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8

COMMENTS ON 2 COR. VIII. 9.

4 In him shone Do we value

"He was rich :" rich in moral excellence. 5 all the brightness of the Father's glory. 6 knowledge? "In him are hid all the treasures of wisdom 7 and knowledge." Affection? 8 He was the "well-beloved 9 Son." Homage? 10 All the angels of God worshipped 11 him. Lofty attendance? 12 "Thousand times ten thousand 13 stood before him." Worldly possessions? 14 The fowls of

the mountains, the cattle upon a thousand hills, the treasures of darkness, the fulness of the earth, the gems of unknown 15 mines, were his. And what is all this? 16 The sun, rejoicing in his strength'; the moon, walking in brightness'; countless stars, looking down silently into the sea'; principalities and powers in heavenly places';—these were a “portion of his ways," a small part of his wealth, but "how little of Him is understood !"

17

"He was rich," yet for our sakes he became poor. 18 In the form of a servant he wanders through the world, despised and rejected: a "man of sorrows, and acquainted 19 with grief." We hid, as it were, our faces from him :" we, 20 for whose sake he endured the cross. Behold how He hath loved us!

21

22 I will learn from this not They may be rich in faith, in

The Lord Jesus was poor. 23 to despise his poor disciples. good works, in all the gifts and graces of the Spirit, which 24 are in the sight of God of great price. I will not then stand aloof from them, because their apparel is mean, their condition low, and their worth unknown to those who glitter in the pride of life"; "thy people shall be my people," however obscure their station, however low or mean they may be in the eyes of the world.

25

My Saviour was poor. 26 I will then be contented with 27 an humble lot. I wil not desire my portion in a world which he values so little, that he bestows most of it on his enemies'; so little, that he reserved for himself in it, not even "where to lay his head';" I will pray, with David, “Lord remember me with the favor which thou bearest into Thy people;" and having food and raiment, I will be therewith 28 content. Blessed he who can say, "the Lord is the portion of mine inheritance! I shall not want!"

DEFINITIONS, &c.-Define attendants, hopes full of glory, (splendid, transporting,) freely, expense, (cost, what was that expense?) infinite,

CONVERSATION WITH A NUMBER OF JEWS.

123

(boundless,) moral, (every thing is moral to which the ten commands apply,) excellence, knowledge, treasures, affection, homage, lofty attendance, (distinguished, noble in rank,) worldly, fowls, cattle, treasures of darkness, (hid in the dark; i. e. in the earth,) fulness of the earth, (all that the earth contains,) gems, mines, strength, (of his beams to give light and warmth,) walking, (wheeling, revolving,) countless, silently, principalities, powers, (high spiritual dignities or rather dignitaries,) heavenly places, (places in hoaven,) portion, wanders, despised, rejected, acquainted, (by experience,) cross, (the cross,) disciples, aloof, apparel, condition, low, (obscure, and perhaps wretched,) glitter, contented, humble, lot, values, bestows, favor, bearest, (feelest,) food, raiment, inheritance, want.

SECT. CXXXIV.

-CONVERSATION WITH A NUMBER OF JEWS.

In the evening of the same day Messrs. Fisk, King, and Wolff had several interesting conversations: particularly one 2 with a number of Jews at their lodgings. They sometimes conversed in Italian, and sometimes Mr. Wolff spoke with 3 the Jews in Hebrew. The following is given as a part of their conversation.

4

5

Jews. What do you believe?

Mr. Wolff. I believe in Moses and the Prophets; who tell me that Jesus Christ is the Messiah of the world: the Redeemer of our souls: the Holy One: blessed be He, and 6 blessed be his name. And now I will ask you, what is your

belief?

Jews. We believe that the Holy One, (blessed be He,) He 7 who is blessed in himself, is truth; and Moses is truth; and the Prophets are truth.

Mr. W. You do not believe in the Holy One; (blessed be He, and blessed be his name, and who is blessed in himself ;) 8 you do not believe that he is truth; and you do not believe that Moses is truth; and you do not believe that the Prophets are truth!

9

Jews. God forbid that we should not believe! 10 Truth! truth! truth!

11 Mr. W. I will prove by this very book, (opening the Hebrew Bible,) that you do not believe.

Here Mr. Wolff spoke at some length respecting Deut. 12 xviii. 15; Jer. xxxi. 31-34, and Gen. xlix. 10; and then said,

Now tell me whether you believe?

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13

REMARKS ON JERUSALEM.

Jews. We must recur to the Gemara, (Talmud,) and to Rabbi Solomon Isaac, and other wise men.

14 Mr. W. The Gemara is a lie.

Mr. W. I will prove it afterwards; but let us go on with 18 the Prophets, by which you will see that you tell lies, if you say that you believe in Moses and the Prophets.

19

Here followed a discussion respecting Zech. xii. 10. DEFINITIONS, &c.—Define particularly, lodgings, Italian, Jews, Hebrew, Moses, prophets, belief, recur, Gemara, (a religious book of the Jews,) afterwards.

1

SECT. CXXXV.-REMARKS ON JERUSALEM.

