VERSE 43. And immediately while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders.
Ques. Of what had he been speaking?
Ans. He had been rebuking his disciples for their heaviness, and foretelling his betrayal.
Q. Was it necessary for the multitude to arm themselves with swords and staves?
A. It was not. No resistance would have been offered on the part of Christ, as his time had come, and he was ready to be offered. It is probable that they made this manifestation in order to inflame the minds of the people, and induce them to believe they were in pursuit of some desperate and daring malefactor.
VERSE 44. And he that betrayed him, had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely.
Q. Did Judas expect Christ would suffer himself to be taken prisoner?
A. Probably not. He had seen the Saviour exercise his divine power on former occasions, and doubtless expected he would do so again; and he would thus get the money, and no one be injured by the operation.
VERSE 45. And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, Master; and kissed him.
Q. What conversation took place not recorded by Mark?
A. “Jesus . . . went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he.” John xviii, 4, 5.
Q. What effect did Christ’s answer have upon them?
A. “They went backward, and fell to the ground.” John xviii, 6.
Q. Did Judas think to deceive Christ in thus kissing him?
A. Probably he did. The original Greek signifies, “he repeatedly kissed him;” thus making a great show of affection, with the evident design to deceive him.
VERSES 46, 47. And they laid their hands on him, and took him. And one of them that stood by, drew a sword, and smote a servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.
A. Jesus touched the wounded ear and healed it. Luke xxii, 51.
Q. What rebuke did he administer to Peter?
A. “Put up again thy sword into his place; for all they that take the sword, shall perish with the sword.” Matt. xxvi, 52.
Q. Was it customary or lawful for the disciples to be armed?
A. In those days the country was infested with robbers, and almost every citizen went armed for self-protection. We are not to infer from this, however, that Christians may thus arm themselves. Indeed, Christ’s rebuke to Peter plainly implies that Christians should not use weapons.
VERSES 48, 49. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and with staves to take me? I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took me not: but the Scriptures must be fulfilled.
Q. What scripture must be fulfilled, and how?
A.Ps. xxii, 16: “For dogs have compassed me; the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me; they pierced my hands and my feet.” In order for this scripture to be fulfilled it was necessary for Christ to be taken just as he was, by a mob or rabble, composed of just such elements as would naturally congregate on such an occasion. Had he been taken in the temple he would not have been compassed by “dogs” (Gentiles), nor inclosed by the “assembly of the wicked,” as such characters would not have been allowed in the temple, although the priests and officers were willing to use them in their service on this occasion.
VERSE 50. And they all forsook him, and fled.
Q. What facilitated the escape of the disciples?
A. Christ acknowledged himself as the one whom they were seeking, and said, “Let these go their way.” John xviii, 8.
VERSES 51, 52. And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him: and he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked.
Remark. This young man was probably awakened by the noise and turmoil, and throwing some portion of the bed-clothing around him, went out to see what was going on. His appearance attracted the attention of the mob, and as they had not been able to indulge themselves in a riot, owing to the peaceable surrender of Christ, they probably thought to indulge their propensities by an attack on him, but he escaped as described. This incident is not recorded by any other writer, but it adds much to the credibility of the narrative, as it was something very likely to happen, but very unlikely to be invented.
VERSE 53. And they led Jesus away to the high priest: and with him were assembled all the chief priests, and the elders, and the scribes.
A. He was the chief man in the religious worship of the Jews, and also acted as their counsellor in civil matters.
Q. What legal cause had Christ to object to his trial?
A. It was commenced in the night, which was contrary to the Jewish laws. Beside that, Caiaphas had given judgment beforehand, John xviii, 14, which was contrary to an established principle of justice.
VERSE 54. And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire.
Q. Why did Peter follow afar off, and take his position among the servants?
A. He feared that he might share the fate of his Master, if he was found too near him.
Q. How did Peter gain admittance into the palace of the high priest?
A. By the request of another disciple, who was acquainted at the palace. John xviii, 16.
Q. Who was this disciple?
A. Probably John. The fact is recorded by him, and he speaks of “that other disciple,” &c., a common form of expression which he uses when speaking of himself.
