Chapter VI: Introduction (5)

“Bread and wine which the Lord hath commanded to be received.” From
the English Catechism.

“Not to be wise above what is written.” Not in Scripture.

“That the Spirit would go from heart to heart as oil from vessel to
vessel.” Not in Scripture.

“The merciful man is merciful to his beast.” The scriptural form is,
“A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast.”—Prov. xii. 10.

“A nation shall be born in a day.” In Isaiah it reads, “Shall a nation
be born at once?”—lxvi. 8.

“As iron sharpeneth iron, so doth a man the countenance of his
friend.” “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of
his friend.” Prov. xxvii. 17.

“That he who runs may read.” “That he may run that readeth.”—Hab. ii.
2.

“Owe no man any thing but love.” “Owe no man any thing, but to love
one another.”—Rom. xiii. 8.

“Prone to sin as the sparks fly upward.” “Born unto trouble, as the
sparks fly upward.”—Job v. 7.

“Exalted to heaven in point of privilege.” Not in the Bible.

Eve was not Adam’s _helpmate_, but merely a help meet for him; nor was
Absalom’s long hair, of which he was so proud, the instrument of his
destruction;[8] his head, and not the hair upon it, having been caught
in the boughs of the tree. (2 Samuel xviii. 9.)

Footnote 8:

A London periwig-maker once had a sign upon which was painted Absalom
suspended from the branches of the oak by his hair, and underneath the
following couplet:—

If Absalom hadn’t worn his own hair,
He’d ne’er been found a hanging there.

“Money is the root of evil.” Paul said, I. Timothy, vi. 10, “The love
of money is the root of all evil.”

“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,” Gen. iii. 19.
Commonly quoted “brow.”

“Cleanliness akin to godliness.” Not in the Bible.

Our Lord’s hearing the doctors in the Temple, and asking them
questions, is frequently called his disputing with the doctors.

A SCRIPTURAL BULL.

In the book of Isaiah, chapter xxxvii. verse 36, is the following confusion of ideas:—

Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the
Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and _when they
arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses_.

WIT AND HUMOR IN THE BIBLE.

“Shocking!” many a good old saint will cry, at the very thought of it. “The Bible a jest-book! What godless folly shall we have up next?” No, the Bible is not a jest-book. But there is wit in it of the first quality; and a good reason why it should be there. Take a few specimens.

Job, in his thirtieth chapter, is telling how he scorned the low-lived fellows, who pretend to look down on him in his adversities. They are fools. They belong to the long-eared fraternity. Anybody, with less wit, might come out bluntly and call them asses. But Job puts it more deftly (xxx. 7): “Among the bushes they _brayed_; under the _nettles_ they were gathered together.” If that is not wit, there is no such thing as wit. And yet the commentators don’t see it, or won’t see it. They are perfectly wooden when they come to any such gleam of humor.

Take another instance—Elijah’s ridicule of the prophets of Baal. They are clamoring to their god, to help them out of a very awkward predicament. And, while they are at it, the prophet shows them up in a way that must have made the people roar with laughter. The stiff, antiquated style of our English Bible tames down his sallies. Take them in modern phrase. These quack prophets have worked themselves into a perfect desperation, and are capering about on the altar as if they had the St. Vitus’s dance. The scene (I. Kings xviii. 26, 27) wakes up all Elijah’s sense of the ridiculous. “Shout louder! He is a god, you know. Make him hear! Perhaps he is chatting with somebody, or he is off on a hunt, or gone traveling. Or maybe he is taking a nap. Shout away! Wake him up!” Imagine the priests going through their antics on the altar, while Elijah bombards them in this style, at his leisure.

Paul shows a dry humor more than once, as in II. Cor. xii. 13: “Why haven’t you fared as well as the other churches? Ah! there is one grievance—that you haven’t had _me to support_. Pray do not lay it up against me!”

These instances might be multiplied from the Old and New Testaments both. What do they show? That the Bible is, on the whole, a humorous book? Far from it. That religion is a humorous subject—that we are to throw all the wit we can into the treatment of it? No. But they show that the sense of the ludicrous is put into a man by his Maker; that it has its uses, and that we are not to be ashamed of it, or to roll up our eyes in a holy horror of it.

THE OLD AND THE NEW TESTAMENT.

The name Old Testament was applied to the books of Moses by St. Paul (II. Cor. iii. 14), inasmuch as the former covenant comprised the whole scheme of the Mosaic revelation, and the history of this is contained in them. The phrase “book of the covenant,” taken from Exod. xxiv. 7, was transferred in the course of time by metonymy to signify the writings themselves. The term New Testament has been in common use since the third century, and was employed by Eusebius in the sense in which it is now applied.

A SCRIPTURAL SUM.

Add to your faith, virtue;
And to virtue, knowledge;
And to knowledge, temperance:
And to temperance, patience;
And to patience, godliness;
And to godliness, brotherly kindness;
And to brotherly kindness, charity.

_The Answer_:—For if these things be in you and abound, they make you
that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our
Lord Jesus Christ.—2 Peter i. 5, 8.

BIBLIOMANCY.

Bibliomancy, or divination by the Bible, had become so common in the fifth century, that several councils were obliged expressly to forbid it, as injurious to religion, and savoring of idolatry.

This kind of divination was named _Sortes Sanctorum_, or _Sortes Sacræ_, Lots of the Saints, or Sacred Lots, and consisted in suddenly opening, or dipping into, the Bible, and regarding the passage that first presented itself to the eye as predicting the future lot of the inquirer. The _Sortes Sanctorum_ had succeeded the _Sortes Homericæ_ and _Sortes Virgilianæ_ of the Pagans; among whom it was customary to take the work of some famous poet, as Homer or Virgil, and write out different verses on separate scrolls, and afterwards draw one of them, or else, opening the book suddenly, consider the first verse that presented itself as a prognostication of future events. Even the vagrant fortune-tellers, like some of the gypsies of our own times, adopted this method of imposing upon the credulity of the ignorant. The nations of the East retain the practice to the present day. The famous usurper, Nadir Shah, twice decided upon besieging cities, by opening at random upon verses of the celebrated poet Hafiz.

