istry. Nor do we consider at this time the position in which prayer should be offered, whether by kneeling, or prostration, or standing. It is the substance of prayer and the form of its expression of which we write. There are two classes of prayers: those that are personal, in which the suppliant pours out his personal wants before the Lord in private, and those that are general, in which the one who prays is the representative of the assembly. The former may not be affected by the form, because they are the outpourings of the heart which opens its deepest longings to the ever-present God, whose compassion fails not and whose ear is ever open to his people's cry. Here with the simplicity of the child in the presence of a father form is forgotten, language is unthought of, the heart speaks "with groanings which cannot be uttered."

Public prayers, however, especially those of the minister in the pulpit, have a significance as to logical form and also as to substance. They regard the preacher before God as the representative of his people. The minister expresses here not so much his private petitions as the universal longings of the people committed to his care. In ritualistic churches, where the prayers are read, the prayers are before the eye of the preacher and people, and the repetition of the same prayers at every service, except on special occasions, for which formal prayers also are directed by the church, is not only expected but desired. The minister who employs extemporaneous prayer finds it difficult to preserve varieties of expression in harmony with the general form of his prayers. The repetition of the same prayers Sabbath after Sabbath is not regarded with favor when extemporaneous prayers are expected. Both these methods have their advantages, but the freedom of the latter, which enables the minister to pray for things in the thoughts and hearts of his people at the time, and which are often peculiar to them, gives the extemporaneous utterance a decided advantage.

A study of the prayers of the ministers of to-day reveals some interesting facts. There is a tendency to the use of topical prayers. The preacher has consciously or unconsciously selected a subject which he especially emphasizes before the Lord. It may be the Fatherhood of God, and he proceeds to weave around this idea the needs and aspirations of the congregation. The topic of his opening prayer may grow out of the subject of his discourse which is to follow, and thus his soul is filled with that particular aspect of his people's relation to God which absorbs his mind. This adds to the fervency of the appeal. This method of prayer combines unity with diversity and should not be discouraged.

Another method is the elaboration of particular subjects in the form of soliloquy, so that the minister becomes rapt in self-introspection, in which his thought goes out as if he were speaking to himself rather than to the Lord. It becomes an unconscious disquisition composed of argument and entreaty, without direct appeal, expressing rather the fervor

of the soul than the desire of the mind and heart. It may be considered the communion of the soul with God and inspires in those who join in the prayer, as well as in the one who prays, a profound spirit of devotion, a pouring out of the soul. Of course this prayer includes supplication as well, with the highest form of reverence.

The form of prayer, however, which best represents the model for the minister includes four things: adoration, gratitude, intercession, petition. The soul comes into the presence of its Lord with adoration of God's great glory and of his boundless goodness. The psalmist utters it when he says, "O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth." It is the opening of the soul before God in reverence and affection. It is the soul bowing in humble prostration at the feet of its Lord. This naturally would be followed by the expression of gratitude to God. The greatness and glory of God bring the soul to a consciousness of blessings received from him. The suppliant thinks of the manifold mercies of his God. This leads to an expression of his own needs and the needs of his people, and so the heart opens itself in appeal to the All-Father for those things which at that time express all the deepest aspirations of his people. These, however, may be molded by the other forms of prayer which have been suggested, and thus he will avoid stereotyped forms and at the same time furnish fitting variety. The preparation for this important part of the minister's Sabbath service must not be overlooked. It must be assumed that he is in the habit of prayer. He who prays much will pray best, both in matter and form. The gift of prayer grows with its exercise. Whoever is often on his knees before God will get language and thought and form well-nigh unconsciously. Further, ministers should study frequently the great prayers of God's people. The prayers of the Scriptures are worthy of analysis and study. There is the great prayer of Solomon at the dedication of the temple, and other prayers scattered throughout God's Word. The minister should also avail himself of the books on prayer. He should further become acquainted with the prayers of the ancient Church, which are rich in suggestiveness. Their language and form should enter into his mind and become a part of his life. The late Rev. Daniel P. Kidder, D.D., prepared a book entitled Helps to Prayer, which had an extended circulation and is well worthy of a place in the minister's library. Other books might be mentioned but this will suffice. The purpose of this paper will be answered if the young preacher will learn how important is the subject of prayer in the Christian service, and how necessary is the preparation of the heart and mind for this holy communion with God in behalf of his people.

31

ARCHEOLOGY AND BIBLICAL RESEARCH

THE PRINCETON EXPEDITION TO SYRIA.

THE attention of our readers has been called already to the excellent work done by the American Archæological expedition to Syria in 18991900. So satisfied were the promoters of that expedition with its success that four years later a second one was sent out, this time, however, under the direct auspices of Princeton University. Fortunately two of the three gentlemen at the head of both enterprises were the same, thus the danger of duplicating the work was reduced to a minimum. As much of the ground had already been covered by the first expedition the second one was enabled to devote careful study to the more important places, where further information was desirable, as well as to minor sites, which for lack of time, or otherwise, had not received proper attention at the hand of the former expedition.

A preliminary report of the work done has been published by Mr. Howard Crosby Butler and Dr. Enno Littmann, members of the expedition, in a recent number of the American Journal of Archæology. The report is full, instructive and interesting, a sufficient guarantee that when the work of the Princeton expedition, with its photographs, maps, plans, drawings and inscriptions, is published in full, as it is to be, much information regarding central Syria and its antiquities will be given to the student of ancient history and archæology. From this preliminary report we gather that scientific exploration was done not only in places already explored, but also in several important places hitherto comparatively unknown. Old ruins were carefully measured and photographed. Thousands of inscriptions in several languages were carefully copied, squeezes of a goodly number were secured. Plaster casts of the latter have been prepared, so that they may be thoroughly studied and examined at leisure.

