Bible Biographies

A Successful Career

“In the ripeness of my days,When the secret of God was upon my tent;When the Almighty was yet with me,And my children were about me; ...When I went forth to the gate unto the city,When I prepared my seat in the broad place,[211]The young men saw me and hid themselves,And the aged rose up and stood;The princes refrained talking,And laid their hand on their mouth;The voice of the nobles was hushed....“For when the ear heard me, then it blessed me;And when the eye saw me, it gave witness unto me;Because I delivered the poor that cried,The fatherless also, and him[211]that had none to help him.“The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me;And I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;My justice was as a robe and a diadem.I was eyes to the blind,And feet was I to the lame.I was a father to the needy;And the cause of him that I knew not I searched out.”“The stranger did not lodge in the street;But I opened my doors to the traveler.”“Unto me men gave ear, and waited....|Its Crown of Honor|And the light of my countenance they cast not down.I chose out their way, and sat chief,And dwelt as a king in the army,As one thatcomforteth the mourners.”[212]

“In the ripeness of my days,

When the secret of God was upon my tent;

When the Almighty was yet with me,

And my children were about me; ...

When I went forth to the gate unto the city,

When I prepared my seat in the broad place,[211]

The young men saw me and hid themselves,

And the aged rose up and stood;

The princes refrained talking,

And laid their hand on their mouth;

The voice of the nobles was hushed....

“For when the ear heard me, then it blessed me;And when the eye saw me, it gave witness unto me;Because I delivered the poor that cried,The fatherless also, and him[211]that had none to help him.

“For when the ear heard me, then it blessed me;

And when the eye saw me, it gave witness unto me;

Because I delivered the poor that cried,

The fatherless also, and him[211]that had none to help him.

“The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me;And I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;My justice was as a robe and a diadem.I was eyes to the blind,And feet was I to the lame.I was a father to the needy;And the cause of him that I knew not I searched out.”“The stranger did not lodge in the street;But I opened my doors to the traveler.”

“The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me;

And I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.

I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;

My justice was as a robe and a diadem.

I was eyes to the blind,

And feet was I to the lame.

I was a father to the needy;

And the cause of him that I knew not I searched out.”

“The stranger did not lodge in the street;

But I opened my doors to the traveler.”

“Unto me men gave ear, and waited....|Its Crown of Honor|And the light of my countenance they cast not down.I chose out their way, and sat chief,And dwelt as a king in the army,As one thatcomforteth the mourners.”[212]

“Unto me men gave ear, and waited....|Its Crown of Honor|

And the light of my countenance they cast not down.

I chose out their way, and sat chief,

And dwelt as a king in the army,

As one thatcomforteth the mourners.”[212]

“The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it.”[213]

“Riches and honor are with Me,” declares Wisdom; “yea, durable riches and righteousness.”[214]

A Fruitless Venture

The Bible shows also the result of a departure from right principles in our dealing both with God and with one another. To those who are entrusted with His gifts but indifferent to His claims, God says:—

“Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.... Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it.” “When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten; when one came to the press-fat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty.” “Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of Mine house that is waste.” “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings.” “Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.”[215]

Gains That Impoverish

“Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, ... ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.” “The Lord shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto.” “Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another, ... and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long; and there shall be no might in thine hand.”[216]

“He that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.”[217]

The accounts of every business, the details of every transaction, pass the scrutiny of unseen auditors, agents of Him who never compromises with injustice, never overlooks evil, never palliates wrong.

The Audit

“If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice, ... marvel not at the matter; for He that is higher than the highest regardeth.” “There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.”[218]

“They set their mouth against the heavens, and ... say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the Most High?” “These things hast thou done,” God says, “and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself; but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.”[219]

A Witness Never Silenced

“I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll.... This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth; for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it. I will bring it forth, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by My name; and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.”[220]

Against every evil-doer God’s law utters condemnation. He may disregard that voice, he may seek to drown its warning, but in vain. It follows him. It makes itself heard. It destroys his peace. If unheeded,it pursues him to the grave. It bears witness against him at the judgment. A quenchless fire, it consumes at last soul and body.

