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 LIBRARY 
 
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RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES 
 
 BEING A SERIE3 OP 
 
 EMBLEMATIC ENGRAVINGS, 
 
 WITH WRITTEN EXPLANATIONS, mSCELLANE0U3 OBSER- 
 VATIONS, AND BELIGIOUS REFLECTIONS, 
 
 DESIGNED TO ILLUSTRATE 
 
 DIVI.-NE TRUTH, 
 
 ni ACCORDANCE WITH THE CARDINAL PRINCIFUM 09 
 
 CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 / kamt used similitudes. Hosea, 12 chap. 10 ▼. 
 
 BY REV. WILLIAM HOLMES, 
 
 MINISTEB or THE GOSPEL; AND 
 
 JOHN W . BARBER, 
 
 AUTROB OF "THE ELEMENTS OF GENERAL HISTOEr,*' 
 
 HEJ^RY HOWE, PUBLISHER, 
 
 111 MAIX-STREET, 
 
 CINCINNATI, OHIO. 
 
ENTERED 
 ACCORDI!ra TO THE ACT OF CONGRESS, rx THE VK.\K !^■iK 
 
 BY JOHN W. BARBER, 
 
 m THE OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE DISTRICT vui KT rF 
 
 CONNECTICUT. 
 

 V 
 
 TO THE READER. 
 
 It is now about two years since the Religious Emblems, a 
 work by the Authors of the present publication, was first is.sued. 
 The manner in which that work was received by the Christian 
 public, has encouraged another effort of the same kind, which, 
 it is believed, will be found equally worthy of attentioo. 
 
 70200 
 
166 
 
 RBLIGIOUS ALLEOOHISS. 
 
 :^ 
 
 Looking unto Jesu*. fleb. ziL 2. 
 
 LOOKING UNTO JESUS. 
 
 Amtd the world's vain pleasures, din and strife. 
 The Christian treads the upward path of life ; 
 Though sorely tempted to forsake the way, 
 He presses onward still from day to day ; 
 On worldly honors he with scorn looks down. 
 Content if he at last shall wear a crown ; 
 
EELIGIOTS ALLEGOHIES. 1 ^57 
 
 And worldly tsealth vrithout regret he leaves. 
 He treasure has beyond the reach of thieves. 
 The Syren Pleasure with voluptuous strain, 
 Strives to ensnare hiin, but she strives in vain; 
 His ear lie closes to their idle noise, 
 And hastevis upward to ceiestia! joy? : 
 At God's right hand he own.? an ample store, 
 Of joys substantial, lasting evermore ; 
 He looks to Jesus, his Almighty Friend, 
 Nor fails at last to reach his journey's end. 
 
 The Christian is here depicted making his way 
 up the path of life. The -wealth of this world is 
 offered to him on condition that he will turn aside. 
 He rejects the offer with disdain : he points upward, 
 intimating that his treasure is in heaven. Honors 
 are presented ; these he despises also, content with 
 the honor that comes from God. The votaries of 
 sinful pleasures next address him ; they promise all 
 sorts of delights if he would stay and dwell with 
 them. He closes his ear to their deceitful song : 
 he looks upward to Jesus his Lord and his God, and 
 taking up the song of an old pilgrim, he goes on his 
 way singing : — 
 
 " Thou wilt show to me the path of life, 
 
 " In thy presence is fulness of joy, 
 
 " Pleasures at thy right hand for-evermore. 
 
 But what will not men in general do in order to 
 obtain those very things which the Christian rejects 
 with so much disdain ? What have they not done 1 
 Answer, ye battle fields that have heard the dying 
 groans of so many myriads ! xVnswer, ye death 
 beds that have listened to the lamentations of the 
 votaries of pleasure ! Answer, ye habitations of 
 cruelty, where the life's blood of the victims of ava. 
 rice oozes away from day to day, under the rod of 
 the oppressor ! And who or what is the Chrif>tian 
 
i^S BXL10I0U» ALLKOUKIEB. 
 
 that these things have no influrnce over him ? Is 
 he not a man ? Yes ; an altered man from what 
 he was once ; a new man. Old things have passed 
 away. All things have become new. He looks to 
 Jesus. Here is where his great strength lies. Here 
 is the power by which he overcometh the world, 
 even by looking to Jesus. Do you ask what is this 
 looking to Jesus ? What magic is there in this so 
 powerful ? Listen ! Our sins have separated us from 
 God, for " all have sinned and come short of the glory 
 of God." Death temporal has passed upon all men, 
 as the forerunner of eternal death, except we repent 
 and be converted. But hjow shall we repent and be 
 converted ? How shall we guilty ones dare to ap- 
 proach the Holy God ? He is of purer eyes than to 
 behold iniquity. What shall Ave bring to gain his 
 favor ? Alas for our poverty if it were to be bought 
 with money! Alas for our sinfulness if our own 
 righteousness could have sufficed to recommend us 
 to God ! Alas for our impotence if we ha<l been 
 left unaided to descend Bethesda's Pool ! Alas for 
 our blindness if we had been left to ourselves to 
 discover a door of Hope. 
 
 While in this plight Jesus comes to our reliefl 
 He brings a price — a righteousness — a strength — a 
 light. He is the light of the world — the Sun of 
 righteousness. He shines and dispels the gloom. 
 O how cheering are His rays ! As the beams of 
 the morning give hope and consolation to the be- 
 nighted traveler in some dreary wilderness, so does 
 Jesus, the " day spring from on high," give light and 
 hope to those who sit in "darkness, and in the shadow 
 of death." The light of love and the hope of hea- 
 ven. The path of duty is revealed, the promise of 
 inmiortality is given. Do you ask yet again, what 
 is meant by looking to Jesus ? Again listen. The 
 
BELIGIOU8 ALLEGORIES. 1^9 
 
 exercise of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is 
 what is meant. Man is made capable of confidence, 
 of confidence in man. In this consists the charms 
 of domestic felicity. A man without confidence in 
 his race is an isolated being ; he is cut off from all 
 the sympathies of his kind. Just so, man without 
 confidence in God, is separated from him. He is in 
 the world without God, and without Hope. Faith 
 unites man to God. The Christian is a man of faith. 
 He is united to God ; he walks by faith, he lives 
 by faith. The life which he lives is a life of faith 
 in the Son of God who loved him, and gave himself 
 — O wondrous gift — for him. 
 
 He looks to Jesus, as unto an " offering for sin." 
 He receives it as a faithful saying, worthy of all ac- 
 ceptation, that " He hath made Him who knew no 
 sin, to be a sin-offering for us, that we might be made 
 the righteousness of God in Him." That is, that 
 we might be completely saved by Him. This is 
 the ground of his rejoicing, that Jesus hath made 
 " a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and 
 satisfaction for the sins of the whole world," since 
 " he by the grace of God tasted death for every man." 
 He regards his sins as being of such a nature that 
 nothing but the " precious blood of Christ" could 
 avail to purge them away. Thus the man of God 
 considers Jesus. He goes from strength to strength, 
 making mention of his righteousness, who died for 
 his sins, and rose again for his justification. 
 
 Sach, however, is man's nature, such are his 
 wants, trials, and destiny, that the Lord Jesus Christ 
 has for his sake assumed various offices and titles. 
 Does man feel his helplessness, that he cannot of 
 himself do an}1^hing that is good, he is invited to 
 look fi"om self to Jesus as the " Mighty God." Look 
 unto me, and be ye saved all ye ends of the earth, 
 
170 KPLIGIOUf ALLEOORISS. 
 
 for bpside me there is no God. While others look 
 at their own weakness, at the difficulties of the way, 
 at the strength and number of their foes, the man of 
 faith looks from these to Jesus. Is he tempted to 
 think that after all he shall never see the King in his 
 beauty ? He may look to Jesus as his " Advocate" 
 with the Father, who takes care of his interest in 
 the court of heaven, and who is no less watchful 
 over his affairs below. Does he need a subject 
 calculated to fill his mind with mean ide^s of self? 
 he looks to Jesus as '* the wonderful,^^ wonderful 
 indeed. God made man for man to die. In hig 
 birth, in his life, in his death, in his resurrection, and 
 ascension, He is wonderful. In his character, in 
 his operations, both of nature and of grace, in draw- 
 ing, softening, sanctifying, and glorifying the believer, 
 He is wondertul ! O the depth both of the wisdom 
 and the goodness of God ! 
 
 Does he find the affairs of earth too intricate for 
 him, and that the children of this world are wiser in 
 their generation than the children of light? He 
 looks to Jesus as " the Counsellor" who is able to 
 guide the feet of his saints. 
 
 In the time of trouble the Christian looks to his 
 counsellor and finds him a " very present help," and 
 no expensive charges, or ruinous issues follow. He 
 looks to Jesus as the Author or Beginner: of Faith, 
 who has called him to be a Christian, who has pointed 
 out to him the oror.er path of duty, and who will at 
 last award to him a crown of righteousness. 
 
 Painters, sculptors, and others have, in order to be 
 perfect in their ail, studied models of excellence. 
 The Christian studies Jesus; he is his "model" or 
 " example." Are his trials many ? is his cross 
 hearvy ? He considers Jesus who " endured the cross 
 and despised the shame." Is he poor? "The Son 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGOBIES. 171 
 
 of man had no-where to lay his head." Is he nch? 
 for the rich are also called ; he considers him "who 
 was rich, and for our sakes become poor." Is he 
 tempted with the glories of the present world ? To 
 the Savior " all the kingdoms of this world and the 
 glory of ihem" were offered. Is he persecuted ? He 
 looks to Jesus on the cross und prays " Father forgive 
 them." Thus he looks from earthly glory to that far 
 more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. From 
 earthly possessions to that " inheritance that fadeth 
 not away, and from earthly pleasures to those that 
 are spiritual and eternal. Adopting the language of 
 the poet, he looks unto Jesus as 
 
 "His all! 
 His theme, his inspiration, and his crown ; 
 His strength in age, his rise in low estate. 
 His soul's ambition, pleasure, wealth, hia world, 
 His light in darkness, and his life in death, 
 His boast through lime, bliss through etemitj, 
 Eternity too short to sing his praise." 
 
 ** I send the J073 of earth away ; 
 
 Away, ye tempters of the mind, 
 False as the smooth, deceitful sea. 
 
 And empty as the whistling wind. 
 
 Now to the shining realms above, 
 
 I stretch my hand and glance mine eyef ; 
 
 for the pinions of a dove. 
 
 To bear me to the upper skies! 
 
 In vain the world accosts my ear. 
 And tempts my heart anew ; 
 
 1 cannot buy your bliss so dear. 
 
 Nor part with heaven for you." 
 
 Dr. WattA 
 
 22 
 
172 
 
 RKLIGIOUR ALLS00iirBt8» 
 
 For tee tealk by faith, not by sight. 2 Cor. T. 7. 
 
 WALKING BY FAITH. 
 
 Tht convert here tarns on the world his back. 
 
 And walks by faith along the narrow track ; 
 
 Before him mists arise, and o'er his head 
 
 Thick clouds of darkness roll, and round him q;)reid> 
 
 A bottomless abyss beneath extends, 
 
 And ftiil new danger to his pathway lends. 
 
RELietOUS ALLEOORIBS. 173 
 
 While ever and anon a lurid wreath 
 
 Comes rising upward from the pit of death. 
 
 Though all around him spreads ihe gloom of night, 
 
 His footsteps sparkle with a brilliant light ; 
 
 His Lamp— the Boo'i of God— doth brightly shine. 
 
 And pours upon his path a light divine. 
 
 Between the murky columns as they rise, 
 
 Sometimes he sees a palace in the skies ; 
 
 His heart is cheered, nor death nor danger dreads. 
 
 While circumspectly on his way he treads. 
 
 Thus step by step, he walks the narrow road. 
 
 Till at the end he finds himself with God. 
 
 Here is depicted a man just starting from, what 
 appears to be solid ground, to walk upon a nan'ow 
 plank, stretched across a deep gulph, and which ends 
 nobody knows whither. Before him thick clouds of 
 mist and vapor slowly but continually ascend from 
 the gulph or pit, rolling clouds of pitchy blaci<ness 
 also ascend. They spread themselves around him ; 
 in wreathy columns they stand before, and hide the 
 future from his vision. Still he proceeds ; he is a 
 wonder to many, who cannot tell what to make of it. 
 The man himself, however, appears to know very 
 well what he is doing. He holds in his hand a book 
 which he reads as he goes along ; though it may 
 seem to some unsafe, yet he finds it advantageous 
 rather than otherwise. The book, he thinks, throws 
 light upon his path ; now and then the wind blows 
 the clouds of smoke a little on one side, and he be- 
 holds, apparently far off in the distance, a splendid 
 mansion — this is the palace he has heard of; it is 
 thither the way leads, thither he would go. 
 
 The sight of the mansion above, whenever he is 
 so fortunate as to behold it, inspires him with cour- 
 age and fortitude ; he bears cheerfully his present la- 
 bors and sufTeriugs, and meets without fear any new 
 foe. He walks onward step by step, looking well at 
 
17 i RELIGIOUS ALLEUOBIES. 
 
 his footsteps ; at last he arrives at the end of his 
 journey — this opens upon him quite abruptly. Sud- 
 denly he beholds right before him the mansion shin- 
 ing gloriously. He enters — he is made heartily wel- 
 conie — he is amply repaid for all his labors and suf- 
 ferings. 
 
 This may be considered as an allegorical repre- 
 sentation of the Christian walking by faith through 
 this world to the next ; the young Christian, when 
 he embraces Christ, turns his back upon the world, 
 its vanities, and sinful pleasures. He renounces it 
 as an object of trust and hope ; he leads a new life ; 
 he walks a new path. It is the path of Faith. He 
 knows not what is before him in the present life, 
 whether sickness or health, prosperity or adversity ; 
 clouds of darkness, of temptation, and trouble, are 
 sometimes made to arise in his path, by the enemy 
 of his soul, to discourage him in the way he has cho- 
 sen. Yet he pursues. The word of God is his con- 
 stant, best companion — it is a light unto all his go- 
 ings ; by it he cleanses his way ; though it occupies 
 much of his time, so that many think it will prove 
 his ruin, yet he finds it exceedingly helpful, nay he 
 would not be without it for all the world. 
 
 In the midst of his labors and sufferings, he fre- 
 quently enjoys rich foretastes of the happiness of 
 heaven ; these are refreshing to his soul, strengthen- 
 ing and inspiring him with zeal for the Lord of hosts. 
 His light afflictions he reckons are not worthy to be 
 compared with the glory of which he has had an 
 earnest. Not knowing what shall befall him from 
 hour to hour, and from day to day, he goes forward 
 tiusting in God, to whom he has committed the keep, 
 ing of all his concerns, soul and body, for time and 
 eternity. By and by he finishes his course ; he has 
 kept the faith, and an abundant entrance is adminis- 
 
BELI6I0U8 ALLEGORlEfc 175 
 
 tered to him into the everlasting kingdom of Jesus 
 Christ. The man who walks by sight, looks only at 
 the things which are seen, and which, of course, are 
 temporal. He looks at and regards the things of 
 earth, as worthy of his esteem, of his love, of his la- 
 bor, of his sufferings ; houses and lands, power and 
 renown, and whatsoever tends to supply, the lust of 
 the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of lite — 
 these are the objects to which he directs all his pray- 
 ers, all his purposes, and all his toils — he lives for 
 this, and if necessary he will die for it. 
 
 He puts faith in nobody. He will have bonds and 
 seals and witnesses for all and in all his transactions 
 He will not trust the Almighty with any of his con- 
 cerns, but manages them all himself. He asks no 
 favors at his hands ; if indeed he does at any time 
 put up a petition to God, it is that he will ask nothing 
 of him. 
 
 How different with the man of Faith. He sees 
 the things of earth and knows their value. It is 
 enough for him that they are temporal. He values 
 them simply as they bear upon Eternity. He looks 
 at the things that are not seen, which are eternal : 
 his soul — and whatever tends to inform and purify it 
 — his Sa\'ior, and whatever will advance his cause on 
 the earth ; his God, — and what will glorify him : 
 Heaven — and whatever will help him on his way 
 thither : Hell — and what will enable him to escape 
 it. He looks at man as a fellow traveler to Eternity 
 — to the Judgment — puts a generous confidence in him 
 and labors to benefit him temporarily and spiritually. 
 His thoughts, his words, his actions, are all regulated 
 according to his eternal interest. A man must live 
 before he can walk. So it is spiritually. He lives 
 a life of faith in the Son of God. Hence it is not 
 difficult to walk by faith. H© is but a sojourner 
 
170 REXJOIOUA A.LLEeORIBR. 
 
 here. His citizenship is in heaven. He is a denU 
 zen of immortality. Hence to him — 
 
 " Faith lends its realizing light, 
 
 " The clouds disperse, the shadows fly, 
 
 " The Invisible appears in sight, 
 
 " And God is seen by mortal eye ; 
 
 " The things unknown to feeble sense, 
 
 " Unseen by reason's glimmering ray, 
 
 " With strong commanding evidence, 
 
 *' Their heavenly origin display." 
 
 Faith is the foundation of things hoped for, the 
 conviction of things not seen. Faith becomes a 
 foundation on which Hope builds her glorious temple 
 of future happiness. The spies who brought an evil 
 report of the land of Promise, walked by sight. 
 They saw nothing beside the high walls ; the num- 
 ber of inhabitants ; the gigantic Anikim. Not so 
 Joshua and Caleb. They saw only the promise, and 
 the power of Jehovah, which they believed was suffi- 
 cient to bring it to pass. While the former perished 
 with those who believed not, they, walking by Faith, 
 entered the goodly land and possessed it for an inher- 
 itance forever. 
 
 In the days of the Redeemer, there were some 
 who saw only the Babe of Bethlehem — the Car- 
 penter's Son — the Nazarine — the Man of sorrows— 
 the crucified Malefactor, and who dreamed of a tem- 
 poral kingdom. These all walked by sight. Others 
 beheld in him, the mighty God — the everlasting Fa- 
 ther — the Prince of Peace — the Messiah — the desire 
 of all nations — the Lamb of God — the Son of God-^ 
 The King of Israel — who looked for a spiritual king- 
 dom that would fill the whole earth, whose dominion 
 should be forever and ever. These all walked by 
 faith, and according to their faith even so was it done 
 unto them. 
 
BELIOIOUS ALLEGORIES. 177 
 
 By faith, the good old Simeon took up the child 
 Jesus in his arms, and said, "Lord, now lettest thou 
 thy sen'ant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen 
 thy salvation." By faith, the friends of the man sick 
 of the palsy broke open the roof of the house, and 
 lowered the sick man down into the midst where 
 Jesus w^as, and experienced his salvation. By faith, 
 Joseph of Arimathea, went to Pilate and begged the 
 body of Jesus, and layed it in his own sepulchre, not 
 doubting but that it would be raised again according 
 to the scriptures. By faith, Paul, when brought 
 before kings and princes of the earth, declared boldly 
 the gospel of Christ and his hope in the resurrection 
 of the dead.' By faith, the disciples, who were in 
 Jerusalem when it was encompassed by the Roman 
 armies, left the city and fled to the mountains, and 
 thus escaped punishment in the overthrow 1 hereof. 
 By faith, Johi. Huss, and Jerome, of Prague, deliv- 
 ered their bodies to be burned, not accepting deliv- 
 erance. By faith, Luther burnt the Bull of excom- 
 munication, and repaired to the city of Worms, not 
 fearing the wrath of Pope, Emperor, or Devil. By 
 faith, the Pilgrim Fathers braved the fury of the ocean 
 and the \'iolence of the savage, and planted a habi- 
 tation for God in the wilderness, yea, a refuge for 
 the children of men. 
 
 The time would fail to speak of Elliot and of 
 Brainerd, of Martyn and of Carey, of Wilson and of 
 Schwartz, of Wesley and of Whitefield, and of oth- 
 ers whose names are recorded in heaven, who, 
 through faith, unlocked the fountains of truth, broke 
 down the barriers of opposition, subdued nations to 
 faith of Christ, wrought righteousness, and preached 
 to the poor the acceptable year of the Lord. 
 
178 
 
 RRLIOIOUS ALLEOORISS. 
 
 7^ tBord it a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Pi. cxiJ^ 
 105. Ys do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that ahineth in a dark 
 place. 2 Peter i, 19. 
 
 THE SURE GUIDE. 
 
 Ai-ONE, bewildered, and in pensive mood, 
 A traveler wanders through a pathless wood; 
 Forward he goes, then back, then round and round { 
 And lists in vain to catch a friendly sound. 
 Soon night o'ertakes him on her ebon car. 
 Robed in thick darkness, without moon or star J 
 No lonely light gleams through the misty air, 
 Aod tremblingly he wanders in despair ; 
 
RELIGIOUS A^tEGORIES. 179 
 
 At length he sinks, and now for once he prays, 
 And lo ! a compass clo.-e beside him lays ; 
 A hght he gets and holds it at its side. 
 That he may well consaU the faithful guide ; 
 Within his breast hope now exulting springs. 
 And painful doubt, and fear away he flings ; 
 But now false guides advance across his track ; 
 One strives with speeches fair to turn him back; 
 Another bawls with bold and blust'ring shout : 
 ' Here ! through this pleasant opening lies your route.'* 
 I tell you, says a third, it is not so ; 
 This, and this only, is the way to go ; 
 He^huns them all, and trims his light anew, 
 And heeds his compass, and it guides him through. 
 
 An honest traveler having, on his way home, to 
 pass through a lonely forest, loses his way. Bewil- 
 dered, he knows not which way to turn. Now he 
 goes forward ; now backward. Then after wander- 
 ing about for some time, finds himself where he first 
 starts from. He is discouraged ; he listens, hoping 
 to catch from the whispering winds, some tidings of 
 companionship or safety. 'T is all in vain. Thick 
 mists now gather beneath the leafy canopy. The 
 shadows of evening prevail, and night wraps the 
 earth in her mantle of pitchy darkness. He gropes 
 his way with fear and trembling ; he becomes ex- 
 hausted ; hopeiess and overcome, at last he sinks on 
 the wet ground. For a while he muses. A thought 
 strikes him — he ^^^ll pray. He lifts up his hands in 
 prayer, and as they fall again at his side, he feels a 
 something. Behold ! it is a compass. Now he 
 strikes a light, and looks with intense interest on his 
 new found guide. Hope now swells his bosom ; he 
 will again see his beloved home. Doubt and fear 
 are thrown to the winds, and he springs up to pursue 
 his journey. 
 
 As he moves forward with a light in one hand and 
 compass in the other : several persons, attracted by 
 by the light, rush towards him and proffer their as- 
 
180 RELIGIOUS ALLEG0REI8. 
 
 sistance ; one pointing out an opening to the left, 
 roomy and level withal, with many fair speeches and 
 much earnestness, presses him to take it. Another 
 pointing to the right, in a very confident manner,* 
 urges him to take that. It is smoother and less ob- 
 structed than the way ahead. The traveler, honest 
 in his purpose of fin(ling home, and relying upon his 
 compass, rejects all their offers of advice. He trims 
 his lamp afresh •, looks again at his guide, and fol- 
 lowing implicitly the way it directs, he gets out of 
 the wood and arrives home in peace. 
 
 The lonely forest denotes this present world. The 
 traveler, man ; home, happiness ; the compass, the 
 Holy Bible; the light, the Holy Spirit; the false 
 guides, those deceitful directors and false doctrines 
 that abound in the w^orld. The world, apart from the 
 sacred light and holy influences of heaven, is dark, 
 cheerless, and impenetrable. Through sin, the dark- 
 ness of ignorance and the shadows of death prevail. 
 *' Darkness has covered the earth, and gross darkness 
 the minds of the people." 
 
 Every where, snares and pitfalls abound ; dangers, 
 pain, and death. With the desire of happiness 
 strongly implanted in his bosom, man wanders in the 
 midst of misery and uncertainty. What he is ; what 
 he must do ; whither he is going ; he cannot tell. 
 What is life 1 what is death ? He knows not. He 
 tastes of life with bitterness ; he approaches death 
 with horror. If there is a God, — what is His char- 
 acter ? how shall he worship him ? If there be a 
 state after death, what is its nature ? where is the 
 place of its abode ? 
 
 In this state of distressing anxiety, he w^anders on, 
 pathless, guideless, lightless, hopeless — he is lost ! 
 In the anguish of his soul, he exclaims, " Who will 
 Bhow me any good ?" " God, for ever blessed," 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGOKIES. 181 
 
 hears his prayer. He has been tenderly watching 
 him while in trackless mazes lost, and in His provi- 
 dence presents him with a Bible. He opens it — he 
 reads. Wonderful Book ! It tells him all about the 
 darkness ; of what it is made, and how it came to 
 overspread the earth. It tells too, of a sun, a glori- 
 ous sun, that can disperse the gloom : who he is, 
 and how he becomes the light of the world. It 
 points out to him more distinctly than he ever saw, 
 the snares and pitfalls, and the way to escape them. 
 Wherefore pain, and how to endure it. Why the 
 desire of happiness is implanted in the human breast, 
 and how it m.ay be gratified. It makes known to 
 him, what he is ; what he ought to do ; where he is 
 going, and what he may become. It tells him of 
 life, and how to enjoy it : of death, and how to 
 strip it of its terrors. 
 
 It reveals to him a God, tremendous in power, 
 glorious in holiness, accurate in justice, infinite in 
 love. The Almighty Maker and Ruler of the Uni- 
 verse. It prescribes the way in v/hich He would be 
 worshiped, through " Jesus Christ the Righteous." 
 The sacrifices He would accept, " a broken and a 
 contrite heart ;" this is more acceptable to Him than 
 
 '•' Arabia sacrificed 
 And all her spicy mountains in a flame." 
 
 The Bible reveals to him Futurity. It raises the 
 curtain of the hidden world. Here he beholds the 
 tormenting flame, the parched tongue, the useless 
 prayer ; there, the glory of Paradise, the bliss of 
 Heaven, the song of praise. It becomes to him just 
 what he needs. He has found a way, a guide, a light, 
 to happiness. Still, he understands its mijihty truths 
 but imperfectly, yet he reads on ; scales fall from his 
 eyes ; he beholds men as trees walking. But the 
 consolations of hope are his ; he has found God ; he 
 
182 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 seeks for wisdom at its fount — for light at its source. 
 *' Open my eyes," he prays, " that 1 may behold the 
 wonders of thy Law." Light celestial shines upon 
 the sacred page ; he reads and understands enough 
 for knowledge, enough for duty, and enough for hap- 
 piness. 
 
 As soon as the honest inquirer after tmth has dis- 
 covered the right path, begins to walk in it, and lets 
 his light shine, numerous false guides appear and 
 proffer their services. While he w^as stumbling 
 along in darkness and in ignorance, the devil gave 
 himself no concern about him. Now he is very 
 much interested in his welfare. He sends his ser^ 
 vants to put the poor man right. One of these en- 
 deavors to dissuade him from using the Bible, for, 
 says he, " it is full of mystery ; it is impossible to un- 
 derstand it. I, for one, will never believe what I 
 can not understand. Follow reason, that is the surest 
 guide." "Indeed, friend," replies the enlightened 
 man, " it was by following reason that I was led into 
 the possession of the Bible, and my Bible has led me 
 to God. I acknowledge it is mysterious, wonderfully 
 so ; yet it has led me right hitherto, and I am deter- 
 mined to follow it. The nature of its secret influ- 
 ence over my soul, I can not tell. The nature of 
 the power by which it guides aright, imder all cir- 
 cumstances of life, I know not. Neither does the 
 mariner understand the power by which the compass 
 operates, so beneficially under all circumstances ; of 
 storm and calm, light and darkness, heat and cold. 
 It is ever a sure guide. He believes in it ; he fol- 
 lows it. Were the sailor no more to weigh anchor 
 and spread the flowing sail, until he understands the 
 mysteries of the compass, verily, he would have to 
 learn another trade, for ships would rot in harbor, 
 commerce would cease, and intercourse between na- 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 183 
 
 tioiis come to an end. And what is worthy of re- 
 mark, the common sailor boy understands just as 
 much of the practical use of the compass, as the cap 
 tain ; cease then to persuade me further. The Bible 
 is my compass, my sure guide, 1 will follow it." 
 
 Other false directors of different names, but all of 
 them having the same end in view, viz : to make him 
 distrust his guide, and turn him out of the way, of- 
 fer to him their services ; some press the matter one 
 way, and some another. His reply to all is, " Where- 
 withal shall a young man cleanse his way, but by 
 taking heed thereto according to thy word." 
 
 Thus he believes in it practically, follows its di- 
 rections implicitly, and it guides him safely by every 
 slough of despond, over every mountain of difficulty, 
 through every strait of distress, and every storm of 
 tribulation, and conducts him at last in triumph to 
 the home of the blessed. 
 
 " Take from the world the Bible, and you have taken the 
 moral chart by which alone its population can be guided. Ig- 
 norant of the nature of God, and only guessing at their own 
 immortality, the tens of thousands would be as mariners, tossed 
 on a wide ocean, without a pole star and without a compass. 
 The blue lights of the storm-fiend would bum ever in the 
 shrouds ; and when the tornado of death rushed across the 
 waters, there would be heard nothing but the shriek of the ter- 
 rified, and the groan of the despairing. It were to mantle the 
 earth with a more than Egyptian darkness ; it were to dry up 
 the fountain of human happiness ; it were to take the tides 
 from our waters, and leave them stagnant, and the stars from 
 our heavens, and leave them in sackcloth ; and the verdure 
 from our valleys, and leave them in barrenness ; it were to 
 make the present all recklessness, and the future all hopelessness ; 
 the maniac's revelry, and then the fiend's imprisonment ; if you 
 could annihilate the precious volume which tells us of God and 
 of Christ, and unveils immortality, and instructs in duty, and 
 woos to glory. Such is the Bible. Prize ye it, and study it 
 more and more. Prize it, as ye are immortal bemgs, for it 
 guides to the New Jerusalem, Prize it, as ye are intellectual 
 beings, for it " giveth light to the simple," 
 
181 
 
 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 Abate all these things put on charity. Col. iii. 14. Love is the fulRUuut 
 of the law. Rom. xiii. 10. God is love. I. John, iv. 8. •' "^ 
 
 CHARITY OR LOVE. 
 
 The seraph Charity from heaven descends. 
 And o'er the world on shining phiions hands ; 
 Round mourning mortals tender as a dove, 
 She spreads lierwin? and soothes 'n tones of love ; 
 Pours hving bahn into the wounded breast. 
 And aids the beggar though in tatters drest ; 
 The orphan's plaint she heeds, and widow's sigh. 
 
EELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 185 
 
 And smiles away the tear from sorrow's eye. 
 Like some fair founi that through the desert flows. 
 Fringed witli the myrtle and the Persian rose. 
 She scatters hlessings all along her track, 
 •And hope and joy to want and woe brings back, 
 And when the last faint sob is heard no more. 
 Up to her native bowers again she '11 soar. 
 
