Dives and Lazarus

LIBRARY OF C0NGRESs7

®^ap. .L"^ SapFtSP 1».

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

Dives and Lazarus.

A SACRED POEM

IN DIALOGUE.

RSFUELI3HSD FROI.I All AIICIEIIT IVORX, A.D. 13^
BY THE PROPRIETOR.

I,

-K..-< Wf^

BALTIMORE :

PUBLISHED BY JOHN B. PIET & CO.
No. 174 W. Baltimoi-e Street.

z

Enteied acccraing to Act of Congress, in the year A. D. 1881,
by J. M. YoDEn.

INTRODUCTORY.

Ik an old book (the property of Daniel Deane, an Eng-
lish schoolmaster, who came to this country in 1770), is
the original from which this beautiful little work is re-
published. Having received an education in his native
country, Professor Deane was undoubtedly a welcome
settler among the pioneers of "Western Maryland, where
he followed his profession and distinguished himself as
a teacher; and near Mount Savage, in Allegany county
(where his ashes have rested since A.D. 1805), family
descendants and grateful recollections of Schoolmaster
Deane are still in existence. For tlirce-quarters of a
century this old work has occupied the shelf in the log
cabin as well as the book-case of modern times ; passing
into the possession of the fifth generation, only minus
title pages and bearing the imprint that time ever makes
on all created things. And when we consider the cir-
cumstances through which thia ancient relic has existed
to the present time, we are constrained to believe that
there is something providential in its preservation.
During the last four years it has been diligently circu-
lated among the clergy and laity of different denomina-
tions with the hope of obtaining an knoAvledge of the
author. One says it sounds like Bunyan's Avritings;
another sa3's it camo from Shakespeare,

A Roman Catholic, well learned in ancient Church
history, says that "Dives and Lazarus" was written

4 INTRODUCTORY.

before sects and denominations had an existence in the
world. As to the true authorship, we are compelled to
leave the reader in total darkness; notwithstanding, it
is certainly most gratifying to every true believer (as
well as a fearful warning to unbelief) that this sublime
production of ancient times has come to light when the
inGdelity and strange doctrines of the nineteenth cen-
tury are demanding the stubborn proofs and miraculous
manifestations that the rich man in hell required of
Abraham in heaven for tlie salvation of his five brethren.
May the God of Israel impress upon the hearts of the
readers the unciiangeable truth of His words, the surety
of His promises, and the justice of His judgments.

DIVES AND LAZARUS.

LUKE, XVI: 19—31.

In Judah's vale a man of wealth abode,
Vile as a beast, yet worship' d as a God ;
Who Tyrian cloaths, and Egypt's linen wore,
And on v/hose table met land, sea and air.
Beneath the threshold of his outmost gate
A pale, deformed, horrid carcase sat ;
Another Job, but of more fixed woes,
Who from his dunGfhill never once arose.

'C3'

'^God help me icas his Name. God was his all.
Those few that knew him^ Lazarus did him call.

Need, Pains and Scorn, at once did on him lie ;
His bed was earth, his covering was the sky.
Nothing had he to pay off nature's scores,
Empty he was of bread, but full of sores.

* Th€ English of Lazarus.

6 DIVES AND LAZARUS.

Hunger (that rack) will make a man confess
AVhat modest minds endeavour to suppress.
Sharp Hunger whets the wit, and mends its Strain.
It hurts the Bowels, but it helps the Brain.
A servant pass'd the gate, where lo ! he found
This rueful object grov'ling on the ground.
Said Lazarus, Sir, if pity be my due.
Give to your master what I give to you.

Lazarus Jiis Petition.

Most noble Sir, I humbly crave
What nature doth expect of me ;
I am a borderer on the grave
Half slain with sharp necessity.

For childrens bread I do not call ;
I do not ask thy servants fare ;
Only the Sweeping of thy hall
I beg and what your Dogs may spare.

Doom me not, Sir, to perish at your gate.
Who may preserve trie at so cheap a rate,
For farther Judah's sake some fragments give^
I'll SGirve you at Grod's altars whilst I live.

DIVES AND LAZARUS. 7

Dives Ins Ansiver.

What dog is this that dares presume on me ?
Accurst be all such crawling toads as he,
Pests of my gate, vermin that creep so nigh,
• I hate 'em ; let him rot and die.

In vain tlie poor man's thoughts persu'd his Suit,
The dogs were humane, but their Lord a brute,
They left their snarling to their Master's face ;
They ran, and Lazarus gently did embrace.
He was the pity'd patient of those hounds,
AVhose lambent tongues did cool his burning
Avounds.

