Oh, to have no Christ, no Saviour,How lonely life must be!Like a sailor lost and drivenOn a wide and shoreless sea.Oh, to have no Christ, no Saviour,No hand to clasp thine own!Through the dark, dark vale of shadowsThou must press thy way alone.—W. O. Cushing
Oh, to have no Christ, no Saviour,How lonely life must be!Like a sailor lost and drivenOn a wide and shoreless sea.
Oh, to have no Christ, no Saviour,No hand to clasp thine own!Through the dark, dark vale of shadowsThou must press thy way alone.
—W. O. Cushing
But what a blessing and comfort it is for those who know Christ as Saviour and Comforter, to have the assurance that in that last hour of life He is by their side to guide them. It was doubtless this thought of the presence of Christ that comforted Tennyson when he wrote the words of that beautiful poem:
Sunset and evening star,And one clear call for me!And, may there be no moaning of the bar,When I put out to sea.* * * * *Twilight and evening bell,And after that the dark!And, may there be no sadness of farewell,When I embark;For tho' from out our bourne of Time and PlaceThe flood may bear me far,I hope to see my Pilot face to faceWhen I have crossed the bar.—Alfred Tennyson
Sunset and evening star,And one clear call for me!And, may there be no moaning of the bar,When I put out to sea.
* * * * *
Twilight and evening bell,And after that the dark!And, may there be no sadness of farewell,When I embark;
For tho' from out our bourne of Time and PlaceThe flood may bear me far,I hope to see my Pilot face to faceWhen I have crossed the bar.
—Alfred Tennyson
Some one has called the fourth verse of the Psalm a song of the waters. Did you ever hear singing on the water? There is something wonderful about it. The water seems to take all harshness out of the music, and puts something exquisitely beautiful into it. Here then is "a psalm of the waters," a song for the believer to sing when his feet are touching the margin of the river: "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee.... For I am theLordthy God."
Here, too, is "a song in the night." Sing it, Christian pilgrim, when earth's last hour is at hand. Sing it as you enter the valley. Sing it as the darkness deepens. Sing it when the light of earth's day begins to fade. Sing it when the earth is receding, heaven is opening and God is calling you. Sing it until the glory of the eternal morn breaks upon thine enraptured vision. Sing it until your feet standupon that golden shore against which death's chilly wave never again shall dash, and where death is no more. Sing it, sing this song of the waters—"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."
Why be afraid of Death as though your life were breath!Death but anoints your eyes with clay. Oh glad surprise!Why should you be forlorn? Death only husks the corn.Why should you fear to meet the thresher of the wheat?Is sleep a thing to dread? Yet sleeping, you are deadTill you awake and rise, here, or beyond the skies.Why should it be a wrench, to leave your wooden bench?Why not with happy shout run home when school is out?The dear ones left behind? O foolish one and blind.A day—and you will meet—a night—and you will greet!This is the death of Death, to breathe away a breath,And know the end of strife and taste the deathless life.And joy without a fear and smile without a tear,And work, nor care, nor rest, and find the last the best.—Maltbie D. Babcock
Why be afraid of Death as though your life were breath!Death but anoints your eyes with clay. Oh glad surprise!
Why should you be forlorn? Death only husks the corn.Why should you fear to meet the thresher of the wheat?
Is sleep a thing to dread? Yet sleeping, you are deadTill you awake and rise, here, or beyond the skies.
Why should it be a wrench, to leave your wooden bench?Why not with happy shout run home when school is out?
The dear ones left behind? O foolish one and blind.A day—and you will meet—a night—and you will greet!
This is the death of Death, to breathe away a breath,And know the end of strife and taste the deathless life.
And joy without a fear and smile without a tear,And work, nor care, nor rest, and find the last the best.
—Maltbie D. Babcock
"Thy Rod and Thy Staff They Comfort Me"
The rod is a protection from all the adversaries of the night. No enemy, not even the last enemy, death, can affright the soul in the care of the tender Shepherd, for He has extracted the sting from death. The staff is used for counting the sheep as they pass one by one into the fold. This action is sometimes called "passing under the rod." The language used here indicates safety and security.
