pLiBRARY OF Congress.®! 
 
 Chap 
 Shelf. 
 
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 i'^HNIJED STATES OF AMERICA.gii 
 
"BEHOLD HE GOETH 
 
 BEFORE YOU" 
 
 % pQ^ttil Of the PsJ^n 'gmA 
 
 BY 
 
 MAY FIELD McKEAN 
 
 BOSTON 
 JAMES H. EARLE, PUBLISHER 
 
 178 WASHINGTON STREET 
 
 1 
 
SECOND COPY. 
 
 .m-1 5-<| 
 
 52045 
 
 Copyright 1895 
 
 BV 
 
 MARY FuELD McKEA^T 
 
 Au Rights Reserved. 
 
 TWO COPIES RECEIVED. 
 
2)eMcation 
 
 TO 
 
 THOSE FOLLOWERS OF THE CHRIST 
 
 VTHO FEEL THAT THEY ARE BEING LED BY A WAY 
 
 THAT THEY KNOW NOT, 
 
 AND THROUGH PROVIDENCES THAT THEY CANNOT UNDERSTAND, 
 
 THE RECITAL OF THIS BEAVTIFUL LEGEND 
 
 IS LOVINGLY DEDICATED, 
 
 WITH THE PRAYIii; TLJriT EAO! HEART "K K-'. THUS READS IT, 
 
 MAY FIND IN IT THAT WHICH SHALL BE A 
 
 COMFORT AND HELP AND STRENGTH FOR ALL FUTURE DAYS, 
 
 KNOWING FULLY THAT 
 
 1be (3oetb :fi5eforc ins 
 
 ALSO TO THE SHORES OF ETERNAL LIFE. 
 
But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.- 
 
 Matt. xxvi. 32. 
 
 Behold He goetti before you into Galilee ; there shall you see 
 bim: lo, I have told ^ou.- Matt, xxvui. 7. 
 
AUTHOR'S ^OTE. 
 
 The following beautiful legend, interwoven in the 
 pages of this volume, was told to Rev. Russell H. 
 ConwelJ, while travelling in Jerusalem, in the year 
 1868, by an old monk who was acting as his guide 
 in the Holy Land. Some years afterward, when a 
 pastor in Philadelphia, Mr. Conwell told it to the 
 members of his congregation, of whom the present 
 writer was one. He himself said of it : 
 
 " It proved to me a most interesting tradition — a 
 combination, no doubt, of fact and fancy, like many 
 others which he related while showing us over those 
 sacred fields. But this one was so new to me, and 
 so permeated with the clearness of Gospel truth, 
 that I tell it to you this evening as near as I can as 
 it was told to me." 
 
 To one of his hearers it seemed not only full of 
 Gospel truth in the incidents of the Legend itself as 
 he related it then, but also to afford opportunity for 
 so much of beautiful thought connected with the 
 
 7 
 
8 AUTHOR'S NOTE. 
 
 life of our Lord, the Christ, that she has put it into 
 the present form. 
 
 Her first thought was to dedicate her effort to 
 him — her former pastor, her always friend — who 
 had thus brought the story from its far-off home, 
 and made such a writing possible ; but her second 
 (which resulted in her present dedication) she be- 
 lieves will be more in accord with any wish he might 
 express were he consulted, and in the prayer of which 
 she feels sure he will most heartily join. 
 
 If its perusal can make the loving care and provi- 
 dence of the Master who " goeth before " all of His 
 children, seem more real and precious to any heart, 
 His name will be glorifted, and the author will feel 
 that her service, humble though it is, has been 
 accepted of Him whom she would follow. 
 
 M. F. McK. 
 
"BEHOLD HE GOETH 
 
 BEFORE YOU." 
 
 A LEGEND. 
 
 JERUSALEM, the city of the Jews— 
 *^ The place of which Jehovah, God, had said, 
 *' My name shall dwell there, I have chosen it 
 That ye may bring your tithes and offerings, 
 And pay your vows unto the living God ; ! — r"^ 
 The city founded upon holy hills, f 
 Hallowed by memories of sacred love ; 
 City of palaces and temple courts 
 And walls of massive strength ; city of priests, 
 And priestly ritual, where altar fires 
 Sent their continual incense heavenward ; 
 City of learning, where the holy law 
 Was taught within their schools by doctors 
 great 
 
 * Deut. xii II. 2 Chron. vii. 12. 
 t Psa. Ixxviii. 68. Gen. xxii. 2. 
 
lo ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 And read each day in all their synagogues, 
 
 With care punctillious ; city of pride, 
 
 Though vassal under Rome — Jerusalem 
 
 Had done her worst ! 
 
 For when her Lord had come 
 
 Unto His own, " His own received Him not." * 
 
 With strange infatuation she was blind — f 
 
 Blind with the love of petted wrongs and 
 
 creeds ; 
 While seeing letter of the law which kills ; 
 Blind to the spirit which would make alive ; 
 Blind with the stubborness that *' will not see," 
 And, with deliberate choice, had cast Him 
 
 forth, 
 And, asking that a robber be released, 
 Had crucified her King without the wall. 
 
 Strange things had happened then. :j: Dark- 
 ness of night 
 
 Had settled o'er the land at noon's high hour ; 
 
 The temple's veil, from top to bottom rent 
 
 When no man's hand had touched its sacred 
 fold; 
 
 The solid earth had quaked, and e'en the 
 graves 
 
 * John 1. II. t Rom. xi. 25. X Matt, xxvii. 51-52. 
 
''BEHOLD HE GO ETH BEFORE YOUr ii 
 
 Had given back their dead to life again. 
 What wonder that a solemn awesome fear 
 Grew in the hearts of men ? And that the 
 
 ones 
 Who had been counted bravest of them all 
 Confessed a power beyond their mortal ken ? 
 
 But these strange things were three days since, 
 
 and now 
 A stranger yet was rumored far and near ; 
 'Twas said that He whom they had crucified — 
 Over whose death they had rejoiced, as one 
 Rid of a plague — had risen from the grave, 
 And that His Spirit had been seen of men 
 And had conversed with them ! 
 
 And sure it was 
 His grave was empty when they sought for 
 
 Him, 
 Though guarded well, by soldiers whose life- 
 blood 
 Could be demanded for a faithless watch ; 
 And Roman seal, which it were death to break, 
 Had been stamped there by the request of 
 those 
 
12 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 Whose hatred of the conquering Imw had 
 
 found 
 At last its equal in their fear of Christ. 
 But 'twas of no avail. The watch, the seal — 
 Nay, thousand times their power, could not 
 
 have kept 
 The Master of all Life among the Dead ! 
 From ages of eternity the word 
 Had been decreed : ''Thou wilt not suffer now 
 Thy Holy One to see corruption, Life 
 Thou wilt reveal, and joy, for evermore" * 
 So now, the short-lived victory of Death, 
 Robbed henceforth of its sting, must yield 
 
 again 
 To Life's eternal sway ; conquered by Love f 
 Made manifest from God, Author of Love. 
 
 And so, 'twas noised about throughout the 
 
 town, 
 And In the village, that He had risen, 
 And that His spirit walked abroad 'mong men. 
 
 Then those who hated, those who crucified, 
 And those who knew not, save from rumor's 
 tale, 
 
 * Psa. XV. lo, n. t I Cor. xv. 55, 57. 
 
'^BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 13 
 
 Were sore afraid, and, trembling, shrank from 
 
 sight, 
 Starting at shadows, growing faint at sound 
 Of voices once famiUar to their ear, 
 Refusing to go forth where they might meet 
 His Spirit, as some dread Avenger, come 
 To visit on their heads their awful sin. 
 
 But those who loved Him, and had followed 
 
 Him 
 In days of dark adversity and storm. 
 Watched for His coming, and, with eager 
 
 hearts, 
 Prayed earnestly to see Him once again, 
 Seeking the places that He once had loved, 
 Hoping in some familiar spot to find 
 Him whom they knew as living "■ Son of 
 
 Man ; " 
 Him whom their hearts confessed as "Son of 
 
 God." 
 
 To some He was revealed — His witnesses 
 Upon the earth to tell the story o'er : 
 (For naught of blessing does He give to us, 
 Except that through it we may bless the 
 world). 
 
14 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 But some lived on, nor knew their answered 
 prayer, 
 
 Because He came not as they thought He 
 would, 
 
 As some to-day turn from God's sweetest gifts, 
 
 Because they see not through Love's dark dis- 
 guise 
 
 To know that Christ Himself is waiting there. 
 
 Within the city wall, in the fair home 
 
 Of John, the well-beloved — home now, as well 
 
 Of Mary, gentle mother of our Lord — 
 
 Were gathered, on an early Springtime eve 
 
 A group of seven * men — disciples true 
 
 Who long had followed Him,, sharing His lot. 
 
 One day of favor, and the next of scorn ; 
 
 Not understanding all His words and works — 
 
 Dull, slow of heart, perhaps (let the first stone 
 
 Of criticism now be cast by him 
 
 Who hath no sin) needing oft the word 
 
 Of patient warning from their Master's lips ; 
 
 Yet true were they, and honest in their love, 
 
 Striving with minds perplexed to pierce the 
 
 mists 
 Of man-made wisdom that had gathered long 
 
 * John xxi. 2. 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 15 
 
 Around the words and symbols of God's love, 
 Distorting and obstructing the clear view 
 He would have given, desiring all to know 
 And do His will. 
 
 Most earnestly these men 
 Pondered events late past, and future plans : 
 Much had they called to mind that now was 
 
 clear 
 Though all uncomprehended when their hearts 
 Were filled with doubt and fear. And strange 
 
 sweet joy 
 Possessed their souls as each new evidence 
 Was thus presented. So, they waited here, 
 Striving yet more to know the blaster's will, 
 Asking more light on what seemed now so dark. 
 
 Then spoke the well-beloved John, and said : 
 " Rememberest thou not these words of His 
 While yet with us : ' Behold, wheii I am risen 
 I go before you into Galilee, 
 There shall ye see J\le ' ? - Let us rise and go 
 Into the country that He loved so well — 
 Up to the sea, made bless'd for evermore 
 By memory of His gentle ministry." 
 
 * Matt xx\i. 32. Mark xiv. 28. 
 
1 6 '' BEHOLD HE GOETH BEEORE VOW 
 
 "• Yes — let us go — He may be waiting there, 
 And we the blessing losing by delay. 
 Arise — make haste — and let us go at once," 
 Cried Peter, his impetuous heart aglow 
 With the new hope of seeing him again. 
 
 '' Nay," answered Andrew, more conservative, 
 " Such haste would make but little speed. We 
 
 need 
 This night for preparation, and for rest. 
 After our day of toil. The morning's sun 
 Shall not be risen till we are on our way, 
 Refreshed, and ready to endure the walk 
 Up to our home — the Sea of Galilee — 
 Thus would the Master counsel, were He here." 
 
 '' I think He would," said James. " 'Come ye 
 
 and rest ' " 
 Was what He bade, that we might give full 
 
 strength 
 And vigor unimpaired to the new task 
 That He would give. How kind He ever was. 
 Remembering our frame and^ll our wants ! " 
 And then Nathanael, in reflective mood : 
 *' 'Tis strange we had forgot those words of 
 
 His, 
 
 * Mark vi. 31. 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEEORE YOU:' 17 
 
 Spoken by His own lips before the day — 
 That fatal day — when He was torn from us — 
 By all that priestly hate and Roman scorn 
 Could compass in the hour of darkness' power ; 
 And brought to mind by words the w^omen 
 
 said 
 When first they learned that He had risen 
 
 again — 
 'Tis strange we should forget so long ! But 
 
 now " 
 
 '' And yet, 'tis ever thus that grief doth blind 
 Our hearts to hope *' — 'Twas Thomas who thus 
 
 spoke , 
 Remembering his own experience. 
 And in such haste he waited not to hear 
 All that Nathanael would have said — *' But 
 
 now — - 
 Now that the bitter grief has passed in part — 
 ('Twill never wholly pass, until 'tis lost 
 In a more perfect knowledge than we now 
 Can guess, and all His plans for Israel 
 Shall be revealed to us) — hope, slow, returnj. 
 And brings this blessed message to our minds. 
 Let us in haste our preparations make. 
 Then seek our rest that we may be refreshed, 
 2 
 
1 8 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 And start upon our journey's joyous way 
 As soon as morning's light shall dawn again." 
 
 Then eagerly they planned the route to take, 
 And as they made provisions for the way 
 They talked of Him whom they had loved so 
 
 well ; 
 Whom they had hoped would Israel redeem, 
 And vindicate the power they felt belonged 
 To them alone. 
 
 Had Jiopcd? Again that hope 
 Arose, as memory recalled His words: 
 " I go before you into Galilee 
 And ye shall see Me there." Would this be 
 
 time '^ 
 When He the kingdom would restore again 
 To Israel — their hope so long deferred? 
 
 And when their plans were laid, and all was 
 
 done 
 That could be done to-night, in readiness 
 For morning's dawn, they laid them down to 
 
 rest. 
 
 * Acts I. 6. 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU:* 19 
 
 And that same spring-time evening, the Christ 
 
 With His new-risen body, in whose power 
 
 It was to pass through bolted doors, and stand "^ 
 
 At but a moment's notice by the side 
 
 Of whom He would ; to whom distance could 
 
 prove 
 No barrier, and weariness of flesh, 
 No hindrance ; who revealed Himself at will. 
 Or stood invisible to those most near. 
 Or walked, unrecognized by dearest friend ; 
 The risen Christ \\\\o held the mysteries 
 Of Life, and Death, and Heaven, within His 
 
 grasp — 
 First fruits of them that slept f who swayed 
 
 e'en now 
 The power that some time also shall be ours,:}: 
 Because He wills it so, and will bestow 
 The gifts Himself has conquered from the 
 
 grave. 
 On us who have been made alive through 
 
 Him, — 
 Jesus, the Christ, the risen Lord, now stood 
 In very midst of them, and yet unseen, 
 Unheard, His presence all unguessed by them, 
 
 * Luke xxiv. 16, 36. t i Cor. xv. 20. X i John iii. 2. 
 
20 "BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU.'' 
 
 He listened to their plans, and saw them make 
 The preparations needful for the way, 
 And smiled, and sighed, in but a single breath 
 To hear their love, yet knew how selfish 
 
 thoughts 
 (Not theirs alone, but in their nation bred) 
 Had blinded them, and led their hopes astray, 
 Making them miss the great, grand truths of 
 
 love 
 To all mankind — not to a single race — 
 And greatness measured by great services, 
 Not by the world's esteem of pomp and power. 
 
 How oft He'd told them that the way to life 
 Led downward, first, through death ; ^ that 
 
 honor came f 
 Through self-forgetful service ; that the cross 
 For them, His followers, as for Him, their 
 
 Lord, 
 Was the one road that led to victory, — \ 
 How slow we are e'en yet to learn this truth ! 
 
 Yet graciously He listened to their words. 
 For v/ell he knew the weakness of the flesh, 
 
 *Johnxii. 24. t Verse 26. $ John xii. 32. Matt. x. 38. 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 21 
 
 And well He'd learned the kindness of their 
 
 hearts 
 Which struggled blindly, slowly, toward the 
 
 Light, 
 Yet gave not up the strife, though puzzled oft 
 And often left in doubt. Not by His will — 
 But that the mists of years of prejudice 
 Must first be swept away ere they could see 
 Their promised King, the Hope of Israel 
 To be the Man of Sorrow, well acquaint 
 With grief, despised, esteemed not, smit of 
 
 God, 
 Afflicted, wounded, bruised." Was He not 
 
 called 
 The Sun of Righteousness, + the glorious Star,;}: 
 The Mighty One, § the Royal Prince of Peace, || 
 The Glory of all Israel.*' Nay more. 
 Of all the nations the Desired One ^ " 
 In whom all the families of the earth Avere 
 
 blessed ! + \ 
 How could this strange thing be ? 
 Still loved they Truth, 
 (The Truth they saw in Living Words in Him), 
 
 * Isaiah liii. t Mat. iv. 2. 
 
 X Numb. xxiv. 17. § Isaiah be. 16. 
 
 II Isaiah ix. 6. \ Isaiah xlv-i. 13 ; Luke ii. 32. 
 
 ** Hag. ii. 7. 1 1 Gen. xii. 3 ; Psa. IxxiL 17. 
 
2 2 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU:' 
 
 And Still their love spake to His gentle heart 
 Till e'en their failures seemed to whisper love. 
 
 In silent benediction then He stretched 
 
 His viewless hands (out) toward them as they 
 
 talked, 
 And planned and loved their Lord (so doth 
 
 He yet, 
 Perchance). And, with a whispered prayer to 
 
 heaven 
 He passed unseen, unheard, out to the street. 
 
 Amid the jostling crowds He hurried on. 
 Along the ways where His swift, willing feet 
 Had borne Him oft to deeds of power and 
 
 love ; 
 Where He had walked unrecognized, a King, 
 Full of sweet kingly presence which the 
 
 world 
 Knew not — (nor has it ever learned since then !) 
 Along the very thoroughfares where once 
 His childish feet approached the temple gate ; 
 And when the years had fled, and He had 
 
 reached 
 
 To Man's estate — THE Man of all the world — 
 He was led captive by the angry mob 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEEORE YOUr 23 
 
 Who, in a frenzy of wild fear and rage, 
 (Surely 'twas true : *' They knew not wdiat 
 
 they did ! ") 
 Demanded that a robber be released 
 And He, their Lord, their King, be crucified! 
 
 Out through the city's gate, on toward the 
 
 North 
 He took His silent way, unseen by those 
 Who passed Him by, with minds preoccupied 
 And hearts on earth intent. Perhaps 'tis so 
 More often than we think. 
 
 The valley, bright 
 With spring-time's early verdure, not yet 
 
 scorched 
 By summer's withering heat, greeted the eyes 
 Of Him whose love of nature's beauty knows 
 No blunt of sin, but sees in every hill 
 And tree and running stream and budding 
 
 flower 
 A pledge of love, straight from a Father's 
 
 hand. 
 
