Reap And Gather

REAP AND GATHER.

The Savior's heart is yearning
With true compassion deep
For all His wandering children
Who are in sin asleep;
He prays His faithful followers
Their labors to renew,
To reap and glean and gather
The many, not the few.

The path that leads to glory
You have in love been taught;
From ways of death and darkness
To life and light been brought;
You have received so freely
Of love and power and light,
Extend your hand in mercy
And rescue with your might.

Go to the work with gladness
And count it joy to do
With willing heart and purpose
What God requires of you;
Call sinners to repentance,
His kingdom is at hand,
Prepare their souls to meet Him
And in His presence stand.

Ruth

RUTH

A gentle maid with lowly mien
In harvest fields went out to glean;
In sweet humility she thought
" I will be satisfied with aught.

I'll wait until the gleaner's done,
Then I will slowly follow on,
And one by one as each one leaves
I'll gather up neglected sheaves."

With happy smile and head bent low,
Softly she followed to and fro;
Meanwhile the Master rich and kind
Was watching her not far behind.

He bade the gleaners drop more grain,
Until there lay a golden train; 
And all the ground was richly spread
Along the path where she would tread.

Her arms were amply filled with food,
Her heart with joyous gratitude;
Just then she heard the Master call,
And found he loved her more than all.

Along life's pathway, here and there,
Are sheaves neglected, needing care;
And there must be some maids like Ruth,
Or they'll be lost, in very truth.

Then do not mind to follow on
And glean as she did, one by one,
Neglected sheaves, for, seeking such,
Our God will love us very much. 

Inasmuch

 INASMUCH

Our Lord is the Vine in the garden of God, -
The tender young branches are we;
Those who have thus labored for. us in His name,
Said Jesus, " Have done it to me."

Those guiding our footsteps in flower-bordered paths
Of rectitude, virtue, and truth,
Are training the branches to cling to the Vine
In the trying temptations of youth.

No service in life you can render the Vine,
Comes nearer its warm, loving heart,
Than leading the tendrils upon it to lean,
For strength, from life's earliest start.

Then store our young minds with the fruit of His love,
Fresh vigor in us to recruit;
And when to maturity grown every branch,
Will yield Him abundance of fruit.

Brotherhood

 BROTHERHOOD.

Love will work no ill to neighbor,
But will do him good;
God will know His true disciples
By their brotherhood.

Now, look at the white fields yonder,
See the grain so ripe to reap;
Then say if you're going to help them,
Or to fold your hands and sleep.

There are children by the thousand
That have never heard God's name,
On the street or round the hearth-stone,
Save in cursing or blaspheme.

His dear name, the gentle Jesus
Who loved children, oh, so much!
Ever waiting but to bless them
With divine and loving touch.

His kind heart in tender pity
For his lambs is yearning still,
And their souls are in our keeping; -
Shall we save, or shall we kill ?

Like a Cain we may not slay them,
But with thoughtless, cold neglect;
Is this true, my Christian hearers,
Stop a moment and reflect.

If God asks you for your brother,
At His judgment bar some day,
Will you say, " I'm not his keeper,"
Hide your face and turn away?

If you do, the rocks and mountains
Will not shield you from his wrath;
For He is a God of justice,
Though He tender mercies hath.

'Tis a sad and gloomy picture
Drawn with heavy heart and bowed;
But, thank God! the silver lining's
Just behind the darkened cloud.

You who have been blessed with plenty,
Homes of love and Christian grace;
Can, with generous heart consenting,
Swiftly this sad scene erase.

All the cloud may be one splendor,
Radiating floods of light,
If our love for one another
Is but measured in God's sight.

The Mission of The Flowers

THE MISSION OF THE FLOWERS.

God made a tiny flow'ret,
As pure and white as snow,
And said, "This modest lily
Must in the valley grow,
And send forth sweetest fragrance
With meekly drooping head,
And teach the world humility
From out its lowly bed."

And then He made a red rose,
With lovely, blushing face,
And said, "To you, my fair one,
I'll give a higher place;
But you must teach a lesson
Upon your little mound,
By breathing love and perfume
Upon the world around."

And thus they grew in beauty
Not many rods apart,
While each fulfilled its mission
With glad and willing heart;

And when the frost of Autumn came,
And chilled their hearts with fear,
God laid them gently down to rest
Upon a snow-white bier.

