churches are dwindled to extinction; young men are not converted in sufficient numbers to supply the ranks of the ministry, or if converted, have not the qualifications and spirit to enter it; while the gospel is nearly powerless in the best ordered societies and the largest congregations. Revivals, which have been the characteristic and the glory of our churches from time immemorial, and the secret of their power and progress, have nearly disappeared, and will soon be found only in the records of the past. At this present time only one snch spiritual refreshing is reported, so far as we are informed, in all the evangelical denominations of New Hampshire, and that too at a season when usually such blessings are granted, if granted at all. Nor is this statement confined to our narrow territory-it applies without essential modification to the different evangelical denominations of our country. We ask all considerate and intelligent men if the present condition of religion is not dark? And is not the prospect darker still?”

We are not sure but our brother, E. Smith, in his communication in the last No. of the Repository, has laid himself somewhat open to the caustic interrogations that follow. "What does your correspondent (E. S.) mean by applying the Word, as he does, to prove the truth of the 'knockings? Does he mean to say that the Word is infinite in its ap plication, to prove any thing, and of course, the 'knockings? Does he not treat the Lord as though he were a finite spirit, standing at people's doors, knocking, as the spirits are represented to be knocking at doors, and in rooms? I think such applications of the Word as he has made in his letter, gross perversions of its literal and spiritual senses. I do not believe the Lord himself ever did or can approve of such a use of His Word. So also what he says about the angel's knocking is little better. Who can wonder that some irreverent caviller should say that the Word was like an old fiddle or which a man might play any tune he pleased?"

From the last report of the London Printing Society, it appears that it is energetically addressing itself to the good work to which the Divine Providence, by the signs of the times, is calling it. During the last year it has printed 500 copies of its edition of "Hea▪ ven and Hell" from the stereotype plates, and that 1000 more copies have been taken by the Manchester School Union, at the mere cost of press-work and paper, to be distributed in penny numbers among the children attending the schools. One thousand copies of the tenth volume of the Arcana, revised and corrected by Mr. Butler, have also recently been struck off. One thousand copies moreover, of the new Index to the Arcana, elaborately prepared by Mr. Rich, in connection with Mr. Larkin, are now being printed. The revision of the " Apocalypse Revealed," has been undertaken by the Rev. Mr. De Soyres, and an edition of 1000 copies is now in press. This work has been for some time out of print. The "Conjugial Love," and other works are under advisement, as they will soon require re-printing. The total number of books sold during the year was 1,740; value at the trade price, about $1,200.

The "Manchester Tract Society" seems not, according to its sphere and its means, to fall behind its London compeer. Five thousand copies each of the minor works of Swedenborg, to wit: The Doctrine of the Lord-of the Sacred Scriptures-of Faith-of Life of the Interviews between the Soul and the Body--the Heavenly Doctrines of the New Jerusalem, and the Brief Exposition, have recently been published, and at the lowest possible prices, so that every facility may be afforded for their widest dissemination.

This

The Rev. Mr. Clissold's "Spiritual Exposition of the Apocalypse," is now published complete in four vols. 8vo., at a price which will not with us vary far from $12. work we have anticipated with much interest for some years, and as soon as our copy arrives we shall give a full and exact notice of it.

"And thou shalt make the breast plate of judgment with cunning work, after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen shalt thou make it. Four square it shall be, being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof. And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones; the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row. And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their enclosings. And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes. And thou shalt make upon the breast-plate chains at the ends of wreathen work of pure gold. And thou shalt make upon the breast-plate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breast-plate. And thou shalt put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breast-plate. other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt fasten in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod before it. And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the breast-plate in the border thereof, which is in the side of the ephod inward. And two other rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart thereof, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod. And they shall bind the breast-plate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lac of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breast-plate be not loosed from the ephod. And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breast-plate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually. And thou shalt put in the breast-plate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before the

And the

Lord and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually."-Ex. xxviii. 15-30.

"Thou shalt make the breast-plate of judgment," &c., Heb. WA JUN, hoshen mishpat. This would perhaps be better rendered in our version pectoral or breast-piece of judgment, as breast-plate conveys the idea of a military accoutrement, which is not implied in the original. Greek Royston Toy xpioewy, the rationale of judgments, as it is also rendered in the Lat. Vulg. The etymology of the original term hoshen, is entirely unknown. Gesenius indeed refers to the Arabic hashner, to be fair, beautiful, splendid, as perhaps having affinity with its root, with which he compares the German scheinen, to appear, schön, fair, and Eng. shine. But though it is equally a matter of conjecture, we for ourselves prefer the suggestion of Avenarius, that it comes by transposition of letters from : nahash, to augur, to divine, a sense very nearly akin to that of seeking information by consulting an oracle. Yet we are still unable to establish this or any other as the legitimate formation of the word, and are compelled therefore to content ourselves with such a view of the material, form, and uses of the hoshen as can be deduced from the text independent of philological or collateral aid. It was called "breast-plate of judgment" from its being worn by the High Priest when he went into the Most Holy Place to consult God respecting those matters of judgment which were too hard for the inferior judges, and which had reference to the more important civil or religious concerns of the nation. Comp. Deut. 17, 18, 19. The cloth which formed the ground of the Breast-plate was of the same rich embroidered stuff or brocade as the Ephod, of two spans in length and one in breadth. Consequently when doubled it was just a span or eighteen inches square. For what reason it was doubled is not apparent. Some suppose it was to give it more strength in bearing the precious stones appended to it. But for ourselves we are unable to see how the back fold could have aided in supporting the weight of the stones in front. The object of it, we think, was that one part might fall as a lappet over the other in which the precious stones were set. Unless when the stones were to be displayed in all their splendor, it would be desirable to have them covered, and this would be well effected by its being constructed in the manner described. At each corner of the Breast-plate thus made into a square form was a golden ring. To the two upper ones were attached two golden chains of wreathen work, i. e. chains made of golden threads or wires braided together, which passed up to the shoulders and were there somehow fastened to the shoulder-pieces or to the onyx-stones. By means of these chains it was suspended on the breast. But to render

