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THE WHISPERING LEAVES 
 OF PALESTINE. 
 
 By REV. A. W. LEWIS, B. A., B. D. 
 
 MISSIONARY AMO.IG THM CREB INDIANS OP MISTAWAStS I. RFAERVE 
 
 J 
 
 FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY, 
 
 Nbw York. Chicago. Toronv^ 
 
 PublUhtrt 9f Evangtlieal Literaturt. 
 
ENTKKKD-accordins to the Act of the Parliament of Cana^. !"»»«. 
 year one thousand eight hundred and nincty^-.ve. by A. W. Lewis, 
 Halifax, in the Office of the Minister of Agriculture, at Ottawa. 
 
DEDICATED 
 
 TO THE 
 
 GOD OF NATURE 
 
 AND OF 
 
 REVELATION. 
 
 »^ 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The author's aim is not to give a scientific 
 account of the vegetation spoken of in the Bible, 
 but it is to speak briefly of some specimens and 
 read the lessons to be learned. For the scien- 
 tific portions I acknowledge my indebtedness to 
 the Bible (the Revised Version). Encyclopaedia 
 Britannica, Gesenius Hebrew Lexicon, Robin- 
 son's Greek Lexicon, and to the following 
 writers: W. H. Groser, Cnnon Tristam, Captain 
 Coiider, Rev. Selah Merrill. D. D., Lawrence 
 Oliphant, Dr. Geikie, Dr. Thomson, Archd. 
 French. In the interpretation of facts I have 
 striven to be as original as possible and to write 
 nothing except in a prayerful spirit. Trees, 
 herbs and flowers have all been arranged in 
 alphabetical order to facilitate reference without 
 index. If my feebh^ efforts, amid the multiform 
 and distracting cares incident to my work, shall 
 make the Bible mure real and its truths more 
 helpful, I shall be grateful to Him who made 
 the leaves and gave them their sweet voices. 
 
 5 
 
r" 
 
 ii 
 
 «To him who in the love of natnrc holds 
 
 Communion with her visible forms, eho bpcalis 
 
 A. various language: for his gayer hours 
 
 She has a voice of gladness, and a smile 
 
 And eloquence of beauty ; and she glides 
 
 Into his darker musings with a mild 
 
 And healing sympathy that steals away 
 
 Their sharpness ere he is aware." 
 
 Thanatopsia—Bryant. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 •* We all do fade as a leaf." Is. 64: 6. 
 
 *^ Blessed is the man that trtisteth in the Lord, and whose 
 hope (he Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by 
 the waters, and that spreadeth out his roots by the river^ 
 and shall not fear when heat cometh, but his leaf shall 
 t>e {frccn ; a>ul shall not be careful in (he year of 
 drought, neither shall cease from yielding frvit." 
 
 Jer. 17 : 7, H. 
 
 '*/ will send a faintness into their heart in the lands of 
 (heir enemies: and (he sound of a driven leaf shall 
 chase them.'" Lev. 26:36. 
 
 " Will thou harass a driven leaf?" Job. 13: 25. 
 
 *'• Blessed is the man . , . whase leaf also doth not wither; 
 iiiid vhaftioever h,' doeth shall prosper." Ps. 1 : 3. 
 
 "^1/u/ lie showed nie a river uf ivater of life, bright as crys- 
 tal, proceeding out of the Throne of God and of the 
 Lamb, in the midst of the street thereof. And on Ihiti 
 side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bear- 
 ing twelve manner of fmits, yielding its fruit every 
 month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing 
 of the nations." Rev. 22: 1, 2. 
 
 My aim is to (tpphj these healing leaves. 
 Hearts ache. There is a •* halm in Gilead" for 
 all kinds of aches. Mi nils whirl like the leaf in 
 the blast. A calmness steals into them when 
 they listen to the whispering of the healing 
 leaves. The compass when surrounded by iron 
 is frantic with distracting influences. So is the 
 
MH 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 hnman soul in the world. Insulaiion from this 
 alone brings rest. Then the needle points to 
 the north and is still. The healing leaves have 
 a wondrous power. In them God says " Be 
 still and know that I am God." Distracting^ in- 
 fluences are destroyed, while the power still 
 remains. So Christians while in the world 
 should not be of the world. ** Be not coiiformed^ 
 but be ye transformed.'''* There is a disease 
 eating into every soul bom of Adam's race. No 
 reformation can eradicate sin. The end is 
 death. Jesus died to plant in the world the 
 '•Tree of Life whose leaves arc for the healing of 
 the nations." These leaves are more effectual 
 even than the figs of Hezekiah: They give to 
 the soul life not for fifteen years but for cfrrnnl 
 ages. They are the true elixir of life. They 
 give eternal youth. They change the woes of 
 life into joys; the crosses, into crowns; death, 
 into life. 
 
 The leaves do not speak with the voice either 
 of thunder or the roaring cataract, but they 
 ichisper. The "still small voice" that gives life 
 and peace is theirs. I wish to take each of you 
 to the different leaves of God's garden in Pales- 
 tine to listen with me to their whispers. "He 
 that hath ears to hear, lot him hear." The 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 natural ear is deaf to God's voice either in the 
 Bible or in nature. It is the same voice in both. 
 Ask God therefore to unstop your ears — to give 
 you a heaving ear and an understanding heart. 
 O Holy One, open thou our ears that we may 
 hear wondrous things from Thy vegetable king- 
 dom. Interi)ret Thou its universal language to 
 our finite understandings. 
 
 Just as we can see "the foot-prints of the 
 Creator" in the rocks, so in the lovely vegetation 
 that clothes the earth we cnn see the finger 
 marks of a wise and loving God. An amateur 
 strove in vain to put his ccmception on canvas. 
 In his absence his master came and with a few 
 strokes realized tlie ideal. When the amati'ur 
 returned he at once exclaimed "The Master has 
 been here." Tlidse with any soul for things 
 divine cannot study nature without exclaiming 
 "The Master has been here." The united voice 
 of tree and shrub and flower, from th(^ lordly 
 cedar of Lebanon to the humble grass blade, 
 forms a "Hallelujah Chorus:" 
 
 "The nuiul that mado u.s ift divint;." 
 
 One can now go from Joppa to Jerusalem 
 without the tent, the mules, the dragoman. 
 The whistle of the iron horse is at last heard 
 even in this land of unprogressive poverty. The 
 
10 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 I 
 
 modern conveyance has many advantages; but 
 what is gained in ctmfort may be lost in knowl- 
 edge. As one is hurried along, little is seen 
 bat the bare chalk hills. It is natural to ex- 
 claim: How could this bo called "a land flow- 
 ing with milk and honey?" It Reems fit only 
 for goats. It is a sad picture. The neglect of 
 centuries and the ravages of war have made 
 fearful havoc. Tlie terraces of those fertile 
 hills have tumbled down and the scanty soil has 
 been washed away. Tlie single trees and small 
 groups are merely the vestiges of former glory. 
 The vines which once covered the fruitful hills 
 were unsupported and their roots left bare to 
 the sun. Farther sonih there is more fertile 
 soil in the valleys, and the hills are mantled 
 with evergreen oak, arbutus, and pine trees. 
 Canon Tristam says: "A walk up the valley of 
 Eslicol, once renowned for the grapes, reveals 
 to us what Judea was everywhere else in the 
 days of its prosperity. Bare and stony as are 
 the hill^sides, not an inch of space is lost. Ter- 
 races where the ground is not too rocky, support 
 the soil; ancient villages cling to the lower 
 slopes; olive, mulberry, almond, fig and ponu - 
 granate trees fill every available cranny to the 
 very crest; while the bottom of tho valley is 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 11 
 
 carefully tilled ior cress, carrots, and cauli- 
 flowers, which will Boon give place to melons 
 and cucumbers. That catacomb of perished 
 cities, the *hill country of Judah" is all explained 
 by a walk up the vale of Eshcol." 
 
 Away north of the railway rise the hills o 
 Samaria There the olive tree fl(*urishes. Its 
 valleys are rich and well watered. The valley 
 of Shechem is thus described ])y Cnptain Cou- 
 der: "Lonjjj rivulets, fed by no less than eiuhty 
 springs, run down the slope and murmur in the 
 deep ravines; gardens surround tlie city walls; 
 figs, walnuts, mulberries, oranges, lemons, cjlives, 
 pomegranates, vines, plums, and every species 
 of vegetable grow in abundance, and the green 
 foliage and sparkling streams refrcsli the eye.'' 
 
 North of Samaria lies the welhwatered Gali- 
 lee. Dr. Merrill says: "Most travellers in Gali- 
 lee, and those writers who have studied its 
 physical characteristics represent it as being of 
 great natural fertility and beauty, remark ii)ly 
 diversified ])y mountain and hill, valley ami 
 plain, springs, rivers, and lakes, while the eli- 
 mate is the 'nearest possible approach to a per- 
 petual sin'ing.' " Josephus, the Greek historian 
 who was gtjvernor of this province und thus well 
 acquainted with it, says: "It is throughout rich 
 
y- rr-^.'-".-'- 
 
 12 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 
 in soil and pasturage, producing every variety 
 of tree and inviting by its productiveness even 
 those who have the least inclination for agricul- 
 ture; for it is everywhere tilled, no part being 
 allowed to lie idle and everywhere productive." 
 Of the plain of Genesareth he says: "One might 
 style this an ambitious effort of nature, doing 
 violence to herself in bringing together plants 
 of discordant habits, and an admirable rivalry 
 of the seasons, each, as it were, asserting her 
 rijj^ht to the soil." At present this district pro- 
 duct's orange, cherry, pear, apricot, sugarcane, 
 indigo, rice, i)ulse, wheat, barley, millet, mul- 
 berry and various other grains and fruits. The 
 valley of Esdriehjn is a veritable garden. 
 
 The depressed valley of the Jordan affords 
 the luxuriant vegetation of a tropical climate. 
 Going from Jerusalem to Jericho is like going 
 from Jeiusulem to India, as regards climate. 
 There the date palm flourishes and the acacia. 
 A few miles from here the snow-capped Lebanon 
 gives us the plants of the distant north. The 
 land of Gilead, on the east of the Jordan, pro- 
 ducers in great luxuriance the vegetation of the 
 rest of Palestine. Mr. Lawrence Oliphrnt 
 paints it in glowing colors: "The traveller who 
 only knows Palestine to the west of the Jordan 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 18 
 
 can form no idea of the luxuriance of the hill- 
 sides of Gilead . . . seldom disturbed by 
 the foot of man." 
 
 The "Globe Trotter" as he j^lides smoothly 
 along on the road of steel from Jopi)a to Jerusa- 
 lem sees little of the Holy Land nnd knows less. 
 The variety and abundance of its flowers and 
 fruits, its plants and trees afforded the sacred 
 writers an almost unparalleled treasury for illus- 
 trating divine truth. Preeminently at the be- 
 f^inning of our Christian era Palestine was a 
 Garden of the Lord. "Awake, O north wind; 
 and come thou south; blow upon my garden, that 
 the spices thereof may flow out." (Song of 
 Songs 4: 16.) 
 
Ill III IIIIIIIII>IIIW» 
 
 II 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF 
 PALESTINE. 
 
 Algum or Almug. 
 
 **And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophlr^ 
 brought in from Ophir great plenty of * ALMUG trees 
 and precious stones. And the king made of the ALMUO 
 trees pillars for the ?iouse of the Lord, and for the 
 king''s house, harps also and psalteries for the singer.^: 
 there came no such ALMUO trees, nor were seen, v.nto 
 this day." T Kings 10: 11, 12. 
 
 Gesenius, the eminent lexicographer, sayy, 
 "xVlmug trees, a kind of precious woocL It 
 seems to correspond to the Sanscrit micata, etc, 
 red sandal wood, still used in India and Persia 
 for costly utensils and instruments. Or it nir.y 
 be compared to the Malabar word malajaga, a 
 name of the same wood: So Hoffman." 
 
 " It is probably the red sandal wood of India, 
 (Pterocarpus Santalinus). This tree belongs 
 to the natural order Leguminosae, suborder pap- 
 ilionaceae." Britannica. 
 
 This precious wood is only mentioned in the 
 Bible in connection with the building of the 
 temple of Solomon. How often we see this h.id- 
 
 ^Marginal reading. " II Chron. alRum, perhaps .fa«^rt/ wood." 
 
 15 
 
il 
 
 fi; 
 
 '. 1 
 
 lf5 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 iiig of gems in the Bible and in modern life! 
 Many who are very precious in God's sight and 
 in the sight of them that come in contact with 
 them are hnidly known outside a very limited 
 neighborhood. It is not always those who talk 
 most and who make the greatest stir in the world 
 that will be honored most when God comes to 
 reward His servants. The humble but zealous 
 child of God will be a pillar in the temple of 
 heaven, while many men of world-wide fame 
 shall not even be a stone in its floor. The widow 
 with the two mites was rescued from oblivion by 
 the quick eye of Jesus. The woman accused of 
 wasting the ointment was commended for her 
 love by the Son of God — " She hath done what 
 she could .... and verily I say unto you, 
 Wheresoever the Gospel shall be preached 
 throughout the whole world, that also which this 
 woman hath done shall be spoken of for a memor- 
 ial of her." (Mark 14: 8, 9). Surely the poor- 
 est can pour cut his love upon Jesus and upon 
 His representatives (all Christians) now on 
 earth. It is not so much what we do as with 
 what motive we do it. 
 
 " The sandal wood is hard, heavy, clobegrain- 
 ed, and of a fine red color" — Brit. It was there* 
 fore strong, beautiful and enduring. Can the 
 
 I \ 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OP PALESTINE 17 
 
 King of Heaven depend upon us? Are we al- 
 ways true to Him? Is our life " closegrained " 
 with good acts and loving words? Strive to at- 
 tain this, if you wish to bo an ahnug pillar in 
 His temple. Are we ** harps and psalteries" 
 upon which the singers of God's praise play 
 their accompaniments? 
 
 Oh! to lie nt His feet 
 
 As hnrjis of melodious praise, 
 
 By His grac.) made meet 
 
 For the songs the Redeemed should raise. 
 
 Almond. 
 
 ^^ And it came to'pm^s on the morrow, that Moses went into 
 the tent of the, trutimomj; and, beliold, the rod of Aaron 
 for the house of Levi teas l)udded, and put forth buds, 
 and bloomed blossoms, and bare ripe ALMONDS.''^ Num. 
 17: 8. 
 
 The almond is Amigdalns Communis of the 
 Natural Order Rosaceae, suborder, Amigdaleae 
 or drupifera. The Hebrew name "Shaked" 
 means "the waker, so called because it is the 
 earliest of all trei^s to wake from the sleep of 
 winter." Gesenius. Its connection in Jer. 1: 
 11, 12 seems to imply the idea of iccdching, — 
 "Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see 
 the rod of an almond ivoc. Tlu^n said the Lord 
 unto me * Thou hast well Hecn: for I toatch over 
 my word to perform ii.' *' The word used for 
 almond tree is "shdkmV^ for "watch oyer" is aho^ 
 
[I 
 
 18 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 ked. Britnnnica says, " sliaked," means " to 
 hasten." It was applied to the almond because 
 it bloomed first, just as we have a " mayflower" 
 that blooms in May. Thus in Eccl. 12: 5 it would 
 refer to the hcisicning of old age. Dr. Geikie 
 speaks of "the glory of its white blossoms" 
 . . . "rising like a s7ioivy cloud above the 
 cactus hedges." However Canon Tristam 
 says, *'The blossom of the almond is very 
 pale j9/»A', but where, as in the orchards 
 near Nablous (Shechem) the peach and the 
 almond trees are intermingled the almond 
 looks white by comparison." Gesenius says 
 "The blossom is not white but rosecolored." 
 Britannica says, "pink." Another authority 
 says "The almond seems white in the distance; 
 and the bare liml)s when in blossom remind oiie 
 of the withered limbs of the aged." Gesenius 
 renders the passage "The almond (nut) shall 
 be spurned" because the toothless old man can- 
 not eat them. Perhaps the best English equiv- 
 alent of "s/<a^'edf" is as Gesenius "thewaker.' 
 The almond's brothers and sisters are rose, ap- 
 ple, cherry, etr. ' These are all of one family 
 The Jews still carry branches of almond blos- 
 soms to the synagogues on their festival day. 
 The almond seems to have been a favorite 
 
TrniSPERINQ LEAVES OP PALESTINE 19 
 
 Jacob sent nuts of the almond amonpf the choice 
 presents given to Joseph, the still unrecognised 
 ruler of Egypt. (Gen. 43: 11). By divine di- 
 rection the blossoms were models for the cups of 
 the golden candlestick in the Tabernacle. (Ex. 
 25: 33). We too ought to l)e models and worthy 
 to stand before kings. Sometimes we forget that 
 we are regarded as representatives of Christ and 
 y:e make " sad work " of it. The World says *' See 
 that man. He says he is a Christian. Look at 
 his life; — How stingy, how underhand; how 
 grasping! If he is the Christian model, I want 
 none of it. See that woman! A slave of fash- 
 ion, making gods of her bonnets and dresses and 
 gloves! She thinks more of these than of the 
 God of Heaven. I despise such a religion." 
 These are samples of remarks made every day 
 by thousands. There is nothing that hinders 
 the work of Christ in the world so much as the 
 inconsistency of Christians. They say they 
 have given their hearts to the Saviour, l)ut in- 
 stead, they are full of the world. The world ex- 
 pects Christians to be models. Christ expects 
 Christians to be models. " Ye therefore Rliall 
 be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect." 
 (Matt. 5:48.) 
 *' The tree is of modcvatv t5i?,e," Wo do not 
 
30 
 
 WHISrERINQ LEAVFS OP PALESTINE 
 
 need to be big in order to be models. Nor do 
 we have to be small. The most of us are just 
 of moderate size. Comparatively only a few 
 men are "head and shoulders" above others 
 It is a great comfort for us of moderate size to 
 know that the almond so used of God was no 
 giant among the trees. You and I can be al- 
 mond Christians. Let us strive by God's grace 
 to be so nearly j^erfect that no one will receive 
 harm l)y regarding us as models. 
 
 The almond is a " drupe." This name is ap- 
 plied by botanists to a peculiar form of fruit 
 such as the peach, plum, cherry. It has " a downy 
 outer coat, called the epicarp (like the down on 
 the peach), covering a tough jjortion called me- 
 socarp (not tough in the peach but fleshy — the 
 part eaten), which encloses the reticulated hard 
 stony shell or endocarp ( corresponding to the 
 peach sfoue.) The seed is the kernel which is 
 contained within these coverings. (Like 'the 
 meat; of the peach stone. )" — (Brit, except the 
 parantheses.) A child of God needs protecting 
 from evil men and from th«^ Devil who likes to 
 destroy the kernel of good Before we open 
 our heart to a person we ought to know tliem 
 thoroughly or our trust mat/ bo betrayed. This 
 becoming reserve is tlio coveiiug of t)ie korHelf? 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 21 
 
 to 
 )en 
 
 11 elf) 
 
 of our hearts. There ought to be the downy 
 exterior of courtesy and kindness, shown to all. 
 Then comes the tough mesocarp of nearer ac- 
 (jnaintanceship which ought to test the sincerity 
 of a friend. The shelldike endocarp hides ex- 
 cept from a chosen few the holy thoughts and 
 aspirations of the heart. The kernel is the best 
 part of the almond; so the heart of every child 
 of God and his inner life ought to Ije the best 
 part. Alas! Too often when the silky down of 
 politeness gives promise of great worth wo are 
 disappointed at last to find the heart is false. 
 The most gentlemanly courtesy may be the ex- 
 terior of a hypocrite. Not so the almond Chris- 
 ti.'in. 
 
 '• Fresh sweet almonds are nutritive and de- 
 mulcent."' Both kinds contain emulsine which 
 is valuable as an aid to digestion. They are re- 
 commended hy doctors for indigestion, to 1)0 
 taken sparingly after meals. It does one good 
 to associate with an almond Christijin. It great- 
 ly aids spiritual life. Truths are put in their 
 proper state and are digested. Does our life 
 
22 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OP PALE!5TINE 
 
 exort a helpful influence over all our acquaint- 
 ances? 
 
 The rod of Aaron pat forth buds 
 And bnre its fruit mature: 
 May God help us to bud and bloom 
 And bear ripe fruit and pare. 
 
 Aloes. 
 
 ^' And there came also Nicodemus. . . . bringing a 
 mixture of myrrh and ALOES, about a hundred 
 pound weighty John 19: 39. 
 
 Aloes probably not native to Palestine. 
 
 Anise. 
 " Yc tithe mint and ANISE and Cummin." Matt. 23: 23. 
 
 "The anise of the Bible is anethum graveo- 
 lens or dill. " (Brit.) " It bclon.f^s to umbellife- 
 rous order and is not unlike fennel, cjrowin'j: 
 from twelve to twenty inches or more in liei'^ht, 
 with flat elliptical fruits (popularly called 'seeds') 
 containing a valuable oil. Both leaves and 
 fruits are eaten in the east as condiments." 
 
 The Pharisees did well in tithing the anise. 
 Jesus says, "This ye ougld to have done;" but 
 He censures them for neglecting things of greater 
 import. So the anise whispers Remember what 
 our Creator said about me and do not neglect to 
 give Him one4enth of everything you receive. 
 If all gave a tithe of their anise even, not neg- 
 lecting greater sources of revenue, the treasuries 
 
 il. 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 23 
 
 of our churches would be full awl missionaries 
 would go to heathen lands by the vho thousands. 
 And surely wo can spare one^tenth to Him who 
 gives us all. 
 
 " Anise is used to season soup and pickles." 
 " Variety is the spice of life." Consecration to 
 God that touches the pocket and extracts at least 
 a tithe is refreshing spice. There is too much 
 of insipid straw in our churches and too little 
 savory anise. How many there are that cannot 
 talk about Christ unless they use insipid plati- 
 tudes. One's own experience of God's truth 
 finds a fresh and telling mode of expression. 
 If our hearts are full of the anise of God's love, 
 our conversation will ho savory, our life will be 
 refreshing by its unheard of acts of kindness 
 and endeavors to lead to Christ. The " volatile 
 oil " of such anise seed would be a tonic to 
 church life. 
 
 Apple Tree. 
 
 *^ As the APPLE tree among the trees of the wood, so is 7ny 
 beloved among the sons.''^ Song of Songs 'J: 3. 
 
 The apple tree is pyrus Titahis of the Natural 
 
 Order Rosaceae, sub-order Pomaceae. Many 
 
 doubt whether apple is the proper rendering of 
 
 the Hebrew word /rrpj:)?<a/?. Dr. Thomson, who 
 
 for many years lived in Beirut, says of Askelon, 
 
 fi'i 
 
 ifd 
 
I 1 
 
 II i 
 
 24 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 1 
 
 iii 
 
 'ml 
 
 n 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 " Now the whole area is planted over with or- 
 chards of various kinds of fruit which flourish on 
 the coast. It is especially celebrated for its 
 apples . . . and they would not have dis- 
 graced even an American orchard." Sir Charles 
 Warren also says that apples grow in this 
 vicinity. A still greater authority, Dr. Delitsch, 
 believes the apple is meant, because towns were 
 named after the apple, as " apple-town." From 
 this also a descendant of Caleb received his 
 name— Tappuah (I Chron. 2: 43). Dr. Geikie 
 in his " Holy Land and the Bible " say?, " My 
 friend at Gaza was invited to rent an apple 
 orchard and tells me that the fruit is both good 
 and plentiful." The claims of the orange, 
 quince, and citron are weak. Dr. Tristam 
 thinks we ought to read "apricof, which is per- 
 haps, with the single exception of the fig, the 
 most abundant fruit of the country. . . . 
 Many times have we pitched our tent in its 
 shade. . . . There can scarcely be a more 
 deliciously perfumed fruit than the apricot." 
 It well suits the allusion in the Song of Songs 
 (7: 8) "and the smell of thy breath like 
 appJcsy The apple tree is at present not the 
 "choice" among oilier fruit trees, but it is 
 certainly superior io the trees of the wood, i. e., 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 not fruit betiring. In Cyprus the ai^ricot is 
 called the ''Golden Apple," remiudin!:^ one of 
 Proverbs (2-"): 11), "A word fitly spoken is like 
 apples of gold in baskets of silver." This may, 
 however, not refer to apples looking like gold, 
 but to gold made after the pattern of the much 
 prized apple. In those days the apple may 
 have been more luscious and fragrant than it is 
 at present. At least the apple is most suggest- 
 ive and probably is the fruit meant by tappiKih. 
 The Arabic word for apple is very similar. It 
 is always best to hold to the old ideas until they 
 are proved to be wrong. For Canadians the 
 apple tree is more appropriate. 
 
 Have you eaten v/ild crab apples? Are they 
 as delicious as Gravensteins? The improve- 
 ment is due to cnUlrafion, Some say, " Never 
 mind training or educating Christians. Aim at 
 conversion onhj. As soon as people are saved 
 let them look out for themselves." Others act 
 upon this idea, though they would not say so. 
 They think, I have been converted and I am 
 now an apple tree in God's garden. But they 
 do not daily strive to cultivate the Christlike 
 spirit. They remain in their cvah-apple state 
 — "crabbed." Dr. Parkhurst well says, "A ial- 
 ent for goodness has to be acquired as much as 
 
26 
 
 WIIISPEUINO LEAVES OP PALESTINE 
 
 a talent for trade or sculpture; and is reached 
 in either case over a rough road of rules and 
 prescriptions." On the other hand some take 
 no account of the new birth. They say, "Edu- 
 cate the heathen. They do not need Christian- 
 ity." As well might they say, " Cultivate the 
 thistle and you will get good Gravenstein 
 apples." The worst specimens of humanity on 
 my Reserve are the best educated. The " happy 
 mean " between these two extremes is the truth 
 of God in the Bible and in Nature. The new 
 birfch is the beginning, without which there can 
 be nothing spiritnal. CaUicaiion should fol- 
 low. The aged Christian is the *' shock of 
 corn " almost fully ripe. Are you satisfied to 
 be n *' wild crab-apple " Christian, sour and 
 bitter? Or do you wish to bo mellow and spicy 
 with the Christian graces. 
 
 " The apple tree is cultivated in higher lati- 
 tudes than any other fruit tree." Brit. So the 
 Jesus religicjn is suited for higher latitudes 
 than any other. Other religions are more or 
 less local and tribal. Christianity is cosmopol- 
 itan. The Bible is tlio most wonderful fruit 
 tree the world has ever seen. Its adaptability 
 is unlimited. It suited humanily eighteen 
 
 entnries ago; and, while most other books 
 
 get 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 27 
 
 ort of date in a few years, the Bible is just as 
 fresh as if made especially for the present age. 
 The cultured Japanese and the degraded Aus- 
 tralian, the aborigines of our own North West 
 and the Queen of England, all alike find the 
 Bible suited exactly to their needs. Here is 
 the maximum diversity in unity. It flourishes 
 in every clime. 
 
 Dr. Geikie speaks of the " Apple of Sodom " 
 — "A very tropicaldooking plant. Its fruit is 
 like a large smooth apple or orange and hangs 
 in clusters of three or four together. When 
 ripe it is yellow and looks fair and attrai'tivo, 
 and is soft to the touch, Irat if pressed, it bursts 
 with a crack and only the broken shell and a 
 row of small seeds in a half open pod, with a 
 few dry filamoiits, remain in the hand.'' What 
 a picture of the hypocrite! How fair he sof?ms! 
 So good and courteous! But when tested he 
 proves hollow and lifeless. 
 
 Tho Lord forbid thnt wo should prove 
 
 To bo like Sodom's pfuile, 
 But planted by tho Lord's own hiuid, 
 
 Be cultured in Uis atyle. 
 
 Ash. 
 
 The prophetl Isaiah (44:14) speaks of 07'en 
 The Authorized Version renders it '*ash;" but 
 
r 
 
 28 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 the Revised Version, "the fir tree." Gesenius 
 translates oren " the pine." Brittannica says 
 "the Hebrew word oren . . . cannot refer 
 to an ash tree as that is not a native of Palestine, 
 but probably to the Syrian pine (Pinus Hale- 
 pensis). 
 
 Balm, 
 "/s there no BALM in GileacW' Jer. 8 : ,?2. 
 
 This bahn or balsain was produced by a tree 
 belonging to the genus " Balmsamodendron. 
 It is probably ot the Jspecies B. opobalsamura." 
 So Gesenius. It flourished in Gilead east of the 
 Jordan. Joseph us tells us that it was exten- 
 sively grown Jin the gardens of Jericho. It 
 does not now grow in those regions but is found 
 in Arabia find Abyssinia. 
 
 The balm was obtained by making incisions 
 in the bark of the tree. Our spruce gum in a 
 like manner exudes from the injured bark. 
 The balm is from wounds and for wounds. 
 Loss and suffering reveal the graces of the 
 heart. The apples of Sodom, if injured collapse 
 and reveal their hoUowness and poverty. So 
 " make-believe " Christians cannot stand God's 
 tests. The balsam tree when injurt^d heals its 
 own wounds and provides balm for others. The 
 
WniSrLRTKG LEAVES OF PALESTINE no 
 
 Christian whose heart has been crushed ])y sor- 
 row is the one best fitted to comfort bleeding 
 hearts. It is from his own wounds that tlie 
 balm flows. In all ages this balm has been 
 greatly esteemed. There is always great de- 
 mand for balm Christians. The sweetest of all 
 balm is that which flows from the "wounded 
 side " of Jesus. It this that heals every pain. 
 
 "Is there no balm in Gilead?" 
 The .soul cries out iti woe. 
 Oh, yes. There's balm. Just try those 
 streams 
 From Calvary that flow. 
 
 n 
 
 Barley. 
 
 " So Naotni retunied, and liuth ihe Moabitcs^, her daughter- 
 ter-in-law, ivilh her, vhi'eh relunied out of the covntry 
 of Moab: and then came, to Jlrfhleliem in the. berjinniHij 
 of BARLEY harvest:' Hiith J ::>'.>. 
 
 The Hebrew word siC(tr means to shudder, 
 of hair to sfdud on end. The derivatives sig- 
 nify Jifiiri/. So se'orali (barley), like the Latin 
 hordeuin, refers to the heard of the l)arley. It 
 is brisiljj. 8omo Christians nre />r/.s7//y. They 
 have a rough exterior but are good and tru'\ 
 Many a tender heart is found in an uncoutli 
 body. It is sometimes hard to reach. Barh>y 
 heads are very annoying either in one's mouth 
 pr ill his clothes, Impatient narcastic rcmiu'ka 
 
I 
 
 
 1 ' 
 ; 1 
 
 ^ I 
 
 I I 
 
 ii!!:i 
 
 1 iiii 
 
 
 /I 
 
 til 
 
 ': -I 
 
 I 
 
 80 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OP PALESTIISE 
 
 are defects but they may be seen even In good 
 Christians. Don't judge barley by its bristles. 
 Don't judge men by their unpleasantness. 
 
 The barley is said to have been the first cereal 
 used by man. Three kinds have been found in 
 Switzerland in the "deposits of the stone pe- 
 riod." Our earliest historical records speak of 
 it as food for man. It was sacred to the god- 
 dess Ceres, in whose hair ears of barley were 
 said to be plaited. Although it wns superseded 
 by wheat it is still much used, " Bannocks 
 o'barley meal" are the daily bread of the iDeas- 
 antry in the lowlands of Scotland, and barley 
 broth is in great favor everywhere in Scotland. 
 It is certain that Christianity was the first reli- 
 gion. When Adam and Eve were in the Gar- 
 den of Eden th&y worshiped the God who, when 
 they fell, promised a Deliverer, Christ. As it is 
 the peasantry that use barley most freely, so it 
 was the common people that heard Christ 
 gladly. The same is true to-day. Barley is 
 " the most hardy of all cereals." Christianity 
 is the most hardy of all religions. It develops 
 the truest heroism. It grows in every kind of 
 soil. It flourishes in the bitter frost of the 
 world's affections — drawing food out of the cold 
 ground, Barley linrvost is the earliest. Kuth 
 
 ii'i 
 
n 
 r 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OP PALESTINE 31 
 
 and her mother-in-law returned from Moab in 
 the beginning of " barley harvest," and thus 
 Ruth had all the harvesting before her. She 
 gleaned well, as Boaz could tell you. Nothing 
 should yield an earlier harvest than the love of 
 God in the heart. It will do so if we give it 
 " half a chance." Christianity claims the youth 
 for Christ. What barley fields we see to-day in 
 the Sabbath schools, Christian Endeavor socie- 
 ties. King's Daughters, Boys' Brigade, etc. 
 This is the beginning of the " barley harvest " 
 of the world's evangelization. 
 
 In England barley is used mainly to fatten 
 cattle and men. (How fat is "John Bull"!) 
 The former are for the fire of men; the latter 
 for the fire of the Devil. The one is lifeless 
 and without feeling, cooked for tlie use of man; 
 the other is deathless with intensified feeling, 
 given over to the malice of Satan. More money 
 is made by selling man to the Devil than by 
 selling beef to the butcher. So men make bar- 
 ley into "distilled damnation" and in partner- 
 ship with their " Father, the Devil," trade in 
 immortal souls. Tluir fatht^r gets all the gain, 
 both money and souls. The Governm^^nt of 
 enlightened England and of Canada, for a 
 "consideration." license \]io rumsellers to poison 
 
 ii 
 
m 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OP PALESTINE 
 
 
 
 w'\ 
 
 i I 
 
 I I 
 
 iiil; 
 
 iii; 
 
 their fellowmen. It takes, perhaps, twice the 
 revenue from this source to support in lunatic 
 asylums, in poor houses, in penitentiaries and 
 in jails those whom liquor puts there. The ar- 
 guments in favor of the liquor traffic are logic 
 "run mad," like the demoniacs among the tombs ■ 
 Like everyth'ng else that is good, barley may 
 be abused. In its natural state it is good for 
 food. Jesus blessed five barley loaves and two 
 fishes and supplied the multitude with a plain, 
 wholesome lunch. " Bannocks o'barley meal " 
 and water, with the blessing oE God, is better 
 than the most sumptuous dinner without Christ 
 at the table. So also the performance of the 
 most commonplace duties for the glory of God 
 is more glorious than ruling a city in the em- 
 ploy of Satan. " Act ivell j'-our part, there all 
 the honor lies." 
 
