And statesmen trifle, and priests deceive,
And traders barter our world away;
Yet hearts to that golden promise cleave,
And still, at times, "Is it come?" they say.
The days of the nations bear no trace
Of all the sunshine so far foretold;
The cannon speaks in the teacher's place;
The age is weary with work and gold;
And high hopes wither, and memories wane;
On hearths and altars the fires are dead;
But that brave faith hath not lived in vain;
And this is all that our watcher said.
--_Brown_.
[Illustration]
CHAPTER V
String 4: _The Birth of Jesus_
It has pleased Jehovah to use men and women to picture or foreshadow
various parts of his plan. For instance, Abraham at times pictures or
represents God; while Sarah his wife was used to picture or typify God's
covenant with Abraham through which he promised to bring forth the seed
for the blessing of all the families of the earth. Sarah was the mother
of Isaac, her only son. Isaac was used to typify or foreshadow Jesus,
the son of God, the Redeemer of the world. Hagar had a son by Abraham,
and Hagar typified or foreshadowed the law covenant, which was made by
Jehovah with Moses as a mediator for the children of Israel at Mount
Sinai. As Hagar was a bondwoman, the servant of Sarah, so was the law
covenant one of bondage that brought forth no real blessings to the
Jews; but it was made for the purpose of teaching the Jews their
inability to lift themselves up to life and to show them the absolute
necessity for a redeemer.
Pages:
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79