 Onward He glided, till the pathway turned 
 Up toward Emmaus. There a field of grain, 
 
24 *' BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 Waving and gleaming in the westering sun, 
 Bowed low each heavy head, as if to greet 
 The Master of all Life. 
 
 He paused to look 
 Upon its green and graceful luxury. 
 Then, gazing up to Heaven in silent prayer, 
 He stretched His hands out toward the nod- 
 ding stalks, 
 And said, in voice whose tone of gentleness 
 Yet bore command from God : 
 
 " Ripen, yc blades ! 
 Let every grain in all tJiis fruitful field 
 Be dry and hard ivJien yonder sun shall set ! \ 
 
 Then, on He glided, flitting down the road. 
 And through the woodland's sweet and mossy 
 
 shade 
 Discerning everywhere His Father's love 
 Written on every line of Nature's page. 
 Yet seeing in the little groups that passed — 
 The workmen on their earthly gains intent, 
 The villagers who gossiped of the news, 
 Even the children following their play — 
 Wherever man was found, discovering there 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU^ 25 
 
 The soul's deep need of God, and holy love, 
 E'en though they recognized it not themselves. 
 
 Near Emmaus, upon a hill-side's slope — • 
 Not far it was from path which He had trod ^ 
 With two of His disciples on their way 
 Up to the village, while. Himself unknown 
 To them, He had unfolded all the word, 
 Written long years ago, but now fulfilled 
 In Him, until their hearts did burn and glow 
 With a new love's warm flame. Purer it was. 
 And more intense, since more intelligent, 
 And more like God's. But yet they knew 
 Him not 
 
 Until they had constrained Him to abide 
 With them ; for in their earnest talk, the day 
 Was now far spent, and night was near. 'Twas 
 
 then. 
 When He had yielded to their urgent words, 
 And broken bread with them, that first they 
 
 knew 
 That they had talked with Jesus by the way, 
 And learned these lessons straight from lips 
 
 divine. 
 
 * Luke xxiv. 13-32. 
 
26 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 Did He recall these scenes as now He walked 
 Alone, along the old familiar way ? 
 
 Near to the village, close beside the road. 
 He saw a merchant, wearied by the heat 
 And travel of the day, who, resting, lay 
 In shade of spreading tree, near to a spring. 
 Beneath his head, as pillow for his rest, 
 Were bags of gold — the profits of his sales, 
 Which had been prosp'rous in the city's mart 
 Whither, for many days throughout the feast 
 Which thronged its walls with wealth from far 
 
 and near, 
 He had been trading in the precious things 
 Which all the year he had been gathering. 
 
 Deep was the traveller's sleep, and as the Christ 
 Paused for a moment by the crystal spring. 
 And stooped to quaff of its refreshing stream, 
 The dreamer heard no step, and felt no hand 
 Untie the bags of gold, and let the coins, 
 Shining and precious, scatter through the 
 
 grass 
 And leaves which formed his pleasant wayside 
 
 couch. 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUy 27 
 
 When it was done, the Christ stood still, erect, 
 And looked upon the sleeper there, whose rest 
 Was still unbroken. Pity filled His voice 
 And made its quivering accents half a sigh 
 As low He said : 
 
 '' Ah soul, thou know'st I bade 
 Thee give unto the poor — and thou didst not ! 
 Hadst thou obeyed my word, thou wouldst 
 
 have known 
 Earth's utmost blessedness in the sweet joy 
 Of an abundant portion shared with God 
 As Partner in thy life ; for he who gives 
 Unto the poor, lends to the Lord,' '^ and he 
 Who shuts his heart and hands against their 
 
 cry 
 Shuts out God's blessing from his life, and robs 
 Himself of joy.f 
 
 Yet not so does he shut 
 God's providence away. My needy ones 
 Are ever in the world. They may not take 
 What thou withhold — that would be sin as dark 
 As thine — yet /, thy God, and theirs 
 Have right to take what I commanded thee 
 Thus to bestow : what never was thine own 
 Except to hold in trust. 
 
 * Prov. xix. 17., xxviii. 27. t Prov. xi. 24, 26. 
 
28 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE VOH." 
 
 I have not wronged 
 Thee of thy right of gold, yet thou hast wronged 
 Thyself of a supreme and Godlike joy — 
 For he who gives the most from out his life 
 Is likest to his Maker — Him Who gave 
 Thee life itself. And thou hast taken now 
 
 A loss. Thou wilt suppose it loss of gold, 
 
 Poor, foolish man ! Already in thine eyes 
 
 The world and all therein is good or ill 
 
 As it can be converted into coin 
 
 To swell thy hoarded treasure ! Thou art blind 
 
 Because thou wouldst not see what part was 
 
 mine ! 
 Didst think that thou couldst live thy life alone, 
 Apart from God ? apart from mortal men 
 Except as they contribute to thy gain ? 
 But in reality thy loss will he 
 Not sJ lining gold — /'/ Jias already been, 
 In Godlike character, in hope, in love, 
 In joy, in opportunity for good 
 In all that goes to make the best in man ! " 
 
 Then, as He turned away. His bosom heaved. 
 And something very like a sob escaped 
 Those gentle lips divine — but not for self — 
 
BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 29 
 
 'Twas at the thought of how the bhnding sin 
 ' Of covetousness ' gainst which He oft had 
 
 warned 
 His true disciples and His followers, 
 Creeps with insidious power into the heart 
 And steals life's sweetness ere we are aware 
 
 On to the village, then, with noiseless tread 
 He glided, till He stood beside the door 
 Of cottage lowly, where the voice of prayer 
 Arrested Him, and held Him listening there. 
 For never yet was breathed a prayer in vain ; 
 If from the heart it comes, it reaches Him, 
 No matter what its want or language is. 
 
 As now He listened, all His tender heart 
 Was moved with a compassion never known 
 To man. Closer He drew to hear the cry ; 
 Even the door fast-shut no barrier proved ; 
 And as the humble suppliant bent low 
 Before the throne of grace, above him leaned 
 The pitying Saviour, though he knew it not 
 
 '' O Lord ! he prayed, '' 'Tis only work I seek. 
 Thou'st given me health and strength. Now 
 send, I pray, 
 
30 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEEOKE YOU:' 
 
 The Opportunity to earn my bread 
 
 For daily need, by honest, helpful toil ! 
 
 I thank Thee, Lord, for all Thy blessings 
 
 past ; 
 But leave me not alone. I cannot live 
 Without Thee, Lord! Hear Thou my prayer! 
 
 Send work, 
 Send honest, helpful toil that I may live, 
 A blessing, not a burden, on the earth " 
 
 He saw not yet the Heavenly visitant. 
 But a strange peace within his bosom stole, 
 And Faith's sweet voice assured him that his 
 
 prayer 
 Had been both heard and answered in God's 
 
 plan ; 
 For God doth answer prayer in many ways, 
 And oft 'tis done ere yet it is revealed 
 By sight to us. He knoweth best Avhen we 
 Will be prepared to take the good He sends, 
 And know He sent it. All too soon would 
 
 we 
 Become forgetful of our God, and take 
 His richest gifts in silent thanklessness. 
 If all were dropped like sunshine on our lives 
 Without the asking, ere we knew our need. 
 
''BEHOLD HE GO ETH BEFORE YOUy 31 
 
 With that strange, sweet assurance in his 
 
 heart 
 Faith's whisper that his prayer was heard and 
 
 owned, 
 The suppHant rose, and, supperless, 
 Alone, and yet not lonely, sought his couch, 
 And as the evening shadows gathered 'round 
 Lay down to sweet and dreamless sleep, whose 
 
 strength 
 Should needed be upon the morrow's dawn, 
 To do the w^ork that he felt sure would come 
 In answer to his earnest trustful prayer. 
 
 Noiseless and viewless as the Master came 
 He went again out from the cottage door. 
 His eyes shone with a look of gentle love. 
 And all His face was radiant with a smile 
 Whose secret thought was tenderness and 
 
 help. 
 Yes, He had heard, and He would soon relieve 
 The want of him who trusted in God's care ! 
 
 Close to the step, without, He saw a tree — 
 An apricot of young and vigorous growth, 
 Whose careful tending showed its owner's 
 love ; 
 
32 '' BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOW 
 
 Its bud was promise of a fruitage full, 
 Which must have been a joy to that sad heart. 
 Its presence seemed more bright because it 
 
 stood 
 Alone a thing of beauty, where all else 
 Was blighted by the breath of poverty. 
 
 But Jesus seized it with a powerful grasp, 
 And, twisting it, as if it were a twig. 
 Crushed it to earth, and left it broken there! 
 Was this the anszver to that prayer of faith ? 
 
 Then, on He passed, as shades of night grew 
 
 deep. 
 And, as He moved, a curious glow of light 
 Seemed flitting over valley, hill and field. 
 
 As He approached near Shechem, to His ear 
 Again was borne the voice of suppliant prayer. 
 It was a widow's home from whence it came, 
 And straightway Jesus entered as she prayed, 
 For ever is He drawing nigh to those 
 W^ho first draw nigh to Him in faith and love."^ 
 
 A little child, the widow's only son — 
 Lay, dying, there; His wan, pinched face up 
 turned 
 
 * James iv. 8. 
 
-BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 'z>2> 
 
 Seemed white, as if it were already kissed 
 By God's mysterious messenger, whose name 
 On earth is known as DEATH. Perhaps in 
 
 Heaven, 
 When partings here are lost in meetings there, 
 And human loneliness is all forgot 
 In the sweet presence of our Living Lord, 
 And fullness of a joy we had not guessed 
 While here below we stayed, will have re- 
 vealed 
 The meaning of Life's solemn mysteries. 
 With all its sorrows, all its cares and pain ; 
 And of this other mystery, when white 
 And still, and unresponsive lies the form 
 We loved before us — tJicn, perhaps, in Heaven 
 We will re-name him LovE, and call him 
 Friend. 
 
 Beside the bed, the widowed mother knelt, 
 And prayed as only widowed mother-love 
 Can pray, pleading in agony of heart 
 That God would spare her son — her only son. 
 
 '' Send to me now Thy holy Prophet, Lord ! 
 Let Him of Nazareth pass by this way, 
 And let Him touch my child that he may live. 
 3 
 
34 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU." 
 
 Now, in mine hour of sorrow, wilt Thou not 
 Direct His steps to us, that He may bring 
 The blessings which e'er follow Him from 
 Thee." 
 
 For, in her lonely home, as she had kept 
 Vigil beside her loved, she had not heard 
 Of all that had been done by wicked hands 
 Unto the Lord of Life ; nor yet how He 
 Had gained the last grand victory, and led 
 Captivity a captive by His power. 
 Breaking forever Death's cold, cruel sway, 
 Himself the first-fruits of a life renewed 
 Whose full maturity should be in Heaven 
 In presence. of the Self-Existent One. 
 
 She knew not this — she only thought of Him 
 As some great Jewish Rabbi, full of love, ^ 
 Teaching a wondrous doctrine, whose import 
 As yet was scarcely understood by men 
 Who talked of king and kingdom with a zeal 
 Like that of olden times, before the power 
 Of heathen nations had subdued their land. 
 'Twas certain He possessed a kingly might 
 Direct from God, which He could use at will. 
 Till many a time and oft had rumor come 
 
BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU: 
 
 35 
 
 Of how, by word or touch, He had made 
 
 whole 
 The bHnd, the lame, the sick. Aye, more than 
 
 that 
 Her neighbor, just beyond the hill, at Nain, 
 Had mourned the loss of son already dead 
 And on the way to burial, when He 
 The Rabbi Jesus, met the funeral train, 
 And with command which none could disobey. 
 Had stopped the mournful cortege even then, 
 And bade her cease to weep. And coming 
 
 close 
 Had touched the bier, and said '' Young Man, 
 
 Arise ! '' 
 And lo ! the dead arose, and straightway 
 
 spoke. 
 Given back to life and mother-love again. 
 To be her comfort through declining years. 
 
 Could not the power which brought to life the 
 
 dead 
 Restore Jier child, now wasted by disease ? 
 Would not the love in sweet compassion 
 
 moved 
 By sight of lonely sorrow for the dead 
 Evoke in Jier behalf that gracious word 
 
36 '^ BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 And touch of friendly healing, could He see 
 And know her loneliness and sorrow now ? 
 Ah, surely ! So with faith and love she prayed : 
 
 '' Send to me now thy holy Prophet, Lord ! 
 Let Him of Nazareth pass by this way ! 
 If He but touch my son, the power He holds 
 From Thee, will health and joyous life restore. 
 Oh, gracious Lord, hear Thou the mother's 
 
 prayer ! 
 Restore my son to me, oh, send me help, 
 And I will dedicate to Thee, My Lord, 
 All that I am, or have, to be Thine own ! " 
 
 Beside that kneeling form the Saviour stood, 
 His face with love and pity all aglow 
 i\nd yet she saw Him not. 
 
 Quickly He bent 
 Low o'er the fevered childish face, upturned, 
 And softly kissed his lips, his cheek, his brow ; 
 Then, holding out His hands — those sacred 
 
 hands. 
 Still scarred by wounds He had received that 
 
 day 
 When Death had done its worst and yet had 
 
 been 
 
^'BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 37 
 
 Completely vanquished by the conqueror, Life, 
 Stretching them forth in benediction sweet 
 Above the praying mother bending there, 
 (Knows earth or Heaven a sight more beauti- 
 ful?) 
 One moment paused He, as she asked of God 
 The granting of her earnest, trustful prayer. 
 And then He vanished in the night again. 
 
 The mother rose. The assurance of a faith 
 So strong and sweet had come into her heart 
 That there was now no room for doubt or fear. 
 Little she knew of how her prayer had made 
 Her humble cottage shelter for the Guest 
 Whose home is Heaven, and whose name is 
 
 Love. 
 Little we know, I ween, how oft our prayers 
 Bring heavenly visitants to earth, and make 
 The spot whereon we stand as holy ground. 
 
 But this she knew : The face of him she 
 
 watched 
 Had lost its look of pain, and in his eyes 
 There gleamed the light of knowledge once 
 
 again. 
 
38 ^^ BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU:' 
 
 " Mother," he said, '' Give me some water, 
 
 please ; 
 I'm better now. I've had a lovely dream ! 
 I thought that God was here — here in this 
 
 room 
 And that He kissed me — oh, so tenderly, 
 And smiled upon me, while you prayed for me. 
 It was a beauteous smile. I think the years 
 Of all my life will be more pure and true 
 Because of that sweet, sacred memory. 
 The room seemed filled with glory for a time ; 
 Did you not see it, mother, while you knelt ? 
 Now it has gone, I wish it might have stayed : 
 It was not like that olden glory bright 
 We're told of in the holy Book of Law, 
 From which men hid their faces as in fear — 
 It was as bright and beautiful, and yet 
 I did not feel afraid ; a gentle peace 
 And perfect safety seemed its elements ; 
 And I am stronger now, I feel just here, 
 The glad assurance that I shall be well 
 And strong again ere long." 
 
 The mother smiled : 
 " That was a pretty dream, my precious one. 
 And I have prayed for you. I asked that God 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE VOH." 39 
 
 Would send His Holy Prophet unto us — 
 The Rabbi Jesus — He who heals the sick, 
 And makes the blind to see, the lame to walk, 
 And all the sad ones to rejoice again. 
 You know we heard how, when He came to 
 
 Nain, 
 He raised the widow's son to life again, 
 E'en though he were already dead, 
 And now I feel that God has heard my prayer. 
 
 And soon 
 I hope to see this wondrous Son of Man 
 (For so He called Himself, and surely He 
 Is truest, noblest man the world has seen). 
 Or, it is said by some, His power is such 
 That distance is no hindrance to His word — 
 That He can heal whom He sees not. And so. 
 Perhaps if He could know, He'd speak the 
 
 word 
 As when He healed the brave centurion's slave, 
 And you would be restored, even as he. 
 Yes, I have prayed, and now I will keep 
 
 watch 
 For Him to come, or for some messenger 
 By whom we may send word and make our 
 
 want- 
 Known to the One who never yet refused 
 
40 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 A prayer of humble faith. But rest you now 
 And sleep, my boy ! I feel my prayer was 
 
 heard 
 And God will answer as He seeth best." 
 
 The boy sank back to rest, and closed his eyes 
 In sweet content. Ah, happy child, to know 
 A mother's faith and love upholding him ! 
 And low again the mother bent her head 
 In sweet communion with the unseen God. 
 
 Out in the night once more the hastening feet 
 Of Jesus took their lonely way, still on 
 Toward Galilee. 
 
 Above, the beauteous stars 
 Kept watch, and silence reigned o'er all the 
 
 earth. 
 It was the hour when souls attuned to Heaven 
 Hold converse high with Heaven's holy King. 
 What, then, to Jesus, holy Son of Man, 
 And no less Son of God, Master of Life, 
 And Victor over Death, the Well-Beloved 
 In whom the Father's heart was pleased to 
 
 rest, 
 Who oft had passed long nights on njountain- 
 
 tops 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 41 
 
 Or in the desert plain, in prayer to Him — 
 What, then, to Him, must be this holy hour? 
 
 But now the voice of earthly grief and woe 
 (Oh, how it follows all mankind, since sin 
 Has marred the perfect image of Himself 
 That God first made in clay ! ) fell on His ear, 
 And smote His tender heart with instant pain — 
 Pain such as common mortals never know : 
 The pain of Love when the beloved one 
 Endures some torturing grief ; the pain of 
 
 Hope 
 When long, so long deferred, the heart is sick ; 
 The pain of perfect, God-like purity 
 In presence of dark sin ; the pain which brought 
 The Christ from Heaven to earth. Himself to 
 
 find 
 In pain we cannot fathom, cure for pain. - 
 
 It was a pauper's hut by which He paused, 
 And from within there came the sound of 
 
 moans 
 As one in hunger cried aloud for bread. 
 
 Will Jesus, Son of God, Prince of high Heaven, 
 On special errand bent — will He now stop 
 
42 
 
 BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU: 
 
 And turn His thoughts from that communion 
 
 sweet 
 Which had engrossed His soul, for beggar's 
 
 groan ? 
 