This ren

it still more firm in its position, two laces or ribbons of blue were passed through the two rings at the two lower corners of the Breastplate, and also through two corresponding rings in the Ephod, and then tied together a little above the girdle of the Ephod. dered the Breast-plate and Ephod inseparable, so that the latter could not be put on without being accompanied by the former, and the punishment of stripes was decreed against him who should attempt to divide the one from the other.

The annexed cut conformed to our view of its fashion, will doubtless convey a tolerably correct idea of the general form and appearance of the Breast-plate. The English name we consider as unfortunately chosen. Pectoral, i. e. breast-piece, is decidedly preferable. Josephus calls it Essen.

"Thou shalt set in it settings of stones." Heb. milletha bo milluath eben, thou shalt fill in it fillings of stones. The import, undoubtedly is that these stones were to be set or enchased in sockets of gold or some other metal, and they are called fillings because the stones when inserted filled up the cavities prepared for their reception. The precise manner in which these twelve precious stones, which had the names of the twelve tribes engraved upon them, were attached to the Breastplate is not expressed in the text, though it is usually understood by commentators to have been upon the outside, and that they were always exposed to view when worn upon the High Priest's bosom. This, however, is not asserted in the text, and we shall soon suggest several reasons for doubting whether it were the fact. It is certain that the stones were in some way appended to the Breast-plate, and that they were arranged in four rows, three in each, but as to the peculiar manner in which they were adjusted to the supporting ground of the tapestry, this is a point which is to be inferred from an attentive consideration of all the circumstances relating to the fabric itself, and upon this we shall be more full in a subsequent note.

The names of the twelve sons of Jacob, which were the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, are to be supposed to be engraven on the little squares representing the precious stones in the lower fold.

As these stones hold a conspicuous place in the arrangements of the Breast-plate, it may be well to devote to them some consideration, though we are constrained to remark that after all the research expended by antiquarians upon the subject, much uncertainty still rests upon it. They cannot be satisfactorily identified. We can only approach a probability, more or less strong, that the gems which we now call the topaz, emerald, sapphire, carbuncle, &c., do truly answer to the original terms which they are thus made to represent in English. Our explanations must be taken therefore by the reader subject to the necessary abatement on this score.

1. SARDIUS. Heb. odem, from the radical adam, to be ruddy or red. Chal. samkan and samketha, red. Gr. sardion, sardine, a name supposed to be taken from Sardis or Sardinia, where it was originally found. It was a stone of the ruby class, and answers to the carnelian of the moderns. The finest specimens now come from Surat, a city near the gulf of Cambay in India. Swedenborg says, however, that the true etymology and the exact color is unknown, but that it probably denotes a flaming hue.

2. TOPAZ. Heb. pitdah. Etymology unknown. Gr. topazion, a name which Pliny says is derived from Topazos, an Island in the Red Sea. Chal. yarkan and yarketha, signifying green. It is supposed to be the modern chrysolite, and its color to have been a transparent green-yellow. It comes now from Egypt, where it is found in alluvial strata. Swedenborg, however, classes it among the reds.

3. CARBUNCLE. Heb. bareketh, from barak, to lighten, glitter, or glister; answering to the anthrax, of the Greeks, so called because when held to the sun it resembles a piece of bright burning charcoal. Indeed its name carbuncle means a little coal, and refers us at once to a lively coal-red. Its modern name is the garnet. The Septuagint, Josephus, and Lat. Vulgate, have rendered in this place by smaragdos, emerald. But this is more properly the rendering of the next in order. The carbuncle and the emerald have in fact in some way become transposed in the Greek version.

4. EMERALD. Heb. nophek. Gr. anthrax. This gem is undoubtedly the same with the ancient smaragdos, or emerald, one of the most beautiful of all the precious stones. It is characterised by a bright green color, with scarcely any mixture, though differing somewhat in degrees. The true Oriental emerald is now very scarce. The best that are at present accessible are from Peru. they came from India.

In the time of Moses

5. SAPPHIRA. Heb. sappir. Gr. sapphiros. The word is very nearly the same in all known languages, and as to the sapphire itself it is, after the diamond, the most valuable of the gems, exceeding all others in lustre and hardness. It is of a sky-blue, or fine azure color, in all the choicest specimens, though other varieties occur. Indeed among practical jewellers it is a name of wider application perhaps than that of any of the rest of the precious stones. Pliny says that in