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THE TWENTY-THIRD PSALM

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of 5 righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of 10 mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

HELPS TO STUDY

This beautiful poem was written by David, the greatest of the Hebrew poets. Perhaps you already know about his fight with Goliath, his soothing King Saul with his music, his friendship with Jonathan, and the story of his son Absalom.

The Twenty-Third Psalm is translated from the Hebrew. It may not seem to you like poetry, for the rules for Hebrew poetry were very different from those for English poetry. One rule that David follows is to put two or three clauses that mean nearly

the same thing into one stanza. You can see the use of this rule in every stanza of the Twenty-Third Psalm.

1. Commit the poem to memory and practice reciting it aloud until you enjoy hearing yourself do it. 2. Which stanza seems to you most musical? 3. Which picture do you like best?

For Study with the Glossary. restoreth, righteousness, rod, staff, anointest.

IN BIBLE LANDS

To the ancient Hebrews, as to the ancient Greeks, our modern life is bound in many ways. If the Greeks taught the world some of the most important steps in civilization, the Hebrews have been the world's leaders in religion. The history of their struggles as a nation 5 and of their attainment of great religious ideals is set forth in the Old Testament. The Bible is known to every one as the great guide in religion, but it should also be read and appreciated as literature.

The first selection, the Twenty-Third Psalm, is one 10 of the most beautiful poems in any language; and the selections which follow make one of the most famous stories in all civilization, that of Joseph and his brethren.

Here we get a glimpse of another nation which 15 early made long steps in civilization. Thousands of years ago, before Rome or Athens existed, there was

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a powerful empire in the Nile Valley, with splendid buildings and cities, and with science, law, and religion. To this Egypt Joseph came as a poor boy sold as a slave. His father and mother had lived simple 5 lives with their flocks on the mountains; but he became a ruler and prince in this land of the pyramids. Whether in Canaan among the shepherds or in Egypt with the princes, how real the story seems. all happened thousands of years ago; but brothers are 10 still jealous of one another to-day, poor boys still prosper if they are wise and diligent, and a father's love for a son is one of the great forces in life now as then.

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One other story in the Bible which tells of the relation of son and father may be compared with this of 15 Joseph in its lasting interest as a story. In one of the parables in the New Testament, we are told of the prodigal son who went away from home and came to grief and returned to be forgiven. Joseph's experience was exactly the opposite, that of the boy who goes 20 away from home, prospers, and is able to help his family. These two experiences have been repeated many, many times both in real life and in fiction. But never have the stories of the sorrow and joy which a boy may bring to his father been more beau25 tifully told than in these Bible narratives. Nowhere else have the lessons both of duty and forgiveness been more clearly taught.

JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN

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And Jacob dwelt in the land of Canaan. Now Jacob loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colors. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated 5 him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brethren and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, "Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed. Behold, we were binding sheaves 10 in the field, and lo, my sheaf arose and stood upright; and behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf." And his brethren said to him, "Shalt thou indeed reign over us?" And they hated him yet more for his dreams, and for his words. 15 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brethren, and said, "Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me." And he told it to his father and to his brethren and his father 20 rebuked him, and said unto him, "What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother

and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to the earth?"

And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem. And Jacob said unto Joseph, "Do not 5 thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send thee unto them." And he said to him, "Here am I." And he said to him, "Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again." 10 And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. And they said one to another, "Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now, therefore, 15 and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, 'Some evil beast hath devoured him :' and we shall see what will become of his dreams.' And Reuben heard it and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, "Let us not kill him." And Reuben 20 said unto them, "Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him;" that he might restore him to his father.

And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph of his coat, his 25 coat of many colors that was on him; and they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty, there was no water in it. And they sat down to eat