IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // 1.0 I.I 1.25 ;f:l^ IIIM ^ li£ IIIIIM 1.8 1.4 IIIIII.6 V] <^ /a 7 '^? '/ /A Photographic Sdences Corporation 23 Wr.r MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. MS80 '716) a72-4S03 A. u.. CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checiced below. D D D Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur r~~| Covers damaged/ Couverture endommagAe Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurAe et/ou pelliculAe Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque Coloured maps/ Cartes gtographiques en couleur Coloured inic (i.e. other than blue or blacit)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) j I Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ D Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Rali6 avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La reliure serr6e peut causer de i'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge int6rieure Blanit leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajoutAes lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte. mais, lorsque cela Atait possible, ces pages n'ont pas tti filmAes. Additional comments:/ Commentaires supplAmentaires: L'Institut a microfilm* le meilleur exempiaire qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de a>e procurer. Les ddtails de cet exempiaire qui sont peut-Atre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la mtthode normale de filmage sont indiqute ci-dessous. a n n □ n D D Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur Pages damaged/ Pages endommagtes Pages restored and/or lamii:ated/ Pages rastaurAes et/ou pelliculAes Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages dicoiortes, tachettes ou piqutes Pages detached/ Pages ddtachies Showthrough/ Transparence Quality of print varies/ Qualiti inAgaie de I'impression Includes supplementary material/ Comprand du materiel supplAmentaire Only edition available/ Seule Mition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc.. have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partieliement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, unci peiure, etc., ont Ati fiimies A nouveau de fapon A obtenir la meilleure image possible. This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmA au taux de reduction indiqu* ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X / 26X 30X 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X tails du sdifiar une fnage The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Library Dalhousie University The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibilitv of 'he original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol ^^ (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. L'exemplaire film6 fut reproduit grdce d la g6n6rosit6 de: Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Library Dalhousie University Les images suivantes ont M reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et de la nettet6 de l'exemplaire film6, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprim6e sont film6s en commen^ant par la premier plat et en terminant soit par la dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont film6s en commengant par la premidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la derniftre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaltra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — ► signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols V signifie "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre film6s d des taux de reduction diffdrants. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cliche, il est filmd d partir de I'angle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. rata »elure. 3 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 fii OUR SCHOOLMASTER : A SEBIES OF LECTURES ON THE COMMANDMENTS, BY THE REV. D. LUTHER ROTH, M.A., Pastor of Z/'.on's Gfnirchf Lunoilmrg, Nova Scotia, \ « "Wherefore tiik law waa OlK SCHOOLMASTER to bring us unto CHRIST, tliat we niiyht lie .n stifoi) iiy faith." GiOatians Hi: O*. (See pitfjc IJU.) HALIFAX : NOVA SCOTIA PRINTING COMPANY. 1880. • / % VENKKAliLE AND WELLBELOVKD JjiUhci* anil ^Hoilicv, THIS BOOK 18 1 ■■*■> INDEX. A Bad Bargain, 126. Acadia, S. S., 22. Adultery, Sin of, 81. Africans, 67. Ahab, 123. Animals, Cruelty to^ 78. Army Regulations, 132. Arndt, John, 68. Augsburg Confession, 71. Augustine, 9. Baptism, 29. Bargain-maker, The young, 139. Battle-field, the world a, 133. Baxter on Baptism, 29. Blasphemy of Scripture, 32. Blessings undervalued, 53. Blue Laws of Connecticut, 46. Bought with a price, 84. Burns, Robert, 86. Cannibalism, 67. Catechism, The Larger, 50. Cattle, 45. Caution against profanity, 23. " Charming," 32. Christ the end of the Law, 136. Chrysostom, 26. Come to Jesus, 135. Commandments, all broken, 129- , One Law, 66, 130. Communists, 98. Conformity, Outward, 28. Conjuring forbidden, 31. INDEX. Consumption, 81. CoutHge, Sham, 7.i. -^ Criminais made criminal, by degre... 100. Diphtherif 77. Duel, The, 72. Duty, Highest, of Man, 7o. English Statesmen, 44. Egyptian idolatry, 14. Eye, The, 7. Farmer and Tenant, 99. French infidelity, 4:i. Frenchman, The old, 47. r.ardens, The two, 125. God, Fear of, 16. , Gifts of, 96. , In nature, 10 nq. ,1b there a? 3 ««?. , Love of, 17. , Thy, 6. , Trust in, 18. , Worship of, 20. Government, Authority of, 60. Home, Authority of the, 52. House, The falling, 131. Idiocy, 85. Idolatry, 15. Image worship, 14. Immortality, Desire of, 8. Inanimate nature, 10.^ Irving, Washington, 53. Jezebel, 124. Jokes, Vulgar, 87. Jot and Tittle, 13;?. Judicial oaths, 30. Justification, 135 sq. Key-note of Luther, 16. King's evil, 84. INDEX. VII. Litdy at party. 77. Lhw, of the Family, 59. , of Labor, 40. , of Property, 70 sq. , Tlie Perfect, 1.12. , Tables of the, .51. Law of God, in our hearts, 6. , in the Bible, 12. , in the world, 8. , universal, 6. Life, Valae of human, 68. Louis IX. of France, 2.5. Luther's Key-note, IG, 29. Man, a vuia. Hi, Marriage, Law of, 81. Melanct/tion, 35. Mexico, S7. «, Ministers, Respect for, 63. Mob law, 72. Moon's changes, 42. Morgoa, Gen., 74. Mcbher love, 52 aq., 56 nq. Murder, 65. ** MystoriouB providences," 77. Naboth and his Vineyard, 123. Name of God, Command to rightly use the, 27. , Jewish reverence for the, 21. Nature, Animal and spiritual in man, 82. Nerve of the Commandments, 35. Novels, 86. Obedience, 62. Old folks. Don't forget the, 61. Omission, Is there any ? 