This abuse, which was first introduced into the church about the third century, by the superstition of the people, afterwards gained ground through the ignorance of some of the clergy, who permitted prayers to be read in the churches for this very purpose. It was therefore found necessary to ordain in the Council of Vannes, held §A.D.§ 465, “That whoever of the clergy or laity should be detected in the practice of this art should be cast out of the communion of the church.” In 506, the Council of Agde renewed the decree; and in 578, the Council of Auxerre, amongst other kinds of divination, forbade the Lots of the Saints, as they were called, adding, “Let all things be done in the name of the Lord;” but these ordinances did not effectually suppress them, for we find them again noticed and condemned in a capitulary or edict of Charlemagne, in 793. Indeed, all endeavors to banish them from the Christian church appear to have been in vain for ages.

The Name of God.

Tell them I AM, §Jehovah§ said
To Moses, while earth heard in dread;
And, smitten to the heart,
At once, above, beneath, around,
All nature, without voice or sound,
Replied, O §Lord§! THOU ART!
_Christopher Smart, an English Lunatic._

It is singular that the _name of God_ should be spelled with _four letters_ in almost every known language. It is in Latin, Deus; Greek, Zeus; Hebrew, Adon; Syrian, Adad; Arabian, Alla; Persian, Syra; Tartarian, Idga; Egyptian, Aumn, or Zeut; East Indian, Esgi, or Zenl; Japanese, Zain; Turkish, Addi; Scandinavian, Odin; Wallachian, Zenc; Croatian, Doga; Dalmatian, Rogt; Tyrrhenian, Eher; Etrurian, Chur; Margarian, Oese; Swedish, Codd; Irish, Dich; German, Gott; French, Dieu; Spanish, Dios; Peruvian, Lian.

The name _God_ in the Anglo-Saxon language means _good_, and this signification affords singular testimony of the Anglo-Saxon conception of the essence of the Divine Being. He is goodness itself, and the Author of all goodness. Yet the idea of denoting the Deity by a term equivalent to abstract and absolute perfection, striking as it may appear, is perhaps less remarkable than the fact that the word _Man_, used to designate a human being, formerly signified _wickedness_; showing how well aware were its originators that our fallen nature had become identified with sin.

JEHOVAH.

The word _Elohim_, as an appellation of Deity, appears to have been in use before the Hebrews had attained a national existence. That _Jehovah_ is specifically the God of the Hebrews is clear, from the fact that the heathen deities never receive this name; they are always spoken of as _Elohim_. Both the pronunciation and the etymological derivation of the word _Jehovah_ are matters of critical controversy. The Jews of later periods from religious awe abstained from pronouncing it, and whenever it occurred in reading, substituted the word _Adonai_ (my Lord); and it is now generally believed that the sublinear vowel signs attached to the Hebrew tetragrammaton _Jhvh_ belong to the substituted word. Many believe Jahveh to be the original pronunciation. The Hebrew root of the word is believed to be the verb _havah_ or _hayah_, to be; hence its meaning throughout the Scriptures, “the Being,” or “the Everlasting.”

GOD IN SHAKSPEARE.

Michelet (_Jeanne d’Arc_,) speaking of English literature, says that it is “_Sceptique, judaique, satanique_.” In a note he says, “I do not recollect to have seen the word §God§ in Shakspeare. If it is there at all, it is there very rarely, by chance, and without a shadow of religious sentiment.” Mrs. Cowden Clarke, by means of her admirable _Concordance to Shakspeare_, enables us to weigh the truth of this eminent French writer’s remark. The word §God§ occurs in Shakspeare upwards of _one thousand times_, and the word heaven, which is so frequently substituted for the word §God§—more especially in the historical plays—occurs about _eight hundred times_. In the Holy Scriptures, according to Cruden, it occurs about eight hundred times. It is true that the word often occurs in Shakspeare without a reverential sentiment; but M. Michelet says it never occurs with a religious feeling (_un sentiment religieux_.) This statement is almost as erroneous as that regarding the absence of the word. It would be easy for an English scholar to produce from Shakspeare more passages indicative of deep religious feeling than are to be found in any French writer whatever.

THE PARSEE, JEW, AND CHRISTIAN.

A Jew entered a Parsee temple, and beheld the sacred fire. “What!” said he to the priest, “do you worship the fire?”

“Not the fire,” answered the priest: “it is to us an emblem of the sun, and of his genial heat.”

“Do you then worship the sun as your god?” asked the Jew. “Know ye not that this luminary also is but a work of that Almighty Creator?”

“We know it,” replied the priest: “but the uncultivated man requires a sensible sign, in order to form a conception of the Most High. And is not the sun the incomprehensible source of light, an image of that invisible being who blesses and preserves all things?”

“Do your people, then,” rejoined the Israelite, “distinguish the type from the original? They call the sun their god, and, descending even from this to a baser object, they kneel before an earthly flame! Ye amuse the outward but blind the inward eye; and while ye hold to them the earthly, ye draw from them the heavenly light! ‘Thou shalt not make unto thyself any image or any likeness.’”

“How do you name the Supreme Being?” asked the Parsee.

“We call him Jehovah Adonai, that is, the Lord who is, who was, and who will be,” answered the Jew.

“Your appellation is grand and sublime,” said the Parsee; “but it is awful too.”

A Christian then drew nigh, and said,—

“We call him §Father§.”

The Pagan and the Jew looked at each other, and said,—

“Here is at once an image and a reality: it is a word of the heart.”

Therefore they all raised their eyes to heaven, and said, with reverence and love, “§Our Father!§” and they took each by the hand, and all three called one another _brothers_!

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§De Nomine Jesu.§

=I= n rebus tantis trina conjunctio mund =I=
=E= rigit humanum sensum, laudare venust =E=
=S= ola salus nobis, et mundi summa, potesta =S=
=V= enit peccati nodum dissolvere fruct =V=
=S= umma salus cunctas nituit per secula terra =S=.[9]

Footnote 9:

I n times momentous appeared the world’s triple conjunction,
E ncouraging human hearts to shout melodious praises.
S ole salvation for us, that power exalted ’bove measure,
U nloosed the bonds of sin through the precious atonement.
S alvation illumines all earth through ages unceasing.

