numbers and led a nomad life. Probably, in defiance of God's injunction, he introduced animal flesh and mild as food, with the view of escaping the labour of tilling the accursed ground. Jubal invented music, and Tubal-cain the mechanical arts.

Lamech's address to his wives.

The last piece of information which we possess concerning Lamech is contained in his address to his wives. This appears to be a kind of song, which may have been popular among the antediluvians. But it breathes a boasting spirit of self-reliance - arising, perhaps, from the weapons which Tubal-cain had forged - and of proud revenge, which quite prepares us to hear that the earth was shortly afterwards filled with violence. Literally translated it runs as follows;-

"Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
Ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech:
For I have slain a man in return for my wound,
And a young man in return for my bruise.
For sevenfold shall Cain be avenged,
But Lamech seventy and sevenfold."

The meaning of which appears to be that he had quarrelled with a young man, and, having been wounded and bruised by him, had slain him in revenge. That God chose to proclaim a sevenfold vengeance upon the one who should kill Cain: but let all know that, if any one injure Lamech, the vengeance will be seventy and sevenfold; if any one merely wound or bruise him, he will surely take his life as a recompense.

And this is the last we hear of the family of Cain as separated from the rest of the world. Its first ancestor was a murderer: and it disappeared in the person of polygamist, murderer, and open worshipper of the god of forces.

Characteristics of the Sethites.

But when we turn to Seth's posterity the scene changes. Envyings, strifes, and deeds of license and violence, are no longer before us: our ears cease to be assailed with the lowing of herds, the strains of soft music used for the soothing of uneasy consciences, the clatter of the anvil, the vauntings of proud boasters, and all the mingled din which arises from a world living without God and struggling to overpower His curse.

But we see a people poor and afflicted; toiling day after day to procure food from the ungenial soil, according to their God's appointment; patiently waiting till He should be gracious, and humbly acknowledging His chastening hand upon them. They have no share in earth's history: that is entirely make up by the Cainites. As strangers and pilgrims in the world they abstain from fleshly lusts: they build no cities: they invent no arts: they devise no amusements. For they are not mindful of the country in which they live, but seek a better, that is, a heavenly. Lastly; as we may see by the allusion to it in the name of Noah, they keep the curse which God laid upon the earth continually before them.

Meaning of the expression "to call upon the name of Jehovah."

In contrast to the boastings of the Cainites Lamech, Seth named his first son Enos, that is, "weakness" - a humble confession of the feebleness and helplessness of man, which is naturally followed by the next sentence, "Then began men to call upon the name of Jehovah."

But in what sense are we to understand this phrase, which is henceforth frequently used in Scripture? Jehovah, as we have previously seen, is the name by which God has revealed Himself to those with whom He has made a covenant, to whom He has given promises. When Moses asks what answer he shall return to the Israelites if they inquire the name of the God Who sent him, the Lord replies;- "I AM THAT I AM": "Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." Now in the Hebrew, not the present, but the future of the verb "to be" is used; and from the future the name Jehovah is derived. But the Hebrew future has a peculiar signification: it is often used to express a permanent state, that which exists and always will exist. Hence the words rendered "I AM THAT I AM" might be more intelligently translated "I EVER SHALL BE THAT WHICH I AM." And thus "Jehovah" signifies the immutable God, the Same yesterday, to-day, and for ever, Whose purpose no circumstances can affect, Whose promises can in no wise fail.

Whenever, therefore, we read of Abraham pitching his tent in some new place, rearing an altar there, and calling upon the name of Jehovah, we must regard him as appealing to God for protection and aid in his apparently aimless wanderings on the ground of the promises made to him.

Again: "What," asks the Psalmist, "shall I render unto Jehovah for all His benefits towards me?" And the answer is; - "I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of Jehovah." That is, I will thankfully accept the deliverance which God has wrought for me, and, calling upon Him by His name Jehovah, will thereby glorify Him as the immutable One Who never fails to redeem His promises.

Lastly; Joel tells us that in the dread time, immediately before the appearing of Christ and His Church in glory, when the world is affrighted with signs in the heavens and on the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke; when the sun is withdrawing its light, and the silver moon is reddening to a bloody hue - that, in that awful hour, whosoever shall call upon the name of Jehovah shall be saved. The reference, as the context plainly shows, is to the Jewish remnant; and the meaning, that if any man warned by the fearful sights around him shall bethink himself of the promises to Israel, and appeal to his Maker by the covenant name on the ground of those promises, he shall be saved.

It is easy, therefore, to see the meaning of the phrase as applied to the Sethites. The descendants of Cain, worshipping nothing more than the creating and ruling Elohim, and , consequently, having no promises on which to rest, settled themselves as well as they could in the world, and used their best endeavours to do away with the inconveniences of the curse. The Sethites, on the other hand, made no attempt to kick against the pricks, or to avoid the chastisement of God, but looked to Him for relief upon His prediction of the delivering Seed, and began to address Him by His covenant name Jehovah, to keep alive their hope, and to express their trust in His promise.