This done, the squalid vassals of the times
Scorn'd ragged virtue, honour'd purple crimes,
Things are mis-judged by the purblind eye,
Which views their posture, not their tendency,
'Till Justice wakes to right its injur'd laws,
Which doth not weigh the person but the cause.

Nor rags, nor sores, are clouds that can dis-
guise,
A splendid soul of Heaven's, soul searching

Eyes;

8 DIVES AXD LAZARUS.

Earth's Laz'rus was Heav'ns ; Dives earth's
disdain.

Was a meet guest for Heaven to entertain,
Now comes the golden hour that sets him free,
From his ApprenticeshijD to misery.
His corps (the Grave's old neighbour) long

undrest,
At length is slipt into its bed of rest,
A treasure 'tis tho' Funeral cost it wants ;
The richest mineral is the dust of saints :
He was his own (most serious) mourner here ;
He mourn'd enough, he needs no hired tear.

The time is come that Lazarus must be clad,
AVith such line linen Dives never had.
The time is come that Lazarus must be fed
AVith Heaven's rich juices, and with Angels
Bread.

There is a table richly spread above,
There is an everlasting Feast of love;
A Feast which Friends and Friendship doth

maintain.
Pale envy is not there, nor proud disdain;

DIVES AND LAZARUS. 9

They are all in one, in one they all agree
One is their all, which makes all one to be,
Here's height of mirth v/ith depth of seriousness,
Plenty without the hazard of excess ;
Here are full joys in hand, full joys in view,
Here wine and appetite are ever new ;
Ever begins their feast and ne'er doth end,
Whom growing loaves and living springs attend ;
Their Harps are well strung Hearts, well-tuned

Tongues ;
And sacred Hallelujahs are their Songs;
Here sit the saints, here the Believers Sire
Is nobly seated in his rich Attire ;
Hither the King of Heaven new Guests does call
Nor can he come too late that comes at all.

The mighty one who dwells and rules on high,
Angels attend wdth an obedient Eye.
The Secrets of his Breast they do not Skill,
But are the trusty Servants of his Will.

Thus charg'd he them, ' bring Lazarus to the
Feast,
'And let him take his place next Abraham's
Breast,'

^Q DIVES AND LAZARUS.

They heard with rev'rence, and obeyed their

King,
Joy rais'd their hearts, and nimbly shook their

Wing.
They fled from heaven, yet heaven was with

them still,
It was their heaven to do their masters will.
They stopt not at the stars that pompous show
Who went to view a brighter star bclov/.
The point design'd they w^ell did understand,
Who had old Voy'gers been to Canaan's land.
There had they been Lot's guests [who wae

their ward,]
There had they been Elisha's flaming guard,
In that land chiefly lay their Lord's afliiirs,
They that traffick'd there for souls [those pre-
cious Wares]
Soon came they where sick La/.ai'us had his

Lare,
They stopp'd and waited for their passenger;
No visitant found they with him l)ut the

Lord,
No nurse but faith, no cordial but the word.

DIVES AND LAZARUS. 11

They heard him praying, ' Lord, some mercy

shew
• For I cant find no mercy here below.'

This said, he sigh'd, and was of life bereav'd,
He gave his soul, and they his soul receiv'd ;
With Shouts and songs triumphant up they went,
And to the company did him present ;
They shouted all, and joy'd the new come guest,
He gently stoops, and leans on Abraham's Breast,
Whom Dives curs'd and stately fools dis-

dain'd,
How is he bless' d ! how is he entertain' d !
Tho' virtue here on earth neglected lies ;
Yet heaven will raise it, for 'tis born to rise,
Dives, that silken God must never die.
Unless his creatures and false prophets lie.
He's safe, if death he casts as far behind
His body, as it is below his mind.
He's always young, he learns it from his glass,
Which smoothes his furrow' d brow and paints

his face.
But a cold striking hand confutes the lye,
Down falls his flattering glass, his fancies die ;

12 DIVES AND LAZARUS.

His Garden-walks must him no longer know,
The life tree in his garden doth not grow
His Palace must be chang'd for a dark tomb;
That was his inn, but this must be his home ;
He must no longer at his table stay,
The voider (death) is come to take away :
Death, that abhorr d (both name and) thing,

comes on,
And potently torments this potent one :
It makes amazing breaches ; and, m short,
Hath seized the out Avork and attacks the fort,
In what a wretched posture does he lie !
He cannot live, and yet he dares not die.
His Debt must be distrain'd ; for he'll not pay.
Nor yield his Ghost; it must be fetched away.
He spurns, he struggles, but Death keeps him

under,
And with one Stroke tears flesli and Soul

asunder ;
Then rarig the house with his five Bretherns

Cries ;
Alas ! Our Brother ! so they closed his Eyes,
His outward Parts are wash'd his inner Rooms
Stuffed with Arahian Sweets and rich Perfumes

