beast of the earth after his kind:' and it was so. 25. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

26. "And God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.' 27. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28. And God blessed tliem, and God said unto them, ‘Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.'

29. "And God said, ' Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat:' and it was so. 31. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. CH. II. V. 1. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them."

Additional Examples. - The Flood, Gen. vii. 11—24, and viii. 1-22; Abraham's Vision, Gen. xv. 1—18; Jacob's Dream, Gen. xxviii. 10—22; the Mission of Moses, Exod. iii. 1–20; the Passage of the Red Sea, Exod. xiv. 5—31; Dedication of the Temple, 1 Kings viii. 1—63; the Day of Penticost, Acts ii.; Paul's Defence before Agrippa, Acts xxvi. 1—29.

DIDACTIC PASSAGES.

The peculiar mode of voice which characterizes appropriate didactic reading, in ordinary composition, as differing from that which belongs to narrative or descriptive style, holds good, also, in the reading of the Scriptures. Narration and description address themselves, in many instances, to feeling and imagination, for their chief effect; while didactic subjects are usually directed exclusively, or nearly so, to the reason and judgment, through the understanding.

Narrative and descriptive reading, accordingly, abound, comparatively, in vivid and varied tones, associated with the different moods of sympathy and emotion. Didactic reading holds a more steady, uniform, and regulated course of utterance, adapted to a clear, distinct conveyance of thought to the intellect. It depends less on empassioned variation of voice, and more on correct and exact articulation, — less on vivid tone and strong expression, more on true inflection, just emphasis, and appropriate pauses, as aids to the effect of clear apprehension and precise discrimination.

The common faults in the reading of didactic portions of Scripture, are a mechanical and inexpressive tone, the lifeless result of mere habit; a heavy, solemn, grandiose style, destitute of spirit and effect; a formal, sermonizing manner, utterly unsuited to the simple and vivid style of Scripture instruction; an over familiar, flippant utterance, which divests the language of the sacred volume of its dignity and authority, and its proper power over the soul.

The doctrinal parts of the Bible, require, in reading, a firm, energetic, spirited, authoritative, but quiet and steady voice; perfectly clear and distinct in enunciation, free from any dryness or formality, and breathing a tone of conscious dignity and power, blended with that of mildness, condescension, gentleness, and affectionate interest.

EXAMPLES IN ORAL AND PARABOLIC STYLE.

From the Sermon on the Mount. - Matthew VI.

V. 1. "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2. Therefore, when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do, in the synagogues, and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily, I say unto you, They have their reward. 3. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth; 4. That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret, himself shall reward thee openly.

5. “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are; for they love to pray standing in the synagogues, and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily, I say unto you, They have their thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet; and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

reward. 6. But

7. “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8. Be not ye therefore like unto them for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him. 9. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. 10. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. 11. Give us this day our daily dread. 12. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. 14. For, if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15. But, if ye forgive not men

their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

16. "Moreover, when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily, I say unto you, They have their reward. 17. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face; 18. That thou appear not unto men, to fast, but unto thy Father, which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

19. " Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. 21. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 22. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

24. "No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 25. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26. Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27. Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28. And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; 29. And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30. Wherefore, if God so clothe

the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31. Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, what shall we drink? or, wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32. (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. 34. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

Additional Examples. — The Parable of the Sower, Matthew xiii. 1-43; The Parable of the Talents, Matthew xxv. 14—46; Rebuke of Covetousness, Luke xii. 13—40; Regeneration, John iii. i—21; Parting Words of Jesus to his Disciples, John xiv.

EXAMPLES FROM THE EPISTLES.

Equality of Jew and Gentile.- Rom. III.

V. 1. "What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? 2. Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. 3. For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? 4. God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.' 5. But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man,) 6. God forbid for then how shall God judge the world? 7. For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner? 8. And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just. 9. What then?