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was "without descent,"1 that is, as Robinson well expresses it, "a priest not by right of sacerdotal descent, but by the grace of God." That he was not the successor of Aaron is yet plainer; because he was “after the order of Melchisedek,” and not "after the order of Aaron;" and one "whose descent is not counted" from Aaron.2 The priesthood of Melchisedek and that of Aaron, having accomplished their appointed end, that of prefiguring Christ in his priestly office, passed away forever.

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But in his kingly office Christ is not "without descent;" but is "of the house and lineage of David;" and the throne which he occupies is "the throne of his father David." The kingdom over which David reigned, since it embosomed in itself the true visible church of God, was not so much a type of the kingdom of Christ as that kingdom itself, although in a less spiritual form. But David's presidency over that kingdom, since it could only shadow forth the fulness of Christ's kingly office, was truly typical of that office. So also was the relation of sonship which he and his successors on the earthly throne held to God, typical of the high and incommunicable relation which Christ holds to the Father as his only begotten Son. Christ is, therefore, in his kingly office, both the great Antitype of David, and also his true lineal successor. David, again (and in David his earthly successors who reigned on Mount Zion), is, as the divinely constituted earthly head of the visible church, both the type of Christ, and his true predecessor; the kingdom of grace, which was, as has been shown, the very substance of David's kingdom, being, from Abraham to the archangel's trump, one and indivisible.

This view of the relation of David's family to the Messiah renders the interpretation of those prophecies which are based on the original promise to David very plain and simple. We are not under the necessity of anxiously inquiring what belongs to David's kingdom and what to Christ's, as if the two kingdoms were distinct from each other; or as if, at most, the kingdom of David were only a shadowy type of the Messiah's kingdom. It is of one and the same kingdom, unchanged in its inward essence, under all changes of outward form, invincible in its nature, and everlasting in its duration, of which these prophecies speak. What parts of them apply exclusively to its earthly rulers and

1 Gr. áɣevealózntos, without genealogy; not so much one whose genealogy is unknown, as one whose genealogy is not taken into account.

2 Hebrews, seventh chapter, passim.

its temporary national form, and what to its Divine Head and its final ecumenical form, can be, in general, determined without difficulty from a consideration of the subject-matter. But the main body of them consider this kingdom in its imperishable, invincible nature and high prerogative, as one established and sustained by the power of God, and destined successively to encounter and overcome every form of opposition from without and corruption from within; till, under the headship of the Messiah, it shall attain to universal dominion over all nations, and fill the earth with knowledge, holiness and happiness. Here nice distinctions between David and Christ are entirely out of place. It is to the kingdom of David, in so far as it contains in itself the visible church, of which Christ is, from the beginning to the end of time, the central life-giving power, that the promises are made. David's family are, by God's appointment, constituted the earthly rulers of this church. As such, they are, so long as they remain true to their office, acting in her behalf; all their victories over the surrounding hostile nations are her victories; and, since she is invincible, they are invincible also.

Their triumphs are not only earnests and pledges of her final triumph over all the earth, but are themselves a part of that triumph. The words of God: "Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion,"1 although they have their highest fulfilment in Christ, have yet a true application to them as Christ's predecessors on the throne of David, and placed, by Divine appointment, at the head of a kingdom which must stand firm against all the assaults of its enemies, and endure to the end of time. But, if they prove false to their high office, and turn the power wherewith God has entrusted them for the welfare of his church against her, he will violently thrust them down from their kingly dignity; but will preserve the throne of their father David for David's last and great successor, in whom every promise made to David's house shall find a perfect fulfilment.

1 Psalm 2: 6.

ARTICLE V.

EXCURSION TO THE LAKES EAST OF DAMASCUS.

By Rev. J. L. Porter, Missionary at Damascus.

[THIS Article, like the one on Hermon in the preceding number of this work, is from the pen of one of the Missionaries of the Irish Presbyterian Church stationed at Damascus. Mr. Porter has paid great attention to the topography and antiquities of the district round about that ancient city, and has constructed an accurate map of the region. The present Article gives us the first definite information respecting the lakes and marshes which receive the waters of the Barada and the 'Awaj, the two rivers of Damascus.-E. R.]

November 17th, 1852. Long had my mind been set on an excursion to the unknown regions on the east of Damascus; but never till this day was I able to accomplish it. A cessation of hostilities on the part of the government, opened my way. So I got up a strong party, engaged a competent guide, and we set off from the east gate at 6.57. Our party consisted of Messrs. Robson and Barnett, and M. Antôn Bulâd, a learned monk of the Greek Catholic church.