65. Orphan, 54. Parents, Aged, 60 aq. , in God's stead, ,52. , to despise, 55, 57. , to displease, 58. , to esteem, 62. , to honor, 59. wt "W Vlll. INDEX. K* Parents, to love, 59. , to obey, 59. , to serve, 59. Pelagian Error, 71. Peru, 67. Poverty, ReagouB foi, 94 sq. , of our Saviour, 103. , and Wealth, 93. " Pow-wow-ing," 32. Prayer, 105. , is the Music of the Soul, lOG-7. Profanity, Schools of, 22. Promises of God, 54. Property, L»w of, 90. Quakers, 3a Raid, Incident of Morgan's, 74. Kulers, Abuse of, 56. , Treatment of, 56. Sanotifloation, 136. Saturday night. 42. Scrofula, 84. Seceders, 30, Self-defence, 73. Self-love v». Selfishness, 92. Sigourney, Mrs., 11. Sin, a fact. 8, , Marks of Singing, 108. Sitting up at night, '^7. Slave, The old, 134. "Snobbery," 57-8. Soeial evil. The, 80. Speech, Power of, 104. Spiritualism, 15. Stage-driver, Conversation with, 24 aq. Stealing, Subtle forms of, prohibited, 101 sq. Stranger, The, 45. , in school, 97. Sunday, Observance of, 40 aq. Suicide, 76. •3 I t- INDEX. ix. Swearing, 22 tq. Syphylia, 84. Teacher, Christ our, 134. Teaohent in the room of parents, 63. The Two Batteries, 120 tq. Time, Division of 37. Tongue, The, 109. Truth vs. Falsehood, 110 aq. Value of p good charcicter, 113. Virtue, the key-stone of character, 87. War. Is, forbidden ? 74. Webster, Dr., 71. Wet feet, 78. Word of God for Sunday, 48. Words, Murderous, 72. Wordsworth, 10. Zwingli, 92. ;lk. } PREFACE. ^ '■■a AMONG the ^'inat powers of the world's development is the power of nurture. Like electricity, gravitation, or the currentH, it \n a Hilent, yet ceaselesH and mighty force hi the natural world around uh we .see its working.s conbtantly, and if our eyes l>e not holden we may as clearly discern its operations in the spiritual world. What makes tt Christian community differ from a pagan ? It is the Gospel nurture. A brief statement of the true divine system is set forth in the Proverb (xxii. 6), " Train up a child in the way he should go : and when he is old, he will not depart from it." It is trne, some men come out from sin to grace without this nnrture ; but these are the exceptions. Those who are nurture, And the Tables were tU Worh of God, and the Wrdmg teas the Writing of (?od— Exodus xxxii. 16. He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justlu, and to love mercy, and to icalk humbly with thy God? — ^vlicah VI. 8. Thou Shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, jndwdh all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This il the first and great comnmmlment. And the second is hkeunto d, thou shall kwe thy neighbour as thyself —Matthew xxu. 37-39. THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. I am the Lord tl.y God. Thon shalt have no otlier jjods before me. [Thou shalt not make unto thee any grfven image or any likeness of any tlnng that is in heaven above, or that .s ,n the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth ; thou .slialt not bow down thyself to them, nor iHlii OtTft SCHOOLMASTteK. •• .' i'! I i"! If' serve them : lor I the Lord thy God am a jealoas God, yhk' ffDg the hirqmty of the faitheTS npou the children unto the thiri^ and fourth generation of them that hats me; and showing Hiercy ttnta thousands &i them that love mv, asd ksep my commandmeu t». } What 19 meant hj iliis Commandment ? Anmffer. "We should fear, love, aareseiited, while in reality the thing assiinie«i is not there; the belief in the True (^iod is wanting. It is true, indeed, that almost all admit the existence of a God of some kind, sonio- whero, but the neUdous, urnlefined and shadowy t'Xj)res8ions through which some define their faith, fihow clearly only one thing, aud that is, liow shadowy :and vagne their fiiitfa is. Tlie idea olf a Personal God, revealed from heaven for tliemselves personally, is not grasped. Therefore the neceeeity ot' the command, Thou shalt bavie a God. There is a necessity for presenting it here. Among all the many objects to which our attention can be ■directed, there is none, and there «an be none, higher than God. It is not possible to «seape from the inquiry coRoerning Him. And this inquiry is the one oipon which is based every other question which caR occu^jy our thoughts. Everything in the course of our whole lives depends upon our own individual answer to the question : Is there a God % Our view of the siatural wcfld around us, as well as of the spiritual world within us, the tendency of ^ur lives and the y THK FIKST COMMANDMKNT, CIIAPTElt ir. .1 our thy and nis is like, lyself. lese." char- upon sing as •'<■■(, A THK ANNOUNCKMKNT. Now consider tlio Announcement. There nro per- sons who say (Jod made tlie univc'rs«i, they admit that He is a (Iicat and Mi^dity lieing ; hut they argue that wlicn creation was tiiiished, when the world was, like a clock, made, wound up and set a-going, He takes no further notices (»!' it, and is not concerned for the love or worsliij) of such insignilicant creatures as men. Ihey point to the sky, gemmed with its myriad stars and glittering constellations, in proof of th(;ir assertion. These stars, say they, aro worlds peopled with heings as much superior to us as their worlds aro to ours, and if the Creator takes note of any, it is of these. Ho has no time to spend upon us. I5ut no one is justified in such assertions. The Almighty Himself answers them. He will not allow any to escape the law- through insignilicance. In the words of the revelation before us, we see Ihav j>laiidy and how pervsonally He l)rpsents Himself. He lirst declares His existence, " I AM." In these mysterious words He made Himself known to Moses, '' I AM THAT I AM." Then ho declares His sovereignty, "I am the Lord " — the Kuler, the Master, the Centre of the universe. Then He asserts His personal interest in men, " I am the Lord thy God,"— THY God,— Thine, as much as though the announcement was made to thee alone, and thou alone didst live and ""move upon earth ; thine, as much as thou art mine ; thy Lord, thy God. Do not trust to insignificance to save thee. The Lord is thy God as much as thou art His creature. Mark well His words, " THY God." They declare His personal interest in thee. Just as the sun shines for all, so God is for all. '* The sun does not shine for a few trees or flowers, hut for the wide world's joy. The lowly pino on the mountain top waves its sombre boughs, and cries, ' Thou art my sun ;' and the little meadow- I* V 6 OUR SCHOOLMASTER. \' i III m '1 .