, 1879-03-15
A Cheerful Religion.


Father which art in heaven" We con-
stantly find inscriptions on the tombs
su as the following: 81 honored my
father and my mother /; l loved my broth
ers- l tanght little children. l took
care of orphans as though they had been
my own children" In letters of excel
lent advice addressed hg an old man OF
ITO years of age to a young friend which
form the most ancient book in the world,
dating 5000 B. Che says: "rhe obedi.
ence of docile son is a blessing. God
loves obedience. Disobedience is hated
by God. The obedience of son maketh
glad the heart of his father. ft+ A
son teachable in Gods service will be
happy i'll consequence of his obedience,
he will grow to be old, he will find favor y
This is tn, earliest appearance of the
''hrst commandment with promise" Eph
Vi. the obedience to god and man
which was the "essence Of Hebraism. v
The moral code of the E Egyptians Was ex-
ceedingly elaborate. 1t consisted of forty
two commandments or heads under which
all sins might be classed. This code was
the ideal placed b fore men on earth, it
was the standard of perfection according
to which they would be judged in heaven.
Some of them are Of local interest only,
but most belong to the eternal laws of
right and wrong written on the tables of
the heart. Men We're taught from child
hood, as children are nowadays taught
their catechism, that they must appear in
the presence of the Divine Judge and say
81 have not privily done evil to my neigh
bors. have not afflicted any, nor caused
any to we,p. | have not told hes /
have not done any wicked thing. l have
not done what Is hateful to the
gods. Lave not illuminated the slave
to his master have not been idle.
have not stolen. | have not committed
adultery. | have not committed MUIR
der And so on. But their command
ments were positive as well rs negative.
On the tombs We find the common form
ula 81 have given bread to the hungry,
water to the thirsty, clothes to the naked,
shelter to the stranger In the lamen-
tations ut funerals, the mourners see the
deceased entering the presence Of the Di-
vine Judge, and they chant the words
There is 10 fault in him. No answer
riseth up against him. In the truth he
liveth, with the truth he nourish,s HIM
self The gods are satisfied with all that
he hath done. Z He succored the
afflicted, he gave bread to the HUNGRY,
drink to the thirsty, clothes to the naked,
he sheltered the outcast, his doors were
open to the stranger, he was father to
the fatheriess. This was the principle OF
the final judsmen: announced by the Son
of Man, to whom ''all jud gment Is Coin
mitted," some 1000 Years afterward,
among the hills of Palestine. This ten
derness for suffering humanity is charac-
teristic Of tha nation. Gratefully docs a
man acknowledge in his autobiography
1900 B. c.; Wandering | wandered
and was hungry, bread was set before
me; | fled from the land naked, there WAS
givcu me fine linen Ii is glory to a
man tia. "the toor .hsll make their
uuan III the door IF his tomb. An III
scriptinn on tomb IA: Beni Hassen, writ
ten aboat :, 800 b. c.. reads; Il have not
oppressed any viduW- Su prisoner Ian
suisl.ei ~ my days. Nc GHe died Of
hun; :. when tlers s.fe Year. af Fam
ine ka.i NY fields Eioses, gaze tGaa
to jl.a inhabitants. 50 thai thcro Was nG
hungry psrson. gaye the widow equal
portions ~ith the married. / did mol
pref the rich 10 tie poor. Ona wall of
the tomplc of Karnak thess is eulptured
the earliest extladitionary treaty. 1t is
between Rameses H. and a Khetan prince
The last clause provides that political flu
gitives are to he sent back, with the fol-
lowing humane provision for their per-
sonal safety: "Whoever shall be deliv-
cred up, himself, his wives. his children,
let him not be smitten to the death ;
moreover, let him not suffer in the eyes,
in the mouth, in the feet; moreover, let
not any crime be set up against him,
This treaty was engraven for the kheian
prince on a silver tablet. In a volume of
maxins We read: 'Maltreat not IN i'll
ferior. Let your wife find in you pro-
tector; maltreat her not. Save not thine
own life at the cost of another" On the
tomb of a man at Elkalb (4000 b. c. it
is recorded that he ''never left home with
anger in his heart y