Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1889-12-20

l ne ~ ~" AA1aLu maze MIN present
III W .he same amount. II he had lost the
value of q whole realm out of lis noc1. .at
IL would hardly have been worth his
while to stoop down and pick it nm. H.
wrote one thousand aud five songs. AZ
a wrote three thousand proverbs. He
R R;b1e ABOUT almost everything. The
D,ole says distinctly he wrote abont
Pants, fromthe cedar of Lebanon to the
nsssop that groweth out of the wall
ana ABOUT birds and beasts and fishes
NO doubt no put off his royal. robes, and
Put on hunters trapping, and went out
WIN MS arrows to bring down the rarest
specimens of birds; and then with his
nshlng apparatus he went down to the
stream to bring up the denizens of the
eeep, and plunged into the forest and
ao1n ~ the rarest specimens of flowers:
ano then he came back to his study and
wrote books about zoology. the science
VI animals; about ichthyology, the sci
s su.e CO nsnes; about ornithology, the
science OF birds; about botany, the sci
ence of plants. Yet, notwithstan dine nil
ms wisdom and wealth, behold his
wretchedness. and let him pass on, Did
any other city ever behold so wonderful
man! v Jerusalem, Jerusalem!
put mere passes through these streets.
as IN imagination I see him, quite as
wonderful and far better man. David
the conqueror, the king, the poet. Can
1t be that am in the very city where he
lived and reigned? David great for
power, and great for grief. He was
wrapped up in his boy Absalom. He
was a splendid boy, judged by the rules
OF worldly criticism. From the crown
or his head to the sole of his foot there
was not single Flemish. The Bible
says that he had such q luxuriant shock
OF mar that, when once a year it was
shorn, what was cut off weighed over
three pounds. But Notwithstanding all
his brilJiancy of appearance, he was n
bad boy, and broke his fathers heart.
He was plotting to get thasthrone of
Israel. He had marshaled an army to
overthrow his fathers government. The
day of battle had come. The conflict
was begun. David, the father, sat be-
tween the gates of the palace waiting
for the tidings of the conflict. Oh, how
rapidly his heart beat with emotion!
Two great questions were to be decided:
the safety of his boy, and the continu-
ance of the throne of Israel. After
awhile, servant, standing on the top
OF the house, looks off, and he sees
some one running. He is coming with
great speed, and the man on top Of the
house announces the coming of the mes
senger, and the father watches and
waits, and as soon rs the messenger
from the field of battle comes within
Mailing distance the father cries out. Is
it question in regard to the establish
ment of his throne? Does he say:
Have the armies of Israel been victori-
Gus? Am to continue in my imperial
authority? Have I overthrow nv
enemies?"
Oh, no. There is one question that
springs from his heart to the lip, and
springs from the lip into the ears of the
besweated and the bedusted messenger
flying from the battle feld-the ques-
ton: is the young man Absalom safe? :
When it was told to David, the King,
that, though his armies were victorious,
his son had been slain, the father turned
his backtupon the congratulations of the
nation, and went up the stairs of his
palace, his heart breaking as he went,
wringing his hands sometimes, and then
again pressing them against his temples
as though he would press them in, cry
ing: 20 Absalom! my son! my SON.!
salon! my son! my son!" Stupendous
grief of David resounding through all
succeeding ages. This was the city that
heard the woe. Jerusalem, Jerusalem!
am also thrilled and overpowered
with the remembrance that yonder,
where now stands Mohamme dan
mosque, stood the temple, the very one
that Christ visited. Solomon's temple
had stood there, but Nebuchadnezzar
Numbered it down. Zerubbabels tenn
pie had stood there. but that had been
FRUSTRATED. Then Herod built temple
because he was fond of great architect
ure, and he wanted the preceding tenn
Piles to seem insignificant. Put eight
or ten modern cathedrals together, and
they would not equal that structure. 1t
covered nineteen acres. There were
marble pillars supporting roofs Of
cedar, and silver tables on which stood
golden cups, and thereilwere carvings
exquisite and inscriptions resplendent,
glittering balustrades and ornamented
sateways. The building of this temple
kept ten thousand workmen busy forty
six years. Stupendous pile of pomp and
maenifcence But the material and
architectural grandeur of the building
were very tame compared with the splr-
itual meaning of its affairs and holy of
holes, and the overwhelming signiti-
canoe of its ceremonies. D Jerusalem,
Jerusalem!
But standing in the old city all other
facts are eclipsed when we think that
near here our blessed Lord was born,
that up and down the streets of this city
He walked, and that in the outskirts OF
it He died. Here was His only day of
triumph andl His assassination. One
day this old Jerusalem is ut the tiptop
of excitement. Christ has been doing
some remarkable works and asserting
very high authority. The police court
has issued papers for His arrest, for
this thing must be stopped, rs the very
government is imperiled. News comes
that last night this stranger arrived at
suburban village and that He is stopping
ut the house of a man whom He had
resuscitated after four days sepulture.
Well, the people rush out into the
streets, some with the idea of helpin
in the arrest of this stranger when Il 9
arrives, and others expecting that onthe
morrow He will come into the town and
by some supernatural force GUST the
municipal and royal authorities and
take everything in His cwn hands.
They pour out Of the city gates until the
PROCESSION reaches to the village. They
come all around about the house where
the stranger is stopping. and peer into
the doors and windows that they may
i get one glimpse of Him or hear the hum
Of His voice. The police dare not make