T f f In asceticism (such as was mani festing itself among the Colossians, and which became more rampant in a later age) the body is not only kept under that is, kept in its proper and subordinate position but it is hated," lacerated, and tormented into debility The appetites are looked upon as sinful and checked-not supplied in healthful moderation. Every species of support is grudged" to back and belly too. The physical constitution" too??The is thus enervated and sickened. Yet its sinfull tendencies are only beaten down, not eradicated.Jobmade a covenant with his eyes, but those fanatics would dim theirs by fasting. The whole process was a cardinal mistake, for it was a system of externals both in ceremonials and ethics, The body might be reduced, but the evil bias might remain unchecked. A man might whip and fast himself into a walking skeleton, and yet the spirit within him might have all its lusts". I unconquered, for all it had lost was wastou only the ability to gratify them. To to "The Brahmin kindles on 03 boyd bes he is the saintlier worthy T Past all dispute yon anchorite, say you. to toleret soft to ontoa to somely own bare he head mow of grow in ured) sacred fires, self-torturing his trade in one-t-ilmoites the two? Joddohni zlqoob 08-97 II our Your sentence and mine differ. What's a name? zborzil siT I say the Brahmin has the fairer claim,odTohumtios soft 1970 If sufferings Scripture nowhere recommends, striboruri Devised by self to answer selfish ends; lo-di motum toto! Give saintship, then all Europe 901 to IPO Ten starveling hermits suffer than hau bod ad ever form of "zdiqob Dr. Eadie concludes his Wife of as his commentary on the second chapter of Colossians by a modern instance of the pride of sanctity, covered with a robe of revolting humility. Last year (1854) a new saint was added to the popish calendar, by name Benedetto Guiseppe Labre, who had made his residence in the Coliseo for many years, and was noted by travellers for 719 ΟΤ 66 B 7 bozasadiz sro bao992 Tod his craziness and filth. At the usual! mock trial, which takes place at a T canonization, the pleading of the socalled devil's advocate against him was rebutted by the so-called God's advocate in the following terms, lite rally translated from the papers He He was a model of humility, absti- fes nence, and mortification, taking only ob for food remains of cabbage, lemon I 18 6 peel, or lettuce-leaves, which he picked 207102 the German Church. But without attempting so large, though withal so attractive a work, we would fain glance at some of those masters of German song to whom we as Congregationalists, and the universal Church, are so deeply indebted. pale, his garments ragged, his body This is the perfection of the asceticl life! And yet there are Englishmen who, with the Bible in their hands,d are entering on the road, and would i have others, enter on the road, which i leads to this goal! homo tom,mwon bead and go eid du 709 gabol of elbil row attend brih 1 man hymnists wan! ebony ology T -29 to urte & av ti totodatim GERMANY, 'binoutros ai dtod elmrot aft and boombor od Idghor vbod ofT Christian philanthropy under Countə Zinzendorf, and others of kindred spirit. We have already listened to s Luther, the hymnist; let us nowiɑ notice, the second epoch in the annals of German hymnody of yilida oft vino One of the most eminent of Gerwas, Paul Gerhardt. He was born in 1606, and lived to otion the age of seventy. He witnessed and shared the sufferings of the Thirty Years' War. He endured severo family bereavements, and encountered much hostility from wicked men; but "out of the depths" he cried unto, the Lord, and, with his mourning was turned into singing. eolog) in aotrede hun o Such were his trials, that Albert Knapp The hymnody of Germany extends over three centuries. The first period is more immediately identified with the Reformation itself, and its hymn writers are grouped around the great Reformer. The second era witnessed the trials and spiritual triumphs of the Thirty Years' War, when, amidst the desolations of armies and the miseries of the people, there yet arose a wondrous volume of sacred song.The third period occupies the earlier part of the eighteenth century, and saw the revival of religion, under Jacob Franke, and the outflowings of -nomologaddas to animor boot < a contemporary-declares that they on would use to ohing naturally have 'caused him rather flagras loves to cry with pain) than to sing. It is said that one rebrokes neidoq of his most beautiful hymns was of “Wake up, my heart, composed on the steps of the It is evidently composed upon the model of the passion hymn of St. Bernard of Clairvaux-623 ani Salve, caput cruentatum, 1/ du Totum spinis coronatum.”p Its last line is translated by some in the expressive words Who dieth thus, dies well;" and it is thought to have owed its origin to a remark of Luther, in reference to his beloved daughter Magdalene. If the child could be made alive again," said the bereaved father to Melancthon, "and were to bring me the whole Turkish Empire, I would not accept it. Oh, who dieth thus, dies well. Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord." In the Congregational Hymn Book the last verse runs thus "Be near me, Lord, when dying; Come, Lord, to set me free :' Dies safely through His love." | These words have, in many remarkable instances on record, been a source of rich consolation to the dying lo off Next to Luther," says Mr. Kübler, "Paul Gerhardt was the greatest and most popular hymn-writer, and was emphatically the people's poet; his hymns, combining great strength with childlike simplicity, and, being both deeply solemn and touching, have taken the greatest hold on the hearts of the people. Many mothers have recommended them to their sons," and Schiller's mother nourished with them the young genius of her Hamid Lilituoli sad o Dal * Historical Notes of the Lyra "Ger. manica. boy. Gerhardt has left 123 hymns, of which it has been declared that more than thirty of them are patterns for all time of such productions. With him the elder school of German sacred poetry culminated. Early in the eighteenth century, there might be seen in a humble home, at Mühlheim on the Rühr, a retiring meditative man, pursuing the occupation of a ribbon-maker. He had only a little girl as his companion, to twist his silk; and he lived chiefly on flour and milk and water. Yet he was not unhappy. "I often thought," he afterwards said, "no king in the world could live so contentedly as I did at that time;" and 'from that lowly home streamed forth the peacefulness of his own spirit. For though he was poor, he gave much to the poor; and though his own mind was afterwards troubled with doubts and conflicts, he seems to have chased them away with his own songs. The ribbon-maker and poet was Gerard Tersteegen. He was the son of a pious tradesman at Mörs, in Westphalia, and was born in 1697. When twenty-seven years of age he wrote in his own blood a dedication of himself to Christ, and three years afterwards began to give. Christian addresses to little audiences. The blessing that attended his ministry of the word led him to devote himself to the care, both physically and spiritually, of the poor; and to " The Pilgrim's Cottage," as it was called, multitudes came to receive his medicines for their ailments, and his instructions for their souls. He appears not to have identified himself with any religious community, but with much modesty and simplicity די laboured for all and after a lengthened career, in which he met with many trials, but in which he was the means of doing incalculable good, he died, at the age of seventy-four, in his sleep. Many of Tersteegen's hymns have been translated into English, and two are familiar to our Congregational Church psalmody. The one commences thus-* "Thou hidden love of God, whose height, My heart is pained, nor can it be The other was translated by John Wesley: "Lo! God is here: let us adore, And own how dreadful is this place! Let us within us feel His power, And silent bow before His face;" Who know His power, His grace who prove, Serve Him with awe, with reverence, love." + The name of Zinzendorf occupies a prominent place in the hymnody of Germany. The Count was born at Dresden, in the year 1700. He early gave indications of piety, and when at school his tutor declared"This youth will one day become a great light of the Church." At college at Wittenberg, though professedly studying law, he preferred divinity, wrote many hymns, and ardently desired opportunities of Christian usefulness. In deference to the wishes of friends he abandoned his intention to become a minister, *New Congregational Hymn Book, No. 561. † Ibid., No. 773. but he conducted services in his own house; and when certain Moravian Christians were driven from their homes, the Count welcomed them on an estate he had purchased at Berthelsdorf. This settlement was known as Herrnhut, a name that signified "the protection of the Lord;" where a chapel was built, and from whence those missionaries went forth to the heathen, whose labours in Greenland, the West Indies, and elsewhere, are so well known. Zinzendorf visited America and England, and there arose an intimacy between him and Whitfield and the Wesleys. He died in 1760. His son-in-law was pronouncing the words "Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in and at the word "peace," peace, the spirit of the Count entered the saints' everlasting rest. One hymn by Zinzendorf, freely translated by John Wesley, is the 325th in our Selection "Jesus, Thy robe of righteousness My beauty is, my glorious dress; 'Midst flaming worlds, in this arrayed, With joy shall I lift up my head." The first line of this verse is rendered by Wesley "Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness;" but, notwithstanding the maledictions pronounced by Wesley on all who touched his verses, the alteration of our editors will, we think, be allowed to be an improvement. Another favourite hymn by Zinzendorf is also found in the New Congregational Hymn Book--* "Jesus, still lead on Till our rest be won; And although the way be cheerless, We will follow, calm and fearless : Guide us by Thy hand To our Fatherland." *No. 662. Another hymn is usually-as in the New Congregational Hymn Book -ascribed to Count Zinzendorf, which there is reason to believe was composed by his friend John Andrew Rothe. It begins with the lines—* "Now I have found the ground wherein Sure my soul's anchor may remain : The wounds of Jesus, for my sin Before the world's foundation slain; Whose mercy shall unshaken stay, When heaven and earth are fled away." This hymn is often published denuded of some of its best stanzas, and sometimes those that have been retained are mutilated. In the New Hymn Book the original translation is strictly followed, and the only alteration is the omission of the second stanza "Father, Thine everlasting grace Our scanty thought surpasses far; "All his life," says the Rev. Josiah Miller, in his most interesting and valuable volume on hymnody just issued,† "Zinzendorf was writing hymns as a child, and in old ageamid the excitement of Paris, and when in the quietude of Berthelsdorf. Some of his best were written on his voyage to America. There was a period in the history of his hymnwriting when he gave expression to confession and gratitude for Christ's Scripture view of the meaning and physical sufferings rather than to the value of the atonement. These he *New Congregational Hymn Book, No. 611. Our Hymns: their Authors and Origin. A Companion to the New Congregational Hymn Book. By Josiah Miller, M.A. Jackson, Walford, & Hodder. |