 The Bay Tree. 
 The name does not occur in the Revised Ver- 
 sion. Compare the Authorized Version with 
 Ps. 37:35: "I have seen the wicked in great 
 power, and spreading himself like a green tree 
 in its nallrQ .so/?." Gesenius says, " Ezrahh 
 means, 1, a native tree, growing in its own soil, 
 not transplanted. Ps. 37:35. 2. Of persons 
 
 ''anntive." LevJ.G;29. 
 
'I 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 33 
 
 Beans. 
 
 "And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim^ 
 that Shobi . . . and Machir . . . and Bar- 
 eillai . . . browjht . . . BEANS, and lentils, 
 and parched pulse . . . for David." 2 Sam. 17: 
 
 27, 28. 
 
 "Tfte)i said Daniel to the steward . . . Prove thy 
 servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us 
 pulse to eat, and water to drink . . . and at the 
 end often days their countenances appeared fairer, and 
 they were fatter in flesh, than all the youtha which did 
 eatof the kinrfs meat." Dan. 1: 12, 15. 
 
 The Hebrew word for beans (pol) means 
 rolling, from its shape. This suggests, " A rol- 
 ling stone gathers no moss." They are viciafa- 
 ha. The word for pulse (zeroim) signifies ve- 
 getable food. It is derived from zera a sowing; 
 and is thus a general term including the bean, 
 lentils, etc. There are more than 350 species of 
 this order (leguminosae) in Palestine. No doubt 
 they were in general use. The ancient Egypt- 
 ians believed in a vegetable diet, although their 
 priests were forbidden its use. The classical 
 names Fabuis (fal)a, a bi'an), Piso (pisum, a 
 pea), and Cicero (cicer, a chick pea) indicate 
 one phase of Daniel's belief among the Romans. 
 
 The bean is more nutritious even than wheat. 
 Daniel and his companionfj became fleshy on 
 vegetable diet and water. 1 f a person is engaged 
 
 ': 
 
 ii 
 
34 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 II 
 
 
 i ! 
 
 in outdoor and heavy manual labor he can eat 
 heartily of meat; but others need little if any. 
 I am not a "vegetarian;" but I believe many 
 ought to learn a lesson from Daniel and his 
 beans, and eat less meat and pickles and pastry. 
 Spicy (?) novels are often harmful because they 
 give a false view of life, and excite a false ap- 
 petite for what is not wholesome. "We ought to 
 keep our bodily api)etites in subjection and eat 
 only what is wholesome. 
 
 You have seen the bean growing. It keeps 
 the seed hidden and yet they are seen by the 
 shape of the jjod. They do not "live for show." 
 How much in the world is for show! Much 
 money is spent for new bonnets and showy dress- 
 es and stylish suits, when the old ones were 
 still good — money that ought to be spent in 
 helping others, in siving souls from Hell. Some 
 lives are " all for show." How often people do 
 things " just for show." Even virtues are ''par- 
 aded." The bean has more sense and modesty 
 and true worth. If our good qualities do not 
 alter the shape of onr lives, we are to be pitied. 
 Genteel blood is often " aped " by those of un- 
 gentle feelings and coarse imitation is soon man- 
 ifest. If a person is genteel that gentility will 
 not flaunt its charms. Yet it will at once bo re- 
 
! t 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 35 
 
 cognized. Thus the bean leaves whisper "Look 
 at my pod." 
 
 . The "pole bean" is {'.mbitious and hard to 
 satisfy. It climbs gradually to the top of the 
 pole and still it grows. Its tendrils wave in the 
 air, reaching out and up for something higher. 
 Here we see the deep set aspirations of the hu- 
 man soul, its quenchle^ longings. Let a man 
 climb to the top of the ladder of this world's 
 fame or position. Yet his soul is not satisfied. 
 He weeps that there is not " another world to con- 
 quer." And tJirrc is. The kingdom of Heaven, 
 if gained, satisfies the most ambitious. The best 
 that earth can give does not ai3pease the cravings 
 of the soul, but God's love brings peace. "Set 
 your mind on the things that are above, not on 
 the things that are upon the earth." (Col. 3:2). 
 Paul also tells us (Acts 17: 27) that " God hath 
 made of one, eveiy nation of men to dwell on all 
 the face of the earth . . . that they should 
 seek God, if haply they might feel after Him, and 
 find Him, though He is not far from each one 
 of us." Man's nature reaches after God, and 
 cannot be satisfied unless he finds Hin. One 
 thorn of torment in the heart of the lost will 
 doubtless be an iniensijied craving for somc- 
 ihinp tJieij have not and cannot get. Some foel 
 
I: 
 
 !l 
 
 •a 
 
 Hi 
 
 86 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 this thorn even in the present life. This idea 
 was brought out in classical times by the doom 
 of Tantalus, from which word comes our iania- 
 lize. Because he revealed the secrets of the gods, 
 he was sent to the infernal regions where he 
 stood in water to his chin, under an overhanging 
 fruit tree. They both retreated whenever he 
 tried to satisfy his burning thirst and intolerable 
 hunger. To day God offers you the "living 
 water" and "the bread of life." Do not delay 
 lest it be removed from your reach. 
 
 The humble bean tlie«e lessons teach; — 
 We live for use and not for show; 
 We should for things eternal reach, 
 Until our souls their peace do know. 
 
 Box Tree. 
 
 " The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the 
 pine, and the BOX^TREE together; to beautij'i/ the 
 place of my sanctuary, and I will make the place of my 
 feet glorious." Is. 60: 13. 
 
 The Hebrew name (teashur) means "erect- 
 ness, tallness, hence a tall tree, and as a proper 
 name for a species of the cedar . . . distin- 
 guished by the smallness of its cones and the 
 upward direction of its branches" — Gesenius. 
 It is the Buxus. Its usual height is about six- 
 teen feet with a diameter of ten and one-half 
 inches; but is said to attain even to a height of 
 
WHISPERING LE;..VES OF PALESTINE 37 
 
 thirty feet. Though Siiiall its wood is greatly 
 prized for carving, for mathematical and musi- 
 cal instruments. So in life. One's usefulness 
 does not depend upon his position in society. 
 Some who hold no office are precious in the 
 eyes of God and man. "Man looketh on the 
 outward appearance, but tlie Lord looketh on 
 the heart." 1 Sam. 10: 7. 
 
 Tlie wood of the box tree is very precious be- 
 cause it is of such fine and even grain. It in 
 easily worked. "We all like to meet people of 
 even, fine temperament. Even better is that 
 Christlike rectitude suggested by the erectness 
 of the box. Some people are not to be depend- 
 ed upon. You never know how you will find 
 them. A Christian ought to be constantly erect 
 and cheerful, without flaws or knots or burls, 
 easy to deal with, capable of being made into 
 instruments of praise, beautifully carved by the 
 Holy Spirit. 
 
 Bramble. 
 
 "Each tree is known by its own fndt. For of thorns men 
 do not gather fitjs, nor of a BRAMBLE bu.sh gather 
 they grapes.''^ Luke 6 : 4t. 
 
 The Hebrew word in Judges (ix: 11, 15) 
 rendered bramble is, atfid — "The southern 
 buckthorn, Christ's thorn ... so called 
 
 t ' 
 
 I 
 
 \\ 
 

 38 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 I 
 
 from the firmness of its roots." — Geseniiis. The 
 Gret^k word in Luke (0: 44,) is batos " a thorn 
 bush, bramble, any prickly shrub." — Robinson. 
 Bramble is a general term, the bramMe doubt- 
 less referred to some particular kind, just as 
 tJie thorn in England refers to the Jiaicfho7'ne. 
 However authorities are not agreed as to what 
 " tiio bramble " means. Perhaps it will be best 
 for our purpose to take the word in its vague 
 sense in which it includes all thorns and 
 briers. What saith the bramble? 
 
 " I have many thorns. Whence came they?" 
 Thorns are dwarfed branches and leaves. Some 
 tiiWi wisely about the cvohdion of man from 
 the ape. "VYe see in the bramble an illustra- 
 tion of the evolution of man from the righteous- 
 ness and spiritual beauty of Eden to the deform- 
 ity ot sin. The ground was cursed by sin and it 
 brought forth thorns and thistles. (Gen. 3: 18.) 
 So the bejiutiful branch and leaf of an inno- 
 cent life was dwarfed by sin and became the 
 thorn. And all the moral evolution has been a 
 retrovolution (returning t;)) our lost estate in 
 Eden. The only power that can accomplish 
 this fully is the love of God in the heart 
 through faith in Christ. Thus only wo can 
 become new creatures. Instead of the thorns 
 

 WHISPERING LExS^VES OF PALESTINE 31) 
 
 the leaves of the Tree of Life once more burst 
 forth and become a healing balm for the na- 
 tions of the earth. " Instead of the thorn shall 
 come up the lir tree, and instead of the brier 
 shall come np the myrtle tree. Is. 55: 13. 
 
 Some persons inh(>rit a noble nature from 
 their parents. Why U it they live a poor 
 stunted life, pleasant neither to them^^elves nor 
 to others. Thev become brambles. The curse 
 of sin has dwarfed their fair leaves into thorns. 
 Thorns > ^ of ditferent shapes and sizes, but 
 still thorns, sharp, cruel. One thorn takes the 
 form of drunkenness, another of profanity, or 
 deceit, or extrava,r?nnce, or meanness. There is a 
 power in the spiritual world not often seen in 
 nature. The thoTu may yet be developed into 
 the leaf — the sooner the better. Christ is the 
 only way. " Ye will not come to me that ye 
 may have life. John 0: 40. 
 
 The firmness of tlu* bramble roots is express- 
 ive. How deep- rooted I.s sin in all its various 
 manifestations! Farmers and j;.trdoners know 
 how difficult it is to root n[)thr brnmbl(\ Who 
 does not know how hard it is to s^ive up a bad 
 ha))it. It is like ,i!:ettin^' tooth extracted. The 
 roots of evil {Mit»M' into our inmost boiiu;-. They 
 grow from tlie heart. Beware of the bogin- 
 
 ii 
 
V. t 
 
 il 
 
 ' i 
 
 i 
 
 II : 
 
 40 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 ninths of evil! God alone can uproot sin. 
 Get Him to do tlio '"shinipiuL]:" now that you 
 may reap an early ami bountiful harvest. 
 
 Calamus or Sweet Cane. 
 
 " The Jjord spake vnio Moses, scnjing, Take thou also unto 
 thee the chief spices . . . of sweet CALAaIUS 
 . . . and thou shalt make it an holy anoinfin'j ot7." 
 
 Ex. 30: 23. 
 
 •' Sweet cane" is another renderini,' of the 
 same Hebrew kfineh, also '"sweet flag.'' Cala- 
 mus is " a plant with a jointed hollow stalk 
 growing in wet grounds." — Eobinson. It is also 
 spoken of as a reed. (Matt. 11: 7.) These flags 
 belong to the order Paliiiaceae, whicli is charac- 
 terized by unbranched stems with tufts of 
 leaves at the top. It includes over a thousand 
 species. The fact tliat God accepted so common 
 an offering as pleasing incense is fragrant with 
 comfort. We do not have to be illustrious be- 
 fore God will accept us as sons. There will be 
 more connnon i)coplo in Heaven than there will 
 be of tlie great and noble and rich. Let us com- 
 fort one another with these thoughts. 
 
 Of the genus Calamus, Britannica says, *' the 
 stem is very slender, short, erect, prostrate or 
 Bcaudent by nutans of formidable^ hookcnl prick- 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 41 
 
 les which by enabling the plant to siii)port it- 
 self on the branches of neighbouring trees, also 
 permit the stem to grow to a very great length, 
 and so to expose the foliage to the light and air 
 above the tree tops of dense forests. The leaves 
 are arranged at more or less distant intervals 
 along the stem; and branch regularly in a 
 palmate fashion, as in the fan palms." In this 
 we see adapfabi'litfj. You know people that keep 
 their heads high and go their own way regard- 
 less of circumstances and the rights cf others. 
 The calamus suggests consideration for others 
 and adaptation to requirements. Think of it 
 rising above even trees, eager for liglit juid air. 
 Oh, that Christians were all like minded! 
 How little sometimes shades us from the Light 
 of Life! Some trifling business, sonx^ worry- 
 ing responsibility, some pleasant recreation 
 comes between the soul and the source of its 
 life and goodness. We ought to grort- the more 
 and keep our heads and our hearts in the pure 
 air and sunlight of Heaven. This would keep 
 our life's blood pure and give us unftiding spir- 
 itual youth. By their order and their beauty 
 the leaves rebuke the ** happy go lucky " life of 
 many — no method OHi)ecially in giving to 
 Christ's cause. Some people's liouses and lives 
 
 
12 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 U W 
 
 :• '\, 
 
 are in turmoil from lack of method, and giving 
 from impulse is worthy only of irrational be- 
 ings. If we had more system there would be 
 more beauty of soul, more gain to the Kingdom. 
 " The underground stem of the calamus is a 
 rhizome or root-fstock, lengthening in a more or 
 less horizoxital manner by the development of 
 the terminal bud, and sending up lateral 
 branches, like suckers from the root-stock, 
 which form dense thickets of cane4ike stems." 
 (Brit.) Go to the calamus or to the iiotnto, 
 thou sluggard, thou improvident. If you do 
 not provide for the future when you can, you 
 may learn a lesson from the root stock. In this 
 there is food laid up for future use and the 
 germ of life is kept safe. A man worthy of the 
 name strives to provide for his own and have a 
 " nest egg " — a little laid up " for a rainy day." 
 Life Insurances and Bank Accounts are com- 
 mendable " root-stocks." Some go to the oppo- 
 site extreme and hoard up all — as if the calamus 
 had nothing but root-stock! It uses its life to 
 provide stem and leaves for the use and enjoy- 
 ment of God and man. Liberality gives herJth 
 to the soul and makes the root-stock botti^r and 
 surer. "There is that scattoroth, and incroaoeth 
 yet more; and there is that witbholdetli inoro 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 13 
 
 than is meet, but it tendeth onlj'^ to want." 
 Prov. 11: 24. 
 
 The calamus was used as a pc». It ranks 
 with the cjuill as a predecessor of our modern 
 pen. Are we willing to be a pen held ])y the 
 hand of God? We are the i)eiis. Our lives are 
 the ink. Hearts are the paper. What kind of 
 einstles are we writing? Paul says (2 Cor. !>: 2) 
 '• Ye are our epistle, written in our hearts, 
 known and read of all men." You cannot write 
 your life in an unknown tongue. It is read by 
 (dl. The language of life and heart is the true 
 Volcqmk. 
 
 The prophet Isaiah (-42: 3) speaks of the//Y(- 
 (jih'ty of the reed, a small kind of calamus — "A 
 bruised reed shall He not break." How frail 
 we are! More so than we think. We might bo 
 crushed in an instant by any one of the many 
 great powers of the earth — electricity, gravita- 
 tion, etc. " The great enemy of fouIs "' could 
 make us worse than dead. But our Creator 
 and loving Father protects us. Even a " bruis- 
 ed reed" He cares for. " Fear ii(»t little flock." 
 There is no hand so tender, yet none ho strong 
 as His. Ho guides the flying worlds and He 
 feeds the sparrow. " Why are ye fearful, O ye 
 of little faith?" 
 
 I 
 
 !i 
 
I 'II! 
 
 44 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 ■I ''" 
 
 ;t ■!• 
 
 i *•■ 
 
 I 
 
 n^ 
 
 
 Even the children know of little Moses in his 
 can'-.-^ of bulrushes (gome). Gcsenius says 
 "Gome means reed, bulrush, especially the 
 papyrus which is made by Egyptians into gar- 
 ments, shoes, baskets, vessels of various kinds, 
 espi.'i laliy V^nis or skiffs." The crying baby, 
 Moses, wi! he'p us remember this. "And 
 when she cotiii ^'ot longer hide him, she took 
 for him ♦'^ -^rk vi bvi'mphes (i. e. pnpyrus) and 
 daubed it with blime and with pitch."' (Ex. 2: 8.) 
 
 Thus these rushes were the means of saving 
 from death that great deliverer of God's people. 
 His cradle was made water=tiglit and put into 
 the river among the flags, close to the shore. 
 It is often so when we little think it. A very 
 small act jnay save or ruin a life. A life thus 
 saved may l)ecomo more than a king or queen 
 — even a child of the Mighty God. Some little 
 word may be the means of saving a soul from 
 eternal death. On the other hand, a sinful 
 thought expressed may be as the germ of the 
 " black diptheria *' of sin, destroying some pre- 
 cious stnil; the taking of a single ghiss of alco- 
 holic fire may l)e to another as the spark on the 
 dry western prairie. Oh, the power of little 
 things! God lielp us to be careful. 
 
 The word papyrus at once calls up from 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OP PALESTINE 45 
 
 memory's depths the writing materials of the 
 ancients, their writing paper. " This interest- 
 ing plant is a tall green Hedge with a large and 
 drooping panicle or tuft of Horets springing 
 from a sheath at the top. It reaches a height 
 of from 10 to 15 feet, with a diameter of from 2 
 to 3 inches at the base." In making paper 
 '' the rind was removed, the pith cut in strips 
 and laid lengthwise on a flat board, their edges 
 united by some glue or cement and the whole 
 subjected to pressure, compacting the several 
 strips into one uniform fabric." — W. H. Groser. 
 This paper lasted for centuries, preserving the 
 words and acts of men. It reminds us of anoth- 
 er book whose leaves never decay. Its ink 
 never fades. Every day you and I are writing 
 down in it every thought we nourish, every 
 word we speak, every act we perform. That 
 book on the Judgment Day will be opened by 
 the Judge of ** the quick and the dead." "And 
 I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat 
 upon it, from whose face the earth and the heav- 
 en fled away; and there was found no place for 
 them. And I saw the dead, the great and the 
 small, standing before the throne; and books 
 were opened; and another book was opened, 
 which is tho Book of Life: nnd the dead wero 
 
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 Mm 
 
 
 11 
 
 'ifr ' <Jlj 
 
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 li I 
 
 1*1 
 
 4G WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 judged out of the things which were written in 
 the books, according to their works. And the 
 sea gave up the dead wliich were in it; and 
 death and Hades gave up the dead which were 
 in them: and they wore Judged every man ac- 
 cording to their works. And death and Hades 
 were east into the Lake of Fire. This is the 
 second death, even the lake of fire. And if 
 any was not found written in the book of life, 
 he was east into the lake of fire." Rev. 20: 11-15. 
 
 Cassia and Cinnamon. 
 
 Import cd, probably from Cochin China and 
 Ceylon. 
 
 Camphire. 
 
 "JIfj/ beloved is xinlo me as a cluster of HENNA- 
 FLOWERSr Song 1: 14. 
 
 This word oeeurs but twieo in the Authorized 
 Version of the Bible — both times in the Song 
 of Songs. In both cases the Revised Version 
 reads "Henna." 
 
 Out of respect for the Autliorized Version we 
 will consider the plant under the name of 
 camphire. 
 
 " Kopher, the Greek Kupros, cypress — flower, 
 el-henna of the Arabs, a shrub or low tree, 
 with fragrant whitish fiowerri, growing in clus- 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 47 
 
 ters like graioes. . . . Lawsonia incrmis. 
 . . . 8o called in Hebrew because the pow- 
 der of the leaves mixed with water into paste is 
 used by oriental females to cover or besmear 
 the nails, in order to x^roduce the reddish color 
 which they regard as ornamental." — Ges. Ka- 
 phar means to cover. It is strange how some 
 customs outlive centuries and dynasties — foolish 
 customs at that. Why does powdering still 
 exist? One would think that an upright soul 
 would loathe the custom. But self and Satan 
 are a span that does not easily tire. Faces are 
 not the only powdered x)art of some. There is 
 white powder all over their lives. What did 
 Jesus say about the Pharisee, the moralist of 
 the time? *' Woe unto you, scribes and Phari- 
 sees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited 
 sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful, 
 but inwardly {ire full of dead men's bones, and 
 of all uncltanness.*' (Matt. 23: 27.) There is 
 too much of this ''white-washing*' done today 
 — and among resjjerfahJe people. And do not 
 the most of us do a little character jiowdering? 
 We ought the rather to x)ut the white powder 
 upon others lives, covering uj) iheir faults 
 
 This "Lawsomii Celba" is very fragrant. Its 
 yellov.' and white blossoms emit a very pleasant 
 
 
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 ^^R' 
 
:iih 
 
 il 
 
 11 
 
 1 
 
 |;l| 
 
 48 
 
 V^niSPEKfNG LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 perfume. The shrub is sometimes as high as 
 eight feet. Instead of making it the means of 
 falsifying, it should be employed for the re- 
 freshment and pleasure of others. We ought to 
 live for others and for God. Then our lives 
 will be as sweet perfumes, as a cluster of Henna 
 Flowers. 
 
 Cedar. 
 
 ^^ Hoio goodly are thy tents, O Jacob! Thy tabernacles^ O 
 Israel! , . . As CEDAR trees beside the ivaters." 
 
 Num. 24: 5, 6. 
 
 ''Praise Him, all ye CEDARS." Ps. 148: 9. 
 
 The cedar is of the Natural Order, Conifera. 
 "The ahics cedriis or cedriis libamis, the far 
 famed cedar of Lebanon is a tree which on 
 account of its beauty, stateliness, and strength 
 has always been a favorite with looets and paint- 
 €)rs; and which in the figurative language of 
 prophecy is frequently employed in the Scrip- 
 tures as a symbol of power, prosperity, and 
 longevity." (Brit.) 
 
 The great forests of Lebanon have been 
 destroyed by man and by fire. Perhaps 400 
 trees are still left. Amid this ruin of the 
 mountain's former grandeur, trees have been 
 found nearly eighty feet high and covering a 
 circle of earth ninety-six feet in diameter, with 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 49 
 
 a trunk forty-seven feet iu diameter. These 
 trees have cousins in England — the yew, some 
 of which are thought to be over 2,000 years old; 
 in British Columbia— the " Douglas Firs," some 
 of which are nearly 400 feet high : in California 
 — the Red Cedar, of world wide fame Their 
 silent voice is more than a whisper. 
 
 How loudly the cedar spoke to tiie Chosen 
 People! So it still speaks to us, Isaiah (2: 13) 
 speaks of it as '•high and lifted up." Such 
 leafy pyramids strike us dumb with awe and ad- 
 miration. The majestic mountain is but dead 
 earth and rock. The cedar has grown from a 
 tiny seed and is full of life. Think of it! How 
 small we are. Pluck up by the root that giant 
 tree. How weak! It has lived for centuries. 
 We are but a few years old. It does not be- 
 come us to think too much of ourselves. 
 "Therefore his stature was exalted above all the 
 trees of the field." ( Ezek. IU : 5. ) 
 
 'The righteous . . . shall grow like a 
 cedar in Lebanon." (Ps. 92: 12.) Inhowmany 
 ways Christians are like cedars ! " The cedars of 
 Lebanon, which He hath planted." (Ps. 101: 
 16.) Every true Christian is the plantimj of the 
 Lord. He has grown from the seed cones of 
 God's truth. Man may reform himself, but Iiq 
 
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 60 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
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 can never make himself a "new creature.' 
 " Every plant which my Heavenly Father planted 
 not, shall be rooted up." Jesus is the author of 
 these words of eternal import. (Matt. 15: 13.) 
 
 "It shall be a goodly cedar: and under it shall 
 dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of 
 the branches thereof shall they dwell." (Ezek. 
 17: 28.) We ought to be like our Redeemer. 
 "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the 
 Most High shall abide under the shadow of ih' 
 Almighty.'''' (Ps. 91:1.) You know Christia 
 that are a shade to which others love to flee. 
 From the burning heat of worry one runs to 
 such a shade and "cookj off." The scorching 
 sands of trial seem moist and settled, as you sit 
 by such a child of God. Oh ! for more such ! 
 Are you one, dear Reader? Let us be like Him 
 who above all others is "A sh.'idow from the 
 heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a 
 storm against the wall." Is. 25: 4. 
 
 The cedar is evergreen. Christians ought to 
 be "evergreen." Some who have no spiritual 
 understanding say that evergreen Christians 
 are always "green," /. e. without maturity of 
 knowledge and experience. Like the cedar we 
 ought always to show freshness of life. Some 
 seem to have spiritual life on Sabbath and are 
 
i 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 51 
 
 leafless all the week. These are not the plant- 
 ing of the Lord; at least they are not cedars. 
 We have evergreen Sabbath Schools. Wo need 
 evergreen Christians— in business, in the kitch- 
 en, in tlie parlor, as well as in the church. 
 How does the cedar keep evergreen? Its leaves 
 fade and die and fall off; but it mwic^ ihon as 
 fdfd as iJicfj fall. Man is changeful and fading. 
 He can only be evergreen for Christ by renew- 
 ing his life and strength every day. The cedar 
 sends many roots deep into tlie soil, and thus 
 finds moisture id nourishment. The cedar- 
 Christian must drink daily of the fountain of 
 living water, and by his root of faith draw 
 nourishment from the Rock of Ages — the Word. 
 "The leaves of the cedar are straight and 
 ctjiindrical and j>o/'^//r(/ " Hero are throe royal 
 virtues of the children of the Heavenly King. 
 How many crooh'd church members there are! 
 They are crooked in business, in work, in so- 
 ciety, in conversation, in church life Most of 
 us are warped somewhere. The cedar Christians 
 are ** straight" — straightforward in everything. 
 So many are not "cylindrical." They aie JIal 
 — insipid spirituallij the Christ spirit is so 
 diluted in their sap (life) that it hardly flavors 
 their speech. What the world wants, what the 
 
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 f" ' I 
 
 4' 
 
 52 
 
 WniSPERINQ LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 church wants, what Christ wants is the unadul- 
 terated life— filled with theS2)irit of God. You 
 cannot tjilk to some "cedars'" five minutes with- 
 out feeliuL;- that their words are "pointed." 
 There is a purpose in their life — to glorify God 
 by beint>' like Him. They aim at this when 
 they peak. Their tongue is like the Sword of 
 the Spirit. They unconsciously make us feel 
 ashamed of oui'selves. Their points entei the 
 joints of our armor. 
 
 The ccdnr Avoi)d is wonderfully free from 
 knots. In British Columbia many new settlers 
 make themselves "shacks" (houses) out of split 
 cedar. They saw boards with an axe. Some 
 Christians are very knotty. We ought to be 
 free from frowns, impatient rem;irks vA\d dis- 
 turbing passions. Like the cedar wood fclie life 
 of a Christian ought to be fragrant with benign 
 acts. There is something about the atmosphere 
 of a cedar^^Christian that tells of the sweetness 
 of his inner life. Pliny says the cedar wood is 
 everlasting. The cedars of Lebanon are more 
 entluring even than ours. The works of s<ano 
 men die before them. (The sooniT dead the 
 bettor) but a cedar that is the planting of the 
 Lord " though dead yet speaks." His memory 
 is green long after Ins body mouklers into dust, 
 
 'il,:. 
 
WHISPERING LEAVi:S OP PALESTINE 53 
 
 The more >ve are like Christ the more abiding is 
 our life and work. "Establish Thou the work 
 of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our 
 hands establish Thou it." Ps. 90: 17. 
 
 "David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I 
 dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the 
 covenant of \l\e Lord dwelleth under curtains." 
 (I Chron. 17: 1.) Many to-day live in ekgant 
 houses, while the ark of their God is burdened 
 with debt. Missionaries, ready to go to the ends 
 of the earth to win souls for Christ, have to stay 
 at home because Christians spend most of their 
 money upon themselves. But " David gathered 
 for the temple cedar trees without number." 
 (I Chr. 22: 4.) Cedars devoted to God is what 
 advances the kingdom. No other life is so 
 noble as the devoted Christian's. Here wo see 
 a noble end, sought by noble means, by n noble 
 soul. Here we Fee the statoliness, the majesty 
 of the cedar. Here we sei^ the power of which 
 the cedar is a sturdy symbol. "I can do all 
 things in Him that strengtheneth mc" (Phil. 
 4: 18.) At last by His grace those who love 
 God shall become part of His spiritual temple. 
 "He that overcometh, I will make him a pillar 
 in the temple of my God." (Rev. 3: 12.) 
 
 i 
 
 w 
 
51 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 Chestnut— S'<?e Plane Tree. 
 
 1 ;. 
 
 < 
 
 n 
 
 Cockle. 
 
 " Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and COCKLE instead 
 of barley." Job. 31:10. 
 
 The word (bosliali) here translated cockle, is 
 a <^eneral term meaning: "bad plant, tveed.'''' 
 
 It is a remarkable and suggestive fact that go 
 where you will and turn up the sod you will 
 soon see the weeds growing luxuriantly. It is a 
 picture of tlie human heart which is full of the 
 seeds of sin. Often these lie hidden and unsus- 
 pecteil for years. Something turns up the sod 
 of the heart and the sin at ouce appears. Look 
 at the denial of the zealous Peter. Look at 
 your own live-;. Weeds are a sign of neglect. 
 We noed to be constantly diligent in (cultivating 
 our lives or sins will show oar neglect. The 
 enemy of souls sows seeds of evil in our heart 
 every chance he gets. Look out for your fields 
 of growing wheat. Seek protection from Him 
 who alone is able to guard you from the arch- 
 fiend. And weeds "yield" ahundanihj. Those 
 who "sow their wild oats"* must reaj) their in- 
 croubo. 
 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 65 
 
 Coriander. 
 
 '^^ And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: 
 and it was like CORIANDER seed, whifrr Kx. W::il. 
 
 " Gad, coriander, the seed, so called from the 
 little furrows or stripes on the Lcrains." (Ges). 
 Gadad means to cut into. " Coriander, the 
 fruit, improperly called seed, of an umbellifer- 
 ous plant (Coriandrum Sativum), a native of 
 the south of Europe and Asia Minor. . . . 
 The plant produces a stem risinjjj about a foot 
 in hoij^-ht, with bi pinnate leaves and llowors in 
 pink or whitish umbels. Tlie fruit is ,u:lol)ular 
 and externally smooth, having five indistinct 
 ridp:es; and the mcricarps or half fruits, do not 
 readily separate from each other. It is used in 
 medicine as an aromatic and carminalive; and 
 on account of its pleasant and puii^j:*. nt flavor, 
 it is a favorite iuL^rcdient in hot curries and 
 sauces. . . . The tender leaves and shoots 
 of the youn<2: plant are ustd in soups and sal- 
 ads." (Brit.) 
 
 Some niin'htrejjfard tlie furrows of this corian- 
 der seed as a defect. Some rcL^ard wrinkles 
 and furrows in the face a defect. Bnt th(\v nro 
 natural to some people, especiiilly the old. They 
 are said to be expressive of thoujj^ht. At least, 
 like ^a'cy liairs, they are in themselvo^; no dis- 
 
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 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
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 grace, but if found in the way of righteousness 
 and good thoughts, they are even an ornament. 
 In spite of its wrinkles the coriander seed is 
 aromatic and fragrant. Too much regard is paid 
 to the outward appearance and too little to in- 
 ternal worth. Sweetness and beauty of the 
 inner life are rather to be desired than a beau- 
 tiful exterior appearance. Some say " Beauty 
 is only skin deep." With some, beauty is only 
 powder deep. 
 
 Cucumber^ 
 
 u p^g remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt for nought; 
 the CUCUMBERS, and the melons, and the leeks, and 
 the onio7is, and the garlick." Num. 11:5. 
 
 Kishuim, translated cucumbers, derived its 
 name from its hardness and the difficulty in di- 
 gesting it. The genus (cucumis) is of the Na- 
 tural Order Cucurl)itaceae. The species referred 
 to, if any particular one, is still undetermined. 
 The melon is " cucumis melo." " It is excess- 
 ively variable both in diversity of foliage and 
 habit, but much more so in the fruit which in 
 some varieties is no larger than an olive, while 
 in others it rivals tlio ponderous fruits of the 
 gourd (cucurliita maxima)." Brit. 
 
 You have, perhaps, met men of one idea. 
 They " ride their hobby to death." Their views 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 57 
 
 are onesided, narrow, illiberal, deformed. The 
 bigot in religion is not alone. Faddists are 
 multiform. A thousand voices in nature whis- 
 per Be many sided. Cramp not the mind. 
 Specialists have their advantages, but also their 
 peculiar dangers. Truth is as diversified as the 
 Cucumis, No one should think that he knows 
 all the truth, and every one else knows little. 
 
 The expression, " as cool as a cucumber," is 
 founded on fact. It is colder than the sur- 
 rounding air. The hot-headed person ought to 
 put his ear beside the cucumber. Don't be 
 rash. Take things coolly. We should make 
 allowance for excitable people; but if we were 
 like cucumbers we would not utter so many 
 " hot words," form so many hasty judgments, 
 nor act so imprudently. How cooling is a 
 melon! Can we cool others off? 
 