“What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”[221]

The Question of Questions

This is a question that demands consideration by every parent, every teacher, every student,—by every human being, young or old. No scheme of business or plan of life can be sound or complete that embraces only the brief years of this present life, and makes no provision for the unending future. Let the youth be taught to take eternity into their reckoning. Let them be taught to choose the principles and seek the possessions that are enduring,—to lay up for themselves that “treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth;” to make to themselves friends “by means of the mammon of unrighteousness,” that when it shall fail, these may receive them “into the eternal tabernacles.”[222]

All who do this are making the best possible preparation for life in this world. No man can lay up treasure in heaven without finding his life on earth thereby enriched and ennobled.

“Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”[223]

Bible Biographies

“WHO THROUGH FAITH SUBDUEDKINGDOMS, WROUGHT RIGHTEOUSNESS,FROM WEAKNESS WERE MADE STRONG”

“WHO THROUGH FAITH SUBDUED

KINGDOMS, WROUGHT RIGHTEOUSNESS,

FROM WEAKNESS WERE MADE STRONG”

A Faithful Delineation

As an educator no part of the Bible is of greater value than are its biographies. These biographies differ from all others in that they are absolutely true to life. It is impossible for any finite mind to interpret rightly, in all things, the workings of another. None but He who reads the heart, who discerns the secret springs of motive and action, can with absolute truth delineate character, or give a faithful picture of a human life. In God’s word alone is found such delineation.

No truth does the Bible more clearly teach than that what we do is the result of what we are. To a great degree the experiences of life are the fruition of our own thoughts and deeds.

“The curse causeless shall not come.”[224]

Retribution

“Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him; ... unto the wicked, it shall be ill with him; for the reward of his hands shall be given him.”[225]

“Hear, O earth; behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts.”[226]

Terrible is this truth, and deeply should it be impressed. Every deed reacts upon the doer. Never a human being but may recognize, in the evils that curse his life, fruitage of his own sowing. Yet even thus we are not without hope.

Experience of Jacob

To gain the birthright that was his already by God’s promise, Jacob resorted to fraud, and he reaped the harvest in his brother’s hatred. Through twenty years of exile he was himself wronged and defrauded, and was at last forced to find safety in flight; and he reaped a second harvest, as the evils of his own character were seen to crop out in his sons;—all but too true a picture of the retributions of human life.

But God says: “I will not contend forever, neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit should fail before Me, and the souls which I have made. For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him; I hid Me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart. I have seen his ways, and will heal him; I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.... Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him.”[227]

Gain through Loss

Jacob in his distress was not overwhelmed. He had repented, he had endeavored to atone for the wrong to his brother. And when threatened with death through the wrath of Esau, he sought help from God. “Yea, he had power over the Angel, and prevailed; he wept, and made supplication.” “And He blessed him there.”[228]In the power of His might the forgiven one stood up, no longer the supplanter, but a prince with God. He had gained not merely deliverance from his outraged brother, but deliverance from himself. The power of evil in his own nature was broken; his character was transformed.

At eventide there was light. Jacob, reviewing his life-history, recognized the sustaining power of God,—“the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, the Angel which redeemed me from all evil.”[229]

The same experience is repeated in the history of Jacob’s sons,—sin working retribution, and repentance bearing fruit of righteousness unto life.

God does not annul His laws. He does not work contrary to them. The work of sin He does not undo. But He transforms. Through His grace the curse works out blessing.

The Levites

Of the sons of Jacob, Levi was one of the most cruel and vindictive, one of the two most guilty in the treacherous murder of the Shechemites. Levi’s characteristics, reflected in his descendants, incurred for them the decree from God, “I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.”[230]But repentance wrought re-formation; and by their faithfulness to God amidst the apostasy of the other tribes, the curse was transformed into a token of highest honor.