 Behold here a being of heavenly appearance. The 
 light of love iiTadiates her ])row ; her eyes melt with 
 tenderness ; her countenance wears the aspect of 
 benevolence ; her he.irt bleeds with 5>-mpathy ; her 
 hands are strong to save ; the commisserating Angel 
 has come from a far distiint part ; on the wings of love 
 and compassion she has come ; she has left all to 
 succor and to save the helpless, the wretched, and 
 the lost. 
 
 See her at her Godlike work. In the foreground 
 she is raising a miserable being in rags and tatters 
 from a pit of mire and filth. U'ith her right hand 
 she is pouring the balm of life into the wounds of 
 Ihe dying. Look behind her; see the widow and 
 the fatherless. They have come to bless her ; with 
 hearts gushing with gratefid emotion they follow her 
 with their praise ; she has rescued them from the 
 gripe of the oppressor ; they were hungry and she 
 fed them, naked and she clothed them, and their prav- 
 ers like a cloud of incense go up to heaven- in behalf 
 of their compassionate friend. Betore she leaves the 
 district of pain, want and wTetcbedness, Charity, 
 for that is her name, builds a house for the reception 
 of the distressed ; here she provides what is neces- 
 sar}', appoints her officers and attendants, leaves 
 wholesome instiuctions, then amid the praises, thanks- 
 givings and benedictions of those whom her love has 
 blessed, she spreads again her wings and soars to 
 her own abode, there to banquet on the remembrance 
 of her deeds. 
 
1 8G RELIGIOUS ALLKGOKIES. 
 
 This engraving roprr-sents, firsi of all, the divine 
 Charity of the ever blessed Redeenior. He left the 
 glories and happiness of heaven to visit our diseased, 
 our lost world. Beaming with love, melting with 
 tenderness, filled with benevolence, on the wings of 
 compassion he flew to our relief. How compassion- 
 ate ! how spnpathizing ! He becomes a slave him.self 
 that he may preach deliverance to the captives, and 
 the opening of the prison doors to them which are 
 bound, and that he might proclaim the acceptable year 
 of the Lord. See Him at his work of mercy. The 
 world is an aceldama, a vast Lazar house, a conquered 
 province, subject to sin and death. He scatters health 
 around him ; he gives eyesight to the helpless blind ; 
 he bids the lame to walk ; the hungry he fills with 
 good things ; the very dead he restores to life and 
 joy. He beholds the iveeping widow, and hastens to 
 wipe away her tears. Fie visits the house of mourn- 
 ing and fills it with tli^^ ^ong of praise. 
 
 Behold Him ascend die Mount of Blessing. He 
 takes his seat; heavenly light shines around him; 
 the majesty of holiness encircles his brow. Love, 
 divine love, looks out from his wondrous eyes ; the 
 manna of wisdom drops from his lips ; he assembles 
 around him the poor — the mourners — the persecuted, 
 and showers upon them the blessings of an endless 
 life. He rescued the conquered province from the 
 grasp of the foe ; destroyed the power of death, and 
 opened unto man the portals of immortal Life. "He 
 wept that man might smile ; he bled that man might 
 never die ; he seized our dreadful right, the load sus- 
 tained, and hove the mountain from our guilty world." 
 He established his Church as an Hospital for the 
 spiritually diseased ; appointed his own ministers and 
 officers ; gave his own laws for the guidance thereof, 
 and having perfected his work of Charity, he ascended 
 
 \ 
 
RELIOIOOS ALLEGORIES. 187 
 
 again to the mansions of bliss, there to see the effects 
 " of the travail of his soul and be satisfied." As wag 
 the divine Founder, such is the religion he established. 
 Christianity is a noble system of Charity. It teaches 
 man to feel another's woe ; to seek another's good ; 
 to breathe, instead of revenge, forgiveness and affec- 
 tion ; for the aged, the halt, the maimed and the blind, 
 it erects asylums of comfort and repose : for the suf- 
 fering and the sick, Hospitals ; and above ail, taking 
 into account man's spiritual wants, man's deathless 
 interests as a candidate for eternity, it provides tern- 
 pies for religious worship, where the ignorant may 
 be instructed, the guilty pardoned, the polluted sanc- 
 tified, and made meet for heaven. Other religions 
 are a fable — a delusion — a shadow. Christianity is 
 alone benevolent ; in its Founder, in its essence, 
 and in its operations, intensely benevolent. 
 
 Infidelity, in all its appeals, professes Charity and 
 benevolence. What have its apostles done to benefit 
 mankind ? In what book are their " Acts" recorded ? 
 To what lands have they carried the blessings of civi- 
 lization? what prisons have they opened ? what chains 
 have they snapt asunder ? where are the tombs of 
 their martyrs ? where the trophies of their success ? 
 Infidelity is cruel, earthly, sensual and devilish. 
 Witness its day of trimnph in France. Tnie, it 
 opened the doors of the Bastile, but it was only to 
 lead the inmates to the guillotine. It demolished the 
 walls, but it was only to build out of the ruins thereof 
 a hundred dimgeons, if possible still more gloomy 
 and terrible. The reign of Infidelity is the "reign 
 of terror." " The infant comes into the world with- 
 out a blessing, the aged leaves it without hope." 
 The house of mercy is closed ; the book of mercy is 
 burnt ; the ministers of mercy are slaughtered ; the 
 God of mercy is banished ; vea, a watch is set upon 
 54 
 
188 RELIGI0U8 ALLEGOKIES. 
 
 the tomb that the dead may rise no more. Infidelity 
 
 " like Samson in his wrath, 
 Plucking the jiillnrs that support the world, 
 Fair Charity in ruins lios entombed. 
 '• And jnidni^ht, universal midnight reigns." 
 
 As is the founder of Christianity, and as is Chris- 
 tianity itself, such also is the disciple; he goes about 
 'o'mrr good ; he is the Jordan in its fullness ; he, lika 
 the Nile, leaves behind him the seeds of a new ere 
 ation ; he seeks out the helpless and the destitute-; 
 he visits the widows and the fatherless in their afflic- 
 tion, and soothes and wipes away their tears ; he 
 understands and appreciates the heaven-born senti- 
 ment, " It is more blessed to give than to receive." 
 Hence, " when the ear hears of him it blesses him, 
 when the eye sees him it gives witness for him, and 
 the blessing of him that was ready to perish comes 
 upon him." 
 
 The disciple however views man in his relation to 
 both worlds, as possessing a deathless spirit; as a 
 candidate for eternity ; as an ignorant, helpless and 
 guilty sinner, unholy and unclean, and yet redeemed 
 by the blood of Christ. He will, as far as possible, 
 instruct his ignorance and point him to the Savior. 
 Tiiie Charity acts from motives of love to God as 
 well as man. Hence infjratitude does not restrain 
 him, nor opposition make him afraid. He lays up a 
 foundation against the time to come ; and when he 
 shall have sown the seeds of Benevolence here, he 
 will reap a harvest of everlasting love ; for " what- 
 oever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." 
 
 " True Charity, a plant divinely nursed. 
 Yet by the love from which it rose at first, 
 Thrives against hope, and, in the rudesi scene. 
 Storms but enliven its unfading green. 
 Exuberant is the shadow it suppliea. 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 15'J 
 
 Its fruits on earth, its growth above the skies, 
 
 To look at him, who formed us and redeemed, 
 
 So glorious now, though once so disesteemed, 
 
 To see a God stretch forth his human hand, 
 
 To uphold the boundless scenes of his command ; 
 
 To recollect that in a form like ours. 
 
 He bruised beneath his feet the infernal powers ; 
 
 Captivity led captive, ro?e to claim 
 
 The wreath he won so dearly in our name. 
 
 Like him the soul, thu^ kindled from above. 
 
 Spreads wide her arms of universal love ; 
 
 And, still enlarged as she receives the grace. 
 
 Includes creation in her close embrace." 
 
 " Charity is placed at the head of all the Christian virtues 
 by St. Paul, the ablest divine that ever graced a pulpit or 
 wielded a pen. It is the sub-stratum of philanthropy, the 
 brighest star in the Christian's diadem. It spurns the scrofula 
 of green-eyed jealousy, the canker of tormenting envy, the 
 tortures of burning malice, the typhoid of foaming revenge. 
 It is an impartial mirror, set in the frame of love, resting on 
 equity and justice. It is the foundation and cap stone of the 
 climax of all the Christian graces — without it, our religion is 
 like a body without a soul — our friendships, shadows of a 
 shadow — our alms, the offsprings of pride, or, what is more 
 detestable, the offerings of hypocrisy — our humanity, a mere 
 iceberg on the ocean of time — we are unfit to discharge the 
 duties of life, and derange the design of our creation. Wars 
 and rumors of wars would cease — envy, jealousy, and revenge, 
 would hide their diminished heads — falsehood, slander, and 
 persecution would be unknown — sectarian walls, in matters of 
 religion, would crumble in dust. Pure and undefiled religion 
 would then be honored and glorified — primitive Christianity 
 would stand forth, divested of the inventions of men, in all the 
 majesty of its native loveliness — the victories of the cross 
 would be rapidly achieved — and the bright day be ushered in, 
 when Jesus shall rule, King of nations, as he now does King 
 of saints, ' — Frobt. 
 
190 
 
 RELIGIOUS ALLEOOKIBS. 
 
 
 
 
 Pride goeth before destruction, and an kaughty spirit before a fall Prov 
 zvi. 18. He giveth grace, unto the lowly. Prov. iii. 34. 
 
 PRIDE AND HUMILITY. 
 
 Rising in fair proportion side by side, 
 
 Behold the stages of Progressive Pride; 
 
 Bespcctability begins the course ; 
 
 'T is his who has— all told— a well filled purse ; 
 
 High as his neighbor sure he 'd like to feel, 
 
 So takes the next step, and is quite GenUel; 
 
 By many nets for which he'd fain write — blank, 
 
RKLIGIOU.S ALLEGORIES. 191 
 
 He 6wt-lls and struts at length a man o{ Bank ; 
 
 The chair of state he next ascends, that Fame 
 
 May faithfully transmit his Honored name ; 
 
 He meets a rival here, and — woe to tell. 
 
 He sends his rival in a trice to — hell ; 
 
 A thousand i^hots lik*: that, and strange to say, 
 
 Right up to Glory he has won his way. 
 
 Pride walks a thorny path ; it nothing bears 
 
 But swords and pistols, blood, and groans, and tears. 
 
 Far different in the happy vale, behold 
 Humility at ease, unc-ursed with gold ; 
 With competence content, with wisdom blessed ; 
 In peace he dwells, care-sing and cares-ed ; 
 No thorns beset his path, there only grows 
 The bending corn, the violet, snd the rose ; 
 Truth, beauty, innocence, at once combine, 
 And o'er his pathway sheds a light divine ; 
 And when he leaves the vale, to him 'lis given, 
 To walk amid the bowers of bliss in heaven. 
 
 This engraving shows a nade mass of rocks rising 
 from the valley below. They appear to be thrown 
 up by some volcanic explosion, or forced up by the 
 agency of subterranean tires, they are so steep, rug- 
 ged and unequal. On the tops of the ledges are 
 seen bushes of thorns, high, and spreading in all di- 
 rections. On the first ledge is a man who has scram, 
 bled up with some difficulty to the place he now 
 occupies. His object is to get as high as he can, 
 and he is seen about to place himself on the eleva- 
 tion of Gentility. On the next ridge is seen a man 
 and woman, who appear to think a good deal of 
 themselves. They stmt and swell like peacocks, 
 although behind and before danger threatens. A 
 little higher see ! there is murder committed. One 
 man has shot at, and killed his brother, just because 
 he would not move faster out of his way, although 
 there was room enough for both. At the end of the 
 rocks and above all, is a man in unifoiTn. He has 
 attained the highest pinnacle. Thunder and lightning 
 
193 BELIOIOUa ALLEOOBIES. 
 
 attend his path ; storms gather round him. Ai.man of 
 thick skin, no doubt ; thorns could not scratch him, 
 nor daggers pierce him, nor bullets kill him. Hit 
 glory, however, is almost gone. The next step ht' 
 takes he falls, and disappears. 
 
 A more pleasing picture presents itself to us below 
 A lovely vale opens enriched and adorned with thf 
 choicest of fiTiits and flowers of paradise ; there the 
 fountains pour forth their living streams. The com 
 bends gracefully to the passing zephyr. The lowl} 
 violet rears her beauteous head in the friendly shade 
 the rose of Sharon decks the border ; the father 
 mother, and little one are seen walking together along 
 this beautiful valley, with Wisdom for their guide. 
 The air is filled with fragrance and sweet sounds ; 
 no thorns grow there to obstruct their path ; no light- 
 ning's flash, nor thunder's roar, makes them afraid. 
 Safe, peaceful and happy, they pass along, while 
 Truth, Beauty, and Innocence, irradiate their pathway 
 that leads directly to their own sequestered cottage. 
 
 This is an allegorical representation of Pride and 
 Humility. The shelving rocks denote the rugged 
 and thorny path of Pride. The-- way is raised by 
 the agency of the devil. Having ruined himself by 
 pride, he seeks to bring man into me same condem- 
 nation ; he tempts the children of men to walk on it. 
 The Most High has planted it with thorns, made it 
 difficult in order to deter men from walking on it. 
 Notwithstanding this merciful precaution, it is crowd- 
 ed with adventurers. Nothing shows the fallen char- 
 acter of man, more than his silly and presumptuous 
 pride, at once stupid and wicked. 
 
 *' Of all the causes which conspire to blind 
 " Man's erring judgment, and misguide his mind, 
 " What the weak head with strongest bias niles, 
 " Is Pride, the never-failing vice of foola j 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 1 93 
 
 " Wliatever nature has in worth denied, 
 
 " She gives in large recruits of needful pride ; 
 
 " For as in bodies, thus in souls, we find 
 
 " What wants in biood and spirits, swelled with wind ; 
 
 " Pride, where wit fails, steps in to our defense, 
 
 " And fills up ail the mighty void of sense." 
 
 A man becomes possessed of a little gold, and he 
 all at once becomes blind, or at least he sees things 
 in a very different light from what he did once. He 
 himself is altogether another man. He wonders that 
 he never before discovered his own merit. He no 
 longer associates with his former friends ; Oh no ! 
 they are not respectable. He wishes to be consid- 
 ered a gentleman : he wdll no longer work ; he is 
 above that. He sees his neighbor living in a higher 
 style than he does, he is discontented. The thorns 
 already begin to scratch him. Pride, however, can 
 bear a little pain. Pride is very prolific. The man 
 under its influence soon gets peevish, envious, and 
 revengeful. The remonstrances of conscience are 
 silenced, and he gives himself up to the guidance of 
 Ambition. 
 
 He next aspires after rank and fashion ; but Pride 
 is very ejcpensive. In order to keep up appearances, 
 he does many things that at one time, he would never 
 have thought of doing. He can lie, and be very 
 respectable. He can overreach and defraud his 
 neighbor, and yet be respectaljle. He can seduce 
 the innocent and unsu-pecting, and destroy the hap- 
 piness of entli-e families, and still be considered re- 
 spectable. By his slanders he has ruined the repu- 
 tation of more than one. By his unrighteous schemes 
 he attains the present object of his proud heart, and 
 moves among the circles of rank and fashion. 
 
 Yet his soul is restless. It is like the troubled 
 sea ; he pants for Power. He pursues after honors, 
 that the trump of fame may sound his name abroad, 
 
191 KELIOIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 and hand it down faithfully to posterity. He becomes 
 now a candidate for high office. In his own opinion 
 he possesses every qualification ; he is astonislied 
 that the world should be so blind to his many excel- 
 lencies. He here meets with a competitor — he 
 wishes him out of his way. " From pride comes 
 contentioii ;" he picks a quarrel with his rival. The 
 challenge succeeds ; the duel is fought, and his an- 
 tagonist falls weltering in his blood. He triumphs. 
 Ah ! unhappy man ! Remorse is his companion for- 
 ever — the ghost of the murdered haunts him contin- 
 ually. 
 
 He is installed in office. He scrables at nothing 
 that will but increase his power ; the man's pride 
 knows no bounds — he aspires now after conquest 
 and dominion. He will be a Hero ; he will attain 
 the high pinnacle of military renown and glory. War, 
 fearful, devastating war, goes before him ; Famine 
 and Pestilence attend him ; Ruin and Misery follow 
 close behind, but "Pride goeth before destruction !" 
 There are others who wish him out of the way. A 
 shot from his own ranks cuts him down. From his 
 high elevation he is brought low. His glory is de- 
 parted. 
 
 " Heroes are much the same, the point's agreed, 
 " From Macedonia's madman to the Swede ; 
 " Mark by what wretched steps their glory grows, 
 " From dirt and seaweed as proud Venice rose ; 
 " In (I'aoh how guilt and greatness equal ran, 
 " And all ihat raised the hero ^^unk. the man." 
 
 The mnn with his family in the happy vale, repre- 
 sent-; Ihimilify. The passions seldom operate alone; 
 humility Ix'gets contentment and peace. He is sat- 
 isfied with the position God has given him. He has 
 learned from the book of wisdom that happiness con- 
 sists not in the abundance of things which a man 
 
BELIOIOUS ALLEGORIES. 195 
 
 may possess ; hence contentment is his safe -guard. 
 He has no desire to ascend the rugged path of pride ; 
 he drinks wisdom and knowledge from the fountain 
 of TiTJth — he quaffs pleasure at the springs of do- 
 mestic bliss. His greatest treasure is a good con- 
 science — his highest ambition to walk humbly witli 
 his God. Free from the consuming cares, the tor 
 turing desires, the fierce passions, the dreadful fears, 
 and gnawing conscience of the man of Pride, he en- 
 joys peace. He labors to discharge all the duties of 
 his station, with an eye single, doing all to the glory 
 of God. His present path is safe, peaceful and 
 happy, and his hope of the future, blessed and glorious. 
 
 " Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife, 
 " Their sober wishes never learned to stray ; 
 " Along the cool, sequestered vale of life, 
 " They keep the nois»iles3 tenor of their way," 
 
 Behold how great is the difference between Hu- 
 mility and Pride. Pride assumes an elevated posi- 
 tion, and looks down with contempt on all beneath. 
 Humility is content with a lowly seat, and mingles 
 kindly with the brotherhood of man. Pride climbs a 
 steep, dry, and rugged path, beset with thorns and 
 briars. Humility walks the verdant vale amid rip- 
 pling brooks, blushing corn, and flowers of vernal 
 beauty. Pride occupies a dangerous place ; even 
 nature contends against him. The thunder, the 
 lightning, and the storm, encompass him about. 
 Humility walks with nature, and her path is safe. 
 Pride is tormented with cares, fears, and vain desires. 
 Humility enjoys the peace of God that passeth un- 
 derstanding. Pride works all, and endures all, to be 
 seen of dying men. Humility courts the eye only 
 of the living God. The path of Pride leads to 
 shame and everlasting contempt ; that of Humility to 
 Honor, Glory, and Eternal Life. 
 35 
 
196 
 
 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 JVhosoecer will lose his life for my sake sliall save it. Luke ix. 24. — He diei 
 for all. — 2 Cor. v. 15, We ought to lay down our Uvea for the brethren. 
 —1 John, iii. 16, 
 
 THE SACRIFICE. 
 
 See here the Warriors on the battle-field. 
 
 In dread array with gleaming spear and shield ; 
 
 They rush together with the mighty roar 
 
 Of stormy ocean on a rock-bound shore ; 
 
 Shields strike on shields, helmets on helmets clash* 
 
 In pools of purple gore the Legions splash. 
 
BELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 197 
 
 From Latiuni's host the sound of triumph rings. 
 
 And Victory guides them on her crimson wingsj 
 
 Then the brave Roman, fired with patriot zeal. 
 
 His life devoted for his countiys weal ; 
 
 The victors then in dire amazement stood^ 
 
 As on he swept like a destroying iiood ; 
 
 His blood-stained sword through crest and corselet sank, 
 
 Like Death's own angel, swift he strewed each rank : 
 
 At length he fell, — and Rome's proud banner waved 
 
 Jts folds triumphant o'er a nation saved. 
 
 Behold, here, the battle-field ; the warriors are 
 seen arrayed in all the pompous circumstance of war. 
 Armed with shield and javelin, they stand prepared 
 for dreadful combat. See I the ranks are broken ; 
 ene is seen iiishing into the midst of the enemy — on 
 he sweeps like a tornado — right and left he hurls the 
 blood-stained spear ; he cuts his way through — the 
 foe, astounded at his daring intrepidity, give back. 
 Again they rally, and the hero falls covered with a 
 hundred wounds ; he has, however, effected his object 
 — ^the ranks are broken ; his comrades follow up the 
 advantage thus gained — rushing into the breach they 
 rout the foe, and soon victory sits perched upon their 
 banner. 
 
 The Romans, being at one time engaged in battle 
 against the Latins, the latter had the advantage, and 
 victory was about to decide in their favor, when Pub- 
 lius Decius, observing how things went, fired with a 
 generous zeal, determined to sacrifice his life for 
 his countj-y's welfare. He threw himself upon the 
 ranlvs of the enemy, and after having committed great 
 slaughter among them, fell, overwhehned with wounds. 
 His countrjinen, inspired by his heroic example, 
 rallied their forces, renewed the combat, fought with 
 great bravery, and gained a complete victory. De- 
 cius left behind hiiri a son, who in like manner sacri- 
 ficed his life in a; war with the Etruscans ; also, a 
 
195 RELIGIOUS A.LLEG0RIE8. 
 
 grandson who sacrificed himself in the war waged 
 against Pyrrhus. His example influenced his coun- 
 trymen down to the last of the Romans. 
 
 The hero sacrificing his life for his- country's good, 
 represents the Christian Missionary falling in the 
 mi l.^t of heathen lands. The young man already 
 belongs to the sacramental host ; devoutly attached 
 to his Saviour, burning with zeal for his glory, he 
 longs to do something to advance his kingdom on the 
 earth. The tw^o armies he knows are in the field ; 
 long, fierce and bloody, has been the contest. O ! if 
 he were permitted to turn the battle to the gate. 
 That he may see distinctly the state of things, he as- 
 cends the mount of Vision ; in one direction he be- 
 holds Africa bleeding and prostrate beneath the 
 powers of evil — he sees tribe waging against tribe 
 bloody and cruel wars ; rivers run red with the blood of 
 its slaughtered millions ; its mountains are crimsoned 
 with human sacrifices ; its vallies resound with the 
 wild yells of demon-worshippers. In Central Africa 
 he sees forty millions ignorant, cmel and supersti- 
 tious, covered with the blackness of night ; every 
 where cruelty reigns rampant, enslaving and destroy- 
 ing millions of immortal souls ; and as he bends over 
 this mass of woe, he thinks he hears Africa " weep- 
 ing for her children" as she "stretches out her hands 
 unto God." 
 
 He turns his eyes in another direction, and he be- 
 holds China — vast, populous China : an infidel refine- 
 ment, mixed with abominable vices prevails ; one 
 vast chain binds them fast to the pictured idols of 
 their own creating; there they are ignorant of Jeho- 
 vah, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent ; without 
 hope in the world. 
 
 He ventures to look still further. Now ho beholds 
 Ihe myriads of India crushed beneath a gi^mtic s^- 
 
RELIGIOUS AILEGORIES. 199 
 
 tern of error — the gro\%ih of ages. The rivers as 
 they roll, the mountains as they rise, the vallies as 
 they open, all proclaim the deep degradation of the 
 people. " They have priests, but they are imposters 
 and murderers ; and altars — but they are stained 
 with human blood ; and objects of worship — but they 
 acrifice to devils and not to God. The countless 
 nass is at worship — before the throne of Satan, 
 glowing as with th^:^ heat of an Lifernal furnace — 
 with rage, lust, and cruelty, for their religious emo- 
 tions. He looks again ; their demon-worship is over, 
 but are they satisfied ? How eager their looks ! how 
 objectless and restless their movements ! how the 
 living mass of misery heaves and surges, and groans 
 and travails in pain together. He beholds them " as 
 travellers into Eternity ; how vast the procession 
 they form, how close their ranks, how continuous the 
 line, how constant and steady the advance ! an angry 
 cloud hangs over them— which moves as they move 
 — and ever and anon emits a lurid flash ; it is stored 
 with the materials of judicial wrath. Thousands of 
 them have reached the edge of a tremendous gulph — 
 it is the gulph of perdition, and they are standing on 
 the very brink. God of mercy, they are falling over. 
 They are gone !" 
 
 Finally he looks at home ; here, in his own be- 
 oved land, he sees millions of immortal souls, for 
 whom Christ died, shut up in unbelief and ignorance. 
 Slaves, doomed to labor in despair, and to die without 
 hope. 
 
 " From Greenland's icy mountains. 
 
 From India's coral strand. 
 Where Afric's sunny fountains 
 
 Roll down their golden sand ; 
 From many an ancient river, 
 
 From many a palmy plain, 
 They call him to deliver 
 
 Their land from error's chain.* 
 
200 KEHGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 He hears the call ; it sinks deep into his heart. 
 He burns to carry to Africa the tidings of the God 
 of Love — to China the system of Eternal Truth — to 
 India the sacrifice of the Son of God — to his op- 
 pressed countrymen the Liberty that maketh "free 
 indeed." Viewing the vast and deadly plague that 
 desolates the earth, he longs to carry into the midst 
 thereof the censer of incense, that the plague may 
 be stayed, and spiritual health every where estab- 
 lished. In the spirit of devotion he exclaims, " here 
 am I, send me." 
 
 " My life and blood I here present, 
 If for thy truth they may be spent." 
 
 Now he selects his field of labor ; the tear of love 
 and friendship bedews his cheek — the parting hand 
 is given — the last farewell breaks from his trembling 
 lips — he flies on the wings of the wind to meet the 
 foe. Soon he is at the post of duty ; he flings the 
 torch of heavenly love into the midst of midnight 
 darkness ; powerfully he wields the sword of truth 
 against gigantic forms of error. He wrestles with 
 the man of sin and prevails ; the might of God is 
 with him ; the enemy falls before him ; he takes pos- 
 session of his strong places. The banner of Em- 
 manuel opens its folds triumphant to the breeze; 
 soon the infant Church lifts up its voice, " hosanna, 
 hosanna in the highest." 
 
 But in the sti-uggle the Hero falls. Through the 
 influence of the deadly climate, or through the dead- 
 lier passion of the ferocious natives, he falls. Far 
 from home and friends he falls, and " unknelled and 
 uncoflined" he is borne to the house appointed to all 
 the living ; the earth closes over him ; not a stone 
 tells where he lies ; but his object is effected, the 
 seed is sown. The tree of Liie is planted, whose 
 
 ( 
 
RELIGIOUR ALLEGORIES. 201 
 
 leaves shall be for the healing of a nation's curse. 
 The nation that smote him by and by shall remember 
 him whom they pierced, and mourn deeply because 
 of the madness of their guilt. He is crouTied with 
 glory, honor, and immortality ; the brightest diadem 
 in heaven's own gift is his ; he wears it as his due. 
 
 He has fallen, but like Samson, he slew more d>ang than 
 when he was alive. The Temple of Error is overthrown, the 
 tree of gospel liberty is watered by the blood of its martyrs ; 
 thus has it ever been, from th« time of the proto-martyr to him 
 of Erromanga. Every stroke received is a victor\' gained, 
 every death a triumph. The sacrificing spirit of the brave 
 Roman lived in his immediate descendants and fired a whole 
 nation with the love of heroic deeds ; it is so with the Chris- 
 tian Hero, and to much belter purpose. Living he was located ; 
 his sphere of usefulness was limited ; now he possesses a 
 ubiquity of presence ; he is every where animating the Church 
 of God by his example ; and she is animated — the spot where 
 he fell becomes a recognized part of her possessions. Others 
 rush forward and secure the prize. Every one of his wounds 
 become more effective and eloquent than fne mouth of the liv- 
 ing orator, speaking through all time. Dying, he becomes an 
 immortal, his very name becomes a watch-word — his deeds, a 
 memorial unto all generations ; his heroic example, a glorious 
 inheritance. If the offering of the widow's mites have con- 
 Btituted so rich a treasury to the Church, how much more shall 
 the sacrifice of the Christian Hero open to her a mine of 
 wealth, at once precious and inexhaustible. 
 
 " 'T is now the time of strife and war. 
 The contest sounds on every side ; 
 Nations are bound to Satan's car. 
 And who shall meet him in his pride 1 
 Is there no arm his power to break ] 
 Are there no hearts that deeply feel ] 
 Sons of the kingdom ! rise, awake ! 
 Obey, at length, your Saviour's will. 
 Go, bear the gospel banner forth. 
 Its glittering web of light unroll, 
 To gleam sublime from south to north. 
 And scatter light firorxi pole to pole ** 
 
50-2 
 
 RBLIOTOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 Whotoever therefore, shall be ashamed of me — of him shall the Son of Man 
 be ashamed. Mark, viii. 38. 
 
 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 
 
 See where the Cross of duty stands upright. 
 Above it, shines the Crown with radiant light ; 
 Right in the narrow way the Cross it stands. 
 And all the space completely it commands ; 
 On either side behold ! vast rocks arise. 
 Expand their width, and reach the topmost skiea: 
 
 V 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 203 
 
 B'^e numbers there, who fam the Crown w u]d have. 
 But will not touch the Cro=g, their souls to save ; 
 They seek some other way, but 't will not do, 
 They wander on, and find eternal wo^. 
 
 But one is seen advancing right ahead. 
 And like his Lord — the Croas he will not dread ; 
 He takes it up — 't is feathers — nothing more — 
 He travels onward faster than before ; 
 He loves the Cross, nor ever lays .t down, 
 'Till he receives instead the starry Crown. 
 
 On a gently^ rising ground, a Cross of somewhat 
 1 rge dimensions is seen to stand erect ; above it, 
 and suspended in the air, a bright Crown sparkles 
 with a brilliant light. On both sides of the Cross 
 rocka, vast and precipitous, lift up their tops to the 
 heavens ; on either side they extend as far as the 
 eye can reach. Many persons are seen going round 
 the base of the mountain chain ; their object appears 
 to be to get the Crown ; it is theirs, if they will but 
 get it according to the condition proposed. They 
 have been trying to go through the narrow passage, 
 but the wooden cross blocks up the entrance ; they 
 never think of moving that, although they try to 
 climb the mountain barrier, which is much more dif- 
 ficult. See ! one is now attempting to ascend, but 
 it is all in vain — there is no other way than through 
 the chasm. Away they go, wandering round and 
 round ; some are seen falling off a precipice, they 
 are dashed to pieces ; others lose themselves among 
 dark labyrinths, and some are torn to pieces by wild 
 beasts. All come to a bad end — not one of them 
 obtains the Crown. 
 
 One, however, is seen alone, marching up to the 
 terrible Cross ; he walks with a firm step. Decision 
 is his name : he goes right up to the Cross, he 
 quickly throws it down — it is only a few inches in 
 the ground ; he takes it up, its weight is nothing, for 
 26 
 
201 
 
 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 it is hollow. He carries it to the place appointed, 
 lays it down, and receives the glittering Crown, and 
 bears it away in triumph. 
 