 It needs a healthy and vigorous stomach to 
 digest the cucumber. Some truths are like 
 that, and people with weak spiritual stomachs 
 ought to leave these things alone. Paul says 
 (1 Cor. 3:2), "I fed you with milk, not with 
 meat; for ye were not (thie io hear U : nay, not 
 even now are ye able." Even the carnally 
 minded sometimes try to solve the mysteries of 
 the Bible. They endeavor to make plain the 
 
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 58 
 
 WHISPERING LEA.VES OF PALESTINE 
 
 relation su]3sisting between the Persons of the 
 Trinity, to explain tlio introduction of sin into 
 the world, and " clear up " all misty doctrines. 
 They fail to digest them, and they become 
 spritual dyspeptics. There is plenty of food 
 in the Bible that is easily digested. Beware 
 of the c/rc/(mf;rr problems. Peter says (2 Pet. 
 3:1G), '•' Our beloved brother Paul also . . . 
 in all his epistles, ppeaking in them of these 
 things; wherein are some things hard to he un- 
 stood, wliich the ignorant and unstedfast wrest, 
 as tlu'y do also the other scriptures, unto their 
 own destruction." 
 
 Look at the melon growing in dry, sandy soil. 
 Opi^ii it and tell nie where it gt^ts the moisture. 
 It lifis a wonderful power bestowed upon it 
 by its OL'e;itor. Morally and spiritually this 
 world is a sandy desert. God endows those who 
 lore. Him with a now life capable of drawing 
 water out of tlie flinty rock and burning sands. 
 It is just suited for the present life, yet some 
 think it is fit only for the dying! Do you ever 
 get thirsty, fellow-traveller? Riches, fame, 
 pleasures cannot satisfy soul thirst. Listen to 
 the incarnate God as He sits by the well of 
 Sychar: "Whosoever drinketh of the water 
 that I shall give him shall never thirst j but the 
 
 \ ':$ 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 59 
 
 water that I shall give him shall become in him 
 a well of water springiiiu^ up unto eternal life."' 
 (John 4:11). Even many Christians nearly 
 perish from thirst, yet will not take the prof- 
 fered livinj^^ water, There are so many " dry '' 
 Christians. That is why young men are often 
 so afraid of religion. Give the world a church 
 full of "melons" and the youth vrill run unto it. 
 They would realize that relii^ion is to "live by" 
 as well as to " die by."' Talk to yonder man that 
 has, like Job, lost his earthly all. He is cheer- 
 ful. He finds comfort in his losses — gets moist- 
 ure from the hot ashes of his ruins. " Whom 
 the Lord lovotli He chastenelh."' As he sits 
 beside the lifeless form of some dear one his 
 lieart is peaceful. He tliiaks. "It is hard to 
 part, but it is only for a little ^vhile— not dead 
 but gone before. Lord h(^lp me to follow." 
 This one is a sijiritual melon — his heart is al- 
 ways full (jf the water of life. The scorching 
 sands of trial, ihe burning rays of persecution 
 make him drive his root of faith the deeper into 
 the truth of God wht>re living waters flow. 
 "And all did drink the same spiritual driidi: 
 for they drank of a spiritual rock that followed 
 them: !ind the rock was Christ." (1 Cor. 10:4.) 
 
 f 
 
 
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60 
 
 'WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 i^: 
 
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 Cummin. 
 
 " When he hath made -^dain the face thereof, doth he not 
 cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the CUMMIN, and 
 put in the wheat in rows? . . . For the fitches are 
 not threshed tvith a sharp threshing instrument, neither 
 is a cart wheel turnt I about upon the CUMMIN; Ind 
 the fitches are beaten out loith a staff, and the CUMMIN 
 with a rod:' Is. 28:25, 27. 
 
 "Kammon, cumin, German Kimmel, cumin- 
 un sativum Linn, used alone: with salt as a con- 
 diment." — Ges, The Greek word used in the 
 New Testamexit is very similar, kuminon. Rob- 
 inson says of it " an umbelliferous plant with 
 aromatic seed of a warm and ])itterisli taste, 
 very similar to caraway seeds; they were used 
 by the ancients as a condiment, as they still are 
 by the common iieople of Germany." From 
 Britannica Ave cull — " It is a stimulant and car- 
 minative, and is employed in the manufacture 
 of curry powder. It was a(?counted the best of 
 condiments as a remedy for squeamishness." 
 
 From Isaiah we learn tlifit it was easily 
 threshed. It needed but a rod to make it yield 
 its fruit. It was neither '• tight-fisted" nor 
 " close minded." It is thus a gentle rebuke to 
 two great evils. There are many v,lio have far 
 more than their necessities require, yet they 
 close their hand tight upon their money when 
 the needs appeal for help. Giving ought to be 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 61 
 
 done wisely but not stingily. The missions of 
 the Protestant Churches are a safe investment 
 for all the wealth of the rich and the mites of 
 the poor. The interest promised by the Bank 
 of Heaven is '"one hundred fold '' and the prin- 
 cipal yields "eternal life." (Matt. 19:29). 
 Wealth kept becomes sour and injurious; wealth 
 given for good purposes is " medicinal and aro- 
 matic." "Freely ye received, freely give." 
 (Matt. 10:8). Then there are the " close mind- 
 ed" people. They are as stingy of their 
 thoughts and their knowledge as the miser is of 
 his money. They see the folly of those who 
 tell everything to anyone; and they go to the 
 opposite extreme. Let us seek to help others 
 by readily communicating to them good words 
 and helpful thoughts. If we know of a book or 
 newspaper that would do a friend much good 
 we ought at least to recommend it, if we cannot 
 buy it for them. Mental and spiritual wants are 
 greater than physical. " Iron sharpeneth iron; 
 so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his 
 friend." (Prov. 27:17). 
 
 Readiness to help is also a " remedy for 
 squeamishness." Excessive reserve leads to 
 sourness. If one eats heartily and works spar- 
 ingly he is likely soon to be sick at his stomach 
 
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 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
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 — feel squeamish. Tlie one who is all the time 
 jj^ettiiiij^ from others and not giving much in re- 
 turn becomes spiritually and morally squeamish, 
 sickly. The love of God in the heart is better 
 than cummin in the stomach. It gives one life 
 and health. The more one works the more he 
 can eat. The more one imparts, the more he 
 can receive. And God fills our hearts whether 
 they are large or small. Some try to get all 
 they can and do not communicate to others. 
 The heart is enlarged by giving. " The liberal 
 
 soul is made fat," 
 
 The water that's kept in a barrel shut tight 
 Becomes very soon e'en unfit for the nose; 
 
 But water that runs aiul that bubbles along 
 Is better and better the farther it goes. 
 
 Cypress. 
 
 '•'■ He hewcih him down cedars, and taketh the CYPRESS 
 {Rev. Vers. Holm tree) and the oak." {Aiit. Vers.) 
 Is. 11:1-1. 
 
 "^nd Hiram sent to Solomon^ sayinrf, I have heard themes- 
 satje tvhich thou hast sent -unto vie: I will do all thy 
 desire co)icernin<j tiinl)er of cedar, and concernin(f tim- 
 ber of fir {or CYPRESS )." I King 5:8. 
 
 There is dift'(>rence of opinion as to the ren- 
 dering of certain Hebrew names of trees. Ges- 
 enius thinks that iirzah of Is. 44:14 should be 
 translated oak, fiom its hardness. So the Re- 
 vised Version. Gesenius thinks that (jovsh of 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 63 
 
 I Kings 5:8 is cypress, also of ninny other pas- 
 sages where the Authorized Version has fir or 
 fir trees. So also in margin of Revised Version. 
 It little matters for our purpose. The cypress is 
 meant either by tirzdh or by hcrosh. It is not 
 now indigenous on Lebanon but in the great 
 destruction that has come upon cill the trees of 
 Palestine, it may have been exterminated. 
 
 Cypress is the name given to a genus (ciij))'cS' 
 sns) of the Natural Order Conifrrcn or Limtccdc. 
 "The leaves of the cypresses arescale^like, over- 
 lapping and generally in four rows . . . the 
 seeds are wimcrous and winged. All the species 
 exude resin but no turpentine. The C Seniper- 
 virens, the common cypress, is a native of the 
 Levant and Persia. It is a tapering and flame= 
 shaj)ed tree, resembling the Lombard poplar; 
 its branches are thickly covercnl with small im- 
 bricated, shining green leaves. In its native 
 soil the tree grows to the heiglit of seventy or 
 ninety feet. . . . The I imlxT is hard, close- 
 grained, of a fine redisli hue and very durable 
 . . . was employed fur Jiuiaimy cases and 
 images of the gods. . . . The Cypress doors 
 of the ancient St. Peter's at Ronn^ when re- 
 moved by Eugene IV wert> about llOOyenrs old, 
 but nevertheless in a stale of perf(K't preserva- 
 
!! 
 
 'Ml! 
 
 1 
 
 ' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 : 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 i 
 
 
 1 
 
 P 
 
 ' 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 f ^i :^^M 
 
 I 
 
 64 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OP PALESTINE 
 
 tion. Laws were engraved on cypress by the 
 ancients and objects of value were preserved in 
 receptacles made of it. . . . The tree grows 
 straight or nearly so and has a gloomy and for- 
 bidding but wonderfully stately aspect. . . . 
 The berosli or beroth of Scripture, translated 
 *fir' in the Authorized Version in Kings 5: 8, 
 etc., etc., is supposed to signify the Cypress." 
 Brit. There are several species of the cypress 
 in California varying from shrubs to giants 100 
 feet in height. 
 
 " Herein is my Father glorified that ye bear 
 much fruit." There is so much wheat of the 
 Kingdom blasted by weavil, mildew and smut. 
 So many Christian lives are blasted by sins and 
 bear little fruit. How numerous should be our 
 deeds of kindness! our acts of fidelity to God! 
 More numerous even than the seeds of the 
 cypress. God's truth too is "winged." You 
 may say many things which will fall llfel u 
 the ground; but God's Word is "li uo- 
 
 tive." It has wings. It flies to tii heart .iid 
 seeks admission by door or window. Some imes 
 it enters a very small crevice. It fills the heart, 
 opens wide the door, and draws aside the cur- 
 tains. If you wish to say what will not die as 
 poon as it passes your lips, speak the truth of 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 05 
 
 God and pray Him to guide its flight to the 
 open heart. Let Hia words be numerous in 
 your speech and life. If you are such a cypress 
 of the Lord, the resin of sweet incense will 
 accumulate to His glory. 
 
 The cypress points upward. Its cone-shaped 
 form is like a finger-board. — This way to the 
 Creator, and its stately majesty is an emblem of 
 the dignity of one who lives for God and whose 
 life is ever directing others to the Heaven of 
 heavens. 
 
 The wood of the cypress is very enduring and 
 beautiful. There is no life so beautiful as the 
 one devoted to the service of the Redeemer and 
 tinged with the rosy hue of hope. Such a life 
 will endure. The oldest tree in Europe is said 
 to be a cypress, in Lombardy, which is believed 
 to have been in existence in the days of Julius 
 Caesar. The lives of many die before they do; 
 but the soldier of Christ wins victories that will 
 outlast this enduring world; and in after agas it 
 will be said ''though dead, he yet speaks." Is 
 your life such as will stand the test of tim^ ind 
 death? Is the Law of God written upon the 
 tablets of your heart? 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
66 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 '^! Si 
 
 !* I 
 
 Ebony. 
 
 Not indigenous to Palestine — probably im- 
 ported from the Coromandel Coast. 
 
 Fig Tree. 
 
 ''Now from the FIG TREE learn her parable:' Matt. 24: 32. 
 
 ''But they shall sit every man iinder his vine and under his 
 FIO TREE; and none shall make them afraid.^' 
 
 Mic. 4:4. 
 
 The Jews called the fig tree teencih from its 
 S'preadhig branches. Taan means to spread 
 out, to extend. 
 
 "Fig is the popular name given to the genus 
 ficus, an extensive group included in the Natural 
 Order moraceae. . . . The figs vary greatly 
 in habit, some being low trailing shrubs, others 
 gigantic trees. . . . Ficus carica which yields 
 the well known figs of commerce is a bush or 
 small tree rarely more than eighteen or twenty 
 feet high, with broad rough deciduous leaves, 
 very deeply lobed in the cultivated varieties, 
 but in the wild plant sometimes nearly entire 
 . . From the ease with which the nutritious 
 fruit can be preserved, it was probably one of 
 the earliest objects of cultivation, as may be in- 
 ferred from the frecpient allusions to it in the 
 Hebrew Scriptures. . . . The Greeks are 
 said to have receivbd it from Caria (hence the 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 67 
 
 specific name); but the fruit so improved under 
 Hellenic culture that Altic figs became cele- 
 brated throughout the east and special laws 
 were made to regulate their exportation. From 
 the contemptuous name given to informers 
 against the violation of these enactments, syko- 
 phantai, our modern word sycophant is traced. 
 . . . The varieties are extremely numerous 
 and the fruit is of various colors from deep 
 purple to yellow or nearly white. The trees 
 usually bear two crops; one in the early summer 
 from the buds of the last year, the other in the 
 autumn from tlio.ie on the f-:piiiig growth. The 
 latter form the chief harvest. . . . When 
 ripe till* figs are picked and spread out to dry in 
 the sun. . . . This fruit still constitutes a 
 large part of the food of the natives of western 
 Asia and southern Europe both in the fresh h.. u 
 dried st ite. A sort of cake made by mashing 
 up the inferior kinds serves in parts of the 
 Archipelago as a substitute for bread; mixrd 
 with almonds a .-iimilar preparation is sold in the 
 streets of our large towns and eaten as a luxury 
 by the poor under the name of *fig cake.' . . . 
 Medicinally the fig is employed as a gentle 
 laxative. ... It forms a part of the welb 
 known 'confection of senna.' Cut open the 
 
 Mi 
 
 . r; l| 
 
i; 
 
 I 
 
 11 
 
 , i 
 
 h 
 1 1 
 
 
 G8 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 fruit is a popular cataplasm for boils and sores, 
 an application as old as the days of Hezekiali. 
 It is recommended as a demulcent in disorders 
 of the throat, being given in the form of a de- 
 coction. . . . The sycamore fig (Ficus Sy- 
 camorus) is a tree of large size, with heart* 
 shai^ed leaves which from their fancied resem- 
 ])lanc(' to those of the mulberry gave origin to 
 the name sykomoros. From the deep shade 
 cast by its reaching branches it is a favorite 
 tree in Egypt and Syria, being often planted 
 along roads and near houses. The sacred fig, 
 Pippul or Bo, ficus religiosa, a large tree, with 
 heart=sliiij)ed, long-pointed leaves (m slender 
 foot stalks, is much grown in southern Asia 
 The leaves are used for tanning, and afford lac, 
 and some caoutchouc is obtained from the juice; 
 but in India it is chiefly planted with a religious 
 ol)ject, being regfirded as sacred l:)y both Brah- 
 mans and Buddhists. . . . Ficus elastica, 
 the India Rubber Tree, with large oblong, 
 glossy leaves, the pink buds of which are so 
 familiar in our greenhouses, furnishes most of 
 the caoutchouc obtained from the East Indies. 
 It grows to a large size and is remarkable for 
 the snakelike roots that extend in contorted 
 umBses around the babo u£ the trunk. . • . 
 
 1 1 
 
\>v 
 
 AVHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 r>9 
 
 The Banyan Tree (Ficus Indica, Linn.. Uros- 
 tip^ina Bonghalcnse, Gaspar) is a native of vari- 
 ous parts of the East Indies and Ceylon. . . . 
 Every branch from the main body throws oat 
 its own roots, at least in small tender fibres, 
 several yards from the tj^ronnd; but tlK^se con- 
 tinually i^Tow thicker until ihey roacli the sur- 
 face when they strike in, increase t*) lariije 
 trunks and become jjaront trees, shoot iui^' out 
 new branches from the top, which ai>ain in time 
 suspend their roots. . . . On the banks of 
 the Nerbudda accordiu}^ to Forbes' 'Orirnt.il 
 Memories' stands a celebrated tree of tliis kind. 
 . . . This tree once covered an area f;o im- 
 mense that it has been known to sheltov no 
 fewer than 7,000 men. Though now much re- 
 duced in size by the destructive pov.er of tii-^ 
 floods tlie remainder is still nearly 2.000 fo< t in 
 circumference, and the trunks large and small 
 exceed J>,000 in number. . . . The trade in 
 the edible fig is one of long standing. . . . 
 Figs are easily preserved by simply drying in 
 the sun, the grape sugar which they contain in 
 abundance being thus rendered avuilabln for 
 their preservation." — Brit. 
 
 The spreading nature of t<U' llg (esn; ••ja'iy 
 tlie Banyan tree, a cousin of the common fig 
 
 
 i 
 
TT 
 
 70 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 tree) is a seed^thought. The evil in the 
 world spreads with heart=ronding rapidity. 
 Evil men scatter broadcast their evil thoughts. 
 The venom of their evil lives spreads like ink 
 poured into water. One sin may blacken a whole 
 life. Satan roaches out his arms and casts 
 abroad his baneful shade. Do Christians make 
 their influence felt as powerfidly? Are you like 
 salt spreading all around you your preserving 
 power? Are you scattering broadcast the bless- 
 ed truths that save? Is your life a constant 
 benediction, ever increasing the circumference 
 of its shade? God's truth is itself like the 
 spreading Banyan. It gets a footing in one 
 heart; and, then, reaches out its arms until it 
 finds some kindred soul. Its fingers undo the 
 fastenings and with a gentle knock it enters — a 
 welcome guest '* come to stay." From one to 
 another it goes with rapid pace. Many it pass- 
 es because its gentle knock is not heard amid 
 the revelry within. ^ m who are entertaining 
 Satan and his retinue go to the door and listen. 
 If you hear Truth's voice let her in and she will 
 drive all the hellish crew out of your heart and 
 make you a free child of God. The trutli goes 
 on spreading. To some it proves a savor of life 
 unto life; to others the savor of death unto death. 
 
■WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 71 
 
 O 
 
 Let every soul ask, Which is it to me? Am I 
 helping or hindering the spread of truth? It 
 will triumph gloriously in all the oarth. Shall 
 I share the glory or be crushed beneath its car? 
 
 The leaves say we are deciduous. You and I 
 can say the same — tleeiduous. " We all do fade 
 as a leaf." We fall before the wintry blast of 
 death, but in the spring time of the Resurrec- 
 tion our bodies shall rise again. Will they rise 
 in the image of Satan or of Christ? Which are 
 you serving? Oh, how glorious the new body 
 of the Redeemed! Eternal youth and life and 
 beauty! Christlike immortality! 
 
 The truth as it is in Jesus is a wonderful med- 
 icine. When taken inwardly, as it always should 
 be, it sets the whole system in order and gives 
 new life. Figs are a pleasant medicine to take. 
 The truth seems bitter to those whose taste has 
 been vitiated by sin. but if taken it becomes 
 most sweet. Sores and bruises speedily yield to 
 the healing powers of the Gospel plaster. What 
 a demulcent is the love of God! How soothing! 
 The most stubborn irritation "gives way" to 
 this. It is like oil upon the troubled waters of 
 the soul. 
 
 The Sycamon^ tig and the sacred fig liave 
 hcart'Shapcd leaves. A Christian heart is a ten- 
 
 , 
 
 t I 
 
'^mfm-^K^^imw^mmimer 
 
 ■Mm 
 
 if 
 
 72 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 der heart. A heart would be a good symbol of 
 the love of God. It has to do "wlili JicaHs not 
 heads. It comes from the heart of God. It 
 must enter our hearts in order to help us. There 
 it must dwell. It is the heart of Christianity, 
 not the Bword as of Islam, that wins its converts. 
 
 The rubber of the " ficus elastica " keeps our 
 feet dry, protects indeed our whole body, is a 
 bond ( f union, drives our machinery and enters 
 into many departments of life. "The law of 
 his God in in his heart, not one of his steps shall 
 slide." These words are the "rubbers"' of truth 
 to keep our feet dry and 1o keep them from slip- 
 jnng. Nothing else can protect us from the 
 rain like truth. "Honeslyis the best policy." 
 God's love is the bond of union between Christ 
 and the bouI, between soul and soul. It is the 
 belt that transmits the power of God to the dif- 
 ferent departments of life in this lower world. 
 
 Some say that Gaelic was spoken in the Gar- 
 den of Eden! TLe multitude demur. But we 
 must believe the fig tree when its leaves whisper 
 "I was there." (Gen. 8:7). To the Jews it be- 
 came a symbol of plenty (Deut. 8: S; Joel 2: 22; 
 Habb. i): 17). Its destruction was n calamity. 
 "Ho hath laid my vine waste and barked my fig 
 h'ee" (Joel 1: 7). Bethpage near Jerusalem is 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 73 
 
 SO called from the lau; trees — "the house of fij>s." 
 One fig tree withered and cursed stands out 
 from all others, as an object lesson, to teach the 
 fatal eifects of unimproved possibilities. '' And 
 seeinic a fig tree 1)y the waysidis Ho (Jesus) 
 came to it, and f(nind nothing thereon, but leaves 
 only; and He siitli unto it, Let there be no fruit 
 from thee henceforward for ever. And immedi- 
 ately the fig tree withered away." ( Matt. 21 : 19. ) 
 
 Fir. 
 This word as employed in Scripture must be 
 taken in its more general meaning in which it is 
 frequently used. It includes not only the 
 "spruce fir" (abies) and the "silver fir" (picea), 
 of which the Canadian Balsam (P. balsamea) is 
 a species: but also all the other coiiebearing 
 trees (abietinae). Ge.senius would translate the 
 Hebrew bcfoi^h by the more specific name of 
 cypress. The true firs (abies) are not found in 
 Palestine. 
 
 Fitches. 
 
 " When he hath viade plain the face thereof, (Joth he not cant 
 abroad the FITCIIF.sr Is. ;?V.- -J-,. (In thr margin, 
 ^^ or black rtiminini''' Xir/ella Sativa") 
 
 Gesenius says " Ketsahli . . . accord- 
 ing to Septuagiiit, Vulgate, and Rjibbins, 
 nigella melanthrum, i. o. ])la('k cummin." See 
 
 1) 
 
 ii 
 
Bf 
 
 f 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 cummin. This kind was harder to thresh — 
 closer-fisted. 
 
 I 
 
 i! !', 
 
 'itil 
 
 Flax. 
 
 "But she had brought them up to the roof, and hid them with 
 the stalks of FLAX, which she had laid in order upon 
 the roof." Josh. 2 :6. 
 
 ^^ And he healed them all . . . that it might be fulfilled 
 tvhich teas spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying , . , 
 and smoking FLAX shall he not quench, till he send 
 forth judgment unto victory." Matt. 12: 15, 17, 20. 
 
 *• The terms flax or lint are employed at once 
 to denote the fibre, so called, and the plant from 
 which it is prepared. The flax plant (Linum 
 usitatissimum ) belongs to the Natural Order 
 Linaceae ... As cultivated it is an annual, 
 with an erect stalk, rising to a height of from 
 20 to 40 inches, with alternate, sessile, linear- 
 lancelate, branching only at the top into a 
 corymbose panicle of bright blue flowers . . 
 The cultivation and preparation are the most 
 ancient of all textile industries, very distinct 
 traces of their existence during the stone age 
 being preserved to the present day. As to its 
 application at this early period Kellar remarks 
 ' Flax was the material for making lines and 
 nets for fishing and catching wild animals, 
 cords for carrying the earthenware vessels and 
 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 75 
 
 other heavy objects; ia fact one can hardly 
 imagme how navigation could be carried on or 
 the lake dwellings themselves be erected with- 
 out the use of ropes and cords and the erecti(jn 
 of memorial stones . . . would be altogether 
 impracticable without the use of strong ropes.' 
 The preparation of the fibre as conducted in 
 Egypt is illustrated by Pliny who says, * The 
 stalks themselves are immersed in water, 
 warmed by the heat of the sun and are kept 
 down by weights placed upon them . . . 
 The membrane or rind becoming loose is a sign 
 of their being sufficiently macerated. They 
 are then taken out and repeatedly turned over 
 in the sun until perfectly dried and afterwards 
 beaten by mallets on stone slabs. That which 
 is nearest the rind is called stupa (tow) inferior 
 to the inner fibres and lit only for the wicks of 
 lamps.' . . . Flax is always pulled up by 
 the roots and under no circumstances is it cut 
 or shorn like cereal crops . . . For water 
 retting (described by Pliny, as above) pure 
 soft water is essential . . . For ordinary 
 water-retting flax two operations are required, 
 hvst breaking, ami t\ienticuichin(/ . . . The 
 breaking is done by passing the stalks between 
 grooved rollers to which in some cases a recip- 
 
 3 
 
 ,1* 
 
 I 
 
76 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 mi 
 
 I 
 
 »i i'< 
 
 Tocatm<j; motion is communicated an.l tho 
 broken sliives are beaten out by fiuspendiii;^^ the 
 fibre in a machine fitted with a scries of revolv- 
 ing blades, which striking violently ngninst the 
 flax, shake out the bruised and broken woody 
 cores . . . Codilla is tho tow, or broken 
 and ravelled fibres produced in this .scutching 
 l^rocess, therefore often called scutching tow, 
 vrliile tow proper is the siniiliar product separ- 
 ated in the subsequent operation of heckling 
 the flax, prejjaratory to spinning." Brit. Flax 
 seed and the oil horn it (linseed oil) and linen 
 are used for many valuable x)urpos'. s. 
 
 The erect stalk and ])right blue blo.^soms 
 suggest the '"true blue" of truth. It brooks 
 no crooked ways, pities weakness and sympa- 
 thizes with every loyal effort after perfect recti- 
 tude. Some are loyal on Sabbath, especially 
 in church. Judging from their demeanor there 
 one might think they were saints with the joy 
 all crushed out of their hearts by the wicked- 
 ness of others. Monday morning take care, for 
 they m?iy not bo so saintly in their business 
 dealings. Not so the flax. Upright every day 
 alike with its fdiecrful bright blue blossoms. 
 Crooked h!iIf-hoav*-"d people generally have the 
 long face and sanctimonious manner. What 
 
i J 
 
 WUISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 77 
 
 the world, the church, what Christ wants is the 
 cheerful, inu'-hliic Christian. 
 
 With flax the ancients canglit their ii.sh. 
 What a stronc^ net truth makes! How invisible 
 the line yet how sure! And this net will 
 gather of all nations and cast them on the 
 shore of Eternity to be picked over l)y the 
 great Judge. A net of falsehood Is sure to 
 break somewhere, but truth never gives way. 
 Flax ropes hold the sails, we too need "the 
 stays " of tiulli as we sail over life's sea in our 
 frail barque. See these memorial stones being 
 raised to their places! What think you of the 
 work of flax? There is nothing which so raises 
 mem oiial stones as truth. Its v/ork abides. 
 And the Throne of Truth is eternal. 
 
 In x)reparing flax for higher uses it must be 
 kept down under water by heavy weights. So 
 people often need to be kept down a while be- 
 fore they are fit to get up. Nothing so mars 
 excellence as "upishness." Even a very 
 excellent person becomes obnoxious if he is 
 very conceited and dogmatic. Others wish 
 liberty for their own opinions. Hence we need 
 abase self if we wish to help others; and if we 
 refuse to do so willingly, God often puts such a 
 galling weight upon us that we are bowod down 
 
 
 l1 
 

 ■\ ;■ I 
 
 fij 
 
 :| ISi 
 
 I 
 
 k 
 
 11? iiifll 
 
 J! * 
 
 1] 
 
 
 79 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 When we have well learned the lesson God 
 graciously removes the burden and lifts us up 
 " Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty 
 spirit before a fall. Better it is to be of a lowly 
 spirit with the poor, than to divide the spoil 
 with the proud." Prov 16: 18, 19. Blessed are 
 the meek for they (not the proud) shall inherit 
 the earth." (Matt. 5: 5.) 
 
 Sometimes even more then humbling is nec- 
 essary. After the " retting "' comes the " break- 
 ing " and the " scutching." Pliny beats the flax 
 with " mallets on stone slabs." Modern manu- 
 facturers put it through '" a mill." The hand of 
 Providence often seems cruel. Stone slabs in 
 the cemetery speak of bruised and crushed 
 hearts. Reverses in business, disappointments 
 and persecutions are sharp blades in the mill 
 that does its work slowly yet surely. The 
 woody, worthless parts of human nature are 
 thus separated from the fine linen of God's new 
 creatures. How much tliere is of " tow " in our 
 beings. It needs much " scutching " to pro- 
 duce the finest fibre. We ought to be willing 
 to endure in the hope of the " glory that is to 
 be revealed in us." Even the " tow " is suitable 
 for wicks to burn in the Light Houses. Our 
 own and others defects ought to be used for 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 79 
 
 beacon lights, drawing their power from the oil 
 of God's redeeming grace. 
 
 Like flax, truth must be cnfm\ root and 
 branch. So many make a mistake by clipping 
 the truth which is thus shorn of its strength. 
 A Samson thus becomes a weakling. Truth 
 cannot be compromised with the world, without 
 serious injury. The great curse of the Church 
 of Christ to-day, is shorndruth, deformed 
 Christians. If it were not for this, the largest 
 gates would be taken off their hinges and carried 
 away. Nothing could withstand their mighty 
 strength. Souls would press into the kingdom. 
 
 Purity must go with truth. If flax is soaked 
 in water made impure by iron or lime, its fibre 
 is weakened. Of what use is truth if soaked in 
 impurity of word or action? 
 
 The flax, beautiful in life, is more efficient 
 after its life is destroyed. Some people's lives 
 die before them. Others at their death but 
 begin to live. A pebble dropped into a calm 
 lake sets waves in motion that but begin when 
 the pebble disappears. Are we in our lives 
 setting good forces in motion that will widen 
 their spheres after we are numbered with the 
 dead? Look at Carey, and Duff, and Burns, 
 and Livinp'ston! Above all look at the greatest 
 
 
 ( . 
 
 r.i 
 
 ilil 
 
p< 
 
 80 
 
 WHISPERING LJ:AVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 f' 
 
 i; 
 fi 
 
 li 
 
 if 
 
 n 
 
 
 1 i' 
 
 •^'t 
 
 ,1 -'- 
 
 1 
 
 1 W \ 
 
 niJH 
 
 H 
 
 < 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 of Foreign MissioJiaries— Christ! Let His life 
 be our iiiypiration. His death our comfort, His 
 resurrection onr hope, and His intercession at 
 God's ri.Lilii hand our assurance. 
 
 One sialk of liax is but little, yet from many 
 is woven the fine linen of angelic costume. 
 Mail}' threads make a cord not easily broken. 
 Then let us not despair, but unite our feeble 
 efforts. Work hand in hand. The love of God 
 is our bond of uiiioti. Jesus prays, "That they 
 may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in 
 me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us: 
 that the vorld may believe tli.it Thou didst 
 B(jnd Me. And the glory which Tlioa hast 
 given Me I have given unto them; that they 
 may be one, even as Wo are one; I in them, and 
 Thou in Me, that they may bo perfected into 
 one." (John 17: ^31, 22. 2:].) What says that 
 ]>undlo of tlax in Jericho? "We hid the spies 
 of Joshua." Truch ever protects those who seek 
 shelter under it. With trutJi wo lo<» may pro- 
 tect otliers. A cobweb spun across the mouih 
 of a cnve just after the fugitive entered turned 
 aside his fierce pursuers. Plow often the course 
 of our livfs has been changed by a most irifling 
 incidont! Let ua seek to turn others ia the 
 riyht irai/. Bunyan overhe.-. .1 the convvU'sation 
 
' 1 1 
 
 V>-niSPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 81 
 
 of some women talking on spiritual matters and 
 he was turned into llie channel of Truth. Use 
 liltle things as sacredly as the so called great 
 chances of life. Linen of the fina^f texture, 
 with 140 thretids to the inch, adorned kings and 
 priests. It is regard for little things that makes 
 the finest lives. And our little acts done in the 
 right spirit, Christ will neither disregard or 
 make void. ** For whosoever shall give you a 
 cup of water to drink, because ye are Christ'.^, 
 verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose 
 his reward." (Mark 0: 41.) "The smoking 
 ilax shall He not ([ucmch, till He send fortli 
 judgment unto victory."' (Matt. 12: 20.) 
 
 Garlic. 
 
 II 
 
 '* We remember the fish, which we did eat in Efjypf for 
 nought; the cucumbers, avd the melons, aud the L^JEKS, 
 and the ONIONS, and the GAIiLIC" Num. It: r,. 
 
 Wo have mention made here of three species 
 of (iJliinu. The garlic is allium sativum; t\v) 
 leek, a. porrum; and the imioii, a. cepa. The 
 Hebrew word for leek means grass, fiif grass. 
 Among Celtic CTernmn ?nid Slavonic nations 
 leek was the primary me?'iiing of '* succulent 
 herb."' (xarlic means the clovt^i le(»k, <ind onion 
 the undivided leek. All have u cliMracteriHlic 
 
'111 
 
 ■,«i 
 
 II! 
 
 m 
 
 v,iiisr'ERi:;a leaves or rAT.r,STi:;E 
 
 odor. TIio leok is the mildv5st of tlio three; 
 and the oiiiou comes Uijxt in stron,L,4h. Thoy 
 ure tlio most wholesome of vegeta])les and arc 
 iis<m1 modieiiiidly. Garlics possi^as biiuiulaiit 
 and Btomachic properties. Garlics and leinoii 
 juice have been used for diphtlieria. The leek 
 is the badLce of the AVelsh who wear it in their 
 hats on St. DiiviiVs Day. The Jews seem never 
 to liavo lost their likini.'j for the j^arlic and the 
 leeks and the onions acquired in ELJ-ypt. 
 