DIVES AND LAZARUS. 13

Now Death his Purple is, now he's allow 'd,
Fine Linen too, but 'tis a Fun'ral shroud;
Gravefiic'd Spectators with their garments

torn
And shrouded Lips attend, the Room doth

mourn.
Ah what a poor Revenge is this on fate !
For one that cannot live, to lie in State.
Amidst the Gfazincj; Croud the Bearers come.
With Pomp they bring him to his painted

Tomb.
Minstrels and Trumpeters their Noises join,
And Women sell false Tears for current Coin.
Now lest his Friends should in salt Streams be

drown'd,
The Cup of Consolation goes its Round.
But stay, my Soul, 'tis Death that thou must

view.
Not Shadows which dead Bodies do ensue.

What a dark Notion and Absurdity
Is this to living Men that they must die !
Grim death on his pale horse triumphant rides,
He strikes us thro' our nearest kinsman's sides.

14 DIVES AND LAZARUS.

Yet are we senseless as the stupid mule,
Live as exceptions from the common rule;
We cast a cloth o'er death, 'tis soon forgot ;
We charm the serpent, and it stings us not.

Now might one let this pleasant error pass,
If death was all : but death his second has :
When once the dissolution-hour is come,
Out goes the soul to hear her final doom.

You who have slightly heard the fun'ral knell.
Now hear the voice which dooms the soul to

Hell ;
For those wliose liearts an Earthquake will not

shake,
Tho' heaven's loud roaring cannon may awake.

Dives black ghost (all horror and despair)
Is from its prison snatch'd to th' dismal bar ;
Behind him the impatient devils roar.
His sins (those worst of devils) stand before ;
With terrors thus besieg'd in evei'y Place,
He hears a voice, but might not see the face.
The voice was thunder roaring in his ear's.
The word were tearing bolts and flaming spears;

DIVES AND LAZARUS. 15

"Go, thou accurst, vile caitif, lience away

" To damned Ghosts : come devils take your

Prey."
Struck with this thunder down he sunk he fell
And was a triumph to the fiends of hell.
Th' ingenious tyrants did a council pack,
Their malice sets their wits upon the rack.
When they had jointly study'd to torment,
For their pale prisoner then in haste they sent
They chain'd and stak'd him to a furious flame
Where constant Streams of brimstone feed the

same.
Behold sin's martyr, and hell's sacrifice !
He yells and howls, and vents unpity'd cries.
He finds no friendly ear or tender eye.
He feels a thousand deaths, but cannot die ;
Like burning brass, he's fir'd in every part,
A vulture lives upon his living heart.
God's gone, he's gone, and what an hell is this
To be deprived of everlasting bliss !
0 this eternal banishment is worse.
Than all the remnant of the doom's day curse.
This hell of hell may thus be understood.
No torments are so bad as God is good.

16 DIVES AND LAZARUS.

Besides, an appetite in Man doth lie,

Which nothing but a God can satisfj^ ;

And tho' his appetite be here dehided

By various objects in God's room obtruded,

Yet when at death all these are laid aside,

Then thirsts the soul for God, but is deny'd ;

This thirst unquench'd is such an inward

flame
And hell in hell is its deserved name ;
In hell their cannot be an atheist,

'Tis hell in hell that God is dearly mist.
Poor Dives cries, " the God for whom I starve
" I cannot see, because I would not serve ;
" I bleed to think, [and thinking is my fate]
" He often knocked at my bolted gate,
" Where are those baits on which mv lusts did

prey,
" The price for which I cast myself away ?
" Where's now my pomp and pride, my fests

and sports,
^' Whose chains detain'd me from the sacred

courts ?
*• 0 did my house so near the temple stand !
"0 did I perish out of Judah's Land !

DIVES AND LAZARUS. 17

^' Might I be betray'd once more ! but 'tis too

late,
^' Justice hath lock'd the golden mercy-gate.
'^ Now I believe and tremble ; I repent,
'' But my repentance is my punishment.
'' It is not virtue, but necessity ;
"Alas ! how miserably wise am I ?
'' Might I return now to that happy night,
'' Which veil'd me ere my parent savv" the light ;
'^^ Ah me ! must I lie here, and ne'er came out."
He raves and flings his curses round about.
He curs'd both hea'vn and hell, he curs'd the

Earth,
He curs'd tlie day that witness'd to his birth ;
But neither can his tears his griefs assauge,
Nor does it cool his heart to vent his rage.
This keen reflection makes the furnace glow,
" It must be ever with me as 'tis now.
'' Hell's flames no ashes will produce : but I
" Must ever dying live, and living die.
'• Souls for themselves the balm of patience

bear ;
" 'Tis the poor's physick, but it grows not here.