VERSES 55, 56. And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none. For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together.
Remark. The Jewish council or sanhedrim was at this time very corrupt, and would take the testimony of false witnesses for the sake of furthering their37wicked designs. This was evinced on this occasion, and also at the trial of Stephen, Acts vi, 13, where they “set up false witnesses,” &c.
VERSES 57, 58. And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying, We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.
Q. How was Christ misrepresented in this?
A. His words were not correctly quoted. Referring to his own body he said: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” John ii, 19.
VERSE 60. And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?
Q. Why did the high priest address Christ?
A. He had been unable to find in the testimony of these witnesses anything by which to prove him guilty, and he hoped to find something in his answer to condemn him, and thus have him self-convicted.
VERSE 61. But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?
Q. What prophecy was fulfilled in this?
A.Isa. liii, 7: “As a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.”
Q. How did the high priest address Christ the second time?
A. “I adjure thee by the living God.”
This was equivalent to being put under an oath, and a false answer under this adjuration was deemed perjury, and even silence was deemed proof of guilt. Hence the high priest had recourse to this measure in order to compel Christ to answer.
Q. What is the meaning of the words “the blessed?”
A. A title applied by the Jews to God.
VERSE 62. And Jesus said, I am; and ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
Q. To what event did Christ allude?
A. His second coming in glory.
Q. How would the high priest and those wicked Jews see him?
A. By a special resurrection. We learn from Rev. i, 7, that “they which pierced him” shall behold him; and to do this they must be raised from the dead prior to his advent.
VERSES 63, 64. Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses? Ye have heard the blasphemy; what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.
Q. Why did he rend his garments?
A. It was a custom among the Jews, and indicated great indignation and astonishment.
Q. Why was he adjudged as guilty of death?
A. The crime of blasphemy was punishable by death, and of this they believed him to be guilty. See Lev. xxiv, 16.
VERSE 65. And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophecy; and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands.
Q. What is the meaning of the word “prophecy” as here used?
A. In blindfolding him they deprived him of the use of his eyes; then when they had struck him they wished to test his power by compelling him to prophecy or divine unto them who it was, without being able to see them.
Q. What is the meaning of the word “buffet;”
A. To smite with the clenched fist.
Remark. We have here an example of fortitude and forbearance under insult and abuse worthy of example for every follower of the meek and lowly Jesus, and the spirit of which all would do well to cultivate.
QUESTIONS.
The following questions were considered by the class, which, together with the decisions, are given below.
1. Please explain Deut. xiv, 21: “Ye shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself; thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God.”
The idea which seems to demand an explanation is the apparent permission to sell or give to others that which is unfit to eat, or unwholesome as an article of food. But this principle is not necessarily involved in the text. It should be borne in mind that the children of Israel were forbidden to eat the blood of anything, as “the blood is the life,” and was used in their ceremonial ordinances. By an animal that died of itself we are not to conclude that it died of disease, but by accident, such as strangulation, or in some similar manner. Dying thus, its blood would remain in it, which would unfit it for the use of the Jews, although the Gentiles might eat it, as they had no such prohibition upon them.
The import of the text, then, is doubtless of a purely ceremonial nature.
2. Please explain 1 Cor. xv, 29: “Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?”
After a general and free expression of opinion, it seemed to be the opinion of the class, that being baptized for the dead signifies, being baptized to show our faith in the resurrection from the dead. That is, why should we be baptized with reference to a subsequent time when we being dead shall rise, if there is no resurrection and the dead will not rise? Why do we place ourselves “in jeopardy every hour,” verse 30, by taking such a step, if we are to gain no advantage by so doing? This seems to be the apostle’s idea in the matter, and not that we are baptized for, or in behalf of, those who are now dead.
3. Is the woman of Rev. xii identical with the woman of Rev. xvii; or in other words, did the woman of Rev. xii become corrupt after being driven into the wilderness?
All will agree that the woman of chapter xvii, is a symbol of the Papal church, in all its stages, in connection with the Roman kingdom. But the woman of chapter xii, was persecuted by this same power, which shows that they existed together, and hence cannot be the same.
