3. Raphael Robani. 4. Capet, a citizen. Jesus shall go out of the city of Jerusalem by the gate of The foregoing is engraved on a copper plate, on the reverse of which is written, "A similar plate is sent to each tribe." It was found in an antique marble vase, while excavating in the ancient city of Aquilla, in the kingdom of Naples, in the year 1810, and was discovered by the Commissioners of Arts of the French army. At the expedition of Naples, it was enclosed in a box of ebony and preserved in the sacristy of the Carthusians. The French translation was made by the Commissioners of Arts. The original is in the Hebrew language. ANTICIPATORY USE OF THE CROSS. Madame Calderon de la Barca, in her Life in Mexico (pub. 1843), says that the symbol of the Cross was known to the Indians before the arrival of Cortez. In the island of Cozumel, near Yucatan, there were several; and in Yucatan* itself there was a stone cross. And there an Indian, considered a prophet among his countrymen, had declared that a nation bearing the same as a symbol should arrive from a distant country. More extraordinary still was a temple dedicated to the Holy Cross by the Toltec nation in the city of Cholula. Near Tulansingo there is also a cross engraved on a rock with various characters. In Oajaca there was a cross which the Indians from time immemorial had been accustomed to consider as a divine symbol. By order of Bishop Cervantes it was placed in a chapel in the cathedral. Information concerning its discovery, together with a small cup, cut out of its wood, was sent to Rome to Paul V., who received it on his knees, singing the hymn Vexilla regis, etc. See also Prescott's Conquest of Mexico, Vol. I. Bk. II. Chap. 4; and Stephens' Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, Vol. II. Chap. 20. The Lord's Prayer. The Lord's Prayer alone is an evidence of the truth of Christianity,—so admirably is that prayer accommodated to all our wants.-LORD WELLINGTON. THY AND US. The two divisions of the Lord's Prayer-the former relating to the glory of God, the latter to the wants of man-appear very evident on a slight transposition of the personal pronouns:— Thy name be hallowed. Thy kingdom come. Us give this day our daily bread. Us forgive our debts, &c. Us lead not into temptation. Us deliver from evil. SPIRIT OF THE LORD'S PRAYER. The spirit of the Lord's Prayer is beautiful. This form of petition breathes:— A filial spirit-Father. A catholic spirit-Our Father. A reverential spirit-Hallowed be Thy name. A missionary spirit-Thy kingdom come. An obedient spirit-Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. A dependent spirit-Give us this day our daily bread. A forgiving spirit-And forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors. A cautious spirit-And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. A confidential and adoring spirit-For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. GOTHIC VERSION. Ulphilas, who lived between the years 310 and 388, was bishop of the Western Goths, and translated the greater part of the Scriptures into the Gothic language. The following is his rendering of the Lord's Prayer: Atta unsar thu in himinam. Weihnai namo thein. Quimai thiudinassus sijaima, swaswe jah weis afletam thaim skulam unsaraim. Jah ni briggais uns in fraistubujai. Ak lausei uns af thamma ubilin, unte theina ist thiudangardi, jah maths, jah wulthus in aiwins. Amen. METRICAL VERSIONS. Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name; Thy kingdom come: thy will be done the same For kingdom, power, and glory must remain Here the sixty-six words of the original, according to the authorized translation of St. Matthew's version, are reduced to fifty-nine, though the latter is fully implied in all points except two. "This day" is omitted; but, if anything, the Greek is slightly approached, for tobotov refers rather to to-morrow than to to-day. The antithesis in "But deliver us" does not appear: if the word deliver be sacrificed, we may read, “But keep us safe." The subjoined metrical version of the Prayer is at least two and a half centuries old, and was written for adaptation to music in public worship: Our Father which in heaven art, All hallowed be thy name; Thy kingdom come, On earth thy will be done, Even as the same in heaven is. Give us, O Lord, our daily bread this day: As we forgive our debtors, So forgive our debts, we pray. Into temptation lead us not, From evil make us free: The kingdom, power, and glory thine, Both now and ever be. The Prayer is commended for its authorship, its efficacy, its perfection, the order of its parts, its brevity, and its necessity. The following paraphrase, which has been set to music as a duett, is of more recent origin :— Our Heavenly Father, hear our prayer: Give this day's bread, that we may live; Help us temptation to withstand; Now and forever, unto Thee, The kingdom, power, and glory be. Amen. Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.-Acts xxxi. 14. 1. Towards us, without resistance. Give us this day our daily bread. 1. Of necessity, for our bodies. 1 Samuel iii. 18. Proverbs xxx. 8. And forgive us our trespasses.-Psalm xxv. 11. 1. Against the commands of thy law. 1 John iii. 4. 1 Timothy i. 13. -Matthew vi. 15. As we forgive them that trespass against us.— 1. By defaming our characters. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from 1. Of overwhelming afflictions. 2. Of worldly enticements. 3. Of Satan's devices. 4. Of error's seduction. 5. Of sinful affections. Matthew v. 11. Acts vii. 60. evil.—Matthew xxvi. 41. 1 John ii. 16. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.—Jude 25. 1. Thy kingdom governs all. Amen.-Ephesians i. 11. 1. As it is in thy purposes. 1. So shall it be to thy praise. Psalm ciii. 19. Isaiah xiv. 27. 2 Corinthians i. 20. Reveiation xxii. 20. Revelation xix. 4. ACROSTICAL PARAPHRASE. OUR Lord and King, Who reign'st enthroned on high, FATHER of Light! mysterious Deity! WHO art the great I AM, the last, the first, ART righteous, holy, merciful, and just. In realms of glory, scenes where angels sing, HEAVEN is the dwelling-place of God our King. HALLOWED Thy name, which doth all names transcend, Be Thou adored, our great Almighty Friend; THY glory shines beyond creation's bound; NAME us 'mong those Thy choicest gifts surround. THY kingdom towers beyond Thy starry skies; KINGDOM Satanic falls, but Thine shall rise. COME let Thine empire, O Thou Holy One, THY great and everlasting will be done. WILL God make known his will, his power display? Be it the work of mortals to obey. DONE is the great, the wondrous work of love; |