 Yea, even so. One moment stands He there 
 
 To Hsten to that piteous cry for food, 
 
 And then, with walking staff, He reaches up 
 
 Among the cragged rocks above the path 
 
 On which He walked, and, touching one, it 
 
 came 
 Rolling and thundering down — a great, huge 
 
 stone 
 Until it blocked the way beyond the door. 
 
 It seemed a strange, unlikely thing to do, 
 And not at all connected with the prayer 
 That it was meant to answer. Yet we know 
 His love can see beyond our present view 
 And so can trust Him that the way He takes 
 Is better than the one that we would choose 
 If choice were ours. 
 
 If choice were ours ? 'Tis well 
 It is not ! We who see such little way 
 Upon life's journey (and e'en that through 
 tears 
 
^'BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 43 
 
 Or smiles, or frowns, or loves, which blind our 
 
 eyes) 
 Could never know to choose the best for us. 
 We thank Thee, Lord, that Thou dost choose 
 
 for us ; 
 We thank Thee that the choice is not our own ! 
 
 The midnight hour drew near. The Traveller 
 Still hastened on, till Nain was almost reached. 
 Then, on the silent air was borne to Him 
 The piteous bleating of a straying lamb : 
 Poor, foolish lamb ! a silly wanderer 
 That might have known the shepherd's tender- 
 
 est care, 
 Had it but been content to heed His voice, 
 Instead of seeking in forbidden fields 
 For pastures green which only secincth good. 
 
 From far up 'mong the rocks of the steep hill 
 Which bordered on that lonely path the cry 
 Fell upon ears of pity infinite. 
 And Jesus, Saviour of the world, the King 
 Immanuel, stood still to hear. Again 
 That piteous bleating sounded forth, as now 
 The earth seemed hushed to listen. Then he 
 turned 
 
44 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU:' 
 
 And swiftly clambered up the dang'rous cliffs 
 Till He could overlook the mountain-path 
 He saw the wanderer, shivering and alone 
 Caught near the edge of a dark precipice 
 In briar bush that, while it seemed a bond 
 Of cruel 'prisonment, yet safely kept 
 The little foolish lamb from certain death. 
 
 (Think you not, friend, that you and I, to-day 
 Are sometimes held by that which seems a 
 
 bond 
 Of wrong or suffering, in love as kind 
 As that which in this strange disguise we see 
 Protecting it from dangers all unknown ?) 
 A look of quick compassion overspread 
 The Saviour's face, and in His gentle eye 
 A pearly tear-drop glistened, and He said 
 In voice of love which only heart divine 
 Could know or understand : 
 
 '' Poor little lamb ! 
 Poor, wandering, shivering, foolish little lamb ! 
 Thou hast strayed far, and suffered miicJi, but 
 
 noiv 
 Fvc heard thy piteous cries, and help shall 
 
 eome I 
 Wait, little lamb, until the morning s dazvn- 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 45 
 
 / will send help and rescue to thee then. 
 Poor, foolish lamb ! — yet one My Father made, 
 A nd every tiling He loved must have My care 
 And that of My disciples. Wait, poor lamb ! " 
 
 Close to the spot, between the craggy rocks 
 
 Which jutted just above His sacred head 
 
 There grew a large Azalia tree, whose bud 
 
 Now bursting from its winter-fetters, stood, 
 
 Perpetual mystery, perpetual sign 
 
 Of life through death — God's resurrection love 
 
 Written in lines infallible and clear 
 
 O'er all the page of Nature — God's first book : 
 
 Let him who will, but read and understand. 
 
 Then, He who held within Himself the power 
 Of life, full, sweet and free, Jesus, the Christ, 
 Embodiment of God's own thought of all 
 That is most pure and true and beautiful 
 In human life, (for whom all lesser life 
 Was made, symbol, and servant for his good) 
 Put forth His hand, and touched the budding 
 
 tree 
 And straight it owned His power, and forthwith 
 
 sprang 
 Into full, perfect blossom, while the air 
 
46 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU.'' 
 
 Of night grew heavy with the rich perfume 
 Flung out from petals strangely beauteous. 
 
 Then turning with swift skill, which no mis- 
 step 
 Or blunder made, He took His noiseless way, 
 Among the rocks and crags and tangled briars^ 
 Down to the path which He but late forsook, 
 And onward went, passing with easy grace 
 And an untiring swiftness on His way. 
 
 It was toward* Nazareth that now He turned, 
 While memories of other days possessed 
 That high, sweet soul. 
 
 Not less He loved, but more 
 Than other men can love the scenes of home ; 
 Not less His heart was stirred, but more than 
 
 yours 
 Or mine could be, as He revisited. 
 Now in the solemn hush of night, the old 
 Familiar places He had known of yore. 
 
 Here He had played in boyhood's happy 
 
 hours, 
 And in the glee of childish innocence 
 His heart, unburdened by a care or sin, 
 
''BEHOLD BE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 47 
 
 Not realizing yet that heavy load 
 
 That rested on the world — that load that since 
 
 Had crushed and broken Him — had laughed 
 
 and sung. 
 As only children ever laugh and sing, 
 Because they know not of this old world's 
 
 pain. 
 
 Tlicre was the synagogue where He had learned 
 The word of love from out His Father's Book 
 (Himself the Living Word from God to man), 
 Revealed in Law and Prophecy and Psalm, 
 Though many failed to see, or failed to heed 
 Its meaning — clear to Him who sought to know 
 And with a perfect heart to do God's will — 
 Yet blotted o'er by man's obscuring creeds, 
 Till it were easier to err than not. 
 And here, where, as a Boy, He daily learned 
 The law from out their sacred scrolls, attent 
 With boyish interest in the scenes of school, 
 Full of the joy and innocence of youth, 
 Yet sharing not its sin ; here they refused 
 To hear His voice, or to believe on Him."^ 
 Because half knowledge — Satan's deadliest 
 lie— 
 
 *Mark vi. 3. 
 
48 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 Had blinded them until they would not see 
 Heaven's Messenger in humble, human guise. 
 
 Here was the shop where through the weary 
 
 years 
 He'd earned His daily bread as Carpenter — 
 Here worked with plane and saw and hammer's 
 
 stroke, 
 Honoring God by simply making smooth, 
 And true, and firm, and right, the work in 
 
 hand ; 
 (For Jioiv we do it, and not zvJiat we do 
 Is made the basis of God's reckoning). 
 While, as He worked, He pondered in His 
 
 heart 
 The mystery of His '' Father's business," 
 Which He must be about throughout His 
 
 life -— 
 As much in preparation, here alone, 
 As in the day of manifested power, 
 When Nature owned His sway, Disease and 
 
 Death 
 Obeyed His word, and Heaven itself approved ! 
 
 What of those silent years ? Had He not looked 
 
 * Luke ii. 49. 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 49 
 
 Out on the mars of sin, and longed to make 
 The image whole again? Had not the days 
 Seemed long that He must wait, till God's full 
 
 time? 
 Had not His soul within Him stirred to know, 
 And yet to learn increasingly, that all 
 Like sheep had gone astray, seeking their own 
 And not the shepherd's care — seeing their los^ 
 And hopeless 'wilderment, knowing Himself 
 The Sent of God to call them to the fold 
 Yet " waiting on the Lord " to learn His will ? 
 
 O soul, with purpose high, doth sometimes 
 
 feel 
 Impelled to some great w^ork for the lost world, 
 Yet held by providence to wait God's time ? 
 Remember thou Christ's silent years ! And 
 
 learn 
 From Him the force of power gained from 
 
 God 
 Alone, before the hour for action comes. 
 Wait on the Lord. Wait patiently, yet stand 
 Ready for action when the time is full ! 
 And now the Christ had reached the narrow 
 
 street 
 Which led up to the humble cottage home, 
 4 
 
50 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 Where He had knelt beside His mother's knee 
 And lisped His earliest prayer ; where He had 
 
 played 
 With brothers and with sisters 'round the door ; 
 Where, as He grew to man's estate, He loved, 
 And wept, and prayed, and waxed strong in 
 
 the power 
 Of knowledge of His holy Father, God. 
 O memories ! O surging memories, 
 Which swept across Him now, as once again 
 He stood within the shadow of that home ! 
 
 Above Him shone the same bright, distant 
 
 stars. 
 About Him each familiar spot w^as known; 
 The very perfume from the early flowers 
 Seemed like the greeting of an olden friend ; 
 But oh ! the changes that had come since last 
 He had beheld this scene ! 
 
 His work was done — 
 The Father's work which He had come to do 
 On earth was finished now.'^ It mattered not 
 (Save unto them) whether men scoffed or heard, 
 The tragedy of His safe life was o'er : 
 
 * John xvii. 4 ; xix. 30. 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEEORE YOUr 51 
 
 Only the Father's House \\\ Heaven remained, 
 And that He soon would gain. '' A little 
 
 while " ^> 
 And men should see Him not with earthly 
 
 eyes. 
 But from His home above, with cords of love 
 So strong and true, He would draw unto Him f 
 All that the Father gave, with not one lost. :j: 
 
 About the old familiar place He walked, 
 Unseen and silent in the solemn night, 
 Till, coming to the store-house for the grain, 
 He tore a slender board from ofT its side, 
 And forthwith poured a flood of golden corn ! 
 
 One moment still He stood to watch, and then, 
 Leaving these scenes of early earthly home 
 His journey He resumed, still toward the north. 
 The hour was late ; but as He travelled on. 
 Came memories- of that sweet wedding feast 
 At Cana, where He had been honored Guest, 
 And where He first His wondrous power dis- 
 played, 
 More to confirm the faith of those who late 
 Had left their homes to follow (only) Him 
 
 * John xm. 33. t John xii. 32. % John xvii. 12. 
 
52 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOW 
 
 As His disciples on the way of life, 
 Than e'en to do an act so kind for those 
 Whose Guest He was — though that His gener- 
 ous heart 
 Prompted at once — and by a single word 
 He made of water, pure, rich, luscious wine, 
 Till all the many guests were well supplied.^" 
 
 'Twas three long years since then, 
 And much was crowded in His busy life, 
 So full of cares for souls of suffering men ; 
 So full of deeds of charity and love ; 
 So full of pain that hearts were dull to heed 
 The lessons He had come to teach from God. 
 
 But Jesus never yet forgot a friend — 
 
 He did not then — He does not now forget — 
 
 And though the hour was late. He turned 
 
 aside 
 From road the nearest up to Galilee, 
 And came again to Cana, there to find 
 The home which once had bidden Him, its 
 
 Guest. 
 
 Swiftly He took His way until He stood 
 Beside the cottage door. Within He saw 
 
 * John ii. I, II. 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 53 
 
 A light. Was some one ill that they should 
 
 keep 
 The candle burning till the wee, small hours 
 Of waning night were here ? 
 
 With quiet tread 
 He stepped within the room, but saw no couch 
 Of suffering there. Instead, in cradle near, 
 A little child lay sleeping peacefully, 
 Its tiny up-turned face, unvexed by care, 
 Was wreathed in smiles, as if its baby dreams 
 Had been of heavenly visitants, and love 
 Had been the burden of their message sweet. 
 
 Dear little face! If thou couldst keep that 
 
 smile ! 
 If thou couldst always hear such messages ! 
 We need such hearts of innocence to draw 
 Earth nearer Heaven — for up to that pearl gate 
 A little child oft leads a wandering one. 
 
 A smile of radiant beauty lit the face 
 Of Jesus, as He looked upon that brow, 
 So sweetly innocent, so full of trust ; 
 And then a strange, unfathomable look 
 Shone for a moment in His gentle eye, 
 And a deep sigh that seemed almost a groan 
 
54 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 Upheaved His bosom in tumultuous thought. 
 For straight there rose before His holy mind 
 A vision of the possibilities 
 Wrapped up within that tiny sleeping soul ! 
 To what strange height of blissful, Godlike 
 
 love 
 It might soar upward ! What mysterious 
 
 depths 
 Of woe and suffering — sin's awful doom — 
 Yawned in dark ambush, ready to ensnare 
 Unthinking victims to their endless death ! 
 Who, but the One whose .calm all-seeing eye 
 Had searched the beauty of God's holy hill 
 And pierced the gloom of everlasting night ; 
 Whose soul had known the bliss of Sonship's 
 
 tie, 
 And had been crushed, heart-broken 'neath the 
 
 weight 
 Of all the world's imputed sin on Him 
 Who knew no sin, till e'en the Father's face 
 Had been withdrawn ; — Who but the One who 
 
 came 
 Because He knew the height of heavenly love 
 And depth of woe to which a soul can sink, 
 Could look with such commingled hope and 
 
 fear 
 
BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU.' 
 
 55 
 
 On all the possibilities of life 
 Wrapped in a tiny babe ? And who of us 
 Could fathom to its depths the look with which 
 He bent above that cradled sleeper there? 
 But straight He turned from it, to those in 
 
 want 
 Of His more active sympathy and help : 
 As He would have us, His disciples, turn 
 From holiest reverie to deeds of love. 
 
 There by the candle's glow. He saw those 
 
 two — 
 Husband and wife, whose happiness that day 
 Three years ago could not have guessed this 
 
 hour. 
 In low, sad tones they talked, while sometimes 
 
 tears 
 Welled from her eyes, and fell unheeded down 
 Over the cheek which care rather than age 
 Had robbed of its fair grace of girlhood's 
 
 bloom. 
 
 " Our lot seems very hard. I cannot see 
 Why we, who've ever striven to do right, 
 And keep the law of God, should now be left 
 To suffer as we do ! There's just one sheep 
 
56 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU:' 
 
 Remaining of the flocks that once were ours. 
 To-morrow we will kill, and eat — and then — 
 When that is gone — there's nothing left for us, 
 And for our babe, but hunger, want and death! " 
 
 " Nay, wife, speak not such words. I know 
 
 not why 
 Our lot is thus, but surely God knows all ; 
 And He has promised, if we trust in Him 
 And do the good we can, we shall be fed, 
 And I believe it, wife. We both have tried 
 With earnest hearts and true to do His will. 
 Now let us comfort take unto our souls : 
 Sufficient to the day the evils are, 
 And I believe, sufficient, too, the good. 
 We've prayed to Him. I feel that He has 
 
 heard 
 And soon will answer in His own best way. 
 Cheer up, good wife ! God's grace has never 
 
 failed ; 
 Though He may lead us where the way is dark, 
 He will not quite forsake, but He will stand 
 Close by us in the shadow, holding us 
 By the right hand, as safe as if He led 
 Through light. Cheer up ! I feel that help is 
 
 near." 
 
'' BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 57 
 
 The mother tried her best to look content — 
 Not for herself she grieved : that she could 
 
 bear 
 But it was hard to look upon her child 
 And know that to its tender life must come 
 The pinching want of poverty. Could she 
 But shield it she would gladly suffer twice ; 
 But listening to her husband's cheering words 
 She smiled e'en through her tears, and softly 
 
 said : 
 
 " Ah, if the Rabbi Jesus were but here ! — 
 He who our wedding-feast supplied with wine — 
 I know that He would find (or make) a way 
 To help us in our sorrow. He was kind 
 To all the poor, and help and strength and 
 
 hope 
 Seemed in the very atmosphere He breathed — 
 I would that He were with us once again ! " 
 
 " But I have heard," the husband quick 
 
 replied, 
 " This very day strange things concerning 
 
 Him: 
 'Tis said by those returning from the feast 
 Just celebrated in Jerusalem 
 
c;8 '' BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU:' 
 
 That He was there condemned by priest and 
 
 scribe 
 And by the Roman law sentenced to death 
 As malefactor bold, and one who stirred 
 Sedition 'mong the people of our race — 
 Forbidding Caesar's right to tribute paid, 
 And holding that Himself was Israel's King/' 
 
 He paused in thought — not that his tale was 
 
 done, 
 But that his words so ill-befitted Him 
 Of whom he spoke — the gentle loving Man 
 Who, day by day, had trod their valleys o'er 
 Seeking to do men good ; forgetting self 
 In works and words for them; asking no 
 
 power 
 Earth could bestow ; seeking no selfish gain ; 
 Even refusing to be crowned a king, 
 When many would have taken Him by force 
 And made Him such against His holy will, — 
 That all His soul was stirred with a strange 
 
 thrill 
 Which kept Him silent for a little space. 
 
 Then eagerly his wife took up his words : 
 " Dost say this of the Rabbi Jesus ? He 
 
''BEHOLD HE GO ETH BEFORE YOU: 
 
 59 
 
 A malefactor proved ? He stirring up 
 Seditions ? He false to any man ? He 
 Sentenced by law to death for being King ? 
 Nay ! but it cannot be ! Thy words are wild ! 
 He seemed not such to me — He is not sucJl ! 
 Else could I not have stood close by His side, 
 And touched His hand, and looked into His 
 
 face, 
 ('Twas the divinest face I ever saw, 
 And made one think of Heaven and heavenly 
 
 joys) 
 And listened to His words of tenderest Love 
 And Hope and Truth and Justice unto all. 
 And not have known Him false ! 
 
 '' For I can feel 
 Here in my heart the presence of untruth 
 Ere yet a word is said. An influence 
 More subtle than the subtlest sense of earth 
 ('Tis not of earth — it is a relic rare 
 Of that sweet image when Jehovah said : 
 ' Let us make Man after our likeness true ') 
 Speaks to the heart of her who lives near 
 
 Heaven 
 And oft communes with God, giving her 
 
 powder 
 Thus to discern the good, the high, the true — 
 
6o ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 Or to recoil, in knowledge which asks not 
 For proof or reason, from a life impure ! 
 Therefore I say, thy words are wild. 'Tis not 
 Within the range of possibility 
 That that true Man — the Rabbi Jesus — be 
 The malefactor that thou paintest Him ! 
 Who sayest it, saith false ! 
 
 '' Yet I had hoped 
 That God through Him had sent again His 
 
 power 
 Now to redeem us from the galling bonds 
 That long have held us, though we be indeed 
 His chosen people, nation of His love ! " 
 
 " But, listen, wife ! The strangest part of all 
 I have not told thee yet ! They also say 
 That three days after He was crucified, 
 His grave was found by those who sought Him 
 
 there 
 To embalm His body for its final rest. 
 Open and empty, with the grave-clothes laid 
 In folded order where He late had been. 
 Some think His body had been stolen thence 
 By His disciples who had come at night — 
 Though there was seal and watch to guard the 
 
 place." 
 
