uble intention in which Othello's suspicion tips with evil what
he says about Desdemona's hand; and she in innocence answers only the
innocent meaning of his words: "For 'twas that hand that gave away my
heart."

Not all Shakspere's great passages about the hand are tragic. Remember
the light play of words in "Romeo and Juliet" where the dialogue, flying
nimbly back and forth, weaves a pretty sonnet about the hand. And who
knows the hand, if not the lover?

The touch of the hand is in every chapter of the Bible. Why, you could
almost rewrite Exodus as the story of the hand. Everything is done by
the hand of the Lord and of Moses. The oppression of the Hebrews is
translated thus: "The hand of Pharaoh was heavy upon the Hebrews." Their
departure out of the land is told in these vivid words: "The Lord
brought the children of Israel out of the house of bondage with a strong
hand and a stretched-out arm." At the stretching out of the hand of
Moses the waters of the Red Sea part and stand all on a heap. When the
Lord lifts his hand in anger, thousands perish in the wilderness. Every
act, every decree in the history of Israel, as indeed in the history of
the human race, is sanctioned by the hand. Is it not used in the great
moments of swearing, blessing, cursing, smiting, agreeing, marrying,
building, destroying? Its sacredness is in the law that no sacrifice is
valid unless the sacrificer lay his hand upon the head of the victim.
The congregation lay their hands on the heads of those who are sentenced
to death. How terrible the dumb condemnation of their hands must be to
the condemned! When Moses builds the altar on Mount Sinai, he is
commanded to use no tool, but rear it with his own hands. Earth, sea,
sky, man, and all lower animals are holy unto the Lord because he has
formed them with his hand. When the Psalmist considers the heavens and
the earth, he exclaims: "What is man, O Lord, that thou art mindful of
him? For thou hast made him to have dominion over the works of thy
hands." The supplicating gesture of the hand always accompanies the
spoken prayer, and with clean hands goes the pure heart.

Christ comforted and blessed and healed and wrought many miracles with
his hands. He touched the eyes of the blind, and they were opened. When
Jairus sought him, overwhelmed with grief, Jesus went and laid his hands
on the ruler's daughter, and she awoke from the sleep of death to her
father's love. You also remember how he hea