A Curse Transformed

“The Lord separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister unto Him, and to bless in His name.” “My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared Me, and was afraid before My name.... He walked with Me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity.”[231]

The appointed ministers of the sanctuary, the Levites received no landed inheritance; they dwelt together in cities set apart for their use, and received their support from the tithes and the gifts and offerings devoted to God’s service. They were the teachers of the people, guests at all their festivities, and everywhere honored as servants and representatives of God.To the whole nation was given the command: “Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.” “Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the Lord is his inheritance.”[232]

Report of the Spies

The truth that as a man “thinketh in his heart, so is he,”[233]finds another illustration in Israel’s experience. On the borders of Canaan the spies, returned from searching the country, made their report. The beauty and fruitfulness of the land were lost sight of, through fear of the difficulties in the way of its occupation. The cities walled up to heaven, the giant warriors, the iron chariots, daunted their faith. Leaving God out of the question, the multitude echoed the decision of the unbelieving spies, “We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.”[234]Their words proved true. They were not able to go up, and they wore out their lives in the desert.

By Faith to Conquest

Two, however, of the twelve who had viewed the land, reasoned otherwise. “We are well able to overcome it,”[234]they urged, counting God’s promise superior to giants, walled cities, or chariots of iron. For them their word was true. Though they shared with their brethren the forty years’ wandering, Caleb and Joshua entered the land of promise. As courageous of heart as when with the hosts of the Lord he set out from Egypt, Caleb asked for and received as his portion the stronghold of the giants. In God’s strength he drove out the Canaanites. The vineyards and olive-groves where his feet had trodden became his possession. Though the cowards and rebels perished in the wilderness, the men of faith ate of the grapes of Eschol.

One Evil Cherished

No truth does the Bible set forth in clearer light than the peril of even one departure from the right,—peril both to the wrong-doer and to all whom his influence shall reach. Example has wonderful power; and when cast on the side of the evil tendencies of our nature, it becomes well-nigh irresistible.

Decoys of the Tempter

The strongest bulwark of vice in our world is not the iniquitous life of the abandoned sinner or the degraded outcast; it is that life which otherwise appears virtuous, honorable, and noble, but in which one sin is fostered, one vice indulged. To the soul that is struggling in secret against some giant temptation, trembling upon the very verge of the precipice, such an example is one of the most powerful enticements to sin. He who, endowed with high conceptions of life and truth and honor, does yet wilfully transgress one precept of God’s holy law, has perverted his noble gifts into a lure to sin. Genius, talent, sympathy, even generous and kindly deeds, may thus become decoys of Satan to entice souls over the precipice of ruin.

This is why God has given so many examples showing the results of even one wrong act. From the sad story of that one sin which “brought death into the world, and all our woe, with loss of Eden,” to the record of him who for thirty pieces of silver sold the Lord of glory, Bible biography abounds in these examples, set up as beacons of warning at the byways leading from the path of life.

There is warning also in noting the results that have followed upon even once yielding to human weakness and error, the fruit of the letting go of faith.

One Failure of Faith

Loss to Elijah

By one failure of his faith, Elijah cut short his life-work. Heavy was the burden that he had borne in behalf of Israel; faithful had been his warnings against the national idolatry; and deep was his solicitude as during three years and a half of famine he watched and waited for some token of repentance. Alone he stood for God upon Mount Carmel. Through the power of faith, idolatry was cast down, and the blessed rain testified to the showers of blessing waiting to be poured upon Israel. Then in his weariness and weakness he fled before the threats of Jezebel, and alone in the desert prayed that he might die. His faith had failed. The work he had begun, he was not to complete. God bade him anoint another to be prophet in his stead.

But God had marked the heart-service of His servant. Elijah was not to perish in discouragement and solitude in the wilderness. Not for him the descent to the tomb, but the ascent with God’s angels to the presence of His glory.

These life-records declare what every human being will one day understand,—that sin can bring only shame and loss; that unbelief means failure; but that God’s mercy reaches to the deepest depths; that faith lifts up the repenting soul to share the adoption of the sons of God.

Discipline

All who in this world render true service to God or man receive a preparatory training in the school of sorrow. The weightier the trust and the higher the service, the closer is the test and the more severe the discipline.

Study the experiences of Joseph and of Moses, ofDaniel and of David. Compare the early history of David with the history of Solomon, and consider the results.