^'BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 6i 
 
 " If that were so, 'tis strange they left the 
 
 clothes — 
 And such neat order scarce betokens haste, 
 E'en if they dared to brave a Roman watch ! " 
 She interrupted with her woman's thought. 
 
 '' But some declare that He was raised, alive, 
 By the same power through which He others 
 
 raised. 
 And that He did raise others we well know, 
 For we ourselves have seen the widow's son 
 Who dwelt at Nain,^^ and know that story true 
 Which says that he was dead, yet lives again. 
 Nor can we doubt the truth of those who say 
 That one Jairusf had a daughter fair 
 Given back to life and love and home again. 
 Though she were dead and friends were mourn- 
 ing her. 
 And, stranger yet, (I heard but yesterday 
 This news from those who came back from the 
 
 feast), 
 A man who had been four days dead,:}: He raised 
 By but a single word. 'Twas one He loved — 
 But He was absent when they buried him. 
 Yet when He came, He asked to see the grave, 
 
 *Lukevii. II. t Mark v. 22. + John xi. 39, 44. 
 
62 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 And bade them roll away the sealing stone. 
 At first they say He wept. Then looking up 
 Even through tears, He prayed. Then gave 
 
 command 
 * Come for til ! ' And straightway he who had 
 
 been dead 
 Heard that sweet voice, and answering it, 
 
 arose. 
 Restored and well ! 
 
 Then were the populace 
 Divided in their thought ; for some believed 
 That He was very Christ, the Sent of God. 
 But others said, Not so, and from that hour 
 Sought how they might betray Him to His 
 
 death. 
 And so, to-day, some say that He was raised 
 By that same power which showed forth in His 
 
 life 
 Healing disease, and conquering death itself. 
 
 " And truly, there seems proof of this ; for 
 
 those 
 Whose word can scarce be doubted, testify 
 To having seen Him in the flesh since then. 
 And there are those who even yet have hope 
 
^^ BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 63 
 
 That now He will restore to Israel 
 
 The kingdom in its olden power and pride. 
 
 " I have an awesome feeling that the Man 
 Was all, and more than all He claimed — a 
 
 King, 
 But not of earth — perhaps the Christ of God! 
 The very air seems full of mystery. 
 I fear our nation has done wrong in this, 
 And that this sin will yet be visited 
 Upon our heads — I know not how or when." 
 
 " 'Tis very strange ! I would we knew the 
 
 truth ! 
 My heart Is ready now to own Him King, 
 And from your words as well as from my 
 
 heart 
 I am assured that He was more than man! 
 I would that He were here this very night : 
 He was so kind that ilaught seemed small to 
 
 Him. 
 And such His power and such His love to men 
 That He would pause 'midst all these move- 
 ments great 
 To find a remedy for just our wants — 
 For they are life to us ! I would we knew 
 
64 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 What is the truth ! " she said with gentle sigh. 
 Then Jesus turned from them, and quickly 
 
 passed 
 Out through the bolted door into the night. 
 
 Beside the threshold stood a boiling pot 
 Such as was used to try the fat of lambs. 
 Quickly He raised His staff, and thrust it 
 
 through, 
 Piercing its iron bottom with a hole 
 So round and smooth one scarce would notice 
 
 it- 
 Then turned, and quickly vanished in the dark. 
 
 O'er hill and vale He crossed, until He came 
 Just to the entrance of a dangerous pass. 
 A tree which grew beside the road, He grasped 
 And plucked it up as if it were a twig, 
 And planted firmly in the trodden path ! 
 
 He turned abruptly from the thoroughfare — 
 The old Arbella Road which straightest led 
 On to the city of Capernaum — 
 And took His silent way over the hill 
 And, though the path was rough and hard to 
 climb 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE VOC/." 65 
 
 He rested not till from its summit, green 
 With Spring-time's freshening grace, He turned 
 
 His face 
 Straight toward the sweet blue sea of Galilee 
 Just as the sun, proud ruler of the day, 
 Sent forth his brightening marshals of the dawn 
 In steady forward march of his advance, 
 To warn the world that night-watch now was 
 
 o'er. 
 And waken it to life and lio-ht ag^ain. 
 
 o o 
 
 How like the sea is man ! When the winds 
 
 blow 
 And storms disturb its bosom, and the waves 
 Roll boisterously across its troubled face. 
 We see the water — nothing more than this. 
 But when it lies, calmly and quietly 
 Beneath the silent heavens, its surface still. 
 Unmoved by wind or storm, we see, 'tis true, 
 But scarcely heed itself, for mirrored clear 
 In its calm surface is the arch above — 
 The sun, or moon and stars, and each fair cloud 
 Reflected beauteously. 
 
 So with the heart : 
 When 'tis disturbed by doubts, and fears, and 
 
 cares, 
 
 5 
 
66 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEEORE YOW 
 
 And the annoyances and storms of earth, 
 We see itself in its humanity, 
 Troubled and restless, like the ceaseless wave ; 
 But when it lies at rest beneath the smile 
 Of heaven — rest learned of Christ — rest undis- 
 turbed. 
 And peace, because the mind is fixed on God — 
 'Tis then it can reflect in beauty clear 
 The light Christ brought down from the throne 
 
 above. 
 It is in such a soul that we can see 
 Not the poor, restless tossings of humanity 
 But the divinity of God's impress 
 Upon the quiet heart that trusts in Him. 
 
 O beauteous sea ! O glorious morning hour ! 
 The Saviour's hastening feet stayed at the 
 
 sight 
 That gently broke upon His vision then : 
 
 The lake, in peaceful calmness, lay impearled 
 By dawning light within its setting rare 
 Of sandy, wave-washed beach, and emerald hills 
 Just outlined 'gainst the morning's reddening 
 
 sky, 
 And once again the mem'ries crowd His heart ! 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEEORE YOU." 67 
 
 How much of life, with all that living meant 
 To such an One, had here been freely given 
 To those who understood it not, nor sought 
 To know it in its highest Godlike sense ; 
 But, for the most part were content with such 
 Of earthly good as they could make accord 
 With their traditions and their narrow views 
 Of favor unto Israel alone ! 
 
 Yet some there were who loved Him — some 
 
 who sought 
 To know and do His will. And memory 
 Recalled them now, as He stood still and 
 
 watched 
 The growing brightness of the morn's sweet 
 
 dawn. 
 
 Nearest to Him lay Magdala, the town 
 Which once had shelter proved when sorely 
 
 pressed 
 By those who sought for earthly benefits,^ 
 Yet understood not all the joy and life 
 That He had come to bring to hungry men: 
 The native town of her who much forgiven 
 Loved much, and ministered with gratitude 
 
 * Matt. XV. 39. 
 
68 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 Which thought no labor hardship if for Him.'^' 
 Just northward, in that miniature bay, 
 Was where he taught the people from a boat f 
 Which rode upon the waves, the while they sat 
 Tier upon tier, upon the rising shore. 
 Nor wearied of the gracious words that fell 
 From lips that spake as never man before ; 
 And then X departing " as he He was," for rest 
 He lay upon the boatman's pillow there 
 And slept, after that day of weary toil, 
 Until the storm arose upon the sea. 
 And He was wakened half reproachfully 
 To speak the billows into quietness. 
 And calm the troubled fears of timid hearts 
 Who had not learned how safe we are with 
 Him ! 
 
 'Twas in that city yonder that He lived 
 
 As one ''at home " § through months of weary 
 
 toil: 
 There had He healed the multitude of those 
 
 * Luke viii. 23. The phraseology here used is not intended to confirm the 
 old tradition that the nameless woman who anointed the feet of Jesus 
 in the house of Simon the Pharisee (Luke vii. 36-50) is identical with 
 Mary of Magdala (Luke viii. 2), for which the author finds no sufficient 
 foundation. It is believed, however, that the language applied to one (\ii. 
 47) can be equally applied to the other (viii. 2). 
 
 t Mark iv. i. X Mark iv. 35-41. § Mark ii. i, Revised Version. Marginal 
 rendering. 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEEORE YOUr 69 
 
 Who came from far and near "^ (or who were 
 
 brought, 
 Too ill to come themselves) — the blind, the 
 
 lame, 
 The halt, the palsied ones, who could but look 
 Their prayers, even the lepers, from whose 
 
 touch 
 He drew not back, since He Himself could 
 
 cleanse 
 The deeper stain of sin, at which the law 
 But hinted when it said '"Unclean! Unclean!''\ 
 Faith made them clean ! And gladly He 
 
 restored 
 The outcasts to the joys of home and love. 
 
 Here was the " desert place " to which He bade 
 His followers come and " rest a while.":}; 'Twas 
 
 when 
 They had returned from preaching in the towns 
 And villages of Galilee ; and now. 
 Elate with their success, yet wearied sore 
 From kbor that had called for best of heart 
 And head and nerve and manly strength ; and 
 
 grieved, 
 
 * Mark i. 32-34 ; ii. 3, etc. ; vi. 55, 56. t Lev. xiii. 3, etc. 
 
 X Mark vi. 31., and connection. 
 
70 
 
 BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 Hurt with an inward pain, at news they bore 
 Of John's beheading ; while the passing throng 
 Disturbed and interrupted them, He said : 
 " Come ye yourselves apart and rest aw^hile." 
 And as they rested, telling Him their griefs 
 And triumphs and perplexities. He taught 
 Their hearts new lessons of His grace, as 
 
 still 
 He teaches those who learn the busy cares 
 That oft perplex, and " rest awhile " wdth Him. 
 
 Yonder, near where the upper Jordan flows 
 Into the widening lake, upon that slope 
 Of grassy verdure there, had been the scene 
 Of loaves and fishes quickly multiplied.'^ 
 Until the gathered throng — five thousand 
 
 men, 
 Beside the women and the children too — 
 Had eaten all they would, and still had left 
 Abundance for a future need. 
 
 And then,f 
 Mistaking means for end, looking at deeds, 
 Not love that prompted them, thinking of self 
 And selfish gain, uncomprehending yet 
 
 * Mark vi. 35-44. t John vi. 15. 
 
'' BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 71 
 
 And blind while thinking most they saw, and 
 
 knew, 
 They said with eager boldness each to each : 
 " Surely this is that Prophet that should come, 
 Let us now take Him, if it be by force 
 And make Him King, to wield for us this 
 
 power." 
 
 How little yet they knew His mission high ! 
 How little yet we guess its highest love, 
 And all the glory He will yet reveal 
 To those who love His name and live for Him ! 
 
 And there, beyond, uprose the mountain steep 
 Where He had gone to pray alone with God.^ 
 Alone with one we love, and who loves us ; 
 No curious eye to look upon our joy. 
 ALONE ! no uncongenial presence near 
 To mar the satisfaction of the hearts 
 That rest in perfect confidence and love. 
 There is no need of faltering lips to tell 
 The dear, sweet secret of our lives, for then 
 The subtler language of the heart may speak 
 In soft, mute glance, more eloquent than 
 words, 
 
 * Matt. xiv. 23. 
 
73 
 
 BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU. 
 
 Or gentle pressure of a hand whose touch 
 Recalls a hundred tender memories. 
 Or in the unspoken sympathy of thought 
 Which flies, swift and untrammelled to the 
 
 heart, 
 And so conveys a joy too deep for words. 
 And which can only be interpreted 
 By love as pure and holy as its own. 
 
 'Tis by such love that we are lifted near 
 To the great heart of Him whose Life is Love. 
 Oh, earth may hold much, much of joy for us, 
 In the sweet converse of the friends we meet 
 And hail with gladness in the social hall ; 
 And dearly do we prize the hour when 'round 
 The hearthstone we can gather at the close 
 Of the day's duties ; but more sacred still 
 Is that sweet moment which we spend alone 
 With the dear, faithful heart of one we love 
 And rest upon, as on our truer self ! 
 
 Alone -cvith God f My soul, attend this 
 
 thought : 
 Alone with God ! The careless world shut 
 
 out, 
 And the freed soul shut in w^ith God, alone. 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 73 
 
 As with a Father, Friend, Creator, Lord, 
 No jarring thought dares to intrude its power; 
 No shadow of the world, but there, alone — 
 The soul that loves, and God who loves the 
 
 soul — 
 Enter the closet of communion sweet. 
 By that mysterious power which earthly love 
 Keeps from the God-life once in Eden given, 
 By which we know while yet unheralded 
 The presence of some loved one — by that 
 
 power 
 Intensified, uplifted, purified, 
 Freed from all dross of earthly contact, now 
 With solemn joy we enter consciously 
 Into the sacred presence of our God, 
 In whom alone are met and satisfied 
 The higher, nobler cravings of the soul 
 Which, breathed from God, must rise to Him 
 
 again. 
 Yet never can we touch and feel the thrill 
 Of His Almighty Presence in the soul 
 Lifting our lives above the common dust. 
 Striking new strings upon the harp of love 
 Whose chords vibrate in thrilling harmony, 
 Responsive to the Master hand divine. 
 Until we have withdrawn from earthly scenes — 
 
74 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOW 
 
 Leaving its cares, and e'en its sweetest loves — ■ 
 Forgetting self — forgetting all save this : 
 I am alone zvith God! Alone with Him 
 Whom my soul loves ! Here let me rest a 
 
 while 
 In breathing the sweet strength His love can 
 
 give 
 In the communion only known to those 
 Who go apart and talk ALONE WITH GOD ! 
 
 If it be ours to know this sacred bliss 
 Of secret prayer, who by adoption's tie 
 Are made the sons of God, what, then, to Him, 
 The Son, the Well-Beloved, the Holy One 
 In whom He was well pleased, had been this 
 
 hour 
 Of sweet communion with His Father there 
 In silence on the mountain-top alone ? 
 
 Late grew the night watch, ^" till the wind and 
 
 cold 
 Beat 'round Him piteously. But not for self 
 Did He forsake that mountain trysting-place : 
 Not till He saw through storm and darkness 
 
 drear 
 
 * Mark. vi. 48. 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 75 
 
 The need of His disciples, as they toiled 
 In rowing, yet were like to sink. 'Twas then 
 He walked upon the boisterous waves to them, 
 And calmed the storm, and bade them not to 
 
 fear, 
 And proved to them His royal Kingship's 
 
 power 
 Extending over all created things. 
 Reaching through Life, past Death itself, to 
 
 Heaven. "^ 
 
 And there, across the lake, sharply outlined 
 Against the morning sky. He could discern 
 The country of the Gadarenes, f whose men 
 Preferred their swine to Him, and bade Him, 
 
 '' Go, 
 Depart from out their shores ! " And He had 
 
 gone, 
 Yet, with kind mercy, even to His foes, 
 He bade the one whom He had healed, remain 
 And tell the story of a Saviour's power. 
 
 How little was He known or understood 
 By those — His own — whom He had come to 
 save ! 
 
 * Matt. xiv. 33. t Luke viii. 26, 40. 
 
76 '^ BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOW 
 
 How sadly must His gentle breast have 
 
 throbbed 
 As He looked on the hurts He would have 
 
 healed, 
 The wrongs He would have righted, and the 
 
 sins 
 He would have fain forgiven, and brought 
 
 again 
 The smile of God into their weary lives ! 
 *' But they would not " ''^ — '' His own received 
 
 Him not." f 
 He was an Outcast from this sinful world 
 Which He had come to save ! — Outcast by 
 
 men, 
 But, though unrecognized, uncrowned, a King 
 Before whom every knee on earth shall bow X 
 In sweet obedience, or in servile fear, • 
 
 And every tongue confess that He is King. 
 
 Thus, as He stood in early morning dawn. 
 After the hours of lonely travelling, 
 Swifter than words can tell recurred the scenes 
 Which other days had witnessed by the Lake ; 
 And for a little space He lingered there, 
 
 * Matt, xxiii. 37, t John i, n. 
 
 X Rom. xiv. II. 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 77 
 
 Grieved for their loss, yet knowing well that 
 
 God 
 Who rules and overrules, makes e'en the wrath 
 Of rebel man to praise His holy name. "^ 
 And then He took His way down to the shore 
 Whose sands so oft His sacred feet had trod. 
 
 There, tossing on the sea He saw a boat — 
 A fisher's boat, o'erturned and ownerless. 
 Out on the unyielding waves He quickly 
 
 walked, 
 And drew it to the shore, and anchored it. 
 Then, wandering on the beach. He found an 
 
 oar 
 And then another, and another still, 
 And yet a fourth, tossed up by restless waves. 
 Returning to the boat He left them there ; 
 And as the sun burst o'er the eastern hills 
 Flooding the valley with its radiant light. 
 Kissing each ripple into molten gold, 
 Changing each dewdrop to a diamond fair 
 And decking all the earth in beauty new 
 With every morn's return of welcoming day, 
 The Saviour's noiseless footsteps turned aside 
 
 * Psa. Ixxvi. 10. 
 
78 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOW 
 
 Seeking the well-known mountain trysting 
 
 place. 
 Where oft He had retired, to pray alone 
 And spend tliJs day in holy speech with God. 
 
 Thus had He gone before them all the way, 
 Which they must take to follow His command. 
 
PART II. 
 
BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr Z\ 
 
 PART II. 
 
 r\^ that same morn that Jesus reached the 
 ^-^ sea. 
 
 After His night of travel all the way 
 Which led up from Jerusalem, the home 
 Of John, disciple well-beloved and true, 
 Was early made astir by busy men 
 Preparing for their journey they had planned 
 To Galilee, where soon they hoped to meet 
 The Master whom they loved 
 
 Little they knew 
 That He had stood, invisible to them, 
 Within these very walls but yester eve, 
 And listened to their plans, and heard them 
 
 tell 
 Of all their love to Him, and all their hope. 
 
 6 
 
82 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU:' 
 
 *Tis often so to-day. We think of Christ 
 
 As in some far-off land of bhssful rest, 
 
 When He is close beside us, hearing all 
 
 We even think ; and planning for our good ; 
 
 Going the way before us on the road 
 
 Of life ; knowing, before we know ourselves, 
 
 The path that we will take, and all the scenes 
 
 Which lie between to-day and that glad time 
 
 When we shall meet Him on the further shore. 
 
