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JACOB HODGES.
6.9
of education, and exhibited nothing inap¬
propriate or defective in the character ot
their petitions, Jacob was asked to pray.
Kneeling before us, he led our devotions
in a manner so appropriate, so solemn, so
tender, subdued and scriptural, that all
which preceded seemed cold, formal and
heartless. There was such apparent near¬
ness to God, such great familiarity with
the service of prayer, such breathing of
a heavenly spirit, that in following him
myself, I felt like treading on hallowed
ground. In this exercise beyond all others
he was most at home and happy. Indeed.
there was often a majesty of thought
in his prayers that gave a magnificent
richness to the drapery that clothed them,
till in listening to the glowing language
of his supplications, I have often been
reminded of the power of piety and the
Spirit of God as illustrated in the inspira¬
tion of truth, where the clearness and
sacredness of the subject forbid the use
of any other than the most appropriate
and impressive la iguage. He had learn-