When I would heal Israel, then is the iniquity of Ephraim discovered,

and the wickedness of Samaria; for they commit falsehood: and the

thief entereth in, and the troop of robbers spoileth without. And they

consider not {364} in their hearts that I remember all their

wickedness: now have their own doings beset them about; they are

before my face. They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the

princes with their lies. They are all hot as an oven, and devour their

judges; all their kings are fallen: there is none among them that

calleth unto me. Ephraim, he mixeth himself among the peoples; Ephraim

is a cake not turned. Strangers have devoured his strength, and he

knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, and he

knoweth it not. And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: yet

they have not returned unto the Lord their God, nor sought him for all

this. And Ephraim is like a silly dove, without understanding: they

call unto Egypt, they go to Assyria. When they shall go, I will spread

my net upon them; I will bring them down as the birds of the heaven: I

will chastise them, as their congregation hath heard. Woe unto them!

for they have wandered from me; destruction unto them! for they have

trespassed against me: though I would redeem them, yet they have

spoken lies against me. And they have not cried unto me with their

heart, but they howl upon their beds: they assemble themselves for

corn and wine, they rebel against me. Though I have taught and

strengthened their arms, yet do they devise mischief against me. They

return, but not to him that is on high; they are like a deceitful bow:

their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue:

this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.

Set the trumpet to thy mouth. As an eagle he cometh {365} against the

house of the Lord, because they have transgressed my covenant, and

trespassed against my law. They shall cry unto me, "My God, we,

Israel, know thee." Israel hath cast off that which is good: the enemy

shall pursue him. They have set up kings, but not by me; they have

made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have

they made them idols, that they may be cut off. He hath cast off thy

calf, O Samaria; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it

be ere they attain to innocency? For from Israel is even this; the

workman made it, and it is no God: yea, the calf of Samaria shall be

broken in pieces. For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the

whirlwind.

II

THE LONGING OF GOD FOR HIS CHILDREN

Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will

heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will

he revive us: on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live

before him. And let us follow on to know the Lord; his going forth is

sure as the morning: and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the

latter rain that watereth the earth.

When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of

Egypt. The more the prophet called them, the more they went from them:

they sacrificed unto the Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.

Yet I {366} taught Ephraim to walk; I took them on my arms; but they

knew not that I healed them. I drew them with cords of a man, with

bands of love. How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver

thee, Israel? mine heart is turned within me, my compassions are

kindled together. I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I

will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the

Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not come in wrath. They

shall walk after the Lord, who shall roar like a lion: for he shall

roar, and the children shall come trembling from the west. They shall

come trembling as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land

of Assyria: and I will make them to dwell in their houses, saith the

Lord. I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem

them from death: O death, where are thy plagues? O grave, where is thy

destruction? I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely:

for mine anger is turned away from him. I will be as the dew unto

Israel: he shall blossom as the lily, and cast forth his roots as

Lebanon. His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the

olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.

{367}

MICAH

(It is supposed that Micah lived in the time of Isaiah, the prophet.

His message resembles that of Amos in its stern denunciation of the

wrong-doing of the rich. He himself belonged to the poorer classes and

speaks from a full heart when he describes the misery of the poor and

the oppression of the rich. Like Isaiah, Amos, and Hosea, he is a

social reformer.)

Woe to them that devise iniquity and work evil upon their beds! when

the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of

their hand. And they covet fields, and seize them; and houses, and

take them away: and they oppress a man and his house, even a man and

his heritage. The voice of the Lord crieth unto the city, and the man

of wisdom will see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed

it. "Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the

wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable? Shall I be pure with

wicked balances, and with deceitful weights? For the rich men thereof

are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies,

and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth. Therefore I also have

smitten thee with a grievous wound; I have made thee desolate because

of thy sins. Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy humiliation

shall be in the midst of thee: and thou shalt store up, but shalt not

keep it; and that which thou carriest away will I give up to the

sword. Thou shalt sow, but shalt not {368} reap: thou shalt tread the

olives, but shalt not anoint thee with oil; and the vintage, but shalt

not drink the wine."

Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as

the grape gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat; my

soul desireth the firstripe fig. The godly man is perished out of the

earth, and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for

blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. Their hands are

upon that which is evil to do it diligently; the prince asketh, and

the judge is ready for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth the

mischief of his soul: thus they weave it together. The best of them is

as a brier: the most upright is worse than a thorn hedge: the day of

thy watchmen, even thy visitation, is come; now shall be their

perplexity. Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a

guide. For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up

against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a

man's enemies are the men of his own house. But as for me, I will look

unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will

hear me. Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall

arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.

Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high

God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a

year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten

thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my

transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

{369}

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord

require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk

humbly with thy God?

But in the latter days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the

Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it

shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall flow unto it. And

many nations shall go and say, "Come ye, and let us go up to the

mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he

will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of

Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."

And he shall judge between many peoples, and shall reprove strong

nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,

and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword

against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall

sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall

make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.

For all the peoples will walk everyone in the name of his god, and we

will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.

But thou, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the

thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is

to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from

everlasting.

{370}

OBADIAH

(This is the shortest of the books of prophecy in the Old Testament.

It denounces the evil of the people of Edom, who, when Jerusalem was

taken by the Babylonians, took delight in its distresses and, pursuing

the fugitives in the mountains, captured them and returned them to the

Babylonian army. Nothing definite is known of the prophet.)

The vision of Obadiah.

Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom: "We have heard tidings from

the Lord, and an ambassador is sent among the nations, saying, Arise

ye, and let us rise up against her in battle. Behold, I have made thee

small among the nations: thou art greatly despised. The pride of thine

heart hath deceived thee, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the

rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, 'Who shall

bring me down to the ground?' Though thou mount on high as the eagle,

and though thy nest be set among the stars, I will bring thee down

from thence, saith the Lord. If thieves came to thee, if robbers by

night, would they not steal till they had enough? if grapegatherers

came to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes?

How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden treasures

sought up! All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee on thy

way, even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have

deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread lay

a snare under thee: there is none understanding in him.

{371}{372}

[Illustration]

"THE PROPHETS"

From the frieze of "The Prophets," by Sargent, in the Boston Public

Library.

The prophets here represented are Micah, Haggai, Malachi, and

Zechariah.

[End illustration]

{373}

Shall I not in that day, saith the Lord, destroy the wise men out of

Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau? And thy mighty men,

O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that everyone may be cut off

from the mount of Esau by slaughter. For the violence done to thy

brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for

ever. In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that

strangers carried away his substance, and foreigners entered into his

gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them.

But look not thou on the day of thy brother in the day of his

disaster, and rejoice not over the children of Judah in the day of

their destruction; neither speak proudly in the day of distress. Enter

not into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, look

not thou on their affliction in the day of their calamity, neither lay

ye hands on their substance in the day of their calamity. And stand

thou not in the mountain passes, to cut off those of his that escape;

and deliver not up those of his that remain in the day of distress.

For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations: as thou hast

done, it shall be done unto thee; thy dealing shall return upon thine

own head. But in mount Zion there shall be those that escape, and it

shall be holy; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.

And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a

flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall burn among

them, and devour them, and there shall not be any remaining to the

house of Esau; for the Lord hath spoken it.

{374}

JOEL

(At some time, we are not told just when, a terrible plague of locusts

came upon the land. A prophet, whose name was Joel, took this occasion

to tell the people of their sins, and of the judgments which God would

bring upon them.)

I

THE PROPHET LAMENTS FOR HIS LAND

Hear this, ye old men,

And give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land.

Hath this been in your days,

Or in the days of your fathers?

Tell ye your children of it,

And let your children tell their children,

And their children another generation.

That which the palmerworm hath left

Hath the cankerworm eaten;

And that which the cankerworm hath left

Hath the caterpillar eaten.

Be ashamed, O ye husbandmen,

Howl, O ye vinedressers,

For the wheat, and for the barley;

For the harvest of the field is perished.

The vine is withered, {375}

And the fig tree languisheth;

The pomegranate tree,

The palm tree also, and the apple tree,

Even all the trees of the field are withered:

For joy is withered away from the sons of men.

Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly,

Gather the old men

And all the inhabitants of the land

Unto the house of the Lord your God,

And cry unto the Lord.

Alas for the day!

For the day of the Lord is at hand.

And as the destruction from the Almighty shall it come.

Is not the food cut off before our eyes,

Yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God?

The seeds rot under their clods:

The garners are laid desolate,

The barns are broken down;

For the corn is withered.

How do the beasts groan.

The herds of cattle are perplexed,

Because they have no pasture;

Yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.

O Lord, to thee do I cry:

For the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness

And the flame hath burned all the trees of the field.

Yea, the beasts of the field pant unto thee: {376}

For the water brooks are dried up,

And the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

II

THE WARNING TO THE PEOPLE

Blow ye the trumpet in Zion,

And sound an alarm in my holy mountain;

Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble.

For the Day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand;

A day of darkness and gloom,

A day of clouds and thick darkness,

As the dawn spread upon the mountains;

A great people and a strong.

There hath not ever been the like,

Neither shall there be any more after them,

Even to the years of many generations.

A fire devoureth before them;

And behind them a flame burneth:

The land is as the garden of Eden before them,

And behind them a desolate wilderness;

Yea, and none hath escaped them.

The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses;

And as horsemen, so do they run.

Like the noise of chariots on the tops of the mountains do they leap,

Like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble;

As a strong people set in battle array.

At their presence the peoples are in anguish;

All faces are waxed pale; {377}

They run like mighty men;

They climb upon the wall like men of war;

And they march everyone on his ways.

And they break not their ranks;

They march everyone in his path;

They burst through the weapons of the enemy;

And turn not from their course.

They leap upon the city;

They run upon the walls;

They climb upon the houses;

They enter in at the windows like a thief.

The earth quaketh before them;

The heavens tremble:

The sun and the moon are darkened,

And the stars withdraw their shining.

And the Lord uttereth his voice before his army;

For his camp is very great;

For he is strong and executeth his word:

For the Day of the Lord is great and very terrible;

And who can abide it?

III

THE LORD WILL PARDON

(If the people turn from evil and repent, and worship him in the true

spirit, the Lord will not send this terrible army of vengeance upon

them.)

Yet even now, saith the Lord,

Turn ye unto me with all your heart,

And with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: {378}

Rend your heart and not your garments,

And turn unto the Lord your God:

For he is gracious and full of compassion,

Slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy,

And repenteth him of the evil.

IV

A PROPHECY OF PLENTY

(The plea of the prophet was effective. The people repented, and their

prophet promised that the Lord would not only forgive his people, but

would bless them with abundance.)

Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil,

And ye shall be satisfied therewith:

And I will no more make you a reproach among the nations:

But I will remove far off from you the northern army,

And will drive him into a land barren and desolate,

His vanguard into the eastern sea,

And his rearguard into the western sea.

Fear not, O land, be glad and rejoice.

For the Lord hath done great things.

Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field:

For the pastures of the wilderness do spring,

For the tree beareth her fruit,

the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.

Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God:

For he giveth you the former rain in just measure, {379}

And he causeth to come down for you the rain,

The former rain and the latter rain, in the first month.

And the floors shall be full of wheat,

And the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.

And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten,

The cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm,

My great army which I sent among you.

And ye shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,

And ye shall praise the name of the Lord your God,

That hath dealt wondrously with you:

And my people shall never be ashamed.

And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,

And that I am the Lord your God, and there is none else:

And my people shall never be ashamed.

And it shall come to pass afterward,

That I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh;

And your sons and daughters shall prophesy,

Your old men shall dream dreams,

Your young men shall see visions:

And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days

Will I pour out my spirit.

{380}

ZEPHANIAH

(Zephaniah is another of the prophets who tell of the destruction

which will come upon the people in the terrible "day of the Lord."

