,,half ,,hours ,,in ,,bible ,,lands1    
,,or1  ,,stories ,,and ,,sketches ,,from
 ,,the ,,scriptures ,,and ,,the ,,east4 
,,patriarchs1 ,,kings1 ,,and ,,kingdoms4
  ,,by ,,rev4 ,p4 ,c4 ,,headley1        
,,author ,,of ,,the ,,women ,,of ,,the  
,,bible1 ,,harvest ,,work ,,of ,,the    
,,holy ,,spirit1 ,,the ,,empress        
,,josephine1 ,,massachusetts ,,in ,,the 
,,rebellion1 ,,etc41 ,,etc41 ,,etc4     
,,with ,,numerous ,,illustrations4      
,,philadelphia3 ,,published ,,by ,,john 
,e4 ,,potter  ,,co41 ,no4 #fag ,,sansom 
,,street4  ,entered according to ,act of
 ,congress1 in the year #ahfg1 by       
,,john ,e4 ,,potter  ,,co41 ,in the     
,clerk's ,office of the ,united ,states 
,district ,court in and for the ,eastern
 ,district of ,pennsylvania4            
,illustration3 ,isaac and ,esau         
,illustration3 ,job and ,his ,three     
,friends4   ,,the ,,bible ,,and ,,the   
,,holy ,,land4  ,,patriarchs1 ,,kings1  
,,and ,,kingdoms4   ,,scenes ,,in ,,the 
,,lives ,,of ,,the ,,patriarchs4   ,the 

patriarchs might be called family       
kings--the divinely appointed rulers of 
households4 ,they were the earliest     
sovereigns under ,god of which we have  
any account4 ,their authority was       
gradually extended by the union of      
households1 whose retinue of servants   
was often large1 and their wealth very  
great4 ,the founder and leader of the   
patriarchal line chosen by ,god from the
 wealthy nomades1 or wandering farmers  
of the fruitful valleys1 was ,abram4 ,a 
worshipper of the ,infinite ,one1 he    
married ,sarai1 a maiden of elevated    
piety and personal beauty4 ,and         
doubtless they often walked forth       
together beneath the nightly sky1 whose 
transparent air in that latitude made   
the stars impressively--  ,the burning  
blazonry of ,god6  ,upon the hill-tops  
around1 were the observatories and      
altars of ,chaldean philosophy1 whose   
disciples worshipped the host of        
,heaven4 ,in the serenity of such an    
hour1 with the white tents reposing in  

the distance1 and the soul-like sound of
 the rustling forest alone breaking the 
stillness1 it would not be strange1 as  
they gazed on flaming ,orion and the    
,pleiades1 if they had bowed with the   
,devotee of ,light1 while--    ,beneath 
his blue and beaming sky1    ,he        
worshipped at their lofty shrine1       
,and deemed he saw with gifted eye1     
,the ,godhead in his works divine4  ,but
 a purer illumination than streamed from
 that radiant dome1 brought near in his 
majesty the ,eternal1 and like the holy 
worshippers of ,eden1 they adored with  
subdued and reverent hearts1 their      
infinite ,father4  ,there is great      
sublimity and wonderful power in the    
purity and growth of religious          
principle1 in circumstances opposed to  
its manifestation4 ,the temptations     
resisted--the earnest communion with    
each other--the glorious aspirations and
 soarings of imagination1 when morning  
broke upon the summits1 and evening came
 down with its stars1 and its rising    

moon1 flooding with glory nature in her 
repose4 ,these1 and a thousand lovely   
and touching scenes of that pastoral    
life1 are all unrecorded4 ,the great    
events in history1 and bold points in   
character1 are seized by the inspired   
penman as sufficient to mark the grand  
outline of ,god's providential and moral
 government over the world1 and his care
 of his people4  ,just when it would    
best accomplish his designs1 which are  
ever marching to their fulfillment1     
,jehovah called to ,abram1 and bade him 
go to a distant land which he would show
 him4 ,with his father-in-law1 and with 
,lot1 his flocks and herds1 he journeyed
 toward ,palestine4 ,when he arrived at 
,haran1 in ,mesopotamia1 pleased with   
the country1 and probably influenced by 
the declining health of the aged ,terah1
 he took up his residence there4 ,here  
he remained till the venerable          
patriarch1 ,sarai's father1 died4 ,the  
circle of relatives bore him to the     
grave1 and kept the days of mourning4   

,but the dutiful daughter wept in the   
solitary grief of an orphan's heart4 ,a 
few years before she had lost a brother1
 and now the father to whom she was the 
last flower that bloomed on the desert  
of age1 and who lavished his love upon  
her1 was buried among strangers4  ,then 
the command to move forward to his      
promised inheritance came again to      
,abram4 ,with ,sarai he journeyed on    
among the hills1 encamping at night     
beside a mountain spring1 and beneath   
the unclouded heavens arching their     
path1 changeless and watchful as the    
love of ,god--exiles by the power of    
their simple faith in him4 ,soon as they
 reached ,palestine1 ,abram consecrated 
its very soil by erecting a family      
altar1 first in the plain of ,moreh1 and
 again on the summits that catch the    
smile of morning near the hamlet of     
,bethel4  ,months stepped away1 rapidly 
as silently1 old associations wore off1 
and ,abram was a wealthy and happy man  
in the luxuriant vales of ,canaan4 ,his 

flocks dotted the plains1 and his cattle
 sent down their lowing from encircling 
hills4 ,but more than these to him was  
the affection of his beautiful wife4    
,her eye watched his form along the     
winding way1 when with the ascending sun
 he went out on the dewy slopes1 and    
kindled with a serene welcome when at   
night-fall he returned for repose amid  
the sacred joys of home4  ,at length    
there came on a fearful famine4 ,the    
rain was withholden1 and the dew shed   
its benediction no more upon the earth4 
,he was compelled to seek bread at the  
court of ,pharaoh1 or perish4 ,knowing  
the power of female beauty1 and the want
 of principle among the ,egyptian       
princes1 he was afraid of assassination 
and the captivity of ,sarai which would 
follow4 ,haunted with this fear1 he told
 her to say that she was his            
sister--which was not a direct          
falsehood1 but only so by implication4  
,according to the ,jewish mode of       
reckoning relationship1 she might be    

called a sister2 and ,abram stooped to  
this prevarication under that terrible  
dread which1 in the case of ,peter1     
drove a true disciple of ,christ to the 
brink of apostacy and despair4          
,illustration3 ,results of              
,prevarication4 ,peter denying his      
,master4   ,but his deception involved  
him in the very difficulty he designed  
to escape4 ,the king's courtiers saw the
 handsome ,hebrew1 and extolled her     
beauty before him4 ,he summoned her to  
the apartments of the palace1 and       
captivated by her loveliness1 determined
 to make her his bride4 ,during the     
agonizing suspense of ,abram1 and the   
concealed anguish of ,sarai in her      
conscious degradation1 the hours wore   
heavily away1 until the judgment of ,god
 upon the royal household brought       
deliverance4 ,pharaoh1 though an        
idolater1 knew by this supernatural     
infliction1 that there was guilt in the 
transaction1 and called ,abram to an    
account4 ,he had nothing to say in      

self-acquittal1 and with a strange      
magnanimity1 was sent away quietly1 with
 his wife and property1 followed only by
 the reproaches of ,pharaoh1 and his own
 wakeful conscience4  ,abram returned to
 ,palestine1 became a victor in fierce  
battles with a vastly outnumbering foe1 
and was in possession of a splendid     
fortune4  ,whether in ,egypt1 or in his 
tent on the plains of ,palestine1       
,abram1 with all the patriarchs1 was a  
true gentleman4 ,we may doubt whether   
any modern school of refinement in      
manners could furnish any nobler        
examples of dignity and civility in     
personal learning and manners1 than were
 the rich dwellers in ancient           
,palestine4 ,subjects fell prostrate    
before sovereigns2 equals1 when they    
met1 inclined the head toward the       
breast1 and placed the right hand on the
 left breast4 ,of the ,great ,king it is
 written1 ,come1 let us bow down2 let us
 worship before the ,lord our ,maker4   
,jehovah appeared to ,abram in a        

glorious vision1 talking with him as    
friend to friend4 ,he fell on his face  
in the dust1 as did the exile of ,patmos
 ages after1 while a voice of affection 
and hope carne from the bending sky3 ,i 
am the ,almighty ,god2 walk before me   
and be thou perfect4 ,the solemn        
covenant involving the greatness and    
splendor of the people and commonwealth 
that should spring from the solitary    
pair1 was renewed2 and as an outward    
seal1 he was named ,abraham1 ,the father
 of a great multitude--and his wife     
,sarah1 ,the princess4 ,still he laughed
 at the absurdity that ,sarah would ever
 be a mother1 and invoked a blessing on 
,ishmael1 but evidently said nothing to 
her upon a subject dismissed as         
incredible from his thoughts4 ,for when 
the celestial messengers were in the    
tent1 on their way to warn ,lot1 she    
listened to their earnest conversation1 
concealed by the curtains1 and hearing  
that repeated promise based on the      
immutability of ,god1 also laughed with 

bitter mirth at her hopeless prospect in
 regard to the marvelous prediction4    
,and when one of the ,angels1 who was   
,jehovah veiled in human form1 as       
afterward manifest in the flesh1 charged
 her with this unbelief and levity1 the 
discovery roused her fears1 and         
approaching him1 without hesitation1 she
 denied the fact4 ,he knew perfectly her
 sudden apprehension1 and only repeated 
the accusation1 enforced by a glance of 
omniscience1 like that which pierced the
 heart of ,peter4  ,the group separated1
 and two of those bright beings went to 
,sodom4 ,the next morning ,abraham      
walked out upon the plain1 and looked   
toward the home of ,lot4 ,he saw the    
smoke as of a great furnace going up to 
the calm azure1 from the scathed and    
blackened plains1 where life was so busy
 and joyous a few hours before6 ,with a 
heavy heart he returned to his tent1    
arid brought ,sarah forth to behold the 
scene4 ,she clung with trembling to his 
side1 while she listened to the         

narration of the terrible overthrow of  
those gorgeous cities1 and the rescue of
 her brother's household1 and beheld in 
the distance the seething and silent    
grave of millions1 sending up a swaying 
column of ebon cloud1 like incense1 to  
,god's burning indignation against sin4 
,they left the vale of ,mamre1 and      
journeyed to ,gera1 where1 with a       
marvellous forgetfulness of the past1   
the beauty of ,sarah again led them into
 deception and falsehood1 and with the  
same result as before4 ,abimelech1 the  
king1 would have taken her for his wife 
as ,abraham's sister1 had not ,god      
appeared in a dream1 threatening        
immediate death4 ,upon pleading his     
innocence1 he was spared1 and           
expostulating with his guest1 generously
 offered him a choice of residence in   
the land2 but rebuked ,sarah with       
merited severity4  ,prophecy and        
covenant now hastened to their          
fulfillment4 ,sarah gave birth to a son1
 and with the name of ,god upon her     

lips1 she gave utterance to holy        
rapture4 ,with all her faults1 she was a
 pious and noble woman4 ,she meant to   
train him for the ,lord1 and therefore  
when she saw young ,ishmael mocking at  
the festival of his weaning1 she        
besought her husband to send away the   
irreverent son1 whose influence might   
ruin the consecrated ,isaac4 ,hagar1    
with a generous provision for her wants1
 was a fugitive2 and the ,most ,high    
approved the solicitude of a mother for 
an only child1 around whose destiny was 
gathered the interest of ages1 and the  
hopes of a world4  ,and now1 with the   
solemn shadows of life's evening hours  
falling around her1 and a heart subdued 
by the discipline of ,providence1 in the
 fulness of love which had been rising  
so long within the barriers of hope     
deferred1 she bent prayerfully over the 
very slumbers of that fair boy1 and     
taught him the precious name of ,god    
with the first prattle of his infant    
lips4 ,how proudly she watched the      

unfolding of this bud of promise6 ,when1
 in the pastimes of childhood1 he played
 before the tent door1 or1 with a shout 
of gladness1 ran to meet ,abraham       
returning from the folds1 her calm and  
glowing eye marked his footsteps1 and   
her grateful aspirations for a blessing 
on the lad1 went up to the ,heaven of   
heavens4 ,at length he stood before her 
in the manliness and beauty of youth1   
unscarred by the rage of passions1 and  
with a brow open and laughing as the    
radiant sky of his own lovely           
,palestine4   ,illustration3 ,hagar in  
the ,wilderness4   ,it was a morning    
which flooded the dewy plains with      
glory1 and filled the groves with music1
 when ,abraham came in from his wonted  
communion with ,god1 and called for     
,isaac1 and told him to prepare for a   
three days' journey in the wilderness4  
,how tenderly was ,sarah regarded in    
this scene of trial6 ,evidently no      
information of the awful command to     
sacrifice the son of her old age was    

made to her4 ,she might have read       
something fearful in the lines of       
anxious thought and the workings of deep
 emotion in the face of ,abraham4 ,but  
he evaded all inquiries on the subject1 
clave the wood1 and accompanied by two  
of his young men1 turned from his       
dwelling with a blessing from that      
wondering mother1 and was soon lost from
 her straining vision among the distant 
hills4 ,upon the third day he saw the   
top of ,mount ,moriah kindling in the   
rising sun1 and taking ,isaac alone1    
ascended to the summit1 whereon was to  
be reared an altar1 which awakened more 
intense solicitude in heaven1 than any  
offering before or since1 except on     
,calvary1 where ,god's only be-gotten   
and well-beloved ,son was slain4 ,there 
is no higher moral sublimity than the   
unwavering trust and cheerful obedience 
of this patriarch1 when the very oath of
 the ,almighty seemed perjured1 and the 
bow of promise blotted from the         
firmament of faith6  ,but he believed   