 " He is not far from any one of us, 
 
 And we shall find Him if we seek, for Him." "^ 
 
 Nay more, this is His precious word : 
 
 " In Him that hath my words and keepeth them 
 
 I will abide, and though the world sees not. 
 
 He sees, because He lives, and I will come 
 
 And manifest myself to Him in love."f 
 
 'Tis full a two days' journey to the sea 
 As these must travel o'er the weary way 
 (For not to them is given th' untiring speed 
 With which their Master glided o'er the path, 
 
 His feet scarce touching it, save where He 
 
 willed) 
 And so they start betimes, and well supplied 
 
 * Acts x\-ii. 27. t John xiv. 18-23. 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr ^2> 
 
 With meal, and fish, and oil, and staves, and 
 
 cloaks, 
 For all the way's necessities. 
 
 And thus 
 We see this company of burdened men 
 Set forth at solemn hour of morn's gray dawn 
 Along the narrow streets, where busy life 
 Was scarcely yet astir. 
 
 Silent they walked 
 As each familiar form brought to their minds 
 The strange contrasting scenes — one day of 
 
 praise 
 And loud hosannas and of waving palms 
 As from a thousand throats arose the cry : 
 *' Blessed is He that cometh in the name 
 Of Israel's God ! All praise to David's Son ! 
 Hosannah in the highest ! In Heaven peace 
 And glory evermore ! Blessed be the King ! " "^ 
 
 And then, when five short days had passed, 
 
 these streets 
 Were filled again, but now the cry arose, 
 " We have no king but Caesar ! If thou let 
 This man to go thou art not Caesar's friend ! "f 
 And Pilate had delivered Him to them 
 
 Luke xix. 38, and paraletta t John xix. 12, 15. 
 
84 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEEORE YOUr 
 
 To do with Him according to their wilL 
 
 And these, His followers — what could they do 
 
 Against that raging insurrections mob? 
 
 So 'twas not strange that they walked silently 
 
 Along these old familiar streets to-day, 
 
 Saluting none until the gate was reached. 
 
 Then, down the valley's slope, on toward the 
 
 plain 
 Their hastening footsteps stay not on the 
 
 w^ay, 
 As if escaped from some oppressing power — 
 That subtle influence, like an atmosphere 
 Which tells of love or hate in those about — 
 
 (And it was hate within those city walls 
 Hatred for Christ and all his followers) 
 Felt in the heart, and yet scarce recognized 
 Save now in its withdrawal. 
 
 Free from this, 
 And safely past the scenes whose presence 
 
 brought 
 Afresh the memories of their Master's cross, 
 They strode along in early morning dawn. 
 And took in full, sweet breaths of God's pure 
 
 air, 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 85 
 
 The while their souls were lifted to commune 
 With Him, as well befitted time and place. 
 Did John, who had drunk deeply at Love's 
 
 fount,^ 
 And fair Nathanael, who was given to thought 
 And meditation upon holy themes,t 
 Then draw together by a common bond, 
 And question of these mysteries of God ? 
 What meant this dawning after hours of night ? 
 
 What meant this spring-time after winter's 
 
 death ? 
 Were they not Nature's teaching to the soul 
 Telling the truth the Christ had now revealed 
 Of resurrection power — life after death — 
 Nay, more than that — of life because of death ? 
 We see it now ; but did they see it then ? 
 
 Down in the plain they saw a field of grain, 
 Yellow and hard and ripe before its time. 
 And as they looked upon a sight so strange. 
 And marvelled much, the owner called to them : 
 
 '' Stay travellers, stay ! My field of waving 
 
 grain, 
 Which yesterday stood green and nodding here, 
 
 * John's entire writings. t John i, 47-50- 
 
86 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 Has ripened suddenly within a night, 
 And I must haste to harvest it to-day. 
 Come now, I pray, and help me gather it 
 Into my barns. The work is pressing sore, 
 And I will pay large wages for thy toil ! " 
 
 But the disciples turned not from their course. 
 
 *' We cannot tarry now," they said, " We go 
 
 On errand so important and so sweet 
 
 That double wages have no charm for us. 
 
 But if we find a laborer free to serve 
 
 We will remember thee, and send him hence." 
 
 Then, on they strode, till the ascending sun, 
 Made them to long for shelter and for rest, 
 And water pure, where they might slake their 
 
 thirst 
 And cool their brows, and wash their dusty 
 
 feet 
 In crystal spring — one of God's sweetest gifts 
 Which He bestows so freely that we take 
 Its bounty from His hand, but seldom pause 
 To thank Him for the priceless boon, which 
 
 love, 
 With foresight of our human wants, provides. 
 Seldom we pause even to think how much 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 87 
 
 We owe to it, until we feel its need 
 As these did now, though bravely struggling 
 on. 
 
 Near where the path branched off to Emmaus 
 They found a fountain clear, close to a rock 
 Within whose shade welled up the crystal tide 
 Whose onward flow, first as a tiny stream. 
 Cross which a child could step with perfect 
 
 ease, 
 Increased until a dancing, babbling brook 
 Refreshed and gladdened all the weary land. 
 
 " Here let us stop a while and rest ! " they cried ; 
 And letting down their burdens, each one 
 
 sought 
 After his own device, refreshment there. 
 
 James, stooping down to drink, lifted the cool 
 
 Sweet limpid water to his thirsty lips 
 
 In hand-made cup, with brimming rim o'er- 
 
 run 
 And, as he lingered still, to dash the spray 
 Of grateful cleansing to his dusty brow, 
 And watch the sunlight turn each falling drop 
 Into a gem, he saw close to his knee, 
 
88 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 Half covered from his sight among the grass 
 And rusthng leaves, a shining disk of gold ! 
 " See what I've found ! " he cried. " Some 
 
 traveller 
 Has here sought rest before us, and has lost 
 This golden coin ! " 
 
 "" Here is another one ! " said John. 
 Close by his side. 
 
 '' And here are more — and more," 
 They, eager, cried, as search among the grass 
 Revealed the hidden treasure lying there. 
 
 '' Now we can cast aside our load of meal. 
 And oil, and fish — these things which burden 
 
 us. 
 And make our journey slow and wearisome. 
 For we have now the gold to pay our way ! " 
 Said the impetuous Peter, eagerly. 
 
 '' Not so ! " cried Andrew, as he laid a hand 
 Upon his brother's arm. " Dost thou forget 
 So soon, the lessons that our Master taught. 
 Of frugal care and wise economy ? 
 Think of the fragments that we gathered up ! "^ 
 Those days His grace had multiplied the loaves 
 And fishes till \vc had abundant store 
 
 ■ John vi. 12. Mark vi. 43 ; viii. 8. 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU:' 89 
 
 For all who would partake. He is not pleased 
 With needless waste, when all about, are poor 
 And hungry ones who starve for want of bread. 
 We may not need this food ourselves, but who 
 Can tell where there may be a child of God 
 Whose want He now has given us the means 
 In His dear name to meet and satisfy?" 
 
 '' Perhaps you're right ! For I remember well 
 How He did say to us : * Ye have received 
 Of me most freely — freely give in turn ; '^ 
 And at another time ' It is more bless'd 
 To give than to receive. 't And this : ' The 
 
 poor 
 Ye have with you at all times ; Whensoe'er 
 Ye will, ye may do good to them. 'J Perhaps 
 He sent this gold to us that we may know 
 The blessedness of giving to His poor ! " 
 Thus urged they took their burdens up again. 
 And hasted on their way up toward the north. 
 
 But not far had they travelled when they saw 
 Beside a cottage-door close to the road, 
 A man who seemed intent on binding fast 
 A broken tree. It was an apricot 
 
 * Matt. X. 8. t Acts xx. 35. % Mark xiv 7. 
 
go ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 Whose boughs, so lately full of promises 
 Of fruitful harvest, withered hung and dry. 
 Nor tried to lift their hopeless heads again. 
 
 '' 'Tis hard luck, strangers ! " said the cottager, 
 
 As the disciples paused to lend a hand 
 
 And show how best to bind the wounded tree, 
 
 '' I am alone and poor, and but last night 
 
 I prayed the God of Heaven to think on me 
 
 And send me toil wherewith to earn my bread, 
 
 And as I prayed I felt an holy peace 
 
 Steal in my heart, as if his messenger 
 
 Had whispered sweet assurance that my prayer 
 
 Was heard in Heaven, and would be granted 
 
 me. 
 And as I laid me down to quiet sleep 
 I thoupiht to rise this morn, refreshed for toil 
 That He would send. 
 
 But tJiis is what I find — 
 The only tree I owned, broken and bent. 
 And this year's fruit at least completely lost, 
 Now when I needed it the most of all ! 
 Almost have I lost faith and hope in prayer ; 
 For why should God deal thus with one who 
 
 serves 
 And fain would earn an honest livelihood ? " 
 
"BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 91 
 
 " Nay, say not so ! " ('Twas John who cried in 
 
 haste) 
 " Doubt n6t God's mercy or His wisdom thus. 
 But know that what seems ill in His own time 
 May prove the greatest good — Nay, more, must 
 
 prove 
 If we are truly serving Him ! 
 
 I w^ould 
 Thou couldst have heard the words our Master 
 
 said 
 (He who is called — and is — the Son of God — 
 Though Rabbi Jesus w^as His earthly name), 
 Upon that last sad night before He went 
 From us. Never will we forget that night. 
 Or all the precious, holy words He spoke, 
 Thoup-h at the time we understood them 
 
 not, "^ 
 Nor do we understand them fully now ; 
 But as we ponder them in loving hearts. 
 And talk them o'er, as one by one we call 
 To memory the things which mystified 
 And troubled us, because we did not know 
 All that was written, and should come to pass. 
 To-day we see the meaning clear of much f 
 Hid from us then because we had not faith 
 
 * John xii. 16. t John xiv. 29. 
 
92 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 To reach beyond our timid human sight ; 
 
 But much is mystery still : only we know 
 
 He spake in tender, loving tones to us 
 
 (Who are His followers, though faithless oft — 
 
 Not the defenders bold we should have been) 
 
 And said : " Ask what ye will, if in My name,^ 
 
 And for My sake it shall be given you. 
 
 And thus your joy shall be fulfilled in me. 
 
 Therefore we know the Father heareth prayer 
 
 And answereth for Jesus' holy sake, 
 
 E'en though the good shall come to us in 
 
 guise 
 Which hides from us at first its mission true." 
 
 *' Of tJiat we are the living witnesses 
 
 To-day ! " Nathanael said. '' For that same 
 
 night 
 Our Master said to us. ' I will not leave 
 You comfortless.' f To that word our hearts 
 
 clung 
 With the tenacity of hopeless love ; 
 But much He said to impress upon our minds 
 Our coming grief, and warn us of His death, 
 And bid us look beyond the grave and see 
 That He would rise again (As He Jias now). 
 
 * John xiv. 14. t John xiv. 18. 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 93 
 
 But this we heeded not, and when the power 
 Of Satan held his temporary sway, 
 We sat in dumb despair, and thought all lost. 
 We said : ' What did He mean ? ' For He Jias 
 
 left 
 Us comfortless ! What comfort now for us 
 When He in whom we trusted to redeem 
 Our chosen nation, lieth cold in death 
 Within the hopeless grave ? 
 
 And it was not 
 Until He, risen from the dead, revealed 
 Himself, and called to mind those words, that 
 
 we 
 Could realize the blessing He had wrought 
 In what to us seemed only hopeless loss.^ 
 But now — His power proved — His Kingship 
 
 owned — 
 (By some — not yet by all — though it would 
 
 seem 
 All soon must own so wonderful a sign — 
 Greater indeed than that for which they asked), 
 We trust that now He will restore again 
 The kingdom unto Israel. f Indeed, 
 We go to meet Him now where He Him- 
 self 
 
 * Luke, xxiv. 45, 46. t Acts i. 6. 
 
94 BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 Hath made appointment that we follow Him. 
 Seest thou not how He can swiftly bring 
 Good out of that which at the first seems ill? 
 And that He may be answering our need. 
 Better than we can ask, when yet we know 
 Not what the answer is, or how 'tis good ? '* 
 
 '' Why, yes," said James. " Thou seest that 
 
 to-day — 
 Even this broken tree may answer be 
 Unto thine earnest prayer of yester eve : 
 'Twas but for that we paused upon our way, 
 Although we haste up to the distant sea, 
 As he hath told, to meet our risen Lord. 
 But now that we have learned of thy sad 
 
 plight 
 We can direct thee to a harvest field 
 Where extra wages will be paid for work 
 Such as ye seek. 
 
 '' 'Tis yonder — down the road 
 Which leads from Emmaus up to the North 
 
 Gate 
 Of the fair city of Jerusalem ; 
 We passed a farmer there, whose rolling fields 
 Of golden wheat had ripened suddenly, 
 And he wants men to harvest it to-day. 
 
'^ BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 95 
 
 It may be that the loving will of God 
 Directed us to thee, in this thine hour 
 Of need. He has more ways of answering 
 
 prayer 
 Than thou and I can fathom now, my friend." 
 
 '' It may be so. Thy words seem just and 
 
 true. 
 God may be answering when we know it not. 
 I thank thee for thy help and for thy news 
 Of honest toil. I will arise and seek 
 The harvest field of early ripened grain." 
 
 And so the poor man found the work he 
 
 sought, 
 And the disciples hasted on their way 
 Up to the distant sea of Galilee. 
 
 The sun had well-nigh reached his zenith 
 
 height 
 As they were nearing Shechem, and his beams, 
 Burning as only Oriental suns can burn, 
 Fell on the shadeless path, and on their heads, 
 And seemed to close them in, as if escape 
 From his o'ercoming power there could not be. 
 
96 '^ BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOW 
 
 Vainly they looked for shelter on their way : 
 Half-blinded by the dazzling light ; with blood 
 Leaping at fever-heat through tired brains 
 And arms that ached beneath their weary load, 
 They bravely struggled on, with many a prayer 
 Sent up to Heaven's Throne from hearts 
 
 devout 
 For sheltered rest, or strength to battle on. 
 
 Then came a welcome sound — A woman's 
 
 voice 
 Made tender by its love, was calling them. 
 " Strangers ! " she said. '^ Stay, weary travellers ! 
 Art seeking rest and shelter ? Come this way ; 
 But tell me first — for this I haste to know — 
 Is the great Prophet, Jesus, one of thee? 
 For it is He I seek. Last night I prayed 
 That God would send Him to my humble 
 
 home 
 As once, in time agone, He came to Nain, 
 That He might heal my child. For surely He 
 Who spake the dead to life again, could now 
 Restore at once my boy to joyous health. 
 If He but spoke the word and looked on him. 
 Therefore, since I have prayed, I've watched 
 
 this path, 
 
''BEHOLD HE GO ETH BEFORE YOUr 97 
 
 Hoping, expecting, soon to welcome Him. 
 Tell me, Is Jesus here? " 
 
 Then eagerly 
 She scanned each sun-browned face, thoucfh 
 
 pausing not 
 In leading them straight to her humble home. 
 So hid they scarcely would have found it there 
 But for her watch and guidance to the spot. 
 
 *' The Rabbi Jesus? Hast thou then not 
 
 heard 
 All the strange things that late have come to 
 
 pass ?" 
 They asked in solemn, awed bewilderment. 
 
 '' ' Strange things ' ? I have not heard of them. 
 
 For days 
 I've w^atched beside my boy, and know naught 
 
 else ; 
 What has befallen Him? Tell me. I beg; 
 Is my prayer vain? Can He not come to me, 
 With that sweet healing power that once was 
 
 His." 
 
 '^ 'Tis a sad story — scarcely it seems true 
 Even to us who've watched it day by day, 
 
 7 
 
98 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU:' 
 
 But we will tell it thee, that thou mayest 
 
 know 
 How that the leaders of our nation came 
 Where He was wont to pray, and seizing Him, 
 Tried Him' in their Sanhedrim court, and 
 
 found 
 Him guilty of blasphemous words, and deeds 
 Destructive to the law (or so they said). 
 Then straight they hurried Him to Pilate's 
 
 hall. 
 And though three times the Procurator said : 
 ' I find no fault at all in Him,' '^ and tried 
 In feeble fashion to release Him thus. 
 The mob, persuaded by their leaders' wills 
 And frenzied by excitement till they knew 
 Scarce what they asked, f called loudly for 
 
 His death. % 
 And he — the servile Roman Governor — 
 Afraid of them, afraid as well of Rome, — 
 Rather than brave the sentiment of those 
 Who cried : ' Prove now if thou art • Caesar's 
 
 friend ! ' § 
 Weakly delivered Him,|| though innocent, 
 To die upon the cruel Roman cross. 
 
 * John xviii. 38; xix. 4, 6. t Luke xxiii. 34. % Matt xxvii. 23, etc. 
 § John xix. 12. II John xix. 6. 
 
''BE//OLJ^ HE GO E 77/ BEFORE YOUr 99 
 
 " But three days scarce had passed when from 
 
 the grave 
 He rose triumphant, for not even death 
 With all his powers could hold the Son of God ! 
 
 *' Then we remembered how, when yet with us, 
 He told us all the things which now w^ere 
 
 done,"^^ 
 And we have seen Him in Jerusalem, 
 And He hath comforted our hearts with 
 
 peace, f 
 
 But now we go, as He appointed us, 
 To Galilee, and He will meet us there, 
 For thus He saith : ' Behold I go before, 
 There shall ye see me, as I said to you. ' " \ 
 
 While thus conversing they had reached her 
 
 home, 
 And she had set before them food and drink. 
 And brought forth w^ater for their dusty feet : 
 And she had pondered in her heart, the while, 
 Now with a throb of wild despair, and now^ 
 With thought of joyous hope, the tidings 
 
 strange 
 
 John xiv. 29. t John xx. 19. 21. % Matt, xxviii. 
 
lOO ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 They brought of the good Rabbi — Him for 
 
 whom 
 All through the day she'd strained her weary 
 
 eyes, 
 Scanning the pathway from Jerusalem, 
 Believing He would come as she had prayed. 
 