 Islaiiy Avhol('som(» truths are not pleasant. 
 S(»me do Dol eat onions becaus(i of their oiTen- 
 sivn odor, th()UL>;li they know they are \vJi(/le- 
 some. So many will not receive a truth into 
 their hearts unless it is a ph'asant one. It is 
 hardly iiect^ssary to say that tlie most pleasant 
 tliintrs are jj^enerally tlie least profitable. Can- 
 (iies, pastri<>s, and hii;h livni;j: while agreeaV>h 
 to the palate are detrimental to health. Plain 
 diet, though at tiist less palatable, conduces to 
 he.'dth and long life. So plain truths plainly 
 nerved are the most wholeBomc Often it if 
 the bitter medicine tliat cures. No mediciiu' is 
 harder to inko than ihe Trntli. 1 am a lost din- 
 ner. drs(nTiiig tli(' jumishment of Hell. Rut it 
 i.l (Miiv Vilirn lliis is iaken that tlie soul can 
 
WHISPERING- LEAVES CF TALESTINE 
 
 a3 
 
 havo the new jo3"ous life tliat is in Christ Jesiio, 
 our Saviour. 
 
 Gopher Wood. 
 
 '- Make thee an arJ: of CxOPHER wnocir Gen. r,: 11. 
 
 Gesenius says the Hebrew jj^oplior means lit- 
 erally " i)itc'li-wood, such as tli!^ pino. Ilr. 
 cypres:-;, cedar, and other trees oi a like kind, 
 used in shipbuildini^ — probably tl)'^^ eyp.rcss." 
 Both our modern versions of the Bible leav(; llio 
 word untranslated. 
 
 n 
 
 Heath. 
 
 Thuti saifh the Lord: Ctirspd is the man thitt tniritcJh i.i 
 Dutii, and viakcth Jli'sh hbi arm, and whose hi'tirf dc- 
 piirleth from the Lord, For he shall be like the I IK. 1 77/ 
 in the di'serf, and sliall not see ichi'ii nood ctuni-tJi ; imt 
 shall inhabit the parched places in the icildrm.ss, a 
 s(tlt hind and not inhabited.''^ Jcr. 17: '>, <i. 
 
 Th's does not mean the purple heatli of Seot- 
 land, but soDie desert plant icrowiu:^ nc.!- tlif 
 Dead Sea. The Helirow name (irorr is Troi:! 
 Ihe root ar(U' aiixndyin^j; uiiked, i'or)«irn. alo 
 ruins. In Jor. 48: *■ Be likt^ tln^ /Vv^/// in tlie 
 wildernosB," ihe iiuirL;in of the .Aulhorif^ifd 
 Versjion ^ivGs '' or a n-iked In^e." Thly soeiu < 
 ai)out nil that is known of this wood. It nriy 
 lijive boon ap[>lied to Wvuuo cmo of tho many 
 
I- 
 
 
 'ii 
 
 ,,1) .If. 
 
 i ;'■ 
 
 I 'I' 
 
 la 
 
 'l' 
 
 jiii' 
 
 'ij! 
 1 ! 
 
 
 !■ ! 
 
 1 84 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 • stunted shrubs of tbo wilderness in the neisj^h- 
 boi hood of the Dead Sea, or it may have had 
 only a {general signification. 
 
 What a picture of some " forlorn" ones! They 
 have served self and the world all their life; 
 find in their old age they are f(jrsaken by their 
 friends, respected by none, a scorn and con- 
 tempt to many, a pitiless prey to Death physi- 
 cal and spiritual. How terriJDle the woo of tho 
 forsaken of God and man! The ejirth becomes 
 " a grerit howling wilderness " on the borders of 
 tlie Sea of the Doad. 
 
 Hemlock. 
 
 «• Therefove. jud{imcnl sprivfjefh up as HEMLOCK in (ho fur- 
 rowii of the Jieiay Hos. 10:1. 
 
 Tn Deut. 20: 18, the same Hebrew word 
 ro.s// is translated "gall;" in Amos 5: 7, worm- 
 wood. The margin adds *' a poisonous lierb." 
 (lesenius thinks it refers to tho y;f>//;;/y so Ccdhnl 
 from its hccuh, for ros/t primarily moans a 
 licad. No nnitter what rosh morals, its nature 
 js di'Bcribcd for us. It is an embh^m of sin. 
 1 1 springs up everywhere in the hearts culti\at- 
 ed by tho Spirit of God. It is like the seed of 
 weeds lying in the soil only awaiting the plough- 
 alinre. Though ph'iisant to th(^ sight, it is bit- 
 
 '.: •• 
 
'V\Jii>.rElii:sG LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 H5 
 
 toi- as j^all, poisonous as hemlock, and poppy 
 liQadod. The only antidote is tha love of God 
 in tJiG soul. 
 
 >rd 
 m- 
 
 Ui 
 
 a 
 lire 
 \\n. 
 ivt- 
 of 
 ■'i;h- 
 bit". 
 
 Husks 
 
 ^Aiul he vjo>.dtl faux have been filled with the HUSKS (mi)' - 
 (jiii, Greek, ihe23ods ofthecuroh tree) that the tiwine diii 
 vat: and no man gave unto /zim." Luke 15: JO. 
 
 The Greek kcrafion moans a little horn; then 
 aj)plied to the pods of the carob tree, from their 
 nhape. The lexico,<j:rapher Robinson says, 
 " The carob tree. Arabaic kliarab, Gr. Kerateia, 
 the eeratonia silicpia of Linn. Germ. Johiin- 
 nisbrodbaum, is common in Syria and in t'he 
 soathcrn parts of Europe, and sometimes j^rows 
 very lMr<^t\ It produces Ioiil?, slender [)ods, 
 slinped like a liorn or sickle, containinij a 
 sweetish pulp and several small, brow, i, shinin^jj 
 see Is like beans. Tliese pods are sometimes 
 eii;'ht or ten inclie.^ lonsj^ ami a Hn!j:er broad. 
 Tliey are eaten with relish l)y th«» poorer classes 
 in the East; and swine ;ire often le-' npon 
 them." '* Under the name of Carob beans or 
 locusts, the leufume of Ceratoria sili(piii is culti- 
 vated on the shores of the Mediterranean imd 
 used as food for cattle. The shells of the can^b 
 bean contain a larj^e proportion of su^^ir and 
 
 M 
 
 ! 
 
fi6 
 
 Wl-IIKrElUNG UE/VVKS Ol'' rAuFSriXE 
 
 
 lii 
 
 are often consumed ks .'i tluiaty hy ^-liildren. 
 These beans woro i'(jr:iieriy Buppofu"! to ]io the 
 locusts eaten by John the B:i])li,st ;:ud hence 
 have been called St. John's Bread. Tiio storilo 
 plains and mountains of Chili produc-o the car- 
 ob tree which in doiiance of a boiliii;' sun 
 stretches out its spacious linil)s, covered witli 
 foliat^e, forming an agreeable retreat to the 
 weary traveller by day as well as by ni-.cht. . 
 The locust tree is of the Order Legmiiiiios.G. 
 It differs from all leguminous plaid>s oy the 
 dilated disk to the calyx. . . . The legume 
 is compressed, ofteii curved, indehiscenl, and 
 coriaceous, but witli sweet, pulpy divisions 
 between the seeds which as in otlier genera of 
 the cassieae are albuminous. . . . The car- 
 ob tree was regarded by Hprengel as the tree 
 with which iMoses sweetened the bitter waiters 
 of Marali (Ex. 15: 25). as the Kh irrub according 
 to Avic(mna has the property oL* sweetening salt 
 and l)itter waters." — Brit. 
 
 That the locust tree yields frnit which is eat- 
 en by man and be^'st is a whoh^Fiome truth. 
 Our bodies are akiti to the cattle that eat grass; 
 yes, even to the pig that wallows in the mire. 
 We are as dependmit upon food as they; and 
 wheat, oats, buckwheat, etc., are as good food 
 
WllISrERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 87 
 
 for them as for us. It is true tiiat vv^o have also 
 a hi<i:her nature which resjuires angels' fooil, 
 even the food of God ^vhiLb. is love. But it 
 would be well for sonio t(3 think nioro on this 
 subject, how much yve are like tlio beasts tliiit 
 perish. The man or v^'oniau that is svv'aycd by 
 the feelings and desires of the body is very 
 much like the lower animals. How piggisli 
 some are! How like hyenas others! Do you 
 not knov/ one like tt "siiake in the grass"? 
 The stubborn mule has his laiina.i counterpart. 
 Some youngsters bawl like calves. Even grown 
 persor.s ape the struUir.g gobbler. They look 
 down upon their fellowmen who have less mon- 
 ey, or less learning, or less refinement tn.au 
 iliey. They have high thoughts of themselves. 
 To sucli the locust tree v/hispers, '' 1 ])rovide 
 tln' swine with food good enough for you! 
 Thc'ij eat it with gratitude and do nut pride 
 th' b'es on being better tlian toads. You 
 are ;i poor, miserable .^liiinor wallowing in tlio 
 mire of your self conceit. Vou indeed have a 
 higher nature but you have degraded it. You 
 have about as mucli true generosity as the 
 swine, thervifore von are not as desi'rviiig as 
 they. Measure Hves V)y ability and <»i)i)ortuni- 
 ties." The man that cultivates his Inwcr nature 
 
I ^ 
 
 II 
 
 il' 
 
 "II 
 
 18 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 becomes more like the lower animals; but he 
 who, realizing his affinity to what is lov/v^r, 
 humbles himself and seeks grace from God to 
 cultivate his higher nature becomes more lik(^ 
 God. 
 
 The Greek name meaning horn suggests the 
 " horn of plenty,*' which idea its abundant fruit 
 enforces. Its fruit is not the choicest but it 
 does the best it can and yields a large supj^ly. 
 There ere not many Jirst rate carpenters; but 
 all ought to do the best they can and as much 
 as they can. Some work merely to " put in the 
 time" So it is with many Christians. They 
 say " I cannot do first rate work for Christ. I 
 am of stammering lips. I lack tact and wisdom. 
 It is no use for me to try." What nonsense! 
 Do the host you can and do all you can. God 
 expects no more than your best. Ahil'dy is ///s 
 gift; the use of it is yoiivfi. The locust tree 
 says " I cannot bear grapes or gravensteins, but 
 such as I liave I will give yowfrcchj.'^ 
 
 The bean is surrounded by a sweet pulp. 
 This maizes the bean more agreeable. When 
 we have to tell unpleasant truths, it is well to 
 put a little " sweet pulp " about them. There 
 is no harm in the sugar coating of a bitter pill. 
 The beans of truth will often bo received if 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 89 
 
 served thus; whereas they vvould be rejected if 
 offered without " pulp." The i^ulp of the carob 
 bean is also nutritious, with its sugar and its 
 albumen. Never sweeten truth with falsehood 
 but with other truth that is '• pleasant to take." 
 
 When the Prodigal Son in that far away land 
 Would have liked to have eaten the food of the swine 
 But could not, he thus showed to us all his dire need 
 And the deptli of his fall from his father and home; 
 But his mind and his spirit had suffered tlie most 
 And they craved the fond love and the fatherly care, 
 And 'twas when he returned to tl\e home of his youth 
 Ho taught Ks to return to our God and rejoice. 
 
 Hyssop. 
 
 *^ Ptinic, me wiih HYSSOP, and I shall be clean: wash met 
 (Hid I shall be loliiler than snotv.'^ /V. 51 : 7. 
 
 As iini)lied by this utterance of the Psalmist, 
 the hyssop v/as much used by the Jews for 
 sprinkling in their sacred rites. '"Under this 
 name (ezob) the Hebrews appear to have com- 
 prised not only the common hyssop of the 
 shops but also other aromatic plants, especially 
 mint, wild majoram, etc." Ges. It must have 
 been a small herb as wo see in I Kings 4: 83, 
 where we are told that Solomon "spake of trees, 
 from the cedar that is in Lebanon even unto 
 tlib hy,«sop that springeth out of the wall." 
 
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n 
 
 1 1 
 
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 90 
 
 WHISPERING LP:AVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 Hyssop (Hyssopiis officinalis) r i^irdtn lua-b 
 belonglntif to tlie Natural Order Labiatae, culti- 
 vated for use in domestic; mediciuo . . . 
 is an evero^reen suffructicose labiate plant 
 . . . It is a small perennial about two feet 
 hijj^h witli slender, quadraniijular woody stems: 
 narrowly elliptical pointed, entire dotted leaves 
 about one inch lon<^, one-third iiicli wide. <;row- 
 iuLC in pairs on the stem; and lon.L^ terminal, 
 erect, half verticillate, leafy spikes of small vio- 
 let=bluo flowers which are in blossom from 
 June to Se})tember. Two varieties of the plant 
 occur in .;;ardens, one havinsjj varieii^nted leaves 
 and the other reddish flowers. The leaves have 
 a warm nromatic Intter taste ... a stron«j: 
 tea made of the leaves and sweetened with hoii- 
 ey was f(3rmerly used in pulmonary nnd catarrh- 
 al affections, and externally as an application to 
 bruises and indolent swellinp^s." Brit. 
 
 The first truth to sugti^est itself is the sacred 
 uses of the hyssop. Just before the depnrtuio 
 of tlie Jews from Egypt "Moses called for all 
 the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw 
 out, and take you lambs according to your fami- 
 lies, and kill the Passover. And ye shall take a 
 bunch of Jnjsi^oj), and dip it in the blood that is 
 in tlie bason, and strik(> the lintel and the 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINF. 
 
 01 
 
 two side posts, with the blood that is in the 
 bason; and none of you shall j^^o out of tlio 
 the door of his house until the morning." (Ex. 
 12: 21, 22) "Then shall the priest coramini.l 
 to take for the leper that is to be cleansed two 
 living clean birds, and cedar wood, and scark^t, 
 and husso2)y (Lev. 14: 4) "And he shall take 
 to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar vrood, 
 and scarlet, and hyssoi^.''' (14: 49.) lu tho 
 sacrifice of the "red- heifer,*' "the priest shall 
 take cedar wood and hjjssoi), ^^^ scarlet, and c;i.st 
 it into the midst of the burning of the heifer." 
 (Num. 19: 6.) And when a person dies in a 
 tent "a clean person shall take hijssop, and dip 
 it in the water, and .sprinkle it upon the tent, and 
 upon all the vessels, and upon the pereons that 
 were there, and upon him that touched the \hWAi, 
 or the slain, or the dead, or tho grave." (Nun]. 
 19: 18.) "There was set there a vessel full oi 
 vinegar: so they put a sponge full of tho vino- 
 gar upon ////.s,so|), and brought it to liis mouth.' 
 (John 19: 29.) Perhaps no plant mentioned in' 
 the Bible suggests more forciljly the all Impor- 
 tant matter of consrcrafioif. In life wo see 
 some who consecrate the Sabbath to Gol ;iiid 
 the other six days of tho week to self and the 
 devil. Others consecrate their tongue and 
 
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\:-3 VYUlSPEKIJsG LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 desecrate their lives. Others still are desultory 
 in their practice. Now and again they try 
 to tlo Bomething for God. Paul upholds the 
 hyssop, " Whatsoever ye do, in word or in deed, 
 do all in the name of the Lord Jesus." (Col. 
 ii'.n.) Again in writing to the Romans (12: 
 1 ) he says " I beseech you therefore, brethren, 
 by the mercies of God, to present your bodies 
 a lin'nfj sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, 
 which is your reasonable service." 
 
 How wonderful are the healing properties of 
 consecration! The blood becomes purified. 
 The weak muscle is t^ade strong. The lungj 
 of faith become healthy and active, ever breath- 
 ing Ihe name of Jesus in i)rayer. Bruises 
 received from our fcllowmen are healed; and 
 the sores of sin disaj^poar. In this way alone 
 can we always have a supply of the balm of 
 Gilead. The heaviness and listlessness of spir- 
 itual dyspepsia gives way before the cheerful 
 hope and activity of health. The cold heart 
 glows with love divine. 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 9S 
 
 "Is thy cruse of comfort wasting, rise and shore it 
 
 with another; 
 And through all the years of famine it ehnll servo 
 
 thee and thy brother. 
 Love divine will fill thy storehouse or thy haudful 
 
 still renew; 
 Scanty fare for one will often make a royal fea.*t 
 
 for two. 
 
 '* For the heart grows rich in giving, nJi its wenlfli is 
 living grain; 
 Seeds which nnldew is the gnrnor, scattered fill Vi'it!; 
 
 gold the plain. 
 la thy burden hard and heavy? Do thy pteps drr.j' 
 
 nrpttrily ? 
 
 Iit\^ 'o bear thy brother's burden; (lod will bear 
 both it and thee. 
 
 
 "Numb and weary on the mountains wouldst thou 
 
 sleep amid the snow? 
 Chafe that frozen form beside thee and togethei' 
 
 both shall go. 
 Art thou stricken in life's battle? Many v/onndei' 
 
 round thee moan; 
 Lavish on their wounds thy balsams and fhnl bnlni 
 
 shall heal thine own. 
 
 
 '* Is the heart a well left empty? None but (Jod its 
 
 void can fill; 
 Nothing but a ceaseless fountain can it.-, roasclef..'' 
 
 longing still; 
 Is the mrt a living power? Self entwined il:< 
 
 strength sinks low; 
 It can only live in loving and by serving love will 
 
 grow. 
 
 AM IV, 
 
H 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF IMLESTIXE 
 
 I 
 
 ' Take my lifo and lot il bo 
 Consecrated Lord to thee; 
 Take my moment.s and my days, 
 Let them flow in ceiiKelesH prnine. 
 
 Take ray hnuds and let them movo 
 At the impulse of thy love; 
 Take my feet and let tliem bo 
 Swift and beautiful for thes. 
 
 Take my voice and let me wing 
 Always only for my Ki!i,%': 
 Take niy lips and let thorn be 
 Filled with messages fi-oni Thee. 
 
 Take my silver and iiiy f^old; 
 Not a mito would I with liold: 
 Take my intellect and use 
 Every power as thou shult chpose. 
 
 Take my will and make it thine; 
 It shall be no I()ii;;i;r mine: 
 Take my heart it is thine own, 
 It shall be thy royal throne. 
 
 Take my love; ray Lord I pour 
 At thy feet its treasure store: 
 Take myself and I will bo 
 Ever, only, all for thee.'' 
 
 F. B. RATBROAIi. 
 
■-' i 
 
 ^\HISPERINQ LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 05 
 
 Juniper. 
 
 " And he lay ihmn avd slcjd vnder a JUNIPER trve {mar- 
 gin or BROOM); ttml behold an anyel touch^'d him, 
 and said, arise aud eitty 1 Kimjn 1915. 
 
 '* They pluck .saltivurl by the bushrs and the roots of Iha 
 BROOM are their meat:^ Job 30:4. 
 
 '' Sharp arrows of the mighty with coals of JUNIPER {or 
 BROOM). Ps. 120:4. 
 
 The Hebrew word (rothem) iranslated juni- 
 per in the Authorized Vorsic-n, nnd partly also 
 in the Revi.-ed, rrceivos its name from the idta 
 of himliiKj. Gisoniusnays: "Rothem is goncsta; 
 broom, Spartium; junceum, Linn; u shrub 
 growing in the desert of Arabia with whitish 
 flowers and bitter roots, which the Arabs regard 
 as yielding the best charcoal." It is a beauti- 
 ful and fragrant plant, called by the Arahs 
 retem or rit'm. It grows tight or ten foot high 
 and affords a pleasant but not dense shade in 
 the sands of the desert. 
 
 It affords shade where most needed — amid the 
 burning sands. A lHUe ()ji})orfinir help i.-? but- 
 ter than nnich that is not nooded. Some jieoj^le 
 are always ready to help the prosperous and 
 popular. To these they give fine dinners and 
 exponsive presents. What virtue is there in 
 this? "Do not even the ])ublicanM the fame?" 
 
 r 
 
nc 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 
 I 
 
 (Matt. 5:46.) They give because they expect 
 a return. It is often a waste, a sinful abuse of 
 the property God entrusts to them. The Bible 
 warns us against giving to the rich. " He that 
 oppresseth the poor to increase his gain, and he 
 Ihat giveth to the rich, cometh only to want." 
 (Prov. 22:16.) What is praiseworthy is giving 
 to the needy. When a person is unpopular or 
 unable to make any return, give him out of the 
 fullness of your heart. " A friend iu need is a 
 friend indeed." Jesus set us an example: "I 
 came not to call the righteous but sinners." 
 (Matt. 9:13.) 
 
 Rothem means " the binder." Some people 
 are like gunpowder. They separate chief 
 friends, and wherever they go they stir up strife. 
 Others are peacemakers. They soothe the irri- 
 tfited nerves and explain misunderstandings. 
 Elijah slept under the broom and felt better for 
 it. Would that we all had at least a branch of 
 it in our homes. 
 
 Its coals are the hottest. Hot coals are not 
 put on others' heads often enough. The hotter 
 they are the better. *- If thine enemy hunger, 
 feed him; if he thirst, give him to drink: for in 
 so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his 
 head." (Rom. 12:20.) 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 07 
 
 How beautiful and fragrant is the broom! 
 
 But better far its shade, its meaning, and its heat! 
 And HO tho soul that cools the fevered brow 
 
 Is lovelier than fashion's doll with vain conceit. 
 
 Lentils. 
 
 ^^ And Jacob gave Esau bread and potiage of LENTILS; 
 and he did eat and drink and rose up and tvent his 
 his tvay; so Esau despised his birthright." Gen. 23:34. 
 
 " Adashim, len tiles, a kind of pulse resembling 
 small beans, used chiefly by the poor." Ges. 
 
 " Lentils, the seed of lens esculenta, mcinch, 
 a small annual of the vetch tribe. The plant 
 varies from six to eighteen inches in height and 
 hfiH many long ascending branches. The leaves 
 are alternate with six x)airs of oblong, linear, 
 obtuse, mucronate leaflets. The flowers, two or 
 four in number, are of a pale blue color, and are 
 borne in the axils of the leaves, on a slender 
 footstalk equalling the leaves in length; they 
 are produced in June or early in July. The 
 pods are about one-half inch long, broadly ob- 
 long, slightly inflated and contain two seeds, 
 which are the shape of a double convex lens, 
 and about one-sixth inch in diameter. . 
 In Enj;lish commerce two kinds only of lentils 
 are principally met with, viz: the French and 
 tho Egyptian. . . . Lentils keep best in the 
 
 1 1 ; ;i 
 
98 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 husk, Ko far as flavor is concerned, and will keep 
 good in this way for two years, either for sowing 
 or for food. ... A Hindoo proverb says: 
 " Rice is good, but lentils are my Ufe." But in 
 England they have been reputed difficult of di- 
 gestion and apt to disorder the bowels and in- 
 jure the sight. ... A few years ago some 
 cases of the poisoning of pigs were traced to the 
 use of the seed of this plant in their food." 
 (Brit.) 
 
 When first we meet with the lentil in the 
 Bible it is an accomplice with Jacob in the be- 
 trayal of Esau to his hunger. It was a cowardly 
 conspiracy. The leaves are inflated. Behold 
 the hypocrite and the "dude" inflated with 
 self-conceit. In spite of the use of the "lens" 
 they aro " obtuse" to solid truth. If lentils poi- 
 son pigs they are not to be trusted; yet Hin- 
 doos and others make them their food. Some 
 people make lies their food and rejoice in poi- 
 sonous thoughts. In 2 Sam. 23:11 we meet the 
 lentils again in the plot of ground where the 
 Philistines routed the Israelites. There are 
 persons who are always to be found where there 
 is fuiy fi;^diting. They revel in it. And they 
 are of about us much use as lentilH. You can- 
 
WHI8PE11INO LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 00 
 
 •V 
 
 
 not tell whether they help most the rijj:ht or the 
 wrong. 
 
 Lily. 
 
 " / am a rose of Sharon, 
 A LILY of the valleys:* So^.g of S. 2:1. 
 " Consider the LILIES of the fields how they grow; they toil 
 not, neither do they spin; yet I say unto yoii, that eivjj 
 Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of 
 these:' Matt.e.2R,29. 
 
 According? to Gesenius the Hebrew *' shosan 
 is a lily (Gr. Krinon) j^rowing wild in Palestine 
 and the adjacent regions in fields and pastures. 
 . . . The oriental lily is of various colors 
 OBpecially white and cerulean ; but in Canticles 
 (5:3) the lips are compared with lilies, proba- 
 bly red or purple." In Britannica we read 
 ''Lily, lilium, the typical genus of Liliaceae, 
 embrace s nearly fifty species, all confined to the 
 Northern Hemisphere. . . . The structure 
 of the lily is of simple type, consisting of two 
 whorls of three parts each, six free stamens, 
 and a consolidated pistil of three carpels, ripen- 
 ing into a three valved capsule containing many 
 winged seeds. In form the flower assumes three 
 types: — trumpet shaped with a more or less 
 elongated tube. e. g. L. longiflorum and L. can- 
 didum; an open form with spreading perianth 
 
 !; 
 
 t'i' 
 
 ■■'i 1 ■ 
 

 n 
 j.i 
 
 ^4 
 
 iJ 
 
 100 WHISPERING LEAVES OP PALESTINE 
 
 leaves, e. uj. L. auratura; or assuming a pendu- 
 lous habit, with the lips strongly reflexed, e. g. 
 the marta^on type. All have scaly bulbs which 
 in three Wost-American species, as L. Hum- 
 boldti are remarkable for being somewhat in- 
 termediate between a bulb and a creeping rhi- 
 zome. . . . The lily of the Old Testament 
 (shoshan) may be conjectured to be a red lily 
 fri)!n the simile in Canticles 1: 13 unless the il- 
 lusion iii, to the fragrnnee rather than to the col- 
 or ot the lips, in which case the white lily must 
 be thought of. The lilies of the field Matt. 6: 
 28, are Kriua and the comparison of their beau- 
 ty witii royal robes suggests their identification 
 with the Syrian lily of Pliny. Lilies are not 
 however a consincuous feature in the glory of 
 Palestine, and the red anemone (anemone coro- 
 naria) with which all the hillsides of Galilee are 
 dotted in the spring is perhaps more likely to 
 have suggested the figure. ... In the mid- 
 dle ages the flower continued to be common 
 and was taken as the symbol of heavenly purity. 
 The three golden lilies of France are said to 
 liiive been originally three lance heads.'' 
 
 We cannot expect the names of plants in the 
 Bible always to refer to pnrtieular species. Very 
 often they iMclude the whole genus and even at 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 101 
 
 times the wliolo family. When our Saviour 
 draws a lesson from the "'lilies of the field,'' He 
 doubtless referred to all the flowers thfit there 
 elotlud the earth with a beauty exceediv!;- that 
 of Solomon's robes. Jesus used the lanj^uaj::;' 
 of ilu^ common people. 
 
 The lily is used as a .symbol of the trutli and 
 of him who says " I niu tlie truth." Ho'.v ir.od- 
 est are many forms of the lily, especiMlly the 
 Lily of the Valley! Yet how i)eautiful and how 
 fragrant! Other species are famed for their 
 brightness and regal splendor. All are "of sim- 
 j)le structure." True worth neids no tinsel. 
 The truly wealthy often dress plainly, but those 
 who " ape" them adorn themselves with expen- 
 sive and senseless "finery." Those who live 
 pure and useful lives need no buUelin boards 
 nor newspaper "puffs." The hypocrites and 
 vainglorious nobodies have to resort to compli- 
 cated intrigues. The use upon their characters 
 the powder and paint. Behold the lily in its 
 purity and simplicity ! 
 
 The lilies "many winged seeds" are very 
 nutritious spiritually. What the world needs is 
 icinrjcd 'irviih. Perishing souls need the wing- 
 ed Gospel. This truth of God flies to the very 
 epot that needs it. The aching heart, the jier- 
 
 
\ 
 
 \ 
 
 v 
 
 
 102 WHI§i?ERING LKAVES OF PALESTINi: 
 
 l^lexed mind, tlio tprmeiited (Mjiipcience jjjladly 
 welcome the bonk that brings the cruiiil) of com- 
 fort. Its troubles uro the windows tlirout^'li 
 which the truth often cnU hi, the soul. Is our 
 life a bearer of comfort and liorj^? See the Gos- 
 pel as it flies to nnd fro over th^. face of thf 
 waters, carrying its nn^ssages of love t'e.. the isles 
 that wait for God. See it passing ovw the 
 prairie, the mountains! Even the great *"Ghi- 
 nese Wall" of exclusion cannot stop it. Are' , 
 we doing all we can with our money, our influ- 
 ence and our prayers to hasten its flight? *'Thy 
 kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it 
 is in heaven." 
 
 The truth is trumpetdike. It must be heard. 
 Men may jjut their fingers in their ears, but 
 sooner or later all will know what is truth nnd 
 what is falsehood. Too many foUowern of truth 
 are quiet. Sin is unrobukcd. The halting are 
 not heli)ed. Loving hearts are not cheered by 
 the "communion of saints." The igjiorant are 
 not taught. The lily with its trumpet tones ex- 
 claims, "Wake up." Open yiur lips for Cliri:3t 
 niid Ilis truth." "I was in the spiiit on the 
 Lord's day, and I hor.rd behind mo a great voice, 
 as of a trumpet." Rev. 1: 10. 
 
 Other varieties have "an open form." So 
 
 •\ 
 
WHLSPP::iING LEAVES OF PALESTINE lO.'l 
 
 has truth. So ought our lines to be open and 
 frank — "honest eg the sun." We ought to be 
 able to look people in the face, having nothing 
 underhand of which we should be ashamed. It 
 io better to tell a person his faults than to whis- 
 per them behind his back. This frankness does 
 not conflict with modesty, but should acconi- 
 j)any it. Jesus, the Lily of the Valley, spoke 
 plainly but was "meek and lowly." You can do 
 no better than follow Him. 
 
 Mallows. 
 
 '• They pluck SALTWORT by the hushes." Job 30- 4. 
 
 The Hebrew Malluahh, here translated salt 
 wort and in the Authorized Version Mallows, 
 fomes from mcllahh, salt. Hence it means " or- 
 ach, ... a marine plant, the bud and 
 leaves of which were eaten by the poor both raw 
 and boiled." Ges. They were similar to the 
 salt greens of the Maritime Provinces of Cana- 
 da of which " goose=tongue " and "hen foot" are 
 the most esteemed. Though agreeable and 
 even tasty eaten as greens or salads, they con- 
 stitute a very poor diet in themselves. The sci- 
 entific name is Atriplex Halimus. "In Syria 
 the Halimus wls still known by the name of 
 mnlluhh in the time of Ibu Beitnr." Brit. 
 
104 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 The root meaning of this name is salt. "Ye 
 are the salt of the earth : but if the salt have 
 lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It 
 is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast 
 out and trodden under foot of mon." (Matt. 5: 
 13 ) . Many Christians are as nearly " fresh salt " 
 as anything we ever see. You expect to have 
 salt in your porridge; so all expect Christians to 
 be "salted to taste." "Let your speech be always 
 with grace, seasoned with salt, that yo may know 
 how ye ought to answer each one." (Col. 4: 6.) 
 
 Mandrakes. 
 
 *' The MANDRAKES give forth fragrance." Cant. 7 : 13. 
 
 Dudaim, here translated mandrakes i.s from 
 "dud, to love. In the singular it is love, in the 
 plural 'love apples.' (Gen. 80: 14, sqq), i. e. 
 the apples of the mandragora, atropa mand. 
 Linn, a plant similar to the belladonna, with a 
 root like a beet, with white and reddish, fra- 
 grant, blossoms ripen from May to July." Ges. 
 Let us ask Britannica about it. " Mandrake, 
 mandragora officinarum, L. of the potato family, 
 order Solanaceae. ... It has a short stem 
 bearing a tuft of ovate leaves with a thick 
 fleshy and often forked root. The flowers are 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 106 
 
 solitary with a purple bell-sliaped corolla. 
 Tbe fruit is a fleshy orange^colored berry. The 
 mandrake has been long known for its poison- 
 ous x>roperties and supposed virtues." Mariti 
 says " It grows low like a lettuce to which its 
 leaves bear a strong resemblance, except that 
 they have a dark green color. The flowers are 
 purple; and the roo^ is for the most part parted, 
 the fruit when ripe in the beginning of May is 
 of the size and color of a small apple, exceed- 
 ingly ruddy and of a most agreeable odor; our 
 guide thought us to be fools for suspecting it to 
 be unwholesome. He ate it freely himself and 
 it is generally valued by the inhabitants as ex- 
 hilarating their spirits." One may imagine 
 that the root often looks like the form of a man : 
 hence "mandrakes." The Arabs call it "Satan's 
 apple." 
 
 The mandrake is ?in illustration of the use of 
 poisons for good purposes. Doubtless there is 
 no truth in many of the strange siories told 
 about this plant in all nges. A sami^lo niny be 
 seen in Shakespeare, e. g. Romeo and Juliet — 
 "And shrieks like mandrnkes torn out of the 
 earth, that living mortals hearing tliora run 
 mad." Others are more sensible and seem to 
 have a basis in fact. It is said to have been 
 
 iff 
 
 i ' ' i 
 
 i^v 
 
106 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 
 I' 
 
 used as an anaesthetic in surgical operations. 
 Thus poison becomes a boon. So evil may 
 often be turned into good. Calumny when 
 "lived down" makes virtue even more virtuous. 
 When we know that others are watching to 
 make the most of our faults we try the harder 
 to give them no occasion for aspersion. A 
 known weakness, which if left alone poisons the 
 life may become a stimulus to greater effort 
 after perfecti<m. The presence of Satan the 
 quintessence of poison should make us more 
 watchful and active. God makes even the 
 wrath of man to praise Him. (Ps. 76: 10) 
 Satan is forced to do His bidding. As the 
 honey bee draws sweetness out of the bitter 
 flower and wholesome nutrition from, the pois- 
 onous plant; so, by the grace of God, we may 
 use evil for good — {not do evil.) Evil may be 
 a medicine. 
 
