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84 THE PRACTIC'AL CHRISTIAN.


: POETR. Y.


WINE AT TlIF; LORD'S S'UPPER..


The use of wine by our Saviour at the in­lItitlltion


of the Slipper is often ' quoted as ,~ u­thorizing


the pre!' ent custom ofour churches in


that respect. What is the present custom? The


USll of the common, manufactured, ( i. e. adul.


terated) poisoned wine, imposed upon th'e pub­lic


as the ' juice of lhe grape.' Now, hefore, we


make ihe examplc of Christ to uphold this, we


should enquire, what kind ofwinc did he'use?


In answer to this question I think it can Le


shown that so far from having used any thing


like the present aLaminable ' m ixtures, he used


that which was not evenjermenled. Let it be


I'emembered that this supper was.. adminis­tered


during the feast of the Passover. It


might iRdeed be considcr ed as an adoption of


· the jewish Passover supper as a Chl'istian or­ilinancc.


I n the direetions for the oLservance


of this fea$ t, laid down in tlie 12th chapter of


Exodus, it is commanded that all leaven should


be put away f, om their houses, Gesel) ius a. dis­tinguished


Oriental scholar stntes that the He­brew


word, translated lenven, applies to wine


, BlI ' well ns brend. Consequently the J ews


were as milch forbiddcn the use offermented


; wine as ofleavened bread. The custom of the


' . J ews now sustains · ih i~ position. They pre­ipa're


expressly, for this feast. a kind of wine by


' s teeping raisins in ' warm water, and using it


: hefate ; ferment ation takes ' place. DoubtleB8,


the same, custcim prevailed in the Savior's time,


Upon this subject the author ofthe prize essny


entitled ' Bacchus' remarks j ". It was , the feast


of the Pnsso'ver that our Lord and his disci!


pIes were in the act of- celebrating, at the time


. of the institution of the Supper, and it is eer- ,


, tain we have no account ofany other kind of


wine being Ihen intl'Oduoed, than whrut was


usually drunk at the celebraiion of the PllBS­over."


Theaulhor of Essay, " Anti Bacchus,"


also says; " As for , the wine drunk at the Pass­,


over, we have the best proof that it was ( lot


fermented. ", The Hebrew word Ilignities leav­en,


vin egar, and every kind of ferm entation"


''' now Ihe Jews at th e PaSllover were wmrnand­oed


to have no leaven in theil' h~' uses; . and they


uom that day to this UJlderstood the term to


DECEIT. · UL RICHES.


Usually, when n worldling is dead, we ask


how rich he e1ietl ? Oh, say llIany he died


rich, he halh left a great estate .


Alas! rhc " 001' man hath slept his sleep, lost


hi s rirealll, alllinow he awakes, IIll finds no­tbing


in his 1181111.- Whel'e lies his goldlln


henp? Only th e rust oflhat heap hlls gone to


I witness ngllinst him; his mansion fails . him;


" only the unrighteousness' of it follows him;


others have lhe nse · ofit; only the nhuse of it


he carries to the judgment . with him: he


hnlh made Ilis fi'ienfls , ( as we sny) hm he hath


undone himself; so that I mllY jnstl)' , wr ite


this motto upon every hag , ' This ' is the price


of' hlood.' Sh: IIII, then treasure up the price ,


ofblood ? No. Christ has enlrusled me as a


steward, th erefore, whnt I have'and need not,


Chr'ist shall have in his lJlember~ ~ Iatneed and


have not. Su the trunsitol'y crellu; res when


th ey shall slille awuy, shall not carry me with


thein, but when I. pass away, I shall carry


them w, ith me,- Lucas' Divine, BrealhiNg8.


given the glorious rltles of great and invincible


- hilt he , to whom the unhappy shall give,


bef~ l'e J esns Christ, the title of father, and of


merciful; for he shall be treated with mercy.


' Blessed are the merciful, for they shall ' re­ceive


mercy.'


Happy, in short, nGt he, who, always the ar­biter


of the fate of his enemies, hus given 11101' 6


thnn onli, e peace to the world j hnt he, who


has been able to give it to himself, and to ban­ish


from his heart the vices and irregular af­fections,


which disturb its tranquility; lor he


shall be cull ed the child of God. ' Blessed are


the peace- makers, for they shall be called the


children of God.'


Such. slre, are those, whom J es~ sChrist


calls happy; lind the Gospel knows no other


, lmppiness Oil ear th, thUll virlue and innocence.'


DIE D.