The letters I. H. S. so conspicuously appended to different portions of Catholic churches, are said to have been designed by St. Bernardine of Sienna, to denote the name and mission of the Saviour. They are to be found in a circle above the principal door of the Franciscan Church of the Holy Cross, (_Santa Croce_,) in Florence, and are said to have been put there by the saint on the termination of the plague of 1347, after which they were commonly introduced into churches. The letters have assigned to them the following signification:—

Jesus hominum Salvator—Jesus, the Saviour of men.
In hoc salus—In him is salvation.

A maker of playing-cards, which, like missels, were illuminated in those times, was one day remonstrated with by St. Bernardine, upon the sinfulness of his business. The card-maker pleaded the needs of his family. “Well, I will help you,” said the saint, and wrote the letters I. H. S., which he advised the card-maker to paint and gild. The new card “took,” and the saint himself travelled about the country as a poster of these little sacred handbills of the Church.

THE FLOWER OF JESSE.

1520.

There is a flower sprung of a tree,
The root of it is called Jesse,
A flower of price,—
There is none such in Paradise.

Of Lily white and Rose of Ryse,
Of Primrose and of Flower-de-Lyse,
Of all flowers in my devyce,
The flower of Jesse beareth the prize,
For most of all
To help our souls both great and small.

I praise the flower of good Jesse,
Of all the flowers that ever shall be,
Uphold the flower of good Jesse,
And worship it for aye beautee;
For best of all
That ever was or ever be shall.

BEAUTIFUL LEGEND.

One day Rabbi Judah and his brethren, the seven pillars of Wisdom, sat in the Court of the Temple, on feast-day, disputing about §REST§. One said that it was to have attained sufficient wealth, yet without sin. The second, that it was fame and praise of all men. The third, that it was the possession of power to rule the State. The fourth, that it consisted only in a happy home. The fifth, that it must be in the old age of one who is rich, powerful, famous, surrounded by children and children’s children. The sixth said that all that were vain, unless a man keep all the ritual law of Moses. And Rabbi Judah, the venerable, the tallest of the brothers, said, “Ye have spoken wisely; but one thing more is necessary. He only can find rest, who to all things addeth this, that he keepeth the tradition of the elders.”

There sat in the Court a fair-haired boy, playing with some lilies in his lap, and, hearing the talk, he dropped them with astonishment from his hands, and looked up—that boy of twelve—and said, “Nay, nay, fathers: he only findeth rest, who loveth his brother as himself, and God with his whole heart and soul. He is greater than fame, and wealth, and power, happier than a happy home, happy without it, better than honored age; he is a law to himself, and above all tradition.” The doctors were astonished. They said, “When Christ cometh, shall He tell us greater things?” And they thanked God, for they said, “The old men are not always wise, yet God be praised, that out of the mouth of this young suckling has His praise become perfect.”

PERSIAN APOLOGUE.

In Sir William Jones’s Persian Grammar may be found the following beautiful story from §Nisami§. Mr. Alger gives a metrical translation in his _Poetry of the East_.

One evening Jesus arrived at the gates of a certain city, and sent his disciples forward to prepare supper, while he himself, intent on doing good, walked through the streets into the market-place.

And he saw at the corner of the market some people gathered together, looking at an object on the ground; and he drew near to see what it might be. It was a dead dog, with a halter around his neck, by which he appeared to have been dragged through the dirt; and a viler, a more abject, a more unclean thing never met the eyes of man.

And those who stood by looked on with abhorrence.

“Faugh!” said one, stopping his nose: “it pollutes the air.” “How long,” said another, “shall this foul beast offend our sight?” “Look at his torn hide,” said a third: “one could not even cut a shoe out of it.” “And his ears,” said a fourth, “all draggled and bleeding.” “No doubt,” said a fifth, “he has been hanged for thieving.”

And Jesus heard them, and looking down compassionately on the dead creature, he said, “Pearls are not equal to the whiteness of his teeth!”

Then the people turned towards him with amazement, and said among themselves, “Who is this? It must be Jesus of Nazareth, for only §HE§ could find something to pity and approve even in a dead dog.” And being ashamed, they bowed their heads before him and went each on his way.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST.

The following description is alleged to be derived from an ancient manuscript sent by Publius Lentulus, President of Judea, to the Senate of Rome:—

“There lives at this time in Judea, a man of singular character, whose name is Jesus Christ. The barbarians esteem him as their prophet; but his followers adore him as the immediate offspring of the immortal God. He is endowed with such unparalleled virtue as to call back the dead from their graves and to heal every kind of disease with a word or a touch. His person is tall and elegantly shaped; his aspect, amiable and reverend; his hair flows in those beauteous shades which no united colors can match, falling in graceful curls below his ears, agreeably couching on his shoulders, and parting on the crown of his head; his dress, that of the sect of Nazarites; his forehead is smooth and large; his cheeks without blemish, and of roseate hue; his nose and mouth are formed with exquisite symmetry; his beard is thick and suitable to the hair of his head, reaching a little below his chin, and parting in the middle below; his eyes are clear, bright, and serene.

“He rebukes with mildness, and invokes with the most tender and persuasive language,—his whole address, whether in word or deed, being elegantly grave, and strictly characteristic of so exalted a being. No man has seen him laugh, but the whole world beholds him weep frequently, and so persuasive are his tears that the whole multitude cannot withhold their tears from joining in sympathy with him. He is moderate, temperate, and wise: in short, whatever the phenomenon may turn out in the end, he seems at present to be a man of excellent beauty and divine perfection, every way surpassing man.”

DEATH-WARRANT OF JESUS CHRIST.

Of the many interesting relics and fragments brought to light by the persevering researches of antiquarians, none could be more interesting to the philanthropist and believer than the following,—to Christians, the most imposing judicial document ever recorded in human annals. It has been thus faithfully transcribed:—

Sentence rendered by Pontius Pilate, acting Governor of Lower Galilee,
stating that Jesus of Nazareth shall suffer death on the cross.