The Fullness of His Presence

The Fullness of His Presence

 I think, as I gaze on this beautiful scene,
That Jesus must be very near,
And eagerly catching each word and each song,
As it falls on His listening ear.

His far-seeing eyes must be glancing about,
And searching with diligent care,
The hearts of these children, to see if indeed
His name is in truth written there.

He loves little children! has given them this day
To be altogether their own, -
A type of that glorious Sabbath when we
Shall assemble around His great throne;

Shall crown Him the King of all Kings evermore;
Shall, worshipping, kneel at His feet; -
And again He will place His dear hands on our heads,
And bless us with thrilling words sweet.

Moreover, I think, as I gaze on this scene,
That heaven's a place much like this,
Except that, instead of the Presence we feel,
We'll see Jesus just as He is.

Babies prefer milk...

"About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic
 principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk
is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for
those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from
 evil." Hebrews 5:11-14

Description of Clip Art: baby holds a bottle of milk, three scriptures about milk and infants, black and white clip art

"Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil,
but in your thinking be mature." 1 Corinthians 14:20 

"Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's
 teaching. They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn
your neck." Proverbs 1:9

Have a question about the illustration? Just type it in the comment box and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. I only publish content that is closely related to the subject folks.

Who are the Queens listed in the New Testament?

There are only four queens mentioned in the New Testament: 

 

 1.) Bernice - who with her brother Agrippa II heard Paul in the judgement hall in Caesarea.
 2.) Candace - (Acts 8:27), a term applied to ruling queens of Meroe, capital of the country that later became the kingdom of Ethiopia, at the junction of the Nile and Atbara. Candace was a hereditary appellation used in the same manner as was the term "Pharaoh" applying to the older Egyptian kings.
       This Candace of Acts ruled in Ethiopia in the time of Paul and the evangelist Philip. She is mentioned because the eunuch who had charge of her treasury and went from Meroe to Jerusalem to worship declared that he believed Jesus Christ was the son of God.
       Candace's eunuch was baptized by Philip and took back Christ's message to Ethiopia. It is probable that Candace was the first in high circles in Ethiopia to hear the triumphant message of Jesus Christ.
 3.) Drusilla - a wife of Felix, Roman procurator at Caesarea when Paul appeared in the judgment hall there.
4.) The Queen in Revelation - in Revelation 18:7-10, a queen is mentioned. This refers to the wicked city of Babylon and her destruction.

What were the weeping women of Tammuz performing for?

       The women weeping for Tammuz sat at the north gate of the Jerusalem Temple. Instead of weeping for the national sins, these women wept for the dead god Tammuz, ancient god of pasture and flocks, of the subterranean ocean, and of vegetation. 

"He brought me to the north gate of the LORD’s Temple, and some women were sitting there, weeping for the god Tammuz." Ezekiel 8:14

       This incident is listed in Ezekiel's vision of "abominations" of the people. God had declared that He would not pardon this and other idolatrous worship. 

Who were the prophetesses of the Old Testament?

1.) Deborah 2, a "judge" and prophetess, who summoned Barak to undertake the contest with Sisera. She went with the former to the field of battle.
2.) Huldah, a woman in the time of King Josiah, who prophesied.
3.) Isaiah's wife - (Isa. 8:3). In the entire period of political decline which preceded the fall of Samaria in 722 B.C. and of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. only two prophetesses appear in the record: Huldah, and Isaiah's wife, whom he speaks of as a prophetess. In the case of Isaiah's wife, she was probably called a prophetess because she was the wife of a prophet, rather than one who prophesied herself.
       Isaiah tells that he went unto her and she conceived. Their son was Maher-shalal-hash-baz, meaning "Hasten the spoil, rush on the prey." In Isaiah 7:3 another son of Isaiah is mentioned. He is Shearjashub, and his name means "A remnant returns." The names stand for two of Isaiah's prophecies concerning Jerusalem.
4.) Miriam 1, sister of Moses, who led the women of Israel in that  oldest of national anthems, "Sing Unto the Lord."
5.) Noadiah (Neh. 6:14), a false prophetess, who with Sanballat, Samaritan leader, and Tobiah, Ammonite governor, made insidious attempts to prevent Nehemiah, a Jew of the captivity, from rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem in about 445 B.c.
       She and her allies used various stratagems to intimidate him. For example, they told him that during the night his enemies would kill him. They advised him to shut himself up in the house of God. He declined such advice, exclaiming, "My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in
fear."
       Despite the stratagems of this false prophetess and her friends, the Jerusalem wall was finished, and those who saw it perceived that it was the work of God.
6.) women who sew pillows, The women who sew pillows to armholes (Ezek. 13:18) were the false prophetesses who made cushions to lean on, typifying the perfect tranquillity which they foretold to those consulting them. Their pretended inspiration enhanced their guilt as prophetesses.
       The translation of this phrase in the Revised Standard Version paints a slightly different picture, but the basic idea is the same. Instead of "women that sew pillows to all armholes - they are described as "women who sew magic bands upon all wrists." This refers to the amulets people bought from false prophetesses or sorceresses and wore to give them a sense of security. But the security was false.
       The men who are said to have built a wall (Ezek. 13:10), and the women who sewed pillows or made magic arm bands - both alike promised a false peace and security.