[. III I til; !!llm violet lifts its cup of hluo, and whispers with its per- fumed breath, * Thou art my sun ;' and the ^rain iu a thousand ticids rustles in the wind, and makes answer, * Thou art my sun.' So God sits effulgent iu the hea- vens, not a favored few, but for the universe of life ; and there is no creature so poor or so low, that he may • not look up with childlike confidence, and say, * My Father, Thou art mine.'" It is as the God of the universe and of individuals that He here reveals Him- self, so that each one should mark honr ho is included, when God says to him, " I am the Lord THY God." This brings us to the consideration of the universal- it}/ of God*s law. It was not given to any part or portion of mankind, to the exclusion of any other. And this is a fact often overlooked. Many think that if they do not acknowledge the authority of God, they are not bound by it ; that if they do not become pro- fessing Christians, they are not under any obligations to perform the duties of Chi -Jans. But God's law is given for all alike. The man who does not acknow- ledge the existence of a God is as much under the law as the man who tries to discharge all his known reli- gious duties. According to each person's opportunity, his responsibility before God is the same. The differ- ence is with men, not with God. That difference is that some choose to obey and some to disobey. One is a freeman, because his will is in harmony, with the Supreme Will ; the other is a slave, because his will is in opposition to the Will of God. All alike are responsible, all alike created to obey, all alike in the favor of the Law-Giver ; some obey, some disobey, — which is the better off ) which is the slave 1 The law is in our hearts. Therein God has planted a deep conviction that we ought to love and worship Him, and that our reverence is sweet and precious. This is a proof of God's existence and of man's respon- sibility which the so-called scientists of the present age have never, with any show of reason, attempted to ^eny« We have no dispute with true science. W«: I THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. law reli- nity, iffer- ce is- One the will are L the y>— accept the facts which it presents and thank science for tliem. They liave broken down niany old superstitions, lint science must accept the facts which we present, and in particular, these facts of our own inner con- sciousness. (Jod has filled us with lonj^ings after Him, and we are niade to desire njoro intimate communion with Him. All the great heart ot humanity in some way echoes the voice of the i)8almist : " Whither shall 1 go from thy Spirit] or whither shall I flee from thy ])resenc(!l Jf I ascend up into heaven thou art there ; if 1 make my bed in hell, behold thou art there ; if I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the nttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me." We bear witness of God in our own hearts, a witness which must s v'( ly be true to our own selves. As St. Augus- tine has beautifully said : " Our hearts, O God, are made for Thee, and are at unrest till they rest in "J'hee." Think of the heart that does not rest on God. What peace is there 1 What peace does the unbeliever know 1 He may strive to smother the deep yearnings of his soul, he may dwarf his spiritual energies, he may paralyze the living forces of conscience, ho may even deny the facts of his own consciousness ; but what a peace .s this ! He dares to venture upon moral suicide, ho seeks to slumber in the apathy of sin, he courts the lethargy of death, ** he cries peace, peace, when there is no peace," for away from God, man cannot be at peace. His nature demands communion with its Creator. As the eye was made for the light, so is the soul of man made for God. As the eye is sightless without light, so is the soul restless without God. As the light is communicated to the eye, so is God communicated to the soul, as fully, as freely, as clearly. It requires no more science to believe in God than it requires for the eye to see. It is natural. It is unnatural for the heart to not believe. Just as God has created us with an appetite for food, and this is proof that we are to take food, so it proves also that He has created food M' I! I I i i!{ V 8 OUR SCHOOLMASTER. to supply that appetite. And so with all the innocent tendencies with which wo are horn into ihe worlil. All are created to bo satistied. It is so with this love and deep j'earning in onr hearts, for these hearts are made to iind peace in God, and in Iliui alone can they find peace. Here the great and dreadful fact of sin meets us. Sin is a fact, both in the world and in every human being in the world. It has disrupted things in heaven and things on earth. All our ills, and aches, and sorrows, and sicknesses, tears of grief and deaths at last, come from sin. We ought to know this, to realiz(i it, so we could know how much we ought to detest sin. It came to ns through the fall of our first parents. 33ut in spite of the terrible corruption brought upon man's nature by sin, still he turns with longing toward liis Creator, the Supreme Being. Man was created, and is still, in spite of his fall, a naturally religious being ; and there is not a nation or race of men any where on earth who have not a religion of some kind. The reason is, simply, that the original purpose of human existence is to love, serve and glorify the Creator. Love of life and desire of immortality are two of the most deeply planted tendencies of our nature. They are widely distinct from each other. The first can bo destroyed, as the history of the martyrs tells us, and as those who have often stood by sick-beds can abun- dantly testify. AVith all the hold which the love of life has upon us still we not infrequently sing the sad song of the patriarch, — " I would not live alway." But the second — the desire of immortality — in any right-minded person can never be destroyed. Sin may subvert it, but this seldom. And what is the desire of immortality] It is the desire of the soul for com- munion with God. The law Is in the world. The existence of the world proves the existence of God. Man could not have created it or he could create another ; fur what man has done man can do. But this is impossible. Man I f % THE FIKST COMMANDMENT. 9 id Ihe most poworful boing we know, yot if he cannot (Teiite .1 world tli(!ve must b(5 ono still more powerful. And that Ijiiinj^ is God. These evidences are not })r()Uglit forward in order to prove what we cannot holj) but beli(!Vo, not to make us sure of what we are already certain, but to teach our minds what our hearts already know of the truth of (Jod, namely, that He is, that lie is the Lord God, Creator, Ruler and 13enc- factor, that He is my God. The intuitive conviction of every human being is steadfast and ])rofound that these are facts. But look in the M'orld. On every side are traces of His stately stoppings ; all around iia, over us, and under tis, are the marks of His handi- work. The invisible things of God, even His eternal power and divinity, may be understood by the things He has made. All nature speaks of God. Everything around us breathes of Him. " In Him we live, and move, and have our being." Coming to the study of nature with the idea of God in cur hearts we find it eloquent concerning Him. " Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge " of Him. There, is no speech nor language. Their voice is not heard. But their government is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. (Ps. 19.) 