and life of the act,—the washings of baptism, and the cleansing of the heart by regeneration. And, again, while the Jew observes with faithfulness the ordinance of the passover, and eats the paschal lamb "in haste, with his loins girded and his staff in hand,"—the Christian, instead, looks up in humble gratitude to his blessed Redeemer above,—"the Lamb that taketh away the sins of the world."
Such is the nature of the Divine Word, It has a meaning for all minds, instruction and consolation for all hearts and all states. The influence of these Sacred Writings on the world, has been thus eloquently described: "With every drawback in origin, structure, and language, they have won their way to unparalleled aseendancy. No volume ever commanded such a profusion of readers, or has been translated into so many languages. Such is the universality of its spirit, that no book loses less by translation;—none has been so frequently copied in manuscript, and none so often printed. King and noble, peasant and pauper, are delighted students of its pages. Philosophers have humbly gleaned from it, and legislation has been thankfully indebted to it. Its stories charm the child, its hopes inspirit the aged, and its promises soothe the bed of death. The maiden is wedded under its sanction, and the grave is closed under its comforting assurances. Its lessons are the essence of religion, the seminal truths of theology, the first principles of morals, and the guiding axioms of political economy. Martyrs have often bled and been burned for attachment to it. It is the theme of universal appeal. In the entire range of literature, no book is so often
