The Sabbath

Waikato Times, Volume 119, Issue 19899, 30 May 1936, Page 20 (Supplement)

The Sabbath

ECCE HOMO. “Who is this man that all should stand before him With heads bowed down and every boasting dumb? Why should earth‘s sages hasten to adore him And poor men at his whispered bidding come ; Conquerors and kings their glory long departed Wait till his lips the word of judgment speak; The rich their treasures bring, earth’s lion hearted Grow pale with fear, strong men become as weak ‘2 “He wields no seeptre that men should obey him, No comeliness is his nor matchless grace, No power restrained the hands outstretched to slay him They crowned his head with thorns and 51110 12 his face. Hung between thieves at last, a cross his token ; Buried at night in tomb by strangers lent ; A loyal few, their hearts bereaved and broken His only friends—and now—omnipotent! ” This man is God. His is the Voice eternal, He uttered words that never more shall die. He conquered death, and life serene, supernal To all He gives. Before His pitying eye Pass all the generations. Those who slew Him ; Earth's myriad bondsmen sighing to be free ; Those who have named Him; those who never knew Him ; I, who have failed llim. Lord, have mercy on me.” -—Nelson Bitten, in the (‘ono‘reg'aunnal Quarterly. DAILY TEXT. Sunday—Fear Not: Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name: thou art mine. “'hen thou passest through the Waters. 1 \\‘lll he with thee: and through the rivers. they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the tire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee—lsaiah 43:1. :1. Monday.—Joy: in thy presence is fulness of joy: at thy right hand there are pleasures for e\'ermore.—l‘salms ‘16:11.

‘ Tuesday.—A Promised Crown: Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.——James 1:12. Wednesday.—-Do Good: Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.—3 John 1:11. Thursday.——Watch: Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.— Mark 13:35, 36, 37. Friday.—Jesus’ Witness of God: God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth—John 4:24. ‘ Saturday.—Unity: O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord—Mark 12: 29. SHAKESPEARE AND THE BIBLE. Shakespeare definitely made identi—fiable quotations from or allusions to at least forty-two books of the Bible (eighteen each from the Old and New Testaments, and six from the Apo—erypha). Let us take the very simplest proof. It is only when we assemble all the references to Adam and Eve that we realise how intimately he knew that narrative; the isolated references do not impress at all, but when they are‘ gathered together it is borne in on the collector that there is hardly a phase of' the story as narrated in the first three chapters of Genesis that has been missed. If we go on further to another: very popular incident, the Flood, we are convinced that Shakespeare wasi aware that the unclean animals, or boasts as they are called in the Gene—van, went in by couples, as that ver—sion has it. This is a point that would escape him who only knew the story from hearing it read. Ilis reading of Genesis is still more apparent when we read Shylock’s “What says that fool of Hagar's offspring?” with reference to his former servant mecclot, \\‘hom, as Sarah did lshmael, he suspects of mocking him. From hearing the chapter read, no one would gather the incident in all its significance, to say nothing of the perfect aptness of Shylock's allusion in View of all the circumstances. But the matter is clinched finally. and all doubts of Shakespeare's having read Genesis are dissipated when‘

we come to Shylock’s account of the deal‘between Laban and Jacob. The deal is not free from complications, but Shakespeare gets it accurately. Not only does Shylock add the coneluding verse of the chapter as to the blessing that attended Jacob, but Antonio refers to the succeeding chapter. The man who had only heard the story read might have a vague idea of one chapter, but he would not know the next. Dr. Ginsburg even went; so far as to assert that Shakespeare read the marginal note in the Bishops‘. Anyway, it is abundantly clear that Shakespeare actually read the account. -—-Richzu'd Noble in Shakespeare's Biblical Knowledge.