Who was Damaris in the Book of Acts?

        Damaris (Acts 17:34), a woman of Athens, who believed in the message of Paul. That one word "believe" presents a whole sermon in itself. Paul had just preached to the Athenians on Mars Hill, but many of them did not believe, for many were ignorant of God. But Damaris and a man, Dionysius, had the spiritual receptivity to receive Paul's message based on the theme, "For in him we live, and move, and have our being" (Acts 17:28).
       Damaris must have been a woman of distinction or she would not have been singled out with Dionysius, one of the judges of the great court.
       In all probability she was one of the Hetairai, constituting a highly intellectual class of women who associated with philosophers and statesmen. This may be the reason she was in the audience when Paul delivered his address on Mars Hill.
       We learn from Acts 17:18 that he had spoken before certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, who "took him, and brought him unto Aeropagus."
       Some commentators have suggested that Damaris was the wife of Dionysius; however, this is rather improbable for the Greek wife lived in seculsion. The Hetairai were the only free women in Athens. If Damaris had been a wife, her presence would not have been recognized in that concourse on Mars Hill. If the wife of Dionysius, she would have been, according to oriental custom, mentioned as such. Instead of "a woman named Damaris," we would have "and his wife Damaris." Or more likely still, her name would have been omitted.

Who was Cozbi in the Book of Numbers?

       Cozbi (Num. 25:15, 18), a Midianitish woman slain at Shittim by Phinehas, son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron. Phinehas was commended for the act in Psalms 106:30, 31. He thrust a javelin through Cozbi's stomach after Moses had given orders publicly to execute chiefs of the people, guilty of whoredoms in Baal-peor worship.
       Cozbi was a princess, daughter of Zur, head of a chief house in Midian. And she had influenced Zimri, son of Salu, prince of a chief house among the Simeonites. Her influence for evil was greater because of her prominence and because she had beguiled a Hebrew of prominence.
       At the same time that Phinehas slew her, he also slew Salu. Together they had entered the camp where the Israelites were worshiping and praying to Yahweh, because of a plague sent down upon them. Phinehas, zealous as he was, believed that his act of doing away  with the wicked pair would terminate a plague then raging as a judgment against the idolatries and impurities into which the Midianitish women were leading the Hebrews.
       The slaying of Cozbi and her accomplice Salu is thought to have stayed the plague of whoredom and idolatry with foreign daughters. But 23,000 died from the plague caused by this evil (I Cor. 10:8).
       Cozbi's name means deceitful. She is the only woman in the Bible of whom it is written that a javelin was thrust "through her belly" (Num. 25:8).

Who was Claudia in The Book of II Timothy?

