LV.—PALESTINE.

LV.—PALESTINE.ALTERED FROM WHITTIER.John Greenleaf Whittier is a well-known and popular writer in prose and verse.

ALTERED FROM WHITTIER.

John Greenleaf Whittier is a well-known and popular writer in prose and verse.

1. Blest land of Judea! thrice hallowed of song,Where the holiest of memories, pilgrim-like, throngIn the shade of thy palms, by the shores of thy sea,On the hills of thy beauty—my heart is with thee.With the eye of a spirit I look on that shore,Where pilgrim and prophet have lingered before;With the guide of a spirit I traverse the sodMade bright by the steps of the angels of God.2. Blue sea of the hills! in my spirit I hearThy waters, Gennesaret[413], chime on my ear;Where the Lowly and Just with the people sat down,And thy spray on the dust of His sandals was thrown.Beyond are Bethulia’s[414]mountains of green,And the desolate hills of the wild Gadarene[415];And I pause on the goat-crags of Tabor[416]to seeThe gleam of thy waters, O dark Galilee!3. There sleep the still rocks and the caverns which rangTo the song which the beautiful prophetess sang,When the princes of Issachar[417]stood by her side,And the shout of a host in its triumph replied.Lo! Bethlehem’s[418]hill-site before me is seen,With the mountains around and the valleys between;There rested the shepherds of Judah[419], and there,The song of the angels rose sweet on the air.4. And Bethany’s[420]palm trees in beauty still throwTheir shadows at noon on the ruins below;But where are the sisters who hastened to greetThe lowly Redeemer, and sit at his feet?I tread where the Twelve in their wayfaring trod;I stand where they stood with the Incarnate God;Where his blessing was heard, and his lessons were taught;Where the blind were restored, and the healing was wrought.

1. Blest land of Judea! thrice hallowed of song,

Where the holiest of memories, pilgrim-like, throng

In the shade of thy palms, by the shores of thy sea,

On the hills of thy beauty—my heart is with thee.

With the eye of a spirit I look on that shore,

Where pilgrim and prophet have lingered before;

With the guide of a spirit I traverse the sod

Made bright by the steps of the angels of God.

2. Blue sea of the hills! in my spirit I hearThy waters, Gennesaret[413], chime on my ear;Where the Lowly and Just with the people sat down,And thy spray on the dust of His sandals was thrown.Beyond are Bethulia’s[414]mountains of green,And the desolate hills of the wild Gadarene[415];And I pause on the goat-crags of Tabor[416]to seeThe gleam of thy waters, O dark Galilee!

2. Blue sea of the hills! in my spirit I hear

Thy waters, Gennesaret[413], chime on my ear;

Where the Lowly and Just with the people sat down,

And thy spray on the dust of His sandals was thrown.

Beyond are Bethulia’s[414]mountains of green,

And the desolate hills of the wild Gadarene[415];

And I pause on the goat-crags of Tabor[416]to see

The gleam of thy waters, O dark Galilee!

3. There sleep the still rocks and the caverns which rangTo the song which the beautiful prophetess sang,When the princes of Issachar[417]stood by her side,And the shout of a host in its triumph replied.Lo! Bethlehem’s[418]hill-site before me is seen,With the mountains around and the valleys between;There rested the shepherds of Judah[419], and there,The song of the angels rose sweet on the air.

3. There sleep the still rocks and the caverns which rang

To the song which the beautiful prophetess sang,

When the princes of Issachar[417]stood by her side,

And the shout of a host in its triumph replied.

Lo! Bethlehem’s[418]hill-site before me is seen,

With the mountains around and the valleys between;

There rested the shepherds of Judah[419], and there,

The song of the angels rose sweet on the air.

4. And Bethany’s[420]palm trees in beauty still throwTheir shadows at noon on the ruins below;But where are the sisters who hastened to greetThe lowly Redeemer, and sit at his feet?I tread where the Twelve in their wayfaring trod;I stand where they stood with the Incarnate God;Where his blessing was heard, and his lessons were taught;Where the blind were restored, and the healing was wrought.

4. And Bethany’s[420]palm trees in beauty still throw

Their shadows at noon on the ruins below;

But where are the sisters who hastened to greet

The lowly Redeemer, and sit at his feet?

I tread where the Twelve in their wayfaring trod;

I stand where they stood with the Incarnate God;

Where his blessing was heard, and his lessons were taught;

Where the blind were restored, and the healing was wrought.

[413]Gen-nesˊ-a-ret, a sea or lake in Palestine, the borders of which, in the time of Christ, were covered with numerous towns and villages; called also, Sea of Galilee.[414]Beth-u-liˊ-a, a city which appears to have overlooked the plain of Esdraelon, and to have guarded one of the passes to Jerusalem.[415]Gad-a-reneˊ, an inhabitant of Gadara, a city in a mountainous region near the Sea of Galilee.[416]Taˊ-bor, an isolated mountain, of a conical form, a few miles southwest of the Sea of Galilee.[417]Isˊ-sa-char, a son of Jacob and Leah; also, the tribe named after him.[418]Bethˊ-le-hem, the city where Our Lord was born.[419]Juˊ-dah, the name of one of the tribes of Israel, afterwards applied to the whole nation.[420]Bethˊ-a-ny, a town near Jerusalem the residence of Martha and Mary.

[413]Gen-nesˊ-a-ret, a sea or lake in Palestine, the borders of which, in the time of Christ, were covered with numerous towns and villages; called also, Sea of Galilee.

[414]Beth-u-liˊ-a, a city which appears to have overlooked the plain of Esdraelon, and to have guarded one of the passes to Jerusalem.

[415]Gad-a-reneˊ, an inhabitant of Gadara, a city in a mountainous region near the Sea of Galilee.

[416]Taˊ-bor, an isolated mountain, of a conical form, a few miles southwest of the Sea of Galilee.

[417]Isˊ-sa-char, a son of Jacob and Leah; also, the tribe named after him.

[418]Bethˊ-le-hem, the city where Our Lord was born.

[419]Juˊ-dah, the name of one of the tribes of Israel, afterwards applied to the whole nation.

[420]Bethˊ-a-ny, a town near Jerusalem the residence of Martha and Mary.

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