8o unmistakably do we find the invisible nature of God, His power and deity in the world, that St. Paul declares those to be without excuse who do not recognize Him in His works. (Kora. 1 : 20.) " I asked the earth," says Augustine, " it said, I am not He ; and all that therein is made the same acknow- ledgment. 1 asked the sea and the depths, and all that live and move therein, and they answered, We are not tliy God, seek higher. I asked the winds, but the air, with all its inhabitants answered, I am not thy God. I asked the heavens, the sun, the moon, the stars, and they answered, Neither are we the God thou seekest. And 1 said to all things that surround me, Ye have told me concerning my God that ye are not He ; speak then to me of Him. And they all cried with loud voices, Ho made us." 'n^^ 10 OUR SCHOOLMASTER. Wis m Inanimate nature, through the j^eological formations of the earth, speaks with a marvellous voice of ( rod the Great Designer. Tlie very rocks and stones make Buch revelations te the believing scientist that he " Finds tongues in tlie trees, sernrjons in stones, Books in the running brooks, and God in everything." Om step farther up we find in plants and flowers and trees the evidences of God's handiwork. Not a bud is formed nor a leaf framed without His regvdating power. The smallest flower that blooms in the forest teaches the same great truth concerning Him. Jesus said, " Consider the lilies." Why ] Beciuse no power on earth can fashion the tender little roots, or put veins in the leaves, or fragrance over the petals, or give life to even as small a plant as the lily of the valley. " Consider the lilies," for even they in their humility are teachers sent of God, even they are of those " things that are made," which from the creation of the world tell of God's eternal power and divinity. But they must be regarded as the work of God, and not with such an eye and understanding as that brought to the study of nature by Wordsworth's idiot, lor "A primrose by the river's brim Only a primrose was to him." To you let the roses and lilies be something more. Each plant or even leaf among them is, or ought to be, enough to demonstrate the jwwer divine, and settle once for all the fact that there is a God. Rising from these to survey the countless hosts of evidences which are growing on every side, we must say with David, " Truth shall spring out of the earth." Yes, the truth of God out of the very earth ! Look at the vegetable kingdom. The theory of the floral structure Avhich we see reveals the harmony, beauty and simplicity of the plan on which the Creative Hand is exercised to bring out all the regularity, and at the same time the infinite diversity for which the vegetable kingdom stands unrivalled. Springing from the deep, brown soil of the meadow, or struggling fur 'St m THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 11 ts of must rth." ok at loral aauty ative ami the from for 1 :t I existence by the dusty roadside, towering on the moun- tain top, or waving on the boundless prairie, grasses and mosses, flowers and forests, all over eartli's surface wherever we go, tell the same eternal story, wave in tlie wind or slumber beneath the snow, appearing and disappearing tc re appear again, and still repeat the miracle of divine creation, and point with every towering tree-trunk, and every slender grass-blade, up to the Divine Creator. Another step upward brings us into the animal World. What variety ! What instincts ! What a world of wonders ! God made these all ; fowls in the air, fishes in the sea, creeping things and beasts of the forest and lield. And God takes care of them as we shall further see. And the sun and moon and stars of night, rolling on in the calm silence of their unchanging orbits, in ])eaceful and complete obedience to His will, declare the same eternal truth, bear testimony to the power, the presence, the divinity of God. "The heavens declare the glory of God ; and the firmament sheweth His handiwork." All over the great pages of the outspread sky the orbs that blaze and glitter in glory there are so many revelations of fire ; as it were " words that burn " with the great, the tremendous truth which God is teaching to man, declaring the power and God- head of the Great Original. " What though in solemn silence all Move round this dark terrestrial ball. What though no real voice nor sound Amid their radiant orbs be found ; In reason's ear they all rejoice, And utter forth a glorious voice, Forever singing as they shine, 'The Hand that made us is Divine.' " And coming from these inferior works of God '* lord rr o to man, the ** lord of creation," who can doubt the existence, power and divinity of the Creator? In the psalm-like language of Mrs. Sigourney, that superior work of the Almighty is ])ortrayed as being truly "only a little lower than the angels." " I have seen man in 12 OUR SCHOOLMASTfin. If the glory of his days and in the pride of his strength. He was built like the strong oak, that strikes its roots deep in the earth ; like the tall cedar, that lifts its head above the trees of the forest. He feared no danger ; he felt no sickness ; he wondered that any should groan or sigh at pain. His mind was vigorous like his body ; he was perplexed at no intricacy, he was daunted at no obstacle. Into hidden things he searched ; and what was crooked he made plain. He went forth boldly upon the fice of the deep ; he surveyed the nations of the earth ; he measured the distance of the stars, and called them by their names. He gloried in the extent of his knowledge, in the vigor of his under- standing, and strove to search even into what the Almighty had concealed. And. when I looked upon him I said, 'What a piece of work is man! how noble in reason ! how infinite in faculties ! in form, and moving, how express and admirable ! in action, how like an angel ! in apprehension, how like a God !' " But nature, even in man, its highest form of develop- ment, does not clearly reveal God. While it reveals Him in part it still conceals Him. It is a veil by which our