IS DIYES AND LAZARUS.

" My .soul is filled with liome-bred tears and

taunts ;
" 'Tis its own fury, and itself it haunts.
" Pity was wont in misery's house to dwell,
'' But I am haled by the hounds of hell.
^' Time us'd to be a surgeon good at wounds ;
" But I am got beyond its happy bounds.
"A vessel charg'd with scalding wrath am I,
'"Hoop'd in the circle of eternity."

You who affect the pleasant path to hell,
And love damnation in its causes well,
Look straight before you on your journey's

end,
Do ye not see th' infernal smoak ascend ?
Have not the sparks into your bosom flown.
Whereby the neighb'ring coasts may well be

known ?
Bold sinner, stop, no further progress make,
Lest your next step be in the firey lake ;
But Oh ! he redicules his soul's affairs.
And labours to be damn'd at unawares.
His humour w^ould not bear a countermand ;
Alas for them who hate to understand !

DIVES AND LAZARUS. 19

Who on their souls experiments will tr^^.
At the charge of a sad eternity.
Alas for them who never v^^ill awake
Till they are plung'cl into the burning lake.

Dives was here struck blind with flattering lyes,
Now the hell-brand lifts up his flaming eyes,
He spies the region where the happy dwell,
But heaven at distance is another hell.
He spies a Canaan's feast ; for chiefly there
The natives of his country do appear :
He spies blest Abraham with his faithful race,
And Lazarus sitting next to Abraham's place.
Oh ! how it twinges and torments his eyes ?
His scorn to envy turns, and thus he cries ;
'• The scoundrel who lay starving at my gate^
'*' Is now a peer in heaven, and Angel's mate ;
'- The beggar sits and feeds on Angel's Aire,
^' HiB rags are robes, such as heav'ns nobles

Wear;
^' The dog, whom in derision once I had,
''Is turn'd into a star, which makes me mad."
Now Dives is a beggar, and applies
Himself to Abraham with his mournful cries.

20 DIVES AND LAZARUS.

Dives his Petition.

Ah! Father Abraham pity me,

Who with tormenting flames am stung,

For pity whether should I flee,

But to the bowels whence I sprung ?

The Grapes rich blood I do not crave,

Waters cheap element will suffice ;

And tho' my tongue thirsts for a wave,

For one poor drop it only cries.

By Lazarus moist'ned finger may 3 ou please

To give my scorched tongue one moment ease.

I dwell in flames, and flames in me do dwell;

0 for a drop from heaven to sweeten hell.

Mark how the wheel is tuin d, the time is come
He begs a drop, who once deny'd a crumb.
Right thinking Judges then must need aprove,
The tart and equal answer from above.

Abraham's A?isicer.

Art thou forlorn of God and com'st to nle,
W^hat can I tell thee then but misery ?
Remember, son, the Heav'n, thy feet have trod.
Earth was thy Heav'n, and j^leasure was thy God.

DIVES AND LAZARUS. 21

Remember Lazarus had his hell below,

Thou wert the devil which did cause his woe ;

Now are his rags Heavn's robes with glorious

beams,
Thy purple, flames, thy junkets, sulph'rous

Streams.
Is he thy wish who was thy scorn before ?
Shall Lazarus now be welcome to thy door ?
And dost imagine some fair bridge to lie
Between the white and black eternity ?
No, there's a mighty gulf which rends in twain
The fiery region and the etherial plain.
We are too happy to be dispossest.
And you so cursed, you can ne'er be blest ;
We are so raised that we can never fall,
And you so sunk, you cannot raise at all.
Once Angels Vv^ent from heaven to hell ; but

first
The}^ blackened were to devils and accur'st;
Since those stafs fell, none of the heaven^ly host
Or did, or shall, visit the Infernal coast.
To 3'ou 'tis bitter; but to us 'tis sweet,
That We are parted, and must never meet :

22 DIVES AND LAZARUS.

Heav'n were not heav'n, if it near liell was

plac'd.
Nor hell were no hell, if it of heav'n might

taste.
Can our pure light with smoak and darkness

dwell,
The poles shall sooner meet than heaven and

hell.
Though speech avails not, racking misery
Extorts from him another fruitless cry.

Dives Ms Second Petition ,

If such an envious gulpli there be,
Yet father, lend an ear to me,
From earth to heaven away is paved :
How else came Lazarus to be saved ?
Let me so small a boon entreat.
That Lazarus may his steps repeat.
And that he may embody' d go,
And tell the stones of my w^oe
To my five bretheren who all dwell within
My fathers house (Oh 1 liad we nevef beenj
Brethern in bond of natui'e and of sin.)