       Claudia (II Tim. 4:21), a woman in the Christian Church at Rome, who sent her greetings through Paul to Timothy. Scholars have made several conjectures about this Claudia.
       She appears in the same passage with Pudens and Linus. Some scholars are of the opinion that she was a wife of Pudens and a mother of Linus, bishop of Rome, who was mentioned by Irenaeus, Greek Church father, and Eusebius, "father of church history." 
       Martial, Latin poet born in Spain, but a citizen of Rome from about A.D. 64 to 98, writes in an epigram of Claudia and Pudens. Some scholars conclude that they are identical with the Claudia and
Pudens mentioned in Timothy, though others question why the name of Linus comes between them.
       H. S. Jacobs, writing in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (p. 666), says that the Apostolica Constitutions (VII, 21) name Claudia as the mother of Linus. He further comments that a passage in the Agricola by Tacitus, Roman historian, and "an inscription found in Chichester, England, have been used in favor of the further statement that this Claudia was a daughter of a British King, Cogidubnus." But Lightfoot in The Apostolic Fathers argues against the theory that Claudia and Pudens were husband and wife and that Linus was their son.
       Some authorities, with little justification, have identified this Claudia with Pilate's wife, to whom tradition has given the name of Claudia.

Who was Sisera's mother?

       Sisera's mother (Judg. 5:28) represents the aged mother, watching longingly for her warrior son to return from battle. Sisera, a Canaanite chieftain of the twelfth century B.C., had already been killed by Jael, the Kenite wife, who had driven a tent peg into his head while, wearied from battle, he lay sleeping.
       After many of his men had perished in the floodwaters of the Kishon, Sisera had sought refuge in the tent of Jael and her husband Heber, the Kenite, thinking of course they were friendly to his cause (Judges. 4:17).
       Sisera's mother, we know, was a luxury-loving, materially minded woman. She does not appeal to God for her son's safe return. On the other hand, we see her sitting beside the latticed windows of her palace, and she is asking, "Why is his chariot so long in coming?" Her ladies-in-waiting comfort her by stories of the wild spoils of war. They tell her that her son, Sisera, is late because, like all sons of war, he has probably received a damsel or two. Also they picture to her the rich garments that her son will bring back, garments luxuriant in their colors and rich in their embroideries.
       The story of Sisera's mother appears in Deborah's Song.

Who was the Canaanitish mother of Shaul?

        The Canaanitish woman was the mother of Shaul. "The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. Genesis 46:10 and "The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the clans of Simeon." Exodus 6:15
       Her husband was Simeon. The Israelites had been warned not to marry the daughters of the Canaanites, who were of foreign stock and were doomed to destruction on account of their sins. "I want you to swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living," Genesis 24:3

Who was the wise woman of Tekoah?

        The wise woman of Tekoah (II Sam. 14:1-20) was the mother of two sons. She was a dramatic actress as well as a sagacious woman. Dressed in mourning, she came up from her home in Tekoah to Jerusalem and feigned a story about her two sons, one of whom, she said, had been killed by the other as they fought together in the field, where there was no one to part them. Now her whole family wanted to put her guilty son to death. She begged David to have mercy on her son and David declared the young man would not be harmed.
       The woman had come from the town of Tekoah, twelve miles south of Jerusalem and six miles south of Bethlehem, far enough away so that her story could not be easily investigated. She had woven it together to be as much like the story of David's own sons, Absalom and Amnon, as she could make it and still not have him recognize immediately the real purpose of her mission.
       Several years before, Absalom had murdered Amnon, in revenge for what Amnon had done to their sister Tamar. For this crime David had banished Absalom, his most beloved son, and had not seen him for three years.
       Realizing that David now needed the company of his favorite son, the discerning Joab, commander-in-chief of David's army, had instructed the woman to come from Tekoah and make this appeal. Though in his heart David still loved Absalom, he probably had not recalled him because he dreaded public opinion.
       To overcome David's scruples and help him see that mercy was reasonable in this case, the woman of Tekoah came with her story, and David soon saw that it paralleled that of his own two sons. When he asked if Joab had sent her, she revealed that he had put all these words into her mouth. Then in her argument she made it clear that Absalom had reason to complain that he was treated by his own father more sternly than her son, one of the humblest subjects in the realm.
       She let him know that the nation could now say that the king gave more attention to her humble petition than to the wishes and desires of the whole kingdom. She argued with him also that the death of her own son would be only a private loss to her family, but the termination of Absalom's banishment was to the common interest of all Israel, who now looked to Absalom as David's successor on the throne.
       This wise woman of Tekoah was successful in her mission. After she left, David sent Joab to Geshur to bring Absalom back to Jerusalem. The reconciliation came about because the woman of Tekoah had acted so well the feigned story of her two sons.
       Evidently she was a devout woman, for she stressed that "as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad: therefore the Lord thy God will be with thee." Earlier she had spoken of her own "inheritance of God" coming through her son. Her devotion to God was what probably won King David's heart.