Then his prophecy, like the others, breaks into joyous strains at the

close, as he tells of the blessings which will be showered upon the

nation when it repents.)

I

THE DAY OF WRATH

The Day of the Lord is near:

It is near and hasteth greatly.

Even the voice of the Day of the Lord;

The mighty man crieth there bitterly.

That Day is a day of wrath,

A day of trouble and distress,

A day of waste and desolation,

A day of darkness and gloominess,

A day of clouds and thick darkness,

A day of trumpet and alarm

Against the fortified cities,

And against the high battlements.

Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together,

O nation that hath no shame;

Before the decree bring forth,

Before the day pass as the chaff,

Before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you.

Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth,

{381}{382}

[Illustration]

"THE PROPHETS"

From the frieze of "The Prophets," by Sargent, in the Boston Public

Library.

The prophets here represented are Zephaniah, Joel, Obadiah, and

Hosea.

[End illustration]

{383}

Which have wrought his judgment;

Seek righteousness,

Seek meekness:

It may be ye shall be hid

In the Day of the Lord's anger.

This is the joyous city,

That dwelt carelessly,

That said in her heart, "I am,

And there is none else beside me:"

How is she become a desolation,

A place for beasts to lie down in!

Everyone that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his head,

Woe to her that is rebellious and polluted,

To the oppressing city.

She obeyed not the voice;

She received not correction;

She trusted not in the Lord;

She drew not near to her God.

Her princes in the midst of her are roaring lions;

Her judges are evening wolves;

They leave nothing till the morrow.

Her prophets are light and treacherous persons:

Her priests have profaned the sanctuary,

They have done violence to the law.

The Lord in the midst of her is righteous;

He will not do iniquity;

Every morning doth he bring his judgment to light,

He faileth not;

But the unjust knoweth no shame.

{384}

IV

SING, O DAUGHTER OF ZION

Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel;

Be glad and rejoice with the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.

The Lord hath taken away thy judgments,

He hath cast out thine enemy:

The king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee:

Thou shalt not fear evil any more.

In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, "Fear thou not:

O Zion, let not thine hands be slack.

The Lord thy God is in the midst of thee,

A mighty one who will save:

He will rejoice over thee with joy, he will rest in his love,

He will joy over thee with singing."

{385}

NAHUM

(Nineveh was the capital city of the great empire of Assyria. It was,

to the Hebrews, the expression of all the power and cruelty and

bloodthirstiness of that mighty and oppressive empire. The story of

the barbaric savagery of this empire almost passes belief. The

monuments of Assyria are its own strongest accusing witnesses. They

show pictures of captives of war whose eyes are being put out, who are

being skinned alive, who are suffering all the tortures that a savage

imagination can invent. Any such torture might come to any Hebrew

taken in war. Is it any wonder that the people not only dreaded, but

bitterly hated this city? Is it strange that they thought Jehovah

would certainly overthrow it? Nahum, in a poetic prophecy of great

vigor and vividness, pictures the overthrow, and exults in the fall of

the great, rich, cruel city. That fall came, at the hands of the Medes

and Babylonians, in about 608 B. C. Since that time, Nineveh has

remained in ruins, and is to-day buried under the sand hills of the

desert.)

I

THE GOODNESS AND THE GREATNESS OF THE LORD

The Lord is a jealous God and avengeth; the Lord avengeth and is full

of wrath; the Lord taketh vengeance on his adversaries, and he

reserveth wrath for his enemies. The Lord is slow to anger, and great

in power, and will by no means clear the guilty: the Lord hath his way

in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of

{386} his feet. He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up

all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of

Lebanon languisheth. The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt;

and the earth is upheaved at his presence, yea, the world, and all

that dwell therein. Who can stand before his indignation? and who can

abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like

fire, and the rocks are broken asunder by him. The Lord is good, a

strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that put their

trust in him. But with an overrunning flood he will make a full end of

the place thereof, and will pursue his enemies into darkness. What do

ye imagine against the Lord? he will make a full end: affliction shall

not rise up the second time. For though they be like tangled thorns,

and be drenched as it were in their drink, they shall be devoured

utterly as dry stubble. There is one gone forth out of thee, that

imagineth evil against the Lord, that counselleth wickedness.

Thus saith the Lord: Though they be in full strength, and likewise

many, even so shall they be cut down, and he shall pass away.

Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more.

And now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds

in sunder.

And the Lord hath given commandment concerning thee, that no more of

thy name be sown: out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the

graven image and the molten image; I will make thy grave; for thou art

vile.

{387}

Behold, upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings,

That publisheth peace!

II

THE DOOM OF NINEVEH

(In describing the doom of Nineveh, the writer draws one of the most

vivid pictures of war that was ever written.)

The Hammer is come up to thy face!

Hold the rampart! Keep watch on the way!

Brace the loins! Pull thyself firmly together!

The shields of the heroes are red,

The warriors are in scarlet;

Like fire is the shining of his chariots in the day of his muster,

And the horsemen are prancing.

Through the markets rage chariots,

They tear across the squares;

The look of them is like torches,

Like lightnings they dart to and fro.

And now they flee. "Stand, stand!" but there is none to rally.

Plunder silver, plunder gold!

Infinite treasures, mass of all precious things!

Void and devoid and desolate is she.

Melting hearts and shaking knees,

And anguish in all loins,

And nothing but faces full of black fear. {388}

Where is the Lion's den,

And the young lion's feeding ground?

Whither has the Lion retreated,

The whelps of the Lion with none to make afraid:

The Lion who tore enough for his whelps,

And strangled for his lionesses.

And he filled his pits with prey,

And his dens with rapine.

Lo, I am at thee,

I will put up thy lair in flames,

The sword shall devour thy young lions;

I will cut off the earth from thy rapine,

And the noise of thine envoys shall no more be heard.

Woe to the City of Blood,

All of her guile, robbery full, ceaseless rapine!

Hark the whip,

And the rumbling of the wheel,

And horses galloping,

And the rattling dance of the chariot!

Cavalry at the charge, and flash of sabres,

And lightning of lances,

Mass of slain and weight of corpses,

They stumble on their dead!

All thy fortresses are fig trees with figs early ripe:

Be they shaken they fall on the mouth of the eater.

Lo, thy folk are but women in thy midst:

To thy foes the gates of thy land fly open;

Fire has devoured thy bars.

{389}{390}

[Illustration]

"THE PROPHETS"

From the frieze of "The Prophets," by Sargent, in the Boston Public

Library.

The prophets here represented are Amos, Nahum, Ezekiel, and Daniel.

[End illustration]

{391}

Draw water for the siege, strengthen thy forts!

Get thee down to the mud, and tramp in the clay!

Grip fast the brick mould!

There fire consumes thee, the sword cuts thee off!

Asleep are thy shepherds, O king of Assyria,

Thy nobles do slumber;

Thy people are strewn on the mountains,

Without any to gather.

There is no healing of thy wreck,

Fatal thy wound.

All who hear of thy fall shall clap their hands at thee,

For upon whom hath not thy cruelty passed without ceasing?

[Footnote: This translation is, in part, that of George Adam Smith.]

{392}

HABAKKUK

(The little book of Habakkuk was written just before the fall of

Jerusalem. This prophet is dealing with a problem new to Israel. It

was, Why do the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper? It came from

the rapid rise of the great, cruel empire of Babylon. Assyria had

fallen, but instead of Israel being free as the people had expected

they would be when Assyria was out of the way, it found itself under

the power of the New Babylonian government. Why did God allow this?

the people asked, in sad despair at the hopeless political situation.

The prophet Habakkuk attempted to answer the question. He called

himself a watchman, set to see if God would not answer this question.

And the answer comes. It is in a sort of enigma: "Behold, his soul is

puffed up, it is not upright within him; but the just shall live by

his faith." Then the rest of the book is the expansion of the thought

of this enigma. And what is its meaning? It could be expressed

somewhat in this way: "Be patient; hold faith in God. In faith in him

is the promise of life. Wickedness contains the germs of its own

destruction, and will inevitably fall, Wait and you will see that this

is so.")

I

WARNINGS OF THE WATCHMAN

I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will look

forth to see what he will speak with me, and what I shall answer

concerning my complaint.

And the Lord answered me, and said, "Write the vision, and make it

plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is

yet for the appointed time, and it hasteth toward the end, and shall

not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it

will not {393} delay. Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright

in him: but the just shall live by his faith."

Woe to him that getteth an evil gain for his house, that he may set

his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil! Thou

hast consulted shame to thy house, by cutting off many peoples, and

hast sinned against thy soul. For the stone shall cry out of the wall,

and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.

Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by

iniquity! Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts that the peoples

labour for the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity? For

the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,

as the waters cover the sea.

Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink.

What profiteth the graven image, that the maker thereof hath graven

it; the molten image, and the teacher of lies, that the maker of his

work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? Woe unto him that saith to

the wood, "Awake;" to the dumb stone, "Arise!" Shall this teach?

Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath

at all in the midst of it. But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all

the earth keep silence before him.

II

A PRAYER OF THE PROPHET

O Lord, I have heard the report of thee, and am afraid:

O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, {394}

In the midst of the years make it known;

In wrath remember mercy.

God came from Teman,

And the Holy One from mount Paran

His glory covered the heavens,

And the earth was full of his praise.

And his brightness was as the light;

He had rays coming forth from his hand:

And there was the hiding of his power.

Before him went the pestilence,

And fiery bolts went forth at his feet.

He stood, and measured the earth;

He beheld, and drove asunder the nations:

And the eternal mountains were scattered,

The everlasting hills did bow;

His goings were as of old.

I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction:

The curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.

Was the Lord displeased against the rivers?

Was thine anger against the rivers,

Or thy wrath against the sea,

That thou didst ride upon thine horses,

Upon thy chariots of salvation?

Thy bow was made quite bare;

The oaths to the tribes were a sure word.

Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.

The mountains saw thee, and were afraid;

The tempest of waters passed by: {395}

The deep uttered his voice,

And lifted up his hands on high.

The sun and moon stood still in their habitation;

At the light of thine arrows as they went,

At the shining of thy glittering spear.

Thou didst march through the land in indignation,

Thou didst thresh the nations in anger.

Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people,

For the salvation of thine anointed;

Thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked,

Laying bare the foundation even unto the neck.

Thou didst pierce with his own staves the head of his warriors:

They came as a whirlwind to scatter me:

Their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly.

Thou didst tread the sea with thine horses,

The heap of mighty waters.

I heard, and my belly trembled,

My lips quivered at the voice;

Rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in my place:

That I should rest in the day of trouble,

When it cometh up against the people which invadeth him in troops.

For though the fig tree shall not blossom,

Neither shall fruit be in the vines;

The labour of the olive shall fail,

And the fields shall yield no meat; {396}

The flock shall be cut off from the fold,

And there shall be no herd in the stalls:

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

I will joy in the God of my salvation.

Jehovah, the Lord, is my strength,

And he maketh my feet like hinds' feet,

And will make me to walk upon mine high places.

{397}

HAGGAI

(In 538 B.C., while Israel was still captive in Babylon, the mighty

Babylonian empire was overthrown by Cyrus the Great. What a

rejoicing there was among the Israelites and all the other enforced

colonists of Babylonia! Cyrus was a statesman. He saw how Babylon

was made weak by the large number of discontented inhabitants who

had been imported as captives of war. He wisely decided to allow all

who wished, to go home again. Many Israelites, who now were often

called Jews, accepted his offer and returned to Palestine, with high

hopes of a brilliant future for the nation. But they found Jerusalem

in ruins and their brother Jews discouraged. Then followed a long

series of famine years. Most of the people who came back had been

reared on the rich plains of Babylonia, and were not able easily to

make a living on the barren, rocky ridges of Judea. They became poor

and discouraged. Their plan had been to build the temple, and they had

set up an altar soon after they came, but fifteen years had passed,

and the temple was not yet built. Part of the time the government

had interfered with the building. The enemies of the Jews had

persuaded the imperial officers that a temple would be only a

fortress in disguise, and that the record of the Jews for

insurrection and revolt was such that fortresses were not safe in

their hands. But now a new king had come to the throne, and Haggai,

who seems to have been a priest, came forward on a feast day with a

proposal to build the temple. His little book has no grace of style,

no great prophetic thought, no poetry or oratory, but is a plain

proposition to get the temple built, with a promise that if they do,

God will give them his blessing. It is good to know that the people

responded to his appeal and the temple was built. This prophet with

his plain style was more successful than almost any other prophet.)