 But now, the Christ she'd seen in former days 
 Would come no more, and He whom now they 
 
 sought 
 Had passed already by her humble home. 
 No hope remained of seeing Him to-day; 
 And if she should send word to Him by these 
 Who soon would meet Him by fair Galilee, 
 Who knows but press of cares would make Him 
 
 late — 
 Too late to save her only boy from death? 
 
 Nay, she had not forgotten Nain. She knew 
 That Death had met his conqueror ; 
 But with a mother's love, and fear, and hope. 
 How could she wait and see that lovely form 
 Tortured by fever, yield at last to Death, 
 E'en though she knew he would be given back 
 When He — the Rabbi Jesus — should return ? 
 For such her faith, not only in His power 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr loi 
 
 But in His love and willingness to bless 
 Those who but trust in Him, that in her heart 
 No longer was a doubt that in the end 
 Her son should live, restored to health again 
 Could He but know her sorrow and her faith. 
 
 'Tis true that since that quiet, restful sleep 
 Of the last night, the fever burned less fierce, 
 And much of pain had left his weakened 
 
 frame, 
 And he had known her when she spoke to 
 
 him, 
 And asked for water, and for food again ; 
 Yes, he was better ; that was evident, — 
 And yet she wished the Rabbi Jesus there 
 To speak the word and make him strong again ; 
 Longed for His presence and His sympathy. 
 For none had ever come to Him in vain. 
 
 Then, as she came and went ; now ministering 
 With gentle hospitality to them. 
 And now beside the bedside of her child. 
 The wonder grew within her loving heart : 
 Could not these men who were His followers, 
 Who seemed to know the secrets of their Lord, 
 To whom He had revealed Himself alive 
 
I02 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 After His cruel death by wicked men, 
 Who, even now, by His appointed word 
 Were on their way to meet Him — could not 
 
 these 
 Restore her child, as He would, were He here ? 
 
 At least, she would make known her want to 
 
 them — 
 And so, when they were rested and refreshed, 
 With all a mother's gentle arts she told 
 Again the story of her need and prayer, 
 And asked: ''Have ye not power, by Jesus 
 
 given, 
 To heal my son, and make him strong again ?" 
 
 Then to the tiny darkened room they went, 
 And knelt in prayer beside that humble couch, 
 And asked that God, for Jesus' sake would give 
 Youth's ruddy health in place of fever's hue, 
 And native strength of boyhood's active years 
 Instead of languor from his long disease ! 
 
 And as they spoke, the blood grew rich and 
 
 strong. 
 And coursed through well-filled veins, from 
 
 glowing heart 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 103 
 
 Whose throb was firm and steady. Every 
 
 nerve 
 Forgot its jarring pain and sank to rest. 
 The flaccid muscles knew their olden strength, 
 While health with its mysterious influence 
 
 thrilled 
 His being's fibre to its inmost core. 
 
 With what sweet rapture then the mother 
 
 clasped 
 Her child in loving arms ! How warm her thanks 
 To Jesus' followers, who brought the boon 
 She'd craved from God ! How high the note of 
 
 praise 
 As her glad heart made melody to Him 
 Whoknoweth all our wants, and heareth prayer. 
 And who more ready is to give, than we 
 To ask for all the sweetest things in life ! 
 
 " How glad I am that I was led to watch 
 For the great Rabbi out along the way 
 Up to the sea ! For, seeking Him, I found 
 His faithful followers when needing rest 
 And entertainment such as I could give ; 
 Anci now my little deed of kindness proves 
 Blessed for His dear sake ; while on my life 
 
I04 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 Ye have returned the kindness thousand-fold ! 
 Long as I hve my heart shall follow thee, 
 In grateful prayer, for mercy done this day. 
 And when ye see the Master, tell Him how 
 I sought for Him, and seeking Him found 
 
 thee, 
 And how thou wrought for me that which I 
 
 prayed 
 That He would do ; and how I blessed His name. 
 ' Tis well ! God knoweth best ! He answereth 
 
 prayer 
 As seemeth best to Him who knoweth all ! " 
 
 The fervid heat of midday now had passed, 
 And, leaving joy within the little home. 
 They found new joys themselves in journeying 
 
 on. 
 Conversing by the way of words forgot 
 By some of them till now — about a cup 
 Of water only, given in His name 
 To a disciple in an hour of need : 
 '' It shall not lose" — it was the Master's voice 
 Which spoke it — " shall not lose its own re- 
 ward." '" 
 
 *Matt, X. 42. Mark ix. 41. 
 
^^ BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 105 
 
 Near Shechem, where the narrow pathway 
 
 grew 
 More narrow for their feet— on this side hedged 
 By rising mountains steep, and on that side 
 Sloping a-sudden to a deep ravine — 
 They found their onward way completely 
 
 barred 
 By a huge boulder which had been dislodged 
 From the rough mountain's craggy side, and 
 
 caught 
 Here on the path. 
 
 All the united strength 
 Of seven sturdy shoulders failed to move 
 The great obstruction from its resting-place — 
 Nor could they clamber 'round, or over it. 
 It was so high and wide. What should they 
 
 do? 
 Could yonder path be gained best by the 
 
 way 
 That led across the mountain's rugged side ; 
 Or by the other one down the ravine ? 
 Some thought one way, and some the other 
 
 chose. 
 Until, to settle the dispute, James said : 
 " 'Twas but a few rods back we passed a hut 
 
Io6 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU." 
 
 Built on the mountain side. Now wait ys 
 
 here, 
 While I turn back and ask ; for surely, they — 
 The inmates there — must know, and soon shall 
 - we." 
 
 But as he neared the house, he heard low 
 
 groans 
 And then the weak, despairing cry of one , 
 Who seemed about to die for want of food. 
 Forgetting his own errand then, he ran 
 Back to his fellow-travellers in haste : 
 
 " Methinks 'tis well we happened here to-day — 
 If hap it be — . Here we may leave our meal, 
 For in this hut is one who needs it sore — 
 A woman, dying for the food that we 
 Only this morning thought to throw away ! ** 
 
 " 'Tis worth the heavy burden of the day 
 And glad are we that God hath sent us gold. 
 That now we may supply her pinching want," 
 Said Andrew, as he took the oil and fish, 
 And followed after James who bore the meal, 
 While Peter hurried with an honeycomb, 
 And John who carried only sympathy 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEEORE VOL/.'' 107 
 
 Of heart, and gentle, willing hands, to make 
 The simple preparation for her need. 
 (And after all, the sympathy and help 
 Were needed, even as the food had been.) 
 The best of gifts material oft fail 
 To touch the heart, and make us truly blest, 
 Enriching giver and receiver too, 
 Because they stand alone, accompanied 
 By naught of love and tenderness and prayer. 
 The truest gift, whate'er its cost in coin, 
 Is that which represents the heart of him 
 Who gives, as one of thoughtfulness and care 
 For him to whom he doth the offering make. 
 And so, this suffering woman, who but late 
 Lay in despair, almost in doubt of God 
 And of His loving care, relieved of want, 
 Took heart again, and, even through her tears. 
 Looked up to see the Giver of all Good 
 Who had not failed her in her hour of need. 
 
 Then, gladly showing them the path they 
 
 sought. 
 They parted company — she to rejoice 
 Over a bounty to which her poor life 
 Had long been stranger — they to wend their 
 
 way 
 
io8 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 Not only with their burdens lightened now 
 But with hght hearts as well ; with conscious- 
 ness 
 That they had exercised the frugal care 
 That He — their Master — would approve — the 
 
 same 
 That He, Himself, would do had He been there 
 To bear them company upon their way ! 
 
 Oh, blessed thought ! With joy it filled their 
 
 hearts 
 And made the path seem easy to their feet, 
 As with sweet converse now they hurried on, 
 Catching new scenes of beauty on their way, 
 As now the westering sun sent level beams 
 Athwart the landscape, lighting up the sky 
 With the rare colors only seen at eve. 
 
 They came to Shechem as the shades of night 
 Folded the earth within its soft embrace. 
 Weary with travel then they sought an inn, 
 And with the magic power of shining gold 
 Obtained a resting-place until the morn. 
 
 Then, early, ere the sun had kissed the hills, 
 Or yet had waked the valleys from their rest. 
 
BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU: 
 
 09 
 
 Our travellers resumed their onward way, 
 Refreshed by sleep, urged forward by the 
 
 hope 
 That ere the sun should set that night, they'd 
 
 reach 
 Fair Galilee — perhaps would meet their Lord 
 Whom every hour of absence seemed to make 
 More dear. They started with a quickened 
 
 pace 
 And as they walked, conversed with eager 
 
 words 
 Of Him they loved, and hoped through life to 
 
 serve. 
 
 The road led up toward Nain. Familiar scenes 
 
 Were these, and as they passed village or hut, 
 
 Or often only stream, or hillock low. 
 
 Or winding by-path from some ancient town. 
 
 They would recall a former day, ^ when they, 
 
 With Jesus in their favored company, 
 
 Had met a leper here who had been cleansed 
 
 By word of power divine. There a lame man 
 
 Had hobbled out to meet them, and had gone 
 
 Back to his home erect and whole and strong. 
 
 Here had He spoken words of living truth 
 
 * Matt. iv. 23. 24 ; ix. 35, etc. 
 
no ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOW 
 
 Unto a company who thronged His way ; 
 'Twas near this town that a bhnd beggar sat 
 And asked for bread from every passer-by, 
 But Jesus gave him better than he sought: 
 He gave him sight and bade him go, restored 
 To bless the waiting world. Yonder a child 
 Had been laid low by fever's smiting breath, 
 Until she seemed to lie at Death's dark door, 
 Simply to wait the summons to depart 
 And leave disconsolate the saddened hearts, 
 Whose life seemed bound in hers. But He 
 
 had come. 
 And placed His gentle hand upon her head, 
 And the disease had left her, and she rose 
 And followed Him. 
 
 Sweet memories like these 
 Thronged every mind ; and as they walked, 
 
 they talked 
 Of Him with eager hearts that glowed afresh. 
 And the past stirred half-unsuspected hopes 
 Of what the future still might hold for them 
 When they should meet Him — they. His 
 
 ' chosen few — 
 By His divine appointment by the sea. 
 For how could they who knew not Jesus' words 
 Of prophecy, save as fulfilment true 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr iii 
 
 Revealed them to their darkened minds, yet 
 
 not 
 More dark, I ween, than yours or mine, had we 
 Stood in their steads ; nor yet more dark than 
 
 oft 
 Our understandings are to-day, when God 
 Sends to our hves some new strange plan of 
 
 His 
 Which we have not yet fathomed ; no, nor can 
 Until He gives us grace to live it out. 
 Solving the mystery day by day, with Him 
 Close at our sides, to show us by results 
 The meaning of the way that He has led. 
 Way that we understood not ; not more dark. 
 Perhaps, than yours or mine concerning things 
 As yet involved in prophecy alone — 
 Things that shall come to pass. — How could 
 
 they 
 Hope to unravel this strange mystery 
 Which He Himself had placed before them 
 
 now 
 And know for what to hope, or what to fear 
 Until His Spirit should be given to lead 
 Then into truth of daily living? Till 
 He should reveal to them things that till 
 
 now 
 
112 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOW 
 
 They could not bear, and would not under- 
 stand ? * 
 Till it, in part, at least, should come to pass? 
 
 Thus, 
 Engaged with memory and love and hope, 
 The earliest morning hours sped on, and earth 
 Emerged from the gray mists of dawn to meet 
 The sun's fair flush of roseate hue, as feet 
 Unwearied, bore them swiftly on toward Nain. 
 
 Before the city quite was reached, they saw 
 Far up the steep hillside, a flaming bush — 
 A wild azalea tree in blossom full, 
 Though all its neighbors in the country wide 
 Bore still but tiny buds — or scarcely that 
 If on the bleak slope of the mountain's face 
 As this one stood, braving the wind and cold 
 While little of the Spring-time's gentler grace 
 Had reached its cragged home. 
 
 They paused to gaze 
 At sight so strange, and wonder " How ?" and 
 
 ''Why?" 
 As if in human wisdom they could grasp 
 All of the secrets of the Master's power, 
 Until Nathanael, with his ardent love 
 
 * John xvi. 12. 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU:' 113 
 
 Of all things beautiful upon God's earth 
 (Seeing in them the tender, loving thought 
 Of Him who " gave us all things to enjoy " *), 
 Declared that he must have a spray of these, 
 The first sweet flowers of Spring. 
 
 So, while the rest 
 Waited upon the path below, he climbed 
 The rugged mountain steep, until he stood 
 (Though all unconscious) where his Lord had 
 
 been, 
 Led by the love of Beauty to the spot 
 Where Beauty's first Creator oped the way. 
 
 Then, as he gathered handfuls of the blooms, 
 
 Admiring each, as if 'twere made for him 
 
 And for no other eye, his guileless soul f 
 
 Stirred with an artist's keen and pure delight, 
 
 As well he marked the dainty tracery 
 
 From Nature's faultless pencil, matching shade 
 
 With shade, yet blending all in harmony 
 
 Of color that as far outrivals art, 
 
 As the strange mystery of living force 
 
 In sap, and root, and leaf, and flower, out-ranks 
 
 The dead materials that we gather up 
 
 To make their imitation. 
 
 * I Timothy vi. 17. * John i. 47- 
 
 8 
 
114 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 With a touch 
 Of reverence he held the blossoms close 
 And murmured as he looked into each cup 
 Yet heavy with the early morning dew : 
 *' How God must love the Beautiful, to hide 
 So much — so much within a flower's heart ! 
 Lord, make me pure and beautiful within. 
 That Thou, who lookest only on the heart, 
 Rather than formal deeds, may own me, 
 Thine ! " 
 
 But as he stood intent, he heard a faint 
 Low piteous bleat, as if a lamb 
 Had strayed away from tender shepherd's care. 
 He listened then, to catch the cry once more, 
 And note the way from which it reached his 
 
 ear. 
 Then, led by sound, he clambered to the edge 
 Of a deep, wild ravine, and looking o'er 
 He saw a tiny lamb, alone and lost. 
 
 '■'■ Poor little lamb ! " Unconsciously the words 
 His Master spoke came to Nathanael's lips : 
 'Tis thus, indeed we are to follow Him — 
 Not to conform our acts to rigid laws, 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETII BEEORE YOUr 115 
 
 But to " be transformed ! " ^^ changed from grace 
 
 to grace f 
 Until with unveiled heart we will reflect % 
 The character of Him whose life was love, 
 Whose every thought was one of helpfulness, 
 Whose heart was full of pity for the lost. 
 
 Nathanael called to Peter, and the two 
 Clambered among the rocks down to the cave 
 Where it was caught, and, counting it a joy 
 To rescue from its peril and its pain 
 One of God's living creatures, as they turned, 
 They carried it in gentle fashion down. 
 Revolving in their hearts this problem old : 
 What did God mean by sacrifice of blood? 
 Why must a lamb be slain for human sin ? 
 (For yet they knew not, understood not, how 
 The '' Lamb of God " FulfiUer of all type 
 Had at the last and " once for all " been slain 
 That on Him might be laid the whole w^orld's 
 
 sin.) 
 Then they resumed their walk, now talking 
 
 low 
 About the words their ancient prophet spake : § 
 
 * Rom. xii. 2. t John I 16. 
 
 X Cor. hi. 18 ; Rev. Ver. § Isaiah hu. 
 
Ii6 '' BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 " All ye, like wandering sheep, have gone 
 
 astray ; 
 To his own way each one has turned, and now 
 The Lord hath made the iniquity of all 
 To meet on Him, who, when afflicted sore 
 Oped not His mouth, but as a lamb was dumb. 
 Before his shearers, so was even He." 
 
 Had not this olden prophecy come true 
 Before their very eyes ? Had not their Lord — 
 ( He whom the world called Jesus, Joseph's 
 
 son," 
 The lowly Carpenter of Nazareth, 
 Or, dignified as best they could, when earth 
 Alone supplied the knowledge scant. 
 As Jewish Rabbi with a prophet's power f) — 
 Been heralded by John as " Lamb of God 
 Who takes away the sin of all the world ? " :j: 
 Had they not seen Him stand with gentle mien 
 Before His wild accusers, silent, dumb ? § 
 
 And He had looked upon the multitude 
 
 Who daily thronged His pathway, Has e passed 
 
 Now up, now down, these hills and valleys fair, 
 
 * John vi. 42. t John vi. 14 ; vii. 40. 
 
 X John i. 29. § John xix. 9. 
 
''BEHOLD HE GO ETH BEFORE YOUr 117 
 
 And with a sweet compassion in His eye 
 While love and pity which no words can tell 
 Gave sweetness to His tone, and thrilled their 
 
 hearts 
 With tenderness akin to that He felt, 
 (Though scarcely yet they understood its 
 
 depth). 
 And said : '^ As sheep they lack a shepherd's 
 
 care,^ 
 Pray ye the Lord to send forth laborers." 
 And forthwith called He them, and gave them 
 
 power f 
 To heal, and help, and minister, and teach 
 Those who had wandered far from God's pure 
 
 law. 
 And lost their way in man's bewildering maze 
 Of the hard letter which but kills the soul. 
 
 And they remembered other words of His : 
 '' The whole need not my care." % "I came to 
 
 seek 
 And save that which was lost." § What meant 
 
 all this 
 If He were not the very Christ of God } 
 
 * Matt. ix. 36. t Matt. x. i. 
 
 X Matt. ix. 12. § Matt, xviii, 11. 
 
ii8 '' BEHOLD HE GOETH BEEORE YOU." 
 
 And then they walked awhile in silence on, 
 With thoughtful heads bowed low, and rev'rent 
 
 hearts, 
 Remembering the wondrous life of Him 
 Who spake as never man yet spake ; "^ who loved 
 As only God could love \ — God who is Love, X 
 Though they but dimly yet discerned this 
 
 truth. 
 
 Now Peter, in his strong and stalwart arms 
 Carried the trembling lamb so safe and warm 
 Next to his loyal heart, till it forgot 
 Its wanderings and its loss ; and resting there, 
 It seemed th' embodiment of trust and peace. 
 
