Part 231 (1/2)

And shall I fear to own His cause, Or blush to speak His name?

Must I be carried to the skies On flowery beds of ease, While others fought to win the prize, And sailed through b.l.o.o.d.y seas?

Are there no foes for me to face?

Must I not stem the flood?

Is this vile world a friend to grace, To help me on to G.o.d?

Sure I must fight, if I would reign; Increase my courage, Lord; I'll bear the toil, endure the pain, Supported by Thy word.

Thy saints, in all this glorious war, Shall conquer, though they die; They view the triumph from afar, And seize it with their eye.

When that ill.u.s.trious day shall rise, And all Thine armies s.h.i.+ne In robes of victory through the skies, The glory shall be Thine.

--_Isaac Watts_.

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[Ill.u.s.tration]

NAZARETH.

The village of Nazareth itself lies in a basin, but from the hills all about it the most extended view can be obtained. The scenes of many of the most thrilling episodes in the history of Israel are in sight. In Jesus' time it was near the great caravan roads, and the center of a busy civilization.

”It was not as a rustic preaching to rustics that our Lord went about. He went forth in a part of the Roman empire full of Roman civilization, busy and populous.”--_Walter Besant_ [End ill.u.s.tration]

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How the Lord Jesus Began to Win the Love of Many People.

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PERSONS OF THE STORY.

_The LORD JESUS_.

_John the Baptist_.

_The Disciples of Jesus_.

_Mary, the Mother of Jesus_.

_Nicodemus, a great teacher at Jerusalem_.

_A woman of Samaria_.

_A king's officer_.

_The Evil One_.

_Pharisees, Sadducees_.

_Soldiers, a wedding party, money changers, priests, Samaritans_.

PLACES OF THE STORY.

_The Jordan River. The Wilderness_.

_Cana in Galilee. Jerusalem. Samaria_.