Hence they seem to have shown somewhat of the spirit which, many centuries later, actuated the Thessalonian Christians: they made no idols for themselves upon earth, but served the living and true God, and waited for His Son from heaven.

Enoch the first of the prophets.

A curious coincidence strikes us here. In the account of the Cainites, after a few particulars of Cain's history, just intimating the direction in which he gu ided his posterity, there follows a mere list of names till we com e to Lam ech, the seventh from Adam. Then we have a momentary glimpse of the first murderer's city, and find lawlessness and violence developing in it, while its inhabitants are making strenuous efforts to attain to happiness without God.

In the same manner we hear of Seth's humble confession of weakness, and that his community then began to call upon the name of Jehovah. And this is followed by a bare register of births and deaths till we come to Enoch, the seventh from Adam in Seth's line. Then the chronicle halts for a moment, and in a few words records an event of surpassing importance.

As evil had culminated in Lamech, so had godliness in Enoch: for he walked with God, and had this testimony, that he pleased Him. But the dark shadow of the end was already beginning to fall upon the world. Wickedness had increased to such an extent that not only was the inability of man to recover himself demonstrated, but even the necessity of bringing the trial to a speedy close. The Lord, therefore, bestowed a new power upon Enoch, and sent him forth as the first prophet to testify against the sin of the world, and to proclaim that the times of forbearance would soon have run their course.

Filled with the Spirit of God he moved among men preaching of righteousness, temperance, and judgement to come, and doubtless caused many to tremble. But there was very little permanent result: none save the prophet himself was thought worthy to escape the things which were coming on the earth. He alone was caught up to heaven before the perilous times of the great antediluvian tribulation commenced, being taken out of the world about six hundred and sixty-nine years before the flood. And although so many intervening centuries may seem a long respite, we must remember that, owing to the length of life in those days, the time would not be equivalent to more than fifty or sixty years with us.

The single extant specimen of Enoch's prophecy is concerned with a yet future event.

The only utterance of this primeval seer which has come down to us is preserved in the Epistle of Jude. It runs as follows;- "Behold, the Lord cometh In the Greek ????, that is, literally, "came." But the prophecy is evidently describing a vision of the future which passed before the eyes of Enoch; and, consequently, the present tense "cometh" sets the meaning of the quotation in a clearer light for the ordinary reader. with ten thousand of His saints, to ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."

These words do not refer, finally at least, to the Deluge, but concern our times, and point to the appearing of our Lord in glory with His Church. Had the prophecy descended to us without an inspired comment, it would doubtless have been made subservient to the "spiritualising" theory. An exclusive reference to the flood would have been assumed, and we should have been admonished to observe that the coming of the Lord is merely a figurative expression for a mighty judgement, and does not signify a personal advent. But such a perversion of meaning is impossible; for Jude tells us that in his time, after the ascension of Christ to the Father, the prediction was still awaiting its fulfilment. Hence, therefore, the reason of its preservation, because it refers to the personal appearing of the Saviour to close the present age. And Enoch's knowledge of this appearing, some five thousand years before it was to take place, shows us that the secrets of God are ever with them that fear Him; while at the same time it testifies to the vast importance of that event, the first stage of which we should now be hourly expecting.

Doubtless, too, the prophecy was fraught with peculiar consolation to the godly part of Seth's posterity, toiling as they were beneath the curse, and longing for the promised deliverance. For it is at the Lord's appearing that the battle shall at last be turned to the disaster of the serpent and his seed: it is then that the redemption of all creation from sin and death - the price of which was paid to the full upon the cross - shall be at length commenced after all the weary centuries of delay.

Enoch's translation is a type of the future rapture of the Church to meet the Lord in the air.

Enoch, then, continued walking with God, and testifying to the world, until his three hundred and sixty-fifth year, when he suddenly vanished: he was not: he had gone, and none could find him. For he had been caught up to the throne of the Most High, a first hint of the great secret that, although God made the earth for men, and intends them to inhabit it for ever, He, nevertheless, purposes to exalt an election from among them to a higher destiny, even to dwell with Christ in the heavenly places.

And in this translation of Enoch before the terrible times of Noah we have a type of the manner in which the waiting Church will be presently summoned to meet Christ in the air, and so to be ever with Him, before the corruption of the world comes to its worst, before the judgements of the day of the Lord commence. For the world heard no sound of a trumpet, saw no lightning flesh, when Enoch was suddenly removed: he merely disappeared, and his companions, perhaps, knew not at first whither he had gone. Nay, it may be that they vainly sought him, even as the sons of the prophets sought Elijah for three days amid the mountains and valleys of Jericho. And so, probably, will it be at the translation of the Church; the Saviour will come unexpectedly, as a thief in the night, and steal away His own from the unsuspecting world. Their beds will be found vacant in the morning, or they will vanish from their customary places in the day; there will be no farewells to those whom they love, but have been unable to entice into their own paths: all that may be recorded of their end will be as the record of Enoch's departure, They were not: for God took them.