{398}

I

THE PROPHET URGES THE PEOPLE TO BUILD THE TEMPLE

In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the

first day of the month, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the

prophet unto Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the high

priest, saying, "Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, 'This people

say, It is not the time for us to come, the time for the Lord's house

to be built.'" Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai, the prophet,

saying, "Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your ceiled

houses, while this house lieth waste? Now therefore thus saith the

Lord of hosts: 'Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in

little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not

filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that

earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.'"

Thus saith the Lord of hosts: "Consider your ways. Go up to the

mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take

pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. Ye looked for

much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did

blow upon it. 'Why?' saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house

that lieth waste, while ye run every man to his own house. Therefore

for your sake the heaven withholdeth the dew, and the earth

withholdeth her fruit. And I called for a {399} drought upon the land,

and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the wine, and upon

the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men,

and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands."

Then Zerubbabel and Joshua, the high priest, with all the remnant of

the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of

Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him; and the people

did fear before the Lord. Then spake Haggai the Lord's messenger in

the Lord's message unto the people, saying, "'I am with you,' saith

the Lord."

And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, governor of Judah,

and the spirit of Joshua, the high priest, and the spirit of all the

remnant of the people; and they came and worked in the house of the

Lord of hosts, their God.

A month later came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying,

"Speak now to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the high

priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying, 'Who is left among

you that saw this house in its former glory? and how do ye see it now?

is it not in your eyes as nothing?' 'Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel,'

saith the Lord; 'and be strong, O Joshua, the high priest; and be

strong, all ye people of the land,' saith the Lord, 'and work: for I

am with you, saith the Lord of hosts, according to the word that I

covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, and my spirit abode

among you: fear ye not.' For thus saith the Lord of hosts: 'Yet once,

it is a little while, and I will shake the {400} heavens, and the

earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all nations,

and the treasures of all nations shall come, and I will fill this

house with glory,' saith the Lord of hosts. 'The silver is mine, and

the gold is mine,' saith the Lord of hosts. 'The latter glory of this

house shall be greater than the former,' saith the Lord of hosts; and

in this place will I give peace,' saith the Lord of hosts."

{401}

ZECHARIAH

(Zechariah aided Haggai in his attempt to get the temple built.

Nothing is known of his personality or history. Most of his prophecy

is in the form of a series of visions, whose meaning as a whole is

that God is guiding in the history of the world, and will make Israel

glorious by and by, in spite of its present low estate.)

In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of

the Lord unto Zechariah the prophet, saying, "The Lord hath been sore

displeased with your fathers. Therefore say thou unto them, 'Thus

saith the Lord of hosts: Return unto me saith the Lord of hosts, and I

will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. Be ye not as your

fathers, unto whom the former prophets cried, saying, Thus saith the

Lord of hosts, Return ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil

doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the Lord.

Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?

But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the

prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? and they turned and

said, Like as the Lord of hosts thought to do unto us, according to

our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.'"

{402}

I

THE VISION OF THE HORSEMEN IN THE GLEN

I saw in the night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he

stood among the myrtle trees that were in the glen; and behind him

there were horses, red, sorrel, and white. Then said I, "O my lord,

what are these?" And the angel that talked with me said unto me, "I

will shew thee what these are." And the man that stood among the

myrtle trees answered and said, "These are they whom the Lord hath

sent to walk to and fro through the earth." And they answered the

angel of the Lord that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, "We

have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth

sitteth still, and is at rest." Then the angel of the Lord answered

and said, "O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on

Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had

indignation these threescore and ten years?" And the Lord answered the

angel that talked with me kind words and comforting. So the angel that

talked with me said unto me, "Cry thou, saying, 'Thus saith the Lord

of hosts: I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great

jealousy. And I am very sore displeased with the nations that are at

ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the

affliction. Therefore thus saith the Lord: I am returned to Jerusalem

with mercies; my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts,

{403} and a line shall be stretched forth over Jerusalem. Cry yet

again, saying, 'Thus saith the Lord of hosts: My cities shall yet

overflow with prosperity and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and

shall yet choose Jerusalem.'"

II

THE VISION OF THE CITY OF PEACE

And I lifted up mine eyes and saw, and behold a man with a measuring

line in his hand. Then said I, "Whither goest thou?" And he said unto

me, "To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and

what is the length thereof." And, behold, the angel that talked with

me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him, and said unto

him, "Run, speak to this young man, saying, 'Jerusalem shall be

inhabited as villages without walls, by reason of the multitude of men

and cattle therein. For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of

fire round about, and I will be the glory in the midst of her.'

"'Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will

dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. And many nations shall

join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people: and I

will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord of

hosts hath sent me unto thee. And the Lord shall inherit Judah as his

portion in the holy land, and shall yet choose Jerusalem. Be silent,

all flesh, before the Lord: for he is waked up out of his holy

habitation.'"

{404}

III

THE VISION OF THE GOLDEN CANDLESTICK

And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man

that is wakened out of his sleep. And he said unto me, "What seest

thou?" And I said, "I have seen, and behold, a candlestick all of

gold, with its bowl upon the top of it, and its seven lamps thereon;

there are seven pipes to each of the lamps, which are upon the top

thereof: and two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the

bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof."

And I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying,

"What are these, my lord?" Then the angel that talked with me answered

and said unto me, "Knowest thou not what these are?" And I said, "No,

my Lord." Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, "This is the

word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, 'Not by might, nor by power,

but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Who art thou, O great

mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall

bring forth the top stone with shoutings of Grace, grace, unto it.'"

Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, "The hands of

Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall

also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent

me unto you. For who hath despised the day of small things? for they

shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel."

{405}

IV

THE VISION OF THE FLYING BOOK

(The flying book or roll is the vengeance of God, which flies into the

house of the evil-doer like a great bird, and roosts there and

destroys it.)

Then again I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and behold, a book flying.

And he said unto me, "What seest thou?" And I answered, "I see a book

flying; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof

ten cubits."

Then said he unto me, "This is the curse that goeth forth over the

face of the whole land: for every thief shall be purged away from

hence; and every perjurer is hereby purged from hence. I will cause it

to go forth, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter into the

house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by

my name: and it shall roost in the midst of his house, and shall

consume it with its beams and its stones."

V

THE VISION OF THE WOMAN IN THE BARREL

(The prophet sees Wickedness as a woman who is in a barrel measure.

She is pushed down into it, the leaden cover is put on, and she is

carried away out of the land.)

And the angel of Jehovah who spake with me came forward and spake to

me and said to me, "Lift now thine eyes and see what this is that

comes forth." {406}

And I said, "What is it?"

And he said, "This is a barrel coming forth."

And he said, "This is their transgression in all the land."

And behold, the round leaden top was lifted off, and lo, a woman

sitting inside the barrel.

And he said, "This is Wickedness," and he thrust her back into the

barrel, and thrust the leaden cover upon the mouth of it. And I lifted

up mine eyes and looked, and lo, two women came forth with the wind in

their wings, and they bore the barrel betwixt earth and heaven.

And I said to the angel that talked with me, "Whither do they carry

the barrel?"

And he said to me, "To build it a house in the land of Shinar, that it

may be fixed and brought to rest there in a place of its own."

VI

THE VISION OF THE CHARIOTS OF THE FOUR WINDS

(The four chariots of the four winds go forth to guard the boundaries

of the land from all threatening foes.)

And again I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and behold, there came four

chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were

mountains of brass. In the first chariot were red horses; and in the

second chariot black horses; and in the third chariot white horses;

and in the fourth chariot dappled bay horses. {407}

Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, "What are

these, my lord?"

And the angel answered and said unto me, "These are the four winds of

heaven, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the

earth." The chariot wherein are the black horses goeth forth toward

the north country; and the white went forth after them; and the

dappled went forth toward the south country. And the bay went forth,

and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth:

and he said, "Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth." So

they walked to and fro through the earth.

{408}

MALACHI

(Malachi wrote after the Exile. The temple, whose building Haggai had

urged, was erected; but the people were already tired of its service.

"What a weariness it is!" they said. They brought worthless animals

for sacrifice, and would do nothing in the temple except for pay.

Malachi denounced their selfishness, but said that if they would turn

to God, he would still be ready to bless them. Malachi's writing is

less poetical in its style than most of the prophets, but he speaks in

a very plain, straightforward fashion.)

"Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me:

and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple; and the

messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in, behold, he cometh,"

saith the Lord of hosts. "But who may abide the day of his coming? and

who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire,

and like fullers' soap: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of

silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold

and silver; and they shall offer unto the Lord offerings in

righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be

pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in ancient

years. And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift

witness against the sorcerers, and against perjurers, and against

those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the

fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear

not me," saith the Lord of hosts. "For I the Lord change not;

therefore ye, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.

"From the days of your fathers ye have turned aside {409} from mine

ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return

unto you," saith the Lord of hosts. "But ye say 'How then shall we

return?' Will a man rob God? yet ye rob me. But ye say, 'Wherein have

we robbed thee?' In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with the

curse; for ye rob me, even this whole nation. Bring ye the whole tithe

into the storehouse, that there may be food in mine house, and prove

me now herewith," saith the Lord of hosts, "if I will not open you the

windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not

be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your

sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither

shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field," saith

the Lord of hosts.

"And all nations shall call you happy: for ye shall be a delightsome

land," saith the Lord of hosts.

"Your words have been stout against me," saith the Lord. "Yet ye say,

'Wherein have we spoken against thee?' Ye have said, 'It is vain to

serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his charge, and

that we have walked as mourners before the Lord of hosts? And now we

call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are built up;

yea, they tempt God, and are delivered.'"

Then they that feared the Lord spake one with another: and the Lord

hearkened, and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before

him, for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.

And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in the day that I

make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son

that serveth him.

{410}

{411}

SELECTIONS FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

{412}

These selections from the Epistles are not in poetic form, but they

are given here because they are, in a way, the culmination of the

lofty and inspiring thought of the Bible. Not only do they treat of

the great themes of life and death, but they treat of them in the most

solemn and impressive manner. They are like organ music, not pleasing

the ear by the delicacy of rhythm, not having the rhyme and melody of

lyric verse, but moving with grandeur and sublimity of thought in the

higher ranges of being. Thus they form the fitting climax for all the

wealth of song and story which precedes them.

{413}

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE AND SERVICE

PAUL'S EPISTLES

The letters of a man tell us more about him than any books he could

write. Now Paul never wrote any books; but he wrote many letters. Some

were to the churches he had founded; some to his fellow workers. Some

of these letters were preserved and are in the Bible under the name of

Epistles. Even in these letters others are mentioned which are not

preserved. We have two letters to the Corinthian Church, but in them

Paul mentions other letters which he wrote to that church. In the

letter to the Colossian Church, he mentions a letter to the church at

Laodicea, a city near to Colosse. It is fair to suppose that many

other letters have also been lost. Probably the best and most

important of his letters were preserved. These letters are the outcome

of long thought. They were on subjects that Paul had considered for

many years. The writing of the letters, however, was often the work of

a short time, and their expression is not smooth and polished and

carefully wrought. Sometimes, as in the case of Galatians, the letter

was written because of a situation which he felt demanded immediate

attention. Sometimes, as in the case of I Corinthians, he replied to

letters of questions that had been sent to him from the churches.