Who was Micah's mother?

       Micah's mother (Judges. 17:2, 3, 4) had dedicated 1,100 shekels of silver to the making of graven images. Her son, Micah of Ephraim, stole the shekels, but when he heard his mother had cursed because of the loss, he returned them to her and confessed his guilt. She made restitution of the money to him, but took 200 shekels (probably from the original amount) and had images made at a foundry.
       There seems to be spiritual confusion in the mind of this mother, who in one breath blessed the Lord and in the next told her son that she had set aside the shekels for him and had planned that part be used for the making of graven images. She appeared to want to honor God but was ignorant as to the meaning of faith in the one God.
       Though Micah's mother does not appear in the text after this incident, we learn how her influence in idolatry carried on. Her son built a shrine or house of gods, probably a miniature copy of the temple at Shiloh, and set it up in his home. He placed there the graven images and secured a priest to stay in his home, administer the shrine, and educate his son for the priesthood.
       But the graven and molten images were stolen by migrating Danites, who also persuaded Micah's priest to leave with them. And they took to Shiloh the images which Micah's mother had given him and competed with them against the house of the Lord. The idolatry that was practiced among the Danites for many succeeding generations appears to have sprung from the idolatrous influence of this mother.

Who was Judith in the book of Genesis?

Painting of Judith from the apocryphal
 Book of Judith, who cuts the head
off of a general.

         Judith (Gen. 26:34), the daughter of Beeri and one of the Hittite wives of Esau, who grieved and vexed Isaac and Rebekah, Esau's parents. They grieved because their son had married a foreign woman and not one of their own people.
       Some authorities are of the opinion that Judith is the same as Aholibamah (Oholibamah) mentioned in Genesis 36:5, but other authorities do not agree with this. If so, she had three children by Esau "Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah" who were born in the land of Canaan.
       Esau's marriage at age forty to this woman from a land that worshiped idols is said to have been one of the reasons why Esau, though the elder son of Isaac and Rebekah, lost the blessing to his twin brother Jacob, born second and regarded as the younger. The account of the loss of the blessing of his father Isaac appears immediately after Esau's marriage to his Hittite wives. The marriage comes in Genesis 26:34, the loss of the birthright in Genesis 27:1.
       Because Judith did not worship the one God, she did not occupy as high a place in patriarchal history as did her sisters-in-law, Rachel and Leah, Jacob's wives.
       The Bible shows that Esau, though born into a godly family, turned to the more material path, and that his Hittite wives led him completely away from God.

Isaac Meditating

 Isaac Meditating

 In the lone field he walks at eventide,
To meditate beneath the open sky,
Where born on lighter wings prayers upward fly,
And down from Heaven sweet answers swiftly glide.
But as he glanced around that landscape wide,
Far off a train of camels meets his eye,
And as they nearer come he can descry
A maiden vailed, - his unseen, God-sent bride.
Thus while to Heaven thought after thought was rising,
The fair Rebekah step by step drew nigh,
With life's chief joy the prayerful saint surprising:
For those who think of Him God still is thinking,
With tender condescension from on high,
Some comfort ever to some duty linking.

by Rev. H. Wilton.

Hagar In The Wilderness

 HAGAR IN THE WILDERNESS.

The morning broke. Light stole upon the clouds
With a strange beauty. Earth received again
Its garment of a thousand dyes ; and leaves,
And delicate blossoms, and the painted flowers,
And everything that bendeth to the dew
And stirreth with the daylight, lifted up
Its beauty to the breath of that sweet morn.

All things are dark to sorrow; and the light
And loveliness and fragrant air were sad
To the dejected Hagar. The moist earth
W as pouring odors from its spicy pores,
And the young birds were singing as if life
Were a new thing to them; but oh! it came
Upon her heart like discord, and she felt
How cruelly it tries a broken heart,
To see a mirth in anything it loves.
She stood at Abraham's tent. Her lips were pressed
Till the blood started; and the wandering veins
Of her transparent forehead were swelled out,
As if her pride would burst them. Her dark eye
Was as clear and tearless, and the light of heaven,
Which made its language legible, shot back
From her long lashes, as it had been flame.
Her noble boy stood by her, with his hand
Clasped in her own, and his round, delicate feet,
Scarce trained to balance on the tented floor,
Sandaled for journeying. He had looked up
Into his mother's face until he caught
The spirit there, and his young heart was swelling
Beneath his dimpled bosom, and his form
Straightened up proudly in his tiny wrath,
As if his light proportions would have swelled,
Had they but matched his spirit, to the mail.