David

David in his youth was intimately associated with Saul, and his stay at court and his connection with the king’s household gave him an insight into the cares and sorrows and perplexities concealed by the glitter and pomp of royalty. He saw of how little worth is human glory to bring peace to the soul. And it was with relief and gladness that he returned from the king’s court to the sheepfolds and the flocks.

In Training for the Throne

When by the jealousy of Saul driven a fugitive into the wilderness, David, cut off from human support, leaned more heavily upon God. The uncertainty and unrest of the wilderness life, its unceasing peril, its necessity for frequent flight, the character of the men who gathered to him there,—“every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented,”[235]—all rendered the more essential a stern self-discipline. These experiences aroused and developed power to deal with men, sympathy for the oppressed, and hatred of injustice. Through years of waiting and peril, David learned to find in God his comfort, his support, his life. He learned that only by God’s power could he come to the throne; only in His wisdom could he rule wisely. It was through the training in the school of hardship and sorrow that David was able to make the record—though afterward marred with his great sin—that he “executed judgment and justice unto all his people.”[236]

Solomon

The discipline of David’s early experience was lacking in that of Solomon. In circumstances, in character, and in life, he seemed favored above all others. Noblein youth, noble in manhood, the beloved of his God, Solomon entered on a reign that gave high promise of prosperity and honor. Nations marveled at the knowledge and insight of the man to whom God had given wisdom. But the pride of prosperity brought separation from God. From the joy of divine communion Solomon turned to find satisfaction in the pleasures of sense. Of this experience he says:—

The Pride of Prosperity

“I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards; I made me gardens and orchards; ... I got me servants and maidens; ... I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces. I gat me men-singers and women-singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts. So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem.... And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labor.... Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do; and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun. And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly; for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done.”

Unsatisfied

“I hated life.... Yea, I hated all my labor which I had taken under the sun.”[237]

By his own bitter experience, Solomon learned the emptiness of a life that seeks in earthly things its highest good. He erected altars to heathen gods, only to learn how vain is their promise of rest to the soul.

The Late Return

In his later years, turning wearied and thirsting fromearth’s broken cisterns, Solomon returned to drink at the fountain of life. The history of his wasted years, with their lessons of warning, he by the Spirit of inspiration recorded for after-generations. And thus, although the seed of his sowing was reaped by his people in harvests of evil, the life-work of Solomon was not wholly lost. For him at last the discipline of suffering accomplished its work.

But with such a dawning, how glorious might have been his life’s day, had Solomon in his youth learned the lesson that suffering had taught in other lives!

God’s Witnesses

For those who love God, those who are “the called according to his purpose,”[238]Bible biography has a yet higher lesson of the ministry of sorrow. “Ye are My witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God,”[239]—witnesses that He is good, and that goodness is supreme. “We are made a theater unto the world, both[240]to angels and to men.”[241]

Accusation from Satan

Unselfishness, the principle of God’s kingdom, is the principle that Satan hates; its very existence he denies. From the beginning of the great controversy he has endeavored to prove God’s principles of action to be selfish, and he deals in the same way with all who serve God. To disprove Satan’s claim is the work of Christ and of all who bear His name.

It was to give in His own life an illustration of unselfishness that Jesus came in the form of humanity. And all who accept this principle are to be workers together with Him in demonstrating it in practical life. To choose the right because it is right; to stand for truth at the cost of suffering and sacrifice,—“this is theheritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of Me, saith the Lord.”[242]

The Testing of Job

Very early in the history of the world is given the life-record of one over whom this controversy of Satan’s was waged.

Of Job, the patriarch of Uz, the testimony of the Searcher of hearts was, “There is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil.”

Against this man, Satan brought scornful charge: “Doth Job fear God for naught? Hast Thou not made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side?... Put forth Thine hand now, and touch all that he hath;” “touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse Thee to Thy face.”

The Lord said unto Satan, “All that he hath is in thy power.” “Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.”

Thus permitted, Satan swept away all that Job possessed,—flocks and herds, men-servants and maidens, sons and daughters; and he “smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.”[243]

Misconception of Adversity

Still another element of bitterness was added to his cup. His friends, seeing in adversity but the retribution of sin, pressed on his bruised and burdened spirit their accusations of wrong-doing.