,jehovah1 and would have clung to his   
assurance1 though the earth had reeled  
in her orbit1 and every star drifted    
from its moorings4 ,he prayed for       
strength1 with his hand on the forehead 
of his submissive son4    ,he rose up1  
and laid   ,the wood upon the altar4    
,all was done1   ,he stood a moment--and
 a deep1 quick flush   ,passed o'er his 
countenance2 and then he nerved   ,his  
spirit with a bitter strength1 and      
spoke--   ',isaac6 my only son'--the boy
 looked up1   ,and ,abraham turned his  
face away1 and wept4   ',where is the   
lamb1 my father8' ,o1 the tones1   ,the 
sweet1 the thrilling music of a child6  
,how it doth agonize at such an hour6   
,it was the last1 deep                  
struggle--,abraham held   ,his loved1   
his beautiful1 his only son1   ,and     
lifted up his arm1 and called on ,god   
,and lo6 ,god's angel staid him--and he 
fell   ,upon his face and wept4  ,the   
years fled1 the good old ,abraham died1 
and ,isaac succeeded him to the         

patriarchal honors4 ,he had two sons1   
,esau and ,jacob4 ,the elder brother was
 irreligious1 and married a heathen     
wife4 ,god had rejected him1 and        
promised to ,jacob the birthright2 in   
other words1 he was to be the chief     
patriarch1 through whose descendants the
 ,messiah should come4 ,he was his      
mother's favorite boy1 while ,isaac     
clung to ,esau4  ,when the fond father  
became weak and blind from age1 feeling 
that death was near1 one day he called  
,esau1 and told him as he might die     
suddenly1 to get him venison1 and       
prepare for the solemn occasion of      
receiving his parting blessing1 which   
should secure the privileges and        
pre-eminence of the first-born4 ,the    
hunter went into the fields1 and        
,rebekah recollected that ,jacob had    
purchased the birthright of his brother 
for a mess of pottage one day when he   
came in from the chase faint with hunger
 and exhaustion4 ,she determined by a   
stroke of management to secure the      

patriarchal benediction4 ,she sent him  
to the flocks after two kids1 which were
 prepared with the savory delicacy his  
father loved1 dressed him up in ,esau's 
apparel1 covering his hands and neck to 
imitate the hairiness of the rightful   
heir1 and sent him to the beside of the 
dying ,isaac4 ,when the patriarch       
inquired who he was1 he replied1 ,i am  
,esau1 thy first-born4 ,this was beyond 
belief1 because even the skillful hunter
 could scarcely1 without a miracle1 so  
soon bring in the game1 and dress it for
 his table4 ,jacob was called to his    
side1 and he felt of his hands2 the     
disguise completed the delusion1        
although his voice had the milder tone  
of the young shepherd to that father's  
ear4 ,he repeated the interrogation     
concerning his name1 then embracing him1
 pronounced in a strain of true poetry1 
the perpetual blessing of ,jehovah's    
favor upon his undertakings1 and his    
posterity4 ,the stratagem had succeeded1
 and ,jacob hastened to inform his      

mother of the victory1 just as ,esau    
entered4 ,when ,isaac discovered the    
mistake1 he trembled with excitement1   
while his son cried in anguish1 ,bless  
even me also1 ,o my father6 ,that cry   
pierced the breaking heart of the aged  
man1 but it was a fruitless lament1 ,he 
was inflexible1 and ,esau wept aloud    
over his blasted hopes2 plotting at the 
same time1 in his awakened enmity1 the  
murder of ,jacob4  ,this scene of       
deception1 disappointment1 and          
providential working1 the introductory  
picture brings vividly before us4  ,the 
patriarchs were generally shepherds1 and
 when we read in the ,bible of          
shepherds1 we have but a poor impression
 of their business1 if we think only of 
the keeping of the small flocks kept in 
the fenced fields and yards of modern   
farmers4 ,they made their wealth chiefly
 by feeding immense flocks and herds4   
,they had extensive open plains2 and    
were obliged to watch the animals to    
prevent their being lost1 stolen by     

robbers1 or devoured by ferocious       
beasts4 ,when it was at all safe1 the   
shepherds and their flocks slept in the 
fields1 beneath the open sky1 or under  
the sheltering trees4   ,illustration3  
,the ,welcome to a ,wayward ,son4   ,if 
the country was infested by dangerous   
men or animals1 the owners of the flocks
 built the fold or sheep-cote4 ,this    
enclosure was sometimes merely a rude   
pen4 ,the walls were of wood or stone1  
with a thatched roof--if they had any at
 all4 ,the shepherd follows a wayward   
sheep1 and brings him back to a place of
 safety4  ,thus the ,good ,shepherd of  
souls1 whose disciples1 like the flocks 
of the ,east1 know his voice1 with his  
rod of affliction restrains the         
wandering and keeps securely the        
trusting ones4  ,occasionally a rich    
land owner would make an expensive      
fold--a kind of town or fortress for his
 flocks4 ,keeping the sheep in the air1 
it was believed improved the texture of 
the wool1 making it softer and firmer   

than when exposed to the sweating and   
vapors which would necessarily result   
from crowding them often and long into  
enclosures4  ,abraham1 ,isaac1 and      
,jacob1 were among the richest shepherds
 of antiquity1 and stand alone in moral 
grandeur of character1 so far as we have
 any records of the ,hebrew husbandmen4 
,the great enemy of the sheep the world 
over1 is the wolf--a cunning1 savage1   
and daring creature4 ,a lamb of the     
flock seems to be a dainty feast for    
him4 ,he relishes even a child2 the     
human delicacy is quite as delicious as 
the other4 ,a mother1 with three        
children1 was once riding in a sledge in
 a desolate region1 when a pack of      
wolves came running after her4 ,she     
drove rapidly on1 but they came nearer  
and nearer1 until their hot breath fell 
on her face4 ,in her terror1 she threw  
one of the children to the hungry       
wolves1 hoping thus to pacify or check  
them until she could get out of their   
reach4 ,soon1 however1 they came        

galloping on1 surrounding her sledge1   
and she flung another upon the snow4 ,a 
brief delay1 and they were once more    
around her1 and the last child was given
 to the beasts2 and then she reached her
 home in safety4  ,when she told the    
story to her neighbors1 an exasperated  
peasant hewed her down with an axe1     
because she fed the wolves on her own   
offspring1 selfishly saving by the      
sacrifice1 her own life4  ,how like the 
destroyers of human virtue1 and the     
great destroyer himself6 ,wolves in     
sheep's clothing1 stealing upon         
unguarded victims1 and glorying in the  
destruction of all that is lovely and of
 good report4 for the transitory present
 and endless future6  ,we now turn to   
the annals of a patriarchal life which  
is entirely new1 and intensely          
interesting--the only record of the kind
 in the ,bible4  ,the inspired history  
introduces him in the following words3  
,there was a man in the land of ,uz1    
whose name was ,job4 ,this region was in

 ,eastern ,arabia1 and probably near the
 home of ,abram when he was summoned by 
,god to leave his idolatrous friends and
 neighbors in ,ur of the ,chaldees4  ,it
 is thought he lived not far from the   
time of the great founder of the ,hebrew
 patriarchy4 ,job was probably a        
descendant of ,nahor1 ,abram's brother4 
,he was a devout1 rich1 and benevolent  
,gentile patriarch4 ,the princely       
fortune of this greatest of all the men 
of the ,east1 is indicated by an        
inventory of his flocks and herds4 ,he  
had seven thousand sheep1 and three     
thousand camels1 and five hundred yoke  
of oxen1 and five hundred she asses4    
,his household was also very great4     
,this mighty man was a humble servant of
 ,god2 and ,satan could not bear to see 
his influence and prosperity2 and he    
determined to make him the shining mark 
of his enmity to ,god and man4  ,the    
mysterious account of his entrance upon 
the cruel work of attempted ruin1 is in 
the following words3 ,now there was a   

day when the sons of ,god came to       
present themselves before the ,lord1 and
 ,satan came also among them4 ,the      
saints of that early age were called    
,sons of ,god1 but the meaning seems to 
be that either ,satan was permitted to  
appear in a gathering of angels who1    
returning from their ministries of love1
 were reporting to their king1 and      
awaiting new instructions1 or1 it is    
designed only to represent the real     
character and power of the tempter1 in  
contrast with the loyalty of ,god's     
servant4  ,the whole narrative bears the
 marks of a real history2 and ,jehovah  
is not limited by our ideas of what he  
can consistently do4 ,my ways are not   
your ways1 nor my thoughts your         
thoughts1 saith the ,lord4  ,the devil  
charged ,job with selfish motives in    
serving ,god4 ,he could afford to be    
religious with such rare and splendid   
prosperity4 ,to show to the universe    
,satan's lying malice1 his loyal        
subject's holy character1 and to comfort

 his people in all the ages following1  
while the discipline purified and       
beautified the sufferer1 he told the    
adversary to try the patriarch with a   
change of circumstances--the severest   
trials2 only his body must not be       
touched4  ,the gratified fiend hastened 
away to his attack upon the unsuspecting
 friend of ,god1 over whom he           
anticipated a great victory4 ,the       
patriarch's family was large1 and       
evidently a united and happy one4 ,they 
had their anniversary festivals1 which  
were hallowed by religious services2 the
 faithful and affectionate father       
offering sacrifices on such occasions4  
,the ,lord was recognized amid the most 
joyful scenes of social life2 and not1  
as in many prosperous households of     
,christian name in all the ages since1  
excluded from the circle of pleasure    
like an unwelcome1 unworthy guest4      
,illustration3 ,the ,cruel ,husbandman4 
,the birthday seems to have been the    
favorite anniversary2 and at the very   

moment ,satan left ,jehovah1 the        
children were assembled at the house of 
the oldest brother4 ,job was not there4 
,he may have gone away for awhile1 or   
not yet have joined the rejoicing       
company4  ,for a messenger rushed into  
his presence with the startling         
intelligence that the lawless ,sabeans  
living in the region1 had fallen upon   
the servants keeping the oxen and asses1
 and slaying them1 had taken the animals
 away4 ,no sooner had the devil obtained
 permission to engage1 in the wicked    
enterprise1 than he found ready agents  
among men4 ,and before the evil report  
was finished1 another terrified1 excited
 servant1 came in1 saying that the      
lightning of heaven had consumed the    
seven thousand sheep4  ,this            
intelligence was falling from the lips  
of the only shepherd who escaped the    
devouring fire1 when a third messenger  
entered1 pale with alarm1 and announced 
the raid of three companies of          
,chaldeans upon the keepers of the three

 thousand camels1 killing all but the   
bearer of the news1 and driving off the 
beasts of burden4 ,the trembling man was
 interrupted by the sudden appearance of
 the fourth servant1 wild with terror1  
crowning the crushing tidings already   
received1 by telling ,job that a gale   
from the wilderness had swept down upon 
the eldest son's dwelling1 where the    
whole family were1 excepting the        
patriarch1 and thrown walls and roof    
into a common wreck1 burying his ten    
children under the fragments4  ,we      
cannot easily imagine the stunning      
effect of these reports1 following each 
other like successive claps of thunder  
from a cloudless sky4 ,satan was        
watching the effect1 ready to exult over
 the first expression of repining and   
rebellion4 ,but how sublime the         
resignation of the loyal heart of the   
childless1 homeless1 and penniless      
sufferer6 ,after the eastern custom in  
time of affliction1 he cut off his hair1
 rent his robe1 fell upon the ground1   

and worshipped4 ,the lips1 tremulous    
with sorrow1 uttered the often-quoted   
and beautiful words3 ,the ,lord gave1   
and the ,lord hath taken away2 blessed  
be the name of the ,lord4 ,no disloyal  
act1 or foolish complaint against       
,jehovah1 gratified the expectant enemy 
of ,god and man4 ,but ,satan was not    
satisfied with the trial of faith4 ,he  
was allowed to appear before ,god1 and  
in answer to the questioning respecting 
the patriarch's lofty yet meek          
submission1 basely and meanly declared  
that if he had been permitted to torture
 the body1 he should have succeeded in  
proving ,job to be a hypocrite4 ,the    
,lord had purposed to silence the devil1
 and thoroughly try and sanctify his own
 child4 ,so he told the tempter to do   
what he pleased1 only he must spare     
life4  ,suddenly poor ,job was covered  
with burning ulcers1 which defiled his  
form until he scraped it with a piece of
 broken pitcher4 ,while sitting in the  
dust1 a wretched mass of corruption1 he 

found a new tempter in the person of his
 wife3 ,she asked him if he could still 
retain his integrity1 and urged him to  
curse ,god and die4 ,beautifully again  
his breaking heart uttered its loyalty4 
,charging her with folly1 he inquired3  
,what6 shall we receive good at the hand
 of ,god1 and shall we not receive evil8
  ,the scene of sorrow is now changed4  
,job had three friends living in the    
country not far off1 who were clearly   
intelligent1 noble men4 ,they heard of  
his calamities1 and started on a visit  
of condolence4 ,when they came in sight 
of him1 he was so changed that at first 
they did not know him4 ,they wept aloud1
 rent their robes1 and scattered dust on
 their heads1 to express their          
overwhelming grief4 ,there he sat1 in   
miserable poverty and disease1 and all  
around him the ruins of his just before 
magnificent fortune1 and the bodies or  
graves of his sons and daughters4 ,they 
approached him1 and could say nothing1  
but sat down with him seven days and    

nights without speaking a word--an      
awful1 expressive silence4 ,at length   
,job could refrain no longer1 but in his
 despondency1 began to bewail his birth1
 and wish he had at least died in       
earliest infancy4 ,then was opened a    
long1 eloquent1 and wonderful discussion
 by the mourning company upon the       
providence and grace of ,god4  ,jehovah 
at length spake from the rolling cloud1 
borne on the wings of the wind1 and     
indicated his dealings with a fallen    
race1 pointing the debaters for         
illustrations of power1 wisdom1 and     
glory1 to his works of creation1 from   
the crooked serpent to ,orion and the   
,pleiades1 floating in the nightly      
sky--the wonders of ocean1 earth1 and   
air4  ,among the animals to which       
reference is made1 there are three      
conspicuous ones1 about which           
naturalists disagree--they cannot       
certainly tell us what they were4 ,these
 are the unicorn1 supposed by many to be
 the rhinoceros of the present day2 the 

behemoth1 thought to be the hippopotamus
 or river-horse2 and the leviathan1     
which answers very well to the whale4   
,the description of the war horse is the
 finest ever written1 and given in a few
 words2 and yet he had not been seen    
amid the wildest storm of battle1       
bearing his rider to the flaming mouths 
of ordnance1 and through the leaden hail
 of numberless infantry arms4 ,hast thou
 given the horse strength8 hast thou    
clothed his neck with thunder8 ,canst   
thou make him afraid as a grasshopper8  
the glory of his nostrils is terrible4  
,he paweth in the valley1 and rejoiceth 
in his strength1 he goeth on to meet the
 armed men4 ,he mocketh at fear1 and is 
not affrighted2 neither turneth he back 
from the sword4 ,the quiver rattleth    
against him1 the glittering spear and   
the shield4 ,he swalloweth the ground   
with fierceness and rage3 neither       
believeth he that it is the sound of the
 trumpet4 ,he saith among the trumpets1 
,ha1 ha2 and he smelleth the battle afar

 off1 the thunder of the captains1 and  
the shouting4  ,he alludes to a very    
beautiful wonder of his forming         
skill--the treasures of the snow4 ,few  
persons imagine the marvels of the      
fleecy storm that whiten the earth in   
winter4 ,what a variety of perfect      
crystals6 and how delicate their form   
and finish6 ,the ice is made of         
crystals1 and often gives out aeolion   
music at the touch of winter4 ,even the 
frost makes fine drawings on the window 
panes of leaves and flowers4  ,but the  
people of ,palestine and the regions    
around it1 know little of our northern  
winters4 ,the cold season is brief1 and 
the occasional snow storms light1 and of
 short duration4  ,after ,god had       
finished his sublime appeal1 ,job bowed 
his head low before him1 and declared   
that all he had known of him before1    
compared with what he had learned since 
he was afflicted1 was no more than      
hearing about him2 for1 he added1 now   
mine eye seeeth thee2 wherefore ,i abhor

 myself1 and repent in dust and ashes4  
,then the ,lord rebuked ,job's friends1 
because they had judged him harshly1 and
 had multiplied words without knowledge1
 directing them to offer a sacrifice for
 him4  ,the patriarch prospered again   
under ,jehovah's smile1 and became      
greater in wealth1 and family1 and      
influence1 than he was when ,satan      
assailed him4 ,the deceiver and         
persecutor does not appear again in the 
annals of the devout ,arabian2          
disappointed and enraged1 he turned his 
malice against others more easily       
conquered and led captive by his wiles4 
,how awakening the thought that he still
 goes about as a roaring lion1 seeking  
whom he may devour4 ,but with loving    
trust in ,god1 he can only repeat his   
fruitless effort to destroy1 preparing  
the way for richest blessings4          
,illustration3 ,nathan ,reproving ,david
   ,illustration3 ,david's ,charge to   
,solomon4    ,,the ,,bible ,,and ,,the  
,,holy ,,land4  ,,patriarchs4 ,,kings4  