Why bends the patriarch as he cometh now
Upon his staff so wearily? His beard
Is low upon his breast, and his high brow,
So written with the converse of his Coil,
Beareth the swollen vein of agony.
His lip is quivering, and his wonted step
Of vigor is not there; and, though the morn
Is passing fair and beautiful, he breathes
Its freshness as it were a pestilence.
O, man may bear with suffering: his heart
Is a strong thing, and godlike, in the grasp
Of pain that wrings mortality; but tear
One chord affection clings to - part one tie
That binds him to a woman's delicate love -
And his great spirit yieldeth like a reed!

He gave to her the water and the bread,
But spoke no word, and trusted not himself
To look upon her face, but laid his hand
In silent blessing on the fair-haired boy,
And left her to her lot of loneliness.

Should Hagar weep? May slighted woman turn
And, as a vine the oak hath shaken off.
Bend lightly to her leaning trust again?
O no ! by all her loveliness, by all
That makes life poetry and beauty, no!
Make her a slave ; steal from her rosy cheek
By needless jealousies; let the last star
Leave her a watcher by your couch of pain;
Wrong her by petulance, suspicion, all
That makes her cup a bitterness, - yet give
One evidence of love, and earth has not
An emblem of devotedness like' here.
But oh! estrange her once - it boots not how -
By wrong or silence, - anything that tells
A change has come upon your tenderness, -
And there is not a feeling out of heaven
Her pride o'ermastercth not.

She went her way with a strong step and slow, -
Her pressed lip arched, and her clear eye undimmed,
As if it were a diamond, and her form
Borne proudly up, as if her heart breathed through.
Her child kept on in silence, though she pressed
His hand till it was pained; for he had caught,
As I have said, her spirit, and the seed
Of a stern nation had been breathed upon.

The morning past, and Asia's sun rode up
In the clear heaven, and every beam was heat.
The cattle of the hills were in the shade,
And the bright plumage of the Orient lay
On beating bosoms in her spicy trees.
It was an hour of rest! but Hagar found
No shelter in the wilderness, and on
She kept her weary way, until the boy
Hung down his head, and opened his parched lips
For water; but she could not give it him.
She laid him down beneath the sultry sky, -
For it was better than the close, Hot breath
Of the thick pines, - and tried to comfort him;
But he was sore athirst, and his blue eyes
W ere dim and bloodshot, and he could not know
Why God denied him water in the wild.
She sat a little longer, and he grew
Ghastly and faint, as if lie would have died.
It was too much for her. She lifted him
And bore him farther on, and laid his head
Beneath the shadow of a desert shrub ;
And, shrouding up her face, she went away,
And sat to watch, where he could see her not,
Till he should die; and, watching him, she mourned: - 

"God stay thee in thine agony, my boy!
I cannot see thee die; I cannot brook
Upon thy brow to look,
And see death settle on my cradle joy.
How have I drunk the light of thy blue eye!
And could I see thee die?

I did not dream of this when thou wast straying,
Like an unbound gazelle, among the flowers;
Or wiling the soft hours,
By the rich gush of water-sources playing,
Then sinking weary to thy smiling sleep,
So beautiful and deep.

"O no! and when I watched by thee the while,
And saw thy bright lip curling in thy dream,
And thought of the dark stream
In my own land of Egypt, the far Nile,
How prayed I that my father's land might be
A heritage for thee! 

"And now the grave for its cold breast hath won thee,
And thy white, delicate limbs the earth will press;
And O, my last caress
Must feel thee cold, for a chill hand is on thee.
How can I leave my boy, so pillowed there
Upon his clustering hair!"

She stood beside the well her God had given
To gush in that deep wilderness, and bathed
The forehead of her child until lie laughed
In his reviving happiness, and lisped
His infant thought of gladness at the sight
Of the cool plashing of his mother's hand.

by Nathaniel P. Willis.