JERUSALEM is a considerable place. 2 The most beautiful building within its wall is the Mosque of Omar; which stands on the site of Solomon's temple. The Turks have a singular 3 reverence for this Mosque'; and will not permit a Christian even to set his foot in the large grassy area which surrounds it.

4

The walks which I most frequent are those that lead down the valley of Jehoshaphat, by the fountains of Siloah; 5 or those that run along the side of Olivet. From the side of Olivet you have a very commanding view of Jerusalem. 6 The Mosque of Omar appears particularly fine from this 7 situation. The greater part of the surrounding country is

most desolate and dreary. Hills of white parched rock, dot8 ted, here and there, with patches of cultivated land, everywhere meet and offend the eye.

0 In the north of Palestine are many beautiful and fertile 10 spots; but not so in Judea. The breath of Jehovah's wrath

seems in a peculiar manner to have blasted and withered the 11 territory of the Daughter of Zion! What a change has been wrought in the land, once flowing with milk and honey!

Often as I have contemplated Jerusalem, have the words 12 of the Prophet escaped my lips: "How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a 13 widow! She, that was great among the nations, and prin

cess among the provinces,-how is she become tributary!

SAVAGE AND CIVILIZED LIFE.

125

how hath the Lord covered the Daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger, and cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel, and remembered not his footstool in the day of his anger!"

DEFINITIONS, &c.-Define Jerusalem, Mosque of Omar, (Mohammedan church, which is on the site of the ancient temple,) singular, reverence, grassy area, fine, desolute, dreary, parched, dotted, patches, offend, Pal estine, beautiful, fertile, blasted, withered, territory, escaped, solitary tributary, widow, princess, provinces, footstool.

SECT. CXXXVI.-COMPARATIVE HAPPINESS OF SAVAGE AND CIVILIZED LIFE.

AMONG the numerous speculations of the learned, many 1 erroneous theories have been advanced on the comparative happiness and contentment of the enlightened and savage life. 2 It is said by some, that there is more real enjoyment and contentment predominant in the savage than in civilized man; but I question whether the gentlemen who support this argument, would be willing to renounce the privileges of polished society, and voluntarily adopt the manners of savages, and take their abode in the wilderness, far from civilized people'. 3 Will any one believe that an Indian with his bow and quiver, who walks solitary in the mountains, exposed to cold and hunger, or the attacks of wild beasts, trembling at every unusual object, his fancy filled with agitating fears, lest the next step should introduce his foot to the fangs of the direful snake, or entangle it "amidst his circling spires that on the grass float redundant," actually possesses undisturbed contentment superior to a learned gentleman of this commercial city, who has every possible comfort at home? can any one convince me, that the degraded Hottentot in Africa, or the wild Arab in the desert of Sahara, whose head is exposed to the piercing rays of a meridian sun, entirely dependent on his camel for safety, enjoys more real contentment of mind than the poorest peasant of England? will any one compare the confined pleasures of the Hindoo, whose mind is burdened with the shackles of superstition and ignorance; who bows before the car of Juggernaut, or whose wretched ignorance compels him to invoke the river Ganges for his salvation;-will any one, I say, compare his

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SAFETY OF SHIPS AT SEA.-ART OF WRITING.

pleasures to the noble and well-regulated pleasures of a Herschel or a Newton, who surveys the regions of the universe; views the wisdom of the Deity in forming the lights of heaven with all the planets and attending satellites revolving in their orbits, irradiating infinite space as they move around their common centres; and demonstrates, with mathematical exactness, the rapid flights of the comet, and its future visits to our solar system?

DEFINITIONS, &C.-Define speculations, learned, (Inen?) erroneous, theories, comparative, predominant, savage, civilized, argument, renounce, polisked society, voluntarily, wilderness, quiver, bow, solitary, exposed, hunger, attacks, unusual, fancy, agitating, fears, fangs, direful, entangle, spires, (coils,) redundant, actually, undisturbed, superior, commercial, convince, degraded, Hottentot, Sahara, peasant, burdened, satellites.

SECT. CXXXVII.

-SAFETY OF SHIPS AT SEA.

THE situation of a ship in a heavy gale of wind, appears 1 indescribably terrific, yet, practically speaking, its security is so great, that it is truly said, ships seldom, or never founder in deep water, except from accident, or inattention. How 2 ships manage to get across that still region, that ideal line which separates the opposite trade-winds of each hemisphere; how a small box of men manages, unlabelled, to be buffeted for months up one side of a wave, and down the other; how they ever get out of the abysses into which they sink'; and how, after such pitching and tossing, they reach in safety the very harbor in their native country, from which they originally departed, can and ought only to be accounted for, by acknowledging how truly it hath been written, "that the Spirit of God moves upon the face of the waters."

DEFINITIONS, &c.-Define heavy gale, (strong, high,) indescribably, terrific, security, founder, accident, inattention, manage, across, ideal, separates, trade-winds, hemisphere, unlabelled, buffeted, abysses, originally departed from, acknowledging.

SECT. CXXXVIII.—THE ART OF WRITING.

1 MR. MARINER, in the account of his visit to the Tonga Islands, gives an interesting anecdote of a native's astonish