 Let's U80 and not abuse the worl 
 For good is mingled with tho ill; 
 The Run draws up from foulest pool 
 Tho sparkling water of the rill. 
 
Millet. 
 
 ' 11 
 
 
 WHISPERINQ LEAVES OF PALESTINE 107 
 
 I 
 
 ! 
 t 
 1 I 
 
 '■ Take thou also iiiifo thee wheat, and barley, and beans 
 and lenttles, and MILLET, and spelt, and put them in 
 one vessel, and make thee bread thereof.'''' Ezek. 4 : 9. 
 
 "Dohhan . . . the liolcus dochna of Linn, 
 a species of mUlct . . . used partly as 
 green fodder and partly for the grain which is 
 of a dark smoky color and is employed for 
 bread, pcttage. eto." Ges. The root meaning 
 is thought to be the idea of i^nioW. Here it is 
 applied to the color. "Millet is from the Latin 
 mille, a thousand, in allusion to its fertility. 
 It is a name api)liod with little definiteness to a 
 considerable number of often very variable 
 tipecies of cereals belonging to distinct genera 
 and even subfiimilies of Gramineae. The true 
 millet however is generally admitted to bo 
 Panicum milliaceum, L. . . . Some sup- 
 pose it to be one of the earliest grains used in 
 bread making and ascribe the origin of its 
 name to imnis, bread, rather than to the panicu- 
 late inflorescence. It is annual, requires rich 
 but friable soil, grows to about three or four 
 feet high and is characterized by its bristly, 
 much -branched, nodding, panicles One vari- 
 ety has black grains The gr in, which 
 is very nutritious, is used in the form of groats 
 
 ' ;; 
 
 '■\\\ ■ 
 
103 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 and makes excellent bread when mixed with 
 wheateii flour. It is also largely used for feed- 
 ing poultry and cage birds for which purposes 
 mainly it is imported. . . . But the most 
 important dry grain of the tropical countries of 
 Africa and Asia, particularly of India is sor- 
 ghum vulgare. . . . It is annual and may 
 reach twelve feet in height ; it is extremely pro- 
 lific even rivalling maize of which it is a nenr 
 congener. Its flour is very white, but does not 
 easily make good bread; it i^ largely used in 
 cakos and puddings and for feeding cattle and 
 poultry. The panicles are used for brooms and 
 the roots for velvet brushes. . . . Horghum 
 saccharatum (the Chinese sugar cane) is much 
 cultivated in the United States, as a source of 
 molasses, the juice which contains much glu- 
 cose but comparatively little cane-sugar, being 
 simply expressed and conceitrated by evapora- 
 tion." (Britannica.) 
 
 The name millet suggests fruitfulness. The 
 Christian life ought to bo one fruitful in good. 
 "Herein is my father glorified, that ye bear 
 much fruit." (Joliu 15:8.) Some are fruitful 
 merely . ors and contentions and jealousies; 
 
 but "they which practice sucli things shall not 
 inherit tlie Kingdom of God. But the fruit of 
 
1 1 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 109 
 
 the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, 
 kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, tem- 
 perance." (Gal. 5:21, 22.) 
 
 Not only is the seed used for food but the 
 " panicles are used for brooms and the roots for 
 velvet brushes." Everything is for use. So all 
 our moments and all our powers should be put 
 to a good use. There is so much selfishness in 
 our lives! We often waste upon ourselves 
 what might be of use to others. It is true we 
 need relaxation and recreation, but some people 
 take a conUnual holiday, whilst others slavr 
 for themselves. Many are satisfied with work- 
 ing in one line; and when they do not need to 
 work there, they work at nothing. A change 
 of work is often better than complete cessation, 
 far better than dissipating pleasure. The mil- 
 let might say " My seed is good for food. That 
 is enough. I will give men nothing else to 
 use." Many would consider this very liberal; 
 but the spirit of Christ is one of service, yet 
 joyous service. When we live wholly for others 
 we enjoy life better and we are of some use in 
 the world. Studying may become preeminently 
 selfish. The " book-worm " that luver gives his 
 knowledge to others is like a boar in winter — 
 lost in self. They perhaj^s get time to impute 
 
 i i 
 
 I 
 
 
 m 
 
 
110 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 false motives to others who try to share their 
 knowledge with the public — a sleepy growl. 
 The one who travels merely for pleasure or for 
 profit to himself mentally or otherwise is an 
 example of refined and expensive selfishness. 
 Everything we do ought to be done in order to 
 help others. Service should be the motto of 
 every life. Every Christian is pledged to this. 
 Do we keep our pledge? The Son of God, our 
 perfect Exemplar, says, " The son of man came 
 not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to 
 give His life a ransom for many." Matt. 20 : 28. 
 
 Mulberry. 
 
 And when David inquired of the Lord, He said, Thou 
 shall not go vp: make a Circuit beJiind them, and come 
 vjion them over against the MULBERRY TREES {or 
 balsam trees). And it shall be, when thou hearest the 
 sound of marching in the tops of the MULBERRY 
 trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself : for then is the 
 Lord gone out before thee to smite the host of the Philis- 
 tines. Q Sam. '>: 23,24. 
 
 Baca, here translated "mulberry trees," 
 occurs in Ps. 84: G, where it is rendered " weep- 
 ing " — *' Passing through the valley of weep- 
 ing they make it a place of springs." Margin 
 ("or balsam trees, Heb. Baca.") The root 
 meanirg is to disiil, to dro}). From this 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 111 
 
 naturally arises the idea of weeping and of trees 
 dihtilling tears of balsam. The Revised Version 
 puts this idea in the margin. 
 
 Christians should not always be weeping. 
 Christ was not a weeping Jesus. But it wonld 
 bo better if the tears of sorrow for sin were 
 ofteuer seen upon the face. " There is a time to 
 weep and a time to laugh." The time to weep 
 is when we are alone or with those who weep. 
 We ought to shed our tears for sin in secret, 
 i^o forth and "passing through the valley of 
 weeping make it a place of springs" of joy. 
 Those who look to the Sun of Highteousness 
 have their tears turned into rainbows of prom- 
 ise. " Blessed are they that mourn: for they 
 shall be comforted." (Matt. 5:4.) 
 
 t ; 
 S 
 
 Mustard. 
 
 " The kingdom of heaven is like unto a grain of MUSTARD 
 seed, rohich a man took, and sowed in his field : which 
 indeed is less ihati all seeds; but when it is grown, it is 
 greater than the herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the 
 birds of the heaven come and lodge in the branchea 
 thereof' Matt. 13:31, 32. 
 
 " The varieties of the mustard seed of com- 
 merce are produced from several species of the 
 cruciferous genus Brass ica. Of these the prin- 
 
 
 
ill 
 
 ) i 
 
 i 
 
 112 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 cipal are the Black or Brown mustuKl, Brassica 
 nigra; the white, B. alba; and the Sarepta, B. 
 jiincea. . . . The peculiar pungency and odour 
 to which mustard owes much of its val.io are due 
 to an essential oil developed liy the action of 
 water on two peculiar, chemical substances con- 
 tained in the black seed. . . . It is worthy of 
 remark that this reaction does not take place in 
 presence of boiling water; and therefore it is not 
 proper to use very hot water in the i)reparatiou 
 of mustard . . . Both as a table condiment and 
 as a medicinal substance mustard has been 
 known from a very remote period. . . . All va- 
 rieties of mustard seed contain from 25 to 35 per 
 cent, of a bland inodorous yellow -colored fixed 
 oil, free from pungency and with little tendency 
 to become rancid." (Brit.) 
 
 Sometimes we meet mustard men. There is 
 a pungency in what they say and do. Every 
 word they speak is felt. Even those who are 
 made to smart admire this quality. It spices the 
 insipidity of life. It can be cultivated. Have 
 an aim in life, a burnincj purpose, and it will be 
 felt. The majority are satisfied if they do not do 
 anything openly wrong. To them life is but a 
 brief space to be " whiled away " without injury 
 to others. But G od put us here for a purpose — 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 113 
 
 "Life i8 real, life is earnest, 
 And the grave is not its goal: 
 
 Dust thou art, to dust returnest, 
 Was not spoken of the Soul." 
 
 Cold water gives mustard ita pungency. Some 
 people have no mustard in their natures; but, 
 like water, they can help others to be powerful. 
 None of us needs despair. We can help others 
 by our sympathy, our prayers, our support. The 
 minister of the Gospel needs tlieiii all. It is hard 
 for a man to preach pcjwerfully to those not in 
 sympathy with him. " Boiling water " prevents 
 action. If you keep your pastor in '* hot water" 
 all the time you have no right to expect much 
 from him. Some regard " biting " remarks as 
 unchristian. They do not like mustard. They 
 prefer that bland suavity of refinement which 
 never startles. They prefer mild utterances ev^ 
 en when one is trying to awake the sleepers in a 
 burning building. People will not sleep under 
 a "mustard" sermon. The sweet perfumes of 
 some pulpits tend at least to spiritual sleep. 
 
 The " bland fixed oil " of the mustard is a type 
 of the peaceful love of God in the soul. Even 
 "mustard" men, if Christi.ins, have a repose, 
 fixed and joyous. It is the oil of God's grace. 
 Amid the storms of life, though surface waves 
 
 q 
 
 Eh' 
 
 t'. 
 
 1 i '■■''■ 
 
 W ' ; 
 
 \\M 
 
 ■I'M 
 
i!P 
 
 in 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OP PALESTINE 
 
 rise high and are uncontrolled, yet in the heart 
 there is a deep, abiding calm. 
 
 If one loves not the Saviour this peace is nnknown, 
 As the blind cannot see all the beauties of enrth; 
 So it is with the son], that is si^^htless as stone, 
 That refnses the salve of invaluable worth. 
 
 Our Saviour draws attention to the contrast 
 also between the size of the seed and that of the 
 plant which grows from it Dr. Thomson tells us 
 " I have seen the plant on the rich plains of Ak- 
 ka ( Phoenicia ) as tall as the horse and his rider." 
 Lightfoot says " A man may climb into their 
 branches." A traveller in Chili speaks of rid- 
 ing under them on horseback. When the seed 
 is ripe " the birds come and lodge in the branch- 
 es, thereof." There are seeds that are smaller, 
 but this is the smallest of sow;?* seeds; hence 
 the proverb " as small as a grain of mustard 
 seed." Jesus used this saying as He found it 
 — " Verily, I say unto you, if ye have faith 
 as a grain of mustard seed ye shall say un- 
 to this mountain remove hence to yonder 
 place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be 
 impossible unto you." (Matt. 17: 2C>. How 
 small our faith must be. We cannot move a 
 mole- hill. Even some Christians fear; (and it 
 
WHISPERING LEAVE8 OF PALESTIKE lliS 
 
 it 
 
 is far better to fear than to rest upon false 
 hopes). They say I liave so little faith I fear 
 it will not uphold me in death. Have you as 
 much as one grain of mustard seed? Then 
 Jesus will save you. Much less than that 
 will bring life to the soul. Again, the Kingdom 
 of Heaven is comparatively smnll at first, but it 
 grows. A grain of Beed=thought enters a heart. 
 It is very small but their is evolution, until it 
 bears the fruits of the Spirit. It overshadows 
 the whole being. Look at the Kingdom of God 
 in the world! Jesus and His twelve humble 
 disciples in Palestine. Hi)W small the seed! 
 Yet soon this "little one became a thousand 
 and this small one a strong nation." (Is. 00: 22). 
 It si)rcad in Palestine. It crossed tlio Helles- 
 pont. The Roman Empire became a Christian 
 Nation. This tree of life was "girdled" by sin 
 and died. Shoots sprung up. One was named 
 Wycliffe; another, Huss; another Luther. See 
 Luther groping in a monastery. He finds a La- 
 tin Bible, the mustard seed of God's truth. It 
 germinated. How fast it grew! A sturdy 
 growth! All the blasting winds of Papacy reek- 
 ing with corruption, could not destioy the little 
 plant. Behold to-day the wide^spreadingbranch- 
 es of Protestantism ! One hundred years ago Ro- 
 
 ! I 
 
 ( f 
 
 m 
 
 I il->-n 
 
 m 
 
 
i 
 
 n^ 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 bert Haikes planted the mustard seed of. Sabbath 
 Schools. To day its branches brave the frozen 
 regions of the extreme North; its leaves rustle 
 iu the South Sea breezes; its shade girdles the 
 (xirth. Thirteen years at^o (1881) Rev. F. E. 
 Clark dropped the seed of the Christian Endeav- 
 or Society ( Y. P. S. C. E.) in his own church. 
 Tt now grows in every state of the I.'nion, flour- 
 ishes ill Canadian soil, seems suited to any cli- 
 mate, of any meridian. (Members in '*.)4 over 
 2,000,000.) In how many departments of the 
 Church's work do we see the same wondrous 
 growth of the Kingdom of Heaven! We are 
 getting glimjises of the power that is to spread 
 from pole to pole, and from the rising of the sun 
 to its going down. "The earth shall l)e full of 
 the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover 
 the sea." Is. 11: 0- 
 
 Oh, hasten Lord the glorious dar, 
 When we no more shall need to pray, 
 * Thy Kingdom come. 'I'liy will be done;' 
 But join the halleluiah.s sung. 
 
 Myrrh. 
 
 A gum imported into Palestine. 
 
■\ 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE il7 
 
 , <) at 
 
 iV 
 
 Myrtle. 
 
 "And they found written in the lau\ how that the Lord 
 had commanded ()ij Mosps . . . sayintj. Go forth tiu- 
 to the mount, and fetch olive branches, and branches of 
 wild olive, and MYRTI.K branches, and palm branches, 
 and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is ivrit- 
 ten.'' Neh. H: 11, In. 
 
 ** Instead of the brier shall come up tlie MYllTLK tree. Is. 
 51: 13. 
 
 Hadas was the Hebrew name of the myrtle. 
 It is supposed to have been pfiven because it 
 Icap^. or sprinf:!:^ n\) rapidly. Ropes are made 
 out of the myrtle twitj^s. "Myrtas communis of 
 tlie l)ot:inists is a low i^rowinij, everujreen shrub, 
 with opposite leaves, varyinj^- in dimensions, but 
 always small, simple, dark-green, thick in tex- 
 ture, and studded with numerous receptacles for 
 oil. When the leaf is held up to the light it 
 appears as if i)erforated with pin-holes owing to 
 the translucency of these oil-cysts. The fra- 
 grance of the plant depends upon the presence 
 of this oil. Another peculiarity of the myrtle 
 is the existence of a prominent vein i'unning 
 round the leaf within the margin. The flowers 
 are borne on short stalks in the axils of the 
 leaves. The llov.'er slalk is dilated at its u}?pc-r 
 {^nd. . . . From its margin jn'oceed the live 
 sei^als and within them the five rounded sxxion- 
 
 
 iia 
 
 
 ■ .!!*♦( 
 
!i'^ 
 
 i; 1 ■ ■! ^ 
 
 i ■! 
 
 f.l ', 
 
 ■' I j:i 
 
 118 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 shaped, spreadini,^ wliito petals. . . . The 
 fruit is a purplish borry, consisting of the recep- 
 tacle and the ovary hlended into one succulent 
 investment, enclosing very numerous and mi- 
 nute seeds destitute of perispsrm." (Brit.) 
 '"In the sunny south it grows to the dimensio;i3 
 of a tree, and few objects more delight the sense 
 than groves of this classic plant. The Egyp- 
 tians imported the myrtle for their gardens on 
 the banks of the Nile; and like the Greeks 
 and Romans wove wre-iths of honour from its 
 dark glossy foliage. Dedicated to the Goddess 
 of Beauty, the myrtle was regarded by the an- 
 cients as the emblem of love and pcdcc. Among 
 the Hebrews this shrub, according to the Rab- 
 bin, symbolized justice; but there is nothing 
 in Scripture to support this. The flowers and 
 leaves are sold in the markets of Damascus and 
 Jerusalem as perfumes. . . . The fruit is 
 eaten as a dessert in Cyprus at the present day." 
 (Groser.) East of the Jordan it attains the 
 height of twenty or twenty five feet. 
 
 The Hebrew name signifies a rapid grower. 
 There is need for haste in saving souls. A 
 thousand million immortal human beings igno- 
 rant of the true God and Saviour are nifirching 
 toward the precipice of death and falling over 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 119 
 
 IS 
 
 blie 
 
 A 
 
 ruo- 
 
 Iver 
 
 by the myriad every hour. Oh, haste! And 
 tell them of Jesus and his love. We ought to 
 have a thousand missionaries in heathen lands 
 where we now have one. Christians have 
 enough wealth to send these. Yet they talk of 
 being liberal! Give all you can and labor for 
 those around you. Your brother living without 
 God and without hope, may die this night. 
 Haste! Warn him, entreai him, before it is too 
 late. Our own days are rapidly slipping by and 
 with them go the opportunities for good. This 
 is a "fast" age. See the hurry and excitement 
 in winning gold that corrupts the soul that 
 keeps it. Some burn the candle of life at both 
 ends in the pursuit of what perishes with the 
 using. They fritter away lif(^ in reading novels 
 and engaging in all absorbing revelries. But if 
 one is in earnest about liis own soul or the souls 
 of others which must ho forever either in heav- 
 en or in hell, they cry out ** excitement," and 
 hold up their hands in ''hnhj (?) horror." Oh 
 for an outpouring of tlir power of Christ to set 
 people in their right niitids! (See Mark 5: 15.) 
 How pliant too is the myrtle! No stubborn 
 branches would make a rope or bind a booth 
 together. Some people will not yield an inch. 
 They do not consider the feelings or rights of 
 
 ' rl 
 
i! I 
 
 I f' i 
 
 ; 
 
 120 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 others. The more ignorant the more dogmatic 
 they are. Those who are truly wise know that 
 they know but little and way be mistaken. 
 Often the one with a little knowledge and a 
 stiflP neck runs his head against a stone wall. 
 The Christ-like spirit yields to others where 
 yielding is not sin. When it is a matter of 
 duty or of conscience we should yield to none: 
 no, not a hair's breadth. Dare to be a Daniel, 
 a Luther. But in a matter of opinion or even 
 of privilege, be not stiff necked and rebellious. 
 The pliant myrtle bends and 6 v/ so doiny is si rang; 
 the brittle branch will not bend and it breaks. 
 One characteristic of the myrtle leaves is 
 the receptacles for oil to which it owes its fra- 
 grance. The Houl of man was intended to be a 
 receptacle for tho oil of God's Holy Spirit. It 
 is clogged up willi worldly things and with sin, 
 and we must bo willing to let go these things 
 before we can receive this grace, this life. 
 We cannot be a myrtle tree in the garden of the 
 Lord, unless the receptacles of the soul are 
 filled with love to God. The fragrance of the 
 soul depends on this. The more we have of 
 the oil of God's grace in our hearts, the more 
 fragrant will be our lives, the stronger their 
 power for good. 
 
11" 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 121 
 
 Another peculiarity is the marginal vein. 
 The sap or hlood is the type of life. *' These 
 things saith He that hath the seven Spirits of 
 God, and the seven stars: I know thy works, 
 that thou hast a name that thou livest, and thou 
 art dead. Be thou watchful, and stablish the 
 things that remain, which were feady to die." 
 (Rev. 3: 1, 2.) 
 
 How fitting that the myrtle should be used as 
 a crown of honor! Emblematic of the " crown 
 of life." If a man enter the list for a foot=race 
 and does not exert himself, he cannot expect to 
 be crowned. Have you entered the list in the 
 race for eternal life? Do you wish the crown? 
 Do not sit still. Do not walk. Ru}i. 
 
 Nard and Spikenard. 
 
 An unguent imported from the East. 
 
 Nettle. 
 
 " I went by the Jiold of Oil' HloUiful. and by the vineyard of 
 the man void of vndri'stanih'iiij ; and, ^), if iva.'i all (frown 
 over with tliorns, tlir face thereof was corered with XKT- 
 TLES {or wild vetchca,) and the stone ivall thereof tvas 
 broken down.'''' Prov. '^4: :U). :il. 
 
 Hharftl, rendered in the Bible nettle, is l)y 
 Gesenius called " a thorn bush, bramble, so 
 called from its pricking, burning.'' Nettle cer- 
 
 
 -11 
 
 m i — 
 
 '):■ ' 
 
 I 
 
 »i ■ 
 
 
 i<jit; 
 
i m 
 
 if: 
 
 #1 
 
 fi 
 iil J, 
 
 HI 
 
 122 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 tainly is a suitable translation. The writer has 
 had experience of the burning of nettles in Brit- 
 ish Columbia. If touched by the back of the 
 hand, or by the face, it at once raises white 
 blisters which bum like red hot coals. The 
 nettle of Nova Scotia is very mild. The Eng- 
 ^lish name is also suitable, derived as it is from 
 netel or naedl, a needle. "Nettle is the ver- 
 nacular equivalent of the Latin urtica, which 
 again gives its name to the urticeae. The spe- 
 cies of urtica are herba covered with stinging 
 hairs. . . . The stinging hairs consist at 
 the base of a bulbous reservoir filled with acrid 
 fluid and prolonged into a long slender tube 
 the extremity of which is finely pointed. By 
 means of this point the hair penetrates the skin 
 and discharges its irritant contents beneath 
 the surface. Some tropical species of urtica 
 produce a fluid of such potency that the most 
 serious consocjuences ensue from coming into 
 contact with the plant. . . . They follow 
 man in his immigrations and by their presence 
 usually indicate a soil rich in nitrogen." (Brit.) 
 The nettle keeps company with thorns and 
 briers in neglected places. Yet it is related to 
 thn hop and hemp, members of the order Urtica. 
 So alas! we see people related to good and use- 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 128 
 
 ful members ot society who show what they are 
 by their bad company. If one loves God, he 
 will love God's people and God's house and 
 God's word. If self-love is supreme he seeks 
 ease and the company of tlie worldly =^ minded. 
 "There is no fear of God before their eyes." 
 (Rom. 3: 18.) We know much of one's inner 
 life if we know where he loves to spend his even- 
 ings and his Sabbaths. " Birds of a feather 
 flock together." It will be so after death. 
 Those who love the society of the world will be 
 shut out with kindred minds — " Without are 
 the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the fornicators, 
 and the murderers, and the idolaters, and every- 
 one that loveth and maketh a lie." (Rev. 22: 
 15.) Those who love God and his truth shall 
 go where their hearts lead them. " Blessed are 
 they that wash their robes, that they may liave 
 the right to come to the tree of life, and may 
 enter in by tlie gates into the city. He that is 
 unrighteous let him do unrighteousness still (or 
 yet more:) and he that is filthy, let him be made 
 filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him do 
 righteousness still: and he that is holy let him 
 be made holy still. " (Rev. 22: 14. 11.) 
 
 The poison of the nettle warns us against sin. 
 Leave it alone and it cannot harm you: but you 
 
 1 ' 
 
 li 
 
f; 'J: 
 
 M i:- 
 
 i 
 
 it 
 
 Ml 
 
 i!i 
 
 
 ■t-i I 
 
 134 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 cannot tamper with it without suffering. 
 Those who drink the cup of sinful pleasure 
 find bitter drejj^s, and that poison was mixed 
 with the joy. The pleasure is fleeting, the poi- 
 son enduring. Those who resist the strivings 
 of the Holy Spirit will find they were '* kicking 
 against the goads." It takes some poisons a 
 long time to act fatally. The remorse of a 
 wronged conscience is often bad enough even 
 in life, but its terrors rire untold when death 
 sets it free. Ammonia will take away the sting 
 of the nettle. The only ammonia for the soul 
 is the blood of the Son of God. It takes away 
 the sting of sin. Why is it so many neglect, 
 slight the remedy. 
 
 Sin like the nettle follows man. Some have 
 tried in vain by charige of scenes and compan- 
 ions to run away from sin and its pains. As 
 well try to run away from self! There is one 
 way, only one: become "new creatures in Christ 
 Jesus." As long as we are our nataral selves, 
 sin is part of us, no matter where we are. How 
 true flie words of the Immortal Bard, put into 
 vie K.ontl; of Satan "which way I fly is hell; 
 I'lrsel: aui liell." Look at the South Seas! 
 Wherever the sandalwood traders went, there 
 sprang up a luxuriant growth of the nettles of their 
 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 125 
 
 vices. So among the natives of our great 
 American continent the white man's sins and 
 not his virtues found a fruitful soil. It is our 
 privilege and duty to send everj'where the 
 never failing antidote. For where there is 
 neglect there sin flourishes. 
 
 Where e'er the devil steps 
 The thorns and nettles grow, 
 Whose poison stings the f-soul 
 With an eternal woe. 
 Touch not the cursed thiiif^. 
 Turn from it; pass it by. 
 Seek out the antidote. 
 You get it from on high. 
 
 Nuts. 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 *'And their faihev Israel said vnto them, If it be so noiv, do 
 this; take^of the choice fruits of flic bind in your vessels, 
 and carry down the man a p?•e.sTJ(^ a little balm, and a 
 little honey, sincery and viyrrh, * NUTS and almonds." 
 Gen. 43: 11. 
 
 * Margin " That is, pistachio nuts." 
 
 ^^ I went dotvn into the garden of NUl'S, to see the green 
 plants of the valley." Cant. (> : 11. 
 
 DifFcrer>t Rebrow words are used for nut in 
 these Ivvo passages. In (xonoHis it is botnim; in 
 Canticles egoz. "Botnim . . pistacio 
 
 nuts ... a kind of nut of oblong shape, so 
 called from their form whicli is Mat on one side 
 
rtp" 
 
 120 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 hi! 
 
 n 
 
 
 - fi 
 
 and round or bellied on the other. They grow 
 on a tree resembling the terebinth, pistacio vera 
 of Linn, which is found in Syria." (Ges.) 
 Egoz is a general terra for nut. It is thought 
 that two kinds are particularly referred to, the 
 Pistacio and the Walnut. The fruit of these is 
 still much used in Western Asia and in Europe. 
 *' Botanically speaking nuts are one= celled fruits 
 with hardened pericarps, more or less enveloped 
 in a cupule or cup formed by the aggregation 
 of the bracts. ... A great number of nuts 
 enter into commerce for various purposes, 
 principally as articles of food or sources of oil. 
 . . . For the most j^art the edible nuts are 
 very rich in oil with only a small percentage of 
 the other carbohydrates, stavoh, sugar, etc., and 
 they also contain a large proportion of nitro- 
 genous constituents. Thus possessing rich 
 nutrient principles in a highly concentrated 
 form nuts are by themselves rather ditHcult of 
 digestion. . . . Oleaginous nuts used for food 
 are likewise employed more or less as sources 
 of oil, but on the other hand there are many oil 
 nuts of commercial importance not embraced in 
 the list of edible nuts. . . . The Pistachio 
 nut is the fruit of the pistacio vera. . . . 
 It is not so large as a hazel nut but is rather 
 
 \\i 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 127 
 
 longer and is much thinner, and the shell is 
 covered by a somewhat wrinkled skin. . . . 
 The Walnut, juglans regia, is a lofty tree, native 
 of Persia and Asia Minor. The fruit whilst 
 young and tender is much used for pickling, 
 and when ripe is a favorite article of the dessert. 
 . . . The buds are not unlike those of the 
 ash; and it frequently happens that in the axils 
 of the leaves instead of one, several buds may 
 be formed. The utility of this is seen in 
 seasons when the shoot produced from the first 
 bud is killed by frost; then one of the supi)le- 
 mentary buds starts into growth and thus re- 
 places the injured shoot. ... At the pres- 
 ent day the tree is largely cultivated in most 
 temperate countries for the sake of the timber 
 or for its edible nuts. The timber is especially 
 valued for cabinet work and for gun stocks, the 
 beauty of its markings rendering it desirable 
 for the first named purpose while its strength 
 and elasticity fit it for the second. The leaves 
 and husk of the fruit are resinous and astrin- 
 gent, and are sometimes used medicinally as 
 well as for dyeing purposes. . . . The ker- 
 nel of the large-fruited variety is of very in- 
 different quality, but its large shells are made 
 use of by the French as trinket cases." (Brit.) 
 

 128 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 •> ':■ 
 
 
 "On barren scalps she makes fresh honours grow; 
 Her timber is for varions uses good; 
 The carver she supplies with useful wood, 
 She makes the painters fading colours last: 
 A table she affords us and repast: 
 E'en while we feast her oil our lamp supplies; 
 The rankest poison by her virtue dies; 
 The mad-dog's foam and taint of raging skies. 
 The Pontic King who lived where poisons grew, 
 Skilful in antidotes her virtues knew." 
 
 COWLKV. 
 
 Nuts tell us of concentration. This is an age 
 of specialists. They concentrate their energy 
 upon one branch of knowledge. This is also an 
 age of hurry ; and men cannot endure verbosity. 
 The writings of Bacon are more popular than 
 those of Macaulay. " Brevity is the soul of 
 wit " and wisdom. But as concentrated food is 
 hard to digest and tends to dyspe}3sia, so there 
 is great danger of mental and spiritual dyspep- 
 sia. The remedy is: Take time; change the diet; 
 masticate well; use the lactopeptine of faith, 
 hope and love. 
 
 " The resin of the nut is used as a salve." 
 The result of concentrated effort ought to be a 
 salve for trouble and even for bodily illness. 
 We ought to be able to abstract from our men- 
 tal and spiritual diet the oil of healing. 
 
 The walnut is used for food both green and 
 ripe. Some have no use for children in their 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 129 
 
 work. They must have maturity or nothing. 
 Some m others, e. g. will not let their daugh- 
 ters do any cooking because they cannot cook as 
 well or as quickly as themselves. It is better 
 to use and train the young. Their freshness 
 and tenderness is agreeable and profitable. 
 
 The tree is characterized by a reserve^fund of 
 buds. If one fails another is ready to take its 
 place. Man ought always to have such a fund. 
 Some tell all they know and more. " Every 
 prudent man worketh with knowledge: but a 
 fool spreadeth out folly." (Prov. 13 : 16). "A 
 fool's lips enter into contention." (Prov. 18 ; 
 6). One is not long in the company of some 
 persons before they become conscious that they 
 know more than they say. Their knowledge is 
 substantial, not mere froth. " Let every man 
 be swift to hear, slow to speak." (Jas. 1 :19). 
 Others " talk " all their religion. They have no 
 reserve fund for temptation or for business. 
 There is no excuse for us if we do not have a 
 large reseiTe fund of the love of God. "When 
 the bud of physical life is destroyed by the 
 frost of death, have you the bud of spiritunl life 
 ready to burst into the fuller and perfect growth 
 of heaven? ' 
 
 Some people are coarse-grained, knotty, dis 
 
 1 1 
 
 ■^11 ill 
 
 |:« 
 
I I 
 
 180 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 colored by sin, splintery, brittle and changeful. 
 It does one good to meet a walnut Christian. 
 There is an evenness of temper, a refined solidity 
 of character, a radiant beauty of kindly acts, a 
 considerate courtesy of language, elastic opin- 
 ions, and a durability possible only in those 
 whose lives are permeated with the oil of divine 
 grace. Such ones are polished by the wearing 
 trials and disappointments of life; and are 
 carved into saintly loveliness by the chisel held 
 in the hand of a loving Providence. 
 
 Oak. 
 
 '* Yi't destroyed I the Amorites before them, whose heightwas 
 like the height of the cedars, and he was strong a* the 
 OAKS." Amos 2: 9. 
 
 The Hebrew words rendered oak, teil tree, 
 and terebinth, have the same root meaning, 
 strength. They are ela, alia, allon, and el. 
 Some who saw little of Palestine and thought 
 they knew all of it, said there are no true oaks 
 (Quercus) in the Holy Land. It is well worth 
 our time to read what Dr. Thomson writes 
 after living many years at Beirut. — ''Beside 
 the vast groves nt the north of Tabor and on 
 Lebanon and Hermon, in Gilead and Bashan, 
 think of the great forests extending thirty miles 
 
t\i 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 131 
 
 ill 
 
 at least along the hills west of Nazareth, over 
 Carmel, and down south beyond Cesarea Pnlos- 
 tina. ... To maintain that the oak ia not 
 a striking or abundant tree in Palestine is a 
 piece of critical hardihciocl a:s tough as the tree 
 itself. There is no such thing in the countiy as 
 a terebinth wood . . . and finally the tere- 
 binth is deciduous and therefore not a favorite 
 shade tree. It is very rnrely planted in the 
 court-j of houses or over tombs or in the i)laces 
 of reeort ia villages. It is the beautiful ever- 
 green oak you find there." There are said to 
 be nine different species of the oak in Palestine. 
 Some- of them are deciduous and some ever- 
 green. " We find the evergreen oaks to be rep- 
 resented chiefly by the prickly evergreen or 
 Kermes oak (Quercus coccifera). . . . The 
 insect coccus, from which it derives its specific 
 name yielding the dye known as Turkey Red. 
 . . , The so-called * Abraham's Oak ' near 
 Hebron is a splendid specimen of this si^ecies, 
 twenty two feet in circumference. And the 
 oak of Libbeiva in tlio Lebanon measures 
 thirty=seven feet in girth and its branches cover 
 an area whoso circumferouce measures over 
 ninety yards. . . . Another abundant sx^e- 
 ciea is tho Vaionia or prickly cupped oak (Q. 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
182 WHISPERING LEAVES OP PALESTINE 
 
 aegilojjs) wellkno>^n in the Levant, where its 
 acorns are used in tanning, but the Arabs ent 
 them for food." (Groser.) "All the species 
 are arborestent or ehrubby, varying in size 
 froir the most stately of forest trees to the 
 dwarfish bush. . . . The multitude of spe- 
 cies . . . approach 300 in number. . . . 
 The spreading branches have a tendency to 
 assume a tortuous form owing to the central 
 shoots becoming abortive and the growth thus 
 being continued laterally, causing a zigzag devel- 
 opment more exaggerated in old trees and those 
 standing in exposed situations; to this jjeculi- 
 arity the picturesque asjiect of ancient oaks is 
 largely due. When standing in dense woods 
 the trees are rather straight and formal in early 
 growth, especially the sessile- fruited kinds: and 
 the gnarled character traditionally assigned to 
 the oak applies chiefly to its advanced age. 
 . . . The growth of trees after tlie trunk has 
 become hollow is extremely slow. . . . The 
 great regard paid to the oak probably origi- 
 nated in the value attached to its timber and 
 fruit; the largest and most durable of European 
 trees, its wood was looked upon as the most 
 precious produce of the forest. ... Of the 
 'heart of the oak' the warships of England 
 
i- lit 
 
 "■ere until lately constructed^,, ~, 
 
 varies in color from ^ i 7 ''**''''' ^'■«><1 
 
 -'' brown, Z!7J '™"" '° P'-''^ y^l^o.. 
 
 to work, r,,,,,;,; J ;^ ^-v' '"'' "-"O'' --y 
 
 durability and , '' '""'* ^""^ ^r 
 
 "■y, and none stand better „H 
 
 exposure to drought and moisture t -f T 
 eover, it ia nearly indestrucHM T """^"^ 
 'ot is prevented by free al. "• "'' "' '"^ 
 
 InsWpbuildingtlIe„ved '"" " " " 
 
 knees. . t ' , ^"""'' ""^ "^«J ^r 
 
 fesso, «ti,l,e,;stir' ; t;;f f -^-^ «- ^on. 
 