Again, the woman of chapter xii exists and retains her identity all the way down to the last days, for in verse 17, we find the dragon wroth with her, and making war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. This must find its location in connection with the giving of the third angel’s message, which precludes the idea that the woman or church brought to view in chapter xii became the woman or corrupt church of Rev. xvii.
W. C. G.
The Commentary.
Tell me the meaning of Scriptures. One gem from that ocean is worth all the pebbles of earthly streams.—M’Cheyne.
PARAPHRASE OF PSALM IX.
By Editor
1 To thee, O Lord, with my whole heart,
I bring my song of praise,
I'll show the marvels of thy works,
The wonders of thy ways.
2 With gladness shall my heart abound,
In thee will I rejoice;
And to thy name, O thou Most High,
Sing praise with cheerful voice.
3 When all mine enemies turn back,
When they are smitten all,
They at thy presence perish, Lord,
At thy rebuke they fall.
4 For thou hast well my right maintained,
Thou hast upheld my cause,
Thou satest in thy heavenly throne
Dispensing righteous laws.
5 The heathen thy rebuke have felt,
Our foes are put to rout,
And evermore from under heaven,
Their name hast thou put out.
6 Destructions, O thou enemy,
Have wholly thee consumed,
And cities, thy memorial,
Shall never be exhumed.
7 But God forever shall endure,
His throne he hath prepared,
8 To render to a guilty world
Its true and just award.
He judgment to the people in
Uprightness shall dispense,
9 And make the oppressed in troublous times,
A refuge and defense.
10 And they, O Lord, who know thy name
Shall all on thee rely,
For thou hast not forsaken them,
Who seek thy throne on high.
11 Sing praises, yea, sing praises to
The Lord who dwells above,
Among the people loud proclaim
His deeds of power and love.
12 For when in wrath, he searches out
Dark deeds of crime and blood,
The cry of all his humble poor
Is in the ear of God.
13 Have mercy, Lord, and mark the ills
Which from my foes I meet,
O thou who from the gates of death
Dost turn my trembling feet.
14 That I may show thy praises forth
Where Zion's children dwell,
For thy salvation is my theme,
I joy thy power to tell.
15 The heathen in the pit are sunk
Which they for others made,
Into the net for others hid
Is their own foot betrayed.
16 Thus by the judgments he performs
The Lord of hosts is known,
The wicked in his own vile schemes
Is snared and overthrown.
17 All they shall into hell be turned,
And fierce perdition find,
And all the nations who their God
Bear not in reverend mind.
18 The needy shall not always seem
Forgotten of the Lord,
Nor shall the poor forever wait
To meet his just reward.
19 Arise, arise, O Lord of hosts
And let not man prevail,
And in thy sight, let all the boasts
Of all the heathen fail.
20 Down to the depths of fear and dread
The hearts of nations bring,
That they may know themselves but men
And God alone their king.—Ed.
A beautiful specimen of unsophisticated Christianity is exhibited in Tyerman and Bennett’s Journal. Speaking of Huahine island, they say: “When a missionary association was first established here, and contributions were solicited, the people were explicitly informed, that they should not be compelled to give anything; whatever they did, therefore, must be of their own free will. One day a native brought a hog to Hautia, who was the treasurer, and, throwing the animal down at his feet, said, in an angry tone, ‘Here’s a pig for your society.’ ‘Take it back again,’ replied Hautia, calmly; ‘God does not accept angry pigs.’ He then explained to the man the objects of missionary institutions, and the necessity that those who supported them should do so from right motives, especially enforcing the scripture words, ‘The Lord loveth a cheerful giver.’ The man was obliged to take his hog home again; for, though exceedingly chagrined to have it rejected—refusal being considered a great affront when a present is offered—Hautia was too sternly conscientious to accept it. In Tahiti, on a similar occasion, a person brought a quantity of cocoa-nut oil to Pomare, in a like bad spirit, exclaiming, ‘Here are five bamboos of oil; take them for the society.’ ‘No,’ said the king, ‘I will not mix your angry bamboos with the missionary oil; take them away.’ And he dismissed the reluctant contributor from his presence, with his gifts in his hands, bitterly mortified at having betrayed his meanness, and exposed himself to such a rebuke before his neighbors. He would afterward have been glad to redeem his character with twice the number of bamboos, but the reproach clave to him.’—Jenks.