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;Ills have no weight and tears on bitterness.Where is death's sting? where, grave, thy victory?I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.—Henry F. Lyte
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;Ills have no weight and tears on bitterness.Where is death's sting? where, grave, thy victory?I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
—Henry F. Lyte
Christ hathabolisheddeath and brought life and immortality to light. The word "abolished" is a very strong one in the Greek. It has three root letters, a, r and g. Then the prepositionkatais added to it, thus making our English word "energy" which means "a working force." Then, in a way known to Greek students, the preposition gives the word, as itwere, the force of a double negative. So the Apostle teaches us that Christ, when He came into the world and died on the cross, did something with death. He double-twisted it, He de-vitalized it, double-negatived it, made it inoperative, rendered it powerless, so that ever afterwards it would be unable to hurt the children of God.
I do not know very much about bees except, of course, that they sting. I am told, however, that when a bee stings you it leaves its sting in the wound and goes away to die. A little child may play with the bee after it has stung a person without any harm coming to the child. The bee has lost its power to hurt. So we are told that the sting of death is sin. Death stung Christ on the cross and left its sting in Him, so that ever after it could not hurt the children of God. He is "Death of death and hell's destruction."
Christ, the Great Shepherd, will be there at the entrance of the valley to meet you and lead you through. He will beat off all the powers of death. He will destroy all the enemies of darkness and convey you safely through the valley into the Homeland. He holds the keys of death and the grave. How helpless a thing a sheep is! How much in need of a defender it is! It seems as though almost any other animal can defend itself. A dog willfight when attacked. A sheep stands helpless in the presence of its opponent. Christ, the Good Shepherd, will protect to the last.
The comforting thoughts of this verse must certainly take the sting out of death to those who grasp the great truths taught here. It surely abolishes death and illumines immortality.
No one need fear death with such thoughts as these before him. The Apostle Paul asserts that every believer in Christ has "a cheerful view of death," and desires rather "to be absent from the body and at home with the Lord" than to remain here upon the earth.
Go to thy grave, not as the slave scourged to his dungeon, or the dog whipped to his kennel, but as the prince wraps around him the drapery of his couch and lies down to pleasant dreams. The conscious companionship of the Christ will remove thy fears. With what alacrity, courage and fearlessness doth he walk the highway whose heart is honest and whose conscience doth not convict him of the violation of his country's laws! How different with the criminal! How full of fear and apprehension!
Abide with me! fast falls the eventide;The darkness deepens—Lord, with me abide!When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me!Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away;Change and decay in all around I see;O Thou who changest not, abide with me!I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.Where is death's sting? where, grave, thy victory?I triumph still, if Thou abide with me!Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies;Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me!—Henry F. Lyte
Abide with me! fast falls the eventide;The darkness deepens—Lord, with me abide!When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me!
Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away;Change and decay in all around I see;O Thou who changest not, abide with me!
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.Where is death's sting? where, grave, thy victory?I triumph still, if Thou abide with me!
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies;Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me!
—Henry F. Lyte
One man anointing the head of another
There is a variety of senses in which the truth of this verse may be understood.
It is said that in the ancient days a shepherd's tent was a kind of city of refuge. The man who had unwittingly slain another could find refuge in a shepherd's tent from the avenger of blood. The fugitive was permitted to stay a given length of time within the shepherd's care, during which time he was as safe from the pursuer as though he were in the actual city of refuge. The pursuer might be raging with fury outside of the door of the tent, but the fugitive could eat with perfect safety and peace in the presence of his enemy. How like Christ in His relation to the believer!
One day Charles Wesley stood looking out of a partly open window at the fierce storm howling without, when a young robin, quicklypassing some other birds, flew to his breast, seeking shelter from its foes. It was then he wrote that wonderful hymn, the opening words of which are:
Jesus, Lover of my soul,Let me to Thy bosom fly!