 «te. sound af.er Th lapltSo"' ""'"''"'"- 
 dark-colourod oak wood ^ r"'''' ''^ "^ 
 
 «™»ncl and exposed hiilsMe's H ' ''""''' 
 
 extremely slow and fl 7 " ^''""th 's 
 
 -oo<ii/.ener:r ;ty'"1''"""- 
 • • • The oak „h 7, ^ "'"^ ^"roWe. 
 
 »P shoots r h?c7r *•'""' '■•' ^«"«" "'™- 
 
 «''--% nrtteT™"^^^"?-^ 
 portant produo f ..f ^ i ' ' • • An im. 
 
 '7. ~r:it.r:, ;:;;;!« ''■•■ 
 
 material of Europe m! """*-' 
 
 young oak branches has h , ' . * "* *"^^ 
 
 ~.'~..,.crszr' "• 
 
 J-he acorn of the oMlr r^ * * • 
 
 • • • 
 
 II; 
 
 iili 
 
 liii ' 
 
 
 r;. 
 
131 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 111 times of dearth acorns were boiled and eaten 
 by the poor. . . . The Turkey oak (Q. Cer- 
 ris) of southern England grows twice as fast as 
 Q. Robur; in the mild climate of Devonshire and 
 Cornwall it has reached a height of 100 feet and 
 a diameter of four feet in eighty years. . . . 
 Ill Nor 111 America, where the species of oak are 
 very numerous, the most important member of 
 the group is Q. alba, the white oak, abounding 
 all over tlie eastern districts of the continent 
 from Lake Winnipeg and the St. Lawrence 
 countries to the shores of the Mexican Gulf 
 . . . The young wood is very strong, flexible, 
 and elastic; it is split into thin strips to be 
 
 mfide into baskets. 
 
 The acorns are 
 
 sweet and were formerly eaten by the Red 
 Men." (Brit.) 
 
 Are we oaks of strength in the Lord's Vine- 
 yard? If we trust in ourselves we are as " weak 
 as water;" but if we constantly and abundant- 
 ly draw strength from God we may be as 
 "strong as the oaks." "Bo strong and quit 
 yourselves like men." (1 Sam. 4: 9). The or.k 
 is stronger when it grows in an exposed place 
 The branches become tougher. What opposi- 
 tion wo have! Evil men defend their own lives 
 by oi)posing the good. Satan with all his JioU- 
 
 '}'l '! 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 135 
 
 li 
 
 ish hosts would dra.fj: us down to his abode. As 
 England was defended by her warships of oak, 
 so the Christian is made safe by his defence of 
 truth. Trust in Jesus' strength and it will be- 
 come yours. On rocky soil the wood of the oak 
 is sounder and firmer. The strongest men are 
 those who have carved a home for themselves 
 out of the rock. Hard circumstances often 
 make our best citizens. One becomes strong by 
 overcoming them. 
 
 The acorns of Christians should be useful for 
 tanning. Nothing so preserves as llie truth — 
 the Gospel truth lived. Jesus says '* Ye are the 
 salt of the earth." If it were not for the Chris- 
 tians in the world it would sink into hell. In- 
 deed it would soon become so corrupt that it 
 would be hell. The ungodly may despise Chris- 
 tianity; but, if it were not for it, they would be 
 in torments to-day. If ten righteous men had 
 been found in Sodom, it would not have been 
 destroyed. The tares are allowed to grow until 
 the harvest lest in pulling them up the wheat 
 be 'rooted up also. Then too the presence of 
 the good keeps people from sinning. Few use 
 profanity before clergymen. What is so power- 
 ful in deterring from sin as public opinion? A 
 public Christian sentiment "Idas'" (preserves 
 
 i ' tl s 
 
 ;r 
 
 ^ 
 
 ill 
 
 m 
 
 i.ii'i I ■ 
 
 
^ 
 
 ■H 
 
 ' 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 14 . 
 
 130 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 from corruption) far more than is f:;enerally re- 
 alized. There is very little " tannin " in some 
 Christians' lives — hardly as much as in a cup of 
 tea. Others surprise us by their restraining 
 power. The profane man and the blackguard 
 hold their peace. Sin in all its shapes hides its 
 head for shame. The more we are like Christ 
 the more we have of "tannin." As the bark 
 surrounds the oak, so an influence for good 
 ought to encircle us. 
 
 If excluded from the air even the hardness of 
 the oak loses its strength. So with persons. 
 Some shut themselves up in their own shells. 
 The self-absorbed person is almost smothered, 
 as he sits alone in his little unventilated study, 
 but when the heart goes out to others whom he 
 helps, he breathes fresh air; he lives. ' 
 
 The secret of the oak's strength is its life. 
 When the tree is cut down the shooLs indicate 
 this. If we have life, we have power, and 
 when wefallf the power of our life will mani- 
 fest itself. Of us then it can be said, "He 
 being dead yet speaketh." (Hebr. 11:4). 
 
 »» 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 137 
 
 Oil Tret. 
 
 "/ will plant in the ivilderness the cedar, the acacia free and 
 the myrtle and the OIL TREE,'' {"or oleaster''' )Is. 41,19. 
 
 The Hebrew words here rendered '"oil tree" 
 literally mean "the tree of oil" — shemenets. 
 Gesenius is at one with the Revisers — "Shemen- 
 ets, oil tree, the olive, or rather the wild olive, 
 oleaster." This is one of the thirty-five species 
 of olea, olive. 
 
 " The wild olive or oleaster is n small tree or 
 bush of rather straggling growth, with tiiorny 
 branches and opposite, oblong, pointed leaves, 
 dark greyish green above and in the young state 
 hoary beneath with whitish scales . . . the 
 drupaceous fruit is small in the wild plant and 
 the fleshy pericarp which gives the garden ol- 
 ive its economic value is hard and comparatively 
 thin. In the cultivated forms tlie tree acquires 
 a more compact habit, the branches lose their 
 spinous character . . . the fruit is subject to 
 still greater alterations of form and colour; usu- 
 ally oval or nearly globular, in some sorts it is 
 egg shaped, in others much elongated; while the 
 dark hue that it commonly assumes wlien ripe 
 is exchanged in many varieties for vioh'J, gn;en, 
 or almost white. ... It shov.s a Jiiarked 
 
T ~ 
 
 I 
 
 li 
 
 I 
 
 I; 
 
 
 '«f 
 
 
 188 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 preference for calcareous soils and a partiality 
 for the sea breezes." (Brit.) 
 
 We should learn from the faults of men as 
 well as from theJf irtues. So of our own de- 
 fects and failures. " Men may rise on stepping- 
 stones of their dead selves to higher things." 
 (In Memor. Tennyson). When we see a man 
 walking ahead of v., fail Into a hole, we shun it. 
 So we ought to do ii. tl* . moral and spiritual 
 realm. How many there .re of "straggling 
 growth!" There sefeinc <o s>b':)i ! in their ac- 
 tions. All their lifo is a tangled skein which 
 they seem unable to straighten. There is good 
 in them; but it is greatly damaged by their 
 snarls and knots. It seems that the majority 
 have no good system in giving to the Lord's 
 work. They are spasmodic — of smcill spasms 
 of liberality — of irregular growth. Eminent 
 business men even often lack business principles 
 in their beneficence. The cultivated Christian is 
 of more " compact habit." He lays aside one= 
 tenth, or one^fifth, as the case may be, of all he 
 earns. He is regular in his giving, regular in 
 his living. Akin to the man without system in 
 giving is the slovcnhj person. There is no sys- 
 tem in her work. All is "in htjaps," She does 
 not know what she has or where to find it 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 139 
 
 Others never keep regular hours. The result is 
 dyspepsia and nervousness in oneself and an- 
 noyance to others. Our work suffers by this 
 fault. Look at the scrubby oleaster beside the 
 olive tree. Be ashamed of your irregularities 
 and mend your ways. 
 
 Behold the oleaster tree 
 And see its fruit of skin and stone, 
 This is n type of stingy man 
 Whose soul is naught but skin and bone. 
 
 Prov. 11:25. 
 
 God plants the olive tends it well. 
 What could He do that He's not done? 
 He grieves to see the straggling growth; 
 He looks for fruit, but there is uoue. 
 
 Olive. 
 
 I * 
 
 mil A UM 
 
 
 •* And he afayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth 
 the dove out of the art;, and to, in her month on OLIVE 
 leaf plneked off: fio NoaJi knew that the ^eaters were 
 abated from off the earth:' Gen. S: 10, 11. 
 
 ^' And I will (fire unto my two witnesses and they shall 
 prophesy. . . . These are the two OLIVE-TREES. 
 Rev. 11: 4, 3. 
 
 The root meaning of zayUh (olive tree) is to 
 shine. The olive was tlius named either on ac- 
 count of its brightness or the shining of its oil. 
 It has been called the " first of trees." " Italy 
 retains its old pro (Mninenco in olive cultivation; 
 and although its ancient Gallic province now 
 
 I r 
 
140 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 §; 
 
 ' excels it in the production of the finer oils, its 
 fast improving culture may restore the old pres- 
 tige. . . . The oliv^; tree even when free 
 increase is unchecked by pruning is of very 
 slow growth; but where allowed for ages its n:it- 
 ural development, the trunk sometimes attains 
 ii considerable diameter. De Condolle records 
 one exceeding 23 feet in girth, its ag© being 
 supposed to amount to seven centuries. . . . 
 The tree in cultivation rarely exceeds 30 feet in 
 height. . . . The wood, of a yellow or liglit 
 greenish brown hue, is often finely veined with 
 a darker tint; and being very hard and close- 
 grained is valued by the cabinet maker and or- 
 namental turner. . . . They root in favor- 
 able soil almost as easily as the willow. . . . 
 Branches of various thickness are cut into 
 lengths of several feet each, and, planted rather 
 deeply in manured ground, soon vegetate ; short- 
 er pieces are sometimes laid horizontally in shal- 
 low trenches, when, covered with a few inches 
 of soil, they rapidly throw up sucker like shoots. 
 In Greece and the islands, grafting the cultiv- 
 ated tree on the oleaster is a common practice. 
 . . . The unripe fruit of the olive is large- 
 ly used ill modern as in ancient times as an art- 
 icle of dessert. . . . The leaves and bark of 
 
■^ ; 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 141 
 
 the tree are emi)loyed in the south ns a tonic 
 medicine in intermittent fever. . " . . The 
 olive of America, O. Americana, a rather small 
 tree, growing in the southern parts of the United 
 States, with broadly lanceolate and compound 
 racemes of small white fragrant flowers, is re- 
 markable for the hardness of its wood, which, 
 resisting ordinary tools is called devil-wood by 
 the southern lumberers and squatters. . . . 
 Tlu> white or yellowish sweet scented flowers of 
 O. fragrans a Chinese species are employed to 
 communicate their aroma to some of their finer 
 teas. . . . The frequent reference in the 
 Bible to the plant and its produce, its implied 
 abundance in the land of Canaan, the important 
 place it has always held in the economy of the 
 inhabitants of Syria, lead us to consider that 
 country the birth place of the cultivated olive. 
 . . . Yielding profusely with little labour 
 that oily matter so essential to healthy life in 
 the dry hot climates of the East the gift of the 
 fruitful tree became in that primitive age a 
 symbol of peace and goodwill among the war- 
 like barbarians. . . . Among the Greeks 
 the oil was valued as an important article of 
 diet, as well as for its external use. . . . tti 
 modern times the olive has been spread widely 
 over the world." (Brit.) 
 
 'I'l 
 
113 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 The olive gave its name to the Mount of 
 Olives doar to every Christian's heart. How 
 often Jesus sat there! Judas knows where to 
 find Him. Palm Sunday points to the Mount. 
 From the consecrating oil Jesus received his 
 name Messiah (Hebrew), Christ (Greek), an- 
 ointed (English). There, the angel strength- 
 ened Him as He well nigh fainted beneath the 
 burden of our sins. There two angels spake to 
 His disciples, " Ye men of Galilee, why stand 
 ye looking into heaven? This Jesus which was 
 received up from you into heaven shall so come 
 in like manner as ye beheld Him going into 
 heaven." (Acts. 1:11). 
 
 Oil makes the face shine (Ps. 104: 15); and 
 Fo does the love of Christ in the heart. The 
 olive is the shining tree; the Christian is the 
 shining light, '' among whom are ye seen as 
 lights in the world, holding forth the word of 
 life."' (Phil. 2: 15). You have seen lamps burn- 
 ing ilimlij. The wick had not been trimmed 
 for days, vrceks perhaps. TIk^ burner was dark 
 and rusty. The chimney black with soot. An 
 offensive odor arose from want of complete burn- 
 ing of the oil. It was a light but not '*a burn- 
 ing and a shining light " (John5:o5). Such 
 are many Christians; lights! indeed, but *" sorry 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 148 
 
 lights. It is no wonder so many yomiLj men do 
 not wish to be such lights, smoky and offensive 
 as they are; and they refuse to receive oil of 
 grace from God and the spark of life divine. 
 Your bodily life is the wick. Keep them 
 trimmed by fervent and constant prayer. 
 Brush up the burner with work for Jesus, 
 and boil it over the fire of devotion. Clean 
 your chimney from the petty faults and glar- 
 ing sins of every-day life. God will pour the 
 oil of His grace in your hearts and "turn up" 
 the light until if you tried to hide it under 
 a bushel it would burn a hole through it. 
 *' Ye are the light of the world. A city set on 
 a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a 
 lamp and put it under the bushel, but on the 
 the stand; and it shineth unto all that are in 
 the house. Even so let your light shine before 
 men that they may see your good works and 
 glorify your Father which is in heaven." 
 (Matt. 5:U-1().) 
 
 You remem])or liow in "Pilgrim's Progress," 
 satan failed to put out the fire of devotion 
 because the oil was supplied freely. Act upon 
 this truth. 
 
 *' Brightly beams our Father's mercy 
 From His light-house evermore; 
 But to us Ho jyivcrt the keepinj? 
 Of the light?! nlMTig the shore. 
 
 '!i I 
 
 ■ .-ii 
 
 ,1 :il 
 
 t ffr 
 
 H 
 
 I 'I 
 
 i! !'■! 
 
 i 
 
141 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 Dark the night of sin has settled; 
 Loud the angry billows roar; 
 Eager eyes are watching, longing 
 For the lights along the shore. 
 
 Trim your feeble lamp, my brother: 
 Some poor seaman tempest tossed, 
 Trying now to make the harbour, 
 In the darkness may be lost. 
 
 Let the lower lights be burning! 
 Send a gleam across the wave! 
 Some poor, fainting, struggling seaman 
 You may rescue, you may save." 
 
 P. P. Bliss. 
 
 The vitality of the oliva branch is wonderful. 
 How suggestive! Put n twig of truth in the 
 soil of a heart, and it grows rapidly and surely. 
 In any kind of soil too, if il has been prepared by 
 the Holy Spirit, it takes root. The drunkard 
 in the gutter awakes to the knowledge cf sav- 
 ing truth. A greater wonder is it to see the 
 olive-branch growing from the heart of the 
 moralist — our modern Pharisee. With like 
 surprise we praise God for this green branch 
 of life, even in the society baby nursed in the 
 lap of fashion, amused by the dance. And the 
 dude upon the street^cornor sometimes has 
 enough of real worth in his being to feebly 
 nourish this plant of grace. The rich and the 
 poor, the educated and the illiterate, the pol- 
 ished gentleman and the rough workingman 
 
t'l 
 
 'f f 
 
 ■■' -ems to prefer «e f' ""^ ^-''^W^ o'-e 
 
 circuD^stances " "T. '"" ''' °^ ^'"^ 
 
 H- gladly." (Mart 12 TyT" ^°^'^ ''^"'^ 
 
 "■"ong them and did,t h ^""^'^"^ « 
 
 ; - -' thou that bearest tL . ,t ! f ''"'^ 
 f'ee. Thou wilt «„„ „ * "^^ root 
 
 •^-kenoffthatll-Z' ''^"^^''-J-^^ '^-^ 
 by their unbelief ff ^'"""^ "'• We]]; 
 
 -o.,stande;si;srBer;r-- 
 
 ed but fear- for it r a * iigh-mind- 
 
 17-21. °^ ^P'"-^ thee." Rom. n 
 
 '-''wf'ZTf""^ 
 
 ,«-7tiana The, ha:f a^^^.tre/oiT'^-t 
 fee]ing, and i„ a few days th^! "* ™%iou.s 
 
 « ti-e the fever retuZ^rT"' ^'*«^ 
 life; but fo say the hlTl ■ ^ """"^ ^^'' ^^ 
 
 -edmedieina]!^'!, ;';:-'"-'''>■ ^^-^ 
 "-'-HteutfevertharfSIVeC:"^'''"''''^'' 
 
Ml 
 
 i • 
 
 »■ , - s 
 
 
 116 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 In this dry wilderness of life the oil of God's 
 grace is a necessity for a pleasant journey. 
 Amid the burning sands of tribulation and 
 under the tropical sun of anxiety the Christian 
 
 can praise God saying, 
 
 " My head thou dost with oil anoint 
 And my cup overflows." 
 
 The olive branch is a symbol of peace and 
 good will. Would this not be a suitable orna- 
 ment for every lome? Would it always match 
 the surroundings? Above all other places the 
 home ought to be free from wrangling and 
 strife and be full of peace and goodwill. Oth- 
 erwise there can be little happiness on earth; 
 and those who grow up in a discordant home 
 are likely to carry discord into all the neighbor- 
 hood. "Be of the same mind; live in peace: 
 and the God of love and peace shall be with 
 you. (II Cor. 13: 11.) "If it be possible, as 
 much as in yoa lieth live at peace with all 
 men." (Rom. 12: 18.) Would that oftener wo 
 might hoar the multitude of the heavenly host 
 praising God and saying, — 
 
 "Glory to God in the Highest 
 
 And on Earth pence among men in whom He is 
 well pleased." (Luke 2: It). 
 
 In fruitful years the produce of the olive is 
 
 very abundant. Every yo;ir should be a fruit- 
 

 te«- The work that ou.-ht to h» V ^ '" """ 
 ''^'J- All eternity ,vin !, """' "^ »"'■'»- 
 
 ''o^'^- If all Christens • T '""" '^^ ''"ve 
 
 f *^esefoetst;etr7:VG^*'^^''"''- 
 ''onoredeveryyearbv» '■^ ''°"M be 
 
 ;'7t'-mrj.:::s-.;p'-..eh. 
 
 % tree shall not blosson, •.. *''°"R'' *''« 
 
 ««- vines; the Tr:;!'" f"" ^-t ''e 
 «"d the fields yield ll ?,' °'''^« «'«" fail 
 
 '""- «Mb. yet /:? "f" «'"""'« n- iu.rd 
 (Hab. 3: IV.) '''" "J'-'oe "■ the Lord." 
 
 «'eabat:::,,':;te;;;^^ '"^?''-''V'" ^-'' °f 
 Bevelation (Ij. , ., ' ^^'^ ol'vo trees „f 
 
 '-«■'"•'• Are ,ve witnesIeT"" "" *"° "•''- 
 y^ «teo bear witnerj ' '°' '^'""«' '' '^ And 
 - fro- the be." ;,^ 7;7<' '-o been with 
 
 ;■— fte„fei:e,;;;;:j:tH-''^- ''-- 
 
 fo*- «s. The people of ),„ , ^'"' '''"' «';<«I 
 
 ""•"■nine us. Wh ,t '' '""''' ">* '""' «„.,«. 
 
 ^7-^"-Trnthls,-rrifr''''''''^-"-' 
 
 tt::r''?"*'-"-'"-vhi:':^ 
 
 ^oiis US to wifiies.s for Rln , ^*' '^^^"s 
 
 if 
 
 ■ ; '' 
 
 i t 
 
 V 
 
 BJ 
 
 i "i 
 
 *fi- 
 
 i^^l 
 
! i 
 
 U8 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 will I also confess before my Father which is in 
 heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before 
 men, him will I also deny before my Father 
 which is in heaven." Matt. 10: 32, 33. 
 
 How fruitful is the olive 
 
 In object lessons we should learn! 
 
 These are by far more wholesome ' 
 
 Than olive green in table urn. 
 
 Palm. 
 
 '' The righteous shall flourish like the PALM TREK:'' Pa. 
 
 02: 12. 
 
 '" On the morroio a great multitude that had cotue to the 
 feast, ichen they heard that Jesus ivas coming to Jeru- 
 salem, took the branches of the PALM TREES and 
 went forth to meet Him and cried out, Hosanna: Bles- 
 sed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord, even the 
 King of Israel:^ John 12 : 12, 13. 
 
 In Judges (4:5) the word for palm is iomcr, 
 a general term for the genus. In Psalm 92 it 
 is tfimar, a specific name f(3r the date \)'d\\\\. 
 The root idea is the same, to stand forth, to be 
 lofty. The Greek word occurring in John (12: 
 12) is 'phoenixy the date-palm VXia^mx darli- 
 lifera. This genus (phoenix) is of the? Natural 
 Order Palmaceae. Thus the Date is a cousin 
 of the Calamus. 
 
 "The dates of commerce are the fruit of a 
 species of palm, Plnjenix dactylifera. . . . 
 In Arabia it is the chief source of national 
 
^VHISPERING LEAVEb OF PALESTINE 149 
 
 wealth and its fruit formb the staple artich^ of 
 food ill that country. . . . The date palm 
 is a beautiful tree i^rowing to a heij^ht of from 
 sixty to ei^lity foot and its stem which is 
 strongly marked with old leaf scars terminates 
 in a crown of graceful sliining pinnatisect 
 leaves. . . . The fruit is an oblong drupe 
 which varies as much in size, colour, and quali- 
 ty under cultivation as does an ai)ple in temper- 
 ate regions. . . . Regarding this fruit Mr. 
 W. G. Palgrave remarks, 'Those who, like most 
 Europeans at home, only know the date from 
 the dried specimens of that fruit . . . can 
 hardly imagine how delicious it is when eaten 
 fresh and in central Arabia. Nor is it when 
 newly gathered heating — a defect inherent in 
 the preserved fruit everywhere; nor does its 
 richness, however great, bring satiety; in short 
 it is an article of food alike pleasant and 
 healthy.' All parts of the date palm yield val- 
 nable economic products. Us trunk furnishes 
 lumber for house building and furniture; the 
 leaves supply thatch, their foot sttdks are used 
 ns fuel, and also yield a fibre from which cord- 
 age is sijun."— Brit. The sap of the palm is 
 also drunk as milk. Its timber is valuable on 
 acL'ount of its durability. Mats, baskets, sails. 
 
150 
 
 WHISPERIKG LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 •t; 
 
 and ropes are made from its leaves. PhcEnicia 
 is the land of the Phoenix. 
 
 The very name of the palm (Tamar) suggests 
 " the higher life " of the child of God. There 
 is nothing on earth which so stands forth, is so 
 lofty and majestic as the divine life of the soul. 
 It is as much above the physical or mental life 
 as the palm is above the bramble or the thistle. 
 When we receive that life, at Regeneration, we 
 are lifted above the things of this world and are 
 akin to God Himself. "Now are we children 
 of God." (I John 3: 2.) Even the angels of 
 heaven minister unto us. So many forget this 
 and drag their new name in the mire of eartli. 
 They dishonor their Father in Heaven. Instead 
 of a graceful palm they scarcely rise above the 
 surface of the ground and the rains spatter mud 
 upon them. "VVo ought to ponder our estate 
 and live like princes of heaven. 8toop to noth- 
 ing '* low," or mean. This loftiness of life and 
 purpose is the very opposite of the |>?*o?Ki spirit, 
 which shows its origin. Every part of the 
 palm tree miiiisters to man, even to the beasts 
 of the field. Ho the truly great show their 
 greatness by their service. " Whosoever would 
 become great among you, shall be your minister 
 (or servant); and v»]iosoevor would be first 
 
WHISPERING LE^iVES OF PALESTINE 151 
 
 among you let liim be your servant (or bond- 
 servant): even as the Son of Man came not to 
 be ministered unto but to minister and to ^;;ive 
 His Life a ransom for many." (Matt. 20: 26- 
 28.) Christ was not above washing the feet of 
 others. 
 
 The date palm affords both food and drink. 
 So the love of God is the true meat and drink 
 of the soul. Persons drink streams of worldly 
 pleasure. They enjoy the snow-pudding of 
 popularity. They quaff the wine of excitement. 
 Yet their souls burn with thirst and are gnawed 
 with hunger. They cannot understand how it 
 is, although they know that salt water does not 
 quench their thirst. When they taste of the 
 sweet goodness of God their souls are satisfied. 
 " O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed 
 is the man that trusteth in Him." (Ps. JU: 8.) 
 
 "I heard the voice of Jesus say, 
 * Behold I freely give 
 
 The living water; thirsty one, 
 
 Stoop down and drink and live!' 
 
 I came to Jesus and I drank 
 
 Of that life=giving stream; 
 
 My thirst was quenched, my sonl revived 
 
 And now I live in Him." 
 
 fionar. 
 
 What tree excels the palm in beauly? Tell 
 
 me what life is more beautiful than the one 
 
 radiant with the love of God. Its perfect recti- 
 
II 
 
 I 1^ 
 
 162 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OP PALESTINE 
 
 * 
 
 tude has its crown of beauty. ETen those who 
 do not believe in the divinity of Jesus, admire 
 the beauty of His life. There is none to com- 
 pare. We ought to be so like Him that others 
 would be compelled to acknowledge the beauty 
 of our life that is hid with Christ. Some see 
 no more beauty in a choice rose than in a potato 
 blossom. So the beauty of a soul is not appre- 
 ciated by all. " Let the beauty of the Lord our 
 God be upon us." (Ps. 90: 17.) "He is the 
 chief est among ten thousand; yea, He is alto- 
 gether lovely." ( Cant. 5 : 10, 16. ) 
 
 The palm is the emblem of victory and tri- 
 umph. '* After thege things I saw and behold 
 a great multitude which no man could number 
 out of every nation . . . standing before 
 the Throne and before the Lamb arrayed in 
 white robes and palms in their hands." (Rev. 
 7:9.) Palm Sunday is an annual reminder |of 
 this truth. Those who love Jesus and seek 
 faithfully to serve Him in life shall rejoice be- 
 fore the Throne. We are sure of ultimate victo- 
 ry. We may be disappointed all through life on 
 earth; but, if Christ is our Savior, death will 
 usher us into the triumphal throng. We ought 
 to rejoice always buoyed up by the hope of a 
 glorious future. If we help to fight the battles 
 
"WHISPERING LEAVES OP PALESTINE 158 
 
 of Christ, we will share His triumph. In the 
 Sacrament of tlie Lord's Supper we have em- 
 blems that speak not only of death but of 
 Christ's second coming in triumph, "Till I 
 
 come," 
 
 Let gloomy thoughts be gone for aye, 
 
 The long face smile and sing. 
 \\ave high the palm and shout and say, 
 
 Hosanna to our King! 
 
 Pine. 
 
 " / ivill set in the desert the fir tree, the PINE and the box 
 tree together."' Is. 41: 19. 
 
 r\y 
 
 There is diversity of opinion as to the pine. 
 The [Hebrew ildhar is rendered ulmus (elm) in 
 the Vuhjjate and nuinieijaii (plane tree) in 
 Chaldee. Geseniiis thinks "hard oak, holm" is 
 Ijreferable, from the root meaninijj of " lasti)ig.^^ 
 The Authorized and Revised Versions agree, 
 but according to the margin of the Revised the 
 above quoted verse would rend, '* the fir tree, 
 the plane, and the cypress together." Gesenius 
 would read, "the cypress, the holm, and the 
 cedar together." We will accept the united 
 authority of the Authorized and Revised Bible. 
 What saith the pine? 
 
 "Pine (pinus, Gr. pitus) a name given by the 
 ancient.^ to some of tlio resinous cone-bearing 
 
 m 
 
154 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 trees to which it is now applied, and as limited 
 by modern botanists, the designation of a large 
 genus of true conifera (abietinae), differing 
 from the firs in their hard woody cone-scales 
 being thickened at the apex, and in their slen- 
 der needle-shaped leaves growing from a mem- 
 branous sheath, either in pairs or fr( >m three to 
 five together — each tuft representing an abor- 
 1 ive branch springing from the axil of a partial- 
 ly deciduous scale-leaf, the base of which re- 
 mains closely adherent to the stem . . . their 
 f oft straight grained resinous and often durable 
 wood gives to many kinds a high economic val- 
 ue, and some are among the most esteemed of 
 timber trees. Of the two leaved species P. syl- 
 vestris, the pine of Northern Europe, may be 
 taken as a type. When growing in perfection 
 it is one of the finest of the group, and perhaps 
 the most picturesque of forest trees; attaining a 
 height of from seventy to one hundred and 
 twenty feet, it is of conical growth when young 
 but in maturity acquires a spreading cedar or 
 mushroom like top with a straight trunk of from 
 two to four feet in diameter at the base, and 
 gnarled twisted boughs, densely clothed at the 
 extremities with glaucous green foliage, which 
 coutrnsts strongly with the fiery red brown bark. 
 
! 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 155 
 
 The leaves are rather short curved, and often 
 twisted. . . . The heart wood of the finer 
 kinds of the Scotch fir (P. sylvestris) is of deep 
 brownish red color abounding in the resin to 
 which its durability is proloably due. For all 
 indoor and most outdoor purposes it is as last- 
 ing as oak, and for ship planking it is perhaps 
 little inferior; from its lightness and elasticity 
 it is well adapted for the construction of yachts 
 and other small fast mailing craft and is said to be 
 the best of all wood for masts and large spars. . . 
 Great numbers of young pines are annually cut 
 for railway sleepers, mining timber and numer- 
 ous agricultural applications; large quantities 
 are consumed in forming the wood pavement 
 which in the great towns is rapidly superseding 
 stone. . . . The inner bark ts twisted into 
 ropes and like that of spruce is kiln dried 
 ground uj) and mixed with meal in times of scar- 
 city. ... In recent days the fiber of the 
 leaves has been extracted in .some quantity and 
 applied to textile purposes under the name of 
 waldwollc both in Germany and Sweden. . . . 
 It has some resemblance to coarse wool and is 
 spun and woven into blankets and garments 
 that are said to be warm and durable. Large 
 (quantities of turpentine are extracted from this 
 
 
166 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 pine ... by removing a strip of bark, ter- 
 minating below in a deej) notch cut in the wood, 
 into which the turpentine runs. . . . The 
 red pine of Canada and New England (so called 
 fi'om the color of its bark) P. resinosa, is a tree 
 of considerable size, sometimes attaining the di- 
 mensions of P. sylvestris. . . . The tree is 
 of quick growth and the wood strong and resi- 
 nous, but it is less durable than the Scotch fir. 
 . . . P. Lambertiana, the Giant Pine or Su- 
 gar Pine of California, is the largest of the ge- 
 nus, rising to the height of two hundred feet 
 with a trunk twenty to thirty feet in girth, and 
 it is said, occasionally attaining much larger di- 
 mensions. The head is of a pyramidal form, 
 the lower branches dr<joping like those of a Nor- 
 way spruce, itri folinge is of a light bright green 
 color. The pendant cones are very hirge, some- 
 ti mes eighteen inches long and ioiiv inches in 
 diameter, with large nut-like seeds, which 
 pounded and baked, are eaten by the Indians. 
 . . . The wood is soft and nearly white, but 
 contains mucli regain which when fire has run 
 tiiroiigh the it)rest exudes and having in this 
 half burnt condition a sweetish taste, has giv- 
 en Iho common name to the tree." (Brit.) 
 
ii^ 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 157 
 
 The leaves of tho Piiins Sylvestris grow in 
 pairs. So " it is not good that man should be 
 alone." The firs are solitary, " old bachelors " 
 and " old maids;" the pines are in clustors of 
 two or more, the family group. This fact sug- 
 gests also a more general truth. If one leaf 
 falls another is there to take its place. If two 
 men go on a journey through the woods or on 
 the prairie it is safer than for one to go alone. 
 So in many things, one can help another. And 
 then too it is natural for tho leaves of the pine 
 to grow in groups. It is natural for human 
 beings to seek the society of otliers. And often 
 one lady and one gentleman are sufficient for 
 one room. 
 