Sometimes, as in the case of Philippians, the letter was called out in

thanks for the kindness of the church. The most important letter,

Romans, was written to prepare the church, which he had never visited,

for his expected coming to them. In every case--it is always true of

letters--the occasion of the letter largely determines its style and

tone, but in all cases the spontaneity of the letter-writer is seen.

Paul dictated or wrote his letters hurriedly. He cared less for style

than for thought. Vigor and force mark his writing. He did not try to

imitate the graces of the rhetorician. He did not {414} always follow

out a topic to the end. He sometimes began a sentence in one way and

finished it in another. He sometimes began a sentence, and, going off

to another topic, never finished it at all. He is not always easy

reading. But these evidences of a free, spontaneous writing are only

occasional. The greater part of the letters of Paul are very clear,

simple, forceful statements of what he wishes to say.

Paul was not merely a Jew. He was a citizen of the great world of the

Roman empire. He had been brought up in a city where Greek culture and

civilization were very flourishing. His travels brought him into

contact with all the varying forms of Greek life. He visited Athens.

He made long stays in Corinth, where the commerce of the world crowded

the docks, and sailors and merchants from all parts of the great

empire were to be met in the streets. He lived for nearly three years

in the great city of Ephesus, where the courtiers of the governor of

the province, fresh from all the latest fashions of Rome, jostled the

priests of the great temple of Diana, one of the seven wonders of the

ancient world. Before the end of his life he was a prisoner in Rome

itself, the one city into which all the world poured its

representatives, where the fair-haired men from distant Britain in the

North met the dusky Ethiopian from Africa, and the Spaniard from the

Atlantic coast walked the street with the Scythian from the distant

East. Paul the prisoner lived for two whole years in his own hired

house, and had permission to receive all who came to him. During this

time, and for two years of previous imprisonment, he was in daily

contact with the Roman soldiery. This cosmopolitan man, with his wide

experience of many phases of Roman and Greek life, has dropped here

and there in his writings many pictures from the civilization with

which he was in touch. He used it to illustrate the Christian life.

The athlete in the theater gave him a picture of the earnest, eager

strife of the Christian. The soldier with his clanging armor suggested

to him the armor by which a Christian might meet his foes. The temples

that studded every great town taught him how the Christian was himself

the temple of the living God. Thus it happens that the most lasting

memorial, the most widely read allusions, to the great civilization of

Greece and Rome come from this wandering preacher of an obscure faith

who at last {415} was a despised prisoner at Rome. How it would have

astonished the crowds at Ephesus who shouted, "Great is Diana of the

Ephesians!" to be told that their great temple and their goddess

herself would be known to most people in the world only because of

their connection with the life of this man Paul whom they wanted to

put out of the way! It was a wonderful civilization in the midst of

which Paul lived, and a very bustling, active, self-important world

through which he moved, but the most permanent things in it were by no

means the things that seemed to most people of the time to be the

greatest.

- - -

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present

your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your

reasonable service. And be not fashioned according to this world: but

be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what

is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man that is

among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think;

but so to think as to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to

each man a measure of faith. For even as we have many members in one

body, and all the members have not the same office: so we, who are

many, are one body in Christ, and severally members one of another.

And having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to

us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of

our faith; or ministry, let us give ourselves to our ministry; or he

that teacheth, to his teaching; or he that exhorteth, to his

exhorting: he that giveth, let him do it with liberality; he that

ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. Let

love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that {416} which is evil; cleave to

that which is good. In love of the brethren be tenderly affectioned

one to another; in honour preferring one another; in diligence not

slothful; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope;

patient in tribulation; continuing steadfastly in prayer; communicating

to the necessities of the saints; given to hospitality. Bless them

that persecute you; bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that

rejoice; weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward

another. Set not your mind on high things, but condescend to things

that are lowly. Be not wise in your own conceits. Render to no man

evil for evil. Take thought for things honourable in the sight of all

men. If it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all

men. Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto wrath: for it

is written, "Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense," saith

the Lord. But if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him

to drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head.

Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

--_Romans 12_.

Owe no man anything, save to love one another: for he that loveth his

neighbour hath fulfilled the law. For this, "Thou shalt not commit

adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not

covet," and if there be any other commandment, it is summed up in this

word, namely, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Love worketh

no ill to his neighbour: love therefore is the fulfilment of the law.

{417}{418}

[Illustration]

RUINS OF THE TEMPLE OF JUPITER AT CORINTH.

From a photograph taken by Mrs. Fontaine Meriwether,

and used by her kind permission

[End illustration]

{419}

And this, knowing the season, that now it is high time for you to

awake out of sleep: for now is salvation nearer to us than when we

first believed. The night is far spent, and the day is at hand: let us

therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour

of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in revelling and

drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and

jealousy. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision

for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

--_Romans 13:8-14_.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy

father and mother (which is the first commandment with promise), that

it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

--_Ephesians 6:1-3_.

For none of us liveth to himself, and none dieth to himself. For

whether we live, we live unto the Lord; or whether we die, we die unto

the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to

this end Christ died, and lived again, that he might be Lord of both

the dead and the living. But thou, why dost thou judge thy brother? or

thou again, why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all

stand before the judgment-seat of God. For it is written,

As I live, saith the Lord, to me every knee shall bow,

And every tongue shall confess to God.

So then each one of us shall give account of himself to God. {420}

Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge ye this

rather, that no man put a stumblingblock in his brother's way, or an

occasion of falling. I know, and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that

nothing is unclean of itself: save that to him who accounteth anything

to be unclean, to him it is unclean. For if because of meat thy

brother is grieved, thou walkest no longer in love. Destroy not with

thy meat him for whom Christ died. Let not then your good be evil

spoken of: for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but

righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

--_Romans 14:7-.17_.

I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therein to be content. I

know how to be abased, and I know also how to abound: in everything

and in all things have I learned the secret both to be filled and to

be hungry, both to abound and to be in want. I can do all things in

him that strengtheneth me.

--_Philippians 4:11,12_.

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthily of

the calling wherewith ye were called, with all lowliness and meekness,

with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; giving diligence

to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one

body, and one Spirit, even as also ye were called in one hope of your

calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all,

who is over all, and through all, and in all. But unto each one of us

was the grace given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

Wherefore he saith, {421}

When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive,

And gave gifts unto men.

And he gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some,

evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the

saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body

of Christ: till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the

knowledge of the Son of God, unto a fullgrown man, unto the measure of

the stature of the fulness of Christ: that we may be no longer

children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of

doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of

error; but speaking truth in love, may grow up in all things into him,

which is the head, even Christ; from whom all the body fitly framed

and knit together through that which every joint supplieth, according

to the working in due measure of each several part, maketh the

increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love.

--_Ephesians 4:1-16_.

Wherefore, putting away falsehood, speak ye truth each one with his

neighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin

not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: neither give place to

the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him

labour, working with his hands the thing that is good, that he may

have whereof to give to him that hath need. Let no corrupt speech

proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for edifying as the

need may be, that it may give grace to them that hear. And grieve not

the Holy Spirit of God, {422} in whom ye were sealed unto the day of

redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and

railing, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to

another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, even as God also in

Christ forgave you.

--_Ephesians 4:25-32_.

Now we that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and

not to please ourselves. Let each one of us please his neighbour for

that which is good, unto edifying. For Christ also pleased not

himself; but, as it is written, "The reproaches of them that

reproached thee fell upon me."

--_Romans 15:1-3_.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,

kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, temperance: against such

there is no law. And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the

flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof.

If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also walk. Let us not

be vainglorious, provoking one another, envying one another.

Brethren, even if a man be overtaken in any trespass, ye which are

spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of meekness; looking to

thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and

so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man thinketh himself to be

something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let each man

prove his own work, and then shall he have his {423} glorying in

regard of himself alone, and not of his neighbour. For each man shall

bear his own burden.

But let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that

teacheth in all good things. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for

whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth

unto his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that

soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life. And let

us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we

faint not. So then, as we have opportunity, let us work that which is

good toward all men, and especially toward them that are of the

household of the faith.

--_Galatians 5:22-6:10_.

But we beseech you, brethren, to know them that labour among you, and

are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; and to esteem them

exceeding highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among

yourselves. And we exhort you, brethren, admonish the disorderly,

encourage the fainthearted, support the weak, be longsuffering toward

all. See that none render unto anyone evil for evil; but alway follow

after that which is good, one toward another, and toward all. Rejoice

alway; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks: for this is

the will of God in Christ Jesus to you-ward. Quench not the Spirit;

despise not prophesyings; prove all things; hold fast that which is

good; abstain from every form of evil.

--_I Thessalonians 5:12-22_.

{424}

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are

honourable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,

whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if

there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these

things.

--_Philippians 4:8_.

{425}

THE GREATEST THING IN THE WORLD

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I

am become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift

of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have

all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

And if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor; and if I give my body

to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing. Love

suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not

itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not

its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil; rejoiceth not in

unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth; beareth all things,

believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love

never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall be done

away; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be

knowledge, it shall be done away. For we know in part, and we prophesy

in part: but when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part

shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I felt as

a child, I thought as a child: now that I am become a man, I have put

away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then

face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I

have been known. But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and

the greatest of these is love.

--_I Corinthians 13_.

{426}

FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF JESUS.

[From the Epistle of James.]

TEMPTATION.

Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into manifold temptations;

knowing that the proof of your faith worketh patience. And let

patience have its perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire,

lacking in nothing.

But if any of you lacketh wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to

all liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let

him ask in faith, nothing doubting: for he that doubteth is like the

surge of the sea driven by the wind and tossed. For let not that man

think that he shall receive anything of the Lord; a doubleminded man,

unstable in all his ways.

But let the brother of low degree glory in his high estate: and the

rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he

shall pass away. For the sun ariseth with the scorching wind, and

withereth the grass; and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of

the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in

his goings.

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he hath been

approved, he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord promised

to them that love him. Let no {427} man say when he is tempted, "I am

tempted of God": for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself

tempteth no man: but each man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his

own lust, and enticed. Then the lust, when it hath conceived, beareth

sin: and the sin, when it is fullgrown, bringeth forth death. Be not

deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect boon

is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be

no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning. Of his own will

he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of

firstfruits of his creatures.

PURE RELIGION

Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: for the

wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore putting

away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with

meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be

ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves.

For if anyone is a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto

a man beholding his natural face in a mirror: for he beholdeth

himself, and goeth away, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man

he was. But he that looketh into the perfect law, the law of liberty,

and so continueth, being not a hearer that forgetteth, but a doer that

worketh, this man shall be blessed in his doing. If any man thinketh

himself to be religious, while he bridleth not his tongue but

deceiveth his heart, this man's religion {428} is vain. Pure religion

and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the

fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself

unspotted from the world.

FAITH AND WORKS

What doth it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but have

not works? can that faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked,

and in lack of daily food, and one of you say unto them, "Go in peace,

be ye warmed and filled"; and yet ye give them not the things needful

to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it have not works,

is dead in itself. Yea, a man will say, "Thou hast faith, and I have

works: shew me thy faith apart from thy works, and I by my works will

shew thee my faith."

AN UNRULY TONGUE

Be not many teachers, my brethren, knowing that we shall receive

heavier judgment. For in many things we all stumble. If any stumbleth

not in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body

also. Now if we put the horses' bridles into their mouths, that they

may obey us, we turn about their whole body also. Behold, the ships

also, though they are so great, and are driven by rough winds, are yet

turned about by a very small rudder, whither the steersman willeth. So

the tongue also is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold,

how great a forest is kindled by how small a fire! And the {429}

tongue is a fire: the world of iniquity among our members is the

tongue, which defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course

of nature, and is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beasts and

birds, of creeping things and things in the sea, is tamed, and hath

been tamed by mankind: but the tongue can no man tame; it is a

restless evil, it is full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we the

Lord and Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the

likeness of God: out of the same mouth cometh forth blessing and

cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth the

fountain send forth from the same opening sweet water and bitter? can

a fig tree, my brethren, yield olives, or a vine figs? neither can

salt water yield sweet.

