Sivut kuvina
PDF
ePub

with vinegar, and a composition called the Charoseth, a thick pottage made of apples, nuts, almonds, figs, and honey, boiled in wine and vinegar, and sometimes made in the form of a brick, to remind them of their bondage in Egypt, also were upon the table. Helah then said again, "Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, who hast given us of the fruits of the earth." He then dipped some of the herbs in vinegar, and the rest did the same.

Jonathan and Simon ate the passover with the rest, and as it was customary for the children on this occasion to ask questions, and as indeed it was one principal design of the ceremony to instruct the children, Simon asked Selumiel why they ate this meal standing, instead of reclining in the usual way. Then Selumiel, as was the custom, and as Jehovah had commanded, related the whole history of the deliverance of Israel out of the house of bondage. He described the sufferings of their fathers under the cruel oppressions of the Egyptian task-masters; how the king of Egypt, alarmed at the increase of Israel, resolved to diminish the race by the cruel mur* Exodus xii. 26, 27

der of all the male children; how Jehovah interfered to raise up for Israel a deliverer in the very court of Pharaoh, causing Moses to be educated as one of the young princes in all the learning and wisdom of Egypt, and so qualified for the distinguished part he was to act. He then described the wonderful plagues which God inflicted by the hands of Moses on the Egyptians, particularly the dreadful scenes of the last evening of the Israelites' abode in Egypt, when the angel of the Lord passed through all the families of the Egyptians, and there was not a house in which there was not one dead. 66 But," said Selumiel (and here his voice, which had thus far been low and solemn, as became the description of these awful scenes, now rose to a note of exultation and praise), " Jehovah, in that night of wrath, passed by (pass-over) his people, and every house on which the blood was sprinkled, the destroying angel did not enter. To commemorate this mighty deliverance, was this feast appointed."

Here Selumiel, overcome by the power of his feelings, burst forth in the triumphant strains

of the hundred and fifth psalm, and the whole company joined in singing:

"He sent Moses, his servant;

Aaron, whom he had chosen:

They showed his signs among them,
Even wonders in the land of Ham;
He sent darkness, and made it dark;
They rebelled not against his word.
He turned their waters into blood,
He destroyed all their fish.

Their land brought forth frogs in abundance,

In the palaces of their kings;

He spake, and divers kinds of flies came,

Yea, lice in all their coasts;

He gave them hailstones for rain;
Fire ran along upon the ground;

He smote their vines and their fig-trees,

He brake the trees of their borders.
He spake, and the locusts came,
Caterpillars, without number;
They ate up the herbs of their land,

They devoured the fruits of their ground;
He smote all the first-born in their land,

The flower of all their strength.

He brought them forth with silver and gold;

There was no feeble person among their tribes.

Egypt was glad when they departed,

The fear of them fell upon them.

He spread a cloud for a covering,

A pillar of fire to give light by night."

While they were singing the last verses, the whole company were unconsciously wrought

i

up to a state of feeling of which no one but a Jew is capable. You cannot conceive the expression of proud exultation which rested on the countenances of most of the company. The remembrance of their proud distinction, as the people of JEHOVAH, whose were the fathers and the covenants; for whom Jehovah himself had made bare his arm, and brought them out of the house of bondage with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; and all the scenes of their wonderful history biuaght up fresh to their minds, produced an elevation and glow of feeling which cannot be described.

The company stood around the table, with shoes on their feet, loins girded, and staves in their hands, as if ready for instant departure. They consumed the lamb entirely, as though they were to quit their dwellings never to return. They brake not a bone of it, as this is the act of men who have time and leisure for their meal. They ate then the bitter herbs, and sung the 113th and 14th psalms. A second washing of hands now followed, and the cup was then blessed the second time and sent round. Here Selumiel

took from his bosom a parchment roll, bound up with great care, and loosing it, unrolled it and read these words:

"And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, 'Take, eat; this is my body.'. And he took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many, for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink of it new with you in my father's kingdom."

He closed the roll, and looking round upon the company, observed the feelings which the passage had inspired. Helah's face beamed with delight. Light had broken in upon his mind, as I have already told you. never kept a real passover before. had never felt as it did at that hour.

He had

His heart
Now he

beheld before him the type of a crucified Saviour. Now he felt that the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin, nor any of the rites of the Jewish faith make the comers thereunto perfect. He was now a

« EdellinenJatka »