,,and ,,kingdoms4  ,,the ,,first        
,,kings4  ,theocracy1 we have seen1 was 
the first form of government in the     
world4  ,the word is from ,theos1 which 
means ,god2 for ,he ruled by direct     
command1 and would have continued to    
have been the only and perfect          
sovereign1 had not man been disloyal to 
him4  ,the patriarchal quay1 which was  
that of the family1 having at length    
united households and extended          
authority1 was still a ,theocracy4      
,when ,god made his people a separate   
nation1 each of the twelve tribes1 which
 sprang from the sons of ,jacob1 had its
 own ruler4 ,if any important matter    
concerning them all demanded public     
attention1 they called an assembly of   
their leaders4  ,when the bondage in    
,egypt was broken1 ,moses was the       
deliverer and lawgiver of ,israel1 and  
,joshua the great general or military   
chieftain4  ,the high priest was the    
visible servant of ,god--his            
representative of the ,redeemer of his  

people4  ,then came the judges1 who were
 a kind of governors1 having power to   
declare war and make peace for the      
nation1 but wearing no badges of        
distinction4 ,jehovah revealed through  
them his will1 and was still the        
glorious king of ,israel4  ,with the    
increase in numbers and general         
prosperity1 there was a decrease of the 
religious element and of harmony among  
the people4 ,they also ceased to        
appreciate the simple and sublime       
principles of a ,theocracy1 while all   
around them was the central power and   
the pomp of pagan monarchies2 and they  
became tired of ,god's holy sovereignty1
 having no visible display of authority4
 ,there were dissensions and civil      
strife in ,israel1 in consequence of    
these departures from the ,lord1 and    
strange melancholy blindness to their   
preeminence over other nations4  ,it was
 with them as it will be in the great   
,american ,republic1 if ,puritan faith  
and works decline1 until practical      

atheism prevails in our goodly land4    
,the people will throw off wholesome    
restraints1 become divided ,north and   
,south1 and corrupt in morals1 until a  
monarchy will be the natural resort of  
the people1 as a protection against     
their own selfish passions and          
conflicts4  ,samuel1 the wonderful child
 of ,elkanah and ,hannah1 given to them1
 like ,jephthah and ,samson1 as a       
special mark of divine favor1 and who   
early entered the temple-service under  
,eli1 was the last of the judges1       
excepting the authority which he        
delegated to his sons4 ,he was a noble1 
dutiful and devout boy1 and a faithful  
priest and magistrate in ,israel4 ,eli1 
whose sons were dissipated1 and slain by
 ,god's revealed purpose on account of  
their enemies1 preceded him1 so that    
,samuel saw the last of the ,theocracy1 
and inaugurated by the ,lord's command a
 monarchy in ,palestine4  ,the ,hebrews 
came to him begging for a king1 and     
urging1 as one reason for the change1   

the unfitness of his sons to succeed    
him4 ,they were mercenary and open to   
bribery1 and it is not strange that they
 were disliked by the people4 ,it is one
 of many instances of departure by      
children from the counsels and prayers  
of the kindest parents1 and choosing the
 wages of sin4  ,samuel took the        
petition of the people to ,god for      
direction in answering it4 ,the ,lord's 
message was the following3  ,hearken to 
the voice of the people in all that they
 say to thee3 for they have not rejected
 thee1 but they have rejected me1 that  
,i should not reign over them4          
,according to all the works which they  
have done1 since the day that ,i brought
 them out of the land of ,egypt1 even to
 this day1 wherewith they have forsaken 
me1 and served other gods1 so do they   
also to thee4 ,now1 therefore1 hearken  
to their voice3 nevertheless testify    
solemnly to them1 and show them the     
practice of the king that shall reign   
over them4  ,he then enumerated the     

burdens of the state which they must    
bear4 ,the inventory of these royal     
exactions is so true to the experience  
of all countries under kingly rule1 you 
will read it with interest4 ,it was the 
first divine statement of the nature of 
a monarchy1 and has needed no important 
change in the progress of the ages4     
,jehovah told ,samuel to repeat the     
following description of the desired    
blessing1 a king3  ,he will take your   
sons and appoint them for himself1 for  
his chariots1 and to be his horsemen2   
and some shall run before his chariots4 
,and he will appoint him captains over  
thousands1 and captains over fifties2   
and will set them to ear his ground1 and
 to reap his harvest1 and to make his   
instruments of war and instruments of   
chariots4 ,and he will take your        
daughters to be confectioners1 and to be
 cooks1 and to be bakers4 ,and he will  
take your fields1 and your vineyards1   
and your olive-yards1 even the best of  
them1 and give them to his servants4    

,and he will take the tenth of your     
seed1 and of your vineyards1 and give   
them to his officers1 and to his        
servants2 and he will take your         
men-servants1 and your maid-servants1   
and your goodliest young men1 and your  
asses1 and put them to his works4 ,and  
he will take the tenth of your sheep3   
and ye shall be his servants4 ,and ye   
shall cry out in that day1 beware of    
your king which ye shall have chosen    
you2 and the ,lord will not hear you in 
that day4   ,illustration3 ,saul and the
 ,witch of ,endor4   ,god had selected  
the first monarch of earth outside of   
heathenism4 ,in the comparatively small 
tribe of ,benjamin1 was a man of        
honorable ancestry named ,kish4 ,his    
son1 ,saul1 was a splendid young man1   
and would have attracted admiring       
attention anywhere1 and in any land     
under the sun1 then or since his day4   
,he was taller from his shoulders than  
all the rest of ,israel's men1 and      
possessed of the highest style of manly 

beauty4 ,repeated mention is made of his
 noble figure and bearing4 ,the         
providential circumstances which        
attended his promotion were remarkable4 
,he had wandered about for three days   
seeking the strayed asses of his father4
 ,fatigued with the unsuccessful search1
 he was inclined to abandon it and      
return home1 when1 finding himself near 
,ramah1 where ,samuel lived1 he resolved
 to consult one who was renowned in all 
,israel as a man from whom nothing was  
hid4 ,instructed in the divine designs  
regarding ,saul1 the prophet received   
him with honor4 ,he assured him that the
 asses which he had sought were already 
found1 and invited him to stay with him 
until the next morning4 ,saul was in    
fact the man on whom the divine         
appointment to be the first king of     
,israel had fallen4 ,a hint of this high
 destiny produced from the astonished   
stranger a modest declaration of his    
insufficiency4 ,but the prophet gave him
 the place of honor before all the      

persons whom--foreknowing the time of   
his arrival-- he had invited to his     
table4 ,as is still usual in summer1    
,saul slept on the flat roof of the     
house2 and was called early in the      
morning by ,samuel1 who walked forth    
some way with him on his return home4   
,when they had got beyond the town they 
stopped1 and ,samuel then anointed ,saul
 as the person whom ,god had chosen to  
be captain over his inheritance2 and    
gave him the first kiss of civil homage4
 ,in token of the reality of these      
things1 and to assure the mind of the   
bewildered young man1 the prophet       
foretold the incidents of his homeward  
journey1 and1 in parting1 desired his   
attendance on the seventh day following 
at ,gilgal4  ,on the day and at the     
place appointed1 ,samuel assembled a    
general convocation of the tribes for   
the election of a king4 ,as usual1 under
 the ,theocracy1 the choice of ,god was 
manifested by the sacred lot4 ,the tribe
 of ,benjamin was chosen2 and of the    

families of ,benjamin1 that of ,matri   
was taken2 and1 finally1 the lot fell   
upon the person of ,saul1 the son of    
,kish4 ,anticipating this result1 he had
 modestly concealed himself to avoid an 
honor which he so little desired4 ,but  
he was found and brought before the     
people1 who beheld with enthusiasm his  
finely developed form and preeminence in
 appearance1 and hailed him as their    
king4  ,many prominent persons of the   
great tribes were jealous and indignant1
 because the smallest tribe1 and a young
 man whose chief claim to the honor was 
his fine figure1 had been chosen4 ,they 
refused to join the masses in their     
homage1 and ,saul displayed his         
shrewdness in holding his peace4  ,and  
the wisdom of ,god was apparent in the  
result2 for he gradually united the     
discordant elements around him1 and     
became established in power4 ,soon after
 came the trial of his ability as a     
general4  ,the ,ammonites1 a mighty and 
warlike people under king ,nahash1      

besieged the important town of          
,jabesh-,gilead4 ,the beleaguered place 
was at length compelled to ask terms of 
capitulation4 ,the proud and cruel reply
 was1 that every man should have his    
right eye put out4  ,the                
,jabesh-,gileadites agreed to the hard  
conditions1 unless help reached them    
within seven days4 ,messengers hastened 
to ,saul1 in ,gibeah1 and found him     
returning from his herds in the field4  
,the story of the invasion and peril    
roused all the energies and martial     
spirit of a king worthy of his crown4   
,it was the ,lord's inspiration for his 
high office1 and immediate command of   
the army4  ,the inhabitants were timid2 
and to awaken their courage he slew     
oxen1 had them quartered1 and sent the  
pieces over the kingdom1 assuring those 
who were able to fight1 that unless they
 hastened to the rescue all their cattle
 should have a similar slaughter4 ,the  
volunteers came pouring in1 and ,saul   
marched to ,jabesh-,gilead4 ,a battle   

followed1 and the ,ammonites were routed
 with terrible slaughter4 ,it was a     
grand victory1 and won for ,saul the    
glory of military genius4 ,this settled 
the question of his right to reign1 and 
his sceptre was held over an undivided  
people4  ,retaining three thousand men1 
he followed up the conquest by an attack
 upon the ,philistines1 who had         
conquered on the south1 and deprived    
,israel of weapons of war1 and          
implements of husbandry4 ,only ,saul and
 ,jonathan had either sword or spear4   
,the latter1 a gifted and noble young   
man1 distinguished himself1 under ,god's
 special benediction1 in a successful   
assault upon a garrison of the          
,philistines4 ,the enemy rallied in full
 strength1 and ,saul prepared to meet   
them with additional forces4  ,samuel   
had appointed sacrifices to be made     
before the campaign was opened1 and     
because he did not appear in ,gilgal    
when ,saul expected him1 the king turned
 priest1 and presented the offerings4   

,this rashness revealed his undevout    
character and haughty self-will1 which  
proved his ruin4   ,illustration3 ,saul 
,rejected4   ,meanwhile the most of his 
troops had scattered1 through fear of   
the powerful foe4 ,but ,jonathan        
determined to make a bold onset1 and1   
with his armor-bearer1 climbed a high   
cliff1 and fell upon the ,philistines4  
,they supposed the ,hebrews were rushing
 from ambush upon them1 and began to    
fly4 ,saul entered the field and aided  
in the overthrow of the defeated        
warriors1 slaying and treading each     
other down in the wild confusion of the 
retreat4  ,during the last years of     
,saul's reign1 conscious that ,god had  
forsaken him1 in one of his campaigns   
against the ,philistines he sought the  
counsel of a witch4 ,when he beheld the 
vast force which the ,philistine states 
had1 by a mighty effort1 brought into   
the field1 dire misgivings as to the    
result arose in his mind2 and now1 at   
last1 in this extremity1 he sought      

counsel of ,god4 ,but the ,lord answered
 him not by any of the usual means--by  
dreams1 by ,urim1 or by prophets4       
,finding himself thus forsaken1 he had  
recourse to a witch at ,endor1 not far  
from ,gilboa1 to whom he repaired by    
night in disguise1 and conjured her to  
evoke the spirit of ,samuel1 that he    
might ask counsel of him in this fearful
 emergency4 ,accordingly1 an aged and   
mantled figure arose1 which ,saul took  
to be the ghost of ,samuel1 though      
whether it were really so or not has    
been much questioned4 ,the king bowed   
himself reverently1 and told the reason 
for which he had called him from the    
dead4 ,the figure1 in reply1 told him   
that ,god had taken the crown from his  
house1 and given it to a worthier man2  
that1 on the next day1 the ,philistines 
would triumph over ,israel2 and that he 
and his sons should be slain in the     
battle4 ,the king swooned at these heavy
 tidings1 but soon recovered1 and1      
having taken some refreshment1 returned 

the same night to the camp4  ,the       
engraver's art has produced a picture of
 this strange scene1 one which cannot be
 clearly and satisfactorily explained4  
,saul received orders1 through ,samuel1 
to execute the ,lord's fierce wrath upon
 the ,amelekites1 who had formerly been 
doomed to utter extermination1 for      
opposing the ,israelites when they came 
out of ,egypt4 ,the result of the war   
put it fully in the king's power to     
fulfil his commission2 but he retained  
the best of the cattle as booty1 and    
brought back the ,amalekite king ,agag  
as a prisoner4 ,here ,saul again        
ventured to use his own discretion where
 his commission left him none4 ,for this
 the divine decree1 excluding his       
descendants from the throne1 was again  
and irrevocably pronounced by ,samuel1  
who met him at ,gilgal on his return4   
,the stern prophet then directed the    
,amalekite king to be brought forth and 
slain by the sword1 after which he      
departed to his own home1 and went no   

more to see ,saul to the day of his     
death1 though he ceased not to bemoan   
his misconduct1 and the forfeiture it   
had incurred4  ,the next engraving is a 
very good view of this crisis in ,saul's
 destiny--his rejection by ,god and his 
prophet4 ,when ,samuel turned to leave  
the king1 the terrified ruler seized his
 mantle1 and in the struggle it was     
torn4 ,the prophet improved the incident
 by telling him that thus should his    
kingdom be rent from him1 and given to a
 neighbor4  ,we cannot follow ,saul     
through all the achievements and crimes 
of his eventful reign2 the abandonment  
of him by the grieved and indignant     
,samuel2 his deceptive prosperity2 and  
his conscious desertion by ,god1 until  
his fits of depression bordered on      
madness4 ,he had genius and heroism1 but
 a bad heart1 and the hour of his       
overthrow drew near4  ,the venerable and
 gifted prophet who anointed the king   
was commanded by ,jehovah to consecrate 
the successor to the throne4 ,he was    

directed to go to ,bethlehem1 and there 
anoint one of the sons of ,jesse4 ,he   
knew that should ,saul be informed of   
the errand1 his days were numbered4 ,the
 doom of a traitor would follow the     
solemn act4  ,to protect his servant the
 ,lord told ,samuel to offer a          
sacrifice1 and tell the king he was     
going to ,bethlehem for the purpose4    
,when ,samuel reached ,bethlehem1 he    
laid the offerings upon the altar1 and  
invited a worthy citizen and his family 
to the sacrifice4 ,the good man's name  
was ,jesse1 and he had eight sons4      
,eliab1 the eldest1 like ,saul1 was     
fine-looking--tall1 athletic1 and       
commanding in his personal appearance4  
,samuel thought he must be the future   
king of ,israel2 but ,god revealed to   
him his mistake4 ,six brothers followed 
him in their presentation to the        
prophet1 and the ,lord gave the same    
intimation of his will he had respecting
 ,eliab4  ,the man of ,god was          
perplexed4 ,what could he do1 if these  

were the only sons of ,jesse1 as it     
seemed1 for no more came8 ,it occurred  
to him1 however1 that possibly there    
might be another boy1 and he inquired of
 ,jesse if it were not so4  ,the        
excellent father had sent the youngest  
son1 about fifteen years old1 to keep   
the sheep1 and it did not even enter his
 mind that this mere child could have   
any thing to do with the affairs of the 
kingdom4 ,he stated the facts to        
,samuel1 who immediately desired to see 
the lad4 ,he was sent for1 and soon     
stood before the prophet4 ,the          
patriarchal servant of the ,infinite    
,one looked upon the noble boy1 with his
 ruddy and beautiful countenance1 and   
saw in him the next monarch of ,israel4 
,illustration3 ,christ ,blessing ,little
 ,children4   ,david stood among his    
brethren1 a modest1 bewildered shepherd 
boy1 uninjured by unholy gratification  
of passion and appetite--a pure-minded1 
manly1 and devout youth4  ,god told     
,samuel to anoint him1 and he poured the