mortal vision is kept from penetrating the deep, hidden mysteries of the Eternal. Man needs something more than even this to teach him all he is to know concerning the Lord his God. Therefore we find the law in GotVs Word. Here is the clearest revelation. Here men learn to know God as their own i)ersonal God — thy God. The Holy Bible is the inspired record of His dealings with niiin in the past, of His intentions toward man in the future, of his eternal attributes of goodness, power, justice and mercy, through which men may approach Him as their holy, heavenly Father. As in this first commandment, so throughout the Word of (rod, we are enjoined to fear, love, serve and trust Him. To this end the world and they that dwell therein, and all other worlds and their inhabitants, were created. The loving Father desired to make His creatures happy. And if not why then do they oxiat, THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 13 mg ucVs iiieii THY His tvard iiess, may s in I of trust well ants, His xiat, ■•if m or why does the world exist ? There is no other reason invalidating this. Yet with all the sin, sorrow, suffering, affliction, wretchedness, woe, gHef, pain and death, that happiness is not found here alone. It is something above and beyond. It all sliows that God is loving and kind, but that man's highest and only real happi- ness is in loving, serving and trusting Him here, in tho hope of a more perfect love and service and trust hereafter. And this desire after God U really the aspiration of the soul to enter into the fullness of its joy with him who loves and attracts mankind. CHAPTEH III. THE PROHIBITION. Consider now the Prohibition. In what arises its necessity ] It is in that tho longing after God has been perverted. Man has fallen. Travelers tell Us of the beautiful ruins they see, and man is nothing more than a ruin, a moral wreck. He stands like some noble temple, — its altars profaned, its shrines fallen, its '^ lumns overthrown, its walls broken, — yut still showing traces of its former grandeur. Kuins some- times give evidence of beauty, and are in themselves surpassingly grand. And so it is with man — a mag- nilicent ruin ; although the trail of the serpent is over it all, marring the beauty of its every part, still tho beauty and sublimity clinging around man after the fall gave proof of the noble Original after which he was fashioned. A ruin he is, like some ruined temple, overthrown, cast down, destroyed, yet still a grand and imposing ruin. And so man restored to the ori- ginal, yea, higher than tho original grandeur, is a noble work. But since the entrance of sin, man perverts everything, and the religious feeling is, as being the best, the most tender, the finest workmanship, tho most susceptible to perversion, the most perverted ; 14 Ol/n SCIiOOLMASTfiR. i'ir M Mf just as in a fallen temple the most delicate workman- fihip is the most dreadfully ruined. This command- ment aims against this perversion, which has taken the form of idolatry, saying : " I. am the Lord, &c." The Israelites, when led out of slavery, looked back and remembered the idolatry of the Egyptians. Theso ICgyptians were the most highly cultivated people of their age, yet they practised the grossest idolatry. They worshiped oxen, crocodiles, serpents, and even inanimate things, as, for example, onions. They wor- shipped almost everything, indeed, as God, except God. They had shrines and altars erected all over their land* They had religion everywhere, but nowhere the true religion. They recognized everything as God but the true God. So when Moses was sent to call His people, it was with the significant command to tell them, " I AM hath sent me unto you." " I AM THAT 1 AM," was the word of God, the Eternal Jehovah, to Moses. He found them contaminated. Again and again they fell into idolatry in the journey to Canaan. They could not grasp the spirituality of God. They wanted something they could see, touch and handle, — a palpable, tangible something to worship as their God. So they made a God. It was in the figure of a c.df or ox — the symbol of strength. And yet, at the foot of Sinai, while worshipping the calf, they viewed it only as the symbol of deity, and did not design that it should take the place of God. It is just so with Koman Catholics now, who say that through the imago they worship the Virgin. Any one who watches them closely, however, canjiot deny that many of them do worship the image. They may say it reaches the saints or the Virgin through the image ; yet still it is forbidden. This first commandment is against it. This commandment condemns polytheism. The lieart is so constituted that it must have a God, and when faith is taken away, then credulity comes to satisfy the heart's desire. We may wonder that any nation enlightened as Egypt could practise such gross idolatry ; but take up the papers in any large city to- KtJWHJiW'VI THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 15 day. 8[)intualism is fis low a form of credulity as that in the worshij* of tlio E|^yptiaiis, or of the h)vvest African with iiia little imaf,'e of baked clay. Super- stition is not respectable, and men try to hide it. yet when t}»o mask is torn away, we are surprised to seo how many persons are under its influence. And still, in spite of all the unmasking, impostors flourish and pain the means of living and paying for costly adver- tisements. Those who believe in or worship chance, fate, returned spirits, and the like, believe in and wor- ship the lowest kind of low gods. They violate this commandment. Hut beside these lowest, gross forma of idolatry, there is a subtler, mightier form. It is man worship. Men worship their own power, skill, talents, attainments, interest, wealth, advancement, etc. They might as well worship an image, for their worship is idolatry. And men often worship others, as, e. gr., parents their childien, husbands their wives, wives their husbands, etc. Christ says, " He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me : and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me." God is supreme. Idolatry in any form is abhorred, whether it be of this kind or of pride, lust, fashion, and sinful pleasure. Consider the little companies usually assembled to worship God in a week-day service, and then think of the crowded theatres and places even more disreputable and of more questionable enjoyment. In how few minds are thoughts of God now ; in how few hearts the worship of Him. How many even now are violating this first commandment. Pray God, beloved, that from the sin of placing in your heart any other God, you may be delivered. Remember