This view appears to be confirmed by the testimony of Scripture.

Perhaps it may be objected to this parallel that, in Paul's description of the rapture of the Church, the Lord is said to descend from the high heavens with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God This, at first sight, seems to intimate that there will be at least a momentary proclamation of what is going on. But we must remember that Paul is writing, not to mankind in general, but only to the waiting Church. It does not, therefore, follow that the whole earth will be disturbed by the summons; but only, of necessity, that those who are concerned will hear.

That this will be the case among the dead is certain; for our Lord Himself tells us that, when He gives the signal for the first resurrection, all those who hear shall live. But the rest of the dead will not hear, and, therefore, will not live until the thousand years of the Millennium are ended. And as with the dead, so will it probably be with the living. For although there is ample Scriptural proof that the Church will be removed from earth before the close of the age, there is nevertheless, no trace in prophetic passages of the being suddenly alarmed at that time by the voice of Christ and the trump of God. The Lord's own declarations that, although unmistakable signs and wonders shall herald His glorious appearing to the world, He will come for His own as unexpectedly and noiselessly as a thief in the night, evidently point in the same direction. So does the fact that the details of the Church's translation seem to correspond to those of Enoch, of Elijah, and of the Lord Himself; neither of which events was seen by, or in any way immediately affected, the world.

It may be that those who are believers in Christ, and, therefore, a part of His redeemed; who have offered up the sacrifice on the brazen altar, but have not yet been sufficiently cleansed and sanctified in the laver, and are thus not ready to pass into the heavenly Tabernacle - it may be that these will have some intimation of the summons, only to feel their own inability to obey it for the present. They may be as Elisha witnessing the departure of Elijah: or as the disciples on the mount of Olives when they beheld the cloud receiving their Master out of their sight, but were not yet prepared to follow Him.

Real meaning of keleusma, which our translators have inadequately rendered "a shout."

It is, however, worth while. Before we pass on, to notice that the shout, with which Paul describes the Lord as descending, is no mere sound uttered to be heard generally. For the Greek word keleusma properly means a "bidding," and was then used technically for the word of command given by either a naval or military officer.

The idea, therefore, to be conveyed is, that the Church resembles an army, the soldiers of which have already received orders to prepare for marching, have already been bidden to fall into rank, and to stand with girded loins and attentive ears ready to move simultaneously the instant the word of command is uttered by its great Leader. But there are some who, although they belong to the host, have neglected the first orders to be ready and watch, and are not expecting the second. These will be thrown into confusion by the sudden signal to march, and, being unable to follow at once, will have to rejoin their comrades by a circuitous and perilous route, the greater part of which will be disputed by powerful bands of the then assembled and doubly malignant foe.

The prophecy of Lamech and its fulfilment.

The first prophet thus passed away in a moment from the toils of life into the presence of God, and left behind him his son Methuselah and his grandson Lamech, which last was the father of Noah. The name Noah signifies "rest," and Lamech bestowed it upon his son with the words; - "This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed." Now this utterance cannot be a mere vague expression of joy at the birth of the child: for if so, it would scarcely have been recorded. But we know that Lamech's grandfather and son were prophets; and, perhaps, the gift, when once bestowed, was transmitted to each head of the family, so that Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah, were a line of witnesses appointed by God to testify against the wickedness of the world, and to declare His purpose of judgement.

Hence the words of Lamech were probably prophetic, and found their accomplishment in some alleviation of the curse after the flood. For from the blessing of God when He accepted Noah's sacrifice we may, perhaps, infer that the condition of earth before the Deluge was worse than at any subsequent time. The seasons would seem to have been irregular and altogether uncertain; there was no rain, and the mists, by which the earth was watered, may have been scanty and infrequent, so that the antediluvians often spent their strength in vain: their land did not yield its increase; neither did the trees yield their fruit. Dense fogs, too, or other unknown causes, may have interfered with the alternations of day and night. The curse was fresh and in full vigour: or, perhaps, these disasters arose form premonitory disturbances of nature similar to those which will precede the great judgement of our own age.

But when, after Noah's sacrifice, the Lord smelled a sweet savour, he said; - "I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake . . . While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease." Man should still toil and struggle against many difficulties; but God would henceforth give him fixed seasons, would allow him, as a rule, to be always sure of some fruit of his labours. And it is not unlikely that the gift of rain contributed still further to mitigate the intense hardship to the curse; while the permission to eat animal food provided an altogether easier way of obtaining a large portion of the necessary sustenance.