 The inne is resinous, to which it owes its 
 durability. Kind acts are tho resin of Christi- 
 anity. Herein is true nobility. Nothing makes 
 friendship so lasting as little deeds of kindness. 
 One is not likely to " wear out his welcome " if 
 he is skilful and watchful to help. As the resin 
 of P. Lambertiana is sweeter when partly burnt, 
 so the thoughtful kindness of one in trouble is 
 
 yet more pleasant. 
 
 Think not of self but how to please 
 
 And help your fellow-man. 
 Like resin in the wood of trees 
 
 fhis uiukes your livts tiudure, 
 
 Vl 
 
158 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 . Resinous wood makes a very hot fire. Kind- 
 ness often burns. *' If thine enemy hun.u:er, 
 feed him; if he thirst, give him to drink; for in 
 so doing thou shalt heap coals of tire upon his 
 head." Rom. 12: 20. 
 
 • 
 
 
 1*1 
 
 \A 
 
 I; ':■? 
 
 '■'I 
 
 < I': i 
 
 
 
 i'3 
 
 Plane Tree. 
 
 " The cedars in the garden of God could not hide Him: the 
 fir trees were not like his boughs, and the PLANE 
 TREES were not as his branches: nor toas any tree in 
 the garden of God like unto him in his beauty." Ezek, 
 31: 8. 
 
 The Authorized Version renders the Hebrew 
 armon, "chestnut trees;" the Revised, "plane 
 trees." The chestnut does not grow in Pal- 
 estine. Gesenius thus delivers his judgment, 
 "Armon the plane tree, platanus orientalis 
 perhaps so called from shedding its bark." 
 With him botanists agree. Its horizontal 
 branches wuth their broad palmated4eaves 
 aflPord a much prized shade. It grows sixty or 
 seventy feet high and its wood is valuable 
 because of its whiteness and its fine grain. The 
 bark is annually shed in spots, to which re- 
 ference may be made in Gen. 30: 37. It is said 
 that on the shores of the Bosphorus there is a 
 very lar!:^e specimen, fifty feet in diameter and 
 ninety feet liigh, 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 159 
 
 The shade of such a tree may well reprcf-ent 
 the benign shadow of English power. How 
 grateful it has been in Egypt! The islands of 
 the sea feel a security and a new life as they 
 sit under the " Union Jack." All loyal Chris- 
 tians rejoice as the shadow creeps forward in 
 different parts of Africa. This "Canada of 
 Ours" is growing to a nation under the pro- 
 tection of English Warships. In the fierce 
 combat of parties and under the envious eye 
 of another nation, we ought to be grateful for 
 this shade. What was said by Ezekiel of the 
 Assjrrian monarchy can be said more fittingly 
 of the monarchy that sits on the Thames and 
 encircles the earth. 
 
 ill 
 
 tii 
 
 Pomegranate. 
 
 " Ayid thou shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue 
 . . . a7id upon the skirts of it thou shalt make POME- 
 GRANATES of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, 
 roiind about the skirts thereof; and bells of gold between 
 them round about. Ex. 2S: 31, 33. 
 
 The Hebrew name of the pomegranate is seen 
 in the names of several places in Palestine 
 — Rimmon. 
 
 " The pomegranate (Punica granetum) is of 
 excf ional interest by reason of its structure, 
 its tory, and its utility. It forms a tree of 
 
IfiO 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 y 
 
 small stature, or a bush, with opposite, shining, 
 lance-shaped leaves, from the axils of some of 
 which proceed the brilliant scarlet flowers. 
 These are raised on a short stalk and consist of 
 ,1 thick, fleshy, cylindrical or belbshaped calyx 
 tube, with five to seven short lobes at the toi). 
 From the throat of the calyx proceed from five 
 to seven roundish, crumpled, scarlet, or crimson 
 petals, and below them very numerous slend( r 
 stamens. The pistil consists of two rows of car- 
 pels placed one above another, both rows im- 
 bedded in, and partially inseperate from the 
 inner surface of the calyx tube. The styles 
 are confluent into one filiform thread. The fruit 
 which usually attains the size of a large orange, 
 consists of a hard leathery i ind, which is the 
 enlarged calyx tube enclosing a quantity of 
 pulp, derived from the coats of the numerous 
 seeds. This pulp, filled as it is with refreshing 
 acid juice, constitutes the chief value of the tree. 
 . . . The great structural peculiarity con- 
 sists in the presence of the two rows of carpels 
 one above another . . . and in the fact 
 that while in the lower series the seeds are 
 attached to the inner border or lower angle of 
 the cavity, they occupy the outer side in the 
 upper series, as if during growth, the upper 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 161 
 
 whorl had become completely bent over." 
 (Brit.) The fruit rind is an astringent, owinj,^ 
 to its " tannin;" and the root bark is an anthel- 
 minthic. Its leaves are dark and its fruit 
 ruddy. According to Dr. Thomson, some of Vac 
 pomegranates of Jaffa are as large as an ostrich 
 
 God honored the loomegranate by putting 
 representations of it on the sacred robes of the 
 priest, in company with cjoJdcn bells. So 
 Christians should bo useful, and ornamental. 
 Whilst vanity, in worshipping beauiy or ( In- 
 gant attire is to be despised as child;; h <• iv.i 
 shunned as sinful, yet our Creator wishes us to 
 "look our best." God's love of the beautiful 
 has fashioned the heavens and carpeted the 
 earth. He that paints the glories of a sunset 
 sky, and stamps His image on the human i-o\\\ 
 surely could not b(> woU [)leahed in seeing u 
 beautiful brow concealed and made hideous by 
 '* the idiot's fringe." Tliis kind of a " bang'' may 
 be seen on nicii'.^ forelicads among our North 
 West Indians. Let tliom l;;ivo the monopoly of 
 it. All may n'.i.l sliould wour neat, bocoming 
 dress to ndorn t\w h.'iudiwork of their Tieavenly 
 Father. (This costs 1:0 wnn'o, tlian slovenly, ill= 
 cho;en, and outhnuli/h costiiuies.) T;io Cica- 
 
 .'i • 
 
i.ii. '• 
 
 1G2 WniSPElUXG LEAVES OP PALESTINE 
 
 tor has adorned Nature with robes more beauti- 
 ful than those of Solomon; but he has given to 
 man the privilege of self- adornment. The best 
 adornment, of which the outer is but a symbol, 
 is that of the S2)iril. This beauty is more than 
 "skin-deep." It will outlast time and receive 
 eternal youth as it passes through the gates of 
 pearl into the Heavenly Jerusalem. 
 
 Poplar. 
 
 '■'•Theij siivrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn 
 incense upon the hilts, under oaks and POPLARS 
 and IVrebinths, because the shade thereof is good." 
 
 llijs. J : 13. 
 
 Libnch, the Hebrew word here translated pop- 
 lar, denotes wliiieness. The Sei^tuagint, the 
 Vulgate, and both of our versions render it 
 poplar. (Whito poplar, jjopulus alba.) Leba- 
 non is from tlio siime word, and means tvhite 
 mr luitain. 
 
 "Pophir (populus,) the name of a small 
 group of aborescent amentaceous plants, belong- 
 ing to the order Solicaceao. The catkins of the 
 poplars differ froia those of the nearly allied 
 willows in the presence of a rudimentary peri- 
 anth, of oblique, cnpshaped form, within the 
 toothed bracteal scales. . . . The two* 
 valvcd capsule, contahis several seeds, each fur- 
 
^AHISPERIXG LEAVES OF PALESTINE 163 
 
 iiislied 'svilh a lonij tuft of silky or coltoii-liko 
 hairs. . . . The leaves arc broader than iii 
 most willows and are generally either dt'itoid 
 or ovate in shape, often cordate at the base and 
 frequently with slender potioles vertically flat- 
 tened." It is this flattening of the petiole that 
 gives the le:ives of poplars their peculiar motion. 
 " Of the European kinds, one of the most 
 important and best marked forms is the white 
 poplar or abele, P. alba, a tree of large size 
 with rounded spreading hepd and curved 
 branches, which like the trunk are covered with 
 grayish white bark, becoming much furrowed 
 on old stems. . . . As in all x)oplars the 
 catkins expand in early spring, long bt^fore the 
 leaves unfold. . . . The wood is very white 
 and from its soft and even grain is employed 
 by turners and toy^makers, while being tough 
 and little liable to split it is also serviceable for 
 the construction of packing cases, thi' lining of 
 carts and wagons and many similar jjurposes. 
 The aspon forms an important section. . . 
 P. Canadensis." (Canadian i)0[)]ar.) ''"j'lio 'cot- 
 ton wood' of the Western prairies and its vnri- 
 eties, are perliaps the most useful trees of the 
 genus. ... P. nuKiophylla or candicans 
 comr.ionlv known as the Ontario Por,lar, U ro* 
 
r^ 
 
 . :t: 
 
 I: 
 
 164 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 niarkable for its very large heart-shaped leaves, 
 sometimes ten inches long. . . . The buds 
 are covered with a balsamic secretion. The 
 Irue balsam poplar or Tacamahae, P. balsam- 
 iferae, abundant in most parts of Canada and 
 the Northern States is a tree of rather large 
 growth . . . with oblong, ovate sharp* 
 l)ointed leaves, the base very cordate, the peti- 
 oles round, and the disk deep, glossy green 
 above, but somewhat downy below. ... In 
 Northern habitats it attains a large size; the 
 wood is very soft; the buds yield a gum-like 
 balsam; considered valuable as an antiscorbatic. 
 This is said also to have diuretic properties. 
 . . . This balsam gives the tree a fra:^rant 
 odor when the leaves are unfolding." (Brit.) 
 The heart shaped tremulous leaves whisper 
 their sweet story of love. A heartless man or 
 woman is a most unlovable creature. We meet 
 them ill polite society as well as amcmg tlie un- 
 coulli ignoramuses. The dainty idol cf elite 
 circle s that trilies with the hearts of men is uu- 
 W(»i Ihy of her own sex and forfeits ''o respect 
 of tlie other. Heartless men are, pernap;s more 
 ]{umorous. Our acts as well ns our words ought 
 to reveal the tenderness of our hearts. We 
 
 iii 
 
 ill I 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF I'ALESTINE 165 
 
 ought to hj hcdiiu in every good cause — most 
 hearty in serving the Lord of our hearts. 
 
 The whiteness of the leaves is but a glimmer- 
 ing of the whiteness within. Some people have 
 all their whiteness outside — "whited sepul- 
 chres." When persons are only wit ite- washed 
 with goodness, their true nature will doubtless 
 sometimes reveal itself. The Searcher of Hearts 
 at all times sees "through and through" us. 
 Only entire and absolute purity can enter heav- 
 en. "Who then can be saved?" Only those 
 who are cleansed from sin in the blood cf Christ. 
 In Him alone can we be " whiter than the snow." 
 
 " There is a fountain tilled with blood 
 Drawn from Emmanuel's veins; 
 And sinner.s plunj^ed beneath that flood 
 Lose all their guilty stains." 
 
 Poppy. 
 
 ^^ Ju(Pjiuent springefh np ns HEMLOCK in the furrows of 
 of thefieldy Rosea 10: 4. 
 
 Rosh, here rendered hemlock, is thought by 
 Gesenius to mean the poppy, from its heads, 
 as rosh signifies head. It is " the name of a 
 poisonous plant (Deut. 29: 18), growing quickly 
 and luxuriantly (Hos, 10:4), of a bitter taste 
 (Ps. 69: 22)." In Deuteronomy and Psalms it 
 is translated "gall." 
 
 w\ 
 
n;o 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 ; *■ 
 
 m 
 
 ■w 
 
 .1 \ 
 
 The botanical name of the garden poppy is 
 Paxfciver somnifernm. It is grown for ornamen- 
 tation; but it is chiefly famed for its oil and its 
 opium. The Bohemians use the seed like cara- 
 way seed in making cakes and biscuits. " Poppy 
 oil is obtaijied by pressure from the minute 
 seeds of the garden or opium poppy . . . 
 This oil is a valuable and much used medium 
 for artistic oil i^ainting. Th.e fino qualities are 
 largely used in tlie nortli of France and in Ger- 
 many as a salad oil, and are less liable tlia^i 
 olive oil to rancidity. The absence of taste and 
 characteristic smell in poppy oil also leads to its 
 being much used for adulterating olive-oil. . . 
 . The oil is very extensively used in the valley 
 of the Ganges and other opium regions for food 
 and domestic purpocos. . . . Opium, a nar- 
 cotic drug prepared from the juice of the opium 
 poi^py. ... At present it is estimated that 
 south western China produces not less than 224, 
 000 piculs, while the entire import from India 
 does not exceed 100,000 piculs (of 1:53 ,'. lbs.). 
 Opium is now produced in nine out of the eight- 
 een provinces of China." Nearly all the opium 
 used for medicine conies from Turkey. Before 
 the seeds are ripe shallow incisions are made in 
 the .'^eed^pod of the po] py in the afternoon ni)'] 
 
 I !i( 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE KJT 
 
 the dried juice that exudes is collected the next 
 morniiip:. " This is done by scraping the cap- 
 sule with a knife and transferring the concreted 
 juice to a poppy leaf held in the left hand, the 
 edges of the leaf being turned in to avoid spill- 
 ing the juice, and the knife^blade moistened 
 with saliva by drawing it through the mouth 
 after every alternate scraping to prevent the 
 juice from adhering to it. The whole of the 
 operation must of course be completed in the 
 few days — five to ten — during which the cap- 
 sules are capable of yielding the drug. . . . 
 Turkey opium is principally used in medicine 
 Oil account of its purity and the large percent- 
 age of morphia that it contains, a comparative- 
 ly small quanity being ex^Dorted to China." In 
 India the foulest adulterations are used, of 
 which the account is unfit for publication, and 
 "the opium farther kneaded and mixed by men 
 wading through it from end to end until it ap- 
 l^ears to be of a uniform consistence. . . . 
 The activity of the opium is ijrincipally due to 
 the vegetable alkaloid morphia or morphine, 
 which opium of good quality contains to the 
 extent of eight to seventeen per cent, the aver- 
 age amount being ten per cent." Its medicinal 
 uses are many; and when the human sys- 
 
168 AVHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 P S>: ' 
 
 ( ( 
 
 P i! r 
 
 tern once receives it, it craves for a repetition of 
 the medicine. Those who use it medicinally 
 are in groat danger of becoming "opium eaters." 
 To break off the habit of opium eating is ex- 
 ceedingly difficult and can be effected only by 
 actual oxternal restraint or the strongest effort 
 of a powerful will. . . . Opium smoking is 
 chiefly practised by the inhabitants of China 
 and the islands of the Indian xVrchipelago and 
 in the countries where Chinese labor is largely 
 employed. It is said to have commenced in 
 China forty or fifty years before the English 
 began to import opium into that country. In 
 1858 it was estimated tiiat about 2,000,000 of 
 Chinese smoked opium and in 1878 from one^ 
 fourth to one^third of the entire population of 
 400,000,000. . . . Largo quantities of mor- 
 phia are exported to China from Europe for the 
 l^iupose of preparing the so called ' cure for 
 opium smoking,' which consists of one41iird of 
 a grain hydrochlorate of morphia mixed with a 
 little powdered rice. The powders are taken at 
 gradually increasing intervals until the morphia 
 is left off altogether. Mr. Allen Williams in a 
 work recently published states that there are 
 now neai'ly n million persons in the United 
 States who indulge in opium smoking and the 
 
: 1 
 ^1 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 169 
 
 habit seems to be on the increase. ... So 
 far as can be gathered from the confliciinij^ 
 statements on the subject, opium smoking may 
 be regarded much in the same light as the use 
 of alcoholic stimulants. The effect in bad cases 
 is to cause loss of appetite, a leaden pallor of 
 the skin and a degree of leanness so excessive as 
 to make the victims appear like living skeli'tons. 
 All inclination for exertion becomes gradually 
 lost, businef^s is neglected and certain ruin to 
 the smoker follows. There can be no doubt 
 that the use of the drug is opposed by all think- 
 ing Chinese who are not pecuniarily interested 
 in the opium trade or cultivation, for several 
 reasons among which may be mentioned the 
 drain of bullion from the country, the decrease 
 of population, the liability to famine through 
 the cultivation of opium where cereals should 
 be grown, and the corruption of state officials," 
 (Brit.) 
 
 The way in which opium is gathered, adulter- 
 ated, and mixed should turn all opium eaters 
 and smokers against their habit. Who wishes 
 to use the saliva of the natives of India? Or 
 who the washings of their feet? Or who their 
 foul adulterations? (The same argument holds 
 
170 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 !■ !■ 
 
 It 
 
 i , , 
 
 good in the case of tobacco, especially in tho 
 form of cigarettes.) 
 
 What an emblem of sin is the poppy! Seo 
 the hold it has npon its victims! They arc- 
 powerless to give it up; and every time they in- 
 dulge, its power over them is stronger. The 
 craving is unbearable. Tlie impulse toward it 
 is irresistible. It is like a person sinking in a 
 muskeg of the Western Prairies. For a time 
 he does not realize his danger, then he tries to 
 escape. As he seeks to pull out one foot the 
 other sinks deeper. Slowly inch by inch he 
 sinks down, dowu. He feels the power draw- 
 ing him lower and lower, and he is helpless. 
 It now seizes his body. His hands bet'ome 
 fastened and in utter despair he looks around 
 for help when it is too late. Slowly but surely 
 he sinks into a living grave. O, my brother, 
 beware of the muskeg! Beware of opium!! 
 Beware of SIN!!! You are poweiless in the 
 grasp of the devil. Sin after sin will drag you 
 down into a living, eternal death. Are yo;;r 
 feet stuck in the muskeg? Cry to God while 
 He is near. None other can save. 
 
 The poi)py grows rapidly. How like sin! 
 Do you not know rio;no who for years kept 
 sin under control, were n^spected and esteeni- 
 
 5 '.. 
 
I ! 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OP PALESTINE 171 
 
 ed; but all at once siii sprang up like tlie pop- 
 py? Their lives were covered with shame. 
 The seed ripened and fell into conj^euial soil. 
 Alas! Hovv great the harvest in eternity! 
 
 How bitter it is ! S])ii'itual gall. How 
 deadly! Yet man cannot abstain, thongli Iio 
 shudders while he takes it. Tlie effects are 
 misery itself. He knows the fire burns and yet 
 he takes it into his bosom. O! the power of 
 sin ! The mockery of sin ! Would God that man 
 would take the remedy! The lour, of God 
 sweetens life, gives health to the poisoned, 
 peoj)les heaven 
 
 Man's folly is like the Rocky M(mntains — " I 
 must commit this sin and that in order to be a 
 man." It is a trap of Satan. Sin like the pop- 
 py destroys the power of the will, like a ring in 
 an animal's nose; weakens strengtli, like a run- 
 ning Bore; puts out hope, like a flood of water 
 the smonldering flax; mak"S hiiii a Inirden to 
 himself and others, until he falls into his grave 
 a living skeleton. 
 
 How showy the poppy blossom! How 
 charming is sin. Men put it under tlieir pil- 
 lows and sleej) the sleep of death. They eat its 
 fruit and are burned with its acid fires. God 
 sent His Son to warn us of its poison, and to 
 provide a remedy, oven His own blood. 
 
•i i 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE; 
 
 Awake, O brother, hear thy G(d 
 Who died to save thy soul from liell. 
 Tho devil offers thee the pod, 
 Whose hardened Juice is living doatii. 
 
 The bloom of sin is bright and fair: 
 It charms the eye; but i)uts to ^;leep 
 The one who braids it in his hair 
 And boasts it makes him like a inr.n. 
 
 And many say the seeds are small: 
 They throw it broadcast on the soil; 
 But soon they see it grow so tall, 
 They see nought else, so fast it gr-v^s. 
 
 The pod grows ripe, the juice exu'lt.--; 
 They take the glistening drop and tat, 
 Despite the taste, the constant feuds 
 Of good and bad that will arise. 
 
 When once they taste they cannot .-top. 
 With will and mind and strength enslaved 
 They dip again and eat the sop 
 That every virtue makes a vice. 
 
 The soul is wretched, wasted, lean, 
 A skeleton of living death. 
 Tho awful cravings are more keen; 
 And soon it falls into the grave. 
 
 O slave of sin, there is a cure. 
 From Heaven our God has brought it down 
 Look now to Him, the healing's ruro; 
 And you will praise His name for aye. 
 
 "Rie" 
 
 This word does not occur in the Revised Ver- 
 sion. In t]io two instances in wliicli it occurs 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OP PALESTINE 173 
 
 in the Authorizel (Ex. 9: 32; Is. 28: 25) it 
 is the rendering of tlie Hebrew kussemeth. It 
 derives its name from the bald or shorn ear. 
 How often a man is shorn of his strength, like 
 Samson, by some sin! Take a beautiful bird 
 and singe its feathers. What a pitiful sight! 
 How much more pitiful is man, made in the 
 Image of God, singed by sin! 
 
 Rose. 
 
 " T7ie desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the HOSE [or 
 auttim crocus). Is. 35:1. 
 
 Authorities are not agreed as to what the 
 word Hhabatseleth is applied. Its meaning is 
 a 80?^' acrid bulb. It is a "flower growing in 
 the meadows and pastures which the ancient 
 Versions render sometimes the liltj and some- 
 times the narcissus. More accurate however 
 is the Syrian translator who uses the same 
 word . . . which signifies the Colchicum 
 autumnale, Linn, or meadow saflPron, an au- 
 tumnal flower similar to saffron, springing 
 from poisonous roots, and of a white and violet 
 colour." Gesenius. Thus the Rose, Queen 
 of Flowers, must be denied a place among the 
 sacred group of the Holy Land. 
 
i 
 
 
 at^r 
 
 171 
 
 WHISPEIIIXG LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 ialaon. 
 
 ^'Spikenard and SAFFRON, calami;!^ and citnutynon, with 
 (tlltrcpfi of franldnccnsc; iiiyr'h and aloc:<, with all 
 the c/i it f spices.''^ Caul. 4: 11. 
 
 Kurkom is tlie Helnvw name of tlio sfiilroii, 
 or crocus, both the common phmt and the Indi- 
 an saffron. 
 
 "Saffron is manufactured from the dried stig- 
 mas and i)art of the style of the saffr^jn crocus, 
 a cultivated form of the crocus sattviis . . . 
 the purple flower %Y^hich hloonis late in autumn 
 is very similar to that of the conimon spring 
 crocus; and the stigmas which are protruded 
 from the perianth are of characteristic orange- 
 red colour. . . . Saffron was used as an in- 
 gredient in iriany of the complicated medicines 
 of early times. . . . It appears to ])e really a 
 stimulant and antispasmodic though its powers 
 are sligiit. . . . It is scarcely ever employ- 
 ed hy modern liharmacisis unle "s for tae mere 
 ('(^loration of other tinctures or at most as a cor- 
 dial adjunct to other iiiediciius . . . large- 
 ly uioxl ill cookery. . . , It was liowever 
 maiidy us,'<I Jis u tlye. It was n royiil coloiu* in 
 (Mirly Greek times."' (Brit.) 
 
 There i^i much i'l flavor. UDpleasaiit nu di- 
 finos} r.iv l.oller liked \f: .l.-ivorod v,i(ii satTron. 
 
WIIISPEPvING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 Butter with ;i flavorinf,^ of rancidity is not con- 
 sidered a delicacy. A genial man becomeo 
 offensive to the pure v;lien lie is knovn to be 
 corrupt, flavored with vik^ sins. Yet often he 
 i.-i unconscioas of the liavor and continues bold 
 in his effrontery. But tfistes differ. Some 
 seem to delight in upholding those reeking 
 with the fumes of the liquor thoy deal out to oth- 
 ers. The flavoring of wealth or rank makes pal- 
 titable to them the most nauseous viands. The 
 flavor of sin seems in high repute among those 
 living in sin. They revel in unseemly things. 
 For exnmi)le one wdio is smoking does not mind 
 the smoke of others. A vile person associates 
 with the vile. But the child of God loathes 
 even the flavor of sin and relishes nothing that 
 is not flavored with the love of God. 
 
 Often we hear it asked, ''What's in a name?" 
 As well might wc ask, What's in a color? The 
 color-blind dogmatically say nofhiin/. But 
 what says the ojie that is gazing entianced 
 upon th(- glory of a sunset? Or that cannot 
 take l).is eyes off iho dolicaic s! ladings of a 
 lovely flov.er? What j(»y ihow is in color! 
 
 And also what misery! Sonu) v/ear green 
 spectacles and jealousy c>)!itinually gnaws their 
 
 hei\] 
 
 »;i 
 
 iff 
 
 banron was a roy 
 
 al color in Greek 
 
170 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 
 i ' 
 
 times; the rosy hue of liope is the divine color, 
 cast upon the earth from Heaven's open gate. 
 Thcise who love God can })raise His name. 
 "That by two immutable thinL^s in which it is 
 impossible for God to lie, we may liave a strong 
 encouragement who have fled for refuge to 
 lay hold of the ho2)e set before us; which we 
 have as an anchor of the sonl, a hope both sure 
 and steadfast and entering into that which is 
 within the veil." (Hebr. 0: 18, 19.) 
 
 Shittah Tree. 
 
 I u 
 
 I •; 
 
 " T}u'i( shall make an ark of SHITTIM wood. Ex. 25: 10. 
 
 The Hebrew word for tliis tree is left un- 
 translated. It iri " the acacia, i. e. acacia vera, 
 the Spina iEgyptiacn of the ancients. , . . 
 It is a largo tree growing in Ej'jypt aud Ai'ahia; 
 its l)ark is covered with l;ir;'(> blm-k thorns; 
 tlie wood is exceedingly hard and when old 
 resembles ebony . . . Shittiin, jjlural . . 
 acacias, whence also s'iitiii;i, acacia wood, 
 of wliicli the i'lirnititre and woodwork of the 
 Taberiuiclt^ wore construe! ed.*' (Ges.) ll seems 
 to have giv'>n ils name id a district east of the 
 Dead Sea (Ex. iio: 1). Hence it may be look el 
 upoi! n'3 indigenouM to Pfdestine. 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OP PALESTINE 177 
 
 " Acacia a 2;eniis of shrubs and trees belong- 
 ing to the Natural Family Leguminosae and 
 the section Mimoseae. The flowers are small, 
 ranged in rounded or elongated clusters. The 
 leaves are compound pinnate in general. In 
 some instances however, more especially in the 
 Australian species the leaf stalks became flatten- 
 ed and serve the purpose of leaves. The plants are 
 tience called leafless acacias, and as the leaf 
 stalks are often placed wUli their edges towards 
 the sky and earth they do not intercept the light 
 as fully as ordinary trees. There are about 420 
 species of acacias, widely 8catt<'red over the 
 warmer regions of the globe. . . . Various 
 species yield gum Arabic . . . while acacia 
 seyal, etc., furnish a similar gum called gum sen- 
 eg.il . . . aeacia seyal is the plant supposed 
 to be the Shittah of the Bible." (Brit.). 
 
 The Shittah tree is like a cactus, thorns all 
 over. Its animal countt^rpart is the hyena and 
 some kinds of men. If you touch them they 
 snarl, perhaps bite. They are of a cabbed dis- 
 position. One needs to be careful how he "hand- 
 les*"' them. Yet they wdij he very relial)le and 
 of Bterling worth. The exterior alone may be 
 I'ough- like the acacia seyal; or their hearts nuiy 
 be like their manners. The //;//(/ hyena i.s very 
 
I l' 
 
 1 i 
 
 178 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 unenviable company; but man's austere nature 
 may be tamed by grace. He is then the acacia 
 Christian. Thorns may still be felt, but his 
 heart is true though somewhat hard. Some per- 
 sons whose manner and dress are rough have a 
 most lovable inner life. The unpleasant coat 
 may hide a tender heart. Those naturally of 
 gentle ways ought to have more patience with 
 the rough exterior of a trusty person. To meat 
 them may be to dislike them ; but to know them 
 is to love them. The thorny bark of the Shit- 
 tali tree conceals a hard wocxl, like ebony, much 
 prized and used in the Wilderness forthewood- 
 W(jrk of the taberiuicle. God looks upon the 
 heart not upon the bark of human life. 
 
 In some cases the acacia tree affords almost no 
 shade There is a danger of acacia Christians 
 being thus defective in comforting others. 
 Austerity and peevishness are defects; and those 
 thus afflicted ought to labor to redeem them; 
 but (itheivs should rememl)er that the wood is 
 more important than the Ijark, more abiding 
 than the shade. Tlie acacia seyal in spite of its 
 thorny bark was chosen as tlu^ wood of which 
 the most holy ark was made. It speaks to us 
 of the ten Comniaudnu^nts, tho Mercy 8oat, the 
 pot of manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, 
 
 ii 
 
"WniSPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 179 
 
 Ih 
 
 e 
 
 
 Sycamine or Sycamore. 
 
 "And the Lord said, if ije Juni' faith as a grain of viustard 
 seed, ye ivoidd saij xinto this SYCAMINE tree, be thoti 
 tooted np, and, he thou planted in the sea; and it ivoiild 
 have oljeyed yoit." Luke 17 : 6. 
 
 ^'^ And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and 
 cedars made he to be as SYCAMORE trees, that are in 
 the lowland, for abundance.''' 1 Kings lo: '27. 
 
 Tlie.se Greek and Hebrew words are names of 
 the same tree. It resembles the mulberry tree 
 in its leaves and general appearance, with fruit 
 similar to tho fig, growing directly from the 
 stem and large boughs, and very difficult of di- 
 gestion. . . . The fruit is used (jnly by the 
 poorest classes, and its ripening could be hast- 
 ened by artificial nipping.'' (Gesenius.) Hence 
 the Greek sycamores, fig mulberry, Ficus syca- 
 morus. See under y/r/ /rrr. 
 
 The sycamore wln*si)ers, The jH'ophet Amos 
 gathered my fruit and ZacchiDus sat in my 
 branches. I feed only the Moor, but they need 
 fo(id more than the rich. Help the needy for 
 others can help themselves, my ])ranches are 
 wide-spreading: and it" you fiM'd the pv)or you 
 will be known far and wide as a l)en»'factor. 
 But I could not have such branches if it were 
 not for my trunk and my roots. If you will 
 ser^'e the poor you niuet have backbone enough 
 
180 WHISPERING liEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 
 lit 
 
 >■ '■<; 
 
 
 to stand the winds of derision and contempt of 
 the high (?) mediocrity; and your root of faith 
 must take strong hold of the Rock of Ages. It 
 is not hot house Christians that are strong like 
 I am. You need storms to strengthen you. 
 Don't be afraid to speak the truth, and speak it 
 plainly. Never mind if men get angry and Imrl 
 reproaches at you. If you take a pig by the ears 
 to draw it out of the mire it will squeal ; but nev- 
 er mind the music. Pull away and hold on the 
 firmer. Vile sinners make the same music and 
 resort to the same logic. It is a sure sign your 
 words are felt. Be not silenced. " Blessed 
 are ye when men shall reproach you, and perse- 
 cute you, and say all manner of evil against you 
 falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding 
 glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so 
 persecuted they the prophets which were before 
 you." (Matt. 5:11, 12.) 
 
 The wood of the sycamore tree was used for 
 idols. How oftei; man makes idols of good 
 things! God put " all things in subjection un- 
 der his feet ^'' (llebr. 2: bi) ; but he takes them 
 up into his heart. Instead of using God's gifts 
 they bow the knee to them and dishonor their 
 Creator. Gold, pleasure, fame, even children 
 may be thought more <jf than GkI himself, 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 181 
 
 There is need even in Christian lands for the 
 First Commandment " Thou shalt have none 
 other Gods before me." (Ex. 20: 3). 
 
 Tares. 
 
 " The Kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man that sowed 
 good seed in his field: but tvhile men slept, his enemy 
 came and sowed TARES (ov darnel) also among the 
 wheat, and ivent aivay." Matt. 13: 24, 25. 
 
 " Zizanion . . Eng. darnel, i. e. bolium te- 
 mulentum ... a weed or grass growing, 
 among grain and other kinds <jf grain, and fit 
 first having a close resemblance to them . . . 
 the Rabbins called it bastard wheat . . . 
 English version tares." (Robinson.) 
 
 In the north of France (ejected tenants often 
 si)oil the crops of the landlords by sowing these 
 tares. What fiends! Are they worsi^ than those 
 who deliberately soil the fair name of some in- 
 nocent rival? Tt is certainly worse to injnre one's 
 name tlian to ruin his wheat crop. Think of 
 that ye backbiters. "Thou shalt not bear false 
 witness against t.iy neighbor."' Ex. 20: 10. 
 
 The wheat represents Christians, the tares 
 nonchristians. At fir^t tliey look just alike to 
 the eye of man. Thus tares get into churches. 
 After awhile the wheat begins to bear fruit (and 
 oh! ii is so long before with some); then appear 
 
182 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 ilio tares, discernible even to a child. " By their 
 fruits ye shall know them." Some person.s de- 
 ceive others, even deceive themselves, but they 
 cannot deceive God; and sooner or later their 
 own acts reveal their true nature. They be- 
 come more and more different from the children 
 of God. The gulf between them widens until it 
 is impassable and fixed after death. Before the 
 eternal throne of Justice they will stand un- 
 masked. In this life the natural law may yield 
 to the supernatural, and by grace the tares be- 
 come wheat. Through faith in Christ we re- 
 ceive this new nature and become '' new crea- 
 tures." 
 