In Herlin, Jan. 3d, George Fanning, aged 17 '


' months : and on the 9th Mrs. Han'jet Fan­ning,


his mother, aged 23 years. Many cir­cumstances


attended the sickness and death of


this yonng mother nnll her little one, which


cause us to SllY with the aposlle: " Behold


therefore the goodness anel , se rver ity of God! ~


!\ Illy the nfilicted friends be hronght nearer


th eir Savior hy'these repeated anel deeply af­flictive


dispensations of their Heavenly Father


The departed rest in the same grave. f


In death t1; ey rest. In death? 0 no!


Not there! dealh hilt relieves fi'om woe


The pure in heart, and sinless infant mind.


Death, as a friellll, disrobes ofdust


Theil' souls- that they may joiu the just.


, Dllst with dust rests- and soul with soul can ·


j, oned. D, s . w.


' rilE BENEVOLENCE a.' GOD.


The henevolence of God may be seen in the


Illatives which he spreads before us, to induce


liS to acc ept the purchased red emption. He


d oes not fit up II residence, apart from himself, '


in some distant region of sHac~, heaurifierl lind


blessed liS th e abodes of peace and happiness.


No, He fliugs wide open the doors of heav­en's


sanctuary, and invites, through Christ,


apostate mnn, to come lip IIl1d dwell with him,


lind be one lImong the sinless myriads who


rejoice in his presence, NlIY more, ns though


it were ; not enough to eit in His presence, to


dwell amid th e glories of his throne j as


though his love would nor permit him to mo­nopolize


his own nature and perfections, and


he desired to s hare the goodness , a nd blissful­ness


of himself with his creatures, he says,


" corne, dwell iu the eterualunrl sacred resi­dence


of you r Creator j come, he moulded in­to


a IIIJ ilialUl'e imn ge of Goe! j come, enter in­to


fellowshlp - wirh the uncreat ed perfections of


myself, and I will divide with you even my


o'wu ' purity, IlOlilless, goodness nnd happiness."


o how in otlidlle was the love of 0111' adorahle


Crea lol', 111111 he shonld desire 10 make himself


commOIl, in the re- creation of his creatures.


do es not a th elll e like thi s, IlenHlnd lin . eterni­ty


of prlli~ e ? \ VII/ It a thought; the holy re­til'em


ent oI'. Teho\' lIh's nnlnre is enlered, and


tov e ' hl'emheKiJ\ to liS a8; li(' t lTh" ofi'gi'iliil~ lti;; l,


life Irom God. ' Ve shul'e iu the attrihutes anll


heautitudes of lhe pl'ent Eternal, so that " Ga ll


e1wellelh ill li S." What hOll e\ ' olence was thi s,


thlll he would not ellj oy ' a lono, e\ ' en ilis own


1lI1lure lind bliss fuln ess, hut iuvit es 118 to dwell


with him, Tile thoug- ht is melting- language


is too poor to describe it. ,


" Com'e then, expressive silence, muse his praise,"


Ziofls J1dvocale.


ELOQUENCE OF , nIA SSI1, L ON,


In a sermon preached hefore Louis 14th,


from the following text, ' Blessed are they tllllt


mourn, for they sha ll be comforted,' he thus


hegins: ..


- Sire, if. the world spoke Itere · iuthe- pillce of


Jesus Chrisl, it would duuhlless hold to )' ou r


majesty II vCl'y different langnllge.


Hllppy th e prince, it wonld say, who hns


never fought but to conquer j who has seen


sn ' lnany powcrs nrmed IIgninst him only to


g ive them a more glorious peace; lind who has


always been superior both to danger and vic­tory.


, Happy the prince who duril1~ a long and


flourishing reign, enjoys at leisure the fruits of


his glory, th e love of his " eople, the esteem of


bis enemies, ti. e admil' 8tion ofthe world, the


advantage of his conqu est~, the magnificence


of bis works, the wisdom of his laws, the au­gust


hope of II numerous posterily j and who


has nothing to desire but to pr~ serve for n long


time, what he possesses. .


Thus would '> the \ Vol'ld speak. BUI, sire,


Jeilns Ch rist does, not sTJeak lik e the world.


Hap" y, he tells you, is, not the man who is


the admiration of his age, hut he who dil" ects


his thoughts to the life to come, and who lives


in contempt of himself, anel ~ f nil that passes:


for his is tile kingdom of heaven, ' Blessed


are the poor in spirit, for th eirs is the kingdom


of heaven.'


Happy, not he, whose reign and actions will


be immortalized by history in tbe memory of


men j Lut he, whose tears shull have eflitced


I the history of his sins / i'orn th ~ melllory of


God himself; for he shall he for evel' consoled.