 By the Cross here is signified religious duties ; bj 
 the Crown — immortality in heaven ; those who pass 
 by the Cross and wander round the wall, represent 
 those who think of heaven, but neglect duty ; the 
 man who boldly takes up the Cross — the faithful 
 Christian. Many persons think about heaven, who, 
 alas ! will never arrive there ; nay, they do more, 
 they actually set out for it — perhaps make a profes- 
 sion of religion ; they do not like the idea of being 
 lost ; submit to a partial reformation, and make an 
 approach toward the peifonnance of religious duties. 
 They just obtain a sight of them, and they are fright- 
 ened ; this is the Cross. What is there in the Cross 
 80 dreadful ? Let us see. Of all who present them- 
 selves as candidates for heaven, it is required that 
 they become poor in spirit — humble as a little child — 
 penitent for sin — " perfect and pure, as He is pure" 
 — that they do deny self — crucify the flesh — mortify 
 the body — subdue inordinate desires — set the affec- 
 tions on things above — hunger and thirst after right- 
 eousness — forgive enemies — submit to persecution 
 for Christ's sake — to exercise a constant watchfulness 
 over themselves, and against the world and the devil. 
 The hand, if it offends, must be cut off— the eye 
 plucked out. 
 
 They are told of the straight gate — the narrow 
 way — the yoke — the burden — the race — the warfare, 
 etc. Yea, the whole man is to be brought under 
 new influences, governed by new principles, and to 
 live for new ends. Self-denial, self-discipline, and 
 self-conquest, are made indispensable prerequisites 
 for the kingdom of Heaven. This is the Cross, it 
 stands in the path of life ; to proceed, it must be em- 
 
 \ 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 205 
 
 braced. Christ is " the way'' to God. His atone- 
 ment, example, doctrines, commandments — there ig 
 no other way, there can be no other — a wall of ada- 
 mant, wide as earth, high as heaven, meets us in our 
 attempts to find one ; on which stands inscribe-d in 
 letters of light, " He that entereth not by the door, 
 but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief 
 and a'robber." 
 
 Religious duties are irksome and disagreeable to 
 the carnal mind — to the unconverted ; it is their na- 
 ture to be so. By them a man may know what he 
 is, whether he is converted or not ; the Cross is a 
 mirror. Religious duties are imposed, not that by 
 performing them we may earn a title to heaven, but 
 because they are necessary for the purification of our 
 moral natm-e, through the grace of Christ, that we 
 may become meet to be partakers of the iLheritance 
 of the Saints in light. To neglect the Cross is to 
 neglect all ; it is to go to the feast without the wed- 
 ding garment ; it is to go forth to meet the bride- 
 groom without light, and without oil in our vessels. 
 
 We may substitute something else for the Cross ; 
 such as morality, philosophy, or even works of pain- 
 ful pennance. It will be all in vain ; as long as we 
 continue unwashed, unjustified, unsanctified, we are 
 unsafe — in momentary danger of hell fire. There is 
 no neutrality in this war. In revolutions of States 
 and Empires, those who do not take up arms against 
 the foe, are deemed as enemies ; it is so here. " He 
 that is not with me is against me, and he that gath- 
 ereth not with me scattereth abroad." This is the 
 conclusion of the whole matter. When Christ comes 
 to judge the world, all who will not now take up the 
 Cross will be regarded as enemies ; instead of the 
 Crown they will have the curse ; instead of Heaven, 
 everlasting fire with the Devil and his angels. 
 
J06 
 
 RELIGIOUS ALLEOOHIE8. 
 
 Hence it is that so many " draw back to perdi- 
 tion." Icrnorant of the or,eat principles of religion, 
 of its power to save, they wear it as a cloak to hide 
 the deformity within ; so inadequate are their con- 
 ceptions of its excellency, that they will not sacrifice 
 a single lust, a momentary gratification, one darling 
 idol, to insure the " eternal weight of glory" which 
 it promises. 
 
 * No Cross, no Crown !^^ Some of the early disci- 
 pies of the great Messiah, when the spiritual nature 
 of Christianity was presented to them, were " of- 
 fended." Their carnal stomachs loathed " the bread 
 which came down from heaven." Companions of 
 the world, they rejected the "fellowship with the 
 Father, and with the Son, Jesus Christ ," the Cross 
 di.^pleased them, and with their own hands they in- 
 scribed their names with those " who, having put 
 their hanu to the plough, looked back, and so became 
 unfit for the kingdom of God." 
 
 '* No Cross, no Crown !" See ! that young man 
 running toward the great teacher ; what can he 
 want with him ? He is a n6ble man, a ruler of the 
 Jews. Strange sight, indeed, to see ! A ruler of 
 the Jews running after the despised Gallilean. What 
 is his business ? He inquires about the way to 
 heaven ; he seems a good deal in earnest ; he runs, 
 and kneels at the Saviour's feet ; listen to him. O, 
 says he, " what shall I do that I may inherit eternal 
 life ?" " Take up the Cross, and thou ehalt have 
 treasure in heaven," said the Saviour, as he looked 
 kindly upon him. The young man looks ' sad,' he is 
 * sad,' and 't is a ' sad' sight to see. He wants the 
 " treasure in heaven." But he wont take up the 
 Cross, and they go together ; God has joined them, 
 and what God has joined no man can put asunder. 
 He looks at the Saviour again inquiringly, as much 
 
 \ 
 
RELIGIOrs ALLEGOHIES, 207 
 
 as to say, " Is there no other way ?" The Savior 
 understands him ; he px^ints him to the Cross again, 
 saying " Except a man deny himself, and tiAie up 
 his Cross, he cannot be ray disciple." Fearful cri- 
 sis, what \%-ill he do ? The SaWour is looking at him — 
 the disciples — the multitude standing around — God 
 — the holy ang^^l^ — glorified spirits — all are looking 
 — yea, hell is looking on this spectacle. What is 
 the issue ? O, dreadful infatuation ; ' heaven that 
 hour let fall a tear.' He who knew the command, 
 ments by heart, and who had kept them from his 
 youth up ; he turns his back on Christ and heaven, 
 and goes away " sorrowful," to be yet more " sorrow- 
 ful" lon^ as eternal ao;es roll. 
 
 Have the Cross and have the Crown. Look 
 again at that young man walking boldly up to the 
 Cress ; he lays hold of it exclaiminor, " when I am 
 weak then am I strong ; I can do all things through 
 Christ strengthening me." He finds it ' easy' and 
 ' light,' pleasant and delightful ; he bears it faithfully 
 in palaces and in prisons — in the wilderness and in 
 the city — on the sea and on the land — among Jew 
 and Greek — Barbarian and Sc}-thian — Bond and 
 Free— every where exclaiming as he goes, '• God for- 
 bid that I should glory, save in the Cross of my 
 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ," and having carried 
 it the appointed time he lays it at the Saviour's feet, 
 singing triumphantly : 
 
 " I have fought a good fight ; 
 
 " I have finished my course ; 
 
 " I have kept the faith : 
 
 ** Henceforth there is laid uo 
 
 •* For me — A Ckown of Ri*. hteocswiss.* 
 
208 
 
 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 They cry unto th£ Lord in their trouble, and he hringeth them out of their 
 distresses.— Fa. cviL 28. Then the waters had overwhelmed ua.— Pa 
 cxxiv. 4. 
 
 THE LIFE-BOAT. 
 
 Loud yell the winds escaped from caves beneath. 
 
 And summon Ocean to the Feast of Death j 
 
 Ocean obeys, high lifts his hoary head, 
 
 With fearful roa? , impatient to be fed ; 
 
 With maddened rage his mountain billows rise. 
 
 And shake the earth and threaten e'en the skies. 
 
 See the poor bark engulphed — with precious freight 
 
 Who, who can save her from impending fate ? 
 
RELIGI0U3 ALLEGORIES. 209 
 
 Old Ocean strikes her with tremendous shock. 
 And, oh I she's stranded on a sunken rock : 
 Horror and grief how seize the hapless crew. 
 To hope and life they bid a last adieu : 
 Thousands on shore behold their awful plight. 
 But cannot save them ; 't is a piteous sight. 
 
 At this dread crisis, on the mountain wave 
 Is seen the " Life-boat," with intent to save ; 
 Onward she dashes o'er that sea of strife, 
 Buoyant, and hopeful, 't is a thing of life. 
 She makes the v/reck, and from its drifting spars, 
 She takes on board the drifting mariners ; 
 Trip after trip she makes — with mercy fraught — 
 'Till they are safely carried into port. 
 
 Here i^ portrayed the life-boat hastening to the 
 rescue ; the winds, escaped from their prison-house, 
 issue forth roaring indignantly at having been con- 
 fined so long. Ocean is summoned to the feast of 
 Death ; Neptune obeys the summons — instantly he 
 is all commotion, stirred up from his lowest depths, 
 impatient to satiate his devouring appetite ; he dashes 
 his billows against the earth — he assails the very 
 heavens. Behold the frail ship exposed to all the 
 fury of his rage ; she is laden with precious treasure. 
 Her ruin appears incA-itable. Loud roars Neptune ; 
 loud roar the winds ; loud too, snap and crack the 
 cordage and the sails : high rises the mountain surf. 
 The bark " mounts up to the heaven," deep yawns 
 the gulph beneath ; she goes down again into the 
 depths ; the crew are " at their wits end," their soul 
 is melted because of trouble. But instead of calling 
 " upon the Lord in their trouble," that lie might 
 *• bring them out of their distresses," they drink 
 and are drunken. Still the waves and the billows go 
 over them ; at length a mountain wave dashes the 
 vessel on a sunken rock, she falls to pieces ; the men 
 cling to masts, spars, and broken pieces; despair sits 
 on every countenance ; multitudes from the shore 
 
210 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 behold the catastrophe, but cannot succor. Lament- 
 able sight ! 
 
 At this appalling'moment, when all hope is taken 
 away of their being saved, the Life-boat is launched 
 into the terrific ocean. Will not she also fall a prey 
 to the watery monster ? See ! she lives above the 
 wave,** ; her gallant crew impel her forward ; on she 
 dashes — she leaps from billow to billow ; soon she 
 reaches the wreck, and begins her work of mercy. 
 Quickly she takes the drowning wretches from the 
 drifting spars, giving back to them life and hope. 
 Some, indeed, not yet sobered, will not be saved ; 
 others in the same condition take the " life-preserv- 
 ers" for pirates, that have come to take and sell them 
 for slaves, therefore refuse to leave the raft. No time 
 is to be lost. All they can, they receive on board, 
 and carry safely into port, amid the acclamations of 
 the multitude. 
 
 O what is this but a picture of the goodness of 
 our God in Christ, in establishing his Church on the 
 earth. The tempestuous sea is this world, the wreck 
 is man ; the life-boat is the Church, and the multi- 
 tudes on shore may represent the heavenly host who 
 look with interest into the affairs of man's redemp- 
 tion. 
 
 The world is indeed a " troubled sea," a tempest- 
 uous ocean ; it is raised into fury by the breath or 
 spirit of the "evil one," "the prince of the Power 
 of the air," who, having escaped from his prison- 
 house, the " bottomless pit," descends in great wrath 
 and summons all the powers of evil to aid him in the 
 destruction of mankind. Here roll the waves of 
 profanity — there those of impurity ; here dash with 
 fury the breakers of Revenge — there rise impetuous 
 the mouutairj billows of Pride ; on the right are seen 
 the rocks of Infidelity — on the left the quicksands of 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGOEIES. 
 
 tu 
 
 Destruction, while the \A'hirlpools of Mammon abound 
 in every part. 
 
 Man, shipwrecked by the first transgression, is cast 
 upon this troubled sea, exposed to all its dangers ; 
 ignorant and helpless, he is " tossed upon life's 
 stormy billows." Wave after wave rolls him on- 
 ward to destruction ; the whirlpool opens wide its 
 mouth to " swallow him whole, as those that go down 
 into the pit." Is all lost ? must he become a prey to 
 the devouring elements ? Ah ! is there no eye to 
 pity ? no arm to save ? Oh, divine compassion ! 
 " God so loved the world," that the Life-boat is 
 launched ; Jesus is in the midst of her ; he guides her 
 movements ! his disciples form the crew ; they en- 
 counter the storm that Satan has raised ; they spring 
 from wave to wave, from billow to billow, 
 
 " With cries, entreaties, tears, to save, 
 And snatch them from the gaping grave." 
 
 They take sinners from off the waves that are bear- 
 ing them on to death, and place their feet upon the 
 Rock of Salvation. Some are too proud to accept 
 deliverance ; such are left in their sad condition. 
 
 To speak without a figure, the Lord Jesus Christ 
 has established his church upon the earth, for the 
 salvation of men. This is the proper business of 
 the Church, even as of the life-boat, to save men ; 
 its sacraments, ordinances, and various means of 
 grace, all leading to Christ, the Saviour, are well 
 adapted to do this ; and when used aright, they never 
 fail to ensure salvation. Believe, love, obey, " this 
 do and you shall live." 
 
 And whereas the usefiilness of the " Life-hoaV* 
 consisted in having her bottom and sides hollow and 
 filled with air, so the usefulness of the Church de- 
 pends upon her being filled with the Holy Spirit, 
 
213 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 vvilli tne atmosphere of heaven; and as boats not 
 made air-tight fail to be useful in the storm, and 
 prove the destnjction of those who venture in them, 
 in like manner, Churches lacking the atmosphere 
 of heaven, being destitute of the power of the 
 Holy Ghost, fail in being serviceable to the souls 
 of men, and sink into the " dead sea" of forms and 
 ceremonies. 
 
 The Church of Christ — that is, a company of tm'e 
 believers — being filled with the Holy Spirit, become 
 inflamed with zeal, and animated with love for per- 
 ishing sinners. The love of Christ constraineth 
 them, for they thus judge : if Christ died for all, 
 then were all dead — and that he died for all, that they 
 which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, 
 but unto him that died for them and rose again. In 
 seeking to save souls, they seek Christ's honor and 
 glory, by establishing his dominion on the earth ; 
 daily the Church influenced thus, makes efforts for 
 the salvation of men ; her grand effort is on the Sab- 
 bath-day. On this day, worldly business is laid 
 aside ; the Angel of Mercy rings her bell around 
 the earth ; the Ambassadors of Heaven appear, and 
 issue their proclamation unto the children of men ; 
 life and immortality are offered without money and 
 without price ; Mercy is active on the earth. Foun- 
 tains of living waters are opened in dry places ; 
 heaven's gates are thrown wide open, and streams 
 of light and love issue from the King of Glory. 
 Every where sinners, perishing sinners, are affec- 
 tionately invited to escape from their sins, and take 
 refuge beneath the sanctuary of the Most Holy ; — 
 " Wisdom" herself "uttereth her voice in the streets, 
 she crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the 
 opening of the gates ; in the city she uttereth her 
 words, saying, how long, ye simple ones, will ye love 
 
 ! 
 
EELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 213 
 
 gimplicit}-, and the pcorners delight in their scorning, 
 and fools hate knowledge." Nevertheless 
 
 " Millions are shipwrecked on life's stormy coast, 
 " With all their charts on board, and powerful aid 
 " Because their lofty pride disdained to learn 
 " The instructions of a pilot, and a God." 
 
 A.S we saw in the case of the wTeck, that some 
 actually refused to enter the life-boat, so it is with 
 sinners : alas ! alas ! that it is so ; they, too, are in- 
 toxicated, "drunken, but not with wine," sin has in- 
 toxicated them ; they are beside themselves. Some 
 will not yield their heart to God, and be saved, sim- 
 ply because they v:ill not: others do not believe the 
 record God has given of his Son, and continue ex- 
 posed to the damnation of those "that believe not." 
 Others again, mistrust the motives of the pious, who 
 seek to lead them from ^he way of death, and think 
 they want only to bring them into bondage ; and as 
 4he mariners had power' to remain on the wreck and 
 be drowned, so the sinner has power to continue in 
 his sins and be damned. Awful power ! fearful re- 
 sponsibility! and yet if man be not free, " how shall 
 God judge the world." 
 
 The Church, however, as a Spiritual Life-boat, 
 continues her benevolent excursions, and daily lands 
 some saved ones, at the port of gloiT ; and when she 
 shall have made her last trip, through that tempest 
 that shall make a wreck of earth, then shall arise 
 from countless myriads the song of triumph and of 
 praise ; — 
 
 " Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, 
 " Be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, 
 " And unto the Lamb for ever and ever." 
 
214 
 
 RELIGI0U8 ALLEGOHIES. 
 
 0?E[]iE- 
 
 For the wisdom of this world isfoolishttess tchh. God. — Cor. 1, iii. 19. 
 they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub, how much more 
 they call them of his household f Matt. x. 25. 
 
 OBEDIENCE AND WISDOM. 
 
 Here is Self- Will, so called by men below, 
 Struggling alone his upward path to go ; 
 Though steep and rugged he will persevere ; 
 The way he knows is right, then wherefore fear? 
 His friends and foes alike pronounce him mad ; 
 His/r/>nrf* are sorrj'.but \v\s foes are glad ; 
 
' RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 215 
 
 One pulls ciim by the skirt to keep him back, 
 Another runs before to cross his track ; 
 One with a club resolves to stop his course. 
 And right or wrong, to bring him back by force ; 
 But they are wrong, and wrong the title given. 
 Self-will on earth — Obedience is in heaven. 
 
 Next Folly — nicknamed — here is seen to rise 
 And climb the path that leads to yonder skies; 
 Honors and shining gold his pathway cross. 
 Yet he esteems them but as dung and dross ; 
 Old fashioned things prefers, o'ergrown with rust. 
 And stars and garters tramples in the dust. 
 Judging the man by earth's acknowledged rule. 
 The lookers on denounce him for a fool ; 
 The world is wrong again, the m.an is right; 
 His name is Wisdom in the realms of light. 
 
 In this picture, on the one hand, is seen a man 
 urging his way up a steep and rugged path ; his 
 name is recorded. He is opposed, still he doggedly 
 persev^eres ; friends and foes alike are astonished at 
 his proceedings. The former are grieved, the latter 
 rejoice at the prospect of his certain ruin. Some of 
 his friends are determined to arrest his progress ; one 
 seizes hold of him by the skirt, another, more intent, 
 tries to get ahead of him in order to stop him ; a 
 third, yet more violent, pursues him with a bludgeon, 
 and is determined, if fair means fail, to employ force. 
 Nevertheless, he obstinately persists in the path he 
 has chosen ; he believes it to be right; he will not 
 give in. They employ threats and promises, but all 
 to no purpose ; out of all patience with him, they 
 use up a whole vocabulary of opprobrious epithets. 
 He is self-willed, obstinate, stubborn, etc. ; one by 
 one, however, at length they leave him, and go about 
 their business, and the man, no longer molested, goes 
 along the way which to him appears to be right, and 
 which he is determined to follow. 
 
 On the other hand, one is seen pressing forward 
 
216 RDUOIOUS ALLUOORIE^ 
 
 up a rough and difficult pass ; his name, also, is ap. 
 parent. On his path lie scattered profusely. Riches 
 and Honors, of various kinds ; there is the tnjmpet 
 of Fame, with Stars and Garters, and many other 
 things of equal value ; these appear to be at his 
 command — he may ride in a coach drawn by six 
 beautiful horses, and yet he prefers to 'oil and tug 
 along that rough road on foot. This strange conduct 
 excites the scorn, ridicule, and laughter of those who 
 behold him ; they denounce him as a fool — they know 
 that they would act very differently, and they are 
 wise men. The man, however, regardless alike of 
 their scorn and jests, goes his own way ; and after a 
 while, they go theirs. 
 
 The traveler here called Self-will, represents the 
 Christian, or man of Piety, in every age ; the steep 
 and rugged way, Christian conduct ; the traveler's 
 opponents, the Christian's adversaiies, or men of 
 the world. The Christian is one who is anointed 
 with the Spirit of Christ ; he receives a heavenly 
 call ; he is not disobedient thereto ; he knows in 
 whom and in w^hat he believes. The path he is 
 commanded to follow may be a difficult one, very dif- 
 ficult to flesh and blood ; it is a new and a strange 
 way ; it is so to himself in many respects, but God 
 has called him to walk in it — he will obey. He walks 
 by faith, not by sight, merely. His friends become 
 alarmed at his conduct, and at first approach him 
 with tenderness, beseeching him to give up his new 
 fangled notions ; though he loves them sincerely, he 
 cannot, he dare not yield to their solicitations. They 
 remonstrate, they threaten, but all in vain ; he is de 
 termined, nothing will move him ; he even invites 
 them to go with him ; nothing would give him greate 
 satisfaction than to have them for companions ; they 
 will not be persuaded, and mourning over what they 
 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 217 
 
 consider his self-will and stubbornness, permit him, 
 at length, to have his own way. 
 
 Others of a more hostile character, but equally 
 blind, who know nothing of the Christian's motives 
 and aims, who put darkness for light, and light for 
 darkness, call sweet bitter and bitter sweet, beset the 
 man with foul and abusive language. They revile 
 and slander him, they maltreat and persecute him ; 
 they believe him to he an obstiiiate, stupid fellow — 
 one who will have his own way at all hazards. 
 
 The man of God endures ail things, and hopes all 
 things ; he prays for those who oppose him ; he gives 
 them good advice, and tells them " As for me and 
 my house, we will serve the Lord." But God sees 
 not as man sees ; Heaven approves of his conduct ; 
 hallelujahs resounded above when first he started on 
 the way ; new shouts of angelic applause mi^ht have 
 been heard, when he persisted to walk in it. God 
 has enrolled his name among his obedient ones, and 
 when earth's records, doings, and opinions, shall be 
 no more, he will receive amid ten thousand thousand 
 witnesses, the welcome plaudit of " Well done, good 
 and faithful sen'ant, enter thou into the joy of thy 
 Lord." 
 
 A wonderful example of what the world calls self, 
 will, lived many years since. An old man who 
 knew nothing about the business, look it into his 
 head to turn shipwright and build a ship. Such a 
 thing had never been heard of; of such enormous di- 
 mensions, too, that it was very clear there could not 
 be water enough to float it ; and a thousand idle things 
 were said about the old man and his wild and willful 
 imdcrtaking. Yet he was self-willed ; day after day 
 found him at his work — he knew what he was about — 
 he knew who had commanded him ; he doubted not 
 but that there would be water enough to float his 
 
218 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 ship by and by, nor was he mistaken. His obedience 
 had it's full reward, and the lone Ark, floating majes- 
 tically on the world of waters, testified that it is better 
 to obey God than man. 
 
 The man Folly, his path, and the treatment he 
 meets with, serve also to illustrate Christian charac- 
 ter. The Christian is called to forsake home and 
 friends, houses and lands, riches and honors, when, 
 ever they in any measure stand in the way of duty. 
 The heavenly commission he has received makes it 
 incumbent on him to deny self, take up his cross, to 
 bear the yoke, and to become a pilgrim in the w^orld. 
 He is faithful to his calling. Pleasure courts him, 
 but he embraces her not. Wealth entices, but he 
 consents not. Honors and glories solicit him, but all 
 in vain. He rejects them all. He will not have a 
 clog to his soul. He is free, and he knows the value 
 of his freedom. The poor slaves of sin and earth 
 know no more of the man and his pursuits, than of 
 the angel Gabriel and his employments in paradise. 
 To them, this spurner of gold, this rejector of honors, 
 this trampler on earth, is a fool and a madman ; he is 
 beside himself, and so he is denounced accordingly. 
 They judge of him and his conduct by the rules of 
 earth, but he follows another standard. As well might 
 the oyster buried in the sand attempt to pass judgment 
 on the towering eagle when he flies on the wings of 
 the storm, mounts and mingles with the new bom 
 light, and rejoices in the boundlessness of space. 
 
 The Christian rejects what he knows upon the au. 
 Ihority of Truth, and the God of Truth to be worth- 
 less in themselves, unsatisfactory in their nature, and 
 transitory in their continuance. He receives and 
 holds fast what is invaluable, satisfying, and eternal. 
 And when the light of the last conflagi-ation shall 
 reveal the secrets of all hearts, and declare the value 
 
KELIOIOUS ALLBOORIEEU 219 
 
 of all things, then will it be seen that the Christian 
 has governed himself according to the rules of the 
 highest Wisdom. 
 
 Thus it was with the man of meekness ; he gave up king- 
 ship and royalty, and formed an alliance with a troop of 
 slaves ; he relinquished the splendors of a court for the terrors 
 of a desert ; a life of luxurious ease for one of peril and fa- 
 tigue. By the men of his generation his conduct was regarded 
 as foolish and absurd, but his appearance on the glorious mount 
 of transfiguration, as an Ambassador of the Bkies, encircled 
 with the splendors of Heaven, proclaims to the world that " the 
 fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom," and the love of 
 him its highest consummation. 
 
 Look again at the young man of Tarsus ; see him resign the 
 professor's chair to become a teacher of barbarians. The ruler 
 of the Jews becomes the servant of the Gentiles ; the friend 
 of the great and powerful becomes the companion of the weak 
 and contemptible ; the inmate of a mansion becomes a vaga- 
 bond on the earth, " having no certain dwelling place." He 
 embraces hunger, thirst, and nakedness ; the dungeon, the 
 scourge, and the axe. The world has pronounced its verdict 
 upon him — he was a " madman," " a pest," " a disturber of the 
 public peace," " a ringleader of the despised." The case, how- 
 ever, is pending in a higher court, and when those who " sleep 
 in the dust of the earth shall awake," and Paul, " shining as 
 the brightness of the firmament," takes rank among the 
 " wise" the verdict of Heaven will have been recorded. 
 
 " Wisdom is humble, said the voice of God, 
 'T is proud, the world replied. Wisdom, said God, 
 Forgives, forbears, and suffers, not for fear 
 Of man, but God. Wisdom revenges, said 
 The world ; is quick and deadly of resentment ; 
 Thrusts at the very shadow of affront. 
 And hastes by Death to wipe its honor clean. 
 Wisdom, said God, is highest when it stoops 
 Lowest before the Holy Throoie ; throws down 
 Its crown, abased ; forgets itself, admires. 
 And breathes adoring praise." 
 
 28 
 
220 
 
 i?Fi.'f:»oTsi ALrrooRiEfi 
 
 If Mtnncrs entice thee, consent thou vot. — Prov. i. 10. Lean not unto thimt 
 own understanding. Prov. uL 5. 
 
 DANGER OF PRESUMPTION, 
 
 Behold where Winter on his stormy throne, 
 With icy scepter sways the world alone ; 
 From arctic regions fierce the whirlwinds blow. 
 And earth, all shivering, wears her robe of snow; 
 The leafless forest murmurs to the blast. 
 The ruehine river now is fettered fttet ; 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 221 
 
 And clouds and shadows settling over all. 
 Wrap lifeless nature in her funeral pall. 
 ' Some youths now hasten to the frozen lake 
 And on to school their way with pleasure take ; 
 Nor go alone, but others they entice 
 With them to frolic on the slippery ice ; 
 The way is pleasant, smoother far to go, 
 Than o'er the mcnintain through the drifted snow : 
 One, and one only, makes a wiser choice ; 
 He will not hearken unto Pleasure's voice : 
 Awhile the others glide along the lake, 
 When all at once the ice begins to break ; 
 In — in they plunge I In vain their piteous tones — 
 The waters quickly hush their gurgling groans. 
 
 Here we see the danger of presumption — the 
 fruits of disobedience. It was a winter's day, the 
 snow had fallen, and earth was clad in her robes of 
 white ; the north wind had moaned through the for- 
 est, and the ponds and rivers were partially frozen 
 over. Some village school boys, about to start for 
 the school-house, which was situated at some dis- 
 tance on the other side of a mountain, were admon- 
 ished by their parents not to go by the way of the 
 lake that lay round the foot of the mount ; the parents 
 judging it to be unsafe, the command was given with 
 all possible earnestness and tenderness. Well would 
 it have been for the boys had they obeyed ; as soon 
 as they were out of sight, Harry whispered to Charles 
 that " it would be much more pleasant to go by the 
 way of the lake, than to trudge it over the mountain, 
 and nobody could know any thing about it." After 
 a few moments pause Charles agreed ; others now 
 are invited to accompany them — •' the more the mer- 
 rier" say they ; one by one they give their assent, 
 and all, except Samuel, who forgot not his parents' 
 injunction, and who preferred trudging through the 
 drifts of snow over the mountain, to disobeying hia 
 parents' command — all resolve to take the smoother 
 
222 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 and pleasanter way across the lake. They doubl 
 not but it will bear ; they anticipate a fine time ; 
 they hesitate not to trust the ice, though they will 
 not trust the word of their parents. On they ven- 
 ture — away they glide o'er the slippery surface, with 
 the wind behind them — full of delight they slide 
 along ; they see Samuel working his way through 
 the snow ; full of fun and laughter, they with diffi- 
 culty stop to ridicule him, when behold ! their entire 
 weight is more than the ice will bear ; suddenly it 
 breaks— ^in, in they go, down ! down ! they sink ; — 
 the cold waters close over them — they are lost. 
 The school-bell rings, but they are not there ; one 
 only of the party has arrived to tell to the teacher 
 and the rest of the scholars, the dismal tale. 
 
 From the commonest events in life we may gather 
 instruction ; the bee disdains not to gather honey 
 from the meanest flower. The Almighty is the great 
 Parent of all, the Father of the Spirits of all that 
 live ; He has not forgotten the work of his own 
 hands, he takes pleasure in the security and happi- 
 nesa of his children ; he governs the world by laws, 
 — fixed, unalterable law^s — except when he alters 
 them for some especial purpose, as in the case of 
 miracles. His natural laws prevail in the heavens 
 above, in the earth beneath, and in the waters under 
 the earth ; the law of gravitation, by which a body 
 unsupported falls, exists every where, extends to the 
 remotest star or planet, and binds all material objects 
 to a common center ; the law of motion, by which a 
 body once put in motion continues in that state, if it 
 be not resisted by the action of an external cause— 
 these laws and others govern the universe of matter, 
 and they are uniform. Fire always burns, water al- 
 ways drowns, and ice supports bodies in exact pro- 
 portion to its cpjality and thickness. 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 223 
 
 But for Spirits, God has given laws that are spir- 
 itual ; in wisdom he has given them to his crea- 
 tures ; these, too, are all fixed and unalterable, 
 "Except ye repent ye shall perish." The way 
 of sin always leads to disgrace, sorroAv, and eternal 
 death ; the path of duty or piety always to honor, 
 happiness, and everlasting life ; they have always 
 done so, they ever will do so ; God has admonished 
 the children of men of this tmth ; he has plainly 
 pointed out the two paths, their character, tendency, 
 and end ; and having done this, he in the most af- 
 fectionate manner urges us to follow the path of life. 
 "Behold!" says He, and wonder at the announce- 
 ment, " I set before you Life and Death, Blessing 
 and Cursing, choose Life that you may live." 
 
