the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.' 8. And Cain talked with Abel his brother and it came to pass when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. 9. "And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother?' And he said, 'I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?' 10. And he said, 'What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. 11. and now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand. 12. When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength: A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.' And Cain said unto the Lord, 'My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me."

13.

Additional Examples.-Jephthah's Vow, Judges xi. 2-40; the Curse of Jotham, Judges ix.; the Death of Eli, 1 Sam. iv. 1—18; the Rejection of Saul, 1 Sam. xv.; David's Encounter with Goliah, 1 Sam. xvii. 1—54; the Reign of Josiah, 2 Kings, xxiii. 1—30; the Raising of Lazarus, Gospel of John, xi. 1—44.

EXAMPLES IN ELEVATED STYLE.

Narration, when characterized by sublimity, or by marked elevation, requires a deeper, fuller, slower, more forcible and impressive manner, than that which is exemplified in the preceding passages..

The common fault in the reading of such parts of Scripture, consists in the absence of an impressive and commanding effect of voice, correspondent to the peculiar character of the subject. The mode of utterance, in such passages as the following, should not only be deep-toned and energetic, but warm and glowing. Fervor is a prom

inent element in the expression of sublimity and grandeur.

While the voice, however, is rendered full and resonant, in the reading of the loftier and bolder portions of Scripture narrative, correct taste and chastened judgment alike forbid all rhetorical display and inflation of manner, as utterly inconsistent with the genuine utterance of the language of the sacred records. The voice, though glowing with emotion, is, in such circumstances, to be subdued to the mood of reverence and hallowed association. No true heart can tolerate the idea of using the word of God as a theatre for the exhibition of vocal effect and artistic accomplishment.

While the reader shrinks, however, from such results, he can derive from this just repugnance to desecration no plea for the cold, lifeless, and heartless style of mechanical reading, which is so prevalent in the pulpit, and which effectually paralyzes the power of the Bible over the human heart.

Creation. Gen. i. and ii. 1.

V. 1. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3. And God said, 'Let there be light:' and there was light. 4. And God saw the light that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night: and the evening and the morning were the first day.

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6. And God said, 'Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.' 7. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8. And God called the firmament Heaven: and the evening and the morning were the second day.

9. "And God said, 'Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear:' and it was so. 10. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas and God saw that it was good. 11. And God said, 'Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit-tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth:' and it was so. 12. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 13. And the evening and the morning were the third day.

14. "And God said, 'Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years. 15. And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven, to give light upon the earth:' and it was so. 16. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18. and to rule over the day, and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 19. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

20. "And God said, 'Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the carth, in the open firmament of heaven.' 21. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind and God saw that it was good. 22. And God blessed them, saying, 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.' 23. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. 24. And God said, 'Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and

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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 them, 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 ef fect; 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.