that the cup which is full can hold no more. Be filled with the knowledge of the goodness and glory of the Lord ; fill your heart with holy thoughts concerning Him, and then there will be no place in it for that which is against His command. " Otter the sacrilices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord." IG OITll SCHOOLMASTER. vW CHAPTER IV. il^:'' ■■!! i:.y ' iWi ■\ |; m t THE EXPLANATION. We should fc>. love and trust in God above all things. Luther strikes the key-note of the whole catechism, full and dear in this beginning. The commandments are given in the form of a prohibition, probably because sin was already in man ; but the explanations are set forth in the opposite form. They are positive. In this first one there is nothing negative. It teaches us how we can acceptably serve and worship God ; and the first attribute of service is fear. Many say there is nothing in God to fear ; that He is a God of love, kindness, pity and infinite mercy ; and that Ho loves His human creatures so much that He will make no distinction among them, but will treat them all alike, with unbounded grace. It will make little difference to us, however, what men say ; we are not governed by human opinion. What does the Bible say ? Most clearly that God is to be feared, ^'ot because His nature or feeling toward man is a harsh or revengeful one. On the contrary, God's disposition toward the race is one of supreme love and compassion ; but man's character, as an individual, establishes differ- ent relations between himself and God. As all men do not act alike toward God, so He cannot, in His eternal justice, deal alike with them. So each man for himself establishes his own particular relation toward God. And as every one has gone out of the way to do evil, so ther^ is cause for every one to fear the punishment of his guilt ; so his self-made relation to God is one in which he has need to fear. And yet the fear here spoken of is not a servile, abject fear, such as a beaten slave might have for a cruel master ; it is rather that which proceeds from the deep and pro- found reverence of our hearts. We are not taught to THE FIRST COMMANDMKNT. 17 lear, kter ; I pro- it to I I fear tJod as w(3 inij,'ht if He were onhj just, or as if Ho ■were a merciless tyrant ; but as a dutiful son fears a wise, grave and austere, yet iaitliful and tenderly lov- ing father. When a father has no more influence over .nd with a sun than a j)laymate, then something is wrong. Parents slinuM learn the lesson that when reverence dies then love dies. Wrong must bo rebuked, it dare not be allowed to pass unnoticeut these latter havo no less fear than the former, only that it is of a differ- ent kind, for true reverential fear, instead of decreasing liappiness, serves to make it greater. The second attribute of a proper service is love. Love is entirely consistent with fear, as the foregoing illustration serves to show ; indeed, it is always joined with it, for true love cannot exist without fear, or real, reverential fear without love, from child to father, or from man to God. What we fear in God is what wo love in Him. We love and fear yet so that the two are blended in harmony so perfect, that we know not when the one emotion ends or the other begins. Like the delicate shades ot coloring which blend themselves upon the petals of a blushing rose, they merge them- selves in one. AVe ought to love God because He first loved us. If this fact is rightly appreciated — the great fact of God's love for us — we cannot help but love Him, for love begets love. We love our fathers and mothers, yet they are but the instruments, the willing instruments of God's love for us. Everything comes from Him ; — the powers of body and of mind ; the affections which make life bright ; the hopes which lead us with gladness into the future ; — all come from rs^ 18 OUR SCHOOLMASTER. ^' i m \M: Him. Think of wliat, and how much He gave up for our sakes wlien Ho left heaven witli its glories and delights; of how much ho sulfered when He took upon Himself our human nature, that we might bo raised to a union with His divinity. "Love divine, all love excelling, Joy of heaven, to earth coino down ! Fix in us Thy humble dwelling, All Thy faithful mercies crown. Jesus, Thou art all compassion, Pure, unbounded love Tliou art ; Visit us with Thy salvation, Enter every trembling heart !" But if God had done nothing for us, if the sending of His only Son to die that we might live, if all had never been, we still should love Him because Ho is supreme. If we read of a lovely character, sketched by the hand of some masterly author, although we do not know either author or subject, we can love the beautiful and lovable character. And when we thus read of God in His natural and revealed Word, shall we not love Him for all the lovable attributes we there discern in His character ] But above and beyond all this we ought to love Him because He has given His Son to save us. His Spirit to lead us, and His Word to illumine our pathway to Him. And we are enjoined to also tnist in Him above all things. Trust means a belief in something unseen ; it is simply another word for faith. For example, a father says to his son. My son, to-moirow I will make you a present. If the son believes he will get the present, he trusts his father. It is upon our trust in God that our present and future happiness depends. The little child, which knows not how to provide for itself is happier than the man lull of busy cares. The little child, if left to itself, could not find shelter from the roaring storm ; if thrown upon its own resources it could not provide itself with necessary clothing ; it could not prepare its next meal. It is entirely dependent. But does its weakness, poverty, and THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. ID all it a lake the Afa I (lepciuliince give it any trouble ? Not the least. It never thinks about it ; or if it does, it is with the trust, simple and profound, that if it cannot provide, Father can. It beliuves in and trusts its father, there- fore it is hai)py. And m God wants ns to trust Hiui for the things of this life ; and goes so far as to make our trust, faitli, or belief iu Christ the one condition of our happiness in the life which is to be. We are like loving children to trust and have confidence in the great merciful heait of the unseen (liod. Life is full of hard places, and it has gi"eat difficulties. Who is to help us ov«'r and lead us through them 1 God. This is a blessed assurance to the young who have all of lite before them. Who will sustain in sickness? God. And when death comes to