DIVES AND LAZARUS. 23

0 let him tell them that there is a God,
Whose sceptre is a sin-revenging rod ;
And let him tell them that p.dventurous drolls
Shall find unto their cost that they have souls.
Mine stuck i' th' scabbard till its angry Lord
Unsheathed it, and proved a flaming sword.
That limbeck, death, draws spirits from our Clay
To the element of souls they haste away ;
And let him tell them that the Sadducee
Shall be hell's convert, and recant with me ;
Whilst they lie sleeping on the brink of hell.
The smoak they see not, nor the brimstone

smell ;
There they'll disport themselves with golden

Dreams,
Till they betray 'em to these burning streams ;
But let him scare them with an hollow sound,
That they [like Lot] may flee the curs' d ground,
0 send him quickly ; lest they tumble in,
And prove the flaming records of my sin :
Can I no water get at my desire ?
Yet, 0 ! no more, no more new flakes of fire.

This Abraham lieard with unrelenting ears ;
No Pity's due to hell-hounds cries and tears.

24 DIVES AND LAZARUS.

Abraham 7ds Answer.

Once lieav'n bow'd down and touched tli'

Arabian hill,
And gave a sample of the sacred will
To Mose's hands that chosen man of God,
Copies were taken, and dispers'd abroad.
So his kind arms abroad the river flings.
So the free sun extends his fruitful wdngs ;
As this most sacred light itself displays,
And gilds the tents of Jacob wdth its rays.
For saints to come from God there is no cause,
Himself came down, and did promulge his laws
Need Lazarus take a Journey from the sky.
When wisdom at your bretherns gates doth cry,
Let them hear Moses, read by their divines
I'th' synagogue, to which their house adjoins;
And let them hear the reverend prophets next.
Those wond'ro.is commentators on the text.

Dives 7ds Bepltj,

M()SES ['tis true] was an unerring guide.
So were those Sixteen prophets on his Side ?
This I as much believe as if I saw
The flam'ng mount and heard the firoy law%

DIVES AND LAZARUS. 25

When every word was accented with thunder,
AVhicli rent those oaks the Jewish hearts

asunder :
'Tis here as necessary to believe,
As it is natural to feel and grieve.
I that am now a proof of sacred writ :
Do argue backwards with my after wit.
Hell in the threatnings tho' I did not see,
The threatnings are in Hell made plain to me,
I skowl'd upon the Heavens when they did

low^re
The Clouds I fear'd not, but I feel the Shower.
Nothing will move my brethren but a Sign^
Experience is the powerfullest divine ;
Faith is the child of sense whereas report
Is entertain'd with Blasphemy or Sport :
They have a Sword to cut the Gordian Knot
Moses scdtJi many things, hut proves them not.
And tho' they hear substantial proofs there bo,
Nothing is proof to them but what they see.
Had they an emissary from above.
The very sight a future state would prove ;
Might he but tell them of your heavenly strand
They'd all turn pilgrims for that holy land :

2G DIYES AND LAZARUS.

Or might he preach the torments which I feel
His word would wound like burning gads of Steel ;
His word would tear down all, like thund'ring

Guns,
Beyond the faint attemps of Levi's sons.
0 were I of this cursed chain releas'd !
[With that he gnash'd his teeth, and knock'd

his breast :]
Might I be to the earth a Preacher sent,
I'd burn up sin like stubble where I went ;
I'd smoke away their lusts and flattering lyes.
Or forth I'd drive them with my glaring eyes.
I'd blow a trumpet which should rend the

Ground,
Their trembling heart-strings should in consort

sound :
I'd teach the faithless Saducees their creed,
And make the Pharisees to pray indeed ;
I'd tell the Ranters such a doleful tale,
That they should mourn as in Megiddo's vale ;
I'd unbe witch the sots and slaves of sin,
That such a reformation should begin,
As in Josiah's time did not befall.
And the next age should canonize them all.

DIVES AND LAZARUS. 27

Abraham's Rejoinder.

A PREACHING apparition would confound
Heaven-daring Giants Vv^itli its dreadful sound ;
None quake so soon as they who heaven do dare
Who fear not God, the greatest cowards are :
But where the coast once clear, the shake once

o'er,
The lees would settle as they did before.

It was a walking dream they would conclude

A Juggle which our senses did delude,

Or did we something see? and something

hear ?
Yet whence it came it doth not yet appear.
Nay, they would gravely reason out the case,
" What We can grasp we gladly will embrace,
" The rest ^Ve leave : to them let children hark
^' And fright themselves with fancies in the dark
*' What is a spirit? what's infinity?
^' What does the word [eternal] signify?"
Charmed are their souls with this oration made
And now their fear shall vanish like the shade.
Thus fools [tho' pounded] will not lose a grain.
And frozen snakes, when thaw'd will hiss again.