In the year seventeen of the Emperor Tiberius Cæsar, and the 27th day of March, the city of the holy Jerusalem—Annas and Caiaphas being priests, sacrificators of the people of God—Pontius Pilate, Governor of Lower Galilee, sitting in the presidential chair of the prætory, condemns Jesus of Nazareth to die on the cross between two thieves, the great and notorious evidence of the people saying:

1. Jesus is a seducer.

2. He is seditious.

3. He is the enemy of the law.

4. He calls himself falsely the Son of God.

5. He calls himself falsely the King of Israel.

6. He entered into the temple followed by a multitude bearing palm branches in their hands.

Orders the first centurion, Quilius Cornelius, to lead him to the
place of execution.

Forbids any person whomsoever, either poor or rich, to oppose the
death of Jesus Christ.

The witnesses who signed the condemnation of Jesus are—

1. Daniel Robani, a Pharisee.

2. Joannus Robani.

3. Raphael Robani.

4. Capet, a citizen.

Jesus shall go out of the city of Jerusalem by the gate of Struenus.

The foregoing is engraved on a copper plate, on the reverse of which is written, “A similar plate is sent to each tribe.” It was found in an antique marble vase, while excavating in the ancient city of Aquilla, in the kingdom of Naples, in the year 1810, and was discovered by the Commissioners of Arts of the French army. At the expedition of Naples, it was enclosed in a box of ebony and preserved in the sacristy of the Carthusians. The French translation was made by the Commissioners of Arts. The original is in the Hebrew language.

DOUBLE HEXAMETER.

{ nescis } { discis;
Si Christum { } nihil est si cætera {
{ discis } { nescis.

ANTICIPATORY USE OF THE CROSS.

Madame Calderon de la Barca, in her _Life in Mexico_ (_pub. 1843_), says that the symbol of the Cross was known to the Indians before the arrival of Cortez. In the island of Cozumel, near Yucatan, there were several; and in Yucatan[10] itself there was a stone cross. And there an Indian, considered a prophet among his countrymen, had declared that a nation bearing the same as a symbol should arrive from a distant country. More extraordinary still was a temple dedicated to the Holy Cross by the Toltec nation in the city of Cholula. Near Tulansingo there is also a cross engraved on a rock with various characters. In Oajaca there was a cross which the Indians from time immemorial had been accustomed to consider as a divine symbol. By order of Bishop Cervantes it was placed in a chapel in the cathedral. Information concerning its discovery, together with a small cup, cut out of its wood, was sent to Rome to Paul V., who received it on his knees, singing the hymn _Vexilla regis. etc._

Footnote 10:

See also Prescott’s _Conquest of Mexico_, Vol. I. Bk. II. Chap. 4; and
Stephens’ _Incidents of Travel in Yucatan_, Vol. II. Chap. 20.

The Lord’s Prayer.

_The Lord’s Prayer alone is an evidence of the truth of
Christianity,—so admirably is that prayer accommodated to all our
wants._—§Lord Wellington.§

THY AND US.

The two divisions of the Lord’s Prayer—the former relating to the glory of God, the latter to the wants of man—appear very evident on a slight transposition of the personal pronouns:—

_Thy_ name be hallowed.
_Thy_ kingdom come.
_Thy_ will be done, &c.
_Us_ give this day our daily bread.
_Us_ forgive our debts, &c.
_Us_ lead not into temptation.
_Us_ deliver from evil.

SPIRIT OF THE LORD’S PRAYER.

The spirit of the Lord’s Prayer is beautiful. This form of petition breathes:—

A _filial_ spirit—Father. A _catholic_ spirit—Our Father. A _reverential_ spirit—Hallowed be Thy name. A _missionary_ spirit—Thy kingdom come. An _obedient_ spirit—Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. A _dependent_ spirit—Give us this day our daily bread. A _forgiving spirit_—And forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors. A _cautious_ spirit—And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. A _confidential_ and _adoring_ spirit—For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

GOTHIC VERSION.

Ulphilas, who lived between the years 310 and 388, was bishop of the Western Goths, and translated the greater part of the Scriptures into the Gothic language. The following is his rendering of the Lord’s Prayer:—

Atta unsar thu in himinam. Weihnai namo thein. Quimai thiudinassus
sijaima, swaswe jah weis afletam thaim skulam unsaraim. Jah ni
briggais uns in fraistubujai. Ak lausei uns af thamma ubilin, unte
theina ist thiudangardi, jah maths, jah wulthus in aiwins. Amen.

METRICAL VERSIONS.

Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name;
Thy kingdom come: thy will be done the same
In earth and heaven. Give us daily bread;
Forgive our sins as others we forgive.
Into temptation let us not be led;
Deliver us from evil while we live.
For kingdom, power, and glory must remain
For ever and for ever thine: Amen.

Here the sixty-six words of the original, according to the authorized translation of St. Matthew’s version, are reduced to fifty-nine, though the latter is fully implied in all points except two. “This day” is omitted; but, if anything, the Greek is slightly approached, for ἐπιούσιον refers rather to _to-morrow_ than to _to-day_. The antithesis in “_But_ deliver us” does not appear: if the word deliver be sacrificed, we may read, “But keep us safe.”

The subjoined metrical version of the Prayer is at least two and a half centuries old, and was written for adaptation to music in public worship:—

Our Father which in heaven art,
All hallowed be thy name;
Thy kingdom come,
On earth thy will be done,
Even as the same in heaven is.
Give us, O Lord, our daily bread this day:
As we forgive our debtors,
So forgive our debts, we pray.
Into temptation lead us not,
From evil make us free:
The kingdom, power, and glory thine,
Both now and ever be.

The Prayer is commended for its authorship, its efficacy, its perfection, the order of its parts, its brevity, and its necessity.

The following paraphrase, which has been set to music as a duet, is of more recent origin:—

Our Heavenly Father, hear our prayer:
Thy name be hallowed everywhere;
Thy kingdom come; on earth, thy will,
E’en as in heaven, let all fulfill;
Give this day’s bread, that we may live;
Forgive our sins as we forgive;
Help us temptation to withstand;
From evil shield us by Thy hand;
Now and forever, unto Thee,
The kingdom, power, and glory be. Amen.

THE PRAYER ILLUSTRATED.

_Our Father._—Isaiah lxiii. 16.

1. By right of creation. Malachi ii. 10. 2. By bountiful provision. Psalm cxlv. 16. 3. By gracious adoption. Ephesians i. 5.