' B1ess ed ' a;' e they that maul'll, fot, they shall be


comforted> ' ,


Happy, not he, who shall have extended by


new conquests the limits, or his empire; but


he who shall have restrained his desires and


' passions within the limits of the I~ w of God;


' fo r he shall possess a territory more duruble


than the I< mpire of, the universe. ' Blessed are


the- meek, for they shllll possess the earth.'


Happy, not he, who, raised hY the voic e of


mankinel above all the pi'inces that have pre­ceded


him, enjoys at leisure his greatness and


glory j but he" who, finding nothing on the


throne itself worthy of his hearl, searches for


happiness here below only in virtue and jus-tice,


fOl' he sha ll be satisfied, ' Blessed are


they who hunger and If'irst nftt'I' righteou's­ness,


for they shall , be filled.'


Happy, not he, to whom mankind have


SELECTIONS.


refer just as much to fermented liquors as fer­mented


bread, and therefore' at the Passover


were exceedingly careful thatno fermented


wines shonld be among them, It is therefore


certain that our blessed LOI'~ did not use a


fermented alcoholic liquor at the first Sacra­menr.'


How, then, can Chrlstians quote the exam­.


ple ofChrist as upholding the use of lntoxicat­ing


wine at the Supper? They have been very


jealous 1' 01' his honor in following what they


have said , was his example. Will th ey be as


much 80 now in adhering to his real course?


For the bcn efit of those who wish to he con­sistent,


I su bj oin the following direction- for tim


preparation of the kinc1 of wine nbove men­tioned.


It is taken from a letter oflVI. ~ I. No­ah


to E. C. Delavan. " Tllke II gallon d~ lIIi­john-


a stone jug. Pick a few pounds of


bloom raisins, take . off th eir stems. 1" ut


them into the demijohn and fill it with water,


Tie a rag over its mouth, Let it stand near


the fire. In a we ek it will be fit for use."


F, ' II.


tures of the boy j and 1 felt p'-' ed at distur­bing


the faith and confidence by which he was


animated. ,


" But, my little child," said I, " itis not here


that your poor mother will rise,"


" Yes, here," said he, with emphasis- c- vherc


they put her, and here I have come everslnce


the first blade of grass was gr eeu this j ear.' \


1 looked around, and saw that the tiny feet


of the child had trod out th e herbage at the


grave side, so constant had been his atten


dance. What n faithful wntch- keeper- i- what


mother would desire a richer monument thnn


the form of her only SOil, bending fearful, but


• hoping ov er her grave.'


" BUI, ' Villinm,"' said I, " it is in an other


world that she will rise,"- aml I attempted to


explain to him the nature of thnt promise


which he hnd mistaken. ' I'h e child was call­fused,


and he ap 6enred neither ' pleased nor


sati sfied •


" If. mammy is not coming buck to me- if


she is 1I0t to c ome up her e, what shall I do ?


- I cannot stay withouther, "


" You shall go to her," said. I, udopting th e


' languuge of the scripture-" yeu shall gu to


, her, but slul shall not come agaiu to YOII."


, A 1Il0THERS GRAVE. " Let me go then," suid Willium," let me go


I followed into the burying ground, in the hI " I "


, . : . now, t at may rise Will mummy.


suburbs of the city, a small tram of persons, "' V'II' , i id I " d I I


not more than a dozen who had come to bur I. , III III , sa. 1 , pOUltlllg ow I to t re


, one, a f theerir acquam. tnn'co. TIIe c Ier" vman . IyII plants Ju• st b. reaking through the ground, " the


I . I di • "'- I seed winch ISsown there would not come up, attenr nnce was ea Illg a little boy by tIC " . . .


hamI, wI10' seemed to Iu, e tIlC on Iy reIat'rve 0 f if it had dnot heenI r" rpe ; so you must wan till


, YOUi' en comet I.


the d eceu sed III the slender group, I gather- " TI I I II I "


. len s III see rer.


ed With them round th e grave, and wh en the " I I I "


. ' . ' sure y rope so.


plum coffin was lowered down, the child burst " l ' 11 . J " • I I I ild " . I


• . . , . WI wart t len, sail t re c 11 1o, ' ullt


forth m. uncontrolled grief, ' I he httle felluw . I h I 1 II I I h I I


' _ t IO\)" t s IOU r see ier suon- t au" It


had no one left to whom he could look for af- h "' II h h " e


" . ld . . ' s au I meet er ere.


recn on, or who cou address hun III the tone A J h I' I I I " V'II ' d


. . . nr e I II • n n mont I • I 18m ceuse


ofparental kindness. The last of his kinsfolk . I I d hl I' .