Seemingly forsaken of heaven and earth, yet holding fast his faith in God and his consciousness of integrity, in anguish and perplexity he cried:—

“My soul is weary of my life.”“O that Thou wouldst hide me in the grave,That Thou wouldst keep me secret, until Thy wrath be past,That Thou wouldst appoint me a set time, and remember me!”[244]“Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard;I cry for help, but there is no judgment....He hath stripped me of my glory,|Hath God Forsaken?|And taken the crown from my head....My kinsfolk have failed,And my familiar friends have forgotten me....They whom I loved are turned against me....Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends;For the hand of God hath touched me!”“O that I knew where I might find Him,That I might come even to His seat!...Behold, I go forward, but He is not there;And backward, but I can not perceive Him;On the left hand, where He doth work, but I can not behold Him;He hideth Himself on the right hand, that I can not see Him;|Faith’s Assurance|But He knoweth the way that I take;When He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”“Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.”“I know that my Redeemer liveth,And that He shall stand up at the last upon the earth;And after my skin hath been destroyed, this shall be,Even from my flesh shall I see God;Whom I shall see for myself,And mine eyes shall behold, and not as a stranger.”[245]

“My soul is weary of my life.”

“O that Thou wouldst hide me in the grave,

That Thou wouldst keep me secret, until Thy wrath be past,

That Thou wouldst appoint me a set time, and remember me!”[244]

“Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard;

I cry for help, but there is no judgment....

He hath stripped me of my glory,|Hath God Forsaken?|

And taken the crown from my head....

My kinsfolk have failed,

And my familiar friends have forgotten me....

They whom I loved are turned against me....

Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends;

For the hand of God hath touched me!”

“O that I knew where I might find Him,That I might come even to His seat!...Behold, I go forward, but He is not there;And backward, but I can not perceive Him;On the left hand, where He doth work, but I can not behold Him;He hideth Himself on the right hand, that I can not see Him;|Faith’s Assurance|But He knoweth the way that I take;When He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”“Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.”

“O that I knew where I might find Him,

That I might come even to His seat!...

Behold, I go forward, but He is not there;

And backward, but I can not perceive Him;

On the left hand, where He doth work, but I can not behold Him;

He hideth Himself on the right hand, that I can not see Him;|Faith’s Assurance|

But He knoweth the way that I take;

When He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”

“Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.”

“I know that my Redeemer liveth,And that He shall stand up at the last upon the earth;And after my skin hath been destroyed, this shall be,Even from my flesh shall I see God;Whom I shall see for myself,And mine eyes shall behold, and not as a stranger.”[245]

“I know that my Redeemer liveth,

And that He shall stand up at the last upon the earth;

And after my skin hath been destroyed, this shall be,

Even from my flesh shall I see God;

Whom I shall see for myself,

And mine eyes shall behold, and not as a stranger.”[245]

“So Was It unto Job”

According to his faith, so was it unto Job. “When He hath tried me,” he said, “I shall come forth as gold.”[246]So it came to pass. By his patient endurance he vindicated his own character, and thus the character of Him whose representative he was. And “the Lord turned the captivity of Job; ... also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.... So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning.”[247]

On the record of those who through self-abnegation have entered into the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings,stand—one in the Old Testament and one in the New—the names of Jonathan and of John the Baptist.

A Faithful Friend

Jonathan, by birth heir to the throne, yet knowing himself set aside by the divine decree; to his rival the most tender and faithful of friends, shielding David’s life at the peril of his own; steadfast at his father’s side through the dark days of his declining power, and at his side falling at the last,—the name of Jonathan is treasured in heaven, and it stands on earth a witness to the existence and the power of unselfish love.

The Unwavering Witness

John the Baptist, at his appearance as the Messiah’s herald, stirred the nation. From place to place his steps were followed by vast throngs of people of every rank and station. But when the One came to whom he had borne witness, all was changed. The crowds followed Jesus, and John’s work seemed fast closing. Yet there was no wavering of his faith. “He must increase,” he said, “but I must decrease.”[248]

Time passed, and the kingdom which John had confidently expected was not established. In Herod’s dungeon, cut off from the life-giving air and the desert freedom, he waited and watched.