_Who art in Heaven._—1 Kings viii. 43.

1. The throne of thy glory. Isaiah lxvi. 1. 2. The portion of thy children. 1 Peter i. 4. 3. The temple of thy angels. Isaiah vi. 1.

Hallowed be thy Name.—Psalm cxv. 1.

1. By the thoughts of our hearts. Psalm lxxxvi. 11. 2. By the words of our lips. Psalm li. 15. 3. By the works of our hands. 1 Corinthians x. 31.

_Thy Kingdom come._—Psalm cx. 2.

1. Of Providence to defend us. Psalm xvii. 8. 2. Of grace to refine us. 1 Thessalonians v. 23. 3. Of glory to crown us. Colossians iii. 4.

_Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven._—Acts xxxi. 14.

1. Towards us, without resistance. 1 Samuel iii. 18. 2. By us, without compulsion. Psalm cxix. 36. 3. Universally, without exception. Luke i. 6. 4. Eternally, without declension. Psalm cxix. 93.

_Give us this day our daily bread._

1. Of necessity, for our bodies. Proverbs xxx. 8. 2. Of eternal life, for our souls. John vi. 34.

_And forgive us our trespasses._—Psalm xxv. 11.

1. Against the commands of thy law. 1 John iii. 4. 2. Against the grace of thy gospel. 1 Timothy i. 13.

_As we forgive them that trespass against us._—Matthew vi. 15.

1. By defaming our characters. Matthew v. 11. 2. By embezzling our property. Philemon 18. 3. By abusing our persons. Acts vii. 60.

_And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil._—Matthew
xxvi. 41.

1. Of overwhelming afflictions. Psalm cxxx. 1. 2. Of worldly enticements. 1 John ii. 16. 3. Of Satan’s devices. 1 Timothy iii. 7. 4. Of error’s seduction. 1 Timothy vi. 10. 5. Of sinful affections. Romans i. 26.

_For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever._—Jude
25.

1. Thy kingdom governs all. Psalm ciii. 19. 2. Thy power subdues all. Philippians iii. 20, 21. 3. Thy glory is above all. Psalm cxlviii. 13.

_Amen._—Ephesians i. 11.

1. As it is in thy purposes. Isaiah xiv. 27. 2. So is it in thy promises. 2 Corinthians i. 20. 3. So be it in our prayers. Revelation xxii. 20. 4. So shall it be to thy praise. Revelation xix. 4.

ACROSTICAL PARAPHRASE.

§Our§ Lord and King, Who reign’st enthroned on high,
§Father§ of Light! mysterious Deity!
§Who§ art the great I AM, the last, the first,
§Art§ righteous, holy, merciful, and just.
§In§ realms of glory, scenes where angels sing,
§Heaven§ is the dwelling-place of God our King.
§Hallowed§ Thy name, which doth all names transcend,
§Be§ Thou adored, our great Almighty Friend;
§Thy§ glory shines beyond creation’s bound;
§Name§ us ’mong those Thy choicest gifts surround.
§Thy§ kingdom towers beyond Thy starry skies;
§Kingdom§ Satanic falls, but Thine shall rise.
§Come§ let Thine empire, O Thou Holy One,
§Thy§ great and everlasting will be done.
§Will§ God make known his will, his power display?
§Be§ it the work of mortals to obey.
§Done§ is the great, the wondrous work of love;
§On§ Calvary’s cross he died, but reigns above;
§Earth§ bears the record in Thy holy word.
§As§ heaven adores Thy love, let earth, O Lord;
§It§ shines transcendent in the eternal skies,
§Is§ praised in heaven—for man, the Saviour dies.
§In§ songs immortal, angels laud his name;
§Heaven§ shouts with joy, and saints his love proclaim
§Give§ us, O Lord, our food, nor cease to give
§Us§ needful food on which our souls may live!
§This§ be our boon to-day and days to come,
§Day§ without end in our eternal home.
§Our§ needy souls supply from day to day;
§Daily§ assist and aid us when we pray;
§Bread§ though we ask, yet, Lord, Thy blessings lend.
§And§ make us grateful when Thy gifts descend.
§Forgive§ our sins, which in destruction place
§Us§, the vile rebels of a rebel race;
§Our§ follies, faults, and trespasses forgive,
§Debts§ which we ne’er can pay, nor Thou receive.
§As§ we, O Lord, our neighbor’s faults o’erlook,
§We§ beg Thou ’d’st blot ours from Thy memory’s book.
§Forgive§ our enemies, extend Thy grace
§Our§ souls to save, e’en Adam’s guilty race.
§Debtors§ to Thee in gratitude and love,
§And§ in that duty paid by saints above,
§Lead§ us from sin, and in thy mercy raise
§Us§ from the tempter and his hellish ways.
§Not§ in our own, but in His name who bled,
§Into§ Thine ear we pour our every need.
§Temptation’s§ fatal charm help us to shun,
§But§ may we conquer through Thy conquering Son;
§Deliver§ us from all that can annoy
§Us§ in this world, and may our souls destroy.
§From§ all calamities that man betide,
§Evil§ and death, O turn our feet aside,—
§For§ we are mortal worms, and cleave to clay,—
§Thine§ ’tis to rule, and mortals to obey.
§Is§ not thy mercy, Lord, forever free?
§The§ whole creation knows no God but Thee.
§Kingdom§ and empire in Thy presence fall;
§The§ King eternal reigns the King of all.
§Power§ is Thine—to Thee be glory given,
§And§ be thy name adored by earth and heaven.
§The§ praise of saints and angels is Thy own;
§Glory§ to Thee, the Everlasting One.
§Forever§ be Thy holy name adored.
AMEN! Hosannah! blessed be the Lord.

TRIFLING OF BIBLE COMMENTATORS.

Dr. Gill, in his Expository, seriously tells us that the word ABBA read backwards or forwards being the same, may teach us that God is the father of his people in adversity as well as in prosperity.

THE PRAYER ECHOED.