 consecrating oil upon the fair brow of 
the astonished ,david4 ,then the ,spirit
 of the ,lord came upon him1 and        
departed from ,saul altogether4 ,the    
juvenile shepherd and hero1 who had     
slain a lion and a bear1 in defence of  
his sheep1 returned to his flocks1 a    
king in destiny4  ,remorse1 the         
predictions of ,samuel against him1 and 
baleful passions1 made ,saul so         
wretchedly melancholy1 that some of his 
attendants suggested to the monarch that
 he should try the soothing effect of   
music4 ,the proposition was favorably   
received1 and upon the recommendation of
 another friend1 ,david1 the son of     
,jesse1 of whom ,saul knew nothing      
before1 was sent for to play upon the   
harp4 ,the young minstrel won the       
respect and affection of the royal      
household1 and his harpings were the    
principal solace of the infatuated and  
gloomy king1 who at length made ,david  
his armor-bearer4  ,you know the        
warriors of ancient time wore armor made

 of metal to protect the body from the  
spear and sword1 the common weapons of  
the battle-field2 and men were appointed
 by monarchs to have the care of it4    
,since their last great discomfiture1   
the ,philistines had recruited their    
strength1 and in the thirtieth year of  
,saul's reign1 and the twentieth of     
,david's life1 they again took the field
 against the ,israelites4 ,it curiously 
illustrates the nature of warfare in    
those times1 to find that the presence1 
in the army of the ,philistines1 of one 
enormous giant1 about nine or ten feet  
high1 filled them with confidence1 and  
struck the ,israelites with dread4      
,attended by his armor-bearer1 and clad 
in complete mail1 with weapons to match 
his huge bulk1 the giant1 whose name was
 ,goliah1 presented himself daily       
between the two armies1 and1 with       
insulting language1 defied the          
,israelites to produce a champion who1  
by single combat1 might decide the      
quarrel between the nations4 ,this was  

repeated many days2 but no ,israelite   
was found bold enough to accept the     
challenge4 ,at length ,david1 who had   
come to the battle-field with food for  
his brethren1 no longer able to endure  
the taunts and blasphemies of ,goliah1  
offered himself for the combat4 ,the    
king1 contrasting the size and known    
prowess of the giant with the youth and 
inexperience of ,jesse's son1 dissuaded 
him from the enterprise4 ,but as ,david 
expressed his strong confidence that the
 ,god of ,israel1 who had delivered him 
from the lion and the bear1 when he     
tended his father's flock1 would also   
deliver him from the proud ,philistine1 
,saul at length allowed him to go forth 
against ,goliah4 ,refusing all armor of 
proof1 and weapons of common warfare1   
,david advanced to the combat1 armed    
only with his shepherd's sling1 and a   
few smooth pebbles picked up from the   
brook which flowed through the valley4  
,the astonished giant felt insulted at  
such an opponent1 and poured forth such 

horrid threats as might have appalled   
anyone less strong in faith than the son
 of ,jesse4 ,but as he strode forward to
 meet ,david1 the latter slung one of   
his smooth stones with so sure an aim   
and so strong an arm1 that it smote his 
opponent in the middle of the forehead1 
and brought him to the ground4  ,the    
praises of the people lavished on ,david
 excited ,saul's jealousy1 and he sought
 in various ways to kill ,david1 who    
seemed to have a charmed life2 for ,god 
was with him1 and no blow aimed at his  
life was successful4  ,the king's son1  
,jonathan1 loved ,david devotedly1 and  
more than once saved him from the wrath 
of ,saul4  ,after hunting the son of    
,jesse1 consulting witches in his       
desperation1 and fighting the           
,philistines in bloody conflicts1 near  
,mount ,gilboa1 defeated and wounded1 he
 committed suicide by falling on his    
sword4 ,thus ended the career of the    
first king of the ,hebrew nation4       
,david1 under divine guidance1 went to  

,hebron1 and was there publicly anointed
 king by the tribe of ,judah4 ,but      
,abner1 a splendid general1 and a great 
friend of ,saul1 induced the rest of the
 tribes to acknowledge ,ishbosheth1 the 
only son of ,saul then living1 as their 
sovereign4 ,soon1 however1 a quarrel    
with his protege1 led him to join       
,david1 who was at length proclaimed    
king by all the people4  ,after years of
 prosperity in war and peace1 he had a  
sanguinary battle with the ,ammonites4  
,this occurred in the eighteenth year of
 his reign4 ,the conduct of this war    
,david intrusted to ,joab1 and remained 
himself at ,jerusalem4 ,there1 while    
sauntering upon the roof of his palace1 
after the noonday sleep1 which is usual 
in the ,east1 he perceived a woman whose
 great beauty attracted his regard4 ,she
 proved to be ,bathsheba1 the wife of   
,uriah1 an officer of ,canaanitish      
origin1 then absent with the army       
besieging ,rabbah1 the capital of       
,ammon4 ,david was so fascinated with   

her that he determined to add her to his
 royal household4 ,he sent for ,uriah to
 ,jerusalem4 ,having heard from him the 
particulars of the war1 which he        
pretended to require1 the king dismissed
 him to his own home4 ,but ,uriah1      
feeling that it ill became a soldier to 
seek his bed while his companions lay on
 the hard ground1 under the canopy of   
heaven1 exposed to the attacks of the   
enemy1 remained all night in the hall of
 the palace with the guards1 and        
returned to the war without having seen 
,bathsheba4 ,david made him the bearer  
of an order to ,joab to expose him to   
certain death1 in some perilous         
enterprize against the enemy4 ,he was   
obeyed by that unscrupulous general2 and
 when ,david heard that ,uriah was dead1
 he sent for ,bathsheba1 and made her   
his wife4 ,he had already several wives1
 as was customary in those times2 and   
among them was ,michal1 whom he had long
 ago reclaimed from the man to whom she 
had been given by the unprincipled      

,saul4   ,illustration3 ,the ,woman of  
,canaan4   ,david1 whose undisputed     
authority1 and admiration of the        
beautiful ,bathsheba1 deceived him1     
blinding his moral vision1 thought all  
was safe4 ,death and royalty seemed to  
cover forever his sin4  ,but never was a
 man more mistaken4 ,god sent ,nathan1 a
 fearless1 faithful prophet1 to rebuke  
him4 ,so the seer went to him1 inquiring
 what should be done with a man who had 
robbed a poor neighbor of his only and  
pet lamb4 ,the king1 who was really     
loyal to ,god1 and just in his aims1    
indignantly said that the robber should 
die1 and the lamb be restored4 ,then    
,nathan fixed his eye on the king1 and1 
pointing to him1 exclaimed courageously1
 ,thou art the man6  ,david bowed his   
head and wept under the pointed reproof1
 and began to cry1 ,deliver me from     
blood-guiltiness1 oh1 ,god1 thou ,god of
 my salvation4  ,what a fine example of 
faithful preaching1 and of an honest    
hearer6 ,this illustration of true      

penitence1 which is given in the picture
 at the beginning of this history of the
 kings1 suggests a good story of modern 
date4 ,jacob1 an intelligent negro1 was 
bribed and intoxicated to make him      
commit murder4 ,he was convicted of the 
crime1 and sent to the ,state prison for
 life4 ,he could not read1 but a bible  
was in his cell1 and he learned so      
rapidly that soon he could pick out the 
words and get the meaning4 ,he would run
 his finger over each letter of the     
fifty-first ,psalm1 especially the      
fourteenth verse1 until he enamelled it 
with his touch4 ,the bible is still kept
 by an excellent man1 as a relic of     
prison-life4 ,for ,jacob was pardoned1  
went to the lovely town of ,c-1 ,n4,y41 
and became an eminent ,christian4 ,his  
monument is one of the highest in the   
cemetery4  ,the ,scriptures describe    
,david as a man after ,god's own heart4 
,by this we are not to understand that  
,david always acted rightly1 or that    
,god approved of all he did4 ,its       

meaning is1 that1 in his public         
capacity1 as king of ,israel1 he acted  
in accordance with the true theory of   
the theocratical government2 was always 
alive to his dependence on the ,supreme 
,king2 took his own true place in the   
system1 and aspired to no other2 and    
conducted all his undertakings with     
reference to the ,supreme ,will4 ,he    
constantly calls himself the servant 7or
 vassal7 of ,jehovah1 and that1 and no  
other1 was the true place for the human 
king of ,israel to fill4 ,in thus       
limiting the description of ,david as a 
man after ,god's own heart1 it is not   
necessary for us to vindicate all his   
acts1 or to uphold him as an immaculate 
character4 ,but the same ardent         
temperament which sometimes betrayed his
 judgment in his public acts1 led him   
into great errors and crimes4 ,it also  
made him the first to discover his      
lapse1 and the last to forgive himself4 
,domestic afflictions humbled ,david1   
and persecution by enemies embittered   

his life4 ,the kingly crown had its     
thorns4 ,an only child died in infancy4 
,afterwards1 his handsome and popular   
son1 ,absalom1 was ambitious to get the 
throne of his father1 and became the    
leader of a great revolt1 in whose      
conflicts he was slain4  ,solomon1      
another son1 was the heir chosen by the 
,lord1 to the crown of ,david4 ,and when
 the monarch of ,israel drew near the   
close of his stormy1 yet splendid reign1
 he called the intellectual1 comely1 and
 dutiful boy to his bedside1 to give him
 his last words of counsel and blessing4
  ,this scene is depicted in the colored
 engraving4 ,among the paternal         
exhortations to the young prince was the
 following impressive address3 ,and     
thou1 ,solomon1 my son1 know thou the   
,god of thy fathers1 and serve him with 
a perfect heart1 and with a willing     
mind2 for the ,lord searcheth all       
hearts1 and understandeth all the       
imaginations of the thoughts4 ,if thou  
seek him1 he will be found of thee but  

if thou forsake him1 he will cast thee  
off forever4  ,solomon1 the second king 
of ,israel1 desired and sought1 before  
riches and honors1 wisdom from ,god1 to 
govern well the people1 and it was      
freely given4  ,under his father's      
sceptre1 ,palestine was great in martial
 achievements1 national wealth1 and the 
fine arts2 for the king was a poet and a
 musician4 ,solomon was a man of peace1 
and during his reign the kingdom reached
 its highest glory in oriental splendor 
and luxury4 ,the temple he built was a  
monument of munificence1 skill1 and     
royal zeal for ,god's honor4  ,what a   
wonderful display of wisdom was that    
decision in the case of the two women1  
one of whom1 in her sleep1 lying upon   
her babe1 had smothered it1 and claimed 
the living child of the other1 who      
lodged with her4 ,he knew when he sent  
for the executioner1 and told him to cut
 in two parts the live babe1 giving to  
each a half1 that the mother would be   
seen in the effect of the command to    

slay4 ,and so it was4 ,the faithless    
woman said let it be so2 the loving1    
yearning mother exclaimed no1 rather let
 the other have the child4 ,solomon     
wisely decided the matter1 directing the
 attendants to give the unconscious     
object of controversy to her to whom it 
belonged4  ,but this rich and popular   
monarch was led into sin by his         
unbounded prosperity1 and indulging in  
forbidden pleasures4 ,afterwards he     
bitterly mourned over his folly and     
shameful weakness1 in departing from the
 living ,god4 ,this varied and1 much of 
it1 wasted life1 led the king1 in his   
sober years of declining age1 to write  
the ,book of ,proverbs and              
,ecclesiastes1 so full of the           
profoundest knowledge of mankind and    
wisest counsel4 ,it is said that the    
,scotch are preeminently discerning and 
intelligent1 because they are so        
familiar with the ,scriptures1          
especially the proverbs of ,solomon4    
,there were no more such monarchs in    

,israel1 after ,david and ,solomon1 and 
the kingdom became divided and weakened1
 until the ,jews were conquered and     
enslaved by their enemies4 ,the         
expensive magnificence and luxury of    
,solomon's reign1 and his departures    
from ,god into idolatrous worship1      
awakened the divine indignation4  ,a    
prophet was commissioned to tell the    
wise1 yet foolish monarch that the      
kingdom should be rent in twain1 and the
 grandeur of his empire depart before   
the revolt of the ten tribes from       
,judah1 which had absorbed the small    
tribe of ,benjamin4 ,solomon was about  
sixty years old when he died4 ,he had   
ruled forty years1 and was buried nine  
hundred and seventy-five years before   
the advent of ,christ4 ,rehoboam1 the   
son of ,solomon1 was made king over     
,judah1 and ,jereboam1 an ,ephraimite1  
became sovereign of the ten tribes1 who 
were called ,israel4  ,how interesting  
and instructive the history of the      
,hebrews1 at this period6  ,they got    

tired of the sovereignty of ,god1       
visible only in written rules of        
conduct1 family government1 and the     
prophet-judges1 and desired to imitate  
their pagan neighbors in the pomp and   
power of royalty4 ,under their second   
monarch they quarrelled among           
themselves1 engaged in civil strife1 and
 became divided1 rival kingdoms4 ,during
 the five hundred years which followed1 
the successive kings of the two realms  
had1 the most of them1 brief            
sovereignty4 ,some of them were         
excellent kings1 but the greater part   
were wicked and oppressive4             
,pre-eminent in crime was ,ahab1 whose  
wife1 ,jezebel1 was a fit companion4    
,their names live in the world's history
 with a bad preeminence1 like those of  
,herod1 ,nero1 and similar rulers of    
ancient and modern times4  ,the corpse  
of a ruler1 or of the humblest subject1 
was ordinarily wound in grave-clothes1  
and laid in a sepulchre4 ,this1 in the  
early ages1 was a room hewn out of a    

rock1 a cave1 or a grave which had no   
mound1 nor any other mark1 excepting    
monumental stones1 with no inscriptions4
  ,the ,arabian patriarch1 ,job1 talked 
of kings and counsellors1 who built for 
themselves desolate places1 which       
probably has reference to sepulchral    
monuments1 cut out of the rock4  ,the   
expression a sepulchre on high1 is an   
allusion to the custom anciently of     
placing the dead in tombs made in       
cliffs1 sometimes hundreds of feet in   
height--a lofty1 inaccessible           
resting-place for the body of a         
distinguished person4  ,some nations of 
the heathen world have always burned    
their dead4 ,in ,japan1 recently1 an    
,american traveller witnessed this      
singular disposal of the lifeless       
remains4 ,a priest was placed in a      
sitting posture in his coffin1 and a    
fire built behind it1 consuming to ashes
 the body4 ,these relics were carefully 
gathered up1 and put in a safe and      
sacred place for all coming time4  ,it  

is a remarkable thing that the ,bible   
does not record any solemn parade or    
imposing ceremonies over the burial of  
the ,hebrew kings4  ,of ,david it is    
written1 he slept with his fathers1 and 
was buried in the city of ,david4 ,the  
same simple and impressive mention is   
made of ,solomon's death4 ,monarchs were
 only men--sinners to be saved by grace1
 if rescued at all from the power and   
ruin of sin4 ,it is hoped and believed  
by ,christian people that ,solomon1 in  
his declining years1 reviewed           
prayerfully and penitently his career1  
and found peace with a pardoning ,god4  
,the sepulchre of royalty in ,jerusalem1
 is well worthy of a visit by travellers
 in the ,holy ,land4 ,some of the stone 
coffins lean against the solid walls1   
others lie in massive richness of       
sculpture on the floor4  ,the ,jews     
called their burial places the house of 
the living1 because of the expected     
resurrection--a beautiful sentiment1    
which rebukes the dismal thoughts and   

mourning of many ,christian persons over
 the newly made graves of their departed
 friends4  ,the beautiful tomb in the   
valley of ,jehosaphat1 is one of        
comparatively modern construction1 but  
it shows the admiration felt by the     
,hebrews for ,absalom1 with all his     
waywardness4   ,illustration3 ,joseph   
,elevated to ,power by ,pharaoh4        
,illustration3 ,the ,israelites ,carried
 into ,captivity4    ,,the ,,bible ,,and
 ,,the ,,holy ,,land4  ,,patriarchs1    
,,kings ,,and ,,kingdoms4  ,,palestine  
,,under ,,pagan ,,kings4  ,the picture  
which introduces these pages was drawn  
from a scene under the sceptre of the   
first monarch mentioned in the ,bible4  
,a comparatively unimportant prince1 the
 ,king of ,sodom1 whose small and wicked
 realm ,jehovah destroyed by fire and   
brimstone1 is mentioned4  ,but the      
empire of the ,pharaohs of ,egypt1 was  
large1 rich1 and magnificent4 ,and it is
 a singular thing1 that of this nation1 
and all others of antiquity1 excepting  

