String of Pearls from an Old Casket

This 1860 religious anthology collects moral and devotional extracts from Rev. William Seeker's seventeenth-century sermon collection "The Non-Such Professor in his Meridian Splendor" (1660), edited by Rev. Richard Newton. The volume presents brief, aphoristic meditations organized thematically—including Christian Characteristics, Sin, Liberality, Humility, Hypocrisy, Forgiveness, Prayer, and Love. Seeker emphasizes spiritual transformation through Christ, contrasting carnal and Christian existence, and stresses that genuine belief manifests in righteous conduct rather than mere profession. The text employs elaborate metaphors (crystal rivers, cedars, roses) to explore Christian virtue, hypocrisy among false professors, and the necessity of matching doctrine with practice. Newton's introduction praises Seeker's concentrated, spiritually rich prose. The work addresses contemporary religious concerns including distinguishing authentic faith from counterfeit profession and criticizing Christian hypocrisy's damage to gospel credibility.