 " Placed for his trial on this bustling stage, 
 From thoughtless youth to ruminating age, 
 Free in his will to choose or to refuse, 
 Man may improve the crisis, or abuse ; 
 Else, on the fatalist's unrighteous plan. 
 Say to what bar amenable were man ? 
 With nought in charge he could betray no trust ; 
 And if he fell, would fall because he must. 
 If Love reward him, or if Vengeance strike, 
 His recompense in both unjust alike. 
 Divine authority within his breast 
 Brings every thought, word, action, to the test ; 
 Warns him or prompts, approves him, or restrains. 
 As reason, or as passion, takes the reins ; 
 Heaven from above, and conscience from within. 
 Cries in his startled ear — abstain from sin 
 The world around solicits his desire. 
 And kindles in his soul a treacherous fire ; 
 While all his purposes and steps to guard. 
 Peace follows virtue as its sure reward ; 
 And Pleasure brings as surely in her train 
 Remorse, and sorrow, and vindictive pain." 
 
 The boys who broke through the ice and perished, 
 had been faithfiilly warned ; the two ways had been 
 
224 RELioioua allegories. 
 
 distinctly marked out to them, they followed their own 
 course ; they presumed their parents might not know 
 every thing, they might not know how hard it had 
 frozen during the night — that the ice was strong 
 enough to bear them — there wae no danger. The 
 fact was, the way of duty looked difficult, and the 
 way forbidden easy and delightful ; they had their 
 reward. So it is with the sinner, man ; he 'presumes 
 that he may violate the laws of God with impunity, 
 that he M'ill not punish, that the way is a safe one — 
 'although God has said "the end thereof is death." 
 The truth is, the way of piety seems hard, steep and 
 difficult, and the way of sin smooth and agreeable to 
 his carnal nature ; hence he ventures on, at first with 
 diffidence, afterward with vain confidence ; he entices 
 others to accompany him in his sinful pleasures — 
 this makes it more dangerous ; they strengthen each 
 other in wickedness, but " though hand join in hand, 
 the wicked shall not go unpunished." 
 
 To show the influence of bad example, and the 
 danger of presumption, Baxter has related the fol- 
 lowing anecdote : " A man was driving a flock of 
 fat lambs, and something meeting them and hinder- 
 ing their passage, one of the lambs leaped upon the 
 wall of the bridge, and his legs slipping from under 
 him, he fell into the stream ; the rest seeing him, did 
 as he did, one after one leaped over the bridge into 
 the stream, and were all, or almost all, drowned 
 Those that were behind did little know what was bo- 
 come of them that were gone before, but thought 
 they might venture to follow their companions ; but 
 as soon as ever they were over the wall and falling 
 headlong, the case was altered. Even so it is with 
 unconverted carnal men ; one dieth by them and 
 drops into hell, and another follows the same way ; 
 and yet they will go after them- because they think 
 
RKLIGIOrS ALLEGORIES. 225 
 
 not where they are gone. 0, but when death hath 
 once opened their eyes, and they see what is on the 
 other side of the wall, even in another world, then 
 what would they give to be where they once were." 
 
 Last summer I noticed a little incident that may serve to il- 
 lustrate our subject ; the same thing, no doubt, is of frequent 
 occurrence. An insect had entered the house and was upon 
 the back of a chair ; ha\'ing walked to the end, it very circum- 
 epectly employed its feelers above, below, and all around. 
 Ascertaining that the side was slippery and precipitous, it 
 turned round and went back again ; this it did several times, 
 nor would it leave its position until it could do so with safety. 
 And yet man — man, with the powers almost of an angel, rushes 
 blindly on to ruin. 
 
 It is well known that the elephant, when about to cross a 
 bridge, puts his foot down inquiringly to ascertain its strength, 
 nor will he proceed unless he is satisfied the bridge is suffi- 
 ciently strong to support him ; but the transgressor ventures on 
 the bridge of sin, beneath which rolls the river of eternal woe, 
 bearing with him the weight of his immortal interests, thfi 
 " vast concerns of an eternal state." 
 
 By the laws of motion, the boy sliding or skating on the 
 ice cannot easily stop himself, and sometimes he rushes into 
 the openings or air-holes, that are often found on the surface, 
 and meets with an untimely end. 
 
 It is so with the laws of sin ; the sinner increases his mo- 
 mentum as he advances ; from hearkening to the counsel of 
 the " ungodly," he proceeds to the way of open " sinners," — a 
 little further and he gits complacently in the seat of the " scorn- 
 ful." Now his doom is sealed ! 
 
 Thus it was with Babylon's proud king ; not content with 
 having been an idolater all his life, against liis better knowl- 
 edge — for the judgment that befel his forefather, Nebuchadnez- 
 zar, must have instructed him — he would ridicule the true re- 
 ligion, he would insult the majesty of Heaven. He sends for 
 the sacred vessels of the Sanctuary, that he and his compan- 
 ions may magnify themselves over the captive tribes of Isiael. 
 But behold ! in the midst of his blasphemous revelry, the 
 Hand — the terrible hand, appears, and the presumptuous mon- 
 arch, after having seen his doom recorded on the wall of his 
 own palace, is suddenly cut down, and his kingdom given to 
 another. 
 
226 
 
 HELTOIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 Afv heart is jlxtd. — P:». cviii. 1. I press toward the mark, for tht 
 Phil, iii, 14. 
 
 DECISION AND PERSEVERANCE. 
 
 See where the Alps rear up their giant brow ! 
 King of the mounts, with coronet of enow ; 
 Scorning all time, and change, his stalwart form. 
 Endures the peltings of eternal storm ; 
 In awful pride, enthroned above the skies, 
 Peaks upon peaks in matchless grandeur rise : 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 227 
 
 *Mid frowning glaciers on whose icy crest. 
 The savage vulture builds its craggy nest, 
 ^ The fathomless abyss extends beneath, 
 
 And leads the traveller to the realms of death: 
 Napoleon comes in quest of fame and power. 
 He scans the mounts that high above him tower. 
 Though " barely possible," he will " advance," 
 And in Italia plant the flag of France ; 
 In vain the mountain, like a dreadful ghost, 
 Rises to frighten the advancing host. 
 O'er towering cliff and yawning gulf he speeds. 
 He means to pass nor aught of danger heeds ; 
 He scales the summit with his conquering train. 
 And like the vulture swoops upon the plain. 
 
 Here the Alps lift up their snow-capped heads in 
 awful sublimity ; their icy pinnacles tower above the 
 clouds ; their colossal forms arise, mountain on moun- 
 tain piled. To all save the bounding chamois or his 
 intrepid pursuer, they appear inaccessible ; here vast 
 overhanging precipices threaten destruction, and 
 there the treacherous abyss lies concealed, ready to 
 engulf the unwary traveller; Winter reigns supreme 
 upon his throne of desolation ; eternal tempests in- 
 crease the horror of the scene. In vain does the 
 famished traveller search for some stunted lichen, 
 or the smallest animal, to save him from approaching 
 death ; he sees nothing but boundless seas of ice- 
 no signs of life are there — it seems the very tomb of 
 nature ; the solemn solitude is broken only by the 
 roar of the tempest or the thunder of the avalanche. 
 
 Yet over all these obstacles Napoleon would ad- 
 vance ; he inquires of the engineer Marescot, who 
 has just explored the wild passes of the St. Bernard, 
 if it is possible to pass. " Barely possible" answers 
 the officer. " Yery well," says Napoleon, " en 
 avant," " advance," and at the head of his army of 
 above 30,000 men, with their arms, horses, and ar- 
 tillery, he commences the arduous passage. The 
 
228 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 mountains seem to bid defiance to the utmost effbrfg 
 of the martial host ; but dangers and difficulties detjr 
 him not ; like the gale that wafts the vessel soon t 
 into port, they only urge him on toward the object of 
 his ambition ; he conducts the army over slippery 
 glaciers, wide yawning ravines, and eternal snows ; 
 he braves the fury of the tempest, and the crash of 
 the avalanche — and overcoming every obstacle, he 
 swoops upon Italy like the Alpine eagle upon his prey. 
 
 In the conduct of Napoleon in this instance, we 
 have a striking example of decision and perseverance. 
 If we can^," out of the eater bring forth meat," and 
 •* from the strong bring forth sweetness," it will be 
 well. 
 
 The importance of possessing a decided character 
 is best seen in its results, as the value of a tree i8 
 best known by its fi-uits ; by its aid Napoleon accom- 
 plished the objects of his ambition — fame, and 
 wealth, and glory, and power. With it, a man at- 
 tains that which he sets his heart upon ; without it, 
 he becomes easily discouraged and fails. With it, 
 he controls his own movements, and influences, also, 
 the conduct of others ; without it, he loses his own 
 individuality, and becomes a creature of circum- 
 stances. In fine, man without decision, is like a rud- 
 derless vessel, tossed upon an uncertain sea ; while 
 the decided character, like the genius of the storm, 
 commands the winds and the waves, and they obey 
 him. 
 
 The importance of decision being so apparent, it 
 becomes an interesting inquiry, " How can it be ob- 
 tained ?" After a proper object of pursuit is selected, 
 it seems essential that a fuller knowledge of the ob- 
 ject should be secured ; no pains ought to be spared 
 in order to obtain a perfect knowledge of the object 
 or profession, in all its parts ; this is necessary to 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 829 
 
 the foundation of such a character. The traveller 
 who knows his way, walks with a firm step, while he 
 that is in doubt about his path, advances with hesita- 
 tion. 
 
 Another thing deemed essential, is Confidence in 
 the object of our choice, that it will yield us satisfac- 
 tion ; possessing a knowledge of our route, and a 
 belief that at the end of our journey we shall be at 
 home, the things that discourage others have no in- 
 fiuence at all upon us. So it is with the decided 
 character, in the path he has chosen. Does opposi- 
 tion present itself? he assumes the attitude of a gla- 
 diator, determined to conquer or die ; does danger 
 appear, as it did to Shadrach and his companions, 
 when the burning fiery furnace stood in their path ? 
 he burns the more ardently to fulfill his mission. Is 
 he ridiculed, as were the builders of the walls of Je- 
 rusalem ? he heeds it not, he still goes forward. Fi- 
 nally, does he find himself forsaken ? it throws him 
 on his own resources, it makes him fimier in his pur- 
 pose, as the tree that stands alone and braves the 
 storm, strikes deeper its roots into the ground. If en- 
 gaged in a good cause he is, like Milton's Abdiel, 
 
 " Faithful found 
 " Among the faithless, faithful only ha 
 " Among innumeral le false, unmoved, 
 " Unbroken, unseduced, unterrified, 
 " His loyalty he kept, his love, his zeal. 
 " Nor number, nor example, with him wrought, 
 " To swerve from truth or change his constant mind, 
 " Though single." 
 
 In the case of Napoleon the above points were 
 exemplified ; he selected, as the object of his choice, 
 military warfare — he made himself acquainted with 
 every thing belonging to it as a science. He had 
 confidence in it, as a means of procuring him the 
 
230 HELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 highest objects of his ambition ; hence his devotion 
 to it — hence his perseverance ; dangers and difficul- 
 ties are seized as allies — he rises with the storm, and 
 " barely possible," is k) him an assurance of success. 
 To the Christian soldier, decision is of the highest 
 importance ; he has selected the Christian warfare 
 as a means of procuring to him, " Glory, Honor, and 
 Immortality." " If the righteous are scarcely saved," 
 it behooves him to know what belongs to " his call- 
 ing." He needs a knowledge of himself, of his du- 
 ties, and of his privileges ; a knowledge of the way, 
 its dangers, and its difficulties ; a knowledge of his 
 enemies, their methods, and their power ; a knowl- 
 edge of his Almighty leader, of his Spirit, and of his 
 woi*d. He needs a living, practical faith, in religion, 
 that it will secure to him " Eternal Life." Opposi- 
 tion, danger, and death, may stare him in the face, 
 but if decided, he w^ill say " none of these things 
 move me," " my heart is fixed, I will sing and give 
 praise," and having fought the good fight of faith, he 
 will be enrolled among those who persevere to the 
 end, and are saved : — 
 
 " Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees, and looks to that alone, 
 Laughs at impossibilities, and cries ' it shall be done ." " 
 
 Decision of character may, however, belong to 
 very different individuals ; to the bad as well as the 
 good, to Satan as well as to Abdiel. We may, like 
 Enoch, " set ourselves" to walk with God ; or be 
 like the wicked whose " heart is full} set in them to 
 do evil. We may say with pious Joshua, "choose 
 you this day whom ye will serve, but as for me and 
 my house we will serve the Lord ;" or with ambi 
 tious Pizarro, we may draw the line with the sword, 
 and say, " on this side lie poverty and Panama, on 
 that, Peiii and gold ; as for me and the brave, wc 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 231 
 
 will cross the line." With the martyr Paul, we may 
 exclaim " I go to Jerusalem, though bonds and af- 
 flictions await me there." Or with the patriot Pom- 
 oey, " it is necessary for me to be at Rome, though 
 It is not necessary for me to live." 
 
 The following anecdotes related by Foster, exhibit 
 striking examples of decision and perseverance : 
 
 " An estimable old man, being on a jury, in a trial of life 
 and death, was completely satisfied of the innocence of the 
 prisoner ; the other eleven were of the opposite opinion, but 
 he was resolved the man should not be condemned. As the 
 first effort for preventing it, he made application to the minds 
 of his associates, but he found he made no impression ; he 
 then calmly told them that he would sooner die of famine than 
 release them at the expense of the prisoners life. The result 
 was a verdict of acquittal." "V^Tiat follows is a less worthy in- 
 stance : 
 
 " A young man having wasted, in two or three years, a large 
 fortune, was reduced to absolute want. He went out, one day, 
 with the intention of putting an end to his life ; wandering 
 along he came to the brow of an eminence that overlooked 
 what were once his own estates ; here he sat down and re- 
 mained fixed in thought some hours. At length he sprang up 
 with a vehement exulting emotion — he had formed the resolu- 
 tion that all these estates should be his own again ; he had 
 formed his plan also, which he began immediately to execute ; 
 he walked forward determined to seize the very first opportu- 
 nity to gain money, and resolved not to spend a cent of it, if 
 he could help it. The first thing was a heap of coals shot be- 
 fore a house ; he offered to wheel them into their place — he re- 
 ceived a few pence for his labor ; he then asked for something 
 to eat, which was given him. In this way he proceeded, al- 
 ways turning his gains to some advantage, till in the end he 
 more than realized his lost possessions, and died a miaer, worth 
 more than a quarter of a million of dollais.*' 
 
232 
 
 RELIGI^rs ALLEGORIES. 
 
 S7ii fool rageth. — Prov. xiv. 16. Let patience have her perfect work, 
 James, i. 4. 
 
 PASSION AND PATIENCE. 
 
 Behold here ! Passion, stamping, mad with rage ; 
 
 He tries the knotted cord to disengage. 
 
 He twists and twirls, and fumes and frets in vain. 
 
 And all impatient cuts the cord in twain. 
 
 See ! there is gold ! that Providence has sent: 
 
 Favor abused — it feeds his discontent. 
 
 <y 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 233 
 
 His soul a tempest — storms around him rise ; 
 Thunder and lightning shake the trembling skies : 
 A troubled ocean — white with foaming spray, 
 Whose restless waters cast up mire and clay. 
 
 But mark the contrast ! Patience much at ease, 
 Th' intricate cord unravels by degrees. 
 No bags of gold has he. But what is more, 
 He has content — of this an ample store ; 
 While the bright Rainbow, sparkling in the sky. 
 Is pledge to him of future joys on high : 
 His soul a calm — by mellow hght caressed ; 
 A placid lake — whose waters are at rest. 
 
 Two very different characters are here presented 
 to our view : Passion, storming, wild with rage — 
 Patience, calm and tranquil. For some time, Passion 
 has been endeavoring to unravel a hank of entangled 
 twine or cord, In his great hurry, he entangles it 
 more and more. It is full of knots ; he grows hot 
 with rage ; his face is miscreated ; he wears the as- 
 pect of a fury. Stamping with anger, he tramples 
 upon some toys that lay near him, and breaks them into 
 pieces. A bag of gold is seen standing at his side. 
 This only feeds his pride ; it makes him more outra- 
 geous to think that he should have such work assigned 
 him. A tempest is seen to arise behind him ; the 
 clouds gather blackness ; thunders roll ; fearful light- 
 nings glare around. This is to show the state of his 
 mind — wild, fiery and tempestuous. He is also fully 
 represented by the troubled sea, seen in the back 
 ground. Tumultuous it tosses its foaming billows ; 
 its restless water casts up mire and dirt. So his 
 troubled spirit, agitated by the tumult of his passions, 
 gives utterance to oaths, ])lasphemies and impreca- 
 tions. Miserable youth! The fire of hell is en- 
 kindled within him ' 
 
 Patience, on the other hand, sits with unniffled 
 composure. He, too, has had the same work assigned 
 
234 BELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 him. He has the knotted cord to unravel ; but he 
 goes about it in the spiiit of duty ; patiently he unties 
 knot after knot, overcomes difficulty after difficulty, 
 until the whole is cleared. He has finished his task ; 
 he is seen looking upward, to show that he seeks help 
 and counsel from on high. A heavenly light descends 
 and sheds its luster round about him. Help is afford- 
 ed. In the back-ground is seen a placid lake : this 
 denotes the composure of his mind. Not a wave of 
 perplexity dashes across his peaceful breast. He has 
 not riches ; no gold is seen shining by his side ; he 
 is, however, contented with his condition ; nor is he 
 without hope of future good. The Bow of Promise, 
 glittering in the distant sky, intimates to us that be 
 looks forward to a future recompense. 
 
 Passion represents a man of the world : one who 
 has his portion in this life. The Almighty Father has 
 appointed a work to all men ^ yea, every thing living — 
 moving — creeping — swimming — flying — has its work 
 to do. Duty is incumbent upon all. It is a condition 
 of existence ; it is also a condition of happiness. 
 Man is under this universal law. The man of the 
 world, lacking the proper qualifications for duty, fails 
 in discharging it aright. He works from wrong mo- 
 lives, and tor wa-ong ends ; he does all to the glory of 
 self No wonder he makes such bungling work of it. 
 
 By the knotted cord, may be understood those dif- 
 ficult passages of life through which man, as such, has 
 to pass — afflictions, disappointments, etc. These are 
 more than the worldly-minded man can bear. The 
 reason seems clear enough. He has set his heart 
 upon earthly objects ; hence the removal of these ob- 
 jects from him, affects him very sensibly. These are 
 thy gods, O man of the world ! When trouble comes, 
 of course he does not look upward ; he has no busi- 
 ness there. He looks down — down — continually 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 235 
 
 ** He leans to his own understanding," instead of wait- 
 ing for further developments. He becomes impatient, 
 fretful, peevish, angry and passionate. He would 
 f'urse God and die, if he v.as not afraid to die. He is 
 
 " Instantly, with wild demoniac rage, 
 " For breaking all the chains of Providence, 
 " And bursting his confinement, though fast barr'd 
 " By laws divine and human." 
 
 Providence may have lavished wealth upon him: he 
 spurns the giver; he abuses his gifts. His pride be- 
 comes more inflamed ; his table becomes a snare 
 unto him ; his riches add to his discontent. What he 
 needs, though he may not knov/ it, is a hope beyond 
 the grave. He has title deeds enough on parchment, 
 but none to the kingdom of Heaven — houses and 
 lands, but no " hiding place" in which to enter when 
 the great day of His wrath shall come. He has no 
 anchor to enable his vessel to ride out the gales of 
 adversity. Clouds and darkness surround him; a 
 tempest is in his path ; he is a cloud carried with the 
 tempest, to whom is reserved the mist of darkness for- 
 ever ; a troubled sea, which cannot rest, whose waters 
 cast up mire and dirt. 
 
 Patience represents the man of God — him who has 
 chosen God and the world to come for his portion. 
 In this world, he, too, has presented to him the knot- 
 ted cord — trials, perplexities and afflictions. Man is 
 bom to trouble. He endures all things as seeing 
 him who is invisible ; in patience he possesseth his 
 soul. He looks at the difficulty calmly ; he considers 
 what is best to be done, and wiiich is the best way to 
 do it. If it is beyond his power or skill, he looks to 
 God for assistance. The composed state of his mind 
 gives him a great advantage over the impatient one ; 
 bu^ if he finds his own arm too short, he is intimate 
 
236 
 
 RELIGIOUS ALLEOOBIES 
 
 with One who is mighty to save, and who is a very 
 present help in times of trouble. Soon the knot is 
 untied, the difficulty is overcome, and the victory is 
 gained. Hence a holy calm pervades him ; he know? 
 that all things are working together for his good. His 
 soul is like a placid lake, reflecting the rosy light of 
 heaven. 
 
 Earth to him may be a tempestuous ocean ; but the 
 eye of faith ever sees the beacon of Truth gleaming 
 across its dark blue wave, pointing him to the haven 
 of repose. Therefore, though cast down, he is not de- 
 stroyed — perplexed, yet never in despair. He reckons 
 that his light afflictions will work for him a far more 
 exceeding and eternal weight of glory. He looks not 
 at the things which are seen, but at those that are not 
 seen. He has no gold — he is poor ; but the Bow of 
 Promise spans tor him its glorious arch. " He i^ 
 joyful in hope." He is reminded of his inheritance 
 above. There he has a throne at the right hand of 
 the King of Glory — a mansion in the skies — a bower 
 in paradise — a rest in Abraham's bosom — a shelter 
 from the storm — a city which has foundations. No 
 wonder that he sets his affections on things that are 
 above. There is his portion fair — there, too, is his 
 heart — there is his eternal dwelling place. He would 
 rather have the lot of Lazarus here, and his portion 
 hereafter, than fare sumptuously everyday with Dives, 
 and be perplexed with him at last in the hell of tor- 
 ment. As he walks through the vale of poverty and 
 distress, the heavenly light shines around him, and 
 awakens the voice of song : 
 
 " Although the fig tree shall not blossom, 
 " Neither shall fruit be in the vines ; 
 " The labor of the olive shall fail, 
 ** And the fields shall yield no meat ; 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 237 
 
 " The flocks shall be cut off from the fold, 
 *' And there shall be no herd in the stalls : 
 " Yet I will rejoice in the Lord — 
 " I will joy in the God of my Salvation." 
 
 How greatly is Patience to be preferred before 
 Pas5ion. Passion is a fury, breathing out threaten- 
 ing and slaughter ; Patience is a cherub, whispering 
 words of love and joy. Passion is a tempest, charged 
 with lightnings, hail and thunder; Patience is a holy 
 calm, where peace reigns and stillness triumphs. 
 The one is a troubled sea, casting up mire and dirt — 
 the other, a placid lake illuumined by the mellow light 
 of heaven. The one a foretaste of the fire of hell— 
 the other, a pledge of everlasting repose. 
 
 " The man possessed among the tombs, 
 Cuts his ov\-n flesh and cries ; 
 He foams and raves, till Jesua comes. 
 And the foul spirit flies." 
 
 " Beloved self must be denied — 
 The mind and will renewed ; 
 Passion oppress'd and patience try'd. 
 And vain desires subdu'd." 
 
 Lord, how secure and blest are they. 
 Who feel the joys of pardon'd sin ! 
 
 Should storms of wrath shake earth and sea, 
 Their minds have heaven and peace within." 
 
 How oft they look to heavenly hills, 
 
 Where streams of living pleasures flow; 
 
 And longing hopes and cheerful smiles 
 Sit undisturb'd upon their brow !" 
 
238 
 
 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 Fight the good f.glit. 1 Tim. vi. l-2—iaUn^ the shield of Faith end 
 
 t/ie Sicord of the Spirit. Eph. vi. 16, 17. 
 
 THE CONQUERING CHRISTIAN. 
 
 A glorious Temple rises to our view, 
 
 The conquering Christian fights his passage Uirough, 
 
 His dreadful foes who now attack him sore. 
 
 False Shame behind, fell Unbelief before. 
 
 And worldly Love — great idol here below, 
 
 Unites to aid in Christian's overthrow ; 
 
 But he, courageous, takes at once the fieli 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 239 
 
 Armed with his ancient, well-appointed shield ; 
 
 A two-edged sword he wields, well known to fame. 
 
 And prostrates at one blow the dastard Shame ; 
 
 On Worldly JiOvc he falls with many a blow. 
 
 And soon he lays the usurping monster low. 
 
 Now Unbehef, the champion of the rest, 
 
 Enraged, bestirs him, and lays on his best ; 
 
 A fearful thrust he makes at Christian's heart. 
 
 The Shield of Faith receives the murd'rous dart ; 
 
 With his good sword brave Christian wounds him sore, 
 
 And out of combat he is seen no more ; 
 
 Into the Temple now the Victor speeds. 
 
 And Angel Minstrels chant his valiant deeds. 
 
 The above represents a man figliting his way 
 toward a beautiful Palace ; it is his home. F'rom 
 various causes he has been long estranged from his 
 paternal inheritance. He is by some means reminded 
 of its endearing associations— of its ancient magnifi- 
 cence — of its voices of happiness and love ; pleasant 
 things to delight the eye ; choral symphonies to 
 enchant the ear ; rich viands to gratify the taste, are 
 there. He becomes anxious to return ; he determines 
 at once to regain possession of his mansion, or perish 
 in the attempt. He meets with opposition ; the odds 
 is fearful, three to one. His enemies do not abso- 
 lately deny his rights, yet they are determined to 
 oppose him to the uttermost. He gives battle, and by 
 dint of skill and courage, he routs his foes, gains a 
 complete victory, and enters his home in triumph. 
 
 This allegory represents a part of the Christian 
 warfare. The temple or palace signifies that glo- 
 rious inheritance which the Almighty Father has be- 
 queathed to all of his children. It contains all that 
 can please, delight, or enchant the soul, and that for- 
 evermore. For it is an inheritance that is incorrupti- 
 ble, undefQed, and which fadeth not away. The 
 Hero denotes a man who has decided to be a Chris* 
 
240 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 tian. By the influence of the Holy Spirit on his 
 heart, he is convinced of his outcast condition — of 
 the impotency of created good to make him happy— 
 of the insignificance of the things of time compared 
 with those of eternity. Convinced of these, in the 
 strength of grace, he says, " I will arise and go to 
 my Father," and he goes accordingly. But he soon 
 meets with enemies who powerfully oppose his pro- 
 gress, and among the first of these is 
 
 Shame. Our passions, or powers of feeling have 
 been given to us by our benevolent Creator, to sub- 
 serve our happiness, and shame among the rest. 
 
 " Art divine 
 Thus made the body tutor to the soul — 
 Heaven kindly gives our blood a moral flow 
 And bids it ascend the glowmg cheek." 
 
 Shame stands as a sentinel to warn us of danger, 
 and so put us on our guard. But all of our passions 
 are perverted from tbeir proper uses, and sin has 
 done it. Therefore as man loves darkness rather 
 than light — calls evil good and good evil — puts bitter 
 for sweet and sweet for bitter — so also he changes 
 the proper uses of shame. Instead of being ashamed 
 of the bad, he is ashamed of the good. Shame is 
 an enemy hard to conquer. The convert finds it so. 
 He feels ashamed at first to be seen by his old com- 
 panions, in company with the truly pious ; or going 
 to a religious meeting— or on his knees praying — or 
 in any way carrying the cross of Him whom he has 
 now chosen to be his Master. Shame confronts him 
 every where, and gives him to understand that for 
 the most part, religious people are a poor, low, and 
 ignorant set ; that no person of character will as- 
 associate with them, etc. Christian remembers that 
 what is highly esteemed among men is had in abom 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGOBIES. 241 
 
 ination \vith God. That shame after all, is the pro- 
 motion of foals only. Thus he vanquisheth shame 
 by the sword of the Spirit even by the word of the 
 Lord. 
 
 As soon as shame is disposed of, another foe ap- 
 pears — Love of the world. This consists in a greater 
 attachment to this present world, than becomes one 
 who is so soon to leave it and live forever in another. 
 As the boy should learn what he may need when he 
 shall become a man, so should the mortal acquire 
 what it may need when it puts on immortality. The 
 natural man is so strongly wedded to earthly objects, 
 that to him the separation is impossible. Argument 
 will not effect it. He may be convinced intellect- 
 ually, that the things of earth are transitory and un- 
 satisfying, yet he pursues them eagerly. His feel- 
 ings may be lacerated by the death of some beloved 
 relative, and his hopes blasted by the loss of pro- 
 perty, still he cleaves to earth. The power of the 
 Almighty alone can help him. He needs a new prin- 
 ciple of feeling and of action ; even that of faith 
 that overcomes the world. Obtaining this principle, 
 he looks not at the things that are seen, but at those 
 which are unseen. 
 
 The genuine Christian convert has many conflicts 
 ere he can set his affections on the things above. 
 Worldly Love opposes him persevoringly ; in his 
 religious experience ; in his self-denying duties ; in 
 
 his givings, and in his sufferings. The Christian, 
 
 however, knows that he must conquer that foe, or 
 perish — therefDre he sets hims'^lf to meditate upon 
 his duty — he searches the Scriptures — he finds th-^t 
 God's enemies are those who min:l earthly things — 
 he wishes not to join them — that the love of the 
 world is hatred to God — if any man love the world, 
 the love of the Father is not in him ; and animated 
 
242 KELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 by the example of Christ his Lord, who left heaven 
 for man, he renounces earth for God. He dies to 
 the world and lives to Christ. As a soldier of Jesus 
 he fights under his banners, and comes off more than 
 a conqueror through Him who has loved him. 
 
 Unbelief IS a gigantic foe. He is indeed the cham- 
 pion of all the rest, peculiarly skillful and bold in his 
 attacks. He knows how to shift his ground adroitly. 
 Sometimes he assails vehemently, denying Chris- 
 tianity itself; nay, the very existence of the Al- 
 mighty, declaring that " God is nature, and that there 
 is no other god," and that " death is an eternal sleep." 
 Thus by one stroke he would sweep away the being 
 and attributes of the Eternal ; the doctrines, prom- 
 ises and commandments of the word of God, man's 
 responsibilities, and consequent duties. Were this 
 stroke successful, it would deprive man of all happi- 
 ness in this life, and of the consolations of hope in 
 the life that is after death. It expels him a second 
 time from paradise into a desert where not even 
 thijrns and briars spring up for his support. 
 
 Unbelief, however, does not always act so boldly. 
 Sometimes he admits the existence of God, and the 
 subject of religion in general, but denies that man 
 owes duties to the former, or that he is interested in 
 the latter. He will even approve of the form of re- 
 ligion, provided there is no power, no faith, no Holy 
 Spirit in it. Unbelief in this form destroys thou- 
 sands of immortal souls who profess Christ, yet not 
 having true faith, in works deny him. He that be- 
 lieveth not shall be damned. 
 