what the ,scriptures contain1 the early 
history is little known4 ,a great       
,german historian1 ,dr4 ,von ,rotteck1  
truly writes3 ,the principal trait that 
distinguishes the first period of the   
ancient world is its obscurity4  ,the   
general belief is1 that the founders of 
,egypt went from ,ethiopia1 and the     
,ethiopians from ,east ,india or ,south 
,arabia4  ,where did the ,indiamen have 
their origin8 you may ask2 but no man   
can certainly answer4 ,that all races   
sprang from ,adam we have no doubt1 but 
the lines of descent and emigration the 
wisest student of the past cannot       
follow4  ,the living oracles1 in brief  
statements1 give us nearly all the      
reliable accounts we have of the early  
history of the ,land of the ,nile1 as   
,egypt was called4 ,in them we learn    
that while the chosen people of ,god1   
the only nation whose annals of growth  
in the number of its population and its 
civilization1 has been handed down to   
us1 was no more than a tribe of         

wandering shepherds under ,abraham1     
,egypt was the home of art1 and a garden
 of agricultural products4  ,and yet the
 very nomades1 who roamed over the      
uncultivated plains1 like the           
,aborigines of this new world1 have     
preserved the best records of the early 
condition of that ancient and wonderful 
empire1 whose origin is lost in the     
distance and darkness of ,pagan         
antiquities4  ,it seems1 from the tenth 
chapter of ,genesis1 that ,egypt was    
settled by the descendants of ,noah1    
through ,ham1 his second son4  ,the next
 reference made to this remarkable      
country is in the twelfth chapter1 where
 we are told of ,abraham's visit there4 
,again1 in the twenty-first chapter1 is 
recorded the marriage of ,ishmael to an 
,egyptian woman4 ,in chapter            
twenty-ninth is related the story of    
,joseph's captivity and career in the   
capital of the ,pagan monarchy4 ,he was 
the twelfth son of ,jacob1 and one of   
,rachel's two boys--lovely in his       

youthful character1 and the idol of his 
father4 ,during a period of repose in   
sleep he had a singular dream4 ,the     
first was1 that while the brothers were 
all in the harvest-field at work his    
sheaf suddenly rose upright1 and the    
sheaves of the eleven brethren stood up 
and bowed to his own4 ,the intimation   
that he was to rule over them made them 
angry1 and they hated him4  ,soon after 
,joseph's sleep he was disturbed by     
another dream4 ,the sun1 moon1 and      
eleven stars1 rendered homage to him4   
,the interpretation of this was the same
 as that of the other1 with the addition
 of his father and mother1 who also     
bowed before him4  ,it may seem strange 
that ,joseph should relate any thing so 
complimentary to himself4 ,but he       
evidently did it in no boasting mood4   
,he simply narrated the extraordinary   
dreams1 without the least idea of what  
was before him4  ,but ,god saw what he  
did hot know1 that their jealousy and   
enmity would be overruled for the       

temporal salvation of the family and    
nation4  ,the venerable1 thoughtful     
father1 silently pondered over the      
singular experience of ,joseph4  ,the   
elder sons were shepherds1 and fed their
 flocks in ,shechem4 ,how beautiful the 
ingenious1 dutiful character of ,joseph 
now appears6 ,his father called him to  
go and find his brethren1 to see how    
they were getting along4 ,here am ,i1   
was his response4 ,that is to say3      
,although my brethren hate me1 ,i am    
ready to serve you1 and do any thing for
 them4 ,he went to ,shechem1 but they   
had left2 and the boy wandered about in 
the field looking for them4 ,a citizen  
happened to see him1 and was evidently  
interested in the beautiful stranger1   
bewildered and alone1 and asked what he 
wanted4 ,joseph told him the truth of   
the case1 when the man said that his    
brothers had taken their flocks to      
,dotham1 a few miles distant4  ,he      
started for that place1 and while a     
great way off1 they saw and knew him4   

,the conspiracy was instantly formed to 
dispose of the dreamer4  ,the first     
proposition was to kill him1 but ,reuben
 would not agree to the cruel           
suggestion4 ,his plan was to cast the   
lad into a deep pit1 till he could      
manage to get him back to his father4   
,this less bloody way of disposing of   
,joseph was accepted1 and when he came  
near they took off the coat of many     
colors the doting father had given him1 
and putting him in a pit without water  
which happened to be at hand1 dipping it
 in blood to make his father think a    
beast killed him1 they took it home4    
,scarcely was the interesting boy       
weeping in his prison before a caravan  
of ,ishmaelites1 and then of            
,midianites1 came in sight4             
,illustration3 ,moses ,found in the     
,bulrushes4   ,a new idea now flashed   
upon their minds4 ,they could avoid the 
unpleasant consciousness of probable    
murder1 and make something out of his   
sale as a slave to the wandering        

traders4 ,a bargain was soon made1 and  
young ,joseph1 casting backward a       
farewell look of sad reproach1 was      
carried away1 and sold by the           
,midianites to the ,ishmaelites1 of whom
 ,potiphar1 the captain of ,pharaoh's   
guard1 bought him for a servant4 ,god   
blessed the youth1 and he was soon made 
overseer of the officer's household4    
,but ,potiphar's wife was a vile woman1 
and because ,joseph was nobly true to   
,god and virtue1 made a false report of 
him1 and had him put in prison4         
,egypt's monarch had wonderful dreams   
about a famine his astrologers could not
 explain2 and a released prisoner1 who  
had forgotten ,joseph's kindness in     
explaining a dream of deliverance1      
advised the king to send for the        
,hebrew4 ,the young man was taken to the
 palace1 and gave a true interpretation 
of the dreams4 ,pharaoh was delighted2  
and from his dungeon ,joseph went to the
 secret place of authority second to the
 king4 ,pharaoh said3 ,only in the      

throne will ,i be greater than thou4 ,he
 then put a ring on his finger1 a gold  
chain on his neck1 and arrayed him in   
fine apparel4 ,the beautiful            
illustration sets this sudden and       
splendid promotion before us--the honor 
,god put upon his youthful servant4     
,soon the predicted famine came1 for    
which the gifted and prudent ,joseph had
 made complete provision by storing up  
the abundant harvests4 ,among the       
sufferers from failing crops and        
pasturage1 was the large family of      
,jacob--his sons and their households4  
,in their extremity they turned to      
,egypt4 ,joseph's influence was such    
that the patriarch's delegation found   
favor with the king4 ,the prime-minister
 of ,egypt knew his brethren1 but they  
had forgotten him4 ,so he managed to    
find out all about his father's house1  
and made his brothers bring dear        
,benjamin1 when he wept aloud1 and made 
himself known to them all4 ,pharaoh sent
 for the whole race1 and soon the       

,hebrew caravan reached the fruitful    
land of ,goshen1 which was exactly      
suited to the life of shepherds4 ,here  
the strangers grew in numbers and       
wealth1 until ,joseph died1 and the     
friendly monarch also4 ,his successor   
cared neither for ,joseph nor his       
countrymen4 ,he was a tyrant1 and       
enslaved the dwellers in ,goshen4       
,centuries of captivity wore away1 and  
,god determined to deliver his people1  
and send them back again to ,palestine4 
,the scene displayed in this picture you
 will recognize at a glance4 ,moses1 the
 ,hebrew babe1 afloat on the ,nile1 in a
 small boat made of bulrushes by his    
mother1 because ,pharaoh was slaying the
 children of her nation1 to get rid of  
them4  ,neither the haughty and cruel   
monarch1 nor the mother1 nor the little 
voyager1 thought of ,moses as the future
 deliverer of his countrymen from       
bondage--the great leader and lawgiver  
of ,israel4  ,we have already had       
glimpses of the ,hebrews in the         

wilderness1 their progress and rulers in
 ,palestine1 after the moving multitude 
reached the promised land4  ,the ages of
 changing sovereigns1 and fortunes of   
crimes and discipline brought them at   
last to another mournful captivity4     
,about six hundred years before ,christ1
 while that wicked ,manassah was king in
 ,palestine1 the monarch of ,assyria--a 
grand and powerful empire--invaded it1  
and took ,jerusalem4 ,manassah was      
carried in chains to ,babylon1 the      
splendid ,assyrian capital4 ,his son1   
,amon1 became the sovereign under the   
,assyrian conqueror1 but was soon       
assassinated1 and ,josiah took the      
throne4  ,during his reign1 the ,king of
 ,egypt marched into ,palestine and     
conquered it1 killing ,josiah1 the king4
  ,a few years later1 ,nebuchadnezzar1  
the ,babylonian monarch1 besieged and   
took ,jerusalem1 the ,city of ,david4   
,the massive walls of the cities of old 
was their chief protection4 ,those of   
,babylon1 according to the old ,roman   

historians1 were marvelously great4     
,think of them rising three hundred and 
fifty feet1 eighty-seven feet in        
thickness1 and extending sixty miles    
around the city6 ,one writer says1 that 
two four-horse chariots could pass each 
other on the top4 ,they were built of   
brick1 cemented together with bitumen4  
,they had twenty gates made of solid    
brass1 and were surmounted with two     
hundred and fifty towers4  ,the city had
 six hundred and seventy-six squares1   
each over two miles in circumference4   
,the river ,euphrates flowed through the
 entire extent1 from north to south4    
,the hanging gardens1 suspended from the
 walls1 were gorgeous1 and the public   
buildings rich and elegant4  ,such was  
the home of the ,hebrew exiles for      
seventy years or more4  ,quintus        
,curtius1 a ,roman1 has described the   
entrance of the great and victorious    
,alexander into ,babylon1 at a later    
period1 who soon after died there of    
dissipation1 while yet a young man4 ,the

 pleasant sketch gives a vivid          
impression of the glory and pomp of this
 ancient capital of ,babylon3           
,illustration3 ,christ ,declaring ,who  
is ,greatest4   ,a great part of the    
inhabitants of ,babylon stood on the    
walls1 eager to catch a sight of their  
new monarch2 many went forth to meet    
him4 ,among these ,bagophanes1 keeper of
 the citadel and of the royal treasure1 
strewed the entire way before the king  
with flowers and crowns2 silver altars  
were also placed on both sides of the   
road1 which were loaded not merely with 
frankincense1 but all kinds of          
odoriferous herbs4 ,he brought with him 
for ,alexander gifts of various kinds1  
flocks of sheep and horses2 lions1 also1
 and panthers were carried before him in
 their dens4 ,the magi came next1       
singing in their usual manner their     
ancient hymns4 ,after them came the     
,chaldeans with their musical           
instruments1 who are not only the       
prophets of the ,babylonians1 but their 

artists4 ,the first are wont to sing the
 praises of the kings2 the ,chaldeans   
teach the motion of the stars1 and the  
changes of the seasons4 ,then followed1 
last of all1 the ,babylonian knights1   
whose equipments1 as well as that of    
their horses1 showed the passion of the 
people for luxury4 ,the king1           
,alexander1 attended by armed men1      
having ordered the crowd of the         
townspeople to proceed in the rear of   
his infantry1 entered the city in a     
chariot and repaired to the palace4 ,the
 next day he carefully surveyed the     
household treasures of ,darius1 and all 
his money4 ,for the rest1 the beauty of 
the city and its age turned the eyes not
 only of the king1 but of everyone in   
itself1 and that with good reason4  ,the
 kings and conquerors of old had no     
canals for boats1 no railways1 and not  
many good roads4 ,consequently1 their   
invasions and various public enterprises
 were carried forward in a slow and     
toilsome manner4 ,heavy wagons and      

chariots1 the latter sometimes armed    
with scythes or long blades for battle1 
were the best vehicles in use4  ,there  
were no monitors1 nor fire-arms4 ,large 
swords1 daggers1 slings1 the catapulta  
and battering-ram1 were the principal   
weapons4  ,the last named instrument was
 a massive machine with a movable beam1 
crowned with a very hard end1 often     
shaped like a ram's head1 which could be
 thrown against a wall with tremendous  
force1 beating it down4  ,the catapulta1
 which was placed upon city walls1 was a
 great cross-bow for hurling arrows upon
 an enemy4 ,in it was combined the bow  
and arrow1 and the sling4 ,the mammoth  
arrow was put in the groove1 the twisted
 ropes were connected with levers1 and  
the powerful recoil would send the      
strong and sharp arrow a great distance4
  ,some of the machines were large      
enough to discharge beams loaded with   
iron2 and one kind1 called the balista1 
would send great stones1 crushing       
through the houses on which they fell4  

,among the spoil1 taken by              
,nebuchadnezzar to ,babylon1 were the   
costly vessels of the temple2 and he    
graced his train with members of the    
royal family and the principal nobles4  
,he placed ,zedekiah on the throne of   
his ,hebrew province1 who soon after    
rebelled against him4  ,in consequence  
of this revolt1 the ,babylonian king    
invaded ,judea with a great army1 and1  
after taking most of the principal      
towns1 sat down before ,jerusalem4      
,early in the next year the ,egyptians  
marched an army to the relief of their  
ally1 but being intimidated by the      
alacrity with which the ,babylonians    
raised the siege and advanced to give   
them battle1 they returned home without 
risking an engagement4 ,the return of   
the ,chaldeans to the siege1 destroyed  
all the hopes which the approach of the 
,egyptian succors had excited4 ,the     
siege was now prosecuted with redoubled 
vigor2 and at length ,jerusalem was     
taken by storm at midnight1 in the      

eleventh year of ,zedekiah1 and in the  
eighteenth month from the commencement  
of the siege4 ,dreadful was the carnage4
 ,the people1 young and old1 were       
slaughtered wherever they appeared2 and 
even the temple was no refuge for them2 
the sacred courts streamed with blood4  
,zedekiah himself1 with his family and  
some friends1 contrived to escape from  
the city2 but he was overtaken and      
captured in the plains of ,jericho4 ,he 
was sent in chains to ,nebuchadnezzar1  
who had left the conclusion of the war  
to his generals1 and was then at ,riblah
 in ,syria4 ,after sternly reproving him
 for his ungrateful conduct1 the        
conqueror ordered all the sons of       
,zedekiah to be slain before his eyes1  
and then his own eyes to be put out1    
thus making the slaughter of his        
children the last sight on which his    
tortured memory could dwell4 ,he was    
afterward sent in fetters of brass to   
,babylon1 where he remained until his   
death4  ,nebuchadnezzar evidently felt  

that his purposes had not been fully    
executed by the army1 or else he was    
urged by the ,edomites and others to    
exceed his first intentions4 ,he        
therefore sent ,nebuzaradan1 the captain
 of the guard1 with a sufficient force  
to complete the desolation of ,judah and
 ,jerusalem4 ,he burned the city and the
 temple to the ground2 he collected and 
sent to ,babylon all the gold and silver
 which former spoilers had left2 and he 
transported all the people who had been 
left behind in ,jehoiachin's captivity1 
save only the poor of the land1 who were
 left to be vine-dressers and           
husbandmen4 ,four years after1          
,nebuzaradan again entered ,judea1 and  
gleaned a few more of the miserable     
inhabitants1 whom he sent off to        
,babylon4   ,illustration3 ,the         
,handwriting on the ,wall4   ,thus was  
the land left desolate2 and thus ended  
the kingdom of ,judah and the reign of  
,david's house1 after it had endured    
four hundred and four years under twenty