There was no display of arms, no rending of prison doors; but the healing of the sick, the preaching of the gospel, the uplifting of men’s souls, testified to Christ’s mission.

Fellowship in Sacrifice

Alone in the dungeon, seeing whither his path, like his Master’s, tended, John accepted the trust,—fellowship with Christ in sacrifice. Heaven’s messengers attended him to the grave. The intelligences of the universe, fallen and unfallen, witnessed his vindication of unselfish service.

“There Hath Not Risen a Greater”

And in all the generations that have passed sincethen, suffering souls have been sustained by the testimony of John’s life. In the dungeon, on the scaffold, in the flames, men and women through centuries of darkness have been strengthened by the memory of him of whom Christ declared, “Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater.”[249]

“And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthah, ... and Samuel, and of the prophets; who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

“Through Faith”

“Women received their dead raised to life again; and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment; they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented (of whom the world was not worthy); they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

“And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise; God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.”[250]

Poetry and Song

“THY STATUTES HAVE BEENMY SONGS IN THE HOUSE OF MYPILGRIMAGE”

“THY STATUTES HAVE BEEN

MY SONGS IN THE HOUSE OF MY

PILGRIMAGE”

Poetry of the Bible

The earliest as well as the most sublime of poetic utterances known to man are found in the Scriptures. Before the oldest of the world’s poets had sung, the shepherd of Midian recorded those words of God to Job,—in their majesty unequaled, unapproached, by the loftiest productions of human genius:—

“Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?Or who shut up the sea with doors,When it brake forth; ...When I made the cloud the garment thereof,And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it,And prescribed for it My decree,And set bars and doors,And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further;And here shall thy proud waves be stayed?“Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days began,And caused the dayspring to know its place?...“Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?|The Earliest Poem|Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee?Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?Hast thou comprehended the breadth of the earth?Declare, if thou knowest it all.“Where is the way to the dwelling of light,And as for darkness, where is the place thereof?...“Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow,Or hast thou seen the treasuries of the hail?...By what way is the light parted,Or the east wind scattered upon the earth?Who hath cleft a channel for the water-flood,Or a way for the lightning of the thunder;To cause it to rain on a land where no man is;On the wilderness, wherein there is no man;To satisfy the waste and desolate ground;And to cause the tender grass to spring forth?”“Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades,Or loose the bands of Orion?Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season?Or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?”[251]

“Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?

Or who shut up the sea with doors,

When it brake forth; ...

When I made the cloud the garment thereof,

And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it,

And prescribed for it My decree,

And set bars and doors,

And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further;

And here shall thy proud waves be stayed?

“Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days began,And caused the dayspring to know its place?...

“Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days began,

And caused the dayspring to know its place?...

“Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?|The Earliest Poem|Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee?Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?Hast thou comprehended the breadth of the earth?Declare, if thou knowest it all.

“Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?

Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?|The Earliest Poem|

Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee?

Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?

Hast thou comprehended the breadth of the earth?

Declare, if thou knowest it all.

“Where is the way to the dwelling of light,And as for darkness, where is the place thereof?...

“Where is the way to the dwelling of light,

And as for darkness, where is the place thereof?...

“Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow,Or hast thou seen the treasuries of the hail?...By what way is the light parted,Or the east wind scattered upon the earth?Who hath cleft a channel for the water-flood,Or a way for the lightning of the thunder;To cause it to rain on a land where no man is;On the wilderness, wherein there is no man;To satisfy the waste and desolate ground;And to cause the tender grass to spring forth?”

“Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow,

Or hast thou seen the treasuries of the hail?...

By what way is the light parted,

Or the east wind scattered upon the earth?

Who hath cleft a channel for the water-flood,

Or a way for the lightning of the thunder;

To cause it to rain on a land where no man is;

On the wilderness, wherein there is no man;

To satisfy the waste and desolate ground;

And to cause the tender grass to spring forth?”

“Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades,Or loose the bands of Orion?Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season?Or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?”[251]

“Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades,

Or loose the bands of Orion?

Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season?