COST OF THE EARTHLY TABERNACLE.
Ex. xxxviii, 24. All the gold that was occupied for the work in all the work of the holy place, even the gold of the offering, was twenty and nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary.
Dr. A. Clarke, (see his calculation, and Prideaux,) makes the total value of the gold employed in the tabernacle to be “£198,347 12s. 6d. Of the silver, 608,550 Israelites gave 18d. each, equal to £45,266 5s. The value of the brass at 1s. per lb. will be £513 17s. The gold of the holy place weighed 4245 lbs. The silver of the tabernacle, 14,602 lbs. The brass, 10,277 lbs. troy weight. Total value of all, £244,127 14s. 6d. [over 1,000,000 dollars]. Total weight, 14 tons, 266 lbs. avoirdupois. By thus applying their riches, God’s worship was rendered august and respectable—incitements to sin and low desires (as vanity, covetousness, &c.) removed, (for the Israelites needed not this wealth in the wilderness,) and the people instructed to consider nothing valuable, but so far as it might be employed to the glory and in the service of God.—Jenks.
A MORNING SACRIFICE.
Go thou in life's fair morning,
Go in the bloom of youth;
Go buy for thine adorning;
The precious pearl of truth.
Secure this heavenly treasure,
And bind it on thy heart;
And let not worldly pleasure,
E'er cause it to depart.
Go while the day-star shineth,
Go while thy heart is light,
Go ere thy strength declineth,
While every sense is bright:
Sell all thou hast and buy it;
'Tis worth all earthly things,
Rubies and gold and diamonds,
Scepters and crowns of Kings.
Go ere the clouds of sorrow
Steal o'er the bloom of youth,
Defer not till to-morrow;
Go now and buy the truth.
Go seek thy great Creator,
Learn early to be wise;
Go place upon his altar
A morning sacrifice.
Anecdote of Douglas Jerrold.
CHARLES DICKENS relates the following of Douglas Jerrold: Of his generosity I had a proof within these two or three years which it saddens me to think of now. There had been estrangement between us—not on any personal subject, and not involving angry words—and a good many months had passed without my ever seeing him in the streets, when it fell out that we dined, each with his own separate party, in the Stranger’s Room of the Club. Our chairs were almost back to back, and I took mine after he was seated and at dinner (I am sorry to remember), and did not look that way. Before we had sat long he openly wheeled his chair around, stretched out both hands in an engaging manner, and said aloud, with a bright and loving face, that I can see as I write to you: “Let us be friends again. A life is not long enough for this.” Jerrold was not a Christian, but his conduct in this case was worthy of a Christian character. On a dying bed how insignificant will appear many things about which we contend in bitterness and wrath! Life is too short, its inevitable sorrows so many, its responsibilities so vast and solemn, that there is, indeed, no time to spare in abusing and maligning one another. Let not the sun go down on your wrath. Never close your eyes to sleep with a heart angry towards your brother and fellow-sufferer. See him and be reconciled to him if you can. If he is a true man and a Christian, he will listen. If he is not, you will have done right, and your soul will be bright with the sunshine of Heaven.
VERY BENEVOLENT.—Mrs. A. was a church member; she thought herself very benevolent; she gave to almost every cause. We shall see how benevolent she was. She gave six dollars for a pocket handkerchief, and having half a dollar left after the purchase, dropped it into the box for “foreign missions.” She gave forty dollars for a crape shawl, and two dollars the same day for “domestic missions;” she gave ten dollars for a pair of ear-rings, and a quarter of a dollar to the “tract society;” three hundred dollars she expended on a fashionable party when her daughter Amelia “came out,” and fifty dollars went out toward repairing the church and paying the pastor. Her elegant cut-velvet hat cost fifteen dollars—she paid fifty cents toward a new Sunday School library. She gave three dollars for Eliza Anna’s wax doll, and one dollar toward educating a young pupil in Africa. Will God be satisfied with the driblets which chance to remain in the Christian’s purse, after every elegant taste has been satisfied, and that too, when the world is perishing?