The expedition started from Jerusalem in October, 1904, crossed the Jordan, with Bosra as its objective point, where many new and interesting discoveries were made. On the way to this old Idumæan capital a halt was made at three points of importance: 'Arâk-il-Emîr, 'Amman, and Djerash. Notwithstanding the fact that the first of these three places has the extensive ruins known as the palace of Hyrcanus, "which vies with Ba'albek in the colossal dimensions of the blocks of stone used in its construction," yet but one single inscription was found here. We refer to the one in the Hebrew language known to students of Syrian archæology for some time: It reads . It is, indeed, a matter of regret that Palestine and Syria are so poor in Hebrew inscriptions. Nothing of great importance was brought to light at either 'Amman or Djerash, though several ruins in

the former were photographed and measured. Fourteen days were allotted to Bosra, thus ample time was given for a thorough study of this old city; though Bosra has at various times yielded a great number of inscriptions in several languages, nevertheless this expedition succeeded in finding quite a number of Bostrian inscriptions never before published. tion to these must be mentioned a considerable number of copper coins, "struck in Bosra, during the Nabataan and Roman periods."

In addi

The next place of importance visited by the expedition was Si, where a sojourn of ten days was made. It is to be regretted that the ruins at Si, like those of many an ancient site, are fast disappearing. The stones, with whatever inscriptions they may possess, are being constantly carted away for the construction of new buildings in the neighboring country and villages. Mr. Butler in calling attention to this fact says: "Great havoc has been made since 1900, a little more despoliation and the ruins at Sî will be wholly unintelligible." Having spent some little time at Tarba, the expedition proceeded south to Salchad, a place with its surrounding country abounding in important ruins which rewarded the exporers with not a few new inscriptions. Umm idj-Djimal, "the largest and best preserved of all the ancient cities in this region," must have been a very important place in the early centuries of our era; for though in ruins it still shows a very large castle, fifteen churches and a number of imposing edifices, public and private, all in a remarkable state of perfection. The style of domestic architecture, many of the houses being three or four stories high, with fancy plastering and stucco work, and having what might be termed "modern improvements," bears testimony to the elegance and advanced civilization of this old Idumean city. This is the more wonderful when we remember that it was a border town on the edge of the great desert. Here, too, photographs galore were taken, and no less than four hundred inscriptions, mostly in Greek, with a small sprinkling of Nabatean and Safaïtic, were copied.

As already stated the expedition did not limit its work to the larger sites exclusively, but traveled with wide-open eyes, not neglecting the country and smaller ruins around and between the important towns. Mr. Butler, summarizing the work in the Hauran up to March 1, 1904, says: "The results of some twenty weeks' work in this part of Syria include, (1) much valuable data for the completion of the general map of the country, and plans of two cities and two temple precincts; (2) copies of several hundred inscriptions in five languages; (3) measured plans with detailed drawings of fifteen temples, forty-four churches, four palaces, five baths, three monumental arches, four Roman fortresses, two bridges, seven mosques and a large number of tombs and private residences, with photographs of all." The expedition having finished its work in the Hauran and Ledja proceeded to Damascus, where a short rest was taken in the early part of March. As it was no part of their plan to make any investigation in this ancient capital, they went north to the basalt country between

Selemiyeh and Aleppo, where von Oppenheim and others had already done some successful work. Here twenty ruins were subjected to a careful study. Unfortunately for the archæologist and the collector of inscriptions this region is very fertile, consequently somewhat densely inhabited, which accounts for the scarcity of inscribed objects, because the old ruins have been torn down and demolished in order to secure materials for the erection of modern houses. Nevertheless above one hundred Greek inscriptions and quite a number of Syriac were discovered. Then again, we must take into consideration the unsubstantial character of the architecture in the Ala plateau in order to understand the desolation of its sites, which contrast very unfavorably with the magnificent ruins called Kasr Ibu Wardân-not a city, but three imposing structures, consisting of a beautiful domed church, a magnificent palace, and a large barrack, all three built of the same materials: brick of excellent quality, white limestone, basalt, and various colored marble. The portal of the palace bears the date 564 A.D. Similar style of architecture was found at il-Andarîn. This is especially true of the great barrack, which was almost an exact counterpart of that at Kasr Ibu Wardân. This place must have been a religious center, for no less than ten churches-one or two very large-are clearly distinguishable among the ruins. Another place explored was Kerrâtin, though not as large as il-Andarîn yet in a much better state of preservation. These ruins are characterized by a very large number of dated objects. No less than nineteen of the thirty-three Greek inscriptions are dated, the majority of them being of the fifth century of our era. The "earliest dated church yet discovered in Syria, if not the earliest church in the world, is at Fafirtîn; it is dated 372 A.D." Alas, what a complete devastation was visited upon the Christian churches of Syria by the Moslem hordes! And yet notwithstanding this devastation, as well as the ravages of time, it is remarkable how well preserved some of these venerable old ruins are, at least as far as the stonework is concerned. Many of the columns and arches are still intact. Of the fourteen chapels-that is, church buildings without interior arches-nine are in perfect condition but for their wooden roofs. At least four structures converted from heathen temples into Christian churches were found by this expedition in the plain of Sermedâ.

As the ruins explored represent different civilizations it is but natural that inscriptions should be found in several languages, and dating from different centuries. The languages represented are: Hebrew (one only), Greek, Latin, Syriac, Nabatæan, Safaïtic and Arabic. The last named language, of course, representing the latest ruins. By far the greater number of inscriptions found in the Hauran, examined and copied by this expedition, are in Greek; no less than 1,200 were found in this language. It is needless to add that a large proportion of these inscriptions in the several languages have been known and published before. As to their contents, they embrace a variety of subjects. A goodly number are epitaphs, or