 kings4 ,it is remarkable that the ,king
 of ,babylon made no attempt to colonize
 the country he had depopulated1 as was 
done by the ,assyrians in ,israel2 and  
thus1 in the providence of ,god1 the    
land was left vacant1 to be re-occupied 
by the ,jews after seventy years of     
captivity and punishment4  ,the grand   
and melancholy march into captivity is  
seen in the illustration of the artist4 
,what a vast and sad procession6 ,the   
conquerors ride proudly on the high     
ground with the captive host in full    
view4 ,the tower of ,babel and the walls
 of their magnificent city are visible  
in the distance4  ,the exiles found in  
,babylon many of their countrymen1 who  
had been carried there in previous      
conquests1 and were useful1 respectable 
citizens4 ,among these1 there was a     
young man of splendid abilities and     
noble heart1 named ,daniel4  ,he was one
 of the youthful sons of high family1   
who were carried away as hostages for   
the fidelity of ,king ,jehoiachin4 ,he  

and some others were put under the chief
 eunuch1 to be properly trained in the  
language and learning of the ,chaldeans1
 to fit them for employments at the     
court4 ,this training lasted three      
years1 when they were examined in the   
presence of the king2 and ,daniel and   
three of his friends were found to have 
made far greater progress than any of   
those who had been educated with them4  
,they were therefore enrolled among the 
magians or learned men4  ,a few years   
after1 ,nebuchadnezzar was greatly      
troubled with a dream1 which made a     
profound impression upon his mind2 but  
the particulars of which quite passed   
from his memory when he awoke4 ,great   
importance was attached to dreams in    
those days1 and men skilled in the      
sciences were supposed to be able to    
discover their meaning4 ,therefore1 the 
king sent for his court magians1 and    
required them not only to interpret the 
dream1 but to discover the dream itself1
 which he had forgotten4 ,this they     

declared to be impossible2 on which the 
exasperated tyrant ordered all the      
magians to be massacred4 ,daniel and his
 friends1 although not present1 were    
included in such a sentence4 ,on        
learning this1 he begged a respite for  
the whole body1 undertaking to find1    
through his ,god1 the solution of the   
difficulty4 ,the respite was granted2   
and at the earnest prayer of ,daniel1   
,god made the secret known to him4 ,a   
colossal image which the king saw1 with 
a head of gold1 arms and breast of      
silver1 belly and thighs of brass1 legs 
of iron1 and toes partly iron and partly
 clay1 was struck down by a stone1 which
 itself grew and filled the whole earth4
 ,this1 in the interpretation of        
,daniel1 figured forth the things to    
come2 describing by characteristic      
symbols the succession of empires to the
 end of time2 and it is wonderful to    
observe how precisely the greater part  
of what was then future has since been  
accomplished4 ,the king was not only    

satisfied but astonished2 he was almost 
ready to pay divine honors to ,daniel2  
and raised him at once to the eminent   
station of ,archimagus1 or chief of the 
magians1 and governor of the            
metropolitan province of ,babylon4 ,his 
three friends1 also1 were at his        
request1 promoted to places of trust and
 honor4  ,not long after1               
,nebuchadnezzar set up a colossal image 
in the plains of ,dura1 and commanded   
that1 when music sounded1 everyone      
should worship it1 on pain of death4 ,he
 soon learned that this command was     
utterly neglected by ,daniel's three    
friends1 ,shadrach1 ,meshach1 and       
,abednego2 and his rage grew so high1 at
 the example of disobedience given by   
persons in their high station that he   
ordered them to be at once cast into the
 burning furnace4 ,the heat of the      
furnace was so great as to destroy the  
men who cast them in2 but they          
themselves remained unhurt1 and not even
 a hair of their heads was singed4 ,they

 came forth when the king called them2  
and he was so much astonished and       
convinced by this prodigy1 that he      
publicly acknowledged the greatness of  
the ,god whom they served4  ,there      
appear to have been good and generous   
qualities in the character of           
,nebuchadnezzar2 but the pride with     
which he contemplated the grandeur of   
his empire1 and the magnificence of his 
undertakings1 was most inordinate1 and  
he required to be taught that the ,most 
,high ruleth over all the kingdoms of   
the earth1 and giveth them to whomsoever
 he will4 ,he was warned of this in a   
dream1 which was interpreted to him by  
,daniel2 but1 neglecting the warning1   
his heart was changed from man's1 and a 
beast's heart was given to him4 ,he was 
afflicted with a madness which made him 
think himself a beast1 and1 acting as   
such1 he remained constantly abroad in  
the fields1 living upon wild herbs4 ,in 
this debased and forlorn condition the  
mighty conqueror remained seven years1  

when he was restored to his reason and  
his throne1 and one of his first acts   
was to issue a proclamation1 humbly     
acknowledging the signs and wonders     
which the ,most ,high ,god had wrought  
toward him1 and declaring his           
conviction1 that those who walk in pride
 he is able to abase4 ,he died soon     
after4  ,the next illustration is drawn 
from the interpretation of the dream in 
the royal palace4 ,conscious of         
,jehovah's favor and guidance1 how      
courageously and grandly he stands      
before the monarch1 and declares the    
whole counsel of ,god6  ,he thus became 
a prophet of the ,most ,high1 whose     
wonderful career afterwards1 we shall   
again follow1 when we come to the       
narratives of the seers4                
,illustration3 ,the vision of the       
,dragon ,chained4   ,the spirit         
alienation from ,god1 and of depraved   
desires1 which ruled the ancient pagan  
realms is set before us under various   
titles4 ,among them is that of the      

dragon1 in the engraving2 which the king
 of kings shall yet bind forever and    
imprison4  ,the fate of the proud       
kingdoms which ruled ,palestine1 teaches
 the world how little importance ,god   
attaches to human glory in his          
punishment of the wicked4  ,egypt has   
scarcely more than its location and name
 left4 ,its pyramids1 one of which it is
 estimated employed three hundred       
thousand men twenty years in building1  
stand in the desert places1 solitary and
 pillaged sepulchres4  ,the temple of   
,karnak1 on the east bank of the ,nile1 
whose massive stone roof was supported  
by one hundred and thirty-four majestic 
columns1 forty-three feet high1 and     
ranged in sixteen rows2 the whole       
structure twelve hundred feet in length1
 and covered with figures of gods and   
heroes2 is one of the grandest works of 
time4  ,should you visit the gorges of  
the ,theban ,mountains1 your feet would 
stumble over the bones of departed      
generations4 ,princes1 priests1 and     

warriors1 after reposing thousands of   
years in their deep seclusion1 are      
dragged forth by poor peasants1 and     
scattered around the doors of those     
cavern-like excavations in the          
everlasting hills4  ,lighting a torch or
 candle1 you may wander along the       
rock-walled galleries several hundred   
feet into the heart of the summits1 on  
each side of which are the apartments of
 death4  ,inscriptions1 three thousand  
years old1 can be distinctly traced4    
,how little thought the ,hebrews1 while 
toiling under the shadow of palaces1 or 
flying at night from the mighty realm of
 ,egypt1 of what we find to-day along   
the banks of the ,nile6  ,the doom of   
,babylon1 with that of the great        
invaders and conquerors of ,palestine1  
is equally wonderful and instructive4   
,probably no nation of antiquity was    
more distinguished for luxury and       
corrupt pleasures than this unrivalled  
city4  ,its last king1 ,nabonnidus1     
reigned about one hundred years before  

,christ appeared2 and in less than that 
time afterward1 the city walls enclosed 
a hunting ground or park for the        
recreation of ,persian monarchs4 ,we    
cannot well imagine a more complete     
destruction than has overtaken the once 
rich and gay metropolis4 ,the ruins are 
a number of mounds1 formed of crumbled  
buildings1 and strewn all over with     
pieces of brick1 bitumen1 and potter's  
vessels4  ,the ,assyrian kings of       
western ,asia1 also invaded the ,holy   
,land4 ,they ruled a vast and powerful  
realm1 whose principal city was         
,nineveh1 to which ,jonah was sent with 
a message from ,god4  ,sennacherib1 the 
monarch who reigned seven hundred years 
before ,christ1 marched his armies      
against the cities of ,judah and took   
them4 ,not satisfied with the terms of  
surrender he threatened further         
invasion4  ,at this crisis1 in answer to
 prayer1 ,jehovah sent his angel to     
destroy the troops2 and in one night the
 unseen messenger of destruction slew   

one hundred and eighty-five thousand    
men4  ,of this miraculous defeat a      
gifted but irreligious and unhappy poet 
has sung3    ,and there lay the steed   
with his nostrils all wide1   ,but      
through them there rolled not the breath
 of his pride2   ,and the foam of his   
gasping lay white on the turf1   ,and   
cold as the spray of the rock-beaten    
surf4    ,and there lay the rider1      
distorted and pale1   ,with the dew on  
his brow and the rust on his mail2      
,and the tents were all silent1 and the 
banners alone1   ,and the lances        
unlifted1 the trumpets unblown4    ,and 
the widows of ,ashur are loud in their  
wail1   ,and the idols are broke in the 
temple of ,baal2   ,and the might of the
 ,gentiles1 unsmote by the sword1       
,hath melted like snow at the glance of 
the ,lord4  ,now the greater part of the
 country which once formed ,assyria1 is 
under the sway of the ,turks4  ,mosul1 a
 missionary station of the ,american    
,board of ,foreign ,missions1 is        

believed to mark the site of ancient    
,nineveh4  ,the original inhabitants of 
,assyria1 in modern history1 are the    
,kurds2 a barbarous and warlike race4   
,some of these live in villages1 and    
others roam over the country4 ,they are 
said to resemble1 in personal           
appearance1 the ,highlanders of         
,scotland4  ,but the most remarkable    
fact in regard to the population1 is the
 ancient church of the ,nestorians1     
among the mountains4 ,this ,christian   
people have for ages maintained their   
independence1 defying the storms of     
revolution that have swept over all the 
country around their mountain home4     
,dr4 ,grant1 a missionary1 thinks they  
are descendants of the lost tribes of   
,israel4 ,we recollect to have seen in  
the hands of the venerable missionary1  
,rev4 ,dr4 ,perkins1 a copy of the      
,scriptures preserved for many hundred  
years by them3 sometimes hidden away1 to
 prevent its destruction by its enemies4
  ,not long ago1 one of the ,nestorian  

bishops1 ,mar ,yohanah1 visited this    
country1 and attracted much attention4  
,a ,jew-like1 noble man personally1 and 
a devout ,christian4  ,but if you look  
on the map of ,asia1 you will see that  
,mosul and the ,nestorian country is in 
,persia1 and may wonder what it has to  
do with ,assyria4 ,in the conquests     
which weakened and divided the ,assyrian
 empire1 new kingdoms were formed2 and  
while none can now accurately trace the 
boundaries of that great monarchy1 we   
have the later outline of ,persia4 ,more
 will be said of this remarkable kingdom
 when we come to the story of ,mordecai 
and ,esther4  ,the thrones of these     
ancient monarchies were1 at first1 no   
more than an ornamented arm-chair1      
higher than ordinary seats1 with a      
footstool for the royal feet4 ,then it  
was made in more massive form and richly
 carved1 with steps ascending to it4    
,some of the thrones were of ivory1     
adorned with gold2 and it is recorded1  
that ,archelaus addressed the multitude 

from a throne of solid gold--a          
magnificent fortune in itself4 ,thus    
gradually the throne became the highest 
symbol of power1 and is often applied to
 ,jehovah's sovereignty4 ,he is         
represented as sitting upon a throne of 
light1 and around him continually1      
attending angels1 veiling their faces   
with their wings1 and waiting to hear   
and obey his mandates2 crying with their
 voices of celestial music1 ,holy1 holy1
 holy1 ,lord ,god ,almighty1 which was  
and is1 and is to come6 ,a crystal sea  
is before this ,white ,throne of a pure 
and just authority1 and on it worships a
 resplendent host4 ,every sound and     
sight of glory and honor1 that language 
can express1 or the finest imagination  
picture1 is ascribed to that eternal    
royalty4  ,next to the throne1 the crown
 became a sign of authority1 although it
 was applied1 at first1 to other        
ornaments for the head1 properly called 
coronets1 garlands1 tiaras1 bands1      
mitres1 etc4  ,the idea of a kingly     

crown was suggested by the diadem1 which
 was a fillet--a mere band like that    
used to bind the long hair worn by the  
people--but richer and of a different   
color4 ,it was natural and easy1 with   
the increase of power and wealth1 to    
make the crown a more costly and showy  
symbol of kingly sway4  ,david wore a   
crown of gold set with jewels1 he took  
from the king of the ,ammonites4  ,the  
more modern crowns of ,asia1 where all  
the kings reigned1 of whom we have read 
in these pages1 are of different shapes1
 and some of them very rich and         
expensive1 ornamented with precious     
stones and plumes of the rarest kind4   
,crowns are also often mentioned in the 
,bible as an emblem of power2 and the   
,christian conqueror of his sins and the
 world1 it is written1 shall have a     
crown of life4  ,the sceptre was the    
third token of sovereignty4 ,the word   
originally signified a staff of wood of 
the length of a man's height4 ,later1 it
 was smaller in form1 and often plated  

with gold1 and enriched with various    
decorations4 ,inclining1 or holding out 
the sceptre was a mark of royal favor2  
and kissing it by another1 a sign of    
submission4  ,jehovah's rule is         
mentioned frequently in the inspired    
record1 under this figure4 ,his sceptre 
is a right sceptre1 in one of the       
declarations1 which even the wicked and 
most wretched on account of             
transgression1 dare not deny4  ,under   
its wide dominion are ,heaven1 ,earth1  
and ,hell1 not only1 but a universe     
whose boundaries neither man nor angel  
can ever reach4  ,he is ,god over all1  
and blessed forever6  ,how amazing the  
truth of such a king and kingdom6 ,under
 the unsleeping eye of the ,sovereign1  
the planet wheels on its axis with      
startling velocity1 and the insect      
creeps on the grain of sand4 ,a ,russian
 poet beautifully sung3    ,oh1 thou    
,eternal ,one6 whose presence bright1   
,all space doth occupy1 all motion      
guide6   ,unchanged through time's all  

devastating flight1    ,thou only ,god1 
there is no ,god beside6    ,being above
 all beings6 mighty one1     ,whom none 
can comprehend1 and none explore6   ,who
 filled existence with thyself alone2   
,embracing all1 supporting1 ruling o'er6
     ,being1 whom we call ,god1 and know
 no more6    ,thou art6 directing1      
guiding all4 ,thou art6     ,direct my  
understanding then to thee2   ,control  
my spirit1 guide my wandering heart1    
,though but an atom 'mid immensity4     
,still ,i am something fashioned by thy 
hand6     ,i hold a middle rank 'twixt  
heaven and earth1   ,on the last verge  
of mortal being stand1     ,close to the
 realms where angels have their birth1  
,just on the boundaries of the spirit   
land4    ,oh1 thoughts ineffable6 ,oh1  
visions blest6     ,though worthless our
 conceptions all of thee2   ,yet shall  
thy shadowed image fill our breasts1    
,and waft its homage to thy ,deity4     
,god6 thus alone my lowly thoughts can  
soar2     ,thus seek thy                

presence--,being wise and good6         
',midst thy best works admire1 obey1    
adore6     ,and when the tongue is      
eloquent no more1     ,the soul shall   
speak in tears of gratitude4            
,illustration3 ,ascent of ,elijah4      
,illustration3 ,elisha on ,his ,death   
,bed4    ,,the ,,bible ,,and ,,the      
,,holy ,,land  ,,patriarchs1 ,,kings1   
,,and ,,kingdoms4  ,,hebrew ,,captives2 
,,or1 ,,mordecai ,,and ,,esther4   ,the 
next pictured scene is in the ,court of 
,persia4 ,it will not be forgotten that 
,daniel was a captive in ,babylon under 
the last kings1 and probably died there 
after the city was taken by ,cyrus4 ,of 
this great man's history as a captive we
 shall learn more when we go with the   
prophets of ,god in their peculiar      
mission4  ,nabonadrius1 the son of      
,darius1 usurped the throne after his   
father's death2 and after reigning      
several years1 ,cyrus1 a nephew of      
,darius1 a ,persian general who was     
occupied in foreign wars1 turned his    

attention to the reigning monarch4  ,he 
marched against the gorgeous metropolis1
 and besieged it for two years in vain4 
,he at last thought of a stratagem which
 displayed his genius and boldness of   
action4 ,he determined to turn the      
channel of the ,euphrates1 which went   
through the whole length of the city1   
from the walls where it entered1 and get
 into the capital through the dry       
channel1 under the massive pile which no
 battering rams could crumble4 ,he      
succeeded in making a new bed for the   
stream1 and his troops went into        
,babylon over a path washed for ages by 
the waters of the ,euphrates4  ,media1 a
 word some suppose to be derived from   
,madai1 the son of ,japheth1 was the    
name of a region adjacent to ancient    
,assyria1 inhabited by warlike hordes   
for centuries4 ,the little that is said 
of these people in the ,bible1 is in    
connection with the ,persians4 ,both    
seemed to have become one nation2 first 
the ,medes gaining the ascendancy1 and  

then the ,persians4 ,but the darkness   
which rests upon the origin of the      
,asiatic lands bewilders the most       
careful historian4  ,the conspicuous    
appearance of the ,medes and ,persians  
begins with ,cyrus the ,great1 the      
conqueror of ,babylon1 a remarkable     
monarch in power1 glory1 and character4 
,the picture of the magi who journeyed  
from the east to find the infant        
,messiah1 presents a peculiar view of   
the ,persians and ,arabians4 ,among     
these gentile nations were men of great 
attainments in whatever of philosophy   
and astrology there was in the world4   
,the ,ethiopian race is represented1 and
 it may have been that dark faces were  
over the wonderful child4 ,color was    
evidently then no honor or disgrace2 the
 man was the object of regard or scorn4 
,more will be said of these wonderful   
travellers in the more appropriate place
 in the annals of ,palestine4 ,cyrus the
 first1 and noble ,persian monarch1 was 
kindly disposed toward the captive      