The air was fresh and frosty, and blew keenly in our faces as we rode along the bank of the Akrabâny, a canal from the Barada. Ere long, however, the rising sun dissolved the congealed vapor from the grass and foliage, and lighted up the distant hills, so that they appeared like gigantic gilded domes rising over the forests of the plain. A cloud covered the top of Hermon, and the deep sound of the thunder was heard in the distance; we consequently feared some approaching change. But as the day advanced, every cloud disappeared; and every hill and mountain round the whole horizon, stood forth in bold relief against the clear blue sky. It was a glorious day. But why speak of the weather in the sunny East? Amid the clouds and gloom of old England, or the showers of the Emerald Isle, or the mists of Scotland, the weather may form a topic of conversation. A glorious November day would there be, indeed, a rara avis. But in Syria, where for six long months the deep azure of the heavens and the bright beams of the sun are never once dimmed by a passing cloudwhy speak here of a glorious day? However, it was glorious even for Syria. The atmosphere was transparent as crystal; a

passing shower had dispelled the quivering haze that looms over the desert during the summer heats; the magic power of the mirage did not convert burning sands and parched plains into placid lakes with verdant isles; nature was seen as it existed.

We followed the ordinary eastern road for some distance, and then, turning a little to the right, passed near Jeramâna, and had Balât on our right at 7.50. Five minutes later, we entered Meliha, where a few columns along the streets, some hewn stones in the walls of the mud houses, and two or three sarcophagi in the gardens, tell plainly of other and more prosperous ages. Eighteen minutes more through orchards and fruitful fields brought us to Zibdîn. Continuing in the same course we reached at 8.35 a large fountain called 'Ain Hârûsh. This is the largest fountain in the plain of Damascus. A fine stream flows from it, in a shallow Wady, away to the eastward, and waters five large villages with their gardens and fields.

Our road lay along the left bank of the rivulet. At 8.50 we had on our left, distant ten minutes, the small village Bizîneh, and about fifteen minutes beyond it Harista el-Kantarah, and further still, beyond the Barada, Tell es-Salahiyeh. At 9 o'clock we crossed the Hârûsh by a good stone bridge, and seven minutes after entered Nôleh. Here I stopped ten minutes to make some observations. Damascus bore from this N. 55 W. This bearing, therefore, indicates accurately the direction of our route hitherto. Tell Salahîyeh bore N. 23 E. We were objects of curiosity to the villagers, whom we found sullen, and unwilling to answer our questions. Some women, who were washing in the stream, stated in reply to me, that they did not know the name of the village; a lie so barefaced that I was astonished at it, even with a two years' experience of Arab char

acter.

A black slave at last gave me the information I sought. A few minutes above the village, the Hârûsh is divided into two branches; one branch, that on the south, waters Nôleh, Dulbeh, Judeidet el-Khâs, and Kefrein; the other is carried to Harrân el-'Awâmid.

Leaving the village we entered at once on the open plain. The forest-gardens were left behind, the thick shade of the walnut, still fresh and green, was felt no more; and little intervals of waste land began to appear between the cultivated fields. A broad plain was spread out before us, with here and there a village surrounded by its orchards. At 9.45 we had Dulbeh on

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our right, distant about twenty minutes; and on our left, about an equal distance, Deir Sulmân, and beyond it, Blaliyeh. Leaving the village of Kefrein on our right, we reached Harrân el-Awâmid at 10.50. In the centre of this village, and unconnected, so far as now appears, with any other building, stand three large Ionic columns of basalt. They have pedestals about six feet high; and the height of the whole from the ground to the top of the capital I estimated at forty feet. The circumference of the shaft is eleven feet six inches. One of the columns stands at a right angle to the line of the other two, and the distances between them are not equal. It is impossible to say of what char. acter the building was to which these were attached; but, judg ing from the proportions and workmanship of these solitary pillars, it must have been of considerable beauty. In every part of the village we observed large quantities of hewn stones, with broken shafts. The place was manifestly one of some importance in former days.

From the roof of the house beside the columns I got a good view of this eastern portion of the plain; and I got my first near prospect of the lakes. My attention was now directed, as it had been at Maksûra, to the three ruined buildings beyond them. One of these appeared large and lofty; it bore N. 82 E. The Arabs around us spoke in extravagant terms of their extent, and the beauty of some of the white stones in them. When we proposed to visit them, all refused to accompany us, and said that a hundred horsemen could not conduct us in safety. We heard this with sorrow, for to visit them was one of the objects of our present journey.

Eastward of the village we could now distinguish extensive marshes, with here and there patches of clear water. The marshes commence about a quarter of an hour below the village. On the south they extend to the village of Judeidet el-Khâs, an hour distant, bearing S. 23 W.; and in the opposite direction they stretch away quite to 'Ataibeh, a little over an hour N. 55 E. The whole of this tract is deeply covered with water during the winter and spring months. Small portions become dry towards the close of summer, and by far the larger part marsh. Forests of tall reeds cover nearly the whole surface, and these hide the places where the water is deep and clear; but from the commanding position we now occupied we could still see a number of clear spots. From this cause I could easily understand how

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