THE NEW YEAR.
By The Christian
Swift as the motion of the spheres
On rolls the steady flow of years,
Again we hail the boon of Heaven,
Another New Year's morning given.
Loud chime the bells, and notes of song
Roll gladly from the joyous throng;—
Hushed be each sigh, and dried each tear,
Joyous we greet the dawning year!
But though another year is done,
Its gladness and its sorrows gone,
Its pains and toils, its joys and woes,
Deep buried 'neath its drifting snows,—
Yet unto man, the hand of Heaven
No other rolling year hath given;—
For He who from eternal time
Lives on through endless days sublime,
Who, through the maze of countless years,
Unnumbered stars and planets steers,—
Who only knows the priceless worth
Of moments given to sons of earth,—
Bestows not time by days and years,
Marked by the roll of heavenly spheres,
But while the glancing seconds run,
Doles them to mortals one by one.
Nor can we for our sojourn here
Secure a day, a month, a year;
No hour, no moment of our own
Withholds us from the judgment throne;
For all our times are in the hand
Of Him who can our lives command,
And it is not for us to know
Their ebbing fall or tidal flow.
Each rolling year, each transient hour,
The Father holds in his own power.
Swiftly as runs the arrowy tide,
So swift our fleeting moments glide:—
As on the spangled brow of night,
The hurrying meteor in its flight,
Leaves hot a momentary glare,
And fades in gloom and darkness there,—
So like the sparks from flaming spheres,
Fall off the swift departing years,
So pass away the flying days,
So fleet the moments from our gaze,
Bearing away our hopes and joys,
Our treasures rich, our trifling toys.
And with them we are speeding on,
And quickly we shall all be gone.
We stand upon the point “To-day;”
All other time has fled away;
The future,—an unopened book,
In which no earthly eye can look;
Its words to mortals all unknown,—
Lies sealed before the heavenly throne;
Our narrow circle reaches back
Where memory sees a fading track,
And round, where, rushing to their goal,
Present events tumultuous roll.
Day crowds on day, and flying fast
Soon shall all mortal time be past,
And sudden as the lightning's gleam
Shall end the godless worldling's dream,
And awful as the thunder's roll
Shall the last earthquake rouse the soul:
For man must hear the trumpet's tone,
And wake to see the judgment throne,
And meet the Lord revealed in fire,
In glorious majesty and ire.
Far as extends the wandering gaze,
Marvels and wonders crowd our days:
Throughout this last departing year,
Sorrow and dread, and joy and fear
Have come in haste, and sped away,
Marking with change each passing day:—
With glittering blade and blazing brand
War has outstretched its gory hand;
Kaiser and king in fierce array
Have struggled in the fatal fray,
And many a form beloved, has lain
Lifeless upon the gory plain;
Countries have changed their ancient bounds,
Princes have lost their thrones and crowns,
And others still impetuous go
To meet their final overthrow;
And all the nations wait in pain,
Till He whose right it is to reign
Shall take his kingdom and the throne,
And make the ransomed world his own.
Bitter beneath the Eastern sky,
Rises the agonizing cry
Of breadless multitudes opprest,
Who only in the grave find rest.
Destruction wide at noonday walks,
And Pestilence in darkness stalks;
Nations are torn and tempest-tost,
Battles are won but blessings lost;
Bondmen, disburthened of their chains,
Groan while misrule and bloodshed reigns;
Still rages earth's unceasing broil,
Still swells its furious, dark turmoil;
Nor cometh peace with beauteous tread
At beck of crowned or mitered head;
And power and zeal, and wit and will,
And art and science with their skill,
Toil vainly on, and seek to bless
A world estranged from righteousness.