28 DIVES AND LAZARUS.

Come now tliou that pretend'st to act the man,
Something there needs must be wliich ne'er

began ;
If all were nothing once, so 'twould be now,
A number from bare cyphers could not grow.
Athing's a barren womb : if that could breed.
To be, and not to be were well agreed.
One point is gain d that something ever was :
This hard Avord ever you must let it pass.
Know'st thou how f(ir this ever doth extend ?
You must grant what you cannot comprehend
But what was ever ? this imj)erial robe
Suits not the azur nor the verdant glebe.
One is a turning wheel that spins out Time,
The other Pools with Spots of harden'd Slime.
Now mark the Kinds of each, and you shall find
Unto their proper Spheres they are con fin' d.
Hereby is their Original confest,
There's but a partial goodness in the best.
This is the Voice of their Infirmity,
' Meer heggars and Derivatives are los.'
What's of itself that doth itself suffice,
'Tis from our Creatureship our wants arise,

DIVES AND LAZARUS. 29

What of itself, that in itself is blest,

'Tis its own Center and a perfect Rest;

Rich is that Being whence all Beings are,

And whence each Being hath its proper Share,

Nor is't a wonder of so high Degree,

To make to be, as of itself to be ;

Something then ever was, whicli needs must

be.
From all the shades of imperfections free.
Hence are we ; and to think, in vain we are.
Is to condemn his wisdom at our Bar.
As men the badge of their dependence wear
On their frail flesh, (the grave's probationer,)
And on their hearts, whose restless motions

show
Something thej walit, which is not here below ;
So must they own whom they are forced to

know
And pay themselves to whom themselves they

owe.
Neither would this Light of Comfort dim.
But they should serve themselves in serving

him.

30 DIVES AND LAZARUS.

When Graves uphraid jyroud Gravestones vnth

their Lyes,
God's Servant is a Title never dies.
The thoughts in man do prove his Soul to be,
His conscience bodes liis Immortality.
This bosom Magistrate his facts espies,
And binds him over to tlie last assize.
He trembles at his summons to appear ;
His fear makes not a God, God makes liis fear,
Religion by corroding, doth assay
Even thro' an heart of rock to force its way,
0 might he to himself be so sincere,
To strive to please whom he's constrain'd to

fear!
Yet will he be a vagrant all his days.
Without a method to direct his ways.
What eye ef'e pierc'd th' Almighty's sacred

breast ?
Himself know^s only What will please him best.
Since man was made to serve his Maker's will.
Which is an height transcending human skill ;
A rule must needs be granted from on high
For him to regulate his actions by.

DIVES AND LAZARUS. 31

This Heaveii-sprimg rule that sacred-roll con-
tains,
Which in the consecrated Land remains,
Its words and mysteries are all Divine,
And weighty mountains hang on every line ;
It (Sun like) shines hy its own golden beams,
And scorns its base Co-rival senseless Dreams.
Those Spangles which the Heathen Sages left,
Were from this Mine snatch'd by an honest

Theft,
Give me that hardy Brow that dares deny
The Bible's well attested History.
Moses said many things, and prov'd them too,
With proofs, which all hell's magic did outdo.
God's power he carried in his hands to show
That from his mouth the truths of God did

flow ;
And his credentials on his face did shine,
Which there were written by a beam divine.
The gazing jews were struck who plainly saw,
That whence he had his light, he had his law

Those sections which the sacred code begin
Where by an age of wonders usher'd in.

32 DIVES AXD LAZARUS.

The Prophets superstructure firmly stands
On two hewn stones laid hy th' Almiglity's

hands.
They count the footsteps of their coming Lord
They view the mercy seat with one accord.
One tells his name, another tells his plaoa
Another rites the beauties of his face.
Thus as he glanced at by their piercing eyes,
The last of them is harbinger espies.
And 0 the brisk the charming Airs that spring
From the consent of each harmonious string !
He's overwise who dreads fictitious lines
From hands unbrib'd, and hearts without de-
signs.
They wrote beyond themselves, which serves

to prove,
Their hearts and hands were guided from above.
The world's just age, and what was done of Old,
Are in the sacred register enroll' d.
Here may be seen the pristine state of man,
And, [that nile's head] the source where Ills

began.
Here may be seen what makes a second sprhig
Here is the best account of every tiling.

DIVES AND LAZARUS. 33

The wonders witness now by mortal eyes.
Are but the products of its prophesies.

The Scriptures rule tlie world : till this shall

burn,
All ages on the axle-tree shall turn.