,jews1 and ,daniel had great influence  
over him4 ,in the very year of his      
conquest he issued a decree1 in which1  
after acknowledging the supremacy of the
 ,lord1 and that to him he owed all     
kingdoms1 he gave full permission to the
 ,jews in any part of his dominions1 to 
return to their own land and to rebuild 
the city and temple of ,jerusalem4 ,no  
sooner were the favorable dispositions  
of the king thus made known1 than the   
members of the latter captivity--those  
of the tribes of ,judah1 ,benjamin1 and 
,levi--repaired in large numbers to     
,babylon from their different places of 
residence2 some to make preparations for
 their journey2 and others1 who had no  
intention to return themselves1 to      
assist those who had4 ,most of the      
existing race had been born in          
,babylonia1 and in the course of years  
families had established themselves in  
the country1 and formed connections1 and
 gathered around them comforts which    
were not easily abandoned4 ,only a      

minority availed themselves of the      
decree in their favor2 the most of the  
people choosing to remain in the land of
 their exile2 and it has always been the
 opinion of the ,jews that the more     
illustrious portion of their nation     
remained in ,babylonia4  ,the first     
return caravan was organized and        
directed by ,zerubbabel1 the grandson of
 king ,jehoiachim1 and by ,jeshua1 a    
grandson of the last high-priest        
,jozadak4 ,the number of persons who    
joined them was about fifty thousand1   
including above seven thousand male and 
female servants4 ,before they departed1 
,cyrus restored to them the more        
valuable of the sacred utensils1 which  
had been removed by ,nebuchadnezzar1 and
 preserved by his successors1 and which 
were now to be again employed in the    
service of the sanctuary4 ,zerubbabel   
was also entrusted with large           
contributions toward the expense of     
rebuilding the temple1 from the ,jews   
who chose to remain behind4 ,the beasts 

of burden in this caravan exceeded eight
 thousand4 ,in the book of ,ezra1 the   
names of the families which returned to 
this first colony1 and in those which   
followed1 are carefully given4  ,the    
incidents of the journey are not        
related4 ,on reaching ,palestine the    
caravan repaired at once to ,jerusalem1 
which they found utterly ruined and     
desolate4 ,before they separated to seek
 habitations for themselves1 they raised
 a large sum by voluntary contributions 
toward the rebuilding of the temple4    
,then they employed themselves in       
securing dwellings and necessaries for  
their families2 and at the ensuing      
,feast of ,tabernacles again repaired to
 ,jerusalem1 where sacrifices were      
offered on an altar erected upon the    
ruins of the temple4 ,after this the    
people applied themselves zealously to  
the necessary preparation for the       
restoration of that edifice4 ,in a year 
from the departure from ,babylon1 the   
preparations were sufficiently advanced 

to allow the work to be commenced2 and1 
accordingly1 the foundations of the     
second temple were then laid with great 
rejoicings and songs of thanksgiving4   
,while the work proceeded1 the          
,samaritans manifested a desire to      
assist in the work1 and to claim a      
community of worship in the new temple4 
,this was declined by the ,jews on the  
ground that the decree of the ,persian  
king extended only to the race of       
,israel4   ,illustration3 ,the ,magi    
offering ,presents4   ,being thus       
frustrated in their design1 the         
,samaritans employed every means they   
could devise to thwart the undertaking4 
,their origin appears to have given them
 considerable influence at the ,persian 
court2 and although they could not act  
openly against the plain decree of      
,cyrus1 an unscrupulous use of their    
money and influence among the officers  
of the government enabled them to raise 
such obstructions1 that the people were 
much discouraged1 and the work proceeded

 but languidly1 and at length was       
suspended altogether4 ,from this        
lethargy they were roused by the        
exhortations and reproaches of the      
prophet ,haggai2 and the building was   
resumed with fresh zeal4  ,the new      
temple was dedicated with great         
solemnity and joy4 ,the ,jews were      
allowed the free exercise of their      
religion and laws1 and the government   
was directed by a governor of their own 
nation1 or by the high-priest1 when     
there was no other governor4 ,there was1
 in fact1 a distinct commonwealth1 with 
its own peculiar institutions2 and1     
although responsible to the ,persian    
king1 and to his deputy the             
governor-general of ,syria1 it was more 
secure under the protection of the      
monarch than it would have been in      
complete independence4 ,the dreadful    
lesson taught by the desolation of the  
land1 the destruction of the temple1 and
 the captivity of the people1 had       
effectually cured the ,jews of that     

tendency to idolatry which had been     
their ruin4 ,but1 as time went on1 the  
distortion of character which had been  
restrained in one direction broke forth 
in another2 and although they no longer 
went formally astray from a religion    
which did not suit their depravity1     
they1 by many vain and mischievous      
fancies1 fabricated a religion suited to
 their dispositions out of the ritual to
 which they adhered4  ,early in the     
reign of ,artaxerxes1 son of the mighty 
,xerxes1 the ,hebrews went to work on   
the beloved city with a regular plan of 
its rebuilding1 including an encircling 
wall4  ,this king had learned by reading
 and traditions1 the veneration which   
his most distinguished predecessors had 
shown for the ,god of ,israel2 and about
 seven years after he ascended the      
throne1 he commissioned ,ezra1 the      
priest and scribe1 to take charge of the
 religious service at ,jerusalem4 ,and  
he was1 in reality1 the governor or     
viceroy under the monarch4  ,those of   

the ,hebrews who desired to do so1 were 
invited to return with him1 and others  
who remained1 were to pay contributions 
for the use of the temple4  ,to this    
fund the king himself and his council   
contributed large sums of money2 and the
 ministers of the royal realms west of  
the ,euphrates1 were enjoined to furnish
 ,ezra with silver1 wheat1 wine1 oil1   
and salt1 that the sacrifices and       
offerings of the temple should be       
constantly kept up2 all of which is said
 to have been done in order to avert    
from the king and his sons1 the wrath of
 the ,god of the ,hebrews1 who was held 
in much honor at the ,persian court4    
,an exemption from all taxes was also   
promised to persons engaged in the      
service of the temple2 but this boon did
 not induce any of the ,levitical tribe 
to join the caravan which assembled on  
the banks of the river ,ahava1 in       
,babylonia3 and it was with some        
difficulty that ,ezra at last induced   
some of the priestly families to go with

 him4 ,the whole caravan was composed of
 one thousand seven hundred and         
fifty-four adult males--making1 with    
wives and children1 about six thousand  
persons4 ,as a party thus composed had  
little military strength1 and as the    
journey across the desert was then1 as  
it always has been1 dangerous from the  
,arab tribes by which it is infested1   
they felt considerable anxiety on this  
account4 ,but ,ezra1 from having said   
much to the king of the power of ,god to
 protect and deliver those that trusted 
in him1 felt disinclined to apply for a 
guard of soldiers2 and thought it better
 that the party should1 in a solemn act 
of fasting and prayer1 cast themselves  
upon the care of their ,god4 ,their     
confidence was rewarded by the perfect  
safety with which their journey was     
accomplished4 ,in four months they      
arrived at ,jerusalem4  ,while ,ezra1   
with his sealed commission from         
,artaxerxes1 was urging on the noble    
work at ,jerusalem1 an unexpected danger

 to his people in ,babylon and its      
provinces arose--a sudden and fearful   
crisis in destiny4  ,among the captives 
there was ,esther1 a ,hebrew maiden4    
,the ,persian king1 to commemorate his  
victorious and prosperous reign1        
extending from ,judea to ,ethiopia1 and 
embracing a hundred and twenty-seven    
provinces1 made a magnificent feast1    
which continued six months4 ,this was to
 display his power and wealth1 before   
the nobility of his realm1 and          
representatives from the conquered      
provinces of his spreading empire4 ,at  
the expiration of this brilliant        
entertainment1 he gave the common       
people1 without distinction1 a feast of 
seven days in the court of his palace4  
,the rich canopy and gorgeous curtains1 
with their fastenings--the tall columns1
 the golden couches1 and tesselated     
floors--are described as white1 green1  
and blue hangings1 fastened with cords  
of fine linen and purple to silver      
rings1 and pillars of marble3 the beds  

were of gold and silver1 upon a pavement
 of red1 and blue1 and black1 and white 
marble4   ,illustration3 ,our ,saviour  
,teaching in the ,temple4   ,of this    
grandeur1 in the ashes strewn by wasting
 ages1 are imposing remains4 ,modern    
travellers pause before the vast1       
solitary1 mutilated columns of the      
magnificent colonnades1 where youth and 
beauty graced the harems of ,persian    
monarchs4  ,upon this occasion1 the     
queen had a private pavilion for her    
female guests4 ,but during the          
successive days of dissipation1 the     
mirth waxed loud in the apartments of   
the king4 ,the flashing goblet          
circulated freely1 and his brain became 
wild with wine and wassail4 ,as the     
crowning display of his glory1 ,vashti1 
in her jeweled robes and diadem1 must   
grace the banquet4 ,the command was     
issued1 and the messenger sent4 ,this   
mandate1 requiring what at any time was 
contrary to custom1 the appearance of a 
woman1 unveiled1 in an assemblage of    

men1 now when revelry and riot betrayed 
the royal intoxication1 overwhelmed the 
queen with surprise4 ,a thousand        
wondering and beaming eyes were upon her
 during the brief pause before answering
 the summons4 ,her proud refusal to     
appear1 roused the fury of ,ahashuerus1 
already mad with excitement4 ,it would  
not answer to pass by the indignity1 for
 a hundred and twenty-seven provinces   
were represented at his court1 and the  
news of his sullied honor would reach   
every dwelling in his realm1 and curl   
the lip of the serf with scorn4 ,the    
nobles fanned the flame of his          
indignation4 ,unless a withering rebuke 
were administered1 their authority as   
husbands would be gone1 and the caprice 
of woman make every family a scene of   
daily revolution4  ,vashti was          
divorced--and to provide for the        
emergency1 his courtiers suggested that 
he should collect in his harem all the  
beautiful virgins of the land1 and      
choose him a wife4 ,among these was     

,hadassah1 the adopted daughter of      
,mordecai4 ,he urged her to enter her   
name among the rivals for kingly favor4 
,it was not ambition merely that moved  
,mordecai4 ,he had been meditating upon 
the unfolding providence of ,god toward 
his scattered nation1 and felt that     
there was deeper meaning in passing     
events than the pleasures and anger of  
his sovereign4 ,arrayed richly as       
circumstances would permit1 the         
beautiful ,jewess1 concealing her       
lineage1 joined the youthful procession 
that entered the audience chamber of    
,ahashuerus1 where he sat in state1 to  
look along the rank of female beauty1   
floating like a vision before him4  ,the
 character of ,esther is here exhibited 
at the outset2 for when she went into   
the presence of the king1 for his       
inspection1 instead of asking for gifts 
as allowed by him1 and as the others    
did1 she took only what the chamberlain 
gave her4 ,of exquisite form and        
faultless features1 her rare beauty at  

once captivated the king1 and he made   
her his wife4  ,mordecai was a man of a 
noble heart1 grand intellect1 and       
unwavering integrity2 there was         
nevertheless an air of severity about   
him--a haughty1 unbending spirit2 which 
with his high sense of honor and scorn  
of meanness would prompt him to lead an 
isolated life4 ,we have sometimes       
thought that even he had not been able  
to resist the fascinations of his young 
and beautiful cousin1 and that the      
effort to conceal his feelings had given
 a greater severity to his manner than  
he naturally possessed4 ,too noble1     
however1 to sacrifice such a beautiful  
being by uniting her fate with his own1 
when a throne was offered her2 or       
perceiving that the lovely and gentle   
being he had seen ripen into faultless  
womanhood could never return his        
love--indeed1 could cherish no feeling  
but that of a fond daughter1 he crushed 
by his strong will his fruitless        
passion4 ,in no other way can ,i account

 for the life he led1 lingering forever 
around the palace gates1 where now and  
then he might get a glimpse of her who  
had been the light of his soul1 the one 
bright bird which had cheered his       
exile's home4 ,that home he wished no   
longer to see1 and day after day he took
 his old station at the gates of        
,shushan1 and looked upon the           
magnificent walls that divided him from 
all that had made life desirable4 ,it   
seems also as if some latent fear that  
,haman1 the favorite of the             
king--younger than his master1 and of   
vast ambition1 might attempt to exert   
too great an influence over his cousin1 
must have prompted him to treat the     
latter with disrespect1 and refuse him  
that homage which was his due4 ,no      
reason is given for the hostility he    
manifested1 and which he must have known
 would end in his own destruction4      
,whenever ,haman1 with his retinue1 came
 from the palace1 all paid him the      
reverence due to the king's favorite but

 ,mordecai1 who sat like a statue1 not  
even turning his head to notice him4 ,he
 acted like one tired of life1 and at   
length succeeded in arousing the deadly 
hostility of the haughty minister4 ,the 
latter1 however1 scorning to be revenged
 on one man1 and he a person of low     
birth1 persuaded the king to decree the 
slaughter of all the ,jews in his realm4
 ,the news fell like a thunderbolt on   
,mordecai4 ,sullen1 proud1 and          
indifferent to his own fate1 he had     
defied his enemy to do his worst2 but   
such a savage vengeance had never       
entered his mind1 ,it was too late1     
however1 to regret his behavior4 ,right 
or wrong1 he had been the cause of the  
bloody sentence1 and he roused himself  
to avert the awful catastrophe4 ,with   
rent garments1 and sackcloth on his     
head1 he travelled the city with a loud 
and bitter cry1 and his voice rang even 
over the walls of the palace1 in tones  
that startled its slumbering inmates4   
,illustration3 ,humility                