What though in ocean's silent depth,
Where death and darkness long have slept,
Lies the attenuated wire,
Along which leaps celestial fire;
What though, out-traveling the sun,
The flashing tidings swiftly run;
What though, defying wind and tide,
Strange vessels through the waters glide;
What though, with rush, and roar, and scream,
Chariots like midnight meteors gleam;
What though Invention's wondrous wand
Conquers the sea and rules the land,
Annihilates both time and space,
Spurning the ancient bounds of place,
And casts o'er nature's powers its chain,
Leading them captive in its train?—
Vast as is Knowledge's great increase,
War hath its gain as well as peace;
And sin, and fraud, and crime, and shame,
Their progress and new arts may claim,
And speeding on they hold their place
Among the foremost in the race.
With science and with art, begin
New phases, shades, and styles of sin,
And crime, in forms before unknown,
Mounts with gigantic strides his throne,
And ruling with an iron rod,
Tramples on men and mocks at God.
Meanwhile with wealth in coffers stored,
Men scorn the judgments of the Lord,
And prophesy of days of peace,
And sunny joy of halcyon bliss,
And still in confidence they say,
“Soon shall earth's troubles pass away;—
The thunder of the rolling drum,
Marshals the golden days to come;
The shotted cannon's murderous roar,
Proclaims that war will soon be o'er;
The monitor and needle-gun
Presage the bright millennium.”
And thus these drowsy watchmen tell
The same old story, “All is well,”
And call the watches of the night,
With lanterns paled by morning's light.
Thus earth still sleeps and slumbers on,
And will till mercy's hour is done,
And then shall wake to judgment dire—
The vengeance of eternal fire,—
When wrath like that on Sodom hurled,
Shall overwhelm a sinful world,
And with its fierce, consuming flame,
Purge out each dark polluting stain.
O earth, what woes and sorrows then
Shall crush the souls of guilty men;
What vain regrets, what fruitless tears,
Shall gird the bound of endless years;
What agony, what mental strife,
Shall mark the last vain plea for life,
When downward through the lurid gloom,
Men plunge into the burning tomb,
And gain at last their treasured ire,—
Their portion in the lake of fire.
Swift as the bolts by archers hurled
Rolls to its end a groaning world;
No arm its hurrying course can stay,
No might avert the fatal day;
No power prevent the final throe—
The climax of convulsive woe.
Till then, upon a world like this,
There dawns no day of rest and bliss:
Earth still must feel the scourging rod:
No peace the wicked have, saith God;
Peace is the fruit of righteousness,
And only comes when sin shall cease:—
When guilt and crime shall pass away,
Then peace shall come, and come to stay.
When earth's last anguished hour is past,
Then comes the day of joy at last—
The Sun of righteousness shall rise,
And bless the world with glad surprise;
And as he spreads his healing wing,
The slumbering saints shall wake and sing:—
Sing their glad songs of joy sublime,
Beyond the woes and tears of time;
And lift the ever-growing strain
Of glory to the Lamb once slain.
Then angel throngs, and cherubim,
Answering shall join the choral hymn;
And swelling still the anthem loud,
Shall sing the vast encircling crowd;
And sweet as music of the spheres
Shall chime along the endless years
The song of triumph and of love,
Filling the holy Heavens above,
And, rolling downward like the strain
That rang o'er Bethlehem's silent plain;
Till everything above, beneath,
That lifts a voice or draws a breath,
Shall swell the sound of boundless joy
That bursts like thunder through the sky;
And lifting high those mighty lays,
Shall fill the universe with praise.
Toll on, O bells, toll out these years
Of blighted hopes and bitter tears;
These years of tempest, storm, and flood;
These years of bondage, strife, and blood;
These years of carnage, sin, and curse;
These years of waxing worse and worse.
Chime on, chime on, O joyful bells,
Of coming bliss your music tells;
Ring till the days of sorrow cease,
Ring in the year of joy and peace;
The year of endless glory blest,
The year of jubilee and rest,
The year that ends earth's bitter pain,
The year of Christ's eternal reign—
Ring on, till every foe shall fall;
Ring on, till God is all in all;
Ring till he breaks the spoilers' rod:—
Ring in THE GREAT NEW YEAR OF GOD.