This heaven inspired volume doth avow,
What reason may embrace or m.ust alow.
When God describes himself, 'tis such an Height,
As far surmounts quick fancy's highest flight.
'Tis reason, reason should be puzzled here
Man should be God, if he knew what he were.
To these vast heights thus sober reason saith,
I see the seals and yield the chair to faith.
Now the Almighty's word shall vermin slight.
When Heaven and earth bear witness to his

Might?
Vast numbers from his word did flow,
And must his word pass for a cypher now ?
Naj^, his commands at first creations were.
And now his word commands and gives an ear
It is a sun that gives both light and eyes,
A voice that bids, and makes the dead arise

34 DIVES AND LAZARUS.

It makes cloud.s, stars, and sends them to the

Sky,
And turneth lieaven into a colony.
Unbelief is not reason, Ijut a lust ;
God's hand and sword give it its mortal thrust.
The Law of the two Tables will prevail,
When other (self-invented) Means shall fail.
Whilst other Archers level in the Dark,
The arrows from God's Quiver hit the mark.
What Voices or what Visions, would you have ?
God's Voice (or nothing') wall your Brethern

save.
New Methods of Salvation to contrive,
Is fruitless Labour ; let 'em hear and live :
But if they won't, their 'Mittimus is sealed ;
A stubborn Patient never can be heal'd.

If Preachers rais\l hy God tlieij mil disdain,
Preachers rais'd from the Grave would preach in
vain.

FINIS.

TRUE WISDOM.

In" this progressive age (as the world terms it) we fail
to understand or realize that the wonderful accomplish-
ments of the present day are the legitimate productions
of toiling millions through centuries of time's undevas-
tating flight. Ench succeeding generation and in-
dividual, from Adam to the present age, have contributed
their spaa of toil and experience to the grand attain-
ments of the nineteenth century. The menial appren-
ticeship and alphabet of letters and figures are the
legitimate rudimentary principles from •which the
mechanic and scholar attained to distinction, honor and
fame. The sturdy, towering majestic oak of the forest
had its humble origin in the apparently worthless and
simple acorn; all nature and experience ever teaching
the faithful yet unobserved lessons of elemerit;iry prin-
ciple, system, and progressive growth.

How v/ide the contrast in the progress of science and
religion. The population of the v/orld is supposed to
be over tvrelve hundred millions, and their religions
have been approximated as follovi's:

Christians, . - . - 353,000,000
lUuldhists, - - - - 183,000,000

Brahmmists, ^ - - - 1)20,000,000
Mohammedans, - - - 120,000,000

Parsees, « ~ - - - 1,000,000

Jews, . . > . 8,000,000

Miscellaneous, Fetish v/orshipere.
Atheists, etc., - - - 189,000,000

36 TRUE WISDOM.

A glanc3 lit the above statistics sIioav that only a little
more than one-fourth of the Avorld's population are
nominal Christians; and, without attempting; to pull
the mote out of the eyes of three-fourths of the world
with the fingers of one-fourth, let us endeavor to see
what we have within tlie pale of the professing
Christian denomination of the earth. Outside of the
Roman Catholic, Eastern, or Oriental Churches, there
are more than fifty different Protestant churcli organiza-
tions and new sects and denominations still coming-
in to existenc?, as thongh religion was a matter of inven-
tion or discovery. ]5ehold their different doctrines of
faith and forms of worship, each party claiming to be
in the narrov/ path, and all manifesting their belligerent
attitudes, bickerings, jealousies and animosities. Try
to comprehend the means employed and the results
accomplisheJ, and no thoughtful mind xfiU be surprised
or dismayed at the indifference, unbelief and infidelity
in the evening of the nineteenth century.

Jo^j xxviii: 20, 28. — Whence, tlien, cometh wisJom,
and where is the place of understanding, seeing it is hid
from the eyes of all living and kept close from the
fowls of the air? Destruction and death say, we have
heard the fame thereof with our ears. God under-
standeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the way
thereof; for He looketh to the ends of the earth, and
seeth under the whole heaven, to make the weight for
the winds; and He weigheth the waters by measure,
when He made a decree for the rain, and a way for the
lightning of the thunder. Then did He sec it, and
declare it; He prepared it; yea, and searched it out.
And unto man He said: Behold, the fear of the Lord—

TRUE WISDOM. 37

that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is under-
standing.

We have evidently commenced at the wrong end of
the Avork, and have undertaken conic sections, calculus
and astronomy in spiritual matters before we learned
the alphabet of true wisdom.

King Solomon, the greatest in wisdom, wealth and
influence, possessing all the powers of tlie world (for
which the nations of the earth are still toiling, sweating
and panting), after searching out, experimentiug and
testing to his full satisfaction, makes a free and full con-
fession (in the Book of Ecclesiasticus), saying all is
vanity and vexation of spirit.