THE PEACEABLE SPIRIT

Who is wise and understanding among you? let him shew by his good life

his works in meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter jealousy and

faction in your heart, glory not and lie not against the truth. This

wisdom is not a wisdom that cometh down from above, but is earthly,

sensual, devilish. For where jealousy and faction are, there is

confusion and every vile deed. But the wisdom that is from above is

first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be intreated, full of

mercy and good fruits, without variance, without hypocrisy. And the

fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for them that make peace.

Whence come wars and whence come fightings among you? come they not

hence, even of your pleasures that war {430} in your members? Ye lust,

and have not: ye kill, and covet, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war;

ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye

ask amiss, that ye may spend it in your pleasures. Whosoever therefore

would be a friend of the world maketh himself an enemy of God. Or

think ye that the scripture speaketh in vain? Doth the spirit which he

made to dwell in us long unto envying? But he giveth more grace.

Wherefore the scripture saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth

grace to the humble. Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the

devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw

nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts,

ye doubleminded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter

be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in

the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you.

Speak not one against another, brethren. He that speaketh against a

brother or judgeth his brother, speaketh against the law, and judgeth

the law: but if thou judgest the law, thou art not a doer of the law,

but a judge. One only is the lawgiver and judge, even he who is able

to save and to destroy: but who art thou that judgest thy neighbour?

RICH AND POOR

My brethren, hold not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of

glory, with respect of persons.

{431}{432}

[Illustration]

RUINS OF THE TEMPLE OF JUPITER AT CORINTH.

Corinth was one of the richest cities of the Mediterranean in the

time of Paul. It was called by the poets "the city of the two seas."

The "Acrocorinthus," or Citadel of Corinth, crowned with

fortifications and temples rose abruptly two thousand feet above the

level of the sea.

[End illustration]

{433}

For if there come into your synagogue a man with a gold ring, in fine

clothing, and there come in also a poor man in vile clothing; and ye

have regard to him that weareth the fine clothing, and say, "Sit thou

here in a good place"; and ye say to the poor man, "Stand thou there,

or sit under my footstool"; are ye not divided in your own mind, and

become judges with evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren; did

not God choose them that are poor as to the world to be rich in faith,

and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to them that love him? But

ye have dishonoured the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you, and

themselves 'drag you before the judgment-seats? Do not they blaspheme

the honourable name by the which ye are called? Howbeit if ye fulfil

the royal law, according to the scripture, "Thou shalt love thy

neighbour as thyself," ye do well: but if ye have respect of persons,

ye commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors. For

whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he

is become guilty of all. For he that said, "Do not commit adultery,"

said also, "Do not kill." Now if thou dost not commit adultery, but

killest, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and

so do, as men that are to be judged by a law of liberty. For judgment

is without mercy to him that hath shewed no mercy; mercy glorieth

against judgment.

Go to now, ye rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming

upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.

Your gold and your silver are rusted; and their rust shall be for a

testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh as fire. Ye have laid

up your treasure in the last days. Behold, the hire of the {434}

labourers who mowed your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud,

crieth out: and the cries of them that reaped have entered into the

ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. Ye have lived delicately on the earth,

and taken your pleasure; ye have nourished your hearts in a day of

slaughter. Ye have condemned, ye have killed the righteous one; he

doth not resist you.

Go to now, ye that say, "To-day or to-morrow we will go into this

city, and spend a year there, and trade, and get gain:" whereas ye

know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For ye are a

vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For

ye ought to say, "If the Lord will, we shall both live, and do this or

that." But now ye glory in your vauntings: all such glorying is evil.

To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it

is sin.

Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold,

the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, being

patient over it, until it receive the early and latter rain. Be ye

also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord is at

hand.

Is any among you suffering? let him pray. Is any cheerful? let him

sing praise.

The supplication of a righteous man availeth much in its working.

My brethren, if any among you do err from the truth, and one convert

him; let him know, that he which converteth a sinner from the error of

his way shall save a soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of

sins.

{435}

THE GOSPEL OF LOVE AND OF SONSHIP

Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we

should be called children of God: and such we are. For this cause the

world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we

children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We

know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we

shall see him even as he is. And everyone that hath this hope set on

him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Everyone that doeth sin

doeth also lawlessness: and sin is lawlessness. And ye know that he

was manifested to take away sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever

abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him,

neither knoweth him.

And this is the message which we have heard from him, and announce

unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we

say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in the darkness, we

lie, and do not the truth: but if we walk in the light; as he is in

the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus

his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we

deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins,

he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us

from all unrighteousness. {436} If we say that we have not sinned, we

make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Beloved, no new commandment write I unto you, but an old commandment

which ye had from the beginning: the old commandment is the word which

ye heard. Again, a new commandment write I unto you, which thing is

true in him and in you; because the darkness is passing away, and the

true light already shineth. He that saith he is in the light, and

hateth his brother, is in the darkness even until now. He that loveth

his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of

stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in the darkness,

and walketh in the darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because

the darkness hath blinded his eyes.

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one

that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not

knoweth not God; for God is love. Herein was the love of God

manifested in us, that God hath sent his only begotten Son into the

world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we

loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the

propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought

to love one another. No man hath beheld God at any time: if we love

one another, God abideth in us, and his love is perfected in us:

hereby know we that we abide in him, and he in us, because he hath

given us of his Spirit. And we have beheld and bear witness that the

Father hath sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever

shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abideth in {437} him,

and he in God. And we know and have believed the love which God hath

in us. God is love; and he that abideth in love abideth in God, and

God abideth in him. Herein is love made perfect with us, that we may

have boldness in the day of judgment; because as he is, even so are we

in this world. There is no fear in love: but perfect love casteth out

fear, because fear hath punishment; and he that feareth is not made

perfect in love. We love, because he first loved us. If a man say, I

love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not

his brother whom he hath seen, cannot love God whom he hath not seen.

And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his

brother also.

Marvel not, brethren, if the world hateth you. We know that we have

passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He that

loveth not abideth in death.

Hereby we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and

do his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his

commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

--_From the Epistles of John_.

{438}

THE CHRISTIAN ATHLETE

What then is my reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may make the

gospel without charge, so as not to use to the full my right in the

gospel. For though I was free from all men, I brought myself under

bondage to all, that I might gain the more. And to the Jews I became

as a Jew, that I might gain Jews; to them that are under the law, as

under the law, not being myself under the law, that I might gain them

that are under the law; to them that are without law, as without law,

not being without law to God, but under law to Christ, that I might

gain them that are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I

might gain the weak: I am become all things to all men, that I may by

all means save some. And I do all things for the gospel's sake, that I

may be a joint partaker thereof. Know ye not that they which run in a

race run all, but one receiveth the prize? Even so run, that ye may

attain. And every man that striveth in the games is temperate in all

things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown; but we an

incorruptible. I therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as

not beating the air: but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage:

lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself

should be a castaway.

--_I Corinthians 9:24-27_.

{439}

Therefore let us also, seeing we are compassed about with so great a

cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so

easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set

before us, looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith,

who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising

shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

--_Hebrews 12:1, 2_.

With freedom did Christ set us free: stand fast therefore, and be not

entangled again in a yoke of bondage. Ye were running well; who did

hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? This persuasion came not

of him that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

--_Galatians 5:1, 7-9_.

{440}

THE CHRISTIAN TEMPLE

According to the grace of God which was given unto me, as a wise

masterbuilder I laid a foundation; and another buildeth thereon. But

let each man take heed how he buildeth thereon. For other foundation

can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. But if

any man buildeth on the foundation gold, silver, costly stones, wood,

hay, stubble; each man's work shall be made manifest: for the day

shall declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself

shall prove each man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work

shall abide which he built thereon, he shall receive a reward. If any

man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall

be saved; yet so as through fire.

--_I Corinthians 3:10-15_.

So then ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but ye are

fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, being

built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus

himself being the chief corner stone; in whom each several building,

fitly framed together, groweth into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom

ye also are builded together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.

--_Ephesians 2:19-22_.

{441}{442}

[Illustration]

A GENERAL VIEW OF THE ACROPOLIS, ATHENS.

From a picture belonging to Smith College and used by the kind

permission of the Department of Greek Literature.

This hill, covered with a fortress and temple, was the most

pronounced object in ancient as in modern Athens. This is one of the

beautiful temples which Paul saw, from which he drew many

illustrations.

[End illustration]

{443}

For we are God's fellow-workers: ye are God's husbandry, God's building.

--_I Corinthians 3:9_.

Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God

dwelleth in you? If any man destroyeth the temple of God, him shall

God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

--_I Corinthians 3:16, 17_.

For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father, from whom every family

in heaven and on earth is named, that he would grant you, according to

the riches of his glory, that ye may be strengthened with power

through his Spirit in the inward man; that Christ may dwell in your

hearts through faith; to the end that ye, being rooted and grounded in

love, may be strong to apprehend with all the saints what is the

breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of

Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled unto all the

fulness of God.

--_Ephesians 3:14-19_.

Now to him that is able to stablish you according to my gospel and the

preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery

which hath been kept in silence through times eternal, but now is

manifested, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the

commandment of the eternal God, is made known unto all the nations

unto obedience of faith; to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ,

to whom be the glory for ever. Amen.

--_Romans 16:25-27_.

{444}

O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God!

how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out! For

who hath known the mind of the Lord or who hath been his counsellor?

or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him

again? For of him, and through him, and unto him, are all things. To

him be the glory for ever. Amen.

--_Romans 11:33-36_.

Now unto the King eternal, incorruptible, invisible, the only God, be

honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

--_I Timothy 1:17_.

{445}{446}

[Illustration]

VIEW OF ANTIOCH, WHERE THE DISCIPLES WERE FIRST CALLED CHRISTIANS.

Copyright by Underwood & Underwood and used by special permission.

There was everything in the situation and circumstances of this city

to make it a place of concourse for all classes and kinds of people.

By its harbor of Seleucia it was in communication with all the trade

of the Mediterranean; and, through the open country behind the

Lebanon, it was conveniently approached by the caravans from

Mesopotamia and Arabia. It united the inland advantages of Aleppo

with the maritime opportunities of Smyrna. It was almost an Oriental

Rome, in which all the forms of the civilized life of the Empire

found some representative.

At the rugged bases of the mountain, the ground was leveled for a

glorious street, which extended for four miles across the length of

the city, and where sheltered crowds could walk through continuous

colonnades from the eastern to the western suburb. The whole was

surrounded by a wall, which, ascending to the heights and returning

to the river, does not deviate very widely in its course from the

wall of the Middle Ages, which can still be traced by the fragments

of ruined towers. This wall is assigned by a Byzantine writer to

Tiberius, but it seems more probable that the Emperor only repaired

what Antiochus Epiphanes had built.

[End illustration]

{447}

THE CHRISTIAN WARRIOR

But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake

you as a thief: for ye are all sons of light, and sons of the day: we

are not of the night, nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep, as do

the rest, but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep, sleep in

the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let

us, since we are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of

faith and love: and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God

appointed us not unto wrath, but unto the obtaining of salvation

through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake

or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore exhort one

another, and build each other up, even as also ye do.

--_I Thessalonians 5:4-11_.

Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. Put

on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the

wiles of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood,

but against the principalities, against the powers, against the

world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of

wickedness in the heavenly places. Wherefore take up the whole armour

of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having

done all, to stand. Stand therefore, {448} having girded your loins

with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and

having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

also taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to

quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of

salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

--_Ephesians 6:10-17_.

Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. Let

all that ye do be done in love.

--_I Corinthians 16:13_.

Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier

on service entangleth himself in the affairs of this life; that he may

please him who enrolled him as a soldier.

--_II Timothy 2:3, 4_.

But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after

righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the

good fight of the faith, lay hold on the life eternal, whereunto thou

wast called, and didst confess the good confession in the sight of

many witnesses.

--_Timothy 6:11,12_.

{449}

THE HOPE OF IMMORTALITY

Now if Christ is preached that he hath been raised from the dead, how

say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if

there is no resurrection of the dead, neither hath Christ been raised:

and if Christ hath not been raised, then is our preaching vain, your

faith also is vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God;

because we witnessed of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised

not up, if so be that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not

raised, neither hath Christ been raised: and if Christ hath not been

raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also

which are fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only

we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most pitiable.

But now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of them

that are asleep. For since by man came death, by man came also the

resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ

shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the

firstfruits; then they that are Christ's, at his coming. Then cometh

the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father;

when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power. For

he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet. The

last enemy that shall be abolished is death. For, "He put all things

in {450} subjection under his feet." But when he saith, "All things

are put in subjection," it is evident that he is excepted who did

subject all things unto him. And when all things have been subjected

unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subjected to him that did

subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all.

But some one will say, "How are the dead raised? and with what manner

of body do they come?" Thou foolish one, that which thou thyself

sowest is not quickened, except it die: and that which thou sowest,

thou sowest not the body that shall be, but a bare grain, it may

chance of wheat, or of some other kind; but God giveth it a body even

as it pleased him, and to each seed a body of its own. All flesh is

not the same flesh: but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh

of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fishes. There

are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of

the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and

another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star

in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in

corruption; it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonour; it

is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: it

is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a

natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So also it is written,

"The first man Adam became a living soul." The last Adam became a

life-giving spirit. Howbeit that is not first which is spiritual, but

that which is natural; then {451} that which is spiritual. The first

man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is of heaven. As is the

earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly,

such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image

of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the

kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold,

I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be

changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump:

for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised

incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put

on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when

this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall

have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is

written, "Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy

victory? O death, where is thy sting?" The sting of death is sin; and

the power of sin is the law: but thanks be to God, which giveth us the

victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore, my beloved brethren,

be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,

forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not vain in the Lord.

--_I Corinthians 15:12-58_.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding

greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves; we are

pressed on every side, yet not straitened; perplexed, yet not unto

despair; pursued, yet {452} not forsaken; smitten down, yet not

destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, that

the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body. For we which

live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life

also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death

worketh in us, but life in you. But having the same spirit of faith,

according to that which is written, "I believed, and therefore did I

speak"; we also believe, and therefore also we speak; knowing that he

which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also with Jesus, and

shall present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that the

grace, being multiplied through the many, may cause the thanksgiving

to abound unto the glory of God.

Wherefore we faint not; but though our outward man is decaying, yet

our inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which

is for the moment, worketh for us more and more exceedingly an eternal

weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but

at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are

temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

For we know that if the earthly house of our tabernacle be dissolved,

we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in

the heavens.

--_II Corinthians 4:7-5:1_.

If then ye were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are

above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. Set your mind

on the things that are above, {453} not on the things that are upon

the earth. For ye died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When

Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with

him be manifested in glory.

--_Colossians 3:1-4_.

For our citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we wait for a

Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall fashion anew the body of our

humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of his glory,

according to the working whereby he is able even to subject all things

unto himself.

--_Philippians 3:20, 21_.

Howbeit what things were gain to me, these have I counted loss for

Christ. Yea verily, and I count all things to be loss for the

excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I

suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but refuse, that I

may gain Christ, and be found in him, not having a righteousness of

mine own, even that which is of the law, but that which is through

faith in Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: that I

may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of

his sufferings, becoming conformed unto his death; if by any means I

may attain unto the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have

already obtained, or am already made perfect: but I press on, if so be

that I may apprehend that for which also I was apprehended by Christ

Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself yet to have apprehended: but one

thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching

forward to the {454} things which are before, I press on toward the

goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us

therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in anything

ye are otherwise minded, even this shall God reveal unto you: only,

whereunto we have already attained, by that same rule let us walk.

--_Philippians 3:7-16_.

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy

to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us-ward. For

the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the revealing of

the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its

own will, but by reason of him who subjected it, in hope that the

creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption

into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. For we know that

the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

And not only so, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the

Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for our

adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For by hope were we

saved: but hope that is seen is not hope: for who hopeth for that

which he seeth? But if we hope for that which we see not, then do we

with patience wait for it.

--_Romans 8:18-25_.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is

against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for

us all, how shall he not also with {455} him freely give us all

things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God

that justifieth; who is he that shall condemn? It is Christ Jesus that

died, yea rather, that was raised from the dead, who is at the right

hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate

us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or anguish, or

persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Even as it

is written,

"For thy sake we are killed all the day long;

We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter."

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that

loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor

angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come,

nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be

able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our

Lord.

--_Romans 8:31-39_.

{456}

SELECTIONS FROM THE APOCALYPSE OF JOHN

(This book is also called the Revelation.)

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to shew unto his

servants, even the things which must shortly come to pass: and he sent

and signified it by his angel unto his servant John; who bare witness

of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, even of all

things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the

words of the prophecy, and keep the things which are written therein:

for the time is at hand.

John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace,

from him which is and which was and which is to come; and from the

seven Spirits which are before his throne; and from Jesus Christ, who

is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of

the kings of the earth. Unto him that loveth us, and loosed us from

our sins by his blood; and he made us to be a kingdom, to be priests

unto his God and Father; to him be the glory and the dominion for ever

and ever. Amen.

Behold, he cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see him, and

they which pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn

over him. Even so, Amen.

{457}{458}

[Illustration]

EPHESUS. VIEW OP THE RUINS OF THE AQUEDUCT.

CASTLE IN THE BACKGROUND.

From a photograph belonging to Miss Julia W. Snow and used by her

kind permission.

[End illustration]

{459}

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," saith the Lord God, "which is and

which was and which is to come, the Almighty."

I John, your brother and partaker with you in the tribulation and

kingdom and patience which are in Jesus, was in the isle that is

called Patmos, for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was

in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a great voice,

as of a trumpet saying, "What thou seest, write in a book, and send it

to the seven churches; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto

Pergamum, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia,

and unto Laodicea."

And I turned to see the voice which spake with me. And having turned I

saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the candlesticks

one like unto a son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot,

and girt about at the breasts with a golden girdle. And his head and

his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; and his eyes were as

a flame of fire; and his feet like unto burnished brass, as if it had

been refined in a furnace; and his voice as the voice of many waters.

And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth

proceeded a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun

shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one

dead.

And he laid his right hand upon me, saying, "Fear not; I am the first

and the last, and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold, I am

alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. Write

{460} therefore the things which thou sawest, and the things which

are, and the things which shall come to pass hereafter; the mystery of

the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven

golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven

churches: and the seven candlesticks are seven churches.

"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write;

THE MESSAGE TO THE CHURCH IN EPHESUS

"These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars

in his right hand, he that walketh in the midst of the

seven golden candlesticks:

"I know thy works, and thy toil and patience, and that thou canst not

bear evil men, and didst try them which call themselves apostles, and

they are not, and didst find them false; and thou hast patience and

didst bear for my name's sake, and hast not grown weary. But I have

this against thee, that thou didst leave thy first love. Remember

therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first

works; or else I come to thee, and will move thy candlestick out of

its place, except thou repent. He that hath an ear, let him hear what

the Spirit saith to the churches. To him that overcometh, to him will

I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.

"And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write;

THE MESSAGE TO THE CHURCH IN SMYRNA

"These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and lived

again: I know thy tribulation, and thy {461} poverty (but thou art

rich), and the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and they are

not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Fear not the things which thou art

about to suffer: behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into

prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days.

Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the

churches. He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

"And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write;

THE MESSAGE TO THE CHURCH IN PERGAMUM

"These things saith he that hath the sharp two-edged sword: I know

where thou dwellest, even where Satan's throne is: and thou holdest

fast my name, and didst not deny my faith, even in the days of Antipas

my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan

dwelleth. But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast

there some that hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast

a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things

sacrificed to idols. Repent therefore; or else I come to thee quickly,

and I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth. He that

hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. To

him that overcometh, to him will I give of the hidden manna, and I

will give him a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written,

which no one knoweth but he that receiveth it.

{462}

"And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write;

THE MESSAGE TO THE CHURCH IN THYATIRA

"These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like a flame of

fire, and his feet are like unto burnished brass: I know thy works,

and thy love and faith and ministry and patience, and that thy last

works are more than the first. But I have this against thee, that thou

sufferest the woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess; and

she teacheth and seduceth my servants.

"But to you I say, to the rest that are in Thyatira, as many as have

not this teaching, which know not the deep things of Satan, as they

say; I cast upon you none other burden. Howbeit that which ye have,

hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and he that keepeth my

works unto the end, to him will I give authority over the nations: and

he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter

are broken to shivers; as I also have received of my Father: and I

will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what

the Spirit saith to the churches.

"And to the angel of the church in Sardis write;

THE MESSAGE TO THE CHURCH IN SARDIS

"These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the

seven stars: I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest,

and thou art dead. Be thou watchful, and stablish the things that

remain, which were ready to die: for I have found no works of thine

{463} fulfilled before my God. Remember therefore how thou hast

received and didst hear; and keep it, and repent. If therefore thou

shalt not watch, I will come as a thief, and thou shalt not know what

hour I will come upon thee. But thou hast a few names in Sardis which

did not defile their garments: and they shall walk with me in white;

for they are worthy. He that overcometh shall thus be arrayed in white

garments; and I will in no wise blot his name out of the book of life,

and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the

churches.

"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write;

THE MESSAGE TO THE CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA

"These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the

key of David, he that openeth, and none shall shut, and that shutteth,

and none openeth: I know thy works (behold, I have set before thee a

door opened, which none can shut), that thou hast a little power, and

didst keep my word, and didst not deny my name. Behold, I give of the

synagogue of Satan, of them which say they are Jews, and they are not,

but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy

feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou didst keep the

word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of trial,

that hour which is to come upon the whole world, to try them that

dwell upon the earth. I come quickly: hold fast that which thou hast,

that no one take thy crown. He that overcometh, I will {464} make him

a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out thence no more:

and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city

of my God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my

God, and mine own new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the

Spirit saith to the churches.

"And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write;

THE MESSAGE TO THE CHURCH IN LAODICEA

"These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the

beginning of the creation of God: I know thy works, that thou art

neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So because thou

art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my

mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and have gotten riches, and

have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art the wretched one

and miserable and poor and blind and naked: I counsel thee to buy of

me gold refined by fire, that thou mayest become rich; and white

garments, that thou mayest clothe thyself, and that the shame of thy

nakedness be not made manifest; and eye-salve to anoint thine eyes,

that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I reprove and chasten: be

zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock:

if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and

will sup with him, and he with me. He that overcometh, I will give to

him to sit down with me in my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down

with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what

the Spirit saith to the churches."

{465}{466}

[Illustration]

EPHESUS. THE TRADITIONAL TOMB OF ST. LUKE.

From a photograph belonging to Miss Julia W. Snow and used by her

kind permission.

[End illustration]

{467}

After these things I saw, and behold, a door opened in heaven, and the

first voice which I heard, a voice as of a trumpet speaking with me,

one saying, "Come up hither, and I will shew thee the things which

must come to pass hereafter."