 Thistles. 
 
 ^^ And uv to Adam. He said . . . cnrsed is the f/rmmd for 
 thy sake . . . thorns also and TIIISTLEIS shall it 
 bring forth to thee.'''' Gen. 3:17,18. 
 
 *^Do men gather grapes of thorns, or Jigs of THISTLESf^ 
 Matt. 7: 10. 
 
 In the New Testament, thistle is the English 
 equivalent of the Greek '* tribolos, throe pohited, 
 three-pronged, . . . thistle, brier, a low 
 thorny shrub, so called from the resemblance of 
 its thorns and fruit to the military caltrop— tri- 
 bulus terrestris.'" (Robinson). This word like 
 
 i 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 183 
 
 |e 
 
 the Hebrew Hhuahh seems to be a general term 
 for thoriilike weeds. 
 
 Thistles over speak to us of the curse of sin. 
 Sin brought a curse upon the earth and into 
 every human soul. The fruitful and beautiful 
 Garden of Eden was changed into a desert of 
 thorns and thistles; the human soul radiant from 
 communion with God became a woeful waste 
 overgrown with sins. We see the blight of sin 
 today on every hand. The species of sin are 
 too manifold to number, and any one may blast 
 a life. Look at strong drink. See the fashion- 
 able, genial, accomplished and much admired 
 young man of twenty; five. Eyes sparkle with 
 pleasure and gentle hearts quiver at his ap- 
 proach. But with his boon companions he takes 
 his "social glass." Look at him again at forty^ 
 five. He is a broken down, disheartened, use- 
 less wreck, a burden and a shame to himself 
 and Ilia family. So any other sin nourished is 
 like the worm at the heart of an onion. It com- 
 pletely ruins. Some years whole acres of 
 onions are thus a total failure. So some years 
 sin slays more victims than other years. 
 
 The thistle seeds are winged. So evil just as 
 surely as truth is winged. You have seen the 
 thistle down sailing beautifully through the air 
 
II 
 
 lU WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 Each downy pinion carries a seed that may 
 drop far away and take root. Oh that sin 
 might be robbed of its beauty and its flight! 
 Oh, that sin might perish with him that makes 
 it! It curses the originator and flies far and 
 wide bearing destruction on its wing. How 
 careful we should be! An evil word may fly 
 far and do much harm. An evil act may prove 
 a cancer in many a life. Let us pray and act 
 upon the prayer " Smt a watch O Lord, before 
 my mouth ; keep the door of my lips." ( Ps. 141 : 3 ) . 
 Thistles show neglect. Hosea (10: 8) speaks 
 thus of Samaria, " The thorn and the thistle 
 shall come upon their altars." And a field full 
 of thistles and nothing else surely indicates ne- 
 glect. So neglect of moral and spiritual mat- 
 ters is soon manifest. " Watch therefore." As 
 thistles injure the crop, so sins lessen the fruit 
 of even a Godly life. " Do men gather grapes 
 of thorns or figs of thistles?" Yet some sow 
 their "wild oats" and thistles and forget that 
 they must reap the harvest all eternity. 
 
 Thyine. 
 
 ^^Merchandise of Gold 
 Rev. 18: 12. 
 
 and all THYINE trood." 
 
 This word occurs only here and is a translit- 
 eration of the Greek thuinon. " The thua was 
 
 11 ' 
 
^VHISPERlNO LEAVES OF PALESTINE 185 
 
 an evergreen, African tree with aromatic wood 
 from which statues and costly vessels and ceil- 
 ings were made. Latin citriiB, citron wood." 
 (Robinson). It does not seem to have been a 
 native of Palestine. 
 
 The Vine. 
 
 *^In my drei^'m, behold, a VINE ivas before me." Qen.40 : 9. 
 
 "Of the grapevines (Vitis) V. vinipera is the 
 species best known and longest cultivated. . . . 
 Although the genus Vitis comprises, according 
 to Bentham and Hooker, more than two hun- 
 dred species, mostly natives of tropical and sub- 
 tropical regions, yet less than half a dozen spe- 
 cies have any economic value, while the great 
 interest centres in four or five only. Vines have 
 woody, climbing stems, with alternate, palmate- 
 ly lobed or in some cases compound (digitate) 
 leaves, provided at the base with small stipules. 
 Opposite some of these leaves springs a tendril, 
 the nature of which is obvious from the numer- 
 ous transitional states it offers between the ordi- 
 nary form of tendril and the inflorescence. The 
 flowers are small, green, and fragrant, and are 
 arranged in dense clusters. Each has a small 
 calyx in the form of a shallow rim. sometimes 
 four^lobed or five lobed, or toothcHl. With this 
 
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 1 
 
186 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 H|i 
 
 is an equal nnmV)er of petals, which in the true 
 vines cohere by their tips and form a cap or 
 hood, which is pushed off when the stamens are 
 ripe. . . . The ovary is surmounted by a 
 sessile stigma and is more or less completely 
 two celled, with two erect ovules in each cell. 
 This ripens into the berry and seed. . . . 
 Practically the tendrils assist the plant in its 
 native state to scramble over rocks or trees. As 
 in the case of similar formations generally, they 
 are endowed with a sensitiveness of touch which 
 enables them to grasp and coil vhemselves round 
 any suitable object which comes in their way 
 and thus to support the plant. The tendrils of 
 the Virginia Creeper (Vitis or Ampelopsis hed- 
 eracae . . . )are branched, each branch ter- 
 minating in a little sucker like expansion by 
 means of which h adheres firmly to walls or 
 rocks. This is especially noticeable in the Jap- " 
 anese species now so conmionly grown against 
 walls under the name of Ampelopsis Veitchii 
 . . . The extremities of these tendrils turn 
 away from the light, and by this means they are 
 enabled to enter crevices inside which they ex- 
 pand and fix themselves, just as the lewis or key, 
 used by stone-masons, is fixed into blocks of 
 stone. ... It is interesting to note that 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 187 
 
 grape stories have been found with mummies in 
 Egyptian tombs of not later age than 3000 years. 
 The seeds according to Engelmann, have the 
 characteristics of V. vinifera, but show very 
 slight variations from the type of seed now 
 prevalent. . . . The vine requires a high 
 summer temperature and a prolonged period in 
 which to ripen its fruit. . . . Apnrt from 
 their economic value, vines are often cultivated 
 for purely ornamental purposes, owing to the ele- 
 gance of their foliage, the rich coloration they 
 assume, tlie shade they afford, and their hardi- 
 hood." (Brit.) Currants and raisins are the 
 fruit of different varieties of the grape-vine. 
 
 The vine was continually before the Israelites 
 after they entered the Holy Land. It grew up 
 the sides of their houses. It clung to their 
 stone walls. It climbed over the bare rocks. 
 It ran up trees. It was trained over arbors. 
 Wherever an Israelite looked he saw the beauti- 
 ful vine. In its season it was ladeu with large 
 clusters of luscious grap<'8. Many like Phara- 
 oil's butler pressed thein into the cup and 
 refreshed their spirits. 
 
 Such a fruit-bearer doubtless grew in Eden. 
 ** Noah began to be a husbandman aiid planted 
 a vineyard." Gen. 0:20 His folly turned the 
 
 tiii 
 
188 WHISPERING LEAVES OP PALESTINE 
 
 blessinjj; into a curso. The delicious grapes are 
 allowed to spoil and the fermented juice is 
 drunk. Men say God gave us the vine. It 
 must be good. As well say, God gave us eggs 
 therefore let us eat sjwiU eggs. The Tiiuk. 
 whispers, Use me, but don't abuse me. Oppor- 
 tunities come. Use them. Their goodness is 
 soon gone. Wealth, health, fame and pleas- 
 ure — use thorn, don't abuse them. And the 
 vine sighs in the evening breeze. 
 
 It is the Easter full moon. From the Upper 
 Room in Jerusalem Jesus and His disciples 
 look out upon the vines. The Master says, " I 
 am the true vino." So you see, says Vitis, I 
 am an emblen of spiritual truth. Listen. 
 
 Do you see where my grnpes grow? They 
 are not stuck on the largo branches. Little 
 twigs bear them. Every one cannot be great 
 but every oiio ought to be at least a little twig 
 drawing its life from the vino and showing that 
 life in the clusttT. " Herein is my Father 
 glorified, that ye bear much fruit.'' John 15: 8. 
 
 Look at thoHo dead limbs. They are no good. 
 My ninker will burn them. So all that do not 
 lire in Christ are dead branches. " If a man 
 abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, 
 and is withered; and they gather them, and cast 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 189 
 
 them into tho firo, and tlicy are burned.'' John 
 15:0. Oh! The burnings of sin! 8in within 
 and sin without unite to torture its victim. 
 Think of the wine press of God's wrath. Rev. 
 14:19. 
 
 Adam was a branch of the true vine. Sin 
 cut off the branch as with a knife. Adam and 
 his race lay upon tlie f^jround to wither and to 
 die. The brancli may live n^ixin if jj:rnft(.>d by 
 divine j^race into the True Vine. Yonder is a 
 Ljraft })ut it is dead. Tiuit i.s the f/fv/r/ church 
 member. Orthodoxy nidij be (U'ad. Perhaps 
 the wax intended for a help canio between the 
 pfraft and the vine, and preventnd lif(». Forms 
 and ceremonies are ^ood; ])ut if they conic 
 between the soul and God, the result is death. 
 Have the rl^ht creed, use proper forms; but see 
 that there is life. Grafting,' is all of ^nace. 
 
 The vine must be <*ut, wounded before the 
 graft can bo united in living union. The vine 
 is bled. Oh, how the True Vine bled for us in 
 Gethsemane and on tlie Cross!! Life through 
 death. For yon the Soil of Cmd dii-d. 
 
 The pruning ktiife is sharp. IIow cruel it 
 seems! But it makes the vine//*////////. There 
 are not so many leaves, n(>t so many Immches, 
 but num; fruit, There arc^ tlu> " long rod, the 
 
^ 
 
 I 
 
 190 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 short rod, and the spur systems " of pruning. 
 Tlie Husbandman, our loving Heavenly Father 
 knows whi(;li is best. Leave yourself in His 
 hands. Be willing to suffer any loss. It is 
 better to l)e pruned for better service than to 
 let life run riot. God prunes the good, but cuts 
 oflp the false. Which are you? Can you say 
 * Nearer my God to Thee, Nearer to Thee e'en 
 though it be a cross that raiseth me." 
 
 If a branch is half broken off it gets less sap, 
 gives less fruit. That is the way with Chris- 
 tians. Some have a very small connection with 
 the vine. The channels of prayer are almost 
 choked up with worldly things. Little prayer; 
 little life; little fruit. Keep your hearts always 
 open towards God. He will fill your souls with 
 life. 
 
 Yonder is a branch growing along the ground. 
 The weeds cover il and the earth is cold. The 
 sun is not seen nor felt. You can see many 
 like that in the church — chilled by the world, 
 shaded by the we(?ds of evil habits, clinging to 
 the earth. The souls of men are trailing vines, 
 with " touchy " tendrils. They need support. 
 8ome depend on the wood of earthly things, 
 which supports for a time but when the need is 
 greatest giv(»s way. \Vt^ need something that 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 191 
 
 |any 
 )rld, 
 
 \r to 
 
 lues, 
 liort. 
 
 that 
 
 outlasts death and the Judgment. Our tendrils 
 can cling to the Rock of Ages that will never 
 give way. " Put not your trust in princes," — 
 even. Trust Christ. 
 
 And so many things try to destroy us. There 
 is the Oidium. It looks like white powder but 
 it is a living fungus, a destroyer of life. So 
 many things grow upon the soul. Some things 
 that seem white, harmless to a man's eyes, take 
 away his life. Beware of worldly parasites. 
 '* Perouospcra riticola-'' appears in spots, "pale 
 green and irregular."' Have you no spots of 
 evil? James says *' True religion ... is 
 . . . to keep himself luisjwttcd from the 
 world." (Jas. 1: 27). Shun irregularities. 
 " Physaloi^prra Bidicellii"' is the right name 
 for the "black rot" of the vine. This attacks 
 the grapes when halfgroivu. Some Christians 
 think when they get a good start in the spirit- 
 ual life they are all right. The devil is watch- 
 ing for their confidence in self. The fruit 
 shrivels up and becomes worthless. "Be not 
 tceor?/ in welldoing . . .' "Ho thatendur- 
 eth to the end the same shall be saved." These 
 withered grapes must be burnt or the fungus 
 will spread to others. Do you now see why the 
 Cauaauitos were to be completely destroyed? 
 
li 
 
 193 WHISPERING LEAVES OP PALESTINE 
 
 If a "fungus" soul should get to heaven, the 
 fungus of sin might spread. Hence the com- 
 mand " Gather and burn them." " Dematophi- 
 on necatrix " attacks the roots. So infidelity, a 
 fungus of Hell, attacks the root of faith. 
 
 Health protects from disease. Abide in the 
 Vine. Let love, the life-blood, flow unhin- 
 dered into your soul and out into clusters of 
 fruit. Union, vital union with Christ alone 
 can save. "Without me, ye can do nothing." 
 This is the secret of true success in life, of true 
 joy; of life eternal — union with Jesus, the Son 
 of God. Let your grapes be neither few nor 
 sour, but large and luscious, like clusters of 
 Eschol [ExitVitis.] 
 
 Wheat. 
 
 "So she kept fast by the maidens of )iunz (u if lean unto the 
 end of barley harvest and of WHEAT harvest^* 
 
 Ruth 2: 23.' 
 
 " Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have you^ that he 
 might sift you as WHEAT." Luke 22: 31. 
 
 The references to wheat in the Bible are very 
 interesting. For Pharaoh's dream see Gen. 41 : 
 22; Gideon threshed wheat in his wine^press 
 (Judges G: 11); it was in wheat harvest that 
 Samson tied firebrands to 300 foxes (Judges 15: 
 1-5); in wheat harvest Kuth gleaned in the 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OP PALESTINE 193 
 
 of 
 
 very 
 41: 
 press 
 that 
 b15: 
 thQ 
 
 field of Boaz (Ruth 2: 23); and Jesus speaks of 
 it in the parable of the tares (Matt. 13; 25): 
 and warns Peter under the simile of Luke 22: 31. 
 The Hebrew word for wheat (Hhittah) de- 
 notes something red. "Wheat (triticum) the 
 most important and most generally diffused of 
 cereal grasses, is an annual plant, with hollow, 
 erect, knotted stems, and produces in addition 
 to the direct developments from the seedling 
 plant secondary roots and secondary shouts 
 (tillers) from the base. Its leaves have each a 
 long sheath encircling the stem. . . . The 
 ripe frait or grain, sometimes called the berry 
 . . . is oblong or ovoid, with a longitudinal 
 furrow on one side. . . . Two or three lay- 
 ers of cells inside the epidermis constitute the 
 tissue of the ovary and overlie somewhat simi- 
 lar layers which form the coats of the seed. 
 Within these last is a layer of square cells larger 
 and more regular in form than those on each 
 side; these contain the gluten or nitrogenous 
 matter, upon which so much of the nutritive 
 value of the seed depends. This thin layer of 
 gluten cells contains th«' albumen or perisperni 
 which constitutes the great mass of the seed, 
 being coniposeil of naiuerous cells of irregular 
 form and size filled with starch grains. These 
 
194 WHISPERING LEAVES OF i'ALEBTINi: 
 
 layers of cells become more or less dry and 
 inseparable one from another, forming the sub- 
 stance known as bran. At the lower end of the 
 albumen, and placed obliquely, is the minute 
 embryo plant which derives its nourishment in 
 the first instance from the albumen; this is 
 destined to form the future plant." (Brit.) The 
 enemies of the wheat are of three classes, 
 insects, fungus, and mildew. Some may be 
 glad to hear that among these insects is their 
 old friend, "Daddy Long-legs," "Tipuia olera- 
 
 ?> 
 
 ceae. 
 
 We thus see that the ^\uen, the most nutri- 
 tive part of the wheat, lies next the hull or 
 perisperm and is thrown away in the bran. 
 The interior of the grain from which the jine 
 flour is made is nearly all starch. This is why 
 graham flour (the unbolted flour of the entire 
 grain) is so much more nutritious than white 
 flour. The finer the flour the less nutriment it 
 contains and the more starch; yet some ignor- 
 antly think that brown bread is poor fare and 
 they pity those who eat much of it. As starchy 
 matter is hard to digest, graham bread, espe- 
 cially if light with nothing in it to raise it, is 
 much to be preferred to white bread. Many 
 feed the best part of the wheat (the bran) to 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 135 
 
 their cows, and eat the starchy or heat-produc- 
 ing part (white flour) themselves in the heat o^^ 
 summer. The entire wheat is best suited of all 
 known grains to build up and maintain the 
 human system. Its bread is thus a fitting sym- 
 bol of the Bread of Life. All the nutriment 
 the soul needs is found in this. Jesus came 
 into the world to i)rovide it for all that will 
 receive it. "Jesus therefore said unto them, 
 Verily, verily, I say unto you. It was not Moses 
 that gave you the bread out of heaven; but my 
 Father givetli you the true bread out of heaven. 
 For the bread of God is that which cometh 
 down out of heaven, and giveth life unto the 
 world." (John 6: 32, 33.) 
 
 Wheat is thus also an illustration of man's 
 abuse of God's good gifts. He robs the wheat 
 of the gluten in the bran and eats the heat and 
 fat producing part which it is difficult to digest. 
 Doubtless one cause of so much weakness and 
 sickness is the use of very fine flour, especially 
 in cakes and pastry. The hun .an system requires 
 all the gluten of the wheat, ood gives us pure 
 air and light, yet many shut both out of their 
 homes, particularly their bed rooms where they 
 spend over one third of their lives. Others 
 defile the air with tobacco, BrewSries and 
 
lUC WHISPEKING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 (liBtilleries, with those who patronize them 
 should not be allowed within a thousand miles 
 of any home. God gives man hides to clothe 
 himself; and some (not the Chinese either) use 
 them to cramp and cripple their feet. The 
 woven fabrics of use and beauty are made the 
 instruments of crushing the delicate human 
 form out of shape and out of health. God has 
 given us the Bible; yet men use the least in- 
 structive parts and neglect the " gluten " of the 
 Word. To change the figure, they lay aside the 
 flesh of the iish and try to eat the bones. With 
 some all the study of the Bible consists in try- 
 ing to solve its knotty problems and its mysteries 
 They neglect their plain duty to God and to 
 man. The church ought to be a very Bethel; 
 but many go to hear its music or its eloquence, 
 or its beautiful ritual, or (alas, that it has to be 
 said) to show their nice attire. Whereas we 
 ought to look upon the church as built by God 
 about a living spring. We ought to go to talk 
 with Jesus and draw with joy water out of this 
 well of Salvation. What a boon is prayer! 
 Yet many are satisfied with the form, the 
 husks; and, throwing away the bread of life, let 
 their souls starve. So many too cannot relish 
 the plain bread of life; they must have the 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 197 
 
 pastry fiiul tliecnkes of man's eloquence and wit. 
 It is no wonder tlwit there is so much spiritual 
 dyspepsia, weakness, and disorders. " For the 
 time will come when they will not endure the 
 sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, will 
 heap to themselves teachers after their own 
 lusts; and will turn away their ears from the 
 truth, and turn aside unto fables." (2 Tim. 4: .*J) 
 Waste is sinful. Christ says, " Gather up the 
 fragments." Don't throw away the bran. By 
 browning bran in the oven with a litth' fine 
 flour you can make excellent and wholesome 
 cotfee. Mocha coffee is not only expensive but 
 deleterious, at least to many. I fancy some 
 smile about the expense. " We can atford it." 
 Yes. Yoii can afford it but can the Cause of 
 Christ? How much do you spend for coffee 
 during a year for the whole family? Would 
 not that be a nice addition to what you now 
 give to Foreign Missions? A tasty and nutri- 
 tious as well as medicinal jelly can also be made 
 from the bran. If the waste and extravagance 
 of Christians were stoppetl, and the value of 
 them ijut into the Exchequer of the Lord, the 
 world would open its eyes. Also how many 
 opportunities of usefulness are wasted, like the 
 bran of the wheat! Words of comfort and 
 
198 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 ii 
 
 encourapjement and honost praise are often pure 
 "gluten." The applications of sermons often 
 are thrown away, or passed over to others. 
 The literary " starch " is enjoyed. 
 
 Wheat must be winnowed to separate the 
 chaflp. Satan winnowed Peter and found con- 
 siderable " chaff." How would we stand win- 
 nowing? How many of our motives are '• No 1. 
 hard " wheat? What about our promises and 
 our vows? Are our lives tilled out "plump" 
 with kind and loving acts and words, or are 
 they shriveled and light? 
 
 The wheat is bronght three times a day 
 Upon our tables in some form 
 And every time in humble way 
 It anks our ears as well as mouth, 
 
 Why cast away the brnn, pray why? 
 And give it to your cow or pig? 
 The rest you spoil in cake or pie: 
 And then are sick, you don't know how. 
 
 Take care you do not thus abuse • 
 
 The other gifts from God to you, — 
 Your time, your money, and the news 
 Of blood=bought wisdom for your friends. 
 
 And if you are a grain of wheat 
 Be plump and round, not wrinkled up. 
 Have no presumption, no conceit; 
 Be full of grace and love divine. 
 
 And when the devil winnows you 
 The chaflP may fly, but you'll remain 
 Unmoved, your Master's will to do 
 Until eternal rest is yours. 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 199 
 
 Willow. 
 
 ^' He took alao nf thp seed of the land, and planted it in n 
 fruitful soil; he placed it beside mnmj waters: he set it 
 as a WILLOW tree."' Ezek. i7;.5. 
 
 '• Upon the WILLOWS in the midst therof we hanged up 
 our /lar^js." Ps. 137 : 2. 
 
 "Willow (salix) a very well marked pjenus of 
 plants constituting, with the Poplar (Popnlus), 
 the order Salicaceae. Willows are trees or 
 shrubs, varying in stature from a few inches to 
 one hundred feet, and occurring most abundant- 
 ly in cold or temperate climates in both hemi- 
 spheres and generally in moist situations. . . 
 The flowers are borne in catkins or amenta, 
 which are on one tree male only, on another 
 female. . . . Few genera have greater 
 claims to notice from an economic point of view. 
 As timber trees many of the species are valua- 
 ble for their rapidity of growth and for the 
 production of light durable wood, serviceable for 
 many purposes. . . . Certain sorts of wil- 
 lows are largely used for basket-making and 
 wicker-work. The species employed for this 
 purpose are mostly of shrubby habit and are 
 known under the collective name of osiers. 
 . . . As ornamental trees some willows also 
 take a high rank. The white willow is a great 
 
'\'i 
 
 200 
 
 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 favorite, while the drooping habit of the weep- 
 ing willow renders it very attractive." (Brit.) 
 
 The willow is a lover of water. Its Hebrew 
 name ( Jsaplitsaphab ) refers to its habit of grow- 
 ing in a place overflowuuj with water. In this 
 respect it is like the Psalmist — "As the hart 
 panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my 
 soul after Thee, O God." (Ps. 42: 1.) 
 Have wc this soul thirst for the living waters? 
 
 How yielding is the willow! We ought to be 
 yielding: in matters nonessential. (See myrtle.) 
 In matters of duty we should not be a willow. 
 How many are willows in the presence of evil. 
 Look at the young man as he is tempted by his 
 companions to take a social glass. He knows it 
 is wrong. He knows his mother's eyes are upon 
 him and that it will break her heart, yet he 
 yields and is gradually dragged down into the 
 mire. It is just so in the case of tobacco; 
 though it is a smaller evil. Take any one of 
 the Ten Commandments. To yield in these 
 things is criminal, yet so often the back=bone- 
 less man or woman yields like the willow. One 
 trembles for those who are easily led by others. 
 You can wind some people " round your finger, 
 and evil-minded companions find them a ready 
 tool in their hands. This yielding is akin to 
 
 'I i 
 I I 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 201 
 
 cowardice. Many cannot say no, because they 
 fear the sneer of their companions 
 
 '•Yielil not to temptatiou, 
 For yidding is sin. 
 Each victory will help you 
 Some other to win; 
 Fight manfully onward, 
 Dark passions subdue, 
 Look ever to Jesus, 
 He'll carry you through. 
 
 "Shun evil companions 
 Bad language disdain, 
 God'8 name hold in reverence, 
 Nor take it in vain; 
 
 Be thoughtful and earnest, 
 Kind»hearted and true; 
 Look ever to Jesus, 
 He'll carry you tlirough. 
 
 "To him that o'ercometh 
 God giveth a crown; 
 Through faith wo shall conqner, 
 Though often cast down: 
 He who is our Saviour • 
 
 Oar strength will renew, 
 Look ever to Jesus, 
 He'll carry you through." 
 
 H« K- !'• 
 
 Wormwood. 
 
 " Therrfore thm sai(h the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, 
 
 Hi'hnld, I will feed them, even this people, wi'h IVOHM- 
 
 mWD, and give them tvater of ,,all to drink. Jer 
 9:1.-,. 
 
 The Jews call this phint, f/m accursed (Laa- 
 
202 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 nah); the Greeks the undrinkablc (apsinthos.) 
 It was regarded by both as poison. 
 
 " Wormwood, artemisia Absinthium, a hardy, 
 native composite perennial, which will grow in 
 any soil, but is most aromatic on those which 
 are dry and poor." (Brit.) 
 
 The Southernwood, or " old man," is of this 
 genus, artemisia. All the species are cliarac- 
 torized by their extreme bitterness. 
 
 Wormwood is wonderfully adapted to poor 
 soil. Is it not often the drought of disappoint- 
 ment or the poor soil of adversity that makes the 
 Christian life most aromatic? It is in overcom- 
 ing diflficulties that we become strong. One 
 cannot be a good swimmer unless he gets into 
 the water; and hard= fought battles make the 
 soldier. Those in hard circumstances ought to 
 thank God for the power to live in spite of 
 them. It is by doing manly things we show 
 ourselves to be mm. Women seem even super- 
 ior to men in braving cheerfully the inevitable 
 and in conquering. 
 
 There is bitterness in all the Genus Artem- 
 isia. There is bitterness in many a life that 
 nothing on earth can sweeten. Sugar in their 
 mouths turns to gall. Pleasures are studded 
 with thorns. Like Job when covered with 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 203 
 
 boils they cannot rest. The secret lies hidden 
 in the inmost recesses of their being. The 
 Lord showed Moses how to sweeten the wat- 
 ers of Marah, which were bitter. He shows u?? 
 in the Bible how to sweeten the hidden springs 
 of our souls. When a per.son feels that he is a 
 sinner, under the curse of a broken law, yet is 
 not willing to give up his sins, his life becomes 
 wormwood. The tree of Life and it alone can 
 make it sweet. Comj)lete submission to God 
 and reliance upon the merits of Christ brings 
 sweetness divine into the bitterest soul. 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 bem- 
 Ithat 
 their 
 Ided 
 Iwith 
 
 "Bh< grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ. 'J Pet. ;i : IS. 
 
 The Christian religion is not a form of wor- 
 ship, nor is it a creed. It is a life, guided by a 
 creed, nourished through forms. External 
 helps are, as it were, the vessels in which the 
 milk and meat are carried to the soul; yet 
 some try to live on the vessels. The child of 
 God is a living soul. That is wliy Christ 
 points to so many things growing around us in 
 nature, that we may learn about our own growth. 
 And Peter exhorts to growth. 
 
 What is the diffennice between a living seed 
 
201 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 I 
 
 and a jjjrain of sand? There is the same ditt'er- 
 ence between the Christian and the unregener- 
 ate soul. Oh, wondrous principle! Who can 
 understand life? "The wind bloweth where it 
 listeth, and thou hearest the voice thereof, but 
 knowest not whence it cometh, and whither it 
 goetli: so is every one that is born of the 
 spirit." John 3: 8. "He that hath the Son 
 hath the life; he that hi.tli not the Son of God 
 hath not the life." I John 5: 12. " Ye must be 
 born anew." John 3: 7. 
 
 The germ of life needs a soiljjveparcd. For- 
 getting this necessity we groan under the 
 plough-share of repentance and the harrow of 
 confessi(jn. We murmur at the frosts of sor- 
 row; but the Holy Spirit at length comes with 
 vernal showers and the Sun of Righteousness 
 warms the heart to receive the seed of the King- 
 dom. 
 
 Man cannot make his soul grow any more 
 than ho can his body or a grain of wheat. 
 Growth is natural to life. All that is required 
 of man is to give the life a fair chance to grow 
 and to nourish it. All the praise for growth is 
 due to the Creator of life. 
 
 Take wheat as a representative j)lMnt. Be- 
 hold the wheat luyw it yroirs. 
 
WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 205 
 
 Wheat needs rahi. So the soul must be 
 
 moistened with the dews of heaven, watered by 
 
 the refreshing showers of the Holy Spirit. His 
 
 appointed channels of blessing are the Word 
 
 and Ordinances. The Sabbaths are fifty two 
 
 separate flowing springs of the water of life 
 
 every year. The Bible is full of them. Currents 
 
 of Electricity, such as pass from cloud to cloud 
 
 or to the earth in a thunder storm, cool the air 
 
 and condense the moisture into the drops of 
 
 rain. The promises of God's Word are, so to 
 
 speak, electric buttons which when pressed by 
 
 the hand of faith send the electric currents to 
 
 the sky to condense the love of God in showers 
 
 upon the soul. 
 
 " Lord I hear of showers of blessing 
 Thou art scattering full and free, 
 Showers the thirsty laud refreshing, 
 Let some drops now fall on me." 
 
 The wheat needs snnlifjht. If you were to 
 sow wheat in your cellars would you expect a 
 good crop? Yet many sow the seed of the 
 kingdom in the cellar of their hearts. Over it 
 are the works of their hands and the treasures 
 of earth. Is it strange that so many souls are 
 sickly? many sleep? A little girl of a dark 
 alley carried her Geranium pot to the roof of the 
 
 > * • 1 • 
 
206 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 
 house and kept moving it ko that it was always 
 in the sun; and she won the prize at a "fair,"' 
 So every Christian should in faith bear his soul 
 above the shadow of earth and rejoice contin- 
 ually in the light of the Sun of Righteousness. 
 He will gain the prize of Eternal Life. 
 
 Wheat grows by vorking. It must assimilate 
 the nutriment of the soil and of the air. The 
 man that works has strength. An arm kept in 
 a sling by one's side becomes useless. A Chris- 
 tian that does nothing for Christ becomes sleepy 
 and helpless. A busy life is one suited to spir- 
 itual growth. Every little, daily duty done iccll 
 and with God's glory in view is something done 
 for Christ. Doing the will of God is not sit- 
 ting with folded hands thinking nice thoughts. 
 Speak for Christ and you will gain power to 
 speak. Do some religious work for Him and 
 you will have more strength for the next 
 efPort. 
 
 Wheat grows gradualhj. You cannot see it 
 growing, but you can see it has grown in the 
 last few days. It takes our bodies nearly twenty 
 years to grow to maturity. You cannot expect 
 to be perfect at once nor even see your soul's 
 growing; but if you cannot see growth in the 
 laBt few mouths, something radical is wrong. 
 
AVHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 207 
 
 '8 
 
 ne 
 
 Wheat grows silcnUij. Some seem to think 
 that a growing Christian must be a noisy Chris- 
 tian ; and some expend all their strength in talk 
 and have none left for living for Christ. Dead 
 trees if struck make the most noise, especially 
 if hollow. Empty heads are the loudest often; 
 and empty souls echo and re-echo. The grow- 
 ing wheat is almost noiseless, but the dry, dead 
 straw rattles. The mountain torrent foaming 
 against rocks and ice contrasts unfavorably for 
 usefulness with the quiet meadow brook. Even 
 the cows know which to choose. Growing in 
 grace does not mean shoviiiuj for Christ, but 
 living for Him. This life will also find suitable 
 expression in words. The growing Christian 
 has an influence that is felt rather than heard. 
 
 Thus the soul is not like a cup to be filled 
 with divine grace but a living thing, to become 
 perfect through groivih. We are to " work out 
 our own salvation"' by keeping down the weeds 
 of evil, by nourishing the good grain, and by 
 using what we have. 
 
 The growth around us in the Natural World 
 throws much light upon the development of the 
 soul '* while in the body pent;" bo the deatli of 
 the wheat in order to live gives us a glimpse 
 into til© mystoriea cf the Resurrection. " But 
 
208 WHISPERING LEAVES OF PALESTINE 
 
 some one will say, How are the dead raised? 
 And with what manner of body do they come? 
 Thou foolish one, that which thou thyself sow- 
 est is not (quickened, except it die: and that 
 which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body 
 that shall be, but a bare grain, it may chance of 
 wheat, or of some other kind; but God giveth it 
 a body even as it pleased Him, and to each seed 
 a body of its own. All flesh is not the same 
 flesh : but there is one flesh of men, and another 
 flesh of beasts, and ".nother flesh of birds, and 
 another of fishes. There are also celestial bod- 
 ies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the 
 celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial 
 is another. There is one glory of the sun, and 
 another glory of the moon, and another glory of 
 the stars; for one star differeth from another 
 star in glory. So also is the resuiTection of the 
 dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in 
 incorruption: it is sown in dishonour: it ia 
 raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is 
 raised in power: it is sown a natural body; it is 
 raised a spiritual body." I Cor. 15: 35-44. 
 
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