,exemplified--,giving ,alms in ,secret4 
,it was told ,esther1 and she ordered   
garments to be given him1 but he refused
 to receive them1 and sent back a copy  
of the king's decree1 respecting the    
massacre of the ,jews1 and bade her go  
in and supplicate him to remit the      
sentence4 ,she replied that it was      
certain death to enter the king's       
presence unbidden1 unless he chose to   
hold out his sceptre2 and that for a    
whole month he had not requested to see 
her4 ,her stern cousin1 however1 unmoved
 by the danger to herself1 and thinking 
only of his people1 replied haughtily   
that she might do as she chose2 if she  
preferred to save herself1 delivery     
would come to the ,jews from some other 
quarter1 but she should die4  ,from this
 moment the character of ,esther unfolds
 itself4 ,it was only a passing weakness
 that prompted her to put in a word for 
her own life1 and she at once rose to   
the dignity of a martyr4 ,the blood of  
the proud and heroic ,mordecai flowed in

 her veins1 and she said3 ,go1 tell my  
cousin to assemble all the ,jews in     
,shushan1 and fast three days and three 
nights1 neither eating nor drinking2 ,i 
and my maidens will do the same1 and on 
the third day ,i will go before the     
king1 and if ,i perish1 ,i perish6      
,noble and brave heart6 death--a violent
 death--is terrible2 but thou art equal4
  ,there1 in that magnificent apartment1
 filled with perfume1 and where the     
softened light1 stealing through the    
gorgeous windows by day1 and shed from  
golden lamps by night on marble columns 
and golden-colored couches1 makes a     
scene of enchantment1 behold ,esther1   
with her royal apparel thrown aside1    
kneeling on the tesselated floor4 ,there
 she has been two days and nights1      
neither eating nor drinking1 while      
hunger1 and thirst1 and mental agony    
have made fearful inroads on her beauty4
 ,her cheeks are sunken and haggard--her
 large and lustrous eyes dim with       
weeping1 and her lips parched and dry1  

yet ever moving in inward prayer4       
,mental and physical suffering have     
crushed her young heart within her1 and 
now the hour of her destiny is          
approaching4 ,ah6 who can tell the      
desperate effort it required to prepare 
for that terrible interview4 ,never     
before did it become her to look so     
fascinating as then2 and removing with  
tremulous anxiety the traces of her     
suffering1 she decked herself in the    
most becoming apparel she could select4 
,her long black tresses were never      
before so carefully braided over her    
polished forehead1 and never before did 
she put forth such an effort to enhance 
every charm1 and make her beauty        
irresistible to the king4  ,at length1  
fully arrayed and looking more like a   
goddess dropped from the clouds1 than a 
being of clay1 she stole tremblingly    
toward the king's chamber4 ,stopping a  
moment at the threshold to swallow down 
the choking sensation that almost       
suffocated her1 and to gather her       

failing strength1 she passed slowly into
 the room1 while her maidens stood      
breathless without1 listening1 and      
waiting with the intensest anxiety the  
issue4 ,hearing a slight rustling1 the  
king1 with a sudden frown1 looked up to 
see who was so sick of life as to dare  
to come unbidden in his presence1 and   
lo6 ,esther stood speechless before him4
 ,her long fastings and watchings had   
taken the color from her cheeks1 but had
 given a greater transparency in its    
place1 and as she stood1 half shrinking1
 with the shadow of profound melancholy 
on her pallid1 but indescribably        
beautiful countenance1 her pencilled    
brow slightly contracted in the         
intensity of her excitement1 her long   
lashes dripping in tears1 and lips      
trembling with agitation2 she was1      
though silent1 in herself an appeal that
 a heart of stone could not resist4 ,the
 monarch gazed long and silently on her1
 as she stood waiting her doom4 ,shall  
she die8 ,no2 the golden sceptre slowly 

rises and points to her4 ,the beautiful 
intruder is welcome1 and sinks like a   
snow wreath at his feet4 ,never before  
did the monarch gaze on such            
transcendent loveliness2 and spell-bound
 and conquered by it1 he said1 in a     
gentle voice3 ,what wilt thou1 ,queen   
,esther8 ,what is thy request8 ,it shall
 be granted thee1 even to the half of my
 kingdom6  ,woman-like1 she did not wish
 to risk the influence she had suddenly 
gained1 by asking the destruction of his
 favorite1 and the reversion of his     
unalterable decree1 and so she prayed   
only that he and ,haman might banquet   
with her the next day4 ,she had thrown  
her fetters over him1 and was determined
 to fascinate him still more deeply     
before she ventured on so bold a        
movement4 ,at the banquet he again asked
 her what she desired1 for he well knew 
that it was no ordinary matter that had 
induced her to peril her life by        
entering unbidden his presence4 ,she    
invited him to a second feast1 and at   

that to a third4 ,but the night previous
 to the last1 the king could not sleep1 
and after tossing awhile on his troubled
 couch1 he called for the record of the 
court1 and there found that ,mordecai   
had a short time before informed him    
through the queen1 of an attempt to     
assassinate him1 and no reward been     
bestowed4 ,the next day1 therefore1 he  
made ,haman perform the humiliating     
office of leading his enemy in triumph  
through the streets1 proclaiming before 
him3 ,this is the man whom the king     
delighteth to honor4 ,as he passed by   
the gallows he had the day before       
erected for that very man1 a shudder    
crept through his frame1 and the first  
omen of coming evil cast its shadow on  
his spirit4   ,illustration3 ,herod's   
,cruel ,massacre4   ,the way was now    
clear to ,esther1 and so the next day1  
at the banquet1 as the king repeated his
 former offer1 she1 reclining on the    
couch1 her chiseled form and ravishing  
beauty inflaming the ardent monarch with

 love and desire1 said in pleading      
accents3 ,i ask1 ,o king1 for my life1  
and that of my people4 ,if we had all   
been sold as bondmen and bondwomen1 ,i  
had held my tongue1 great as the evil   
would have been to thee4 ,the king      
started1 as if stung by an adder1 and   
with a brow dark as wrath1 and a voice  
that sent ,haman to his feet1 exclaimed3
 ,thy life6 my queen8 ,who is he8 where 
is he that dare even harbor such a      
thought in his heart8 ,he who strikes at
 thy life1 radiant creature1 plants his 
presumptuous blow on his monarch's      
bosom4 ,that man1 said the lovely       
pleader1 is the wicked ,haman4 ,darting 
one look of vengeance on the petrified  
favorite1 he strode forth into the      
garden to control his boiling passions4 
,haman saw at once that his only hope   
now was in moving the sympathies of the 
queen in his behalf2 and approaching    
her1 he began to plead most piteously   
for his life4 ,in his agony he fell on  
the couch where she lay1 and while in   

this position the king returned4 ,what6 
he exclaimed1 will he violate the queen 
here in my own palace6 ,nothing more was
 said2 no order was given4 ,the look and
 voice of terrible wrath in which this  
was said1 were sufficient4 ,the         
attendants simply spread a cloth over   
,haman's face1 and not a word was       
spoken4 ,those who came in1 when they   
saw the covered countenance1 knew the   
import4 ,it was the sentence of death4  
,the vaulting favorite himself dare not 
remove it--he must die1 and the quicker 
the agony is over1 the better4 ,in a few
 hours he was swinging on the gallows he
 had erected for ,mordecai4  ,after     
this1 the queen's power was             
supreme--every thing she asked was      
granted4 ,to please her he let his      
palace flow in the blood of five hundred
 of his subjects1 whom the ,jews slew in
 self-defence4 ,for her he hung ,haman's
 ten sons on the gallows where the      
father had suffered before them4 ,for   
her he made ,mordecai prime minister1   

and lavished boundless favors on the    
hitherto oppressed ,hebrews4 ,and right 
worthy was she of all he did for her4   
,lovely in character as she was in      
person1 her sudden elevation did not    
make her vain1 nor her power haughty4   
,the same gentle1 pure1 and noble       
creature when queen1 as when living in  
the lowly habitation of her cousin1     
generous1 disinterested1 and ready to   
die for others1 she is one of the       
loveliest characters furnished in the   
annals of history4  ,it is a little     
singular that the words1 ,god or        
,providence1 are not mentioned in the   
whole book of ,esther4 ,the writer seems
 studiously to have avoided any         
reference to them1 as if he did not wish
 to recognize the interposition of      
,heaven in any of the events that       
transpired2 while his narrative is      
evidently designed to teach nothing     
else4 ,the hand of ,providence is       
everywhere seen managing the whole      
scheme4  ,but the greatest acts of      

,providence awaken the least attention  
among blind1 mortal men4 ,we are        
startled when some great occurrence     
meets us1 but overlook the vast effects 
which follow causes that attracted no   
eye but ,god's4 ,we see the flying      
timbers and flaming ruins of a          
conflagration1 and forget that a        
concealed spark did it all4  ,a noble   
mind and body are wrecked1 and many     
weep2 yet how few think that the blast  
of moral ruin which stranded the        
life-bark1 was once the quiet breath of 
a mother's unholy influence leading the 
boy astray4  ,so the splendid career of 
a hero and patriot1 like ,mordecai1     
,moses1 or ,washington1 is less glorious
 than the simple decision made amid the 
conflicting emotions of youthful        
aspiration to honor ,god and serve a    
struggling country4  ,jehovah           
illustrates this principle in all his   
administration4 ,what to ,elijah on the 
solemn mount was the sweep of the       
hurricane1 rending the cliffs and       

tossing rocks like withered leaves in   
air--the thunder of the earthquake's    
march--the blinding glow of the mantling
 flame--compared to the still small     
voice that thrilled on his ear1 so full 
of ,god6 ,it is not strange that there  
is to be a reckoning for idle words     
even1 for they have shaken the world1   
and their echo will never die away4     
,their mutual love and devout character1
 remind us of the affectionate fidelity 
to each other and to ,god1 of ,ruth the 
,moabitess1 and her ,hebrew             
mother-in-law ,naomi1 who lived in the  
time of the ,judges4  ,naomi's family   
were self-exiled on account of famine in
 ,palestine4 ,ruth had married a man of 
,moab2 but he and her father-in-law     
died4 ,a sister whose husband was       
brother to her own1 was also a widow2   
and when ,naomi determined to return to 
her native land1 at her request1 ,orphah
 sought her people and friends4  ,ruth  
would not leave the pilgrim to the ,holy
 ,land4 ,embracing ,naomi1 she said3    

,entreat me not to leave thee1 for where
 thou goest ,i will go1 and where thou  
lodgest1 ,i will lodge3 thy people shall
 be mine1 and thy ,god my ,god3 where   
thou diest ,i will die1 and there will  
,i be buried3 naught but death shall    
part us4  ,beautiful and brave heart6   
home1 and friends1 and wealth1 nay1 the 
gods she had been taught to worship1    
were all forgotten in the warmth of her 
affection4 ,tearful yet firm1 ,entreat  
me not to leave thee1 she said4 ,i care 
not for the future2 ,i can bear the     
worst2 and when thou art taken from me1 
,i will linger around thy grave till ,i 
die1 and then the stranger shall lay me 
by thy side6 ,what could ,naomi do but  
fold the beautiful being to her bosom   
and be silent1 except as tears gave     
utterance to her emotions4 ,such a heart
 outweighs the treasures of the world1  
and such absorbing love1 truth1 and     
virtue1 make all the accomplishments of 
life appear worthless in comparison4    
,god blessed their devotion to him and  

each other1 giving his special tokens of
 favor to the young heroine from ,moab4 
,upon reaching ,bethlehem1 she went into
 the fields of a kinsman of her         
mother-in-law1 ,boaz1 a wealthy citizen1
 to glean after the reapers4 ,he        
inquired after her1 became interested in
 her1 and1 remembering his obligations  
on account of their relationship1       
married her4 ,an honorable portion and  
plenty crowned the homeless wanderings  
of ,ruth and ,naomi1 as they did the    
captivity of ,mordecai and ,esther4     
,about two hundred years after the death
 of the latter1 the ,hebrew ,scriptures 
were translated into ,greek by the order
 of ,ptolemy ,philadelphus1 the         
,egyptian sovereign of ,palestine1      
making the famous ,septuagint--the name 
probably referring to seventy-two       
persons engaged on the work4  ,a little 
over two centuries passed1 and the      
,roman armies began their conquests in  
,asia4 ,less than a score of years later
 ,herod the ,great governed ,judea1     

under the ,roman emperor4 ,this ,herod1 
whose reign closed the ancient annals of
 ,palestine1 was an ,edomite--a cruel   
and ambitious man4  ,less than thirty   
years passed1 and one of the darkest1   
bloodiest acts of any sovereign since   
time began1 disgraced the reign of      
,herod4  ,jerusalem was astonished by   
the arrival of three sages from the     
distant east1 inquiring for a new-born  
king1 saying that they had seen his     
star1 and had come to offer him their   
gifts and homage4 ,they found him in the
 manger at ,bethlehem3 and then repaired
 to their own country without returning 
to ,jerusalem1 as ,herod had desired4   
,the jealousy of that tyrant had been   
awakened by their inquiry for the ,king 
of the ,jews2 and as their neglect to   
return prevented him from distinguishing
 the object of their homage1 he had the 
inconceivable barbarity to order that   
all the children in ,bethlehem under two
 years of age should be put to death1   
trusting that the intended victim would 

fall in the general slaughter2 but      
,joseph had previously been warned in a 
dream to take his wife and the infant to
 the land of ,egypt1 whence they did not
 return till after the death of ,herod4 
,that event was not long delayed4 ,in   
the sixty-ninth year of his age4 ,herod 
fell ill of the disease which occasioned
 his death4 ,that disease was in his    
bowels1 and not only put him to the most
 cruel tortures1 but rendered him       
altogether loathsome to himself and     
others4 ,the natural ferocity of his    
temper could not be tamed by such       
experience4 ,knowing that the nation    
would little regret his death1 he       
ordered the persons of chief note to be 
confined in a tower1 and all of them to 
be slain when his own death took place1 
that there might be cause for weeping in
 ,jerusalem4 ,this savage order was not 
executed4 ,after a reign of thirty-seven
 years1 ,herod died ,in the seventieth  
year of his age4  ,sir ,walter ,scott's 
beautiful ,hebrew ,hymn will fittingly  

close these sketches of ,palestine3     
,when ,israel1 of the ,lord beloved1    
,out from the land of bondage came1     
,her father's ,god before her moved1    
,an awful guide1 in smoke and flame4    
,by day along the astonished lands1     
,the cloudy pillar glided slow2   ,by   
night ,arabia's crimsoned sands         
,returned the fiery columns' glow4      
,there rose the choral hymn of praise1  
,and trump and timbrel answered keen2   
,and ,zion's daughters poured their     
lays1     ,with priests' and warriors'  
voice between4   ,no portents now our   
foes amaze1     ,forsaken ,israel       
wanders lone2   ,our fathers would not  
know ,thy ways1     ,and ,thou has left 
them to their own4    ,but present      
still1 though now unseen1     ,when     
brightly shines the prosperous day1     
,be thoughts of ,thee1 a cloudy screen1 
,to temper the deceitful ray4   ,and oh6
 when stoops on ,judah's path1     ,in  
shade and storm1 the frequent night1    
,be ,thou long-suffering1 slow to wrath1

     ,a burning and a shining light4    
,our harps we left by ,babel's streams1 
,the tyrant's jest1 the ,gentile's      
scorn1   ,no censer round our altar     
beams1     ,and mute our timbrel1 trump1
 and horn1   ,but thou hast said1 ,the  
blood of goat1     ,the flesh of rams ,i
 will not prize1   ,a contrite heart1 an
 humble thought1     ,are more accepted 
sacrifice4