If any be distressed, and fain would gather
Some comfort, let him haste unto
Our Father.
For we of hope and help are quite bereaven
Except Thou succor us
Who art in heaven.
Thou showest mercy, therefore for the same
We praise Thee, singing,
Hallowed be Thy name.
Of all our miseries cast up the sum;
Show us thy joys, and let
Thy kingdom come.
We mortal are, and alter from our birth;
Thou constant art;
Thy will be done on earth.
Thou madest the earth, as well as planets seven,
Thy name be blessed here
As ’tis in heaven.
Nothing we have to use, or debts to pay,
Except Thou give it us.
Give us this day
Wherewith to clothe us, wherewith to be fed,
For without Thee we want
Our daily bread.
We want, but want no faults, for no day passes
But we do sin.
Forgive us our trespasses.
No man from sinning ever free did live
Forgive us, Lord, our sins,
As we forgive.
If we repent our faults, Thou ne’er disdain’st us;
We pardon them
That trespass against us;
Forgive us that is past, a new path tread us;
Direct us always in Thy faith,
And lead us—
Us, Thine own people and Thy chosen nation,
Into all truth, but
Not into temptation.
Thou that of all good graces art the Giver,
Suffer us not to wander,
But deliver
Us from the fierce assaults of world and devil
And flesh; so shalt Thou free us
From all evil.
To these petitions let both church and laymen
With one consent of heart and voice, say,
Amen.

THE PRAYER IN AN ACROSTIC.

In the following curious composition the initial capitals spell, “My boast is in the glorious Cross of Christ.” The words in _italics_, when read from top to bottom and bottom to top, form the Lord’s Prayer complete:—

Make known the Gospel truths, _Our_ Father King;
Yield up thy grace, dear _Father_ from above;
Bless us with hearts _which_ feelingly can sing,
“Our life thou _art_ for _ever_, God of Love!”
Assuage our grief in love _for_ Christ, we pray,
Since the bright prince of _Heaven_ and _glory_ died,
Took all our sins and _hallowed_ the display,
Infinite _be_-ing—first man, and then the crucified.
Stupendous God! _thy_ grace and _power_ make known;
In Jesus’ _name_ let all _the_ world rejoice.
Now all the world _thy_ heavenly _kingdom_ own,
The blessed _kingdom_ for thy saints _the_ choice.
How vile to _come_ to thee _is_ all our cry,
Enemies to _thy_ self and all that’s _thine_,
Graceless our _will_, we live _for_ vanity,
Lending to sin our _be_-ing, _evil_ in our design.
O God, thy will be _done_ _from_ earth to Heaven;
Reclining _on_ the Gospel let _us_ live,
In _earth_ from sin _deliver_-ed and forgiven,
Oh! _as_ thyself _but_ teach us to forgive.
Unless _it_’s power _temptation_ doth destroy,
Sure _is_ our fall _into_ the depths of woe,
Carnal _in_ mind, we’ve _not_ a glimpse of joy
Raised against _Heaven_; in _us_ no hope can flow.
O _give_ us grace and _lead_ us on thy way;
Shine on _us_ with thy love and give _us_ peace;
Self and _this_ sin that rise _against_ us slay;
Oh! grant each _day_ our _trespass_-es may cease.
Forgive _our_ evil deeds _that_ oft we do;
Convince us _daily_ of _them_ to our shame;
Help us with heavenly _bread_, _forgive_ us, too,
Recurrent lusts, _and_ _we_’ll adore thy name.
In thy _forgive_-ness we _as_ saints can die,
Since for _us_ and our _trespasses_ so high,
Thy son, _our_ Saviour, bled on Calvary.

Ecclesiasticæ.

EXCESSIVE CIVILITY.

Tom Brown, in his _Laconics_, says that in the reign of Charles II. a certain worthy divine at Whitehall thus addressed himself to the auditory at the conclusion of his sermon: “In short, if you don’t live up to the precepts of the gospel, but abandon yourselves to your irregular appetites, you must expect to receive your reward in a certain place, which ’tis not good manners to mention here.” This suggested to Pope the couplet,

“To rest, the cushion and soft dean invite,
Who never mentions hell to ears polite.”

SHORT SERMONS.

Dean Swift, having been solicited to preach a charity sermon, mounted the pulpit, and after announcing his text, “He that giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord,” simply said, “Now, my brethren, if you are satisfied with the security, down with the dust.” He then took his seat, and there was an unusually large collection.

* * * * *

The following abridgment contains the pith and marrow, sum and substance, of a sermon which occupied an hour in delivery:—

“Man is born to trouble.”
This subject, my hearers, is naturally divisible into four heads:—
1. Man’s entrance into the world;
2. His progress through the world;
3. His exit from the world; and
4. Practical reflections from what may be said.
First, then:—
1. Man’s ingress in life is naked and bare,
2. His progress through life is trouble and care,
3. His egress from it, none can tell where,
4. But doing well here, he will be well there.
Now, on this subject, my brethren dear,
I could not tell more by preaching a year.

A SERMON ON MALT.

The Rev. Dr. Dodd lived within a few miles of Cambridge, (England,) and had offended several students by preaching a sermon on temperance. One day some of them met him. They said one to another,—

“Here’s Father Dodd: he shall preach us a sermon.” Accosting him with,—

“Your servants.”

“Sirs! yours, gentlemen!” replied the Doctor.

They said, “We have a favor to ask of you, which _must_ be granted.” The divine asked what it was.

“To preach a sermon,” was the reply.

“Well,” said he, “appoint the time and place, and I will.”

“The time, the present; the place, that hollow tree,” (pointing to it,) said the students.

“’Tis an imposition!” said the Doctor: “there ought to be consideration before preaching.”

“If you refuse,” responded they, “we will put you into the tree!” Whereupon the Doctor acquiesced, and asked them for a text.

“Malt!” said they.

The reverend gentleman commenced:—

“Let me crave your attention, my beloved!

“I am a little man, come at a short warning, to preach a short sermon, upon a short subject, to a thin congregation, in an unworthy pulpit. Beloved! my text is ‘§Malt§.’ I cannot divide it into syllables, it being but a monosyllable: therefore I must divide it into letters, which I find in my text to be four:—§M-a-l-t.§ M, my beloved, is _moral_—A, is _allegorical_—L, is _literal_—T, is _theological_.

“1st. The moral teaches such as you drunkards good manners; therefore M, my masters—A, all of you—L, leave off—T, tippling.