The Cave of Machpelah

 THE CAVE OF MACHPELAH

Calm is it in the dim cathedral cloister,
Where lie the dead all couched in marble rare,
Where the shades thicken, and the breath hangs moister
Than in the sunlit air.

Where the chance ray that makes the carved stone whiter,
Tints with a crimson or a violet light
Some pale old bishop with his staff and mitre,
Some stiff crusading knight!

Sweet is it where the little graves fling shadows
In the green churchyard, on the shaven grass,
And a faint cowslip fragrance from the meadows
O'er the low wall doth pass!

More sweet, more calm in that fair valley's bosom
The burial-place in Ephron's pasture-ground,
Where the oil-olive shed her snowy blossom,
And the red grape was found;

When the great pastoral prince, with love undying,
Rose up in anguish from the face of death,
And weighed the silver shekels for its buying
Before the sons of Heth.

Here, when the measure of his days was numbered,--
Days few and evil in this vale of tears!--
At Sarah's side the faithful patriarch slumbered,
An old man full of years:

Here, holy Isaac, meek of heart and gentle,
And the fair maid who came to him from far,
And the sad sire who knew all throes parental,
And meek-eyed Leah, are.

She rests not here, the beautiful of feature,
For whom her Jacob wrought his years twice o'er,
And deemed them but as one, for that fair creature,
- - So dear the love he bore, --

Nor Israel's son beloved, who brought him sleeping
With a long pomp of woe to Canaan's shade,
Till all the people wondered at the weeping
By the Egyptians made.

Like roses from the same tree gathered yearly,
And Hung together in one vase to keep, --
Some, but not all who loved so well and dearly,
Lie here in quiet sleep.

What though the Moslem mosque be in the valley,
Though faithless hands have sealed the sacred cave,
And the red Prophet's children shout " El Allah!"
Over the Hebrews' grave;

Yet a day cometh when those white walls shaking
Shall give again to light the living dead,
And Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, reawaking,
Spring from their rocky bed.

Mrs. C. F. Alexander.

Down from the cross...

Description of Illustration: greyscale, after Jesus was crucified..., angels, Roman soldiers, weeping women, ladder, sacrificed for he sins of mankind, The Lamb Who Was Slain..., penalty of death, Deposition of Christ, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus responsible for caring for the body of Christ in death, sculpture for Easter

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Golgotha

Description of Illustration: Mary mother of Jesus weeps, Christ crucified, an eclipse and the dead rise from their tombs to bear witness to the identity of Christ, Calvary, the place of skull, the Easter cross...

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Christ on the cross...

 

Description of Illustration: greyscale, Christ on the cross, Golgotha the place where Jesus was crucified, skull at the foot of the cross, just outside of Jerusalem's walls, halo and crown of thorns

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Who was Belshazzar's mother?

       Belshazzar's mother (Dan. 5:10, ii, 12) is referred to as queen in Daniel 5:10. She was either the grandmother or, more probably, the queen-mother during the reign of Belshazzar, last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Some scholars are of the opinion that she was Nitocris, queen of Babylonia, to whom Herodotus ascribed many civic improvements.
      If so, Belshazzar's mother was regarded as the noblest and most beautiful woman of her time. History records that during the insanity of her husband, Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4:36), Nitocris did
much to beautify Babylon. She built beautiful bridges, wharves, tiled embankments, and lakes and made improvements and enlargements to the buildings. Years after Nebuchadnezzar's death she was an
influential force in the government.
      Though in the three verses of the fifth chapter of Daniel Belshazzar's mother appears and disappears, like a face in a window, she gives us much of herself in a single speech there. It came when Belshazzar was celebrating a great feast.
      The king, crazed with drink, earlier had shouted to his butlers to bring the cups of the Lord's Temple which had been brought to Babylon as plunder from Jerusalem. These sacred vessels were filled with wine and defiled by the lips of the drunken king and his thousand lords. At the height of the celebration an apparition, in the shape of the fingers of a man's hand, wrote upon the walls the words, "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin" (Dan. 5:25). None of the drunken guests could understand what they meant.
      Then it was that Belshazzar's mother, learning that her son was troubled by this astonishing occurrence, came into the banquet hall. Not knowing how to interpret the strange words, she advised the
king to call in Daniel, now an old man, who had served Nebuchadnezzar as an interpreter of dreams years before.
      Daniel appeared and read the meaning of the words, which were, "God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it; thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting; thy kingdom is divided, and
given to the Medes and Persians."
      In that same night Belshazzar was slain, and Darius seized the kingdom. The queen-mother probably never saw Belshazzar again after her brief appearance in the banquet hall.
      Her mention in the Bible came not because she had beautified Babylonia - if she was Nitocris - but because she knew the prophet Daniel, who foretold the coming of Christ.
      Of one thing we can be certain: Belshazzar's mother was a woman who believed in the greatness of God, because in her speech in the banquet hall, when she advised the king to summon Daniel, she
described him as a man "in whom is the spirit of the holy gods." And she wisely added, "And in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him."