was I. II tIIe grave-,- and hc was a Ione. to wlllt, anr t. lev".. opene IS mot le. I'S grave,


n..' hen tIIe C Iamorous grl. ef 0 I' tIIe c1I · I1e1 II8d and pla. ced Ius ' Iti. tle coffin on h. erS-. It wus the .


a I · title bsu S'IC1ecI, the cIergyman udd ressee I us only Wish th e cluld expressed HI dylllg.


with the customary exhortation to accept the


monition, and be pl'epared: and turning to


the child, he added. " She is not to remain


in this grave for e\ ' er : as tme as the grass


ivhich is now chilled with th e fi'ost of the se a­'


son, sball spring to greenness nnd, life in n to",,"


months, so true shall YOUi' mother. corne up


from that ~ rave to another life- to a life of


happiness, 1- hope." The alt endants sho\' cl ed


in the earth upon the coffin, und some one


took lillIe Willilllll, th. e child by the hand, lind


led him forth from the lowly tenement of his


mother. ,


Late in the cnsning spr ing , I was ' in the


neighLorhood of the buryiug ground, und see.


ing th e ga te op en, I walked amoug the graves


for some time, relUling th e munes of the dead


. and wondering what sll'llnge disease conld


snatch off so many younger than myself­,';


hen recollecting that I was near the grave


of the poor" widow, buried the previous au­tunm,


I tumed to ~ ee whut- hml been clone \ 0


prescrve the memory ofon e so utterly desti.


tute of ear thly fHends. T o my surprise, I


found Ihe most desirable of all mementos for


a mother's sepUlchre- little \ Villiam was sit- , I


ting neal' the head of the now sunken grav",


looking int ently upon some green shoots thnt


hnd come forth , with the warmth of spring,


frolll the soil that covered his mother's coffin.


Willillm started at my al'l'ronch, and would ,


have left the place; it was long before I could


inlluce lJim to tarry; and indeed I dill not


win his confidence, until I told him that I ,


was pr esent when they buried his mothel', and


had marked his tears at the time.


" Then you, heard the minist. er'say, that my


. mot her would come up oui of this grave," said


little ~~ iIliam.


" I did." "


" It is true, is it not?" asked he in a tone of


, c onfidence,


, ''' 1 most firmly believc it," said I. .


" Bf; llieve it," said the child-" believe it- I


thought y, ou knew it- I know it." "


" How do you know it my dear ?"


" The minister said, that as true as the grass


would grow up nndthe flowers' bloom in


spring, 60 true wonld my mother rise; I came


a few days afterward, and planted flower seed


011 the grave•• The grass came green in this '


bll~ yillg l; round long ngo j and I ' watched


evel'y day for the flower, arid to- day they may,


come too- see them hreaking through the


ground- by and by mammy will corne again;"


A smile ofexulting hope played on the fea ·


,


For tho Practical Chri" ia;,'


\


OR. XGJJ! fAr. M! SCJ: r. r. AKY. ,


D, S. w.


PEACE.


bor Father, God of peace,


As children we would come,


Do thou our faith incre ase


.1n thy all blessed Son;


That we may walk with thee below


/ lnd of thy great salvation know; '


We pray, 0 Lord, that peace


May, dwell with' us below, .


That war nnd blood may cease


' 1' 0 fill the earth with, woe;


That we may here obey thy will,


As angel hosts on heavenly hill,


And dare we, LO/' d,. tbus pray!


While we continue still,


With hasty hands to slay


Our fellow man at will?


.. Furgive, 8S we forgive, we pray."


And shall we dare o~ r foe to slay!


, 0. Lord, forgive the PRAYER


Of those who name thy name,


And for thy pity dare,


As they do pity, claim;


While ~ engeance, in their bloodyhands,


Peals death and slaughter through all lands.


, ' Ve dare not, Father, pray:


' Forgive as we forgive,' .


And yet presume to say


A fellow man sha'nt live;


Lest thou, 0 God shouldst grant our prayer


And hurl us down to black despair.


Yet help us, Lord, to pray;


' Forgive as we forgive, ~


And help DS day by day,


This holy prayer to live;


To follow in our Saviour's path


Renouncing , strife and war and wrath,


Our'Father, send us peace;


And hast~ n soon the day,


By giving large increase


OflUose who will net slay, '


' Vhen war, and lost, and blood, no mora


, Shall o' ~ r the earth a deluge poor,

Page 84 of Volume 1 from The Practical Christian 1840-1841

Ballou, Adin

1840