Jesus, Lover of my soul,Let me to Thy bosom fly!
Is not this a picture of this verse of the Psalm? "And a man (Jesus Christ) shall be for a hiding place and a refuge from the storm." Are we not safe in Him from all our foes? "There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus."
We are told that in David's day it was the custom of conquering kings and princes to bring the royal captives of the contending defeated army into a large banqueting house. To each pillar in the house a prisoner of royal blood or a commanding officer was chained. The banquet tables were heavily laden with good things of which the victors partook. Feasting and jollification were indulged in, and joy and gladness were manifest in the presence of defeated and chained enemies. Are we not made "always to triumph" over all our foes in Christ? Are we not made "more than conquerors" in Him who hath "led captivity captive"? "Ye shall eat your meat in quietness, and nothing shall make you afraid."
Or, again, it may be that reference is made in this verse to the grazing of sheep in fields full of snakeholes or of poisonous plants. A sheep raiser in Texas once told the writer that he lost a great many sheep because snakes would come up through holes in the ground and bite the sheep as they grazed, poisoning them. After losing many of the flock he finally discovered a remedy. A mixture of some kind was poured down the holes, which killed the snakes, and after that the sheep were able to graze in peace and safety. Hath not Christ abolished death for the believer? Has He not deprived death of its sting and stripped the grave of its victim? Hath He not overcome that old serpent, the Devil? Do we not overcome the dragon, that old serpent, the Devil and Satan, the accuser of the brethren day and night—do we not overcome him by the blood of the Lamb?
Whichever of these meanings may be adopted as indicating the teaching of this verse, we may be certain that the truth the Psalmist desires to express is this: That God gives His children victory over all their foes, and makes them more than conquerors over all their enemies. Thus shall we "eat our meat in peace and quietness, and nothing shall make us afraid." "Why do the heathen rage?...He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh"—and so shall we.
On the Rock of Ages founded,Who can shake thy sure repose?With salvation's walls surrounded,Thou mayes't smile at all thy foes.—Rev. John Newton
On the Rock of Ages founded,Who can shake thy sure repose?With salvation's walls surrounded,Thou mayes't smile at all thy foes.
—Rev. John Newton
"Thou Anointest My Head with Oil: My Cup Runneth Over"
A shepherd must needs be a physician also. In the belt of the shepherd medicines are always carried. Sheep are very susceptible to sicknesses of many kinds, particularly fevers. Ofttimes at night as the sheep passed into the fold the shepherd's knowing eye would detect that one or another of them was sick and feverish. Perhaps it had been bitten by a serpent or torn by some wild animal. He would take the feverish sheep and plunge its head into clear, cold water, plunging the head so far into the pail that the water would run over, or anoint the bruise with mollifying ointment. Doubtless David is thinking of this experience of his shepherd life.
Or, again, David may be referring to the bountiful water supply provided for the sheep and applying it to the rich provision God has made for the believer. Not only is there grace enough for oneself, but with the believer as a channel, an abundance for others.
Thou, O Christ, art all I want;More than all in Thee I find!—Charles Wesley
Thou, O Christ, art all I want;More than all in Thee I find!
—Charles Wesley
This is the wonderful truth taught by Jesus in the Temple: "Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water." Here we see how the believer may come to Christ for the quenching of his own thirst, and then draw on, or drink more deeply of, Christ for the quenching of the thirst of others. "Thou, O Christ, art all I want, more than all in Thee I find." Here we have the personal and relative side of a consecrated life of service.
My cup is to "run over." No selfish religion must I claim. I am to be satisfied with Christ first myself, then I am to take from Him so large a supply that others with whom I come into contact may also partake of His fullness. No hermit, no ascetic, monk, or recluse would the Master have me be.
