The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1843-07-16
The Poetry OF the Bible.

I ttnHpIdTIUH,
with our pursuits, so as to give interest to what is
familiar, TO refine what is material, and to heighten
| what is sublime. We now open the Bible, and find
that poetry as principle of intellectual enjoyment
derived from association, Is also diffused through
every page OF the sacred volume, and so diffused,
that the simplest child, as we'll as the profoundest
sage, may feel It's presence. This in fact, is the
| great merit OF poetry, Ia merit which in no other
volume but the Bit bic, can be found in pertectIon,)
that 1t addresses itself so Immediately TO the prin-
cPles OF feeling inherent in our nature, to be In
leltgbe TO those who have made but little progress
in the paths OF learning, at the same time that 1t
presents source OF the highest qualification to the
scholar and the philosopher. Let us refer an ex'
ample to the first chapter of Genesis
In the beginning God created the heaven and the
| earth.
And the earth without form and void; and dark.
ness was upon the face Of the deep And the Spirit OF
And God SAIL Let there be light and there was light
| child but just grown familiar with the words
contained In these verses not only understands
their meaning here, but feels something of their
notwithstanding of the power and the msies.
| ty OF the God who could create this wonderful
world, whose spirit moved upon the face OF the wa
tiers, and who said, Let there be light; and there
agreed, that possible combination of words could
express more clearly and powerfully than these, the
potency of the first operations OF Almighty power OF
which mankind have any record.
| We have more than once observed that poetry
| must have some reference, either uniformly par
tally, to our own circumstances, situation, or expe.
Renee, as well as to the more remote and varied
| conceptions of the Imagination; and in the Scrip
| lures, we find this fact fully illustrated Witness
the frequent recurrence OF these simple words-and
| God said. We are not told that the mandates OF
| Almighty power issued forth from the heavens, but
| simply that God said mode of speech familiar to
the least cultivated understanding, yet in danger
OF losing its sublimity as used here, because mme-
diately after, follow those manifestations, of uni
versaI subordnation which give us the most for.
| chile idea of the omnpotence of Divine will.
Again, after the ransgesslon of our first parents,
| when
| -- they heard the voice of the Lord God walk
ing in the garden in the cool Of the day and Adam and
God amongst the trees Of the garden.
And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto
him, Where art thou
And he said heard thy voice in the garden, and was
| afraid, because was naked and hid myself
What description of shame and abasement can be
more true to human nature than this But the cha
racter of Cain affords the earliest, the most consis-
tent, and perhaps, the most powerful exempllfica-
tons OF desires and affections perverted from their
original purity and slngeness OF purpose. Cain, the
second man who breathed upon the newly created
earth, felt all the STRINGS of envy and jealousy,
precisely as wei feel them at this day, and he
| - - talked with Abel his brother and it came
pass: WHEN they We're in the s field that Cain rose up
And the Lord said unto Cain hereis Abel thy broher7
end he said, know not am my brothers keeper 2
And he said, What hast thou done the voice of thy
| brothers blood creth unto me from the ground.
And art thou cursed from the earth, which hath
opened her mouth to receive thy brothers blood from
When thou tllest the ground, it shall not henceforth
yield unto thee her strength fugitive and vagabond
| shalt thou be in the earth.
And Cain said unto the Lord ypunishment greater
Behold thou hast driven out this day from the face
of the earth and from thy face shall be hid and
shall be fugitive aud vagabond in the earth and
shall come to pass that every that hndeth me shall
| slay me.
And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever
slayeh CAIN vengeance shall be taken on him aevenod
should kill him.
A,dC .;r AZ
Am my brothers keeper is question with
which we are too apt to answer the reproaches OF
conscience, when we have violated the most I'M
portant trust or neglected the duties which ought 10
be the dearest in life And what sufferer under the
first inficton OF chassement, conseque mt upon his
own transgresslons, has not given utterance to the
expressive languageImy punishment IS greater
contains what is familiar and natural to eve ry hui
man being, but beyond this, yet at the same time
connected with II, il has great power and even sub
| hmlty, In no instance more SO, than where It Is
said, that Cain went out from the presence of the
| Lord.
The peculiarly emphatic manner in which the
Lord promises to bless Abraham, saying
will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that
curseh thee: and in thee shall all the families of the
| earth be blessed.
As we'll as afterwards when
| - the Lord came unto Abram in vision, say
ing, Fear not Abram am thy Shield and thy exceeding
great reward
is comprehensive and full of meaning beyond what
/
And also after the separation from Lot where the
Lord said unto Abraham,
Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where
thou art norhward, and southwark, and eastward and
| wcstward
For all the land which thou seest to thee will give it,
And will make thy seed the dust of the earth
that if man can number the dust of the EARTH then shall
thy seed also be numbered
| Arise, walk through the land in the length and
in the breadth OF 1t for will give il unto thee -
| Then Ahram removed his tent and came and dwelt in
| Mamre, which Hebron there
ON altar to the Lord.
Here the act Of stretching the sight to the north
ward and southwark, and eastward and wes' ward,
| and walking through the land in the length Of it,
and in the breadth oft, presents to the mind ideas
ofspace and distance, at once simple and sublime !;
and when we read that whenever the faithful patrl-
arch found rest in his wanderngs, he built there an
altar to the Lord, thoughts are led on by ma.
tural transition to our own experience, to ask what
record we have left could leave in the past, to
prove that the same divine presence was with us in
our journey through life.
The story OF Hagar is one of great poetcal inter-
est. We pursue the destitute mother and her help
less child into the solitude of the wilderness, and
behold picture which has become proverbi al for
the utter desolaton which it represents. Co mpel-
ledby stern necessity, with the ultimate 60 cd Of
which she was wholly unaecquainted, the mother
goes forth as she believes, unfrended and alone, TO
trust herself and the treasure of her affections to
the mercyot the elements, and the shelter OF the
pathless wds, unconscious that her peculiar situa-
ton Is made the especial care OF the Father of the
fatheress, and the Protector of the fororn
And the water spent ia the bottle, and she cast the
child under of the shrubs.
And she went, and sat her down over against him. O
good way off as ii bowshot; for she said Let
not the death Of the child And she against
him, and lift up her voice and wept.
And God heard the voice of the lad and the angel of
Godcsled to Hgar out Of heaven, aud said unto her,
What aeth thee Hagar Fear not; for God hath he ard
| the voice Of the lad where he il.
Arise lift the lad an hold him In thine hand; for
| will make him great nation.
And in the following chapter, where Abraham,
| faIfhI n ea0 nc Haas
goes forth with his son, prepared to render HIM up
the Lord should require il at his hand;
And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said,
My atherf and ne said Here am my son: and he sal
Behold the fire and the wood but where the lamb
| a burnt oferingi
And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself
i h,rni ala fhnutv nn hoih iharn