“2d. The allegorical is, when one thing is spoken and another meant; the thing here spoken is Malt, the thing meant the oil of malt, which _you_ rustics make M, your masters—A, your apparel—L, your liberty—T, your trusts.

“3d. The theological is according to the effects it works, which are of two kinds—the first in this world, the second in the world to come. The effects it works in this world are, _in some_, M, murder—in others, A, adultery—_in all_, L, looseness of life—and _particularly in some_, T, treason. In the world to come, the effects of it are, M, misery—A, anguish—L, lamentation—T, torment—and thus much for my text, ‘Malt.’

“Infer 1st: As words of exhortation: M, my masters—A, all of you—L, leave off—T, tippling.

“2d. A word for conviction: M, my masters—A, all of you—L, look for—T, torment.

“3d. A word for caution, take this: A drunkard is the annoyance of modesty—the spoiler of civility—the destroyer of reason—the brewer’s agent—the alewife’s benefactor—his wife’s sorrow—his children’s trouble—his neighbor’s scoff—a walking swill-tub—a picture of a beast—a monster of a man.”

The youngsters found the truth so unpalatable, that they soon deserted their preacher, glad to get beyond the reach of his voice.

ELOQUENCE OF BASCOM.

The following passages will serve to illustrate the peculiar oratorical style of Rev. Henry B. Bascom, the distinguished Kentucky preacher:—

“Chemistry, with its fire-tongs of the galvanic battery, teaches that the starry diamond in the crown of kings, and the black carbon which the peasant treads beneath his feet, are both composed of the same identical elements; analysis also proves that a chief ingredient in limestone is carbon. Then let the burning breath of God pass over all the limestone of the earth, and bid its old mossy layers crystalize into new beauty; and lo! at the Almighty _fiat_ the mountain ranges flash into living gems with a lustre that renders midnight noon, and eclipses all the stars!”

He urged the same view by another example, still better adapted to popular apprehension:—

“Look yonder,” said the impassioned orator, pointing a motionless finger towards the lofty ceiling, as if it were the sky. “See that wrathful thunder-cloud—the fiery bed of the lightnings and hissing hail—the cradle of tempests and floods!—What can be more dark, more dreary, more dreadful? Say, scoffing skeptic, is it capable of any beauty? You pronounce, ‘no.’ Well, very well; but behold, while the sneering denial curls your proud lips, the sun with its sword of light shears through the sea of vapors in the west, and laughs in your incredulous face with his fine golden eye. Now, look again at the thunder-cloud! See! where it was blackest and fullest of gloom, the sunbeams have kissed its hideous cheek; and where the kiss fell there is now a blush, brighter than ever mantled on the brow of mortal maiden—the rich blush of crimson and gold, of purple and vermilion—a pictured blush, fit for the gaze of angels—the flower-work of pencils of fire and light, wrought at a dash by one stroke of the right hand of God! Ay, the ugly cloud hath given birth to the rainbow, that perfection and symbol of unspeakable beauty!”

THE LORD BISHOP.

The following incident is said to have occurred in the parish church of Bradford, England, during a special service, on the occasion of a visit from the bishop of the diocese:—

The clerk, before the sermon, gave out the psalm in broad Wiltshire dialect, namely:—“Let us zing to the praayze an’ glawry o’ God, three varsses o’ the hundred and vourteen zaam—a varsion ’specially ’dapted to the ’caasion,—by meself:”—

Why hop ye zo, ye little hills,
An’ what var de’e skip?
Is it ’cas you’m proud to see
His grace the Lard Bish_ip_?

Why skip ye zo, ye little hills,
An’ what var de’e hop?
Is it ’cas to preach to we
Is com’d the Lard Bish_op_!

Eese;—he is com’d to preach to we:
Then let us aul strick up,
An’ zing a glawrious zong of praayze,
An’ bless the Lard Bish_up_!

THE PREACHERS OF CROMWELL’S TIME.

Dr. Echard says of the preachers who lived in the time of Cromwell,—“Coiners of new phrases, drawers-out of long godly words, thick pourers-out of texts of Scripture, mimical squeakers and bellowers, vain-glorious admirers only of themselves, and those of their own fashioned face and gesture; such as these shall be followed, shall have their bushels of China oranges, shall be solaced with all manner of cordial essences, and shall be rubbed down with Holland of ten shillings an ell.”

One of the singular fashions that prevailed among the preachers of those days was that of coughing or hemming in the middle of a sentence, as an ornament of speech; and when their sermons were printed, the place where the preacher coughed or hemmed was always noted in the margin. This practice was not confined to England, for Olivier Maillard, a Cordelier, and famous preacher, printed a sermon at Brussels in the year 1500, and marked in the margin where the preacher hemmed once or twice, or coughed.

ORIGIN OF TEXTS.

The custom of taking a text as the basis of a sermon originated with Ezra, who, we are told, accompanied by several Levites in a public congregation of men and women, ascended a pulpit, opened the book of the law, and after addressing a prayer to the Deity, to which the people said Amen, “read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.” (Nehemiah viii. 8.)

Previous to the time of Ezra, the Patriarchs delivered, in public assemblies, either prophecies or moral instructions for the edification of the people; and it was not until the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, during which time they had almost lost the language in which the Pentateuch was written, that it became necessary to explain, as well as to read, the Scriptures to them. In later times, the book of Moses was thus read in the synagogues every Sabbath day. (Acts xv. 21.) To this custom our Saviour conformed: in the synagogue at Nazareth he read a passage from the prophet Isaiah, then closing the book, returned it to the priest, and preached from the text.

CLERICAL BLUNDERS.

In an old book of Sermons by a divine named Milsom, we are told that it is one among many proofs of the wisdom and benevolence of Providence that the world was not created in the midst of winter, when Adam and Eve could have found nothing to eat, but in harvest-time, when there was fruit on every tree and shrub to tempt the willing hand.

Another commentator praises Divine Goodness for always making the largest rivers flow close by the most populous towns.

St. Austin undertook to prove that the ten plagues of Egypt were punishments adapted to the breach of the ten commandments,—forgetting that the law was given to the Jews, and that the plagues were inflicted on the Egyptians, and also that the law was not given in the form of commandments until nearly three months after the plagues had been sent.