Who was Jabez' Mother?

       Jabez' mother (I Chronicles. 4:9) bore her son in sorrow and called him by a name meaning "sorrow." She gave to the world a son "more honorable than his brethren." He became a prayerful and pious man, who asked that God might keep him from evil. His prayer was answered. Doubtless the sorrow of Jabez' mother had drawn her closer to God.
       It is probable that she was familiar with the story of how Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him Beth-el, and perpetuated the circumstances which marked her son's birth similarly.
       Some scholars are of the opinion that Jabez was the son of Coz (I Chronicles. 4:8) . If so, his mother also had other children.
       If she lived to know of the achievements of her godly son, she must have felt compensated for all her sorrow. Jewish writers affirm that Jabez became an eminent doctor in the law. His reputation is thought to have drawn so many scribes around him that a town, probably in the territory of Judah, was called by his name (I Chronicles 2:55).

What is the lesson taught about persistent prayer?

        'The importunate widow (Luke 18:3, 5) appears in one of Jesus' parables. When the widow went to the judge begging him to avenge her of her adversary he refused. She continued to plead with the judge to help her. Finally he yielded to her plea for he feared that "by her continual coming she weary me."
       Jesus used the parable of the importunate widow to teach his disciples the need for persistent prayer.

How did God save a widow's sons from slavery?

        The widow whose oil was multiplied (II Kings 4:1-8) appears early in the story of Elisha. It evinces the prophet's kindness for a poor widow. She had no claim to the compassion of the prophet, except that he had known her husband, who "did fear the Lord." Her husband had died with debts so heavy that his creditors had come and demanded that her two sons be given them as slaves, in payment of the debts.
       Unless she could pay her debts she would have to part with her sons. Without fear she approached the prophet Elisha, who asked, "What shall I do for thee?" And when she told him her trouble, he then asked, "Tell me, what hast thou in the house?" When she told him that she had nothing but a pot of oil, he told her, "Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full."
       The woman had to possess a childlike and trusting faith to carry out such orders. But it came to pass when the vessels were full that she said to her son, "Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed." When the widow came back to Elisha and told him what had happened, he directed her, "Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest." It was enough to give the poor widow permanent relief, and Elisha had provided for her future and given her the added blessing of keeping her sons by her side.

Who were the women of Midian?

       Women of Midian (Num. 31:9), after their husbands had been slain, were taken as captives by the Israelites. With their children, their cattle, their flocks and goods, the women were taken as spoils of war to Moses and Eleazar, the priest in the camp on the plains of Moab before the congregation there.
       Moses was "wroth" that these women of Midian had been saved because they came from a people who had committed trespasses against the Lord, and a plague had followed. He ordered that the women who had been married be killed, but that the virgins be saved and given as wives to the Israelites.
       The lesson taught here is that the Israelites believed that victory in war belonged to Yahweh. Thus any booty, even women of the enemy, belonged to Him and must be divided according to His will.
       This story again lets us see how women of antiquity were regarded not as persons but as things, just like cattle and flocks and household goods.

Who was the one designated mother in the letters of Paul?

       Rufus' mother (Rom. 16:13) one of those to whom Paul sent salutations in his letter to the Romans, written from Corinth and probably carried by Phebe, a deaconess of the Church at Cenchrea near Corinth.
       "Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord," Paul wrote, "and his mother and mine." The last phrase referred, of course, to his spiritual relationship in the early Christian Church with Rufus' mother. The phrase shows us that she was a spiritually minded woman, probably one of the most faithful workers in this early church.
       In Paul's long list of salutations in this chapter, this is the only woman designated as a mother.