Straightway I was in the Spirit: and behold, there was a throne set in

heaven, and one sitting upon the throne; and he that sat was to look

upon like a jasper stone and a sardius: and there was a rainbow round

about the throne, like an emerald to look upon. And round about the

throne were four and twenty thrones: and upon the thrones I saw four

and twenty elders sitting, arrayed in white garments; and on their

heads crowns of gold. And out of the throne proceed lightnings and

voices and thunders. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before

the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; and before the throne,

as it were a glassy sea like unto crystal; and in the midst of the

throne, and round about the throne, four living creatures full of eyes

before and behind. And the first creature was like a lion, and the

second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face as of a

man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle.

And the four living creatures, having each one of them six wings, are

full of eyes round about and within: and they have no rest day and

night, saying, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, which

was and which is and which is to come."

And when the living creatures shall give glory and {468} honour and

thanks to him that sitteth on the throne, to him that liveth for ever

and ever, the four and twenty elders shall fall down before him that

sitteth on the throne, and shall worship him that liveth for ever and

ever, and shall cast their crowns before the throne, saying, "Worthy

art thou, our Lord and our God, to receive the glory and the honour

and the power: for thou didst create all things, and because of thy

will they were, and were created."

And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book

written within and on the back, close sealed with seven seals. And I

saw a strong angel proclaiming with a great voice, "Who is worthy to

open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?"

And no one in the heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth, was

able to open the book, or to look thereon.

And I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open the book, or

to look thereon: and one of the elders saith unto me, "Weep not:

behold, the Lion that is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David,

hath overcome, to open the book and the seven seals thereof."

And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures,

and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing, as though it had been

slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits

of God, sent forth into all the earth. And he came, and he taketh it

out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne. And when he had

taken the book, the four living creatures and the four and twenty

elders fell down {469} before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and

golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

And they sing a new song, saying, "Worthy art thou to take the book,

and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and didst purchase

unto God with thy blood men of every tribe, and tongue, and people,

and nation, and madest them to be unto our God a kingdom and priests;

and they reign upon the earth."

And I saw, and I heard a voice of many angels round about the throne

and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was

ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; saying

with a great voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that hath been slain to

receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honour, and

glory, and blessing." And every created thing which is in the heaven,

and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all things

that are in them, heard I saying, "Unto him that sitteth on the

throne, and unto the Lamb, be the blessing, and the honour, and the

glory, and the dominion, for ever and ever."

And the four living creatures said, "Amen." And the elders fell down

and worshipped.

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one

of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder,

"Come."

And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon had a

bow; and there was given unto him a crown: and he came forth

conquering, and to conquer.

{470}

And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature

saying, "Come."

And another horse came forth, a red horse: and to him that sat thereon

it was given to take peace from the earth, and that they should slay

one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature

saying, "Come."

And I saw, and behold, a black horse; and he that sat thereon had a

balance in his hand. And I heard as it were a voice in the midst of

the four living creatures saying, "A measure of wheat for a penny, and

three measures of barley for a penny; and the oil and the wine hurt

thou not."

And when he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth

living creature saying, "Come."

And I saw, and behold, a pale horse: and he that sat upon him, his

name was Death; and Hades followed with him. And there was given unto

them authority over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword,

and with famine, and with death, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the

souls of them that had been slain for the word of God, and for the

testimony which they held: and they cried with a great voice, saying,

"How long, O Master, the holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge

our blood on them that dwell on the earth?"

{471}{472}

[Illustration]

SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST

By Dolci

[End illustration]

{473}

And there was given them to each one a white robe; and it was said

unto them, that they should rest yet for a little time, until their

fellow-servants also and their brethren, which should be killed even

as they were, should be fulfilled.

And I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great

earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the

whole moon became as blood; and the stars of the heaven fell unto the

earth, as a fig tree casteth her unripe figs, when she is shaken of a

great wind. And the heaven was removed as a scroll when it is rolled

up; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and the chief captains,

and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman and freeman, hid

themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains; and they

say to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us, and hide us from

the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the

Lamb: for the great day of their wrath is come; and who is able to

stand?"

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the

earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that no wind should blow

on the earth, or on the sea, or upon any tree. And I saw another angel

ascend from the sun rising, having the seal of the living God: and he

cried with a great voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to

hurt the earth and the sea, saying, "Hurt not the earth, neither the

sea, nor the trees, till we shall have sealed the servants of our God

on their foreheads."

{474}

And I heard the number of them which were sealed, a hundred and forty

and four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of

Israel.

After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude, which no man

could number, out of every nation, and of all tribes and peoples and

tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in

white robes, and palms in their hands; and they cry with a great

voice, saying, "Salvation unto our God which sitteth on the throne,

and unto the Lamb."

And all the angels were standing round about the throne, and about the

elders and the four living creatures; and they fell before the throne

on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, "Amen: Blessing, and

glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might,

be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen."

And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, "These which are

arrayed in the white robes, who are they, and whence come they?"

And I say unto him, "My lord, thou knowest."

And he said to me, "These are they which come out of the great

tribulation, and they washed their robes, and made them white in the

blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God; and

they serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the

throne shall spread his tabernacle over them. They shall hunger no

more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun strike upon them,

nor any heat: for the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall

be their {475} shepherd, and shall guide them unto fountains of waters

of life: and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes."

And I saw as it were a glassy sea mingled with fire; and them that

come victorious from the beast, and from his image, and from the

number of his name, standing by the glassy sea, having harps of God.

And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of

the Lamb, saying, "Great and marvellous are thy works, O Lord God, the

Almighty; righteous and true are thy ways, thou King of the ages. Who

shall not fear, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy;

for all the nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy

righteous acts have been made manifest."

And after these things I saw, and the temple of the tabernacle of the

testimony in heaven was opened: and there came out from the temple the

seven angels that had the seven plagues, arrayed with precious stone,

pure and bright, and girt about their breasts with golden girdles. And

one of the four living creatures gave unto the seven angels seven

golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.

And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from

his power; and none was able to enter into the temple, till the seven

plagues of the seven angels should be finished.

And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he that

sat thereon, called "Faithful and True"; and in righteousness he doth

judge and make war.

{476}

And his eyes are a flame of fire, and upon his head are many diadems;

and he hath a name written, which no one knoweth but he himself. And

he is arrayed in a garment sprinkled with blood: and his name is

called "The Word of God."

And the armies which are in heaven followed him upon white horses,

clothed in fine linen, white and pure. And out of his mouth proceedeth

a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall

rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the

fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his garment

and on his thigh a name written,

King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

VISIONS OF THE HEAVENLY CITY

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the

first earth are passed away; and the sea is no more. And I saw the

holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made

ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice

out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men,

and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and God

himself shall be with them, and be their God: and he shall wipe away

every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall

there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things

are passed away.

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain {477} great and

high, and shewed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven

from God, having the glory of God: her light was like unto a stone

most precious, as it were a jasper stone, clear as crystal: having a

wall great and high; having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve

angels; and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve

tribes of the children of Israel: on the east were three gates; and on

the north three gates; and on the south three gates; and on the west

three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on

them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that

spake with me had for a measure a golden reed to measure the city, and

the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And the city lieth

foursquare, and the length thereof is as great as the breadth: and he

measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs: the length

and the breadth and the height thereof are equal. And he measured the

wall thereof, a hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the

measure of a man, that is, of an angel. And the building of the wall

thereof was jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto pure glass.

The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner

of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second,

sapphire; the third chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; the fifth,

sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth,

beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh,

jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve

pearls; each one of the several gates was of one pearl: and the street

of {478} the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. And I

saw no temple therein: for the Lord God the Almighty, and the Lamb are

the temple thereof. And the city hath no need of the sun, neither of

the moon, to shine upon it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and

the lamp thereof is the Lamb. And the nations shall walk amidst the

light thereof: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory into

it. And the gates thereof shall in no wise be shut by day (for there

shall be no night there): and they shall bring the glory and the

honour of the nations into it: and there shall in no wise enter into

it anything unclean, or he that maketh an abomination and a lie: but

only they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. And he shewed

me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the

throne of God and of the Lamb, in the midst of the street thereof. And

on this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing

twelve manner of fruits, yielding its fruit every month: and the

leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there

shall be no curse any more: and the throne of God and of the Lamb

shall be therein: and his servants shall do him service; and they

shall see his face; and his name shall be on their foreheads. And

there shall be night no more; and they need no light of lamp, neither

light of sun; for the Lord God shall give them light: and they shall

reign for ever and ever.

--_Revelations 21:1-4, 10-27; 22:1-5_.

{479}

HYMNS OF THE AGES

{480}

Many of the great hymns are given elsewhere in the series.

A few of the choicest of the centuries are given here.

{481}

NEARER, MY GOD, TO THEE

Nearer, my God, to Thee,

Nearer to Thee!

E'en though it be a cross

That raiseth me!

Still all my song shall be,

Nearer, my God, to Thee,

Nearer to Thee!

Though, like a wanderer,

The sun gone down,

Darkness be over me,

My rest a stone,

Yet in my dreams I'd be

Nearer, my God, to Thee,

Nearer to Thee!

There let the way appear,

Steps unto heaven;

All that Thou sendest me,

In mercy given;

Angels to beckon me

Nearer, my God, to Thee,

Nearer to Thee!

{482}

Then, with my waking thoughts

Bright with Thy praise,

Out of my stony griefs

Bethel I'll raise;

So by my woes to be

Nearer, my God, to Thee,

Nearer to Thee!

--_Sarah Flower Adams_.

{483}

JESUS, LOVER OF MY SOUL

Jesus, lover of my soul,

Let me to Thy bosom fly

While the billows near me roll,

While the tempest still is high!

Hide me, O my Saviour! hide,

Till the storm of life is past;

Safe into the haven guide;

Oh, receive my soul at last!

Other refuge have I none;

Hangs my helpless soul on Thee;

Leave, ah! leave me not alone,

Still support and comfort me.

All my trust on Thee is stayed;

All my help from Thee I bring;

Cover my defenseless head

With the shadow of Thy wing.

Thou, O Christ! art all I want;

More than all in Thee I find:

Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,

Heal the sick, and lead the blind.

Just and holy is Thy name,

I am all unrighteousness;

Vile and full of sin I am,

Thou art full of truth and grace.

{484}

Plenteous grace with Thee is found,

Grace to pardon all my sin;

Let the healing streams abound,

Make and keep me pure within.

Thou of life the fountain art,

Freely let me take of Thee;

Spring Thou up within my heart,

Rise to all eternity.

--_Charles Wesley_.

{485}

MY FAITH LOOKS UP TO THEE

My faith looks up to Thee,

Thou Lamb of Calvary,

Saviour divine!

Now hear me while I pray,

Take all my guilt away,

Oh, let me from this day

Be wholly Thine!

May Thy rich grace impart

Strength to my fainting heart,

My zeal inspire;

As Thou hast died for me,

Oh, may my love to Thee

Pure, warm, and changeless be,

A living fire!

While life's dark maze I tread,

And griefs around me spread,

Be Thou my guide;

Bid darkness turn to day,

Wipe sorrow's tears away,

Nor let me ever stray

From Thee aside.

{486}

When ends life's transient dream,

When death's cold, sullen stream

Shall o'er me roll,

Blest Saviour! then, in love,

Fear and distrust remove;

Oh, bear me safe above.

A ransomed soul!

--_Ray Palmer_

{487}

FOLLOWING THE MASTER

Art thou weary, art thou languid,

Art thou sore distressed?

"Come to Me," saith One, "and coming,

Be at rest."

Hath He marks to lead me to Him,

If He be my Guide?--

"In His feet and hands are wound-prints,

And His side."

Is there diadem, as Monarch,

That His brow adorns?--

"Yea, a crown, in very surety;

But of thorns."

