Grand River times. [volume] (Grand Haven, Mich.) 1851-18??, 1853-08-31
THE POETRY OF THE BIBLE.
BY GEO. %. BARTLETT.

external organs of sense, SO Is The lnspi-
red volume to the soul; while the heart
drinks deep and Intoxicating delights at
nature'scool and delicious fountains, the
soul with lofty grandeur and intellectu-
al power, struggles through its own
ideal up to the holy purity Of the inf
mite.
Throwing aside its divine prccepts--
its plan of salvation TO a lost and erring
race; viewing it simply as n poem, the
Bible commands the admiration of
world. 1t is, and ever must be, consid-
cred sublime, God-inspired poem
full of grandeur, pathos, simplicity and
truth--comprehensive and eternal. The
poetry of the Bible first opens crea-
tons dawn. God created the heavens
and the earth, and saw that thew were
good; but darkness yet covered the un-
born world. Had mortal eye existed
its dim and sightless orbs would have
gazed on chaos and impenetrable gloom
The Imagination, with its air-wrought
visions, can picture the vivid darkness,
the awful sublimity of that hour. A
vast and glorious universe, sleeping in
the solemn shadows of raycss night,
beneath the hand of Omnipotence.
God said, Let there be light, and
there was light" Full of poetry and
sublimity was that moment when light,
flashing like meteor, shot from the
Eternal's throne, struggled through the
azure realms of inguity, and showcred
its beauty on the newborn armament;
each scattered ray gem; each spark
ling gem world, now glittering in the
diadem of night. Its quivering beams
threw triple heat on India's spicy groves,
the flowery plains Of Arabia and Hindos-
tan; the bright enchanted vale of Kath-
ny, and the burning sands of Africa; ;
then traced its golden pathway, with
track Of brilliants, across the mighty
deep, and rolled its purple flood Of grand
eur onward to the frozen regions of eter-
nal snow.
God said, "Let there be light and
there was light" The morning stars
peaed there first anthem through 4 JOY
Gus creation-Paradise lay breathing in
this new effulgence; the distant noun
tains caught the wondrous element of
Almighty power, and shining valleys,
and the crystal lake, and all the smiling
and expansive universe of God, with its
millions of starry and yet unknown
worlds, was bathed in the soft, ineffabe
loveiness Of light. Thick wavy shad-
ows Of the ustrous element hoatcd
across the trackless pillows, lighting up
its thousand diamond crests with flood
of emeral beauty, which trembed in the
suns first beams; the coral deep echoed
its unwritten poetry, through the azure
vault Of Heaven.
And felt the first fash Of the new born
flame,
Back from its depths in softer bright
ness flung
Thus rosy light, Gods air-winged
messenger, the first pilgrim from the ark
OF Heaven, traversed the illmitable re-
g!ons of space, and heralded with daz-
zling brightness, its sublime mission of
omnipotent goodness.
The past is poetry; and the sacred re-
cords Of antiquity, from the remotest
ages of time, bear upon their illuminat-
ed pages the !oflest elements of poetic
inspiration. The literature of each age
is marked by the distinctive character of
the poetry. The great volume before
us, embracing, rs it does, history OF
more than six thousand years, with its
types and symbols-its significat figures
prophecies and miracles; the divine com.
mands OF Gods chosen and peculiar peo-
pie, illustrated in the burning bush--the
mamma in the desert-the scourges OF
Egypt-the, passing Of the Red Sea, and
the ascension of Elijah into Heaven, is
repete with the finest essence Of true
poetry, and is stamped with the divine
impress Of Gods own hand. Nothing
can be more lovely or exquisitely touch
ing than the melodious breathings Of
the singer of Israel or more tender thar
the planive songs of Saul for his frienC
Jonathan; or more deeply affecting thar
the lamentations of David over his beau
tiful, his unfortunate but lost Absalom
The stars are the poetry of Heaven, bu
the Bible is the poetry Of God.
The Norristown (Pa.) Herald say.
that some twenty-three years ago-ir
the year, 1894 man named Mr.. Nc
Clay. was missing from the neighbor
hood of Mr.. Hunters quarries, Marbl,
Hall about live miles below the borough
and after long search, it was found &c
be impossible to discover the body. Re
Gently, the quarry being about to be uset
again, an effort was made to pump the
water out, in which they finally succeed
ed last week and towards the close o
the week the skeleton Of this man was
discovered. The water is very cold al
the year round, and it was thought pc
trilaction had taken place, but such was
not the case. However, about nine
years after the accident, Il large quantity
OF stone fell in, and that may have strucl
and mangled him. He was found to bt
n complete skeleton-nothing but the
bones left The shoes were as perfec