Page:The Faith as Unfolded by Many Prophets.djvu/161

 the body; if impure, it can by no such means be sanctified.

Was it not commanded to the Hebrews to purify themselves before prayer?

It was: but the Jews did not know God so fully as it is given to men now to know him; and it was necessary for them to learn how to cleanse the soul, by first cleansing the body, and to adore God in some measure as an earthly sovereign, before they could understand how spiritual is his glory. When Christ came, the ancient forms were done away: he taught that meat may be eaten with unwashen hands if the heart be clean, and that the Father could no longer be worshiped more acceptably in the temple or on the sacred mountain than in the chamber or the field. Jesus himself prayed without regarding forms like these. He prayed when he stood beside the sepulchre of Lazarus, and when he stretched forth his hand to heal the sick, and when he broke bread, and when he went forth alone among the hills, and when he wandered on the sea shore. He prayed in spirit and in truth; — and thus do his true followers also pray.

It is told in our traditions, and also in the gospel of Barnabas, said Havilah, that