lead us down through the dark waters to the other shore, who then will go by our side to cheer and encourage ? God. Sweetly, from the depths of his trustful heart the Psalmist sings : " Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no ♦'vil, for Thou art with me." lielieving that He is such a Being, tender, merciful, ready and able to lead, to comfort, and to sustain ; this is trust. In all life's duties, trials, conflicts, and temptations, present and future, in all that pertains to our well-being in this life and in the life to come, God is our stay and portion, and in the light of this Com- mandment, let us fear, love, and trust Him until we see Him as He is. rely and 2() f)\\\ srnooi.MASTKH. [| THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 1'lion «li:\U not tako flio Njmmo of the l.nril iliy (!o shiMiM so lour nnd lovo (Ic^il mm i)n|, 1i> (Mirse, swotU'. ('(Mijuns li«>, or tlocoivp l»y His niiinc ; bill «m11 \ipoi\ Him in t'ViMv time ol" need, iunl woisltip Him will* |M';\yor, iMviso. Mn;\rlio\il;\rs iwo how, set forlh : — 1. A Prohihilion : 'V\\o\\ slialt not, (;iko Hip Xiinio oi tlio l.onl Ihy (mmI in vain. IT. .4 Ciivliov : For llio Lon! will nol lioM liiiu guiltless that takoth Ilia Name \\\ vaiti. 111. A C\m}m<(yi(L- To rightly use (nnl's holy Naiu(>, CHAPTKU V. THR rvomniTioN. This Comniandmont, i.\k< i\ as a Mholo, is «lcsignod l(> n\g\;kt<^ tho lii-st aiins, rational emotions, dcsiros, hopes, fears and volitions, as lie is in the world of providence. It is t \planat*iry ofllu" lirst t\)nunandnient. The lirst holds up to view who He is: the Givut I A^^, tlie Suj^i-eme, Omnipot4?nt, Omniscient, Omnipresent Jehovah. liefore Him ang<^ls and areh-angels, Illl'; SKCnNM « nMMANI»)Mi;NT, 21 rliniiltiiii find sprn|»liiiM, Hie imiiinM'niMf r(irri|ifiny nl Imlv inlt'lliiii'iiccN mihI liiuli nt'iilidiiM ol" luiivfii v* il llii'ir I'lin'H mill Imiw vm. TIh'V wImi know lltiii Itt'llrr rt'vrn' Hint more, show j^'H'iilfr Imiumi' nml (idoro \\\[\\ iniii'i' iniiiilH iiiid Idtliir imtist' tliftn ntilli Ixuii niitrliilM. r> i?? oiir Crnitor; iho Hcini,' wlio hiis^ all rif^ht to uh and i<» <»iir m;rvic,c, tho soli' riaim lo 'M onr powriH. lit' wh(» hnH fp'ali'd, hfMt» fioniffl rfmifs io na as " iho Lord thy (lod." Not satiHiioil with «»nr cri-ation only, lit' ronlitntt'M 1(» tako riiio of tm. And in thin ( 'oni- niantlnirnt llo tt'achcfl ti« how lltt iH it» ]») worHhijtpfd. Iiiit is it not a|)|iiillin^r 1,0 think Rindi a Connriandiiicnt HH this, in Hitch 11 I'orin td W'»'dH, Hhoiild \iv nt'CL-HHaiy ? What would hi) Ihonght of a chiltl that would Rpoak li,i,ditly atul irnwrn'ntly of itH |)ai'ont8'l YvX }»y tho thi'fat adtU'd liortj M'ti kimw that men do iako Hnch \mlmly lihiTticH with the nanio of their Creator. Wo arc tohl that Iho anoiont dows wonid not proisfHinco Iho nanio at all, IcHt thoy should in'ofaiio it. Whon, in rcadini:^', tho nanio of tho »lohovali occhit.nI, tho dovoiit dow would atop, paustj a nionient at tho Nanio in silnnco, and omitting it, would then read on. If, in walking, a pieco of itapor lay ii|)on tho path, tho .low Htt^pptid carefully around it, lowt, it tho Narno ahttuld 1)0 written thereon, it would bo thus profaned. Ifwoavsk, why theso precautions? wo nood but stop and think in order to find tho answer in our own hearts. Think of tho majesty, tho power, tho holiness, tho purity, tho eternal love, tho divine sj)lendor and everlasting glory of tho (Jreat (jrnator ; and then think of man, the lowly creature. God long ago complained by the mouth of Isaiah, — " My peojdo doth not con- si«ler." Thoy perish for tho lack of knowledge. Ah ! if men would only stop and think Through care- lessness and simple thoughtlessness thoy often go to ruin. If they would all stop and think they would r •' 22 OUR SCHOOLMASTER. ilili... see that God has a right to them in every oreaking people of the American continent can almost be, in justice, £tji;uiatijzed as a nation of swearers It is a sin vt'liiich V'l- V ' sense, . liut nalien- 5 name uhan is l'« holy veartiig he city lusiness J broad , God's ley feel he bhie rd, and hiorrible jibrtune ad from le storm 'hich is nstance a show srror in arts of awtul letimes ^vearing lersous. liool of larger 1 into a art of [\t how itly on ir chil- lily to ^e coni- j spread |ople of justice, v'hicU fnt StCOKi) COMMANDMENT. 2^ shows man's corrupt nature. Nobody »wear.s without thinking unless he has long indulged in the habit. iSonic times it is done as a habitual thing, Avithoufe thinking ; and if checked for the sin the swearer ig apt to excuse himself by saying " I did not thhtk.'^ IJut that d(X'S not make the crime any the less dreadful, or the swearer any the less guilty. To not think is lui excuse ; tor a man is responsible for his habits, and has reason given him in order that he may think. Not thinking makes it all the worse for him. God add» caution to command, that men may understand clearly their positioii, " The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain," whether he thinks or d(je9 not think. Men msiy ibink He tjikes no notice of this transgression, but His Commandment does not teich us so. JNIen can see the force of other moral laws and commandments, because breaking them does injury to others. They can understand the nse and force of such ctmimandments fis, " Thou shalt not kill" — '* Thon shalt not steal," and the like, but cannot sec the force of this. They think it a light thing to shape breath into light words, even if tiiey l>e oaths and curses. Ijut is it a light thing? No. It is an awful crime. Hence the prohibition. They think it does not injure others. But it does in so far as that ifc blunts their moral perceptions, hardens their conscience, and teaches them to sin iu the same dreadful manner. CHAPTEli VI. THE CAUTION. It is of God's infinite goodness that He adds fhc caiiftou, and reveals His purpose to men when He says the swearer shall not be held guiltless. Many think that because it is a small olfence and docs no harm to anybody it will go unnoticed and unpunished. If it were so^ or if there were any hope that it might bo i :i!.' lil' k; ■m u OUR SCHOOLMASTER. SO, we may be sure that this caution would not have been placed as a part of thfj Commandment, It would be a sin against God's truth to suppose otherwise. But the reason men try to think this way is because they want it to be so. That is their only real reason and it is no reason at all. Hiding in a stage-coach from Halifax to Lunenburg, 1 once had a conversation with the driver upon this very subject. The occasion of it was on this wise. "When wo drove up to one of the stations where the horses were