 Sometimes unbelief attacks the Christian under 
 the garb of benevolence. He pities and deplores 
 most feelingly, the present evils that flesh ia heir to. 
 He promises you a terrestrial heaven. But, first, the 
 present order of things must be abolished. All ia- 
 
 I 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES, 2 43 
 
 fititations, political and religious, must be abrogated. 
 The foundations of society nnust be broken up — its 
 frame-work dissolved — that is to say, a perfect chaos 
 must be made, out of wh'ch shall arise a perfect para- 
 dise. You must first pass through a vast howling 
 wilderness where no water is, and then (if indeed 
 your carcass does not fall in the wdlderness) you 
 will be conducted into the promised land. 
 
 In these ways does unbelief make his onsets, suit- 
 ing his methods to the dispositions of the age, or to 
 the circumstances of individuals. The Christian re- 
 pels them with the shield of faith, and the sword of 
 the spirit, which is the word of God. He possesses 
 the divine word which is full of promises, and that 
 faith w^hich is a deep conviction of things not seen, 
 and the substance or foundation of things hoped for. 
 Therefore he gives no quarter to unbelief; God hath 
 spoken, it is enough. There is a mansion for him ; 
 he will possess it. His Saviour has conquered and 
 reigns. He will conquer and reign also. He be- 
 holds by faith, a glorious mansion, a palm of victory, 
 a song of triumph, a crown of life. Animated by 
 the prospect, he fights his way through all his foes, 
 and as he fights he sings — 
 
 ** The glorious crown of Righteoosness, 
 To me reached out, I view. 
 Conqueror through Christ I seen shall riAa« 
 And wear it as my due." 
 
 31 
 
244 
 
 RELIGIOUS AI,T,KGORIES. 
 
 Who gave himself a ransom for all. — 1 Tim. ii. 6. 
 
 THE IMPERIAL PHILANTHROPIST. 
 
 The hapless crew upon the reef are cast ; 
 
 And round them rages wild the furious blast ; 
 
 Deep calls to deep with wide-mouthed thundering roar. 
 
 Loud beat the billows on the rock-bound shore ; 
 
 Crash after crash is heard with fearful shock. 
 
 As the boat dashes on the craggy rock. 
 
 The affrighted crew nor skill nor courage have. 
 
 To save their bark from the devouring wave ; 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEG0RLE8. 245 
 
 Russia's great Czar beholds them on the reef 
 
 And nobly hastens to afford relief: 
 
 Boldly he plunges in the boiling waves; 
 
 And all the fury of the tempest braves, 
 
 He leaps on board, and with a skillful hand, 
 
 Through rocks and breakers, brings them safe to land. 
 
 We have here a picture of danger and of deliver 
 ance. Peter the Great, Emperor of all the Russia?, 
 Bad been sailing in one of his yachts as far as the 
 Ladoga Lake ; finding himself refreshed by the sea- 
 breeze, instead of landing at St. Petersburg, he sailed 
 down the Neva toward the open sea of the gulph of 
 Finland. The day had been very fine ; toward eve- 
 ning, however, the weather suddenly changed ; the 
 Emperor resolved to land, but he had scarcely reached 
 the shore, when the storm burst forth in all its fury. 
 The waves rose and beat against the craggy rocks 
 of the coast, and the wind roared from the wild sky 
 with a thundering voice ; in a few minutes a black 
 cloud, let down like a curtain, hid the scene from 
 view. Still, however, the Emperor looked and li«t. 
 ened ; he thought he heard the voice of distress min- 
 gling with the yell of the storm ; his penetrating 
 glance soon discovered a boat struggling against the 
 rolling surge, that was driving it towards the furious 
 breakers. The men, most of them being soldiers, 
 are evidently at a loss what to do ; presently the boat is 
 dashed upon a reef; the sea breaks over it mountains 
 high. The Emperor immediately sends a vessel to 
 their aid, but in vain ; the men on board want both 
 skill and courage to execute the dangerous task. 
 The poor men on the reef, seeing themselves de- 
 serted by their companions, rend the air with their 
 piteous cries for help ; the Emperor can contain him. 
 self no longer, — he springs into his own boat, calling 
 on all who have hearts to dare fir th^'ir hrethr.-ti. to 
 
246 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES, 
 
 follow him. By great exertions he reaches as ncai io 
 the suflerers as the breakers will allow — he perceives 
 that he is yet too far off to aid them — what they need 
 is a skillful pilot — he plunges into the raging billows, 
 bravely he buffets the mountain surge, now floating 
 on the topmost wave, now sinking in the depths be- 
 neath ; soon he gains the boat, — he springs on board 
 like a delivering angel. The men, resouled at sight 
 of the Emperor risking his life to save them, renew 
 their efforts — they soon get off the shoal into deep 
 water, and the Emperor guides them skillfully through 
 the rocks and shoals, and brings them safe to land. 
 
 Now he is overwhelmed with the grateful demon- 
 strations of those whom he has saved from the jaws 
 of destruction, and of those happy wives and chil- 
 dren, who but for him would now have been orphans 
 and widows ; he enjoys the luxury of doing good-— 
 he feels most truly that " it is more blessed to give 
 than to receive." 
 
 " The quality of mercy is not strained ; 
 " It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven 
 " Upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed ; 
 " It blesseth him who gives, and him who takes, 
 " 'Tis mightiest in the mightiest ; it becomes 
 " The throned monarch belter than his crown." 
 
 We admire, and very justly too, the surprising con- 
 descension, the tender compassion, the heroic cour- 
 age, and the consummate skill of the Emperor of all 
 the Russias, in risking his life for the sake of a few 
 poor men — but what is this compared with the grace 
 of our Lord and Saviour, " Jesus .?" The Emperor 
 lost nothing of his dignity in doing what he did ; he 
 laid aside none of his titles ; he assumed not a lower 
 rank ; in the boat, among the waves, and on the 
 shoal, he was still an Emperor. But Jesus laid his 
 glory hy ; the glory that he had with the raiht'i be. 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 247 
 
 fore the world was ; the glory resultmg from creative 
 power ; the glory of guiding the armies of earth and 
 heaven ; the glory of eternity. " He emptied him- 
 self," " he made himself of no reputation." The 
 master becomes a slave ; the king becomes a sub- 
 ject ; the maker of worlds becomes a creature ; the 
 God becomes a worm ! How surprising this conde- 
 scension ; how wonderful this humility : 
 
 " Bound every heart and every bosom bum." 
 And O, with what tender compassion Jesus pitied us, 
 as he saw us exposed to the gulph of eternal death ! 
 In the depths of our misery he exclaimed, " Behold ! 
 I come," and immediately hastened to our relief. O 
 how he weeps, groans, prays, and dies for us, and for 
 our salvation ! He pities our ignorance — he groans 
 for our unbelief — he weeps for the hardness of our 
 heart — he dies for our guilt. 
 
 What heroic courage He displays in woi-king out 
 our deliverance ! How he grapples with the powers 
 of darkness ! How he triumphs over temptation, 
 poverty, and shame ! How he conquers principal- 
 ities and thrones, making a show of them openly ! 
 He wrests fi'om death his dreadful sting, proves vic- 
 torious over the grave, and opens the gates of Para- 
 dise to all believers. What divine wisdom, also. He 
 manifests in the work of redemption ; in securing to 
 man his liberty, and to God his glory. How skillfully 
 the Saviour confutes all the sophistry of the devil ; 
 how wonderfully he answers all the cavils of his ad- 
 versaries. How, by his questions, does he take the 
 wise in their own craftiness ! His laws fill with admi- 
 ration the hearts of his worshippers. How skillfully 
 he guides his followers through the rocks and shoals 
 of temptation and sin, and lands them Kiifely on the 
 banks of deliverance. " Verily he hath done all 
 things welL" Halleliyah ! 
 
218 RELIGIOUS ALLE00BIE8. 
 
 But for whom did the Saviour labor and suffer 1 
 Peter risked his life for mortals like himself; Jesus 
 jiave his for beings infinitely beneath him. Peter 
 f(>r his own soldiers, Jesus for those who were ar. 
 rayed under the banner of his great foe ; Peter for 
 his own subjects, Jesus for the subjects of another 
 kingdom ; Peter rescued merely his friends, Jesus 
 died for the salvation of his enemies. Herein is 
 love, " God commendeth Hj's love toward us in that 
 while we w-ere yet sinners," consequently enemies, 
 " Christ died for us." 
 
 In the case before us — one rather of contrast than 
 comparison — we see the men, re-spirited by the pres- 
 ence of their Emperor, come to save them, labor 
 with all their might ; had they not done so, they 
 could not have been saved, notwithstanding all the 
 skill, power, and good will of their Prince. But we, 
 alas ! stupid and ignorant as we are, when our De- 
 liverer comes to our aid, are found questioning his 
 skill, denying his power, and disbelieving his kind 
 intentions ; instead of working " out our own salva- 
 tion," with fear and trembling, while he works in us, 
 helping us both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 
 
 Those who were saved from death by the philan- 
 thropic Emperor, showered upon him every demon- 
 stration of gratitude ; they invoked eternal blessings 
 on his head, and devoted their lives to his service ; 
 and shall not we be grateful to oiu: Spiritual deliv- 
 erer ? His name ought to be to us above every 
 name. His name Salvation is ; to the man that be- 
 lieves, Christ is precious — he meditates upon his 
 wondrous love, upon his unparalleled condescension, 
 upon his heroic courage, upon his tender compassion, 
 and upon his divine wisdom, until the fire of grate, 
 ful emotion burns within him, and he presents himself 
 a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable before the 
 I-oad, saying — 
 
KELIGIOCS ALLEGORIES. 249 
 
 * "Were the whole realm of nature mine, 
 That were an offering far too small ; 
 Love so amazing ! so divine ! 
 Demands my life, my soul, my all." 
 
 And he devotes himself accordingly to the service of 
 his King and SaWour. As a good subject, he will 
 obey His laws, and seek to promote the peace and 
 prosperity of his kingdom ; as a good soldier, he will 
 follow his Captain through every danger, and every 
 death, and having gained the victory, he will ground 
 his arms at Jesus' feet, and so be ever with the Lord. 
 
 The following is a noble instance of genuine philanthropy, 
 where a person risked and actually lost his life for the salvation 
 of others : — A Dutch East Indiaman was wrecked in a terri- 
 ble tempest off the Cape of Good Hope ; the sailors were 
 every instant perishing for want of assistance. An old man, 
 named Woltemad, by birth an European, and who was at thia 
 time a resident of an island off the coast, heard the lamenta- 
 tions of the distressed crew and hastened to their relief. The 
 noble Dutchman borrowed a horse and proceeded to the wreck, 
 with a view of saving at least some of their number ; he re- 
 turned safe with two of the unfortunate sufferers, and repeated 
 this dangerous trip six times, each time bringing with him two 
 men, and thus saved in all fourteen persons. The horse was 
 by this time so much exhausted, that the man did not think it 
 prudent to venture out again ; but the entreaties of the poor suf- 
 ferers increasing, he ventured one trip more, which proved so 
 unfortunate that he lost his own life ; for on this occasion too 
 many rushed upon him at once, some catching hold of the 
 horse's tail, and others of the bridle, by which means the horse, 
 wearied out, and too heavily laden, was overwhelmed by the 
 billows, and all drowned together. The East India Company 
 impressed with so noble an instance of philanthropy, ordered a 
 monument to be erected to his memory. 
 
250 
 
 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 Therefore let ua not tUep, at do others ; but let us vxuch and bt $obar.- 
 * 1 Thefl. V. 6. 
 
 THE WINTRY ATMOSPHERE. 
 
 The icy mountains here lift up on high 
 Their barren peaks, toward the arctic sky ; 
 Terrific regions, where grim Winter reigns, 
 And bends the whirlwind in his frosty chains. 
 All life has fled, save where the shaggy beast 
 Prowls with intent on human blood to feast ; 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 251 
 
 *Ti8 nature's tomb ; no living voice is heard, 
 
 Of mumiuring brook, nor cheerful warbling bird 
 
 No iedfy tree, nor Emiiing fields of green, 
 
 Nor corn luxuriant waving, here is seen. 
 
 In this cold clime some mariners are found, — 
 
 Two, froze to death, lie stretched upon the ground ; 
 
 Others, more wise, to keep themselves awake, 
 
 They leap and shout, and strive tlieir friends to wake. 
 
 One plies the rod — yet fiom all anger free — 
 
 To rouse his neighbor from his lethargy ; 
 
 Death of his prey, while thus engaged, he cheats, 
 
 And finds himself revive the more he beats. 
 
 These work and live, although the conflict's sore. 
 
 The rest they slumber and awake no more. 
 
 Here we have a picture of the Polar regions; the 
 accumulating masses of ice raise to the sky their 
 snowy summits. The formation, perhaps, of future 
 icebergs. Here Winter sits securely upon his throne 
 of desolation. Unmolested by the Solar King, he 
 sways his icy scepter. The very winds are hushed 
 to silence by his power ; a desolate and terrible re- 
 gion. It is the sheeted sepulcher of Nature deceased. 
 No signs of life are seen, except the Polar beast, 
 fitted for his dreary abode. No sound of rippling 
 brook, nor voice of joyous bird echoes through the 
 icy cliffs. To bless the eye, no leafy forests wave 
 to the breeze. No cheerful fields of living green 
 appear. To bless the heart, no rising corn, the all- 
 sustaining food of man, bends with its weight of 
 wealth. In this inhospitable climate, man, if he 
 possess not a stout heart, soon dies. A drowsiness 
 steals over him. He feels a very great inclination 
 to lay down, then cold chills, throughout his life's 
 blood, slowly creep. He sinks into a lethargy from 
 which he never more awakes. 
 
 in the picture are seen a few mariners who are 
 thrown into this unfriendly climate. Two of them, 
 in consequence of giving way to their drowsy feel- 
 
253 BELIOIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 ings, have fallen asleep. It is the slumber of the 
 grave. The others, aware of the deadly influence 
 of intense cold, exert themselves to keep it off. They 
 leap about and cry aloud. They are alarmed for 
 their companions. They strive to arouse them from 
 their dangerous sleep. One perceiving his friend to 
 have some signs of life in him, procures a rod ; he 
 lays it on unsparingly ; he finds himself benefitted by 
 the exercise ; he continues it ; he is successful ; he 
 saves the life of his friend ; they continue actively 
 employed until deliverance appears. Thus, then lives 
 are preserved. The rest, cast into the deep sleep of 
 death, are left to the beasts of prey. 
 
 The wintry atmosphere represents that spiritual de- 
 clension that too frequently happens. Piety is in 
 danger of freezing to death. The church has gone 
 too far north. The thermometer of holiness has 
 sunk almost to zero. The sun of righteousness casts 
 but a few feeble flickering rays athwart the gloom 
 profound. Fearful state indeed ! The stillness of 
 spiritual death prevails. The shaggy one alone is 
 alive and active. " He goeth about as a roaring lion 
 seeking whom he may devour." The voice of prayer 
 is hushed. No joyful hallelujahs break the monotony 
 of the awful solitude. Doctrine and discipline are 
 neglected. Even the all-sustaining word of God is 
 forsaken. Melancholy position ! She will soon be- 
 come a mere iceberg, dashing herself and others into 
 oblivion. It has sometimes occurred, that by the 
 faithful prayers and active labors of one saint, the 
 church has been brought out of the wintry atmos- 
 phere, and been saved. This one living disciple 
 brings the whole church to Jesus, the Sun of Right- 
 eousness, and keeps her there by faith, until the 
 whole tide of His rays fall full upon her. Her frozen 
 heart now begins to thaw ; soon it melts into peni- > 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 253 
 
 tence and love; now the voice of prayer breaks forth 
 as the morning ; the song of praise again mounts 
 upwards ; God's house is filled with worshippers ; 
 ministers are clothed with salvation ; converts are 
 multiplied, and the sons of God shout aloud for joy. 
 
 The wintry atmosphere may furthennore denote the 
 condition of individual Christians when thrown into 
 he society of the wicked, when compelled in the 
 order of providence to dwell in the "tents of Kedar." 
 In the absence of the genial influences of religious 
 ordinances, the freezing influences of ungodly princi- 
 ples and practices prevail. Infidelity itself may per- 
 haps lift up its daring front, and defy the God of the 
 armies of Israel : deny the inspiration of the sacred 
 page, and laugh the Christian to scorn as a weak en- 
 thusiast. If unwatchful, the professor will at first fall 
 a prey to the stupor of indiflerence. Then the chilling 
 influence of sin will creep over him ; the life's blood 
 of his piety is arrested in its course ; heart and in- 
 tellect are benumbed ; Faith, Hope and Love are 
 now but indistinct images of the past. He is in 
 danger of spiritual death. 
 
 As in the engraving, we see one arousing his com- 
 panions with a rod or stick, so the Christian should 
 endeavor to awaken his brother when he sees him 
 falling beneath the influence of a wicked atmosphere. 
 He may possess more Christian experience, or more 
 spiritual understanding : he has a stronger taith, or is 
 better acquainted with the wiles of the devil ; these 
 are so many gifts or graces, that he is in duty bound 
 to exert for the salvation of his brother ; hence he is 
 to exhort and admonish him with all long-suflering 
 and faithfulness. If this fails, he is to reprove, nay, 
 to " rebuke him sharply," and in no wise to sutler 
 sin upon his brother. Though it may seem harsh, 
 yet he is to persevere as long as any signs of lite re- 
 
/ 
 
 254 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 main, lest he perish for whom Christ died ; he will 
 tell him of the danger to which he exposes his im- 
 mortal soul, of the reproach he will bring upon reli- 
 gion if he falls into sin, of the wounds he will again 
 inflict upon the sacred heart of Jesus ; that he will 
 cover heaven with sackcloth, and make hell echo 
 with exultations of fiendish delight — he will not spare 
 ill order to arouse him from his slumber. With the 
 hammer of God's word he will strike him, with the 
 sword of God's Spirit he will pierce him, and with 
 the tliel of God's love, he will enkindle a fire round 
 about him. He is successful — soon the sleeper 
 moves — he melts — he weeps — he prays ; in his grat- 
 itude he exclaims, " Let the righteous smite me, it is 
 an excellent oil unto me," faithful are the wounds of 
 a friend ! Thus the active Christian, by his perse- 
 verance, under God, saves a soul from death, and 
 hides a multitude of sins. 
 
 Most beneficial, also, has the exercise been to him- 
 self; it has proved the means of his own safety; by 
 it he has been kept watchful and prayerful ; his gifts 
 and graces have been strengthened ; the more he la- 
 bored for his brother, the more he was blessed in his 
 own soul. So true is the promise, " He that water- 
 eth others, shall be watered also himself." 
 
 The Wintry Atmos'phere is such a dangerous re- 
 gion that the Almighty himself becomes, as it were, 
 alarmed for the safety of his children, when he sees 
 them exposed to its influence ; he uses the rod of cor- 
 rection in order to keep them awake — he uses it in 
 love — whom he loveth he chasteneth. Woe ! woe ! 
 unto us, when He commands the ministers of afflic- 
 tion to "let us alone." Poverty, reproach, sickness 
 and death, are employed by our heavenly Father as 
 instruments of correction — yet they are blessings in 
 disguise. He gives us poverty in time, that we may 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLESORIES. 255 
 
 be invested with the riches of eternity : — reproach, 
 that we may receive the plaudits of the King Eter- 
 nal ; — sickness of body that the soul may flourish in 
 immortal health : — Death, to usher us into Life, into 
 his immediate presence, that where He is there we 
 may be also. God's children have borne witness in 
 time, and they will bear witness to all eternity, "That 
 it was good for them to have been afflicted." 
 
 "Long unafflicted, undiaraayed , 
 In pleasure's path secure I strayed ; 
 Thou mad'.-t me feel the chastening rod. 
 And straight I turned unto my God, 
 What though it pierced my fainting heart, 
 I blessed the hand that caused the smart, 
 I taught my tears awhile to flow. 
 But saved me from eternal woe." 
 
 " In sable cincture, shadows vast, 
 Deep-tinged and damp, and congregated clouds, 
 And all the vapory turbulence of heaven, 
 Involve the face of things. Thus winter falls, 
 A heavy gloom oppres-ive o'er the world. 
 Through Nature shedding influence malign.** 
 " Ocean itself no longer can resist 
 The binding fury ; but, in all its rage 
 Of tempest taken by the boundless frost. 
 Is many a fathom to the bottom chained, 
 And bid to roar no more :— -a bleak expanse, 
 Shagged o'er with wavy rocks, cheerless and void 
 Of every life, that from tne dreary months 
 Flies conscious southward. Miserable they ! 
 Who, here entangled in the gathering ice. 
 Take their last look of the descending sun ; 
 "WTiile, full of death, and fierce with ten-fold frost. 
 The long long night, incumbent o'er their heads, 
 Falls horrible." — Thompson. 
 
256 
 
 in:Lir,ior> AM.Ei;oitlE3l 
 
 
 JVw Jiaith the Lord will be .... a waU of fire round about. 
 THE PROTECTED TRAVELER. 
 
 Zec.ii.& 
 
 'Tis nitfht, — the Traveler with labor spent, 
 Ben-atti the forest's shade has pi tehee' his tent ; 
 He and his household soon are fast asleep, 
 Their toilsome journey makes their slumbers deep* 
 Above their heads the stars are glowing bright, 
 Like diamonds sparkling on the breast of night; 
 This is the signal for the savage beast 
 To roam the forest for his bloody feast ; 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 257 
 
 Leopards and lions round the tent now prcwl. 
 And wake the woodland with their fearful howl ; 
 The Traveler, startled at the dreadful sound, 
 A blazing fire soon kindles all around ; 
 The monsters see it, and with horrid roar. 
 Rush through the thicket and appear no more. 
 
 As when Elisha, 'mid the Syrian band, 
 Saw sword and spear arrayed on every hand, 
 In gracious answer to the prophet's prayer, 
 AngeUc banners flashed upon the air ; 
 Jehovah's armies round about him came 
 "With burning chariots and steeds of flame; 
 The fiery seraphs circled all his path. 
 And kept him safely from the Syrian's wrath. 
 
 In these days of emigration, multitudes are contin- 
 ually leaving the homes of their fathers for distant 
 climes. The populous cities of the old world are 
 traversed ; the broad blue ocean is traversed ; the vast 
 forests of the new world are traversed, in order to find 
 a home of peace and plenty. The engraving shows 
 a family tended and guarded for the night. The trav- 
 elers, weary with the day's journey, seek a commo- 
 dious place whereon to pitch their tent. The sun 
 already begins to sink below the horizon ; the shad- 
 ows lengthen, and night, silent and majestic, assumes 
 her empire over the earth. Stars ot glittering beauty 
 bespangle her bosom and reflect their brilliancy on 
 the broad leaves of the forest. The travelers retire 
 to rest ; wooed by fatigue, " balmy sleep" soon lights 
 upon their eyelids ; their slumbers are deep ; but 
 they are soon to be disturbed ; night gives the signal 
 for the beasts of prey to come forth from their dens ; 
 hungry and thirsty for blood they come ; roaming, 
 ravening, and roaring they come ; the woods echo 
 their fearful bowlings ; they scent out the travelers ; 
 they surround the tent ; they clamor loudly for its 
 inmates ; dreadful is the confusion ; the beasts growl 
 and fight with each other, that each might have the 
 
258 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 prey to himself — the travelers awake in trembling 
 distress. One of them has heard of the effect of fire 
 upon wild beasts; while they are quarrelling, he 
 ♦juickly lights his brand, puts it to some dry leaves, 
 and kindles a blaze ; to this he adds more fuel, nor 
 ceases heaping it on till he has encircled the tent 
 with flames. His eflbrts are successful; the wild 
 beasts are now affrighted, and roaring dreadfully with 
 fear and rage, they rush impetuously through the 
 ti'ees, and come near the tent no more. 
 
 The preservation of the traveler from the fury of 
 the wild beasts by means of fire, represents the pre- 
 servation of the Christian from the attacks of Satan 
 and his helpers, by the Almighty. Among the Jews, 
 and many other ancient nations, fire was regarded as 
 emblematical of the Deity, and indeed not without 
 reason, for on several well authenticated instances did 
 the Almighty manifest himself under the appearance 
 of fire. Moses was summoned before a court of fire 
 to receive his commission as deliverer of Israel. God 
 was in the fire. In their flight from Egypt, and after 
 travels in the desert, the Israelites were guided by a 
 column of fire. Their salvation and the Egyptians' 
 overthrow, for Jf novah was there. In his reception 
 of the sacrifices and prayers of his people, God an- 
 swered by fire. When He gave his law upon the 
 terrible Mount, he spake out of the midst of the fire. 
 And when long after he would re-publish his law to 
 all nations, the commission of the Apostles as the 
 deliverers of the world, was crowned with fire, God 
 was with them, and to be with them to the end of 
 the world. 
 
 The Christian is a traveler; he is traveling through 
 the wilderness of this world ; he will pass through 
 it only once ; in whatever part of the wilderness he 
 pitches his tent, he is safe from all the open attacks 
 
RELIGIOVS ALLKQOKIES, 
 
 259 
 
 of his foes ; his faith, love and obedience, secure to 
 him the protection of the Ahnighty. He is holy in 
 heart and life : holiness tends to God's glory, and 
 upon " the glory there is a defence ;" this is the glory 
 that dwells in the midst of him. and where this is, 
 there will be also " the wall of fire roimd about." 
 The celestial fire burning between the Cherubiiri in 
 the Jewish temple, but shadowed forth him in whose 
 heart Christ dwells by faith, — the living " temple of 
 the Holy Spirit." 
 
 Since his expulsion from the realms of light, the 
 Devil has hated with perfect hatred every symbol of 
 Jehovah's presence and glory ; he hates the liglit — 
 he is the prince of darkness — he is the great extin- 
 guisher, putting out the light of truth and holiness as 
 often as he can effect it ; he thought to extinguish 
 the " Light of the World," by nailing it to a tree, 
 but in so doing he only broke into pieces the vase 
 that contained it, causing it to shine forth with biil- 
 liancy, and to fill the whole earth with glory. 
 
 The great adversary is spoken of as ''" going about" 
 the world as a roaring lion " seeking whom he may 
 devour ;" once, when prowling about en this wise, he 
 met with one of the saints of God, whom he desired 
 to worr}' and devour, but behold ! there was a hedge 
 of burning bushes all around him. In vain he tried 
 to get at him ; though used to fire, he could not stand 
 the fire of love and holiness — he knew very well too, 
 that no one could put out this fire, demolish this 
 burner, except the man himself. Satan is permitted 
 to tempt ; he lays his plots with hellish ingenuity ; he 
 executes them with cruelty worthy of a devil ; to de- 
 stroy this man of God, he called into his service the 
 pestilence, the sword, the tornado, and the lightning. 
 The lightning came and did its work — the sword 
 came and did its work — the pestilence came and did 
 33 
 
260 RELIGIOUR Al,LE(;ORIE8. 
 
 its work — the tnniaclo rame and did its work, — yet 
 the man of God is safe ; he lives in his integ^rity ; 
 the hedge of fire around him biirns higher and 
 brighter, and becomes a beacon of hope to all the 
 children of men. The devil, discomfited, leaves him, 
 and flees away to his own place, because " Job 
 sinned not nor charged God foolishly." 
 
 In like manner every child of God is surrounded 
 by a divine protection : the servants of Satan are 
 just like their master, they hate the light, and him 
 that brings it ; but were they to beset liim, as the 
 Assyrian army beset the prophet Elisha, he would be 
 safe. The chariots of fire, and the horses of fire, 
 with Seraphim and Cherubim, would encompass him. 
 He may lay him down in peace — a wall of fire pro- 
 tects him, high as heaven, deeper than hell, wide as 
 eternity — fire ! fii-e ! fire ! formless, impetuous* mys- 
 terious, and devouring fire, is his safeguard and trust. 
 
 As the traveler by building a fire protects not him- 
 self only, but all who are in the tent, so the Chris- 
 tian, by his faith, love and obedience, secures tiie 
 protection and blessing of God upon all his house- 
 hold. " I will show mercy," saith the Holy One of 
 Isrcel, " unto thousands of generations of those that 
 love me and keep my commandments ;" and one who 
 had lived long in the world, and had seen much of it, 
 declared, " I have never seen the righteous forsaken, 
 nor his posterity begging breod." 
 
 The traveler may put out his fire without water — 
 he can do it by omitting to supply it with fuel, or by 
 casting earth upon it, thereby smothering it, and thus 
 expose himself and others with him to all the dan- 
 gers of the forest. So the Christian may extinguish 
 the fire of Almighty protection, the light of the Holy 
 Spirit ; he may do so, too, without emplo^nng the wa- 
 ters of ti-ansgression — he may do it by withholding 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES, 261 
 
 the proper fuel, by " leaving off to do good,'' by neg- 
 lecting the means of gi-ace. He may do it by casting 
 earth upon it, by letting the world gain the ascen- 
 dancy in his heart and affections — the love of the 
 world will put out the fire, '' quench the Spirit," and 
 leave the man again exposed to the malice of the 
 evil one. 
 
 In the Book of the Prophets we read of some who " kindle 
 a fire" and walk in the light thereof, who yet " lie down in 
 Borrow," they are not safe ; these may be the self-righteous — 
 the mere nominal professor, who builds a fire with the wood, 
 hay, and stubble, of his own performances ; it lacks the heat 
 of love and holiness — God is not in it. Satan heeds it not — he 
 breaks through it as easily as a lion through a cobweb, and 
 seizes upon the defenceless sinner for a prey. 
 
 Of others it is said that they " encompass themselves about 
 with sparks" merely ; this may mean those who esteem them- 
 selves good enough already, good naturally — hence they have 
 no need of performances of any kind. The man of this class 
 neglects, as useless, the light of truth, and faith, and the fire 
 of love; he can dispense with Bible, Priest and Temple ; he 
 lies down in peril — the devil don't mind a few imparks. 
 
 It was a custom among the ancient highlanders of Scotland, 
 when ihey would arouse the people for any great purpose, to 
 send throughout the land a cross dipped in blood ; wherever 
 the cross was received, there the people immediately kindled a 
 blazing fire, hence it was called " the Fire Cross." The blood- 
 stained Cross of Christ has been sent and is now going through- 
 out the world ; the purpose for which it is sent, the greatest of 
 all achievements ; wherever it is received, a fire is kindled 
 amid the surrounding darkness. The fire of a Saviour's love, 
 the fire of Almighty power, 
 
 " Jesus' love the nation's fires, 
 " Sets the kingdoms in a blaze." 
 
 Hasten ! O hasten ! ye who bear the cross, ye ministers of 
 his that do his pleasure ! carry round " the Cross," until a fire 
 shall be kindled every where, and the whole earth be filled 
 with the glory of God. 
 
262 
 
 UKLlorolS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 Fvr ye are bought vith a priu.—l Cur. vi. 20. Those thai seek me miHf 
 shall jind ww:.— I'rov. viii. 17. 
 
 THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE. 
 