Or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?”[251]

From “Song of Songs”

For beauty of expression read also the description of spring-time, from the “Song of Songs”:—

“Lo, the winter is past,The rain is over and gone;The flowers appear on the earth;The time of the singing of birds is come,And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;The fig-tree ripeneth her green figs,And the vines are in blossom,They give forth their fragrance.Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.”[252]

“Lo, the winter is past,

The rain is over and gone;

The flowers appear on the earth;

The time of the singing of birds is come,

And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;

The fig-tree ripeneth her green figs,

And the vines are in blossom,

They give forth their fragrance.

Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.”[252]

And not inferior in beauty is Balaam’s unwilling prophecy of blessing to Israel:—

“From Aram hath Balak brought me,The king of Moab from the mountains of the East;Come, curse me Jacob,And come, defy Israel.|An Ancient Prophecy|How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?And how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied?For from the top of the rocks I see him,And from the hills I behold him;Lo, it is a people that dwell alone,And shall not be reckoned among the nations....“Behold, I have received commandment to bless;And He hath blessed, and I can not reverse it.He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob,Neither hath He seen perverseness in Israel;The Lord his God is with him,And the shout of a King is among them....Surely there is no enchantment against[253]Jacob,Neither is there any divination against[253]Israel;Now shall it be said of Jacob and of Israel,What hath God wrought!”“He saith, which heareth the words of God,|“The Vision of the Almighty”|Which seeth the vision of the Almighty: ...How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob,Thy tabernacles, O Israel!As valleys are they spread forth,As gardens by the riverside,As lign-aloes which the Lord hath planted,As cedar-trees beside the waters.”“He hath said, which heard the words of God,And knew the knowledge of the Most High: ...I shall see Him, but not now;I shall behold Him, but not nigh;There shall come a Star out of Jacob,And a Scepter shall rise out of Israel....Out of Jacob shall come He that shall have dominion.”[254]

“From Aram hath Balak brought me,

The king of Moab from the mountains of the East;

Come, curse me Jacob,

And come, defy Israel.|An Ancient Prophecy|

How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?

And how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied?

For from the top of the rocks I see him,

And from the hills I behold him;

Lo, it is a people that dwell alone,

And shall not be reckoned among the nations....

“Behold, I have received commandment to bless;And He hath blessed, and I can not reverse it.He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob,Neither hath He seen perverseness in Israel;The Lord his God is with him,And the shout of a King is among them....Surely there is no enchantment against[253]Jacob,Neither is there any divination against[253]Israel;Now shall it be said of Jacob and of Israel,What hath God wrought!”

“Behold, I have received commandment to bless;

And He hath blessed, and I can not reverse it.

He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob,

Neither hath He seen perverseness in Israel;

The Lord his God is with him,

And the shout of a King is among them....

Surely there is no enchantment against[253]Jacob,

Neither is there any divination against[253]Israel;

Now shall it be said of Jacob and of Israel,

What hath God wrought!”

“He saith, which heareth the words of God,|“The Vision of the Almighty”|Which seeth the vision of the Almighty: ...How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob,Thy tabernacles, O Israel!As valleys are they spread forth,As gardens by the riverside,As lign-aloes which the Lord hath planted,As cedar-trees beside the waters.”

“He saith, which heareth the words of God,|“The Vision of the Almighty”|

Which seeth the vision of the Almighty: ...

How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob,

Thy tabernacles, O Israel!

As valleys are they spread forth,

As gardens by the riverside,

As lign-aloes which the Lord hath planted,

As cedar-trees beside the waters.”

“He hath said, which heard the words of God,And knew the knowledge of the Most High: ...I shall see Him, but not now;I shall behold Him, but not nigh;There shall come a Star out of Jacob,And a Scepter shall rise out of Israel....Out of Jacob shall come He that shall have dominion.”[254]

“He hath said, which heard the words of God,

And knew the knowledge of the Most High: ...

I shall see Him, but not now;

I shall behold Him, but not nigh;

There shall come a Star out of Jacob,

And a Scepter shall rise out of Israel....

Out of Jacob shall come He that shall have dominion.”[254]

Back to Index Next