There are hermit souls that live withdrawnIn the peace of their self-content;There are souls, like stars, that dwell apartIn a fellowless firmament.There are pioneer souls that blaze their pathsWhere highways never ran—But let me live by the side of the roadAnd be a friend to man.Let me live in my house by the side of the roadWhere the race of men go by—The men who are good and the men who are bad,As good and as bad as I,I would not sit in the scorner's seat,Or hurl the cynic's ban—Let me live in the house by the side of the roadAnd be a friend to man.I see from my house by the side of the road,By the side of the highway of life,The men who press with the ardor of hope,The men who are faint with the strife;But I turn not away from their smiles nor their tears—Both parts of an infinite plan—Let me live in a house by the side of the roadAnd be a friend to man.—Sam Walter Foss
There are hermit souls that live withdrawnIn the peace of their self-content;There are souls, like stars, that dwell apartIn a fellowless firmament.There are pioneer souls that blaze their pathsWhere highways never ran—But let me live by the side of the roadAnd be a friend to man.
Let me live in my house by the side of the roadWhere the race of men go by—The men who are good and the men who are bad,As good and as bad as I,I would not sit in the scorner's seat,Or hurl the cynic's ban—Let me live in the house by the side of the roadAnd be a friend to man.
I see from my house by the side of the road,By the side of the highway of life,The men who press with the ardor of hope,The men who are faint with the strife;But I turn not away from their smiles nor their tears—Both parts of an infinite plan—Let me live in a house by the side of the roadAnd be a friend to man.
—Sam Walter Foss
A Happy Man
The writer was once called to speak with a Scotch Presbyterian elder who was rapidly passing from this life. I had read to him this last verse of the Psalm, when, turning in his bed, he said to me in words that were almost his last, "Take my Bible and read that verse to me from 'The Psalms in Metre' in the back of my Bible." I took his Scotch Bible from a table close by and read:
Goodness and mercy all my lifeShall surely follow me,And in God's house for evermoreMy dwelling place shall be.—William Whittingham
Goodness and mercy all my lifeShall surely follow me,And in God's house for evermoreMy dwelling place shall be.
—William Whittingham
Some one has well said that "goodness and mercy" are God's two collie dogs to preserve the Christian from all danger. Others have likened "goodness and mercy" to the Christian's footmen to wait upon him daily. "The house of theLord" is doubtless here contrasted with the tent of the shepherd, just as the words"dwell for ever" are contrasted with the fact that the fugitive was allowed to stay in the shepherd's tent only a limited time.
This verse expresses the confidence of the Christian with regard to the future. It is the Christian's confidence that in the Father's house a mansion is prepared for him, and that when the earthly house of this tabernacle is taken down and dissolved by death he has a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. This is surely a grand provision for old age, a life insurance worthy of the name, a home for the winter of life, and a blessed assurance with regard to one's eternity. How poor indeed is that soul that cannot say, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil," for the grave is not the terminus but the passageway that leads to endless light and life, into the glory and beauty of the house of the Lord in which the believer shall "dwell for ever." Beyond the night of death lies the perfect day; beyond the valley of the shadow lie the plains of peace.
One cannot help but wonder if you, reader, have such a confident hope with regard to your future life. Only those who are able to say "TheLordis my shepherd" are able to say "I will dwell in the house of theLordfor ever."
A famous Scotch preacher tells us that a demented boy, who was in the habit of attending one of the classes in his Sunday school, was sick unto death. The minister was asked to go to see the boy. He went to the house, and in speaking with the lad and after reading the Scriptures he was about to leave, when this boy, with only half his reasoning power, demented and partly idiotic, asked the great preacher if he wouldn't kneel down and recite for him the Twenty-third Psalm. In obedience to the boy's request he knelt and repeated the Twenty-third Psalm, until he came to the last verse which, as you know, reads "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of theLordfor ever." But the preacher did not repeat this last verse, for he was saying to himself while on his knees, "this verse can hardly be true of this boy, surely goodness and mercy has not followed him all the days of his life, and further, what does he know about the determination of this verse—to dwell in the house of theLordfor ever?" And so the great preacher was rising from his knees, having omitted the last verse, when the boy reached out his hand and, placing it on the shoulder of the minister, pressed him again to his knees and repeated the last verse of the Psalm—the verse the preacherhad omitted, as it is written in the Scotch hymn book:
Goodness and mercy all my lifeShall surely follow me;And in God's house for evermoreMy dwelling place shall be.—William Whittingham
Goodness and mercy all my lifeShall surely follow me;And in God's house for evermoreMy dwelling place shall be.
