Naomi

by Mrs. J. B. Webb

Her reflections therefore on her future prospects were serious, but not desponding; and they occupied her mind during the remainder of the walk to Bethany so entirely that she took no part in the conversation of Theophilus and Claudia. Their discourse naturally turned from Gethsemane to the succeeding events in the sorrowful life of the Redeemer; and when they reached the dwelling of Mary, the interesting subject was unfinished.

"Mary," said Claudia, as she seated herself by the couch on which the aged disciple rested, "we have been to the garden of Olives, where you used to say you would lead me and Naomi, and tell us of the latter days of Jesus of Nazareth. I fear your feeble limbs will never again carry you to the holy spot; but will you not relate to us now what you remember of the Redeemer's last visits to this house, and all the sad events that closed his life?"

"My child," replied Mary, "it is now my happiness and my support to dwell on those days; though when they were present, I believed that the misery and woe which I endured would have broken my heart. My soul, now that it is about to quit this earthly scene and appear before its Maker, rests wholly on those sufferings of my Lord and Saviour for the expiation of the sins that crowd on my memory, and would press so heavily and so hopelessly on my conscience, had he not borne their weight and endured their punishment. Not one word or look of my blessed Master has escaped my memory. Oh, his countenance was light, and his voice brought peace and joy to all who loved him as I loved him! And yet I lived to hear that voice lifted up in anguish, and to see that heavenly countenance grow cold in death! It is to that last awful period that my own soul clings; but I will tell you of the days of anxious grief that went before. It was on the evening of the last sabbath before the Passover that Jesus came to dwell beneath our roof. We did not know all that should befall him ere the close of that great festival; but we saw that his disciples were filled with grief and anxiety, and we heard from them of the sad announcement which he had made of his approaching sufferings; and our hearts were heavy. The Lord graciously accepted the invitation of one of his disciples named Simon, who dwelt in Bethany, to sup in his house, and it was the happy privilege of my sister and myself to wait upon him."

"And it was on that occasion, dear mother," interrupted Naomi, "that Judith has told me you anointed the feet of the Lord, and wiped them with your hair, and that he so kindly received that mark of devotion, and so remarkably commended it."

"Yes, my dear Naomi, it did please the gracious Redeemer to manifest his approbation of so slight and unworthy a service, to teach his followers, in all ages, that he will accept the humblest offering of the meanest disciple, if brought to him in love and gratitude. He who so soon afterwards threw aside the cloak of hypocrisy, and was known as the traitor, reproved me for thus expending what might have been sold for a large sum, and given to the poor; but the Lord silenced him, and gave this melancholy sanction to what I had done: 'She is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.' Then we knew that all our worst fears were well founded, and that our beloved Master was indeed about to leave us; and then did every moment of his presence become, if possible, doubly precious to us all. The following day he remained with us here; and the report having reached the city that he was abiding at Bethany, multitudes of Jews came out to see him, and also to behold our brother who had been dead, and was alive again. The approach of the Passover had necessarily brought great numbers of Jews from distant places to keep the feast; and many of these had never seen Jesus, though his fame was spread abroad over all the land, and they had heard of the miracles which he had wrought, and were eager to be convinced of the truth of the resurrection of Lazarus. How rejoiced were we that our beloved brother should thus become a convincing proof of the divinity of our Lord and Master! And the time of his departure being now so near, he no longer refused to be publicly acknowledged. The hour was coming in which the Son of Man should be glorified; and the next day he sent two of his disciples before him to Jerusalem, to bring him the ass on which the prophet had foretold that he, the King of Zion, should enter the city. Seated on that lowly animal, and surrounded by all the inhabitants of Bethany, he descended the Mount of Olives. A vast concourse of persons from Jerusalem met him as he proceeded, and while they waved aloft the palm-branches which they had gathered, and cast their garments on the road before him, they raised the exulting cry, 'Hosanna! blessed is the King of Israel, that cometh in the name of the Lord!' O my children, that was a glorious sight! In the triumphant feelings of that moment we forgot the anxiety and fear that had so heavily oppressed our hearts. But when we turned to look on Him who was the object of all this enthusiastic feeling, we saw that he took no part in the general rejoicing. His eyes were fixed in sorrow and pity on the magnificent city towards which he was approaching, and the measure of whose guilt he knew would so soon be filled up. The shouts of the countless multitude were hushed, for the King of Zion opened his lips to speak; and while tears of compassion flowed from his eyes, he uttered that awful prediction, which doubtless will ere long be terribly fulfilled. Never can those words be forgotten:—'If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.' My dear young friends," continued Mary, in a voice trembling with emotion, "I shall not live to see those evil days, for I feel that my departure is near at hand; but you may expect to behold the vengeance of the Lord executed on the rebellious city, which has been blessed and favoured above all other cities on the earth. May you all be preserved from sharing her punishment, as, by the mercy of your Redeemer, your souls have been snatched from her guilt! Naomi, my beloved child in the Lord, I know your determination to abide with your parents; and I believe that you are acting according to the will of God. Therefore, come what may, I know that you are safe in his hands; and that whether in sorrow or in joy, in life or in death, his eye shall watch over you, and his hand shall guide you, until at last he shall bring you to those heavenly joys for which your ransomed spirit pants already."

Mary paused awhile, for her feelings were unchilled by age, and they were too powerful for her strength. Theophilus begged her to converse no more at that time, and promised that he would on the following evening bring his young companions again, to hear the remainder of her interesting recital; but she assured him that it was her greatest delight to discourse with them of those events which were so indelibly impressed on her own heart.

"How," she added, "can I better spend the small remains of time and strength which I still receive from his mercy, than by telling of all that he has done and suffered for my soul, and for the souls of those who hear me; yea, even for the souls of the thoughtless and guilty multitude, who refused to listen to the things that belonged to their peace, and who so soon exchanged the hosannas and blessings with which they hailed his entrance into their city, for menaces and cries of 'Crucify him, crucify him!' Doubtless had the