 Then once again the words of Jesus came 
 Fresh to their minds : § ''I the Good Shepherd 
 
 am, 
 I know My sheep, and I lay down My life 
 For them. No man can take it but I lay 
 It down Myself. And now I have the power 
 Both to lay down and to take up My life, 
 That I may do my Father's holy will.' 
 I call My sheep with voice that they all know 
 
 * John vii. 46. t John xv. 13, comp. Rom. v. 78. 
 X John iv. 8. § John x. 1-18. 
 
''B/if/OLD JJK GOKTII BEFORE YOUr 119 
 
 And follow after mc to the great fold 
 
 Where all shall be united in My love." 
 
 Did not the words gleam forth with sudden 
 
 light 
 They had not guessed when first they heard 
 
 them fall 
 E'en from His lips upon their troubled hearts 
 That day in winter ^ in the Temple porch 
 When all around were those who hated Him, 
 And called Him mad \ and asked : '^ Why hear 
 
 ye Him ? -" 
 And some would even stone Him for His 
 
 words?:}: 
 
 How long ago that seemed ! Then the thick 
 
 clouds 
 Of darkness and uncertainty shut out 
 From their dim visions things they saw to-day ! 
 But now they thought they understood it all ! 
 And silently they conned its sweetness o'er. 
 As they recalled their Master's gentle care, 
 E'en as a tender shepherd bears his sheep 
 In loving arms, protecting it from all 
 From which its gentle nature would recoil, 
 Leading it safely to the pastures green, 
 
 *Johnx. 22. tVs. 20. tVs. 31. 
 
I20 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 Not leaving it content with lesser good — 
 Or seeming good — upon the pathway there. 
 How strange had been the leadings of their 
 
 lives ! 
 How kindly He had shielded them from ill ! 
 What were the unguessed blessings yet to be ? 
 
 And so they conned it o'er, yet knew they not 
 That that same gentle, loving care had planned 
 The very incidents which called their thoughts 
 To Him that He might thus reveal His love 
 More fully to their opening minds and hearts. 
 Blessed are they who " follow on to know,"^ 
 For 'tis in following His holy will 
 That we may know more fully of His love — 
 Love to the whole wide world — oh, wondrous 
 
 thought ! 
 But still more wondrous — love to humble ME ! 
 
 Near Nain they found the shepherd from whose 
 
 fold 
 The little lamb had strayed ; and joy once more 
 Was left behind them, greater for the joy 
 They carried on in consciousness of right 
 Done for the Master's sake and in His name. 
 
 * Hosea vi. 3, 
 
'• BKIIOLD HE G0E7H BEFORE YOUr 121 
 
 Soon they drew near to Cana, and they turned 
 Off from the road — the highway to the sea — 
 To cHmb a gently sloping hill, which stood 
 Near to the city. As they reached the brow 
 They paused a moment to survey the scene, 
 Rich in its varied beauty, and yet fresh 
 From the night-dews still sparkling in the sun 
 Not yet ascended high. 
 
 As thus they stood, 
 A column of black smoke was seen to rise, 
 Dense and forbidding, from a cottage yard 
 Near them, below ; and cries of sore distress 
 Broke of a sudden on their listening ears. 
 
 '' They may have need of help that we can 
 
 give," 
 They said in haste, and quickly sought the way 
 Down to the humble home from whence the 
 
 signs 
 Of sorrow came. '' Were Jesus here, we know 
 Such cries to reach His heart, need but to 
 
 reach 
 His gracious ear, and of the things He taught 
 Unto His followers, none were more blessed 
 
 than this : 
 That we should do to others as we would 
 
122 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOW 
 
 That they should do to us,^^ were we the ones 
 In need of friendly aid — do and hope not 
 That aught shall be returned to us again." 
 
 'Twas a strange sight they saw as they ap- 
 proached ; 
 And stranger yet the tale of woe they heard ; 
 Husband and wife were there, bewailing fate 
 Because their one last sheep — the only thing 
 That stood between them and starvation's 
 
 pain — 
 Had now been killed, and dressed, and put to 
 
 boil 
 In pot in which, by some mysterious means, 
 A small round hole, straight through its iron 
 
 side, 
 With clean incision had been made since last 
 It had been used. And through that to the 
 
 fire 
 Had run the fat, which flaming, up had burned 
 Not only what had found escape, but all 
 Within the pot — and so it all was lost ! 
 And they who prayed, and trusted in their 
 
 God 
 Believing that to them was promise given 
 
 * Matt. vii. 12. t Luke vi. 35. 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 123 
 
 " Bread shall be found thee, and thy water 
 
 sure,"'^' 
 Now sat beside the ashes, blackening fast 
 O'er all the little store they'd called their own ! 
 
 It seemed a sorry plight, and words were cold 
 To comfort them in time of such distress ; 
 And even gold, with all its magic power 
 Could give relief but for a few short days. 
 Yet the disciples were most glad that still 
 Within their script they found some yellow coin, 
 And freely gave they full the worth of all 
 That had been lost ; and spoke in cheerful words 
 Of trust in God who loves, and still doth care 
 For every creature He hath made on earth: 
 And from their own experience they told 
 How oft the darkest hour precedes the light. 
 
 But as they turned to go, 'twas with a sense 
 Of pain that wheresoever sin had been. 
 There followed want and woe and misery — 
 Not special pain for special sin.f Their Lord 
 Had taught them not to judge this true, 
 
 though held 
 By many of their wisest councillors — 
 
 * Isaiah xxxiii. 16. t John ix. 23. 
 
124 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 But the great blot of sin upon the race, 
 Whose wages * — Death — are ever being paid 
 In some degree to all beneath its ban. 
 
 But as they reached the gate, and would have 
 
 passed, 
 Some object of familiar grace was seen 
 Which stirred their tardy memories to recall 
 A time three years agone, when, on a day 
 Far happier than this, they visited 
 The town of Cana — yea, this very house 
 In company with Jesus — came as guests 
 Unto the marriage-feast of this same pair, 
 Whom now they saw so desolate and poor. 
 'Twas at that feast that first of all was shown 
 The Master's glory, f and the timid hearts 
 Of those who late had heard His gracious call, 
 And had left all to follow after Him, 
 Had been assured that He was come from 
 
 God. 
 'Twas strange they had forgotten ! Stranger 
 
 still. 
 It seemed to them, that this young, happy 
 
 pair 
 
 t Rom. vi. 23. * John ii. 11, 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU: 
 
 125 
 
 Upon whose early wedded life He smiled, 
 And by His presence hallowed the sweet scene 
 Which made another home on earth, should 
 
 now 
 Be found in such sad plight ! Yet, questioning 
 
 not 
 God's sovereign right to lead as He sees best, 
 They turned them back again, and by the 
 
 bond 
 Of Jesus' friendship for them both, renewed 
 The old acquaintance, and fresh interest took 
 Each in the other's plans. 
 
 Much was to ask 
 Concerning Jesus — much to tell of Him. 
 Had the strange rumors which had reached 
 
 their ears, 
 About His death as malefactor bold. 
 Been false, or true ? And what could mean 
 
 the tale 
 About His Spirit (or some said Himself), 
 Having been seen of men, and talked with 
 
 them ? 
 
 Then Love and Hope lent swiftness to their 
 
 tongues 
 As eagerly they told the story o'er — 
 
126 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU:' 
 
 Though interrupted oft — now with a thought 
 
 Of indignation 'gainst His enemies — 
 
 Now as some fuller light showed them the 
 
 truth 
 They had not grasped before ; — and now to 
 
 urge 
 No more delay upon their journey's course. 
 
 But ere they said farewell, this much was 
 
 planned : 
 Peter stilled owned the fishing-boats and nets 
 Upon the Sea of Galilee, and still 
 The eager, hungry world was glad to pay 
 Its shining gold for treasures of the deep ; 
 And so, before the coin already given 
 Should be exhausted for their meagre wants, 
 The little family should move their home 
 Down to Capernaum, and in employ 
 Of Peter's fishery, there was no need 
 To dread the future. 
 
 So their trials sore 
 Became the pathway to a greater good, 
 And they took courage in their God again, 
 While the disciples started on their way. 
 Discoursing of the providence that led 
 To this most timely meeting, and the joy 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEEORE YOUr 127 
 
 'Twould be to Jesus when they told Him all. 
 Ay, greater joy than they could guess, since 
 
 He 
 Had planned this meeting for their helpful- 
 
 Near Nazareth once more they slacked their 
 
 pace : 
 " Let us how go up to his Home again — 
 His home and Mary's. When we see her next 
 She will be glad to know we thought of Him 
 And it ; and she will wish to learn how now 
 The old place looks ; and even He, perhaps, 
 Will care to find we sought it for His sake," 
 Said Peter as he led the way. 
 
 And John 
 Made answer thoughtfully, " Yes, let us go. 
 For we remember how He notice took 
 Of e'en the smallest thing that showed forth 
 
 LOVE. 
 And how — we see it now as we did not 
 Before — His gentle spirit was most pained 
 By our indifference and want of thought." 
 
 But e'er they came in sight of it, they saw 
 Great flocks of doves flying about their heads, 
 
I2S ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEEORE YOUr 
 
 Coming from all directions, speeding straight 
 Toward the old home they sought, until the 
 
 sky 
 Seemed darkened, and the soft whirr of wings 
 Fell on their ears with a strange solemn sound. 
 
 Nearer approached, they found a multitude 
 Had gathered 'round the house, and in hushed 
 
 awe, 
 With voices low, they talked of this new 
 
 thing 
 Which now had come to pass : How e'en the 
 
 birds 
 Acknowledged Him whom they had long ago 
 Rejected, driven from their midst, refused 
 To hear, or own, even despised the good 
 Of earthly benefits He would have brought ! 
 And now that He had been rejected, too, 
 By all the world — had even suffered death 
 As if His were a malefactor's heart. 
 And His pure, noble deeds (dimly they saw 
 It now) were magic of a conjurer 
 Used for self-exaltation, and His words 
 Of high and holy doctrine but the vain 
 Babble of a mind diseased, claiming undue 
 And dangerous power, making Himself a King. 
 
'' BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 129 
 
 Yea, more — the very Son of God Most High — 
 Now that 'twas said, despite the Roman seal 
 And nightly guard, that He had risen again 
 And had been seen by many witnesses, 
 (Though many yet believed it not, but said 
 His body had been stolen while they slept — 
 Ah, Hate ! How credulous thou art ! How 
 
 blind 
 To clearest evidence of noon-day truth !) 
 And thus had proved His claim and kept His 
 
 word — 
 Now that all this had come to pass, the birds 
 Of heaven had come, and by mysterious power 
 Had opened for themselves a passage-way 
 Into the granary which He had built. 
 When, as a Carpenter, He, lowly, dwelt 
 With them in Nazareth — among His own. 
 And yet unknown, unrecognized, as Son 
 Of God. Surely 'twas omen sent from heaven. 
 
 For in their old traditions it was said 
 That thus God indicated where He willed 
 A synagogue to be ! And so they cried : 
 " Let us arise and build ! The doves have 
 
 come 
 And added this new evidence to all 
 
 9 
 
130 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 The strange, unheard of signs that do show 
 
 forth 
 In Him who claimed to be the Son of God ! 
 Thus hath He set His seal upon the truth ! 
 Thus hath He sent the birds of Heaven to us 
 To bid us haste and build a synagogue 
 Here on the spot where as a Man He wrought 
 So like toother men we knew Him not ! 
 Thus will we honor Him whom e'en the birds 
 Own as their Lord ! They are His Mes- 
 sengers ! " 
 
 For such was then, and such is now, the power 
 Of superstition that the very minds 
 Which are the quickest to reject the truth, 
 Though shown by clearest evidence as such, 
 Are quickest also to believe a farce 
 Of silliest fabric, in which neither sense 
 Nor reason have the slightest part. So now 
 They who rejected Christ, the Son of God, 
 Calling Him Joseph's son, the Carpenter, 
 Their townsman whom they knew ''^ — (why 
 
 honor him ?) 
 Driving Him forth with words of cruel hate, 
 Blocking His power by their unbelief, 
 
 * Luke iv. 22, 29. Mark vi. 23. 
 
''BE /J OLD HE GOEril BEEORE YOUr 131 
 
 Rejoicing" in His downfall, now beheld 
 
 In doves who sought but food (prepared for 
 them, 
 
 Although they knew it not, by Christ Him- 
 self), 
 
 A messenger from God, bidding them build 
 
 A synagogue in honor of the One 
 
 Whom they had helped to slay I They were 
 '' His ow^n " ^ 
 
 In closer sense than Jew\s at large were held, 
 
 And yet His very own ^' received Him not ! " 
 
 Alas ! that histor)/ doth repeat itself 
 
 In such sad constant strain ! Alas that we, 
 
 Blind to the Way, the Truth, the Life, which 
 
 God 
 In full sweet measure grants to us to-day. 
 Slight the best gifts He would bestow, had we 
 But faith to take them, following on to know 
 The possibilities He would reveal — 
 Perhaps through trials sore, and bitter loss. 
 But certainly to an eternal gain 
 And " weight of glory " which our earthly 
 
 sense 
 Can never estimate, or even guess 
 
 * John i. II, 
 
132 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEEORE YOUr 
 
 In wildest fancy of our wildest dream ; 
 And, then, when, opportunity withdrawn. 
 We look upon " what might have been," and 
 
 sigh. 
 And turn away, refusing yet, perhaps. 
 The deepest lesson and the highest good. 
 We think to rectify the past by deeds 
 Of formal honor seen and known of men. 
 
 Or, more apparent — since we oftener see 
 The surface facts of lives, than prove the depths 
 E'en of our own — Alas ! that we so oft 
 Slight and neglect a friend, until, too late. 
 We call to mind the sweetness and the love 
 That might have 'riched our lives while blessing 
 
 theirs, 
 And then, with tears, we bend above a face 
 While with the shadow of the mystery 
 Of death upon it — (mystery now solved 
 By the still sleeping one who needs no joy, 
 And heeds no sorrow of this narrow life 
 Left for the wider one above our ken) — 
 And bring sweet flowers to put in his cold 
 
 hand. 
 And speak kind words in gentle tones and low, 
 And raise a monument of grief for him — 
 
BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 ^Zl 
 
 And then pass on to treat some other friend 
 The self-same way ! Ah, me ! that this is true, 
 Alas, too often in your life and mine ! 
 
 But God, who makes the wrath of man to bless 
 His name, oft takes our failures, and the deeds 
 That we in weakness do for Him (yet mar 
 In very doing, since we know not how 
 To do aright), and from them brings forth praise 
 Unto Himself ! 
 
 So now, the synagogue 
 Built from a superstitious awe, by those 
 Who loved not Christ in life, became the 
 
 shield 
 And refuge in the years to come, of those 
 Who with mistaken zeal, it may have been, 
 (Though better that than with no zeal at all, 
 Better a blundering, inconsistent love 
 Than criticising, cold indifference), 
 Sought in the crusades to redeem the land, 
 Made holy in their eyes by Jesus' life. 
 From power of infidels who knew Him not. 
 
 'Tis true, the kingdom of our Master, Christ, 
 
 Is not dependent upon holy place, 
 
 But those who worship Him must honor give 
 
134 
 
 BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOW 
 
 In Spirit and in truth where'er they be."^ 
 
 But much that we of years mature think 
 
 plain 
 And easy in its simple truthfulness, 
 Seems dark, and difficult to comprehend 
 By little children who have just begun 
 To learn the alphabet of wisdom's love : 
 But do we blame them that their waking 
 
 minds 
 Grasp not within a single hour the things 
 It took us years of toil and growth to learn ? 
 
 And so, I think, it was in early years 
 
 Of this great Kingdom of our Lord, the 
 
 Christ ; 
 So is it still, sometimes, with those who stand 
 As children in the Kingdom (though mayhap 
 They count full many years), knowing not 
 
 yet 
 The strength of manhood and of womanhood 
 In Christ ; whose growth in grace, fettered by 
 
 fears 
 And ignorance — fears because ignorant, 
 And ignorant because of binding fears — 
 Is not the strong, full, free and happy growth 
 
 * John iv. 24. 
 
BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU: 
 
 135 
 
 That God designed. Not yet have they 
 
 attained 
 That knowledge of the Truth that sets men 
 
 free 
 From place, and form, and creed, and ritual 
 And centres all on Christ, the Holy One, 
 The Son of God, who bids the humblest come 
 To Him and rest. But shall we chide e'en 
 
 these ? 
 Shall we not rather show them by our lives 
 And by our words the way more excellent ? 
 
 Toward the Arbella Valley now they turned — 
 Those men who followed Christ along the way, 
 Though knowing not that He had gone be- 
 fore — 
 And soon they came to sight so strange and 
 
 new 
 That all stopped in amaze to view it o'er ; 
 For in the centre of the beaten path 
 There was a sturdy bush, firm as if years 
 Of growth had fixed it there. Yet they had 
 
 passed 
 This way before, and many times had trod 
 This well-worn road, till now obstructionless, 
 And there, beside the way, was the loose earth 
 
136 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOW 
 
 Upturned but freshly from its rocky mould, 
 Thus showing clearly where the shrub had 
 
 They walked around it, noting the firm earth 
 And smooth unbroken surface 'round its stem, 
 And as they looked they questioned each of 
 
 each : 
 *' What could it mean ? " *' How came it 
 
 there?" and '^ Why ? " 
 
 One thought it set to mark some danger new 
 Down on the Valley Road — perhaps a rock 
 From some o'erhanging cliff had blocked the 
 
 way, 
 Or storm had washed away the old, safe track. 
 
 Another thought not so — 'twas but the play 
 Of idle children, and it nothing meant — 
 Or nothing that effected them to know. 
 Another said 'twas '' strange," '' mysterious," 
 A '' scientific wonder," — nothing more. 
 
