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given us a remarkable instance of the universal veneration which was paid by the ancient pagans at his altar, in the temple of Delos. Among other ceremonies, in the worship of this idol, it was customary to run round his altar, to strike it with a whip; and, with their hands or arms bound behind them, to bite the olive. For, of Delos, the poet says,

"Thee, ever honor'd isle, what vessel dares
Sail by regardless? 'Twere in vain to plead
Strong driving gales; or, stronger still than they,
Swift wing'd Necessity. Their swelling sails
Here mariners must furl; nor hence depart
Till round the altar, struck with many a blow,

The maze they tread; and, backward bent their arms,
The sacred olive bite."

Hymn to Delos, v. 433.

The former part of this ceremony plainly alludes to singing and dancing round the altar;-the latter part seems to accord with what is said of Baal, in 1 Kings xviii. 26—28, where we read of the priests of Baal, who leaped upon the altar they had made:—which the Septuagint renders "run round; and they cried aloud, and cut themselves, after their manner, with knives and lances, till the blood gushed out upon them." This running round the altar, signified, the annual rotation of the earth round the sun, striking with a whip the altar, cutting themselves with knives and lances, and crying aloud to their Deity, were symbolical actions denoting their desire, that he would shew forth his power upon all nature in general, and that sacrifice, in particular, then before him. Having thus surrounded the altar of Apollo; and, by these actions, declared their belief in his universal power, they used to bend their own arms VOL. III.

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behind them, and so take the sacred olive into their mouths; thereby declaring, that not from their own arm or power, which was bound, but from his, whose altar they surrounded, they expected to obtain that peace, whereof the olive was always a symbol.*

These are some evident allusions to these abominable idolatrous practices in the Old Testament; and the Jews are severely reprimanded by the prophets, for following such absurd and wicked ceremonies. “Thus, saith the Lord, concerning the prophets, that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace."t And respecting Ashdod, the prophet says, "I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abomination from between his teeth."

REFLECTIONS.

The value of Divine revelation may, in some measure, be ascertained, by the discoveries it makes of the perfections of God; and the instructions it affords us, with regard to his worship. How deplorable is the ignorance of man in his natural state! How absolutely necessary is supernatural influence, to guide us into all truth! Let us continually pray for grace, that we "may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear;” and while we pity the blindness which cherishes superstition and idolatry, endeavor, by every means in our power, to disseminate the knowledge of Christ crucified. † Micah iii. 5. + Zechariah ix. 7.

Genesis viii 11.

And when the king came in to see the guests, &c. Matt. xxii. 11.

THE Persians, "in circumstances of grief or joy, visit each other with great attention; which is a tribute of duty always expected from persons of inferior condition, especially if they are dependant. The guests are ushered into a large room, and served with coffee and tobacco. After some time, the master of the house enters; and his visitors, rising to receive him, continue standing till he has passed through the whole company and paid his respects to each: he then takes his seat, and, by signs, permits them to be also seated."* In the parable now referred to, the circumstances of which may be reasonably supposed conformable to existing customs, it is evidently implied, That the guests were collected together previous to the appearance of the king, who came in to see the guests. So also in Luke xiv. 10, in a similar parable, it is said, "When thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room, that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher." This unquestionably confirms the application of the Persian ceremony to the parable first cited. It may just be further observed, that in the lastmentioned passage, it seems as if it had been the prevailing practice of the master of the house "to pass through the guests, and pay his respects to each of them," as was certainly the case in Persia.

* Goldsmith's Geography, p. 216.

And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Luke xvi. 21.

THE table was not anciently covered with linen, but was carefully cleansed with wet sponges.

"The seats with purple cloth in order due,
And let th' abstersive sponge the board renew.”

Pope's Homer. Odyss. Book ii.v. 189.

So also Martial:

Haec tibi sorte datur, tergendis spongia mensis.

They made no use of napkins to wipe their hands; but did so with the soft and fine part of the bread, which they called απομαγδαλια. “This they afterwards threw to the dogs." This custom is again mentioned by Homer, Odyss. Book ii.

Ως δ' όταν αμφι ανακία κυνες δαιτηθεν ιον, &c.

"As from some feast a man returning late,
His faithful dogs all meet him at the gate,
Rejoicing round, some morsel to receive,
Such as the good were ever wont to give."

Hence we clearly understand what were "the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table;" and perceive the force of the words of the woman of Canaan, "The dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table."

* Matt. xv. 27. See also Mark vii. 28.

EXPLANATION OF 1 PETER, iii. 19, 20.

In the interpretation of Scripture, particular attention should be paid to what is usually termed the Analogy of Faith. One doubtful passage should not be explained so as to contradict the plain sense of another. Through the want of due regard to this rule, erroneous principles are frequently deduced from the word of truth. The apostle Peter's expression, referred unto at the head of these remarks, has been thus perverted Speaking of Christ, he had said, that he was "put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:” and then he adds, "By which also, he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited, in the days of Noah, while the ark was preparing."

From this passage the Papists infer the descent of Christ's human soul, immediately after his crucifixion, into hell, or the place of the damned. Some of the ancient fathers entertained this opinion. What is styled the Apostles' Creed, seems to countenance the idea. But the ancient fathers were fallible men; and the Creed, called the Apostles', was not composed by the Apostles themselves. Neither the one nor the other, therefore, has proper authority to determine our judgments on this particular. There is indeed a passage in the Psalms, in which David, personating the Messiah, says, "Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell.”* But the term hell there, does not, in the original, signify the place of the damned; but the invisible, or separate

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