 Behold, the slave with joyful beaming eyes, 
 Holds up to view his glorious glittering prize ; 
 A pearl, more precious than it.<= weight in gold ; 
 The price of Freedom, and of bliss untold: 
 The prince who promised the giiPf vicious meed, 
 From his rich palace haatena down with spe^d ; 
 
RELIGIOUS Al.LV.OO'.limS. 263 
 
 With his own hand — unroU'.fl thai all may see — 
 The title-deed presents of -Liberty. 
 The slave may enter now that mansion fair, 
 A slave no longer, but a rightful heir. 
 
 So when the dinner by Apoliyon bound. 
 The priceless pearl of Gospel grnce has found; 
 ■ He breaks his chains, and into Freedom i?pringg, 
 No more a slave, he ranks with pries:s and kmgs ; 
 By the great Lord of Ail, to him 't Is given. 
 To be his child on earth, and heir m heaven. 
 
 A CERTAIN Princo, desirous of acloniing his coro- 
 net with a pearl of the greatest value, promises Lib- 
 erty to any one of his slaves ^^■ho shall find one of a 
 certain number of carats; the Prince owns, upon his 
 manor, a " Fishery," where the slaves, at proper sea- 
 sons of the year, dive for pearls. The usual mode 
 of opei-ation is as follows : The divers, throwing off 
 their clothes, dress themselves in complete suits of 
 white cotton ; this is to protect their bodies from the 
 contact of the medusae, or sea-netlles ; then, each 
 diver letting himself over the side of the boat, places 
 his feet upon a stone, which is held by the seibor, or 
 puller up. On his left arm he carries a small basket 
 to hold the oysters he may collect — (the pearl is 
 found in the fleshy part, near the joint of the shell) — 
 then closing his nostrils with a piece of elastic horn, 
 he gives the signal with his arm, and is immediately 
 lowered down ; the stone enables him to sink with- 
 out difficulty. Here, in a period varying from thirty 
 to a hundred seconds, he employs himself in filling 
 his basket ; as soon as this is done, or if he wants 
 breath, he jerks the rope, and is immediately hauled 
 to the surface. 
 
 In the engraving is seen the fortunate slave, who 
 has secured the prize ; as soon as he discovers hig 
 good fortime, forsaking boat and basket, he leaps 
 overboard and makes toward the shore, exclaiming 
 
264 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 " I've found it ! I've found it !" Others shout with 
 hira ; the Prince, his master, hears the tumult, and 
 learning the cause, repairs without delay to the bank 
 of the river, to receive the pearl, and to bestow 
 on the finder the promised reward — where, in the 
 presence of all, he reads his deed of manumission, 
 and proclaims him free. And he is free — his head, 
 and heart, and hands, are now his own ; he is now 
 free. 
 
 Happy man ; Liberty, fair sister of Piety, has 
 stooped upon the wing to oless him ; nor is this all — 
 he is free to call his former master Ahha, that is, 
 father, and his mistress, Imma, that is, mother ; he 
 is, according to custom, adopted as a son — his future 
 path is irradiated with knowledge, wisdom, and hap- 
 piness. 
 
 By the slave finding the costly pearl, and obtain- 
 ing thereby his liberty, is signified the sinner, who 
 finds "the Kingdom of Heaven," or who, in other 
 words, experiences religion ; this . puts him into pos- 
 session of a liberty more precious than gold, and 
 more to be desired than fine gold : — 
 
 A liberty unsung 
 By Poets, and by Senators unpraised ; 
 Which monarchs cannot grant, nor all the power* 
 Of earth and hell confederate, take away : 
 A liberty which persecution, fraud. 
 Oppression, prisons, have no power to bind ; 
 Which, who so tastes, will be enslaved no more. 
 
 This is the liberty of Gospel salvation ; a sinner 
 is a slave — a slave not to one master, but to many, 
 who exercise over him a cruel despotism. Satan 
 takes the lead in tyrannizing over him ; it is true he 
 U a willing slave, but not the less a slave for that. 
 
RKLIGlOrS ALLEGHRIES. 
 
 265 
 
 for let him but try to free hTrnselT from his power, 
 and he at once feels that he is bound ; Satan is his 
 lord and master, he says to him " go, and he goeth, 
 come, and he cometh, do this, and he doeth it." He 
 is a captive, led about just as the devil pleases. Mis- 
 erable bondage ! Sin has dominion over him, for- 
 bidden objects control his passions, and his passions 
 control his will ; he is enslaved to the law of sin, he 
 is chained to " this body of death." Sin wields over 
 him its scepter with despotic sway, " he is sold under 
 sin ;" even when he would do good, evil is present 
 with him. Again, he is a slave to the terrors of the 
 law ; mount Sinai still stands, giving forth its dread- 
 ful voice of many thunders, and emitting its flashes 
 of devouring fire ; he stands quaking and trembling 
 beneath its fearful brow. He is also '* subject to 
 bondage through fear of death ;" although he may 
 make a show of courage, when among his guilty 
 companions, over the bottle, or in the battle-field, 
 yet he dreads his approach ; his very image embit- 
 ters his sweetest pleasure, and makes him miserable. 
 These are some of the lords that exercise dominion 
 over the poor sinner ; verily he is bound ! 
 
 The King of Holiness otfers liberty to the sinner, 
 on condition that he exercise " repentance toward 
 God, and faith in Jesus Christ ;" thus runs the pro- 
 clamation. The slave who found the pearl was obe- 
 dient ; what did he know at first about pearls ? he 
 might have argued, with himself at least, that it wa3 
 impossible that such uncouth, muddy oysters, could 
 contain such priceless gf'ms. and so have given up 
 the idia, and with it freedom ; but he sought in the 
 manner prescribed, and found — thus his obedience 
 secured an ample reward. 
 
 Salvation is found only liy those who seek aright. 
 That the sinner might not lose his labor, the Al- 
 
260 HELI6IOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 mighty Lord tells him where it may be found ; he tells 
 him to look for it in His word, in his house and or- 
 dinances ; he tells him hoiv he is to conduct the 
 search — he is to lay aside his self-righteousness and 
 put on sackcloth ; he is to descend into the depths of 
 humility, and there, by earnest, persevering prayer, 
 and living faith, to seek until he finds — and the prom- 
 ise is, " If thou seekest her as silver, and searches! 
 for her as for hid treasure, then shalt thou understand 
 the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God." 
 
 But who shall describe the glorious liberty of the 
 children of God. Satan reigns and tyrannizes over 
 them no longer ; his chain is broken, his allegiance 
 is renounced ; he is no longer the proud conqueror, 
 leading his captive in chains ; he lies bruised be- 
 neath the Christian's f?ct — he may threaten, but he 
 cannot harm ; he may tempt, but he cannot compel. 
 
 He who finds gospel freedom is delivered from the 
 dominion of sin ; his understanding is now enlight- 
 ened, the darkness of ignorance has passed, the true 
 light now shines ; his mind is now free — free to do 
 good. He takes pleasure in righteousness. " O," he 
 exclaims, " how I love thy law !" Henceforth the 
 testimonies of Jehovah are the songs of his rejoicing 
 in the house of his pilgrimage ; in him the promise 
 is fulfilled, " Sin shall not have dominion over you." 
 
 From the curse of the law, moreover, he is fi-ee 
 Jesus has been made a curse for him — there is, there 
 fore, now no condemnation ; for him the fires of Si- 
 nai no longer burn ; Jesus has quenched them with 
 his blood — for him its voice of many thunders is for 
 ever hushed — Jesus has whispered, " peace, be still." 
 Death has now for him no more terrors — Death is a 
 vanquished enemy, he is numbered among his gains. 
 Why should he fear who has beheld " the burst gates 
 — the demolished throne — the crushed sting — the last 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 267 
 
 gasp of vanquished death ?" Thanks be unto God, 
 who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 O, the glorious liberty of the children of God ! 
 The siave has become a son ; he may now call God 
 Abba, Father, and the church Imma, Mother ; he is 
 now an heir of God and fellow-heir with Jesus 
 Christ — he receives a clear title-deed to mansions in 
 the skies. Heaven for him 
 
 Opens wide 
 Her ever-during gate?, harmonious sound 
 On golden hinges turning. 
 
 He is now free to see the king in his beauty, to see 
 Him as he is who loved him and gave himself for 
 him — to hold converse with angels and archangels, 
 with all the holy, and the wise. " Glorious liberty" 
 indeed ! wondrous freedom ! he is free to explore the 
 regions of immortality and love ; and as the years of 
 interminable duration roll onward, he will live yet 
 more free. 
 
 All hail, triumphant Lord, 
 Who sav'st us with thy blood : 
 Wide be thy name ador'd, 
 Thou rising, reigning God, 
 With thee we rise, 
 With thee we reign, 
 And empires gain 
 Beyond the slues." 
 
 34 
 
3G3 
 
 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 
 Blessed are your eyes for they see. Matt. xiii. 16. A7id to know tlie love (ff 
 Christ which passeth knoKledge. Eph. iii. 19. 
 
 THE GREAT DISCOVERY. 
 
 When brave Balboa gained the mountain's height, 
 
 A glorious prospect burst upon his eight ; 
 
 The great Pacific stretched before him lies, 
 
 And fills with new delight his ravished eyes ; 
 
 O sight sublime ! It meets the distant sky, 
 
 The Bplendid image of eternity. 
 
 H« gazes on that sea, his hope of old. 
 
Mi'LiGiiiin ALi • i;orvii:s. "^69 
 
 Whose waters wander by the realms of gold ; 
 Visions of wealth and glory fill his mind, 
 And he forgets the toils he left behind. 
 The dream is realized ! that dream sublime. 
 That bore him onward through each deadly clime 
 O'er burning mountains and o'er stormy main, 
 Through death and danger, far from ancient Spain, 
 His bursting heart adores that mighty Power 
 That brought him safely to behold this hour ; 
 He prostrate falls, his grateful homage pays. 
 And to the God of heaven devoutly prays. 
 
 Abov^e is portrayed the great di.-covery ot' the Pa- 
 cific Ocean, made by Balboa, a Spanish Cavalier. 
 Balboa had for some time settled down in Hispaniola. 
 Here he cultivated a farm, but hearing of an expe- 
 dition that was about to set out for the west, he de- 
 termined to join it. He was greatly in debt, and the 
 governor had issued a proclamation forbidding debtors 
 to leave the Island. Balboa, however, was resolved 
 to go. He caused himself to be rolled on board of 
 one of the vessels in a cask. He did not make his 
 appearance until the ship was far out to sea. The 
 commander at first threatens to send him back — but 
 the ship pursued her way. He quickly rose into fa- 
 vor ; became governor of the colony planted at the 
 Isthmus, and distinguished himself by the talents of 
 command. Rumors of the o;olden country still farther 
 westward continued to inflame the minds of the Span- 
 iards. Distance, disease, mountains covered with 
 eternal snows, and oceans tossed by perpetual storms, 
 could no longer restrain them. Balboa took the lead 
 of the expedition and pushed on to conquest. Many 
 of the Indian tribes are to be conquered. These 
 brave but defenseless warriors soon fall before the 
 arms of the Spaniards, who, the more blood they 
 shed, the more they thirst for gold. An alliance is 
 formed with a powerful Cacique, who sends Balboa 
 
270 HELIOTOUS ALLF.OORIES. 
 
 a rich present in gold and slaves. On the daring 
 Spaniard leads his soldiors. Indian tribes are con- 
 quered, mountain difficulties are passed, and burning, 
 sickly regions traversed. Now the moment is at 
 hand when he is to be more than recompensed for 
 all his labors. The misty summits of the hills rise 
 before him. One of these is pointed out to him as 
 the object of his search. He commands his troops to 
 halt. He himself ascends alone, with his drawn 
 sword. Having reached the top, he casts his eyoa 
 round ; the Pacific spreads out before him ; imbued 
 with the religion of his country, he falls on his knees 
 weeping, and offers thanks to God for permitting him 
 to see this glorious sight. On his return to Darien, 
 the whole population poured forth to meet him. They 
 hailed him as the glory of Spain ; as the gift of 
 heaven sent to guide them into the possession of hon- 
 ors and riches incalculable. 
 
 The Pacific Ocean, and its discovery by the bold 
 Spaniard, may serve to illustrate the ocean of God's 
 love, and the joyful feelings of him who, for the first 
 time, discovers it. The sinner is settled down in his 
 sins ; he is employed in cultivating Satan's husbandry ; 
 " he is sowing to the flesh." He hears of a revival 
 of religion, of an. expedition heavenward ; he is de- 
 termined to join it ; he is in debt ; dead in trespasses 
 and in sins. Satan, his governor, will not permit 
 him to quit. He hedges up his way round about him. 
 He is however resolved to join the expedition that is 
 bound for Heaven. By a violent effort he escapes and 
 joins the converts. He is decided ; he seeks ear- 
 nestly the salvation of his soul ; his way is now beset 
 with difficulties ; enemies appear on every hand to im- 
 pede his progress ; his old companions com^ to entice 
 him ; his old sins come to tempt him, and his old mas- 
 ter sirides before him the whole breadth of the way 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 271 
 
 He now strengthens his alliances with the children 
 of God. He receives sometimes some gracious to- 
 kens of the divine favor ; he is encouraged to per- 
 severe ; on he goes, weeping — praying — wrestling — 
 fighting. His old companions are silenced ; his sins 
 no longer have dominion over him, and Satan falls 
 like lightning from heaven. Now the time of triumph 
 is near, when he will be more than paid for all he 
 has endured. His heavenly guide directs him to the 
 object of his inquiries. He ascends alone the 
 mount — the sacred moupt of Calvary. He casts his 
 eyes around : the peaceful ocean of Almighty love 
 spreads out before him ; there it lays, covering all 
 time and extending to eternity ; immense — bound- 
 less — overwhelming. 
 
 When this Almighty sea of love 
 His rising soul surveys, 
 
 Transported with the view, he's lost 
 In wonder, love, and praise. 
 
 All is peaceful, above — below — within — around. 
 He has peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 A peace which passeth all understanding fills his 
 breast. He is at peace with man and beast. It is 
 as the opening of the gate of heaven to his soul. An 
 immense region of truth, divine truth, is laid bare to 
 his view. A new and heavenly light flashes over his 
 mind. Old things have passed away, and all things 
 have become new. 
 
 On this mount of vision he discovers that God is 
 Love ; not only lovely and loving, but Love ; nothing 
 but love. In his nature and operations love ; pure, 
 unexampled love. Here he beholds the Son of 
 God ; the maker of earth ; the well beloved of heaven, 
 suffering and dying for him — for all — for a world of 
 sinners. For the foulest of the foul. He dies. He 
 beholds with astonishment the tokens of his love. 
 
273 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 Earth is suddenly arrested in her retrograde motion, 
 and rolled back again to God. Strange darkness 
 covers the world, that all might henceforth be light 
 forever ; the opened sepulchres proclaim life and im- 
 mortality. Here he beholds a new and living way 
 cast up ; a high way fr<jm earth to heaven, and 
 countlei^s multitudes leaving behind them the badges 
 of their guilt, pollution, and wretchedness, and washed 
 and clothed in the robes of salvation, ascend thereon. 
 Forward they go, each one walking in his upright- 
 ness. A cloud overshadows them for a little while, — 
 that is death. Soon they ascend toward the gates 
 of the heavenly city. Now the golden portals are 
 lifted up, and the children of glory enter in. A mul- 
 titude that none can number are thus ransomed from 
 hell and the grave, and all through the love of God 
 in Christ Jesus. Behold what manner of love is 
 this, that the Father has bestowed on us, that we 
 should be called the sons of God. Well might the 
 rapt poet sing — 
 
 I rode on the sky. 
 
 Freely justified I, 
 Nor envied Elijah his seat ; 
 
 My soul mounted higher. 
 
 In a chariot of fire, 
 And the moon it was under my feet. 
 
 An indifferent spectator walking far beneath Bal- 
 boa, seeing him prostrate on the mount, and with 
 uplifted hands offering his thanksgiving, might have 
 laughed him to scorn for a madman, or have pitied 
 him for his weakness. He may not have been so 
 high. He knows not that the ocean exists. He per- 
 haps denies its existence altogether. Thus it often 
 happens to the man of the world when he sees con- 
 verts having tasted that the Loi-d is gracious, give 
 vent to thorr feelings in a lively manner ; or when 
 
BELFGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 273 
 
 he hears experienced Christians discourse on the love 
 of God, it is foolishness to him. He considers the 
 persons so acting, to be ''beside themselves," or very 
 weak minded. He may perhaps deny altogether the 
 existence of vital godliness and religious experience , 
 yet if the skeptic would but " come and see" for 
 himself, he would confess that " the half was not told 
 him." 
 
 In order to make his great discovery, Balboa had 
 to rise above the world. So it behooves him who 
 would discover the great pacific of eternal love, to 
 rise above sublunary things ; especially must he sur- 
 mount the fogs of prejudice, the mists of ignorance, 
 and the clouds of unbelief which surround the smface 
 of the earth. 
 
 Having made his discovery, the Spaniard waa at once re- 
 warded with honor and glory. He looked upon the past with 
 contempt, as not worthy to be compared with the splendor that 
 awaited him. So he feels who realizes that God is love. He 
 is clad with the " Best Robe." He looks with disgust on the 
 past. He hates the vain pomps and glories of the earth ; is as- 
 tonished at his infatuation, in being so taken up with them ; 
 and yet what he now possesses is but as the drop lo the teem- 
 ing shower. The wealth of eternity av/aits him. 
 
 Balboa could not explore his vast prize. Had he traversed 
 the ocean till this time, he would have gone over only a small 
 portion of it ; much of it he would never see. Realms of gold 
 lay gUttering upon its placid margin. Mines of wealth lay 
 hidden beneath its purple wave. He had but found the key of 
 this magazine of wealth. So the discoverer of Almighty love 
 can know but little of his precious prize while here below. 
 Boundless — fathomless — endless, it spreads out before him, and 
 will ever spread. Here he merely sips of its overflowings. 
 He has but discovered the key of this treasure-house of love. 
 the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and goodness of 
 God! 
 
274 
 
 RELIOIOCS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 ITuy teanaered in deserts. — Ileb. xi. 38. For here ice have no cot 
 city, but seek one to come. — Heb. xiii. 14. 
 
 PASSAGE THROUGH THE DESERT. 
 
 Amid the arid desert's burning sands, 
 
 The Caravan proceeds, in various bands ; 
 
 Jew, Frank, and Mussulman, in search of gaillf 
 
 Unite to traverse the destructive plain. 
 
 The desert drear, more terrible to brave, 
 
 Than fiirioua tempest, on the ocean wave : 
 
BELIGIOrS ALLEGORIES. 275 
 
 The sky a molten dome of quiv'ring heat ; 
 The earth a farnace, glows beneath the feet ; 
 The wild waste echoes as they move along, 
 With laugh of humorous tale, or Toice of song. 
 Armed, and united, they no danger fear 
 From lion prowlirng, nor from robber's spear ; 
 But other foes oft-times 'gainst them advance, 
 More to be dreaded than the Arab's lance : 
 The sandy column, and sirocco's blast. 
 Laden with certain death, come rushing past. 
 Down straight they fall, flat on their faces lie, 
 While the destraying angel passes by ; 
 Through varied dangers, thus their way they wend. 
 Until at length they reach their journey's end. 
 
 Here is represented the passage of a caravan 
 through the great and terrible desert of Africa. Mer- 
 chants being desirous of visiting the interior parts of 
 Africa, for the sake of trading with the natives, form 
 themselves into companies for this purpose. Here 
 may be seen Arabs, Jews, Franks, and others, uni- 
 ting for a common end, regardless of the differences 
 of countiy and of creed ; they hire a certain number 
 of camels, with their drivers — they lay in their stock 
 of goods, provisions, etc. ; they furnish themselves 
 with a compass, and with arms for defense. When 
 all is prepared, the signal for departure is given, and 
 the caravan moves onward ; by degrees they leave 
 all traces of the living world behind them — soon 
 they come in sight of the desert — evening now casts 
 its shadows round them — they find a stopping place ; 
 here they rest for the night. In the morning they 
 commence the perilous route : in a short time, noth- 
 ing is beheld by the travelers but one vast ocean of 
 sand, bounded only by the horizon ; as they move on 
 the heat becomes intense — the sky appears like a 
 dome of molten fire — the earth glows like a furnace 
 beneath their feet ; a momentary gloom overspreads 
 the faces of the travelers as they see scattered here 
 35 
 
27C RELIGIOUS ALLEGOKIE8. 
 
 and there upon the sand, skeletons, the remains of for- 
 mer travelers. They shorten the distance by rehears- 
 ing taxes of wit and humor. Sometimes the desert 
 rings with the sound of their merry songs, — they 
 trust to the guides for direction, and to the guards for 
 safety ; being well armed they fear nothing. Some- 
 times, while yet on the border, the lion of the desert 
 appears ; he sees them united and watchful — he dare 
 not attack them — he lashes his sides with his furious 
 tail, and with a dreadful roar he bounds out of sight. 
 Sometimes the Arab robbers, who think they have 
 an hereditary right to plunder travelers, attack the 
 caravan — they meet with a stout resistance, and find- 
 ing themselves worsted, they quickly disappear amid 
 clouds of dust and sand. 
 
 Other enemies, however, frequently appear, that 
 laugh to scorn their might of union, and hold'in de- 
 rision the shaking of the glittering spear ; the pesti- 
 lential simoom, with the speed of thought, comes 
 rushing on towards them, and unless they fall instantly 
 upon their faces and hold their breath, they are all 
 dead men. Sometimes they behold huge pillars of 
 sand before them, the sun gleaming through them, 
 giving them the appearance of pyramids on fire — 
 each one is large enough to bury the caravan ; now 
 they move towards them with fearful rapidity — now 
 they take another direction. The wind shifts, and 
 dashing against each other, they vanish in a storm of 
 sand. Sometimes the caravan is refreshed by meet- 
 ing with a fertile spot called an oasis — here is seen 
 the grassy plain, the flowing fountain ; — here is heard 
 the voice of singing birds ; here the palm, the vine, 
 and the olive tree abound. New spirited, the cara- 
 van resumes its journey, and in good time reaches 
 the place of its destination. 
 
 The passage through the desert may be consid- 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 277 
 
 ered as an allegorical representation of the passage 
 of the church of Christ through the moral desert of 
 this world. The church is in quest of eternal gain. 
 She seeks a city which is out of sight ; " the New 
 Jerusalem." The way thereto is through a moral 
 desert, which is destitute of^every heavenly plant. 
 No living stream flows through the midst thereof. 
 No food for the soul is there ; no provision for im- 
 mortality. Above, around, beneath, the elements 
 are, in themselves considered, unfriendly to spiritual 
 life and spiritual progress. Hence the church fur- 
 nishes herself with provisions, — Christ, and the word 
 of Christ ; her compass, the law of Jehovah ; her 
 weapons, the whole armor of God ; her watchmen 
 and guides, the ministers of Jesus, 
 
 The caravan was exposed to danger and death 
 fron>the lion — the robber — the moving sands, and 
 the fell simoom. The church, too, has her dangers to 
 contend against. No sooner does she commence her 
 march, than Abaddon, the destroyer, comes out against 
 her. If he sees her united, moving on firmly, and 
 watchful withal, she is safe, and he knows it. He 
 gnashes his teeth with rage, and looks about for more 
 defenseless prey. Woe, woe to the straggler he may 
 meet with in his wrath, — to him who through indo- 
 lence has lingered behind, or through pride thinks 
 he can take care of himself, — he falls a victim to his 
 temerity. His fate becomes a monument of warning 
 unto others. Next she is assailed by the disciples of 
 ancient heresies. These come forth against her with 
 their rights of prescription and of proscription. They 
 advance " damnable doctrines," and seek to plunder 
 her of her heaven-born treasures. But the church 
 is armed, thoroughly armed. The efficient panoply, 
 " the whole armor of God" is round about her. The 
 sword of the Lord and of Gideon prevails, and the 
 
 \ 
 
278 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 spoilers vanquished, retire amid the dust of their own 
 confusion. But other foes sometimes appear, more 
 dangerous than Satan undisguised. Splendid images 
 of idolatry present themselves, glittering with the 
 gilded pageantry of pompous ceremonies ; imposi- 
 tions of unrighteous pj:erogative. Their tops reach 
 the very heavens. They move to and fro, threaten- 
 ing to overwhelm the church beneath their crushing 
 weight. She looks on awhile in astonishment at 
 such heaven-daring impiety. She stands firm ; she 
 is girt about with truth. With a loud voice she gives 
 utterance to her faith, — " Jehovah, he is the God ! 
 Jehovah, he is the God !" The sandy fabrics disap- 
 pear like the moving columns of the desert. 
 
 Sometimes, as a last resort of fiendish malice, the 
 simoom of persecution is let loose upon her. Earth 
 and hell combine. The kings of the earth set them- 
 selves, and the rulers take counsel together, saying, 
 " Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away 
 their cords from us." The watchword is, " destroy, 
 destroy," and the whole power of the enemy is hurled 
 against the Lord's anointed. Her ordinary weapons 
 of defense are here of no avail. She has recourse 
 to " all prayer." She falls down low in the dust. In 
 God is all her trust. He is her help and her shield. 
 She hides herself in Him until this " calamity be 
 overpast." In every conflict she comes off* victorious, 
 as long as she continues united and watchful. 
 
 Sometimes the church is favored with extraordi- 
 nary manifestations of divine power and love ; these 
 are to her as an oasis in the desert. The river that 
 makes glad the city of God pours its full streams into 
 the midst of her. She enjoys a glorious revival ; it 
 is a foretaste of heaven. She arises and puts on 
 strength. MuUitudes are added unto her. Clothed 
 with salvation, she again moves onward in all the 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLE GOBIES. J79 
 
 power of truth, and in the majesty of holiness, clear 
 as the sun, fair as the moon, and glorious as an army 
 with banners. Above her waves triumphant the 
 banner of Redemption, Taking up the song of 
 prophecy as she advances, she sings — 
 
 In the wilderness shall burst ftrth waters, 
 And torrents in the desert ; 
 And the glowing sand shall become a pool ; 
 The desert and the waste shall be glad, 
 And the wilderness shall rejoice and flourish, 
 Like the rose shall it beautifully flourish. 
 
 Thus she goes forward from strength to strength, 
 scattering in her path a new creation, until mercy's 
 triumphs are complete, and God is all in all. 
 
 Lord, what a wretched land is this. 
 
 That yields us no supply ; 
 No cheering fruits, no wholesome trees» 
 
 Nor streams of living joy ! 
 
 Yet the dear path to thine abode 
 
 Lies through this weary land ; 
 Lord ! we would keep that heavenly road. 
 
 And run at thy command. 
 
 Our souls shall tread the desert throng 
 
 With undiverted feet ; 
 And faith and flaming zeal subdue 
 
 The terrors that we meet. 
 
 A thousand savage beasts of prey 
 
 Around the desert roam ; 
 But Judah's Hon guards the way, 
 
 And guides the pilgrims home. 
 
 Through simoom blasts, with gloomy fears 
 
 We trace the sacred road ; 
 Through lonely wastes and dangerous snares 
 
 We make our way to God. 
 
260 
 
 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 He luopcth up riches and knownh not who shall gather them. — Pa. 
 6. 7'At' covttous, whom the Lord ahhorreth.— Va. x. 3. 
 
 SELFISHNESS. 
 
 Look at the selfish man ! See how he locks 
 Tight in his arms his mortgages and stocks I 
 While deeds and titles in his hands he grasps. 
 And gold and silver close around him clasps. 
 But not content with this, behind he drags 
 A cart well laden with the pondrous bags ; 
 The orpJianv' wailini^s and th'> widoie's woe. 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 281 
 
 From mercy's fountain cause no tears to flow ; 
 He pours no cordial in the wounds of pain. 
 Unlocks no prison, and unclasps no chain ; 
 His heart is like the rock where sun nor dew 
 Can rear one plant or flower of heavenly hue. 
 No thought of mercy there may have its birth. 
 For helpless misery or sufiering worth ; 
 The end of all his life is paltry pelf, 
 And all his thoughts are centered on — himself , 
 The wretch of both worlds; for so mean a sum, 
 " First starved in this, then damned in that to come" 
 
 Here is a poor fool " crouching beneath" more 
 than " two burdens." Look at him ! see how he 
 pants, and heaves, and groans beneath his load. With 
 his right hand he grasps a large bag of gold and sil- 
 ver, together with bonds, titles, deeds and mortgages. 
 In his left he clutches fast, stocks and pledges, while 
 suspended to his left shoulder dangles interest upon 
 interest. Around his waist is buckled a leathern 
 girdle, to which a wagon is attached by means of 
 traces. This is loaded with bags and bales of rich an- 
 nuities. He appears to have made " a clean sweep" 
 wherever he has been ; desolation follows in his train. 
 On the left hand of this receiver-general, stands a 
 female, accompanied by two children. Look at them. 
 They have come through the peltings of a winter's 
 storm, poorly clad as they are, to lighten the poor 
 man's load. They have nothing to carry. See ! 
 they are beseeching him to allow them to bear part 
 of his burden. It would help them somewhat ; it 
 would circulate the blood, and keep them warm ; it 
 would benefit him, however, a great deal more, — per- 
 haps save his lite. He looks angry ; he growl-s at 
 them ; he curses them in the name of his god, and 
 spurns them from his presence. The man cannot be 
 in his right mind, surely. Refusing assistance, on 
 he goes again, lamenting very much the time he ha« 
 
282 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 lost, for "time" with him " is money." On he goes, 
 puffing and sweating and dragging. At length, still 
 followed by the woman and children, he comes to a 
 bridge thrown across a river rolling rapidly. It looks 
 quite safe ; as he proceeds, it bonds and cracks with 
 the weight, and just when he arrives at the middle, it 
 gives way and down he goes, bags and all ; he sinks 
 to the bottom like a stone. The dark wave rolls over 
 him ; he dieth as a fool dieth ; his memory has per- 
 ished. 
 
 The above engraving represents Selfishness refu- 
 sing the claims of distressed humanity. Perhaps all 
 the manifestations of sin in man may be traced to 
 selfishness as their source. The warrior in his pursuit 
 of glory ; the politician in hunting for power ; the 
 covetous in scheming for wealth ; the scholar in his 
 aspirations for fame ; all act from the principle of 
 selfishness. Here the selfish principle manifests 
 itself in the acquisition of money ; in keeping it, and 
 of course fixing the heart upon it as an object worthy 
 to be adored. The most High, looking down from 
 the height of his holiness, pronounces the man, ^^fod." 
 Fool in so mistaking the true ends of life, — in so 
 mistaking the nature of things as to think the soul 
 could be satisfied with dust and con'uption ; in em- 
 ploying the noble powers of the mind about things 
 so base, mean, and contemptible, — in loving that 
 which cannot return our love. Fool, in substituting 
 the body for the soul, — time for eternity, — the world 
 for God. Fool, to be " bit by rage canine of dying 
 rich, guilVs blunder, and the loudest laugh of hell." 
 Fool, in heaping up riches and knowing not who shall 
 gather them. • 
 
 " High built abundance heap on heap, for what I 
 To breed new wants and beggar us the more, 
 Then make a richer scramble for the throng, 
 
EELIGIOLft ALLEGORIES. 283 
 
 Soon as this feeble pulse which leaps so long. 
 