changed, before we stopped, a man came out with the fresh horses, cursing and swearing and pouring forth a stream of profanity that was blood- curdling. The drive hastily alighted and by signs and motions gave tlie hostler to understand that a clergymi n was within hearing. Casting a surly glance up at m^ , the man was silent. But what stupidity, what sensele ss and unnatural folly for a man to fear and be silent in the presence of God's servant, his fellow-man, and yet to rush boldly before God Himself with his oaths and imprecations. After the coach started again the driver attempted to excuse the swearer by saying he was so in the habit of swearing that he didn't know when ho was doing it. He demurred at my remark that it was all the worse for him, and then wanted to know whether I thought swearing was as great a crime as it was represented. " Of course it is. The Bible says so." " But it surely is not as bad to swear at the horses as it is to kill a man I" ** Who told you so 1 The Lord made no such distinction." '' Xo. But T do it myself sometimes when I get angry ; and I do not think it such a dreadful sin." " You may think il a liglit matter, bnt God does not. He will not hold you guiltless." " But I would not be as guilty as if I killed a man V* TlIK SECOND COMMANDMENT. 25 <( Isuch get not. lull If yon killed a man and were really sorry for it, you would be on your guard, as long as you lived, never to kill another, wouldn't you V " Yes, but what has that to do with swearing f " Just this ; that if you believed it to be a sin against God to swear, and were really sorry for it, you would be on your guaixl never to swear again.*' "" I never think of it until it is too late." " You do not think because you do not realize th-o evil of it, because you are not really sorry when you have done it. And if you make * not thinking' an excuse, why may not every sin Ije excused in the same way 1 It would be no excuse, no lightening of the crime of stealing or murder, for the offender to say, * I didn't think.' On the contrary, the man who could be guilty of such crimes and think nothing of them would be ref'arded as so much more dangerous than he who believed it a crime and thought of it seriously, that he would be punished all the more severely." " Well," said the driver, " I never saw it in just that light before." But, more than that, the law of God is all of equal value. One commandment is juvst as binding as another, and therefore, no matter how we may regard it, a sin against one is as wicked as a sin against !'!U)Uier. Swearing is, by this rule, as great a crime as hilling a man. And among all the commandments, 'licre is none in which the punishment is so forcibly I'roclaiMied as in this one, against taking God's name Ml vain. If any diiference exists in the degrees of guilt incurred by breaking the different command- nionts, it wcnild seem, from the language used, that 1 lod meant the guilt to be greater, instead of lighter, tor taking His name in vain, than for any other sin prohibited. I.duis the IX., the pious King of France, caused *.\ic lips that took the name of God in vain to be o »^^p 20 OITR SCflOOLMASTPiR. I! ill I i I ,ji \%i scared with a hot iron. If the heart and conscience is seared with a bnrniiig crime, wiiy should not the lips which utter the oath be also burned ? Chrysostoni laid down a rule which mij^ht lielp check the evil if it were enforced. Hi» rwle was : Miss a sieal for every oath. If this v/ere the law, many would j,'(>^ hungry to-day, and we fear that some would come nigh starvation. Luther translates and explains the term " in vain," to mean " useles&ly," *' needkssly." There is much of this needless Bse of God's nan.e that is not3 f^enerally considered to be profanity, yet is sucli none the less. It may be called " indirect profanity." "Who that is accustomed to attend prayer-meetings, has I ^ hnnrd men from lack of thought and b-arren- ness of . \9, repeat the Holy Name over and over again, nu'i y to gain time and fill up blanks? Our 8aviour cautions against this abuse when Ho warns His disciples to *' use not vain repetitions as the heathen do." Often the name of the Great God is thus used in public prayers by persons whose hearts are not stored with the materials for true worship. Ifc is sin, it is sacrilege to 1.hus use, simply for relief, the Holy Name. Those who do it have need to humble theuiselvea in their closets and ajk pardon for their senseless prayers. They hatl better fpiit praying in j)ublic. God will not hold them guiltless. And so in anecdote often, too, n)en re])eat conversa- tions they have hear*! in which profanity occurs. They repeat the oaths and think it no sin, because somebody else used them before. Lnt that does not change their cnaracter. Unnecessary repetition of ))ro- fanity is profanity. Connecting the Name with that which is useless, empty, false and vain, is a violation of the command. Whoever does so, should remember the caution — " God will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain." JSf-x Tira SECOTTD CO:>rMANDMENT. 27 OHArXEK VII. THE COMMAND. The cmnmwul which is given, allhough in its form 'Only an implied one, is, that God's nanus shall be lightly used. Th^ first eoniinandnient brings us to the spring of life and true worship ; this one dips from that sjn-ing. It is ])leasing to the Lord when men use His name in worship, iJi prayor> in jwaise, and iii thanksgiving, with a due sense of its holiness, and suitable thoughts therewith connectf-d. The minister an the pul[)it may use it in explaining His Word and. setting forth His will. Tlte people in singing His praises, may use it, if their thoughts are with the 2)salms and hymns, and spiritual songs they sing. In j)rayers, which are the real language of the heart, that Holy Name may be rightly used. There i^ in the aiature of man the desire to worship awd adore : he is ix religious being ; he will worship something ; and to guide this worshipful desire aright in this particular, Ood gives to man this commaud. And when we learu to hallow His name as Christ has tauglit us in the Prayer of prayers, to worship Him who is a Spirit in spirit and in truth, we shall then discover how to use and not abuse His ever-glorious naiiic. Tlien we shall learn that no (jloasure is so constant, so rich, and so pure, none so kallowing in its deep and abiding influ- ■ences, none m ixirennial in its supply, as the pleasure wliicli flows from the true and spiritual worship of (Jod. As cool water-brooks are to thirsty travellers, tio pleiisaut and refi^eshing will it be for us to take ti|M)u our lij»s the nanw of the adorable and ever-living (jivhi