If I find Him, if I follow,

What His guerdon here?--

"Many a sorrow, many a labor,

Many a tear."

If I still hold closely to Him,

What hath He at last?--

"Sorrow vanquished, labor ended,

Jordan passed."

{488}

If I ask Him to receive me,

Will He say me nay?--

"Not till earth, and not till heaven

Pass away."

Finding, following, keeping, struggling,

Is He sure to bless?--

"Saints, apostles, prophets, martyrs,

Answer, Yes."

--_Translated by John Mason Neale from the Greek_.

{489}

ROCK OF AGES

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,

Let me hide myself in Thee;

Let the water and the blood,

From Thy riven side which flowed,

Be of sin the double cure,

Cleanse me from its guilt and power.

Not the labors of my hands

Can fulfill the law's demands;

Could my zeal no respite know,

Could my tears forever flow,

All for sin could not atone;

Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,

Simply to Thy cross I cling;

Naked, come to Thee for dress;

Helpless, look to Thee for grace;

Foul, I to the fountain fly;

Wash me, Saviour, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,

When my eyelids close in death,

When I soar to worlds unknown,

See Thee on Thy judgment throne,

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,

Let me hide myself in Thee.

--_Augustus Montague Toplady_.

{490}

CROSSING THE BAR

Sunset and evening star,

And one clear call for me!

And may there be no moaning of the bar,

When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,

Too full for sound and foam,

When that which drew from out the boundless deep

Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,

And after that the dark!

And may there be no sadness of farewell,

When I embark;

For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place

The flood may bear me far,

I hope to see my Pilot face to face

When I have crost the bar.

--_Alfred, Lord Tennyson_.

{491}

LEAD, KINDLY LIGHT

Lead, kindly Light! amid the encircling gloom,

Lead Thou me on;

The night is dark and I am far from home,

Lead Thou me on;

Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see

The distant scene; one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou

Shouldst lead me on;

I loved to choose and see my path; but now

Lead Thou me on:

I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,

Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years.

So long Thy power has blessed me, sure it still

Will lead me on

O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till

The night is gone;

And with the morn those angel faces smile

Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile!

--_John H. Newman_.

{492}

MY COUNTRY! 'T IS OF THEE

My country! 't is of thee,

Sweet land of liberty,

Of thee I sing;

Land where my fathers died!

Land of the Pilgrims' pride!

From every mountain side

Let freedom ring!

My native country, thee--

Land of the noble, free--

Thy name I love;

I love thy rocks and rills,

Thy woods and templed hills;

My heart with rapture thrills

Like that above.

Let music swell the breeze,

And ring from all the trees

Sweet freedom's song:

Let mortal tongues awake;

Let all that breathe partake;

Let rocks their silence break,--

The sound prolong.

{493}

Our fathers' God! to Thee,

Author of liberty,

To Thee we sing:

Long may our land be bright

With freedom's holy light;

Protect us by Thy might,

Great God, our King!

--_Samuel F. Smith_.

{494}

FROM ALL THAT DWELL BELOW THE SKIES

From all that dwell below the skies

Let the Creator's praise arise;

Let the Redeemer's name be sung

Through every land, by every tongue.

Eternal are Thy mercies, Lord;

Eternal truth attends Thy word;

Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore,

Till suns shall rise and set no more.

--_Isaac Watts_.

{495}

NOTES

{496}

{497}

NOTES

THE PSALMS.

_Psalm 1_. Ruskin, in "Our Fathers Have Told Us," declares that among

others Psalms 1, 8, 15, 19, 23, 24, well studied and believed, are

sufficient for all personal guidance; that Psalm 72 contains many of

the principles of just government; and that Psalm 104 anticipates the

triumphs of natural sciences.

Jerome, a great scholar in the early church, was drawn to study while

still young. One of his favorite texts was from Psalm 1: "But his

delight is in the law of the Lord; And in his law doth he meditate day

and night."

_Psalm 3_ was used as a prayer by the English when they learned that

the great Spanish Armada had sailed against England in 1588. A still

more romantic use was by the Huguenots of France, in whose armies it

is said sentries were posted and relieved to the chant of Psalms, and

Psalm 3 was used as the signal of danger.

_Psalm 4_ was an evening prayer, in the early church as well as in the

Jewish nation. Many have turned to it in the evening of life. Luther

said that he wished to hear it sung in his last moments; and the

martyr Ridley, who died in England for conscience's sake in 1555,

spent the last night of his life in quiet sleep, having repeated the

last verse of this Psalm.

_Psalm 8_. Not only Protestants, but, at other times, Catholics

suffered in England for conscience's sake. One of these, the Earl of

Arundel, imprisoned in the tower of London, carved the words of Psalm

8, lines 11, 12, on the wall, where they still remain. This is one of

the nature Psalms, and men who loved nature have often had it on their

lips, as did frequently Palissy, the Huguenot inventor of porcelain

ware. The guild of butchers in Mediaeval England took their motto from

Psalm 8, lines 13-16.

{498}

_Psalm 16_. One of the last days of Henry Martyn's life was spent in

"writing notes on Psalms 15 and 16." Hugh M'Kail, a young Scottish

insurgent, repeated the first line of Psalm 16 on the evening before

his execution.

_Psalm 17_. The funeral text of John Howard, the great prison

reformer, was taken from Psalm 17, lines 18, 19.

_Psalm 19_. Another great nature Psalm. Joseph Addison (1672-1719)

paraphrased it in the hymn--

"The spacious firmament on high."

_Psalm 23_. No Psalm has been translated in verse so often. George

Herbert, an English poet (1593-1632), is the author of one version--

"The God of love my Shepherd is."

Joseph Addison, of another--

"The Lord my pasture shall prepare."

_Psalm 25_. In the Indian Mutiny an English collector, Mr. Edwards,

was for weeks among natives of doubtful loyalty, hidden with a few

other English in a cowhouse, almost stifled with the heat. He derived,

according to his letters, unspeakable comfort from the 25th Psalm,

especially lines 28-34.

_Psalm 27_. The motto of the University of Oxford, "Dominus

illuminatio mea," is taken from the first two lines of Psalm 27.

_Psalm 29_. Another nature Psalm. From lines 15 and 16 is taken the

motto of George Herbert's "Sacred Poems."

_Psalm 31_. Few Psalms have been more widely used in Christian history

than this. The last work which Savonarola did was to write a

commentary on it, which was left unfinished by his death. So highly

did Luther consider this commentary that he had it published. The

words, "Into thy hand I commend my spirit," were consecrated by the

use of Christ on the cross, and have been the words with which many of

his followers have met death. The list of those who thus used them

begins with the first martyr Stephen, and includes kings, like

Charlemagne and Charles V.; martyrs, like Huss, Bishop Ridley and Lady

Jane Grey; reformers, like Luther, Melancthon, and {499} John Knox;

poets, like Tasso and George Herbert; missionaries, like Henry Martyn.

Mary Queen of Scots on the scaffold and Columbus in a wretched lodging

at Valladolid, both passed out of life with these words on their lips.

_Psalm 34_. Columba, the great missionary to North Britain in the

sixth century, sat on the last day of his life transcribing the 34th

Psalm. He had written lines 19 and 20 when he laid down his pen,

saying, "Here I make an end"; and he never took up his pen more.

_Psalm 37_. Livingstone says of lines 9 and 10 that they sustained him

at every turn of his course in Africa, and even in England.

_Psalm 42_. The hart was the symbol in the early church for those

souls who thirsted for the love of God. Cardinal Manning, one of the

ablest of Catholic statesmen of the last century, wrote, "'Why art

thou cast down, O my soul,' always seemed a voice to me." Scott was

true to the love of the Scottish people for the Psalms when he makes

Jeanie Deans repeat the above words in an hour of peril during her

journey to save her sister's life.

_Psalm 45_. It is said that the coronation ceremonies of English

monarchs are founded on this Psalm--the oil of gladness, the sword,

the crown, the sceptre, the throne.

_Psalm 46_. The best known paraphrase is Luther's vigorous version--

"A mighty fortress is our God."

In times of discouragement he would often say to his friend

Melancthon, "Come, let us sing the 46th Psalm." Cromwell also often

turned to it, and his speech at the opening of his second Parliament

was in part an exposition of this Psalm. At the beginning of the

Indian Mutiny, on the Sunday after the troops of Havelock first

learned of their danger, he chose, instead of the Psalm of the day,

this Psalm for their encouragement. "On the foundation of sure

confidence, gained from a reading of many Psalms, John Wesley built

up, by means of his intense energy, his organizing genius, and his

{500} administrative capacity, the mighty movement that still bears

his name. It was with the words of the Psalms that he met the approach

of death. Gathering his remaining strength into the cry, 'The best of

all, God is with us,' he lay for some time exhausted. One of the

bystanders wetted his parched lips. 'It will not do,' he said, 'we

must take the consequence, never mind the poor carcase.' Pausing a

little, he cried, 'Thy clouds drop fatness,' and soon after, 'The Lord

of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge.' Throughout the

night he was heard attempting to repeat these beautiful words from

Psalm 46. The next morning he was dead."

_Psalm 51_ was the favorite prayer of Sir Thomas More, the English

Catholic, who was as much a martyr for religion and liberty as ever

any man of English blood. It was his last prayer, repeated kneeling on

the scaffold where he was beheaded. Lady Jane Grey also repeated it on

the scaffold, as soon after did her father, the Duke of Suffolk, who

also suffered death for his Protestant faith. So did Egmont, executed

in Brussels at the command of the infamous Duke of Alva. Carey, the

first English missionary to India, desired the first four lines to be

the text of his funeral sermon. Shakespeare uses lines 11 and 12 in

the King's speech in Hamlet--

"Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens

To wash it white as snow?"

Lines 19 and 20 were repeated by the great English teacher, Thomas

Arnold, on his deathbed, while Teresa, the Spanish Catholic saint,

died repeating lines 15 and 16. Lines 21 and 22 serve as the motto of

Michael Angelo's picture of Savonarola. Few Psalms have been more on

the lips of holy men of all ages than the 51st.

_Psalm 68_ was the favorite Psalm of the Emperor Charlemagne. It was

used by the friends of Savonarola at the crisis of his career. A

Franciscan friar, whom he had angered by his preaching, challenged

him, after the custom of the Middle Ages, to prove his preaching by

the test of fire. One of his friends accepted the challenge for him,

and on the appointed day headed a procession which marched through the

streets of Florence, singing Psalm 68. The challenger did not appear;

and the crowd, with the usual bad logic of crowds, {501} turned

against Savonarola. Two days later he was thrown into prison, and

torture and death ended the scene. This Psalm was the battle hymn of

the Huguenots, in the form of a verse translation into French by Beza,

a great scholar of the Reformation. Battle after battle was entered to

the sound of this splendid song. At one battle, that of Courtras, a

young courtier in the opposing army saw the Huguenots kneel as they

sang. "See," he said, "the cowards are afraid. They are confessing."

"When the Huguenots behave thus, they are ready to fight to the

death," replied a veteran from the ranks. Cromwell opened his

Parliament with a speech expounding this Psalm. Lines 1 and 2 were the

text of the sermon at the service held by the Russians of Moscow in

1812 to give thanks for the retreat of the French from Moscow.

Cromwell's "Ironsides" sang this Psalm at the decisive battle at

Dunbar, when, the mists arising from the valley, they charged and

broke the enemy's ranks.

_Psalm 72_ was the favorite Psalm of Athanasius, the greatest figure

at the Nicene Council in 325 A. D. "Against all assaults upon thy

body," he says, "thine estate, thy soul, thy reputation, against all

temptations, tribulations, plots and slanderous reports, say this

Psalm." The familiar representation, in picture, song and story, of

the three Wise Men from the East at the Cradle of Christ as three

kings, is based on the kings mentioned in lines 18 and 19.