 Almost by miracle is tired with play ; 
 
 Like rubbish from disploded engines thrown, 
 
 Our magazines of hoarded trifles fly ; 
 
 Fly diverse, fly to foreigners, to foes ; 
 
 New masters court, and call the former fools, — 
 
 How justly, for dependence on their stay. 
 
 Wide scatter first our playthings, then our dust. 
 
 This is bad enough, but what is worse, the man 
 of selfishness is a man o? guilt., often of deep, double- 
 dyed, damnable guilt ; even in its most innocent form, 
 selfishness dethrones the blessed God from his proper 
 place in the human heart. Selfishness is a rank 
 idolator — he worships the creature more than the Cre- 
 ator. " Thou shalt have no other gods before me." 
 Like the horse-leech, he is continually crying, give, 
 give ; he covets his neighbor's possessions — he is de- 
 termined to obtain them if he can, either by fair 
 means or by foul — to this end he often bears false 
 witness against his neighbor — nay, he will destroy 
 his reputation, sometimes take his life. 
 
 He is a devourer of widow's houses ; he forestalls 
 and forecloses whenever he can gain by so doing. 
 Selfishness is a thief — first, in withholding what be- 
 longs to God and the poor ; secondly, in actually 
 seizing upon the property of others. See lym go 
 forth to take possession of his neighbor's farm or 
 house — in the face of day he goes ; the sun is look- 
 ing at him, and God is looking at him, and the pro- 
 phet of God within his breast — conscience — remon- 
 strates, as did the prophet Elijah, when Ahab had 
 ♦gone down to the vineyard of Naboth, to take pos- 
 session thereof. But selfishness is deaf to the voice 
 of the prophet, and the helpless family is turned out 
 into the streets, and another inheritance is added to 
 his rent-roll. 
 
 How great is the guilt of selfishness ; by him the 
 
284 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 commandments of God are all set at nought ; nay, 
 standing on the mountain of his ill-gotten wealth, ho 
 takes the two tables of the law, and breaks them to 
 pieces, trampling the remnants beneath his feet. 
 His heart is ossitied, callous, hard as the nether mill- 
 stone ; the ministers of religion plead for help— he 
 regards it not ; the daughters of benevolence plead 
 for objects of charity all in vain ; the weeping 
 widow and the wailing orphan stand before him, 
 begging only what will support life a day — he spurns 
 them from his presence. He has more than he 
 needs, or ever will need, yet — dog in the manger 
 like — he snarls and keeps it all. 
 
 In the map of Palestine may be seen the Dead 
 Sea ; several rivers pour their streams into the midst 
 thereof, and among them the Joi-dan. Here they are 
 all swallowed up ; the Dead Sea gives nothing back 
 but bitterness and dearth. It was formerly said that 
 birds in their passage over it dropped down dead ; — 
 selfishness is a dead sea, receiving all, giving noth- 
 ing, save misery, and want, and death. 
 
 In the engraving, the house in the back ground 
 looks ruined and desolate — selfishness has been there. 
 It is related of the locusts that " the noise they make 
 in browsing the plants and trees may be heard at a 
 distance, like an army plundering in secret ; wherever 
 they march the verdure disappears from the country, 
 like a curtain drawn aside. The trees and plants, 
 despoiled of their leaves, make the hideous appear- 
 ance of winter instantly succeed the bright scenes of 
 spring — fire seems to follow their tracks." Selfish- 
 ness may look behind him if he will, and see in his 
 rear the same marks of desolation. 
 
 Selfishness is a great advocate for the protection 
 of his own interests ; he has become rich, yet he is 
 not rich God-wai'd, He has mortgages, but he him- 
 
BBLIGIOrS ALLEGORIES. 285 
 
 self, alas ! is mortsfaged to the devil, and when the 
 time expires, he will foreclose, and take possession. 
 He has pledges enough on earth, but no pledge of a 
 future inheritance in heaven. And where ! where is 
 the hope of the wretch, though he hath gained, when 
 God taketh away his soul ! 
 
 ' How shocking must thy summons be, Death' 
 To him that is at ease in his possessions ; 
 Who, counting on long years of pleasures here. 
 Is quite unfurnished for that world to come ! 
 In that dread moment how the frantic soul 
 Raves round the walls of her clay tenement; 
 Runs to each avenue, and shrieks for help, 
 But shrieks in vain ! How wishfully she looks 
 On all she 's leaving, now no longer hers ! 
 A little longer, yet a little longer, 
 Oh, might she stay, to wash away her stains, 
 And fit her for her passage ! Mournful sight! 
 Her very eyes weep blood ; and every groan 
 She heaves is big with horror. But the foe. 
 Like a staunch murderer, steady to his purpose, 
 Pursues her close, through every lane of life. 
 Nor misses once the track, but presses on ; 
 Till forced at last to the tremendous verge> 
 At once she sinks to everlasting ruiD." 
 
286 
 
 liliLlGIOUS ALLKGOKIKS. 
 
 Ftar not, for J am with thee. — Gen. xxvi. 24. I will Jfir no ^ii 
 art with vie. — I's. xxiii. 4. 
 
 THE IMPERIAL PASSENGER 
 
 When the great Caesar, bent on high empris*. 
 
 Beheld the winds and waves against him rise, ^ 
 
 The sea and skies in wild commotion roll, 
 
 To damp the ardor of his mighty soul ; 
 
 But wmds and waves in vain 'gainst him engage, 
 
 And waste upon themselves their empty rage ; 
 
 He nothing feora, he deems himself a God, 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES, 287 
 
 And furious tempe=t3 but await his nod. 
 Not so the mariners, — in sore dismay 
 They dare not venture from the sheltered bay, 
 To whom the chief their craven souls to cheer, 
 "Who carries Caesar, need no danger fear." 
 Awed into courage, soon they're on the wave, 
 And all the fury of the ocean brave. 
 
 The above engraving represents Julius Caesar in 
 a violent storm. He is encouraging the boatmen to 
 pull av/ay. Csesar and Pompey at this time were 
 about to dispute the empire of the world. The le- 
 gions of Pompey were at Macedonia. Those of Cae- 
 sar lay at Brundusium, on the other side of the river 
 Apsus. Caesar judging his presence to be absolutely 
 necessary for the safety of his army, determined to 
 cross the river, notwithstanding it was guarded by 
 the ships of Pompey. A furious tempest raged also 
 at the same time. Depending upon his good fortune, 
 he disguised himself, and secured a small fishing bor.t. 
 His mind occupied with the importance of hi^ mission, 
 thinks not of danger. He has had so many hair- 
 breadth escapes on flood and field, that he deems him- 
 self under the immediate protection of the gods ; nay, 
 that he himself possesses the power of controlling 
 fortune. The boatmen think, however, very differ- 
 ently. Though accustomed to danger, they will not 
 put to sea in the present gale. Csesar thinking all 
 would be lost, assumes a commanding attitude, throws 
 off his disguise, and addressing the pilot, exclaims, 
 Quid times ? CcBsarem vehis. " What do you fear 1 
 you carry Caesar." The effect is electrical. Struck 
 by his courageous bearing, the sailors, ashamed of 
 their fears, immediately put to sea with the intrepid 
 chieftain. They exert themselves to the utmost ; 
 brave feaijessly the peltings of the storm, and land 
 their noble passenger safely on the other side. 
 
 The above instance of profane history may serve 
 
286 BELIOIOUB ▲LLEOOBIE8. 
 
 to illustrate the presence of God with his people, and 
 
 the confidence they should have in him. The pres- 
 ence and consequent power of God exists, of course, 
 every where. We cannot tell where God is not. 
 We see him in the embattled host that nightly shines 
 in the blue vault of heaven ; in the queen of night, 
 as sailing through the sky, she gives to the shadowed 
 earth a look of kindred affection. — When rosy 
 morn lifts up the curtain of darkness and gives 
 to our view the glorious orb of day coming forth from 
 his chambers, rejoicing as a strong man to run a race ; 
 in the vast mountain, towering to meet the skies ; the 
 immense ocean, rising in the greatness of its strength ; 
 the embowered forest, bending to the breeze ; the 
 deep blush of the verdant mead ; the smiles of the 
 luscious corn, and in the laughing flowers, we see 
 the power and presence of the Omnipotent. The 
 thunder proclaims him in the heavens ; the woodland 
 minstrels among the trees ; the mountain torrent, and 
 the rippling brook, bespeak his power ; insects sport- 
 ing in the sun beams, and leviathan in the depths of 
 the sea, alike show forth his praise. Magnitude 
 cannot o'erpower him, minuteness escape him, or in- 
 tricacy bewilder him. He guides and preserves all 
 by his presence and power. 
 
 " The rolling year 
 Is full of Thee. Forth in the pleasing tspring 
 Thy beauty walks, thy tenderness and love ; 
 Then comes thy glory in the summer months. 
 With light and heat refulgent. Then thy sun 
 Shoots full perfection through the swelling year. 
 Thy bounty shines in autumn unconfined. 
 And spreads a common feast for all that lives. 
 In winter, awful Thou ! with clouds and storms 
 Around thee thrown, tempest o'er tempest rolled, 
 Majestic darkness ! on the whirlwind's wing, 
 Riding sublime. Thou bid'st the world adore. 
 And humblest nature with thy northern blaat," 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 289 
 
 The presence of God with his people is, however, 
 manifested in a different manner. Nature is man- 
 aged by subordinate agents ; the church by his im- 
 mediate presence. Natural objects wax old and per- 
 ish, as doth a garment ; yea, the elements will melt 
 with fervent heat ; the earth also, and the works that 
 ire therein, shall be burned up ; but of the church it is 
 leclared, that the gates of hell shall not prevail 
 igainst it ; and of Chrir^t's kingdom, which is the 
 church, it is said, thy kingdom is an everlasting king- 
 dom, and thy dominion without end. Hence to per- 
 petuate the church, the presence of God has been 
 manifested in a peculiar manner. In the march of 
 the church through* the ages of time on toward eter- 
 nity, how plainly has he shown his powerful presence. 
 Is the world through sin, covered with a flood of 
 waters, as with a garment ? — God himself superin- 
 tends the building of an ark, for the salvation of his 
 infant church. Does famine threaten her with dc 
 struction ? — He opens to her wants the granaries of 
 Egypt. Does the sea oppose her when she would go 
 and "sacrifice to the Lord her God?" — He divides 
 for her a passage through the midst thereof, and she 
 goes through dry shod. Does she suffer hunger in 
 the desert ? — He unlocks the store-house of heaven 
 and feeds her with angels' food. Is she thirsty ? — 
 The very rocks are made to yield streams of living 
 water. By his presence her foes fall before her ; 
 Jordan's waves roll backward, and Canaan spreads 
 for her repast its stores of milk and honey. " Happy 
 art thou, O Israel ! Who is like unto thee, O people 
 saved by the Lord, who is the sword of thy excel- 
 lency and the shield of thy help ?" 
 
 Nor has the church been less favored with the di- 
 vine presence, since Jesus paid in full the price of 
 her redemption, re-modelled his temple, and adorned 
 
290 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES,. 
 
 the sanctuary with the beauty of holiness. When 
 we see the Savior in the storm, on the sea of Tibe- 
 rias, chiding the fears of his disciples, and stilling the 
 winds and the waves, we see a type and a promise 
 of his future presence with his people. Emmanuel, 
 " God with us ;" this is his name ; how full of con- 
 solation ! with us in his own proper person. The 
 government is still upon his shoulders. " He will 
 not give his glory to another." He does not rule by 
 proxy. He needs no " vicar" on the earth. His real 
 presence is with his people. He is fulfilling his own 
 gracious promise, " lo, I am with you alway, even to 
 the end of the world." 
 
 The fact of being engaged in an important enter- 
 prise, and a consciousness that great results will fol- 
 low a certain course of conduct, nerves up the soul 
 to action, and enables it to do and suffer. When the 
 boatmen knew who it was that said unto them, "Fear 
 not," knowing too that the fate of nations depended 
 upon their conduct, they were inspired with energy 
 and courage, anS determined to sink or swim with 
 Caesar. But behold a greater than Caesar is here. 
 
 Jesus, the Almighty conqueror, says to his people, 
 *' Fear not, for I am with youJ'^ In the furious tem. 
 pest that sometimes meets them in the path of duty 
 when their hearts quail, and all appears to be lost, 
 His glorious presence shines amid the darkness. 
 " Fear not,^^ he exclaims:, " you carry Jesus.^^ The 
 church, emboldened at the sight, dismiss their fears, 
 receive a new inspiration, and in the strength of a 
 living faith respond : " Therefore will we not fear, 
 though the earth be removed out of its place, and the 
 mountains be cast into the depths of the sea, for the 
 Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our 
 refuge." 
 
 " Fear not, you carry Je^us." Thou desponding 
 
RELI613US ALLEGORIES. 291 
 
 one, fear not. Does not Christ dwell in thy heart 
 by faith ? Is not " Christ in you" the life of faith— 
 the life of love — " the hope of glory ?" Is he not 
 working in you both to will and to do ? Then be 
 strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. 
 Fear not, He is thy shield, and thy exceeding great 
 reward. 
 
 Of Cyrus it is said, that he knew his soldiers, 
 every one by name. But by the Captain of your 
 salvation, the very hairs of your head are all num- 
 bered. Unbelief dims the eye so that it cannot see 
 Jesus. Faith opens it, and the glorious presence of 
 the Savior is revealed. Where the king is, there 
 also is the court ; and where the Savior is, there also 
 is his court. His attendants are all there. Power 
 — majesty — riches and glory, encircle his throne. 
 Stormy winds, lightning and thunder, are ministers 
 of his that do his pleasure. 
 
 God is with his people. He is their covenant God. 
 Hence all his attributes are employed for their good. 
 He cares for them. As a father pitieth his children, 
 so he pities them that fear him. He has purchased 
 them by his own blood." They are his "peculiar 
 treasure ;" " the lot of his inheritance." Therefore 
 no weapon that is formed against them can prosper. 
 To banish distrust forever from their hearts, he 
 pledges himself never to leave them, never to for- 
 sake them. 
 
 When thou passest through the waters I will be with thee 
 And through the rivers they shall not overflow thee ; 
 When thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burned, 
 Neither shall the flame kindle upon thee, 
 For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, 
 Thy Savioe. 
 
 37 
 
292 RET.TGIOi:?' ALLEGORIES. 
 
 / Kill tj'iist in thec—Ts. hi. 3. Accordhig to your Faith be it unto you*' 
 Mutt. ix. 29. 
 
 VENTURING BY FAITH. 
 
 Behold the flames in all their fury roll, 
 Raging and spreading, spurning all control ; 
 Upward they shoot in many a gleaming spire, 
 And then rush downward in a flood of fire. 
 With fiercer heat the burning columns glow, 
 And soon the building totters to and fro. 
 
RELIGIOrs A-LreGORIES. 293 
 
 But whence that scream that rings upon our ears? 
 
 In the high casement see, a child appears ! 
 
 With outstretched arms, imploring for reUef — 
 
 The crackling timbers only mock his grief. 
 " O Father, save I" in piteous tones he cries. 
 
 At length his father hears him and replies, 
 " Fly to my arms, my son, without delay — 
 
 Fly ere the flames devour their helpless prey," 
 
 Death hastes behind, Hope beckons from before ; 
 
 He ventures freely, and his danger's o'er. 
 
 " The soul of an awakened sinner," says Dr. 
 Coke, "before he ventures on Christ for salvation, 
 may be compared to a person who is in some of the 
 upper stories of his house when he learns that it has 
 taken fire, and that all its nether parts are so far in- 
 volved in flame as to cut off his retreat." The en- 
 gra^ing shows a young person who has been roused 
 from his midnight slumbers by the raging flames 
 which burst into the place where he was reposing, 
 or perhaps he was awakened by the voice of some 
 friend, who raised a warning cry from without. The 
 child, thoroughly awakened, sees that if he stays 
 where he is, he will perish in the fl.ames ; he hears 
 the voice of his father — he flies to the window — he 
 sees the outstretch e J arms — he is invited to leap or 
 cast himself from the burning house ; the attempt 
 seems perilous indeed, but having faith in the word 
 of his father, he takes the perilous leap — he ventures 
 all — he falls into the hands of his father, unharmed ; 
 he is saved from death. 
 
 This is a good illustration of the act of justifying 
 Faith. The child in the burning house, perhaps 
 made several eflbrts to escape from the approaching 
 ruin ; he attempts to gain the door, but finding the 
 flames increase upon him, he is obliged to give up his 
 hope of escaping this way, and to ascend the stairs 
 before the pursuing fire. Hi a friends without, who 
 
294 nELiGious allkgories. 
 
 know his condition and danger, (pailicularly his 
 father,) entreat hira to cast himself from the upper 
 window, as the only means by which his life can be 
 preserved. 
 
 The child hears the earnest entreaties of his friends 
 — hesitates, attempts, retires, approaches the window, 
 calculates upon the fearful height, and dreads to 
 make the effort. His understanding is convinced 
 that the fire will soon overtake and destroy him, yet 
 while the danger appears somewhat remote, he 
 strangely lingers ; possibly thinking there may be 
 some other way to escape, besides casting himself 
 from the window. 
 
 His friends again encourage him to venture from 
 the window, assuring him that they have provided 
 for his safety by spreading on the ground the softest 
 materials, to break the violence of his fall ; full of 
 hesitation, he asks for sensible evidence ; they de- 
 sire him to look — he makes an effort, but the dark- 
 ness of the night, and the injury his sight has sus- 
 tained, only permit him to view the object of his 
 wishes obscurely and indistinctly. Belief and doubt 
 contend for the empire of his mind, and by keeping 
 it in an equipoise, prevent it from making any deci- 
 sive choice. 
 
 Thus far the situation of the child resembles that 
 of the soul who feels his need of salvation. The un- 
 derstandings of both are enlightened ; the judgments 
 of both are convinced by the force of evidence ; they 
 appear to assent to the truths which are proposed for 
 their belief, and still neither of them has escaped to 
 the place of safety, or city of refuge, which lies be- 
 fore him. Both, however, have found the way to es- 
 cape the impending ruin ; and to him who thus spir- 
 itually seeks after Christ, it may be said, thou art not 
 far from the kingdom of God ; but still one thing is 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGOKIES. 295 
 
 lacking, that is, to venture on the Savior for salva- 
 tion. 
 
 Thus far, in the allegory, the child has made no 
 effectual effort to escape from within the burning 
 walls ; while lingering in his room, in a state of in- 
 decision, agonizing for deliverance, without using the 
 means of obtaining it, feeling a measure of confi- 
 dence- in his friends below, but not enough to venture, 
 the flames burst into his apartment and scorch him 
 in his last retreat. Alarmed at the immediate pros- 
 pect of death, he concludes — if I remain here I shall 
 surely die, and if I cast myself down from the build- 
 ing, I shall but die. 
 
 Fully impressed with, this truth, he once more re- 
 pairs to the window ; he pays more attention to the 
 call of his friends, particularly to thart of his father ; 
 the difficulty now appeal's somewhat less, and the 
 prospect of safety greater, than what he before 
 imagined. Encouraged by these favorable appear- 
 ances, as well as driven by terror, he commits his 
 soul to God— he casts himself into the arms of his 
 father below. In a moment, in the twinkling of an 
 eye, he falls ! he is caught and embraced by bis fa- 
 ther ; he finds every thing prepared for his reception, 
 as he had been promised, and he now feels himself 
 in a state of safety. With tears of grateful joy, and 
 a heart overflowing with thankfulness for his deliver- 
 ance, he gives glory to God, and finds his bosom 
 filled with peace. 
 
 This is the case of every soul who, by faith, ven- 
 tures his all on Christ. But who can find words to 
 express all that is conveyed by this simile ? Every 
 one who has cast himself into the arms of his heav- 
 enly father through the atoning sacrifice, can feel it, 
 but adequate expressions are not to be found. Hu- 
 man language is too poor to unfold in all their 
 
29<^ RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 branches, the things of God, and we are oflen under 
 the necessity of resorting to such expedients in order 
 to find a medium to communicate our thoughts. 
 
 We see by the allegory that no one is in a state of 
 safety till they have actually ventured on Christ for 
 salvation. The soul may be convinced that there is 
 no other way of salvation, but by venturing on 
 Christ, but unless it acts, and puts forth an effort, 
 there is no salvation. The .youth ♦in the burning 
 house may be convinced he must leave it if he would 
 save his life, but he may, perhaps, think there is no 
 immediate danger if he stays in the house a little 
 longer; it will take some time, he thinks, for the 
 fire to consume the foundation on which the floor of 
 his apartment rests. The very reverse of this may 
 be true — the fire has almost reached him, and he 
 knows it not ; all that supports the platform on which 
 he stands is well nigh consumed, and he may be pre- 
 cipitated in a moment into the burning flames below. 
 So the soul may be rationally convinced that if it re- 
 mains in its present state it must be forever lost, yet 
 thinking that there is time enough- yet to attend to 
 the -subject of the soul's salvation in earnest, and 
 wishing to remain in its present state a little longer, 
 " a little more sleep, and a little more slumber, and 
 folding of the arms to sleep," sudden destruction may 
 come in a moment — the cords of life may be snapped 
 asunder, without a moment's waining, and sink into 
 the flaming billows to rise no more. 
 
 We vdW suppose that the youth in the burning house, instead 
 of trying to get out of it as soon as possible, should stop to as- 
 certain by what means the house took fire — who set it on fire— ■ 
 this man or the other, or whether it took fire accidentally or 
 not — would not every spectator call him a fool for troubling 
 himself about such questions while his life was in such danger. 
 Would not the cry be, escape for thy life — tarry not — look not 
 behind thee — leave the burning house instantly ? Equally 
 
RBLIOIOtTS ALLEGORIES. 397 
 
 foolish would that soul be who is convinced of his guilt and 
 danger, instead of flying to Christ for salvation, should spend 
 its time in trying to find out the reason why sin was suffered 
 to lay waste the works of God — could it not have been pre- 
 vented — and many other subjects of the like kind, equally un- 
 fathomable by the human mind. 
 
 It must be observed that the Faith exercised by the youth 
 in the burning house, caused him to act, and venture his life on 
 the issue. Perhaps ie might reason, that his being at such a 
 distance from his father and his friends, who stood on the 
 ground below, it would be impossible for them to save him from 
 being dashed to pieces should he cast himself down ; there 
 may be a strong conflict between belief and unbelief, but gen- 
 uine faith will conquer. The soul that is truly and savingly 
 in earnest about its salvation, not only believes in a general 
 manner that the Bible is the voice of God to man, but his be- 
 lief must induce him to hearken to that voice, and consider its 
 threatenings as denounced against his disobedience ; he must, 
 in order to obtain salvation, fly to Christ, cast himself upon his 
 mercy, and claim the promises which are made to the soul that 
 puts its trust in his mercy and power. 
 
 The youth in the burning house discovers that there are no 
 back stairs by which he can reach a place of safety, for they 
 are already entirely destroyed by the fire, or else nothing but a 
 burning mass, so that escape by them is utterly impossible. In 
 like manner the truly awakened soul will see that there is no 
 other way of escape but to leave the state of sin and death, as 
 there can be no salvation while remaining in it. But if the 
 Boul will go forward and cast itself into the everlasting aims 
 of love and compassion, he who cannot lie, promises salvation. 
 
 ** Come, humble sinner, in whose breast 
 A thousand thoughts revolve, 
 Come, with your guilt and fear oppressed, 
 And make this last resolve: 
 
 I '11 go to Jesus, though my sin 
 Like mountains round me close ; 
 
 I know his courts, I '11 enter in. 
 Whatever may oppose.'* 
 
298 
 
 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 1 
 
 Broad is the way that Undeth to destruction, and many there le that gn 
 
 in thereat I\arrov: is the way iehick leadcth unto life, and fao 
 
 there be that find it. — Matt. vii. 13, 14. 
 
 THE PATH OF LIFE, AND WAY OF DEATH. 
 
 The Path of Life, and Death's frequented way, 
 Who can describe 1 what pencil can portray? 
 The way of Death is broad, with downward slide, 
 Easy and pleasant to man's lust and pride ; 
 'T is thronged with multitudes who glide along 
 With gold, and drink, and dance, and wanton song: 
 
RELIGI0U3 ALLEGORIES. 599 
 
 Nor theee alone — but some of decent mien, 
 " Harmless" and " useless" on the way are seen ; 
 In ruin's gulph it ends. See I rising there, 
 Thick, clouds of blackness, and of dark despair. 
 The Path of Liie lifts "p its narrow breadth. 
 High o'er the realms of darkness and of death ; 
 Sky-rising, still, laborious and straight. 
 Leading directly up to heaven's gate ; 
 'T is wondrous strange, and yet, alas ! 'tis true. 
 The Path of Life is traveled but by few. 
 Though ending where the shades of night ne'er faU, 
 But one eternal Light encircles all. 
 
 Here is depicted the path of life, and the waj of 
 death. The way of death is exceeding broad, and 
 on an inclined plane. It has a downward tendency ; 
 it is occupied by a vast multitude. Some are seen 
 throwing themselves off the way headlong, others are 
 bearing aloft the terrible banners of war. They are 
 elated with victor)*. Here the man of pleasure revels 
 in delight. The drunkard is dancing with wild de- 
 lirious joy, and the miser groans beneath his bags of 
 gold. There are, however, some sober, respectable 
 people on the way. These appear to look grave and 
 thoughtfiil. The way ends, you perceive, in total 
 darkness. Thick clouds of curling blackness rising 
 from a pit or gulph, cover the extremity of the way. 
 The travelers enter the dismal shades, and we see 
 them no more. 
 
 From the way of death you see another way, or 
 path rather, stretching up, as it were, into the clouds. 
 This is called the path of life. It is extremely nar- 
 row. It is moreover difficult on account of its up- 
 ward tendency. Few persons are seen walking on 
 it ; these scattered here and there. This path appears 
 to end well. We can see where it does end. A beau- 
 tiful palace opens its golden gates to receive the wea- 
 ried travelers. From its opened portals bursts forth 
 
 a dazzling light that illuminates the pathway beneath. 
 3e 
 
300 BBLIOIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 By the way of death, is signified the way of sin 
 that leads to death eternal. " The wages of sin is 
 death." Its downward tendency denotes, that it is 
 much easier to go wrong than to go right. The way 
 of sin is easy and pleasant to man's corrupt nature. 
 He delights in it after the inner man. Were it not 
 so, surely so many in all ages would not be found 
 walking therein. The Creator himself gives us the 
 reason. " The thoughts of the imaginations of his 
 heart are evil, only evil, and that continually." Hence 
 man follows the bent of his inclination. He goes 
 with the stream ; " every one in his own way." To 
 do otherwise, would require self-denial, and vigorous, 
 persevering effort. 
 
 In the engraving, some are seen casting themselves 
 off the way. By this is meant, not that sinners grow 
 tired of the way of sin exactly, but that they are tired 
 of themselves ; they are tired of life. Their sub- 
 stance is expended in gambling and profligacy. The 
 means of indulging their depraved appetite no longer 
 exists ; hence they commit suicide ; plunge into eter- 
 nity, and add to the number of those who die without 
 hope, for " Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise 
 perish." Others, by their excesses in riotous living 
 and debaucheries, break down their constitution, and 
 destroy life, and thus perish with those who " live not 
 out half their days." 
 
 Warriors are also in the way of death, raising to 
 the breeze the flag of triumph. These denote the 
 men "who delight in war," — who, for wealth and 
 glory, " sink, burn, and destroy," and slaughter their 
 fellow-creatures. These violate the law of Jehovah, 
 ♦♦ Thou shalt not kill." Drunkards too are in this 
 way, carousing with strong drink, dancing with ma- 
 niac madness, and yet, on the way to ruin, drowning 
 the cares of time, but planting thorns for eternity. 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. SOl 
 
 These belong to the class of whom it is said, " such 
 shall not inherit the kingdom of God." The one 
 with the bag of gold represents that very large class 
 who worship Mammon on the earth ; who never think 
 even of heaven, except when they remember that 
 it is paved with gold. These are idolaters ; the 
 meanest of the Devil's drudges, the vilest of the slaves 
 of sin. Others enjoy the pleasures of sin ; but he 
 sweats and groans beneath his load ; he takes place 
 with the breakers of God's law, " Thou shalt have 
 no other gods before me." 
 
 Some pass the time in wanton dalliance ; these 
 designate the adulterer, fornicator, and the impure. 
 These take pleasure in unrighteousness ; give up 
 their affections to the control of lust ; indulge in mere 
 animal delights ; imbrute their manhood ; quench 
 their intellect, and barter the glories of heaven for a 
 "portion in the lake which buraeth with fire and 
 brimstone ; this is the second death." Others of 
 staid and respectable appearance are in this way. 
 Men of dignity and of consequence ; men of morals 
 and philosophy, all honorable men ; men who are 
 harmless in their generation, honest in their dealings. 
 They " render to Caesar the things which are Ce- 
 sar's," but alas for them, they do not " render unto 
 God the things which are God's." One thing only is 
 wanting. " One thing thou lackest." The heart is 
 unsuiTendered ; hence there is no repentance — no 
 living faith — no homage — no love — no obedience — 
 no salvation. These, alas, all take rank with the 
 " unprofitable servant," who was cast into outer dark- 
 ness, where there is weeping, and wailing, and gnash- 
 ing of teeth. 
 
 But time would fail to describe the various char- 
 acters that throng the way of death. The gross 
 sensualist, the haughty Pharisee, and the specious 
 
303 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIEB. 
 
 hjrpocrite, are all here. But is it possible some one 
 may say, that so many are in the way to eternal 
 death ? God himself has answered the question ; 
 we have heard his voice. It is not only true that 
 they arc going, but that they go of their own accord. 
 The sinner is threatened, admonished, and warned, 
 and yet he goes on. He is persuaded, entreated, and 
 invited to turn and live, and yet he goes on. 
 
 If you see a man traveling a road that you know 
 to be frequented with robbers, you tell him of his 
 danger ; he persists in going on ; the robbers strip 
 him and leave him for dead ; who is to blame ? The 
 sinner is warned of his danger, and yet he persists 
 in sin. Numbers control not the sword of justice. 
 The antideluvians were faithfully warned ; they went 
 on and perished in the flood. The men of Sodom 
 were warned ; they persisted, and perished in the 
 rain of fire. The Jews were warned also, even by 
 the Son of God, and yet they went on in rebellion, 
 until of their city not one stone was left standing upon 
 another, and themselves scattered and peeled among 
 the nations. 
 
 The sinner neglects a great salvation. Neglecting 
 only to get into the Ark will expose him to the flood 
 of fire. Neglecting salvation, he contemns the " love 
 of God." He " tramples upon the blood of the cov- 
 enant. He does "despite to the Spirit of grace." 
 How shall he escape if he neglects so great salva- 
 tion. " These shall go away into everlasting pun- 
 ishment." 
 
