EZER, which means that he wished to acknowledge in the fullest way he could, that he had gained that advantage, not by his own might or wisdom, but by the help of God. (1 Sam. vii. 12.) "The apostle Paul, referring to the law, as written by the finger of God on tables of stone, tells us, that these divine precepts are written by the Holy Spirit of God on the heart of every real Christian. (2 Cor. iii. 3.) It should be the subject of our constant supplications that they may be thus be thus engraven. Each one should say, 'Write all these thy laws on our hearts, O Lord, we humbly beseech thee!' "In very early periods, we read of records on lead. (Job. xix. 24.) Inscriptions are also found on many of the bricks which are still picked up where Babylon once stood. The Romans preserved their laws and records on tablets of brass. (1 Macc. viii. 22; xiv. 18.) "It appears from the Scriptures, that the prophets sometimes wrote upon tables of wood." (Isa. xxx. 8; Heb. ii. 2; Luke, i. 63.) "But when did they first make paper?" "That is uncertain, Harry. We know that it was first composed of the papyrus, the celebrated rush of the Nile, from whence it derives its name. There was, however, a manufactory of paper at Memphis, at least three hundred years before the time of Alexander. The Romans, in after ages, made it perfectly white and smooth." "What an useful rush the papyrus must have been !" "It was. It not only supplied the Egyptians with paper, but they procured a sort of sugar from its juice; the harder parts of the plant were made into cups, and ribs of boats; the softer parts were formed into ropes, sails, cloth, shoes, strings, and wicks for lamps. The Egyptian reeds were also generally used for pens." What an useful invention paper was?" "It was indeed; a work of any size written on bark, or on boards, spread over with wax, must have been very inconvenient." 66 Why, father, it would have filled a waggon!" 66 Well, I suppose it would. But for ages the papyrus furnished the world with paper; and near the close of the eleventh century, paper began to be made with linen rags." "The book that our Lord unrolled must have been in writing?" |