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter — fear
God and keep His commandments ; for this is the Avhole
dnty of man.

lias it ever occurred to jour mind that in all of that
wonderful book the Bible, the book of books (containing
the v,'ritings and experiences of the Propliets, Priests,
Kings and Evangelists), that the Ten Commandments
are the only part of that most wonderful work that
God Almighty tlie Father wrote with His own finger in
tables of stone, came down from heaven, and, on the
beetling brow of a frowning Sinai, gave his orders and
directions to man^the alphabet of true zcisdom — a rule
and system to live by. And behold the instruction?,
warnings, threatenings and promises after the giving of
tlie law.

Dent, iv: 1, 2. — Now, therefore, hearken, 0 Israel^
unto the statutes and unto the judgments which I teach
you, for to do them, that yc may live, and go in and
possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers

38 TRUE WISDOM.

givetli voa. Ye shall not add unto the word which
I commmd yon, neither shall ye diminish aught from
it, that ye may keep the commandmcnfs cf the Lord
your God which I command you.

Leviticus xxvi: 3 to 5, 14, 16, 19, 20. — If ye walk in
my statutes, and keep my commandments^ and do them,
then I will give you rain in due season, and the land
shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall
yield their fruit; and your threshing shall reach unto
the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sov/ing
time; and yoa shall eat your bread to the full, and
dwell in your land safely; but if ye will not hearken
unto Me, and will not do all these commandmejits, I also
shall do this unto you : I will even appoint over you
terror, consumption, and the burning ague; that I v/ill
CDnsume the eyes, and ciiusc sorrow of heart ; and ye
shall sov/ your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat
it. And I will break the pride of your power, and I will
make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass; and
your strength shall be spsnt in vain, for your land shall
not yield her increase, neither sh;ill the trees of the land
yield their fruit?.

Psalms Ixxviii: 5 to 7. — For He established a testi-
mony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which He
commanded our fathers, that (I;ey should make them
known to their children ; that tlje g.-'ueration to come
might know them, even the children which should be
born, who should arise and declare them to their chil-
dren, that they might set their hope in God, and not
forget the v.'orks of God, but keep His comm:indmenls.

Deut, vi: 6 to 0.— And these words, wliicli I com-
mand thee this day, shall be in tliy heart. And thou

TRUE WISDOM. 39

slialt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt
talk of them Avhen thou sittest iu thine house, and. when
thou walkcst by the way, and when thou liest down,
and wliGu thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them
for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as front-
lets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them
upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

First Timotliij, iii: 5. — For if a man know not how
to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the
Church of God?

When parents become the preachers and teachers of
their own households and home circles, and the command-
ments, the golden text, the central subject of their teach-
ings, peace will dwell within their walls, and prosperity
within their pahxces; and Death, even Death! will be
realized as only the opening and closing of the ever-
lasting gates between the Beulah Land and the Celestial
City.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

FIRST TABLE.

Our Duty to God.

Exodus XX.

I. — Thou shall have no other gods before

me.

II. — Thou shalt not make unto thee any

graven image, or any likeness of any thing that
is in the heaven above, or that is in the earth
beneath, or that is in the water under the
eartli : Thou shalt not bow down thyself to
them, nor serve them : for I the Lord thy God
am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the
fathers ujDon the children unto the third and
fourth generation of them that hate me ; and
shewing mercy unto thousands of them that
love me and keep my commandments.

III. — Thou shalt not take the name of the
Lord thy God in vain ; for the Lord will not
hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.

THE TEN COM?JAKt)MENf§. 41

IV. — Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it
holy : Six days shalt thou labor, and do all
thy work : ■ But the seventh day is the Sab-
bath of the Lord thy God : in it thou shalt not
do any work, thou, thy man servant, nor thy
maid servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger
that is within thy gates : For in six days the
Lord made lieavea and earth, the sea, and all
that in them is, and rested on the Sabbath day ;
wherefore the Lord blessad the Sabbath day
and hallowed it.

SECOND TABLE.
Ol'r Duty to Our Fellow-Ma:^.

V. — Honor thy father and thy mother, that
thy days may be long upon the land the Lord
thy God giveth thee.

VI.— Thou shalt not kill.

VII. — Thou shalt not commit adultery.

VIII. — Thou shalt not steal.

IX. — Thou shalt not bear false witness
against thy neighbor.

42

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

X. — Tliou shalt not covet thy neighbor's
house : thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's
wife, nor his man servant, nor his maid servant,
nor his ox, nor liis ass. nor anything that is thy

neighbor's.

Since man was made to serve his Maker s will.
Which is an height transcending human skill ;
A rule must needs be granted from on high.
For him to regulate his actions by.