The Bible Story Part 290

He shall come down like rain upon the mown gra.s.s: As showers that water the earth.

In his days shall the righteous flourish; And abundance of peace, till the moon be no more.

He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, And from the River unto the ends of the earth.

They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; And his enemies shall lick the dust.

The kings of Tars.h.i.+sh and of the isles shall bring presents: The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.

Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: All nations shall serve him.

For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; And the poor, that hath no helper.

He shall have pity on the poor and needy, {89} And the souls of the needy he shall save.

He shall redeem their soul from oppression and violence; And precious shall their blood be in his sight: And they shall live; and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: And men shall pray for him continually; They shall bless him all the day long.

There shall be abundance of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; The fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: And they of the city shall flourish like gra.s.s of the earth.

His name shall endure for ever; His name shall be continued as long as the sun: And men shall be blessed in him; All nations shall call him blessed.

Give the king thy judgments, O G.o.d, And thy righteousness unto the king's son.

Blessed be the Lord G.o.d, the G.o.d of Israel, Who only doeth wondrous things: And blessed be his glorious name for ever; And let the whole earth be filled with his glory.

Amen, and Amen.

--_Psalm 72:2-19_.

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THY WAY WAS IN THE SEA

I will make mention of the deeds of the Lord; For I will remember thy wonders of old.

I will meditate also upon all thy work, And muse on thy doings.

Thy way, O G.o.d, is in the sanctuary: Who is a great G.o.d like unto G.o.d?

Thou art the G.o.d that doest wonders: Thou hast made known thy strength among the peoples.

Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph.

The waters saw thee, O G.o.d; The waters saw thee, they were afraid: The depths also trembled.

The clouds poured out water; The skies sent out a sound: Thine arrows also went abroad.

The voice of thy thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lightened the world: The earth trembled and shook.

Thy way was in the sea, And thy paths in the great waters, And thy footsteps were not known.

Thou leddest thy people like a flock, By the hand of Moses and Aaron.

--_Psalm 77:11-20_.

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GIVE EAR, O SHEPHERD OF ISRAEL

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; Thou that sittest upon the cherubim, s.h.i.+ne forth.

Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Mana.s.seh, stir up thy might, And come to save us.

Turn us again, O G.o.d; And cause thy face to s.h.i.+ne, and we shall be saved.

O Lord G.o.d of hosts, How long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?

Thou hast fed them with the bread of tears, And given them tears to drink in large measure.

Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours: And our enemies laugh among themselves.

Turn us again, O G.o.d of hosts; And cause thy face to s.h.i.+ne, and we shall be saved.

Thou broughtest a vine out of Egypt: Thou didst drive out the nations, and plantedst it.

Thou preparedst room before it, And it took deep root, and filled the land.

The mountains were covered with the shadow of it, {92} And the boughs thereof were like cedars of G.o.d.

She sent out her branches unto the sea, And her shoots unto the River.

Why hast thou broken down her fences, So that all they which pa.s.s by the way do pluck her?

The boar out of the wood doth ravage it, And the wild beasts of the field feed on it.

Turn again, we beseech thee, O G.o.d of hosts: Look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine, And the stock which thy right hand hath planted, And the branch that thou madest strong for thyself.

It is burned with fire, it is cut down: They perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.

Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, Upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.

So shall we not go back from thee: Quicken thou us, and we will call upon thy name.

Turn us again, O Lord G.o.d of hosts; Cause thy face to s.h.i.+ne, and we shall be saved.

--_Psalm 80_.

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[Ill.u.s.tration]

BEDOUINS WITH CAMELS IN THE PLAIN NEAR MOUNT SINAI.

Copyright by Underwood & Underwood and used by special permission.

"We arrived at a certain place where the mountains betwixt which we were traveling opened out into a huge, wide, and very fair valley, and beyond this valley appeared the Mount of G.o.d, Sinai. This is a very extensive valley, lying under the side of the Mount of G.o.d.

This is the huge and wide valley in which the children of Israel sojourned in those days, when Saint Moses ascended into the Mount of G.o.d and was there forty days and forty nights. This is the valley in which the calf was made; the place is shown to this day, for a great stone stands fixed to the very spot. As you go round about the mountain it appears to be one, though when you get within it there are many; but the whole is called the Mount of G.o.d, especially the one on whose summit is the place where the glory of G.o.d descended, as it is written; and it is in the middle of them all; and while all these mountains that are in the group are more glorious than I had ever expected to see, yet this one in the middle is so much higher than all the others, that when we approached it, straightway all these mountains which had appeared to us so glorious seemed but as little hills."--From the very interesting Diary of Saint Sylvia of Aquitaine, who about the year 385 made a pilgrimage to the East.

This diary, which is one of the earliest "travel books" ever written, has only recently been discovered.

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THE HOUSE OF THE LORD

How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts!

My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out unto the living G.o.d.

Yea, the sparrow hath found her an house, And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, Even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, My King, and my G.o.d.

Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: They will be still praising thee.

Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; In whose heart are the high ways to Zion.

Pa.s.sing through the valley of Weeping they make it a place of springs; Yea, the early rain covereth it with blessings.

They go from strength to strength, Everyone of them appeareth before G.o.d in Zion.

O Lord G.o.d of hosts, hear my prayer: Give ear, O G.o.d of Jacob.

Behold, O G.o.d our s.h.i.+eld, And look upon the face of thine anointed.

For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. {96} I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my G.o.d, Than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

For the Lord G.o.d is a sun and a s.h.i.+eld: The Lord will give grace and glory: No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

O Lord of hosts, Blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

--_Psalm 84_.

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A PLEA FOR MERCY

Lord, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: Thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.

Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, Thou hast covered all their sin.

Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: Thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger.

Turn us, O G.o.d of our salvation, And cause thine indignation toward us to cease.