_And she answered, I am indeed a widow woman._ THE PARABLE OF THE WOMAN OF TEKOA The contrast between this parable and the one preceding it is very great. The parable of the ewe-lamb was spoken of by a prophet inspired by God. This one was spoken by a theatrical persons at the instigation of a man... [ Continue Reading ]
_We must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground._ THE INSTABILITY OF HUMAN THINGS I. The instability of all human things. Most men talk wisely on the instability of the world. We are not weak enough to deny that which the history of every day compels us to admit. But our lives too often c... [ Continue Reading ]
_But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty._ ABSALOM A CONTRADICTION The ancients, and in particular the Orientals, were very fond of remarking upon a man’s height. Their notion was that the greater the stature the more fit the man was for the society of the g... [ Continue Reading ]
_Absalom sent for Joab _. .. _ but he would not come to him._ THE BARLEY-FIELD ON FIRE Absalom had fled from Jerusalem under fear of David’s anger; he was after a time permitted to return, but he was not admitted into the presence of the king. Earnestly desiring to be restored to his former posts o... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the soul of King David longed to go forth unto Absalom._ A FATHER’S TENDER SOLICITUDE FOR HIS SON “I well remember,” says a present-day writer, “the effect produced on my mind on being told by a servant, soon after I had recovered from a dangerous illness, that during the crisis of the malady... [ Continue Reading ]