 " I saw the lake of quenchless fires. 
 And souls on its billows tost ; 
 Despair, remorse which ne'er expires. 
 The worm of the deathless lost. 
 
 Grief filled my bursting heart, — I cried. 
 
 Shall this distress end never]" 
 The shrieks of millions loud replied, 
 
 •' These pangs endure — forever !" 
 
KELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 303 
 
 By the path of life is designated the path of holi- 
 ness, that leads to life eternal. "Blessed are the 
 pure in heart, for they shall see God." It is narrow 
 and steep ; it requires care and effort. The pilgrim 
 must deny himself; take up his cross daily, and watch 
 unto prayer. It is difficult only to flesh and blood ; 
 to the carnal mind, not to the spiritual ; to the unre- 
 generate, not to him that is born again. To the 
 righteous its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all 
 its paths are paths of peace. Narrow is the way that 
 leads to life, and few there are that find it. Fewer 
 still endure to the end thereof. The few were once 
 in the way of death. They were among the many 
 that were called. They obeyed the heavenly call, 
 forsook the broad way, and entered upon the path of 
 life. 
 
 The Path of Life ends well ; God delights in holiness. He 
 did not overlook Noah in the overflowing of the ungodly, nor 
 Lot in Sodom. The faithful few are God's jewels ; his hidden 
 ones, while tribulation and " angush are assigned to the diso- 
 bedient." The patient continuance of the righteous in well 
 doing " will be rewarded with glory, and honor, and immor- 
 taUty," for the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to 
 Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads. They 
 shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee 
 away. 
 
 " I saw the countless, happy throng 
 
 In the bhssful regions high ; 
 White robes — gold crowns — and lofty song, 
 
 With their harps in harmony. 
 Hope brightened at the dazzling sight, 
 
 ' Shall aught from heaven sever V 
 And myriads sung — ' Our peace, joy, light, 
 
 And glory, last forever." 
 
304 
 
 KT^.LTl.rOUR ALLEGORTKS. 
 
 ^^ ly \y 
 
 '=:-^. 
 
 The loorld passeth away. — I John, ii, 17. Now is the day of salvation.- 
 2 Cor. vL 2. Ye know not wkat shall be on the morrow. — James iv. li 
 
 PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE. 
 
 Look on the Past. Behold ! wide scattered round, 
 Time's fragments — every where they strew the ground: 
 The Dead are there — once blooming, young and gay, 
 'Mid putrefaction, lo ! they waste away. 
 The aged oak, once tall, and strong, and green. 
 Decayed and withered in the past is seen ; 
 The lordly mansion, once the owner's trust. 
 Its glory gone, see crumbling into dust. 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 305 
 
 E'en Egj'pt's boast, the pyramids of yore. 
 Shall fall to ruin, and be known no more. 
 The Past is gone ; the Future, black as night. 
 By clouds lies hidden from all mortal sight ; 
 The -Present's here — see there with angel brow. 
 Wisdom lifts up her voice of mercy. Now — 
 Now — the accepted time, the gracious day, 
 When man repentant, wipes his stains away ; 
 Inspires new life, through the atoning blood, 
 And writes his name among the sons of God. 
 
 This picture is emblematical of the Past, Future, 
 and Present, as these divisions of time appear to us, 
 who are now on the stage of human life. Behold 
 the Past ! see there the fragments that time has left 
 behind : there is the burying place, filled with the 
 records of the past — what a volume of Biography is 
 the grave-yard ; there they lay, the blooming and 
 the beautiful — ^the strong and the active — all moul- 
 dering into dust. The laughing eye — the noble 
 brow — the dimpled cheek — the teeth of pearl — the 
 musical tongue — the brain creative — and the cunning 
 hand — all, all, are silent in the tomb, and melting 
 into earth. 
 
 There too, is the oak, that once towered in strength 
 and beauty, now withered and decayed ; once it gave 
 shelter to the beasts of the field, the fowls of heaven 
 lodged in its branches — now it needs a prop to pre- 
 vent its falling to the ground. 
 
 The splendid mansion is seen crumbling into dust. 
 Architecture, and sculpture, and painting, had be- 
 stowed upon it their highest efforts ; the artist looked 
 with pride upon it, the owner delighted in it ; but it 
 is gone — its glory has departed — it is among the 
 things that have been. 
 
 In the distance are seen the huge forms of the 
 pyramids ; Egypt's renown and the wonder of the 
 world — memorials of the past, telling us of the folly, 
 
306 EELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES 
 
 cruelty, despotisra, and ambition of kings — telling us, 
 too, doubtless, of the sweat, and groans, and tears, 
 and blood, of thousands of the men like ourselves, who 
 slaved and labored to build those gigantic monuments 
 — but these also, will pass away ; if not before, they 
 must when the earth shall reel to and fro, and totter 
 like a drunken man. Then, at least, all physical re- 
 miniscences of the past, sinking into the deep sea of 
 oblivion, will be recognized no more. 
 
 The Future is represented by clouds of darkness 
 that rise upon the path, and shut out from mortal 
 vision all prospect of what is before. Religion, the 
 daughter of the skies, who descended from heaven, 
 and who is hastening back again to her blest abode, 
 is seen on the circular path of time. It is time 
 Present wherever she appears ; she holds in her 
 hand a scroll, see its burden ! She is in earnest — 
 she looks benignly and compassionately as she passes 
 by — she makes known to man his highest good ; 
 above her head is seen a crounri of glory — this she 
 promises to all who will obey her voice, and improve 
 the present time. 
 
 The past is gone. The castles — the mansions — 
 the green oaks — and the towers — and let them go ! 
 The monuments of the pride and ambition, and wick- 
 edness, of kings and conquerors, are crumbling into 
 dust, and let them crumble ! The glory, splendor 
 and renown of heroes, are fast fading away, and le 
 them fade. But the dead shall live again — they that 
 sleep in the dust shall awake — that which is sown in 
 dishonor shall be raised in glory. 
 
 The past is gone — time once lost, is lost for ever. 
 Past opportunities for doing good and for getting 
 good, are gone, and gone for ever. " 'Tis greatly 
 wise to talk with our past hours, and ask them what 
 report they bore to heaven." Happy he. 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES, 307 
 
 ** Whose work is done ; who triumphs in ihe past. 
 Whose yesterdays look, backward with a smile ; 
 Nor like the Parthian wound him as they fly : 
 That common but opprobrious lot. Past hours. 
 If not by guilt, yet wound us by their flight, 
 If folly bounds our prospect by the grave. 
 
 Yet there is a sense in which the past never dies. 
 It haunts us like the ghost of the murdered — it is 
 ever present — an angel of light casting upon us a 
 look of heavenly love, or a demon of darkness scowl- 
 ing with malignity and hate — the memory will exist 
 for ever. The remembrance of past actions ^\'ill, 
 therefore, live forever. " O, for yesterdays to come." 
 
 The Future is concealed — clouds and darkness 
 hide it from our view. We know not what a day 
 may bring forth, nor what an hour ; we know, how- 
 ever, that Death is there — and after death the Judg- 
 ment — and after the judorment the issues thereof — 
 " Eternal life'' or ''Eternal death:' But this is all 
 we know, and this is enough, if we are wise ; how 
 much of joy or sorrow there may be for us in the fu- 
 ture, we know not ; whether our path will be strewed 
 with roses or with thorns, we cannot tell — most likely 
 they will be mixed. What opportunities for improve- 
 ment in religious duties and privileges, or what hin- 
 drances, we may have, we know not — how much of 
 life — who can tell ? A man may plant, and build, 
 and lay up goods for many years, and yet to-day may 
 be his last day — to-night his soul may be required 
 of him. 
 
 If then, the past is gone, and if the future may 
 never come to us in life, it behooves us to improve 
 the present. God, in his mercy offers salvation noic. 
 Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. 
 What is it that is offered ? Salvation. Thou cans't 
 not do without salvation : without it then art lost and 
 89' 
 
308 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 lost forever. Seize then, O seize the angel as she 
 passes, nor suffer her to go until she bless thee. The 
 present time, how important ! it includes the vast 
 concerns of the eternal state. Destroy it not, there 
 is a blessing in it. " Throw years' away ? throw ena- 
 pires, and be blameless." The present seize^ 
 
 " O what heaps of slain 
 Cry out for vengeance on us ! Time destroyed. 
 Is suicide, where more than blood is spilt ; 
 Time flies — death urges — knells call — heaven invites- 
 Hell threatens — all exerts ; in effort all ; 
 More than creation labors ! — labors more ! 
 Man sleeps, and man alone; and man for whom 
 All else is in alarm ; man the sole cause 
 Of this surrounding storm ; and yet he sleeps. 
 As the storm rocked to rest." 
 
 Now is the accepted time ; God will accept thee 
 now ; he no where promises to accept thee to-mor- 
 row. Think, O think, of thy soul, and its value ; 
 think of Jehovah and his love ; think of Christ and 
 his precious blood ; think of heaven and its eternal 
 blessedness ; of hell and its terrible torments. Upon 
 thy present conduct rests thy eternal destiny. What 
 art thou sowing ? What ail thou working ? What 
 art thou treasuring up? Let conscience answer. 
 Think of the past, and all its guilt — of the future and 
 its great uncertainty — of the present as thine. To- 
 morrow may be too late ; now is the day of salva- 
 tion — now thou may'st wash away thy sins, calling 
 upon the name of the Lord — inspire a new life — re- 
 joice in glorious hope — enroll your name among the 
 children of God, and become a glorious citizen of 
 immortality in heaven. 
 
 Improve the present. See ! look on that beach ; there is a 
 boat high and dry, with a man in it — he is asleep. The ship 
 to which he belongs is in the offing ; she will sail the next 
 tide. The tide rises — the man sleeps on — the tide ebbs — he 
 awakes — the water is gone, the ship is gone, and he is left to 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 309 
 
 perish on a desolate island. There is a tide in man's spiritual 
 affairs, which, when taken at the rise, leads on to hea\en ;— 
 omitted, he may be left to perish. My spirit, saith the Lord, 
 shall not always strive with man. 
 
 Now is the accepted time Behold that rail-road car; it 
 has ju.=t started — look again — there is a person with his hands 
 upraised, exclaiming, " alas, too late I" He is left behind, his 
 friends are all on board, and is not with them — great is his 
 grief. Man is a stranger here — God sends the chariot of his 
 love to bear him home ; again and again it comes — it is here 
 iiow — sinner, step on board. The Saviour is there — he in- 
 Wtes thee to leave thy sins, and sinful companions, and get on 
 Doard of the heavenly car — the car of mercy. It is ready to 
 jtart — all things are now ready — some of thy friends are there. 
 Hesitate not — delay not — or, like the passenger, thou may'st 
 ind thyself in a more mournful sense " too late," and, " a mo- 
 ment you may wish when worlds want wealth to buy." 
 
 O God, our help in ages past, 
 Our hope for years to come. 
 
 Our shelter from the stormy blast. 
 And our eternal home. 
 
 Before the hills in order stood. 
 Or earth received her frame. 
 
 From everlasting thou art God, 
 To endless years the same. 
 
 Thy word commands our flesh to dust* 
 " Return, ye sons of men f 
 
 All nations rose from earth at first, 
 And turn to earth again. 
 
 A thousand ages in thy sight. 
 
 Are hke an evening gone ; 
 Short as the watch that ends the night. 
 
 Before the rising sun. 
 
 The busy tribes of flesh and blood, 
 With all their lives and cares. 
 
 Are carried downward by the flood. 
 And lost in following years. — Watts. 
 
310 
 
 RELIGIOUS AILKGOKIKS. 
 
 Far of him, and through him, and to him, are all things.— Rom. xl. 38. 
 
 Time is short.— 1 Cor. vii. 29. IVhich is, and which was, and which 
 
 is to come. — Rev. i. 8. 
 
 PROVIDENCE, TIME, ETERNITY. 
 
 Upon a narrow isle, 'mid waters vast. 
 By stress of tide the voyagers ore cast; 
 Beneath — around — a dark and boundless sea ; 
 Above, thick clouds wrap all in mystery 
 The Ocean wears the shore on every side, 
 
Ki:LllJrOU3 ALLEGOEIES. oil 
 
 As Time decreases 'neath the Eternal tide, 
 Yet one — deluded man ! strives much to reach 
 The shells and pebbles on the crumbling beach ; 
 The waves dash on — another ponrlering stands. 
 And sees destruction come with folded hands. 
 Not so the third — he turns his longing eyes, 
 And views a chain descending from the skies. 
 The Providential chain with links of love. 
 Watched by an eye that never sleeps above ; 
 He grasps the chain — from all his fears it saves. 
 While his companions perish 'neath the waves. 
 
 Ix the engraving is seen a representation of the 
 all-seeing eye. It is placed above every thing else, 
 to show that the eye of God's Providence watches 
 over all creation, taking notice of every event through- 
 out all time and space. Though to human vision there 
 may be clouds and darkness about the throne of the 
 Eternal, yet to his all-seeing eye, darkness is as noon- 
 day. All things are before him, and nothing is too 
 minute for his inspection. He see^s the rise and fall 
 of empires, and with equal attention sees the sparrow 
 fall to the ground, for in a certain sense nothing is 
 great or small before him. Throughout all time and 
 space, the eye of Providence penetrates ; yea more, 
 it reaches farther ; eternity itself, to the human mind 
 dark, fathomless, boundless, endless, is penetrated and 
 comprehended. 
 
 A chain is seen descending from above, of which 
 we can neither see the beginning or the ending ; but 
 as far as we can discover, is but a small part of a 
 mighty whole. It is true a man may see a few of the 
 links of the chain before him, their connection with 
 each other, but how far they may extend above or 
 below his vision, he has no knowledge. This shows 
 us that the great chain of God's Providential dispen- 
 sations in the universe is but partially seen or com- 
 prehended. It is true while on these mortal ^oreg, 
 
318 TIELIGI0U8 ALLEGORIES. 
 
 we may see a few of the connecting links of this 
 chain, but to what heights it reaches, or to what 
 depths it penetrates, we have no adequate conception. 
 
 " In what manner, indeed," says a celebrated wri- 
 ter, " Providence interposes in human affairs, by what 
 means it influences the thoughts and counsels of men, 
 and, notwithstanding the influence it exerts, leaves to 
 them the freedom of choice, are subjects of a dark 
 and mysterious nature, and which have given occa- 
 sion to many an intricate controversy. Let us re- 
 member that the manner in which God influences the 
 motion of all the heavenly bodies, the nature of that 
 secret power by which he is ever directing the sun 
 and the moon, the planets, stars, and comets, in their 
 course through the heavens, while they appear to move 
 themselves in a free course, are matters no less inex- 
 plicable to us, than the manner in which he influen- 
 ces the counsels of men. But though the mode of 
 divine operation remains unknown, the fact of an 
 over-i-uling influence is equally certain, in the moral, 
 as it is in the natural world." 
 
 " In cases where the fact is clearly authenticated, 
 we are not at liberty to call its truth in question, 
 merely because we understand not the manner in 
 which it is brought about. Nothing can be more 
 clear, from the testimony of Scripture, than that God 
 takes part in all that happens among mankind, di- 
 recting and over-ruling the whole course of events, 
 so as to make every one of them answer the designs 
 of his wise and righteous government." 
 
 " We cannot, indeed, conceive God acting as the 
 governor of the world at all, unless his government 
 were to extend to all the e^^ents that can happen. It 
 is upon the supposition of a particular providence, 
 that our worship and prayers to him are founded. All 
 his perfections would be utterly insignificant to w, if 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIRS. 313 
 
 they were not exercised on every occasion, according 
 as the circumstances of his creatures required. The 
 Almighty would then be no more than an unconcerned 
 spectator of the behavior of his subjects, regarding 
 the obedient and rebellious with an equal eye." 
 
 In the lower part of the engraving is seen a little 
 spot of earth in the vast ocean by which it is sur- 
 Dunded, on which is seen three persons. This small 
 place may represent Time, which has arisen out of 
 the eternity of the past. Though now visible, it is 
 destined soon to sink into oblivion in the midst of the 
 mighty waters. One of the figures on this little spot 
 of time is seen very busy in collecting the little peb- 
 bles or particles of shining dust around him. How 
 foolish this, when he must know that the rolling tide 
 will soon overflow all around him. Equally foolish 
 is he, who, in this transitory life, instead of looking 
 upward and using the means Providence has placed 
 within his reach for his escape from overflowing de- 
 struction, spends his precious moments in collecting 
 the little baubleo and toys of earth. 
 
 On the left is seen one who appears to be gravely 
 philosophizing upon the scene he beholds around 
 him. He realizes that he is standing on a speck of 
 earth, in the midst of a mighty ocean, of which he 
 can neither see the bottom or the shore. He looks 
 backward ; all is dark to his vision ; he looks around 
 him ; all is mysterious and incomprehensible ; for- 
 ward ; all, all, is thick darkness. He is sensible that 
 the tide of death will soon overflow him and all with 
 whom he is connected ; but will eternal oblivion and 
 forgetfulness be his portion ? Perhaps he thinks so ; 
 but at times the immortal spirit will stir within him 
 and " startle back" at the thought of amiihilation. 
 Ah, poor fool ! he turns his back and will not look at 
 the bright chain of God's Providence which so man- 
 
314 RELKIIOUS ALLEGOUIES. 
 
 ifestly appears. Perhaps he may try to persuade him- 
 self that the chain hangs there by chance. He has 
 been told that earth and heaven are connected by it. 
 He professes to see no necessary connection ; he 
 cannot see its beginning, how it is supported on high. 
 He has heard that by it man can be elevated to a 
 heavenly life. This may appear foolishness to him. 
 Perhaps he may think that if man were destined to 
 live hereafter, he would not have been placed on 
 these mortal shores ; or if immortal, it will be in some 
 other mode than that pointed out in the Bible. He 
 is wise in his own conceit. He turns himself from 
 Gods' method of salvation ; refuses to look upward ; 
 continues to reason " in endless mazes lost ;" will not 
 lay hold of the only hope set before him ; he " won- 
 ders and perishes" in the overflowing of the mighty 
 waters. 
 
 One of the persons on the little island is seen with 
 his eyes turned upward ; his hands are uplifted in 
 thankfulness and adoration. He beholds the bright 
 chain of God's Providential mercy ; he lays hold of 
 the only hope set before him. It is tme he can see 
 but a few of the connecting links of the golden chain 
 above, but he fully believes that it is connected with, 
 and sustained by, an Almighty Power above. He 
 has occasional glimpses of the all-seeing eye ; he 
 feels that he is under its supervision. He feels him- 
 self encircled, upheld and sustained by Infinite power 
 and love, and rejoices that all things are under the 
 control of a kind Pro\-idence. 
 
 It is true the Christian may see clouds and dark- 
 ness above, around, and below him. He may not 
 know why sin, and consequently misery, is suffered 
 to exist in the universe of God. He may not know 
 why he is placed here In the circumstances by which 
 he is surrounded. He weeps often ; it may be to see 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 315 
 
 how sin has laid waste the works of God; how the 
 wicked often triumph, and the good are crushed into 
 the dust. He may not know the beginning, or origin 
 of God's Providential dealings, how far they reach 
 into this, or other worlds. But notwithstanding the 
 Christian may not be able to fathom these and many 
 other subjects, yet he confides in the Almighty power 
 above. He lays hold of salvation ; he is elevated to 
 the regions of eternal light and glory, while his un- 
 believing companions perish amid the dark rolling 
 waters of the ocean. 
 
 The ocean has sometimes been considered as an emblem of 
 eternity, on account of its vast extent, its fathomless depths, and 
 its appearance to human vision oftentimes, as vrithout a bottom 
 or shore. " Eternity," says one, " with respect to God is a du- 
 ration without beginning or end. With regard to created beings, 
 it is a duration that has a beginning, but will never have an 
 end. It is a duration that excludes all number and computa- 
 tion ; days, months, and years, yea and ages, are lost in it like 
 drops in the ocean. Millions o( millions of years, as many 
 years as there are sands on the sea-shore, or particles of dust 
 in the globe of the earth, and these multiplied to the highest 
 reach of number, all these are nothing to eternity. They do 
 not bear the imaginable proportit n to it, for these will come to 
 an end as certainly as a day ; but eternity will never, never, 
 never, come to an end ! It is a time without an end ! it is an 
 ocean without a shore ! Alas ! what shall I say of it ! it isaa 
 infinite, unknown something, that neither human thought can 
 grasp, nor human language describe 1" • • • 
 
 40 
 
316 
 
 HET,rr:TOUS Ar.i.F.<;oBTF.K. 
 
 AUduia ' for tru Lord God omnipotent reigneth. — Rev. six. & 
 
 THE TRIUMPH OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 'Tis come ! 'tis come ! The long expected day ; 
 When sin no longer o'er the earth bears sway ; 
 But Truth, triumphant, sheds its mellow light, 
 And all below is clear, and pure, and bright. 
 See Christianity ! the gift of Grace ! 
 Receives in form the homage of our race ; 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGOKIES. 317 
 
 Europa fair, hei princely tribute brings, 
 
 A grateful offering, to the King of kings ; 
 
 Asia rejects the Shasters and the Sword, 
 
 Throws by the Koran, and receives the IVord; 
 
 Lo ! Afric breaks her chains of crime and blood. 
 
 And lowly bending, lifts her hands to God. 
 
 No more she wages wars for white man's gold — 
 
 No more she mourns her children bought and sold. 
 
 See, too, America, with pipe of peace ! 
 
 Comes now to sue for love and heavenly grace ; 
 
 The tomahawk, and bow, and cruel knife, 
 
 T' exchange for records of eternal life : 
 
 •'Ti:^ come ! 'tis come ! the long expected day! 
 
 Lo I God has triumphed, Truth divine bears sway ; 
 
 Lord allfc}uias heavenly angels sing. 
 
 For earib. rt:?ewed with joy, receives her king. 
 
 IHE above engraving represents Christianity re- 
 ct-»ving the homage of the world. In her right hand 
 shd holds the crown of immortality ; in her left, the 
 Word of God ; her looks and bearing bespeak grace, 
 dignity, majesty, empire, triumph, and matchless love. 
 Behold Europe brings her crown — emblem of power 
 — and lays it meekly at the feet of Christianity. 
 Asia, represented by a follower of Mahomet, laying 
 aside the cimeter and the Koran, receives with hum- 
 ble adoration, instead thereof, the revelations of God's 
 word. Africa is represented by a figure in a kneel- 
 ing posture ; she has broken off her chains, and is 
 lifting her hands to heaven. America is represented 
 by an Indian ; he holds in his hand the calumet or 
 pipe of peace ; he has laid aside the murderous tom- 
 ahawk, the bow that sprang the arrow c>f death, and 
 the scalping knife. He buries the hatchet for ever, 
 and offers the emblem of peace. 
 
 The above is a representation of the final triumph 
 of Christianity over the world — a day long expected 
 by the faithful, even from the time of the first prom- 
 ise, "he shall bruise thv head." That this earth — 
 
318 EFLTGIors ALLEGORIES, 
 
 tliis blood-stained earth — should become the scene of 
 triumph, has ever been the hope of the righteous ; 
 that here, where was the first defeat, renewed con- 
 flict, and continued struggle — here would be, and 
 ought to be, the arena of victory. Exulting in this 
 hope, the prophet touched the sacred harp of proph- 
 ecy, and sang of " the sufferings of Christ, and of 
 the glory that should follow," when he would see of 
 the travail of his soul and be satisfied. In this hope 
 Israel's king prayed, " that thy way may be known 
 upon the earth, and thy saving health among all na- 
 tions." Inspired by this hope, martyrs have kissed 
 the stake, embraced the flames, and gone triumph- 
 antly home to God ; yea, the general assembly of 
 the Church of the first-born — the whole body of the 
 faithful upon earth — in this hope rejoicing, have sent 
 up their prayers continually, which, like intercessory 
 angels surrounding the throne of the Eternal, have 
 prayed, O " let thy kingdom come." 
 
 And now it has come. Europe is the Lord's — 
 she consecrates to God her dominion — her kings and 
 queens are subject to Messiah, and labor to promote 
 the best interests of their people ; her people are all 
 righteous — her philosophers having proved all things, 
 hold last now that which is good ; her rich men de- 
 posit their wealth in the bank of heaven — her states- 
 men, studying the politics of both worlds, regard also 
 the interests of both — the poor are raised to compe- 
 tency, to knowledge, and to virtue, and consequent 
 happiness. Her arts and sciences are consecrated 
 to God ; her ships of wnr now sail in the service of 
 the prince of peace — ships of commerce are floating 
 Bethels. The songs of Jesus have succeeded to the 
 songs of Satan, and blasphemies are turned to praise. 
 
 " The abundance of the sea is converted to G(xl," 
 railroads, steamboats, and tel'^graphs, are all em- 
 
 1 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLE00EIE8. 319 
 
 ployed in promoting God's glory, and in Ijenefiting 
 mankind. The Anglo-American race, and others, 
 partake of this triumph ; they have labored for it — 
 they rejoice in it, and say, lo ! this is our God I we 
 have waited for him, we will rejoice in his salvation. 
 
 Asia too, is the Lord's ; here, where the conflict 
 first began with sin and death — here the victory is 
 gained. The lion of the tribe of Judah has pre- 
 vailed — the inhabitants, so long enslaved by despotic 
 creeds, now exercise fliith in the Lord Jesus Christ — 
 so long oppressed by systems of superstition and 
 blood, now rejoice under the mild yoke of the Savior, 
 — the Koran and Shasters are exchanged for the 
 Bible — Juggernaut for Calvary — Kalee for Jesus — 
 Mahomet for God. Here now is seen " China with- 
 out its wall of selfishness — India without its castes — 
 and earth without its curse." The people are ele- 
 vated, the nations are united, Jehovah is their King. 
 
 Africa throws off her load, and breaks her chains, 
 and comes to Jesus — so long crushed and degraded, 
 she has at length arisen — she takes her place again 
 with the nations of the earth, with the redeemed. 
 Ignorance, superstition and slavery, are now no more. 
 Her warfare is past — her mourning is o'er — her long 
 captivity is at an end. Jehovah has triumphed — hia 
 children arc tree. 
 
 " No more Coomassie offers human blood, 
 But takes for sacrifice the Lamb of God, 
 And on Siberia's long contested ground, 
 A living army of the cross is found. 
 The gospel tree so ample and so pure, 
 Bears precious fruit ; it?; leaves ihe nations cure; 
 Its healing influence to Loan^o spreads ; 
 Angola feels it, and health's blossoms sheds. 
 And where Cimbebns no fre.'h water brings. 
 Life's fountains bubble in a thousand springs. 
 Korana's shepherds now Christ's flock become, 
 And Bosheman'p Kraals are changed to home, sweet home, 
 
320 RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 Good Hope has added Faith and humble Love ; 
 The Croes has triumphed ! praise to God above." 
 
 America, the whole of the western world, rejoices 
 in the light of the glorious Sun of Righteousness — 
 the islands of the sea wait for Jehovah's law — the 
 Indian tribes obey his word, and hail him their Al- 
 mighty Lord. The tomahawk, and scalping knife, 
 and other weapons of war and blood, are exchanged 
 for the olive branch — for the war-whoop is now 
 heard the sound of the " church-going bell," greet- 
 ing the Sabbath morning — the disciple of the -Pope 
 has become the disciple of Jesus, and laying aside 
 all superstition, he worships the Lord his God, and 
 him only does he serve. The dispersed of the seed 
 of Abraham, the " scattered and peeled" among the 
 Ditions, have looked upon him " they pierced." The 
 winds of heaven have blown upon the valley of dry 
 bones — they have revived — they have come forth 
 out of their graves, and seizing every one the banner 
 of his tribe, have hastened to join the army of 
 Messiah. 
 
 Hail ! happy day ! Jesus the Conqueror reigns — 
 the song of triumph resounds — island answers to 
 island — continent to continent — world to world ; — 
 earth, with all its voices — heaven, with all its harps, 
 resound, " the kingdoms of this world are become the 
 kingdoms of our Lord and of his anointed, and he 
 shall reign for ever and ever ; alleluia ! alleluia ! the 
 Lord God Omnipotent reigneth" — " he that sat upon 
 the throne said, Behold, I make all things new!" 
 
 Even now, the Spirit is moving on the face of the 
 human chaos — fiat after fiat goes forth, and what 
 light breaks in on the darkness of ages — what 
 mighty masses of humanity are uplifting themselves 
 in solemn majesty, like primitive mountains rising 
 from the doep — what niore than verdant beauty 
 
RELIGIOUS ALLEGORIES. 
 
 321 
 
 clothes the moral landscape : how gloriously dawns 
 the Sabbath of the world ! Where is now the mid- 
 night gloom of darkness and idolatiy ? — The desola- 
 tion and misery attendant on sin ? We look and 
 listen, birt no reign of darkness, no habitation of 
 cruelty, no sound of anguish remains. The will of 
 God is done on earth, as it is done in heaven ! — the 
 nations own no other law, and hence their aspect is 
 that of a happy family. The Church aims at no 
 other end, and hence all her members are invested 
 with the garments of salvation, and with the robes 
 of praise. The world is bathed in the light of peace 
 and purity, and love. 
 
 Inanimate nature itself partakes of the general 
 joy. To the eye of the renewed man it exhibits a 
 beauty unknown before, and to his ear it brings less- 
 ons of surpassing wisdom. The trees wave with glad- 
 ness, and the floods clap their hands ; the light of 
 the moon is as the light of the sun, and the light of 
 the sun is seven fold. Over the scene, the morning 
 stars sing together, and the sons of God shout for 
 joy ; while the divine Creator himself, complacently 
 beholds it, and proclaims it good. 
 
 THE END* 
 
CONTENTS OF ALLEGORIES. 
 
 LOOKING UNTO JESUS, 166 
 
 WALKING BY FAITH 172 
 
 THE SURE GUIDE 178 
 
 CHARITY, OR LOVE, 184 
 
 PRIDE AND HUMILITY, 190 
 
 THE SACRIFICE, 196 
 
 NO CROSS, NO CROWN, 202 
 
 THE LIFE-BOAT, 208 
 
 OBEDIENCE AND WISDOM, : . 214 
 
 DANGER OF PRESUMPTION, 220 
 
 DECISION AND PERSEVERANCE, 226 
 
 PASSION AND PATIENCE, 232 
 
 THE CONQUERING CHRISTIAN, 238 
 
 THE IMPERIAL PHILANTHROPIST, 244 
 
 THE WINTRY ATMOSPHERE, 250 
 
 THE PROTECTED TRAVELER, 256 
 
 THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE 262 
 
 THE GREAT DISCOVERY, 268 
 
 PASSAGE THROUGH THE DESERT 278 
 
 SELFISHNESS 280 
 
 THE IMPERIAL PASSENGER, 286 
 
 VENTURING BY FAITH, 292 
 
 PATH OF LIFE AND WAY OF DEATH, 293 
 
 PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE 804 
 
 PROVIDENCE, TIME, ETERNITY, 810 
 
 TRIUMPH OF CHRISTIANITY 816 
 
1 
 
 '^H