 And some among their number scarcely gave 
 A moment's heed, but would have hasted on, 
 Intently thinking of their journey's end, 
 As if the eTid\YQYQ ally the way were naught , 
 
"PEHor.n riF goeth before you: 137 
 
 As if the message had not said '' BcJiold, 
 
 He gocth tip before thee to the Sea."'^ 
 
 But only, " Go, and He will meet thee there ! " 
 
 As if the Lord had not prepared each step 
 
 Of all the journey to the very end, 
 
 Preventing f with His love (love infinite, 
 
 And matched with power whose bound is 
 
 never reached) 
 Each little turn that comes to us as new ; 
 Untried and strange, we think, because we 
 
 know 
 Not of the love which has already proved 
 Its wisdom, planning for our following. 
 Ah me ! How many a blessing thus we miss ; 
 Forgetting the sweet mission of the zvaj^ 
 Forgetting 'tis the path f and not the efid 
 Of righteousness that brighter grows, till lost 
 In day whose perfectness we cannot guess. 
 
 And so, alas ! it is transgression's zcay § 
 Is hard, though filled with promises of joy. 
 The promised end of Life or Death is not 
 Reward or punishment, dealt out by Fate : 
 
 * Mark xvi. 28 ; xiv. 7. 
 
 t Psa. xxi. 3. The former, and correct, use of this word is gained from 
 its derivation. /'re "before," and venire "to go;" literally "going 
 before." 
 
 X Prov. iv. 18. § Prov. xm. 15 ; iv. 19. 
 
138 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 'Tis the result of ways that we have trod 
 With consciousness and choice dehberate, 
 Leading to one or to the other's gate. 
 
 We hve our hves by days, and each one brings 
 Its duties, and its warnings, and its rest, 
 Prepared by Love. How shall we honor Him, 
 And honor life itself, and find the best 
 That He has planned for us in it and Him, 
 If we neglect its duties, and refuse 
 To heed its warnings turning us from wrong, 
 Or from a path of danger that we know 
 Not of ourselves ; or if we miss the rest 
 And sweet refreshment He would gladly give, 
 Preserving all our powers for future work 
 That He will yet reveal to those who love 
 And wait upon Him with true loyal hearts? 
 
 Is now thy way obstructed in the path 
 That thou wouldst choose for thine own walk- 
 ing in ? 
 It may be that the Christ's own loving hand 
 Has placed that barrier there ! Ah, then, fret 
 
 not, 
 Nor sigh at Fate ; nor seek in Nature's realm 
 An explanation that she cannot give ; 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU." 139 
 
 Nor with indifferent heedlessness pass on. 
 As if thou couldst thyself mark out thy way ! 
 But with obedient grace, see in each step 
 Thy Master's leading for thy following. 
 Ask Him for light, and He will grant thy 
 
 prayer. 
 He will direct thee, leading by the hand 
 Down to life's very close, and even then 
 Walk with thee through the vale of shadows 
 
 dark. 
 Into the sunny presence of thy Lord. 
 There is no cause to fear what Death can do. 
 'Tis but his " shadow " ^ that can fall on thee, 
 Since Christ hath borne the penalty alone. 
 And we who but believe have passed from 
 
 death f 
 To life in Him who triumphed o'er the grave. 
 
 But, to return to the disciples now : 
 Brave Peter said : 
 
 '' Where others dare to go, 
 Dare I. This is the path we used to take 
 When Jesus was among us; why not now.^^ 
 'Twill lead us nearest to Capernaum, 
 Where, no doubt, friends will be to welcome us. 
 
 * Psa. xxiii. 4. t Rom. viii. i.. a. 
 
I40 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOW 
 
 And entertain us through the approaching 
 
 night, 
 Then, on the morrow, we will seek for Him. 
 Though where I wot not now ; for He but said : 
 * In Galilee.' But surely it will be 
 Near to the city of His later home 
 That we shall find Him. Come. I know not 
 
 how 
 This strange thing came to pass ; but it shall 
 
 not 
 Hinder my way, nor make me change my 
 
 course. 
 Do as you please — I take the beaten track ! " 
 
 Nay, not so fast, my brother ! " Andrew said, 
 'Tis utter folly to be over-wise. 
 That none can teach thee what thou knowest 
 
 not. 
 Discretion is of bravery the part 
 Which wins the greater honor. Be not rash 
 In headlong purposes to carry out 
 Thine own designs. Listen to reason now : 
 Why this strong tree is here in place so 
 
 strange 
 I know not ; but if set for a defence, 
 Why not now turn aside, and take the path 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 141 
 
 Across this hill ? 'Tis quite as near the sea. 
 The gain is on our side by making sure 
 Of a safe way — and if there be a loss 
 'Twill not be ours if we the warning heed." 
 
 "Yes," Matthew said, ''where there is doubt, 
 
 I think 
 The Master would advise the path that leads 
 Straightest from danger, nearest to the goal. 
 For while in all His life He never turned 
 Aside from duty's call, He was not rash 
 To encounter needless danger anywhere, 
 And even taught us how we ought to pray,* 
 ' Into temptation lead us not, O Lord, 
 And from the evil one deliver us.' " 
 
 Then John, the well-beloved, took up the 
 
 strain : 
 '' Matthew and Andrew both are right," he said ; 
 *' I think it is the Master's will that we 
 Should take the safest path down to the sea, 
 Unless in doing so we shirk some task 
 Of helpfulness, or deed of tender love 
 Such as He found, and bids us still to find 
 On every hand : for life is full of pain 
 
 * Matt. vi. 13. 
 
142 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 Which we may ease. But here I see not such ; 
 I think that we should take the path, un- 
 blocked, 
 Across the mountain road — 'Tis just beyond 
 Its eastern slope that lies the dear old sea." 
 
 And so they all agreed, and turning, left 
 (Although they knew it not) the path which 
 
 led 
 Down where a band of robbers were concealed 
 Among the rocks and caves, waiting their 
 
 prey- 
 Turned from their danger by the unseen 
 
 Christ, 
 Who had gone on before o'er all the way. 
 Nor once forgot the wants of those He loved, 
 Who would come after Him up to the sea. 
 
 Just as the setting sun in radiance threw 
 Its splendor o'er the land, the shore, the lake, 
 Touching with flashing gold each quiet scene 
 Rich with the memories of Him they loved, 
 (Yet guessed not half His love and care for 
 
 them). 
 They stood — those seven men — upon the hill 
 Where He, the Christ, had stood at early dawn 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 143 
 
 Of yestermorn. Each with his different 
 
 thought, 
 Born of his different nature, wisdom, mood, 
 Yet centred all in common love for Him 
 Who first had taught them how to truly love — 
 Him who had shown to them the Father's 
 
 heart ; 
 Who was Himself God's Word of Love to 
 
 man — 
 Heaven's thought translated to the human 
 
 tongue — 
 Though not yet understood, even by those 
 Who knew Him, loved Him, served Him, truest, 
 
 best. 
 
 So for a little space they silent stood. 
 Viewing the old familiar scenes ; for words 
 But ill-befitted time and place like this. 
 Indeed what words could tell the memories 
 Which clustered now around each sacred spot, 
 Where He had been, revealing grace and truth * 
 And mercy from His Father, God, to man. 
 Who all had sinned, and come far short — so 
 
 far !-- 
 Of what God meant him to be — perfect, pure — 
 
 * John i. 14. 
 
144 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE VOH." 
 
 Like unto God Himself — Thus was he made : 
 " After our hkeness ? " ^ 
 
 Or what words could speak 
 Half of the fear and pain and hopelessness 
 That had been crowded in the days since He 
 Had walked with them by that same sea ? 
 
 How dark 
 The cloud had been ! How ached their hearts 
 
 e'en yet 
 As they recalled those days of suffering ! 
 And now, what words in all the world can tell 
 One-half their hopes — of what, they scarcely 
 
 knew, 
 But something high, and great, and good, and 
 
 true 
 For Israel, the nation of God's choice. 
 
 Ah, there were times when it were mockery 
 To speak the choicest words ! When heart 
 
 communes 
 With heart, not in the language of the earth. 
 But with a subtler, sweeter, nobler sense. 
 Heaven-born, and sacred unto those we love. 
 Or, higher yet, when heart of man communes 
 With God, Author, Embodiment of Love. 
 
 * Gen. i. 26. 
 
'^ BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE VOl/." 145 
 
 Yet speaks no word with faltering human lips, 
 Though understanding more than words could 
 say. 
 
 Slowly the radiant, westering sunlight died, 
 Slowly the colors — amber, crimson, gold, 
 Deepened to purple dark, and sombre gray 
 Along the broken line of mountain tops, 
 And left the limpid sea in twilight shade, 
 As, weary with the long day's journeying 
 'Mid heat and dust, they— the disciples— now 
 Approached the shore and watched the restless 
 
 waves. 
 Whose merry dance seemed welcoming them 
 
 home, 
 And listened to the ripples whose glad voice 
 Made softest music to their olden friends, 
 The fishermen of sunny Galilee. 
 
 Upon the shore, drawn up beyond the waves, 
 There was a fisher's boat, and four strong oars 
 Rested beside it, while upon the grass 
 Back from the beach a net was spread to dry, 
 Though all now seemed deserted. 
 
 A quick glance 
 Along the shore revealed these to their gaze, 
 10 
 
146 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU:' 
 
 And then 'twas Peter who the silence broke : 
 " I go a fishing.^ Come, here is a boat 
 All ready to our hands. And here a net 
 That we may surely take. We know not where 
 To seek the Master now\ Let us this night 
 Be fishermen again upon the sea. 
 To-morrow we will seek to find the Christ." 
 
 There was dissent from some at first, for all 
 Had not been trained to brave, and even love 
 The long night-watch upon the sea; but soon 
 They all agreed, and, following Peter's lead 
 They presently embarked, and pushed the boat 
 From shore, out to the places where they oft 
 Had found fish in abundance, and had felt 
 In taking them the fisherman's true joy. 
 
 But through the hours of weary night they 
 
 toiled 
 In vain.f The arts of fishery seemed lost, 
 And all their patient labor brought them 
 
 nought 
 Save weariness and disappointed hopes. 
 Again they thought of other days, when He, 
 Their Master— was with them in calm or storm, 
 
 * John xxi. 3- t John xxi. 3 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETIf BEFORE YOU." 147 
 
 And desolate aloneness seized them now, 
 Made more apparent by their former joy. 
 
 Perhaps as Peter rested on his oar, 
 Disheartened by their ill-success, he thought 
 Of how the Lord had said : '^ " Ye will I make 
 Fishers of men." And, in his blindness then 
 And want of knowledge of the Master's plan, 
 And sadness in the failure of his own. 
 Was ready to exclaim : " 'Twas a mistake — 
 Those words that Jesus spake : ' Fishers of 
 
 men ? ' 
 This night has proved that it can never be. 
 Though scarcely yet I know what He did 
 
 mean." 
 
 Perhaps the loving John sighed for the day 
 When he had lent their boat unto the Lord ; f 
 And though his heart still whispered of sweet 
 
 joy 
 That yet should come to them, recalled the 
 
 past 
 With thankfulness that was akin to pain. 
 Perhaps the doubting :j; heart of Thomas then 
 (Though brave he was, for we must not forget 
 
 * Matt. iv. 19, t Mark iv. :. % John xx. 25. 
 
148 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU:' 
 
 'Twas he who said : " Lord, if thou goest now 
 Straight to thy death at hands of Jewish hate, 
 We will go with Thee and will share Thy 
 
 lot.")^ 
 Fought out in that still darkness once again 
 The olden conflict between Love and Fear — 
 And Love now won the victor's glorious palm. 
 
 Perhaps — aye, surely — as the hours dragged on, 
 They asked : '' Why did the Son of Man choose 
 
 lis 
 To be His followers? Why show to ns 
 His power and mercy, all His tender love, 
 While many know them not, or but to fear. 
 Or mock, not to obey ? And why, indeed, 
 Show them to any one, if He would leave 
 Us now ? Where shall we meet Him ? Where 
 
 and when 
 Will He reveal Himself to us, and show 
 His gracious purpose to redeem our land ? " 
 
 Sadly and wearily, as dawned the day. 
 
 They rowed toward shore ; when, on the beach 
 
 they saw 
 A strangert — walking now, or pausing oft 
 
 * John xi. 8, 16. t John xxi. 4. 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUy 149 
 
 To watch their movements as they nearer came, 
 Guiding their boat around tlie well-known 
 
 shoals 
 Of shallow water. Presently He spoke, 
 Addressing them : 
 
 " CJiildrcii ! " He said, in voice 
 So clear and bell-like that it carried far 
 Across the waves through the sweet morning 
 
 air, 
 " Have yc any meat f " '^ 
 
 And they answered, " No ! " 
 Though with a sense of shame at the one word 
 Which told their failure through the weary 
 
 hours. 
 And then He called to them again: 
 
 '' Cast 1107 V 
 Thy net upon the right side of the ship 
 fust zvhere ye are,'' M.Q. sddd. "■ There shall ye 
 
 find! "f 
 
 *' Perhaps He sees them in the morning light," 
 Was now their thought, as they prepared to 
 
 cast 
 Their net again, as He had bidden them. 
 
 * John xxi 5. t John xxi. 6. 
 
50 
 
 BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOW 
 
 But when they would have drawn it to them- 
 selves, 
 They were not able for the multitude 
 Of finny treasure which it now enclosed ! 
 
 'Twas then that John, disciple best beloved 
 By Christ, since in his humble heart was 
 
 found 
 Those qualities of manhood likest God, 
 Responsive to the perfect life of Him 
 Who was God's Image (such the Son had said 
 He would draw unto Him from all the earth).'^ 
 Disciple who most loved, and who had learned 
 Much of life's myst'ry through Love's magic 
 
 power. 
 With heart and mind attent to know his Lord, 
 Had from the first surveyed the Stranger there 
 With growing interest in his face ; and now 
 He leaned towards Peter, and in whispered 
 
 tones 
 Eager yet reverent, and full of joy, 
 Part questioning, but more asserting truth : 
 *' Look thou ! It is the Lord^onr Master — He 
 Whom ive have come to meet, yet hieiv Him 
 
 not f " 
 
 * John xii. 3a. 
 
^'BEHOLD HE GOETIi BEEORE YOUr 151 
 
 Then Peter, all his ardent heart aglow 
 
 With Love's quick impulse toward the one 
 
 beloved, 
 Forgetting net and boat, forgetting too 
 The helpfulness due from his arm of strength 
 Unto his comrades now, hastily girt 
 His fisher's coat about him, as he leaped 
 Into the shallow water of the sea, 
 And hurried to the shore where Jesus stood. 
 
 But Christ is honored more by deeds of love 
 And thoughtfulness from man to fellow-man, 
 Than by the loftiest forms of praise to Him, 
 With these neglected. So He bade him turn 
 And help his brethren bring the net to land. 
 
 Would'st worship God ? Then serve they 
 
 neighbor well ! 
 Who is thy neighbor? He who needs thy 
 
 help. 
 Wherever on God's footstool he may dwell ! 
 
 'Twas then they saw a fire of coals, and fish 
 Made ready for a morning meal, and bread; 
 '' Bring of thy fish;' He said. 
 
152 
 
 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOU." 
 
 And they obeyed. 
 And then the gracious invitation gave 
 Unto them all. " Come yc and dine witJi nie'' 
 And no man dared to ask Him '' WHO ART 
 
 THOU r 
 
 For in their hearts they knew He was tJie 
 
 Lordr 
 Who can describe that simple meal? And 
 
 who 
 Can tell the joys which the disciples felt 
 As in this pledge of trusted fellowship 
 They saw again their Master's mindfulness, 
 As in the days of yore, of human wants — 
 Ay, more than that — they saw His latest 
 
 gift- 
 Memorial of a love that did not fail 
 E'en when the shadow of the cross lay dark 
 Athwart His path, as when He first took bread 
 And blessing, brake, and gave to them, and 
 
 said : 
 " Eat this, and think of Me ; for thus I give 
 My body for yo2i7' sakes ; believe ye this /" 
 And now they learned from His own sacred lips 
 The story of the way o'er which He came 
 
 * John xxi. 12. 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 153 
 
 Before them, planning and preparing it ; 
 And then He asked of each detail, and how 
 They had fulfilled His plan, praising them oft. 
 And sometimes warning them, as now He 
 
 showed 
 The lessons of the way, and taught to them 
 The meaning of the things they had not known 
 Until revealed in light of His dear love. 
 
 The Legend has been told. What teaches it 
 Unto our hearts ? Is't not the same old truth 
 That David sung when God had led him forth 
 To victory, and to a kingly crown ? 
 '' The king, O Lord, shall joy but in Thy 
 
 strength, 
 For Thou hast given him his heart's desire ; 
 Thou goest forth before him all the day 
 With blessings of Thy goodness ; giving more 
 Than he had asked, because he trusted Thee." "^ 
 
 So doth He go before us on the way. 
 
 And twill be sweet, I think, when you and I 
 
 Have travelled all the path Love planned for 
 
 us, 
 To meet the Christ upon th' eternal shore, 
 
 * Ps. xxi. 
 
154 ''BEHOLD HE GOETH BEFORE YOUr 
 
 And sup with Him in feast He will prepare 
 For those who follow Him, and do His will 
 With an unquestioning faith. 
 
 Then shall we learn 
 With an intensity of knowledge, now 
 Withheld even from faithful loving hearts, 
 How He, our Saviour, Master, Friend Divine, 
 Has gone before us in each little step. 
 Preparing all the way for us to come, 
 Showing His love and care as well in that 
 Which seemed disaster and misfortune sad 
 (Seemed only, since we knew not all His plan), 
 As that which brought us gay and pleasant 
 
 smiles, 
 And happy laughter in the w^ay we trod. 
 Then in His sacred presence, we shall learn 
 The holy lessons which our hearts are dull 
 To catch from Providence. Then shall we see. 
 By Heaven's light illumined, what seemed dark 
 Upon the lonely way. Then shall we rest 
 From each perplexing doubt or sudden fear 
 Which now, unbidden, thrusts its questionings 
 For a brief space into our trembling hearts. 
 Then shall we thank Him, as we cannot now, 
 For all His tender love and watchful care 
 Which trod each step before us, knowing all 
 
''BEHOLD HE GOETII BEFORE YOUr 155 
 
 And knowing us as even we know not 
 Ourselves. Then shall we find God's ways are 
 
 right ; 
 Then shall we bless His name for evermore. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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