PROVING AN ALIBI.

A clergyman at Cambridge preached a sermon which one of his auditors commended. “Yes,” said a gentleman to whom it was mentioned, “it was a good sermon, but he stole it.” This was told to the preacher. He resented it, and called on the gentleman to retract what he had said. “I am not,” replied the aggressor, “very apt to retract my words, but in this instance I will. I said, you had stolen the sermon; I find I was wrong; for on returning home, and referring to the book whence I thought it was taken, I found it there.”

WHITEFIELD AND THE SAILORS.

Mr. Whitefield, whose gestures and play of features were so full of dramatic power, once preached before the seamen at New York, and, in the course of his sermon, introduced the following bold apostrophe:—

“Well, my boys, we have a clear sky, and are making fine headway over a smooth sea before a light breeze, and we shall soon lose sight of land. But what means this sudden lowering of the heavens, and that dark cloud arising from the western horizon? Hark! Don’t you hear the distant thunder? Don’t you see those flashes of lightning? There is a storm gathering! Every man to his duty. How the waves rise and dash against the ship! The air is dark! The tempest rages! Our masts are gone. The ship is on her beam ends! What next?” The unsuspecting tars, reminded of former perils on the deep, as if struck by the power of magic, arose and exclaimed, “Take to the long boat.”

PROTESTANT EXCOMMUNICATION.

John Knox, in his Liturgy for Scotch Presbyterians, sets forth the following form for the exercise of such an attribute of ecclesiastical authority in Protestant communities as excommunication:—

“O Lord Jesus Christ, thy expressed word is our assurance, and therefore, in boldness of the same, here in thy name, and at the commandment of this thy present congregation, we cut off, seclude, and excommunicate from thy body, and from our society, N. as a pround contemner, and slanderous person, and a member for the present altogether corrupted, and pernicious to the body. And this his sin (albeit with sorrow of our hearts) by virtue of our ministry, we bind and pronounce the same to be bound in heaven and earth. We further give over, into the hands and power of the devil, the said N. to the destruction of his flesh; straitly charging all that profess the Lord Jesus, to whose knowledge this our sentence shall come, to repute and hold the said N. accursed and unworthy of the familiar society of Christians; declaring unto all men that such as hereafter (before his repentance) shall haunt, or familiarly accompany him, are partakers of his impiety, and subject to the like condemnation.

“This our sentence, O Lord Jesus, pronounced in thy name, and at thy commandment, we humbly beseech thee to ratify even according to thy promise.”

Puritan Peculiarities.

BAPTISMAL NAMES.

A Puritan maiden, who was asked for her baptismal name, replied, “‘Through-much-tribulation-we-enter-the-kingdom-of-Heaven,’ but for short they call me ‘Tribby.’”

* * * * *

The following names will be found in _Lower’s English Sirnames_, and in the _Lansdowne Collection_. Most of them are taken from a jury-list of Sussex County, 1658. The favorite female baptismal names among the Puritans were Mercy, Faith, Fortune, Honor, Virtue; but there were among them those who preferred such high-flown names as Alethe, Prothesa, Euphrosyne, Kezia, Keturah, Malvina, Melinda, Sabrina, Alpina, Oriana.

The-gift-of-God Stringer,
Repentant Hazel,
Zealous King,
Be-thankful Playnard,
Live-in-peace Hillary,
Obediencia Cruttenden,
Goodgift Noake,
The-work-of-God Farmer,
More-tryal Goodwin,
Faithful Long,
Joy-from-above Brown,
Be-of-good-comfort Small,
Godward Freeman,
Thunder Goldsmith.
Faint-not Hewett,
Redeemed Compton,
God-reward Smart,
Earth Adams,
Meek Brewer,
Repentance Avis,
Kill-sin Pimple,
Be-faithful Joiner,
More-fruit Flower,
Grace-ful Harding,
Seek-wisdom Wood,
Fight-the-good-fight-of-faith White,
Accepted Trevor,
Make-peace Heaton,
Stand-fast-on-high Stringer,
Called Lower,
Be-courteous Cole,
Search-the-scriptures Moreton,
Return Spelman,
Fly-debate Roberts,
Hope-for Bending,
Weep-not Billing,
Elected Mitchell,
The-peace-of-God Knight

SIMILES.

Prayer is Faith’s pump, where’t works till the water come;
If’t comes not free at first, Faith puts in some.
Prayer is the sacred bellows; when these blow,
How doth that live-coal from God’s altar glow!
_Faithful Teate’s Ter. Tria._, 1658.

Walking in the streets, I met a cart that came near the wall; so I stepped aside, to avoid it, into a place where I was secure enough. _Reflection_: Lord, sin is that great evil of which thou complainest that thou art pressed as a cart is pressed: how can it then but bruise me to powder?—_Caleb Trenchfield’s Chris. Chymestree._

EARLY PUNISHMENTS IN MASSACHUSETTS.

From the early records of Massachusetts we learn that the following singular punishments were inflicted in that colony two hundred years ago:—

Sir Richard Salstonstall, fined four bushels of malt for his absence from the court.

Josias Plaistowe, for stealing four baskets of corn from the Indians, to return them eight baskets again, to be fined £5, and hereafter to be called Josias, not Mr. as he used to be.

Thomas Peter, for suspicions of slander, idleness, and stubbornness, is to be severely whipped and kept in hold.

Capt. Stone, for abusing Mr. Ludlow by calling him _justass_, fined £100, and prohibited coming within the patent.

Joyce Dradwick to give unto Alexander Becks 20_s._, for promising him marriage without her friends’ consent, and now refusing to perform the same.

Richard Turner, for being notoriously drunk, fined £2.

Edward Palmer, for his extortion in taking 32_s._ 7_d._ for the plank and work of Boston stocks, fined £5, and sentenced to sit one hour in the stocks.

John White bound in £10 to good behavior, and not come into the company of his neighbor Thomas Bell’s wife alone.

VIRGINIA PENALTIES IN THE OLDEN TIME.

From the old records in the Court House of Warwick County, Virginia, we extract some entries of decisions by the court under date of October 21, 1663. It may be worth while to remark that at that early period tobacco was not only a staple commodity but a substitute for currency.