—William Whittingham
This was a lesson the preacher never forgot. Can you, my reader, you, with all your senses, your keenness of brain and intellect—can you say what this idiotic boy could say: "I will dwell in the house of theLordfor ever"?
I am reminded in this connection of one of Bunyan's characters in the "Pilgrim's Progress." He is referred to as "Mr. Feeble Mind." This character in speaking of his immortal hope—that hope which lies beyond the valley of the shadow and the grave—expresses it in this way: "But this I am resolved on: to run when I can, to go when I cannot run, and to creep when I cannot go. As to the main, I thank Him that loved me. I am fixed. My way is before me. My mind is beyond the river that hath no bridge, though I am, as you see, but of a feeble mind." Mark that wonderful expression, will you?—
"My mind is beyond the river that hath no bridge."
"My mind is beyond the river that hath no bridge."
Is yours? You—man, woman, with all yoursenses, of strong and sound mind, can you give expression to an exclamation of faith like that?
There are some of my readers on whose head time has laid its hand and whitened their hair to the whiteness of that winter in which all their glory must fade. Their sun of life is going down beyond the hill of life. The young may die; the old must die. Oh, the pity of it, to see the old and gray with no eternal life insurance for the winter of life! The gray head is indeed a crown of glory if it be found in the way of life; otherwise it is a fool's cap. Reader, may your eventide be light, and may your path be as the path of the just that shineth brighter and brighter unto the perfect day!
Thus we see that the grave is not the end. We pass through the grave only in order that we may place our last climbing footstep upon the threshold of our Father's house, to go out no more. Then we shall dwell for ever there. Beyond the grave lie the Plains of Peace, the Homeland—with all the loved who have gone before—those whom we "have loved long since and lost awhile."
Is the way so dark, O wanderer,Is the hillcrest wild and steep,Far, so far, the vale beyond thee,Where the homelights vigil keep?Still the goal lies far before thee,Soon will fall on thee the night;Breast the path that takes thee onward,Fight the storm with all thy might.Tho' thy heart be faint and weary,Tho' thy footsteps fain would cease,Journey onward—past the hillcrestLie for thee the Plains of Peace!Is thy path so rough, O pilgrim,Passing on thy way through life;Deep the sorrows that beset thee,Great the burden, wild the strife?Tho' the hill of life be weary,Tho' the goal of rest be far,Set thy whole heart to endeavor,Turn thy soul to yon bright star.From the toiling, from the strivingThere at last shall come release;One shall bring thee past the hillcrest,Home unto his Plains of Peace;One shall bring thee past the hillcrest,Home, Home, Home unto His Plains of Peace!—Clifton Bingham
Is the way so dark, O wanderer,Is the hillcrest wild and steep,Far, so far, the vale beyond thee,Where the homelights vigil keep?Still the goal lies far before thee,Soon will fall on thee the night;Breast the path that takes thee onward,Fight the storm with all thy might.
Tho' thy heart be faint and weary,Tho' thy footsteps fain would cease,Journey onward—past the hillcrestLie for thee the Plains of Peace!
Is thy path so rough, O pilgrim,Passing on thy way through life;Deep the sorrows that beset thee,Great the burden, wild the strife?Tho' the hill of life be weary,Tho' the goal of rest be far,Set thy whole heart to endeavor,Turn thy soul to yon bright star.
From the toiling, from the strivingThere at last shall come release;One shall bring thee past the hillcrest,Home unto his Plains of Peace;One shall bring thee past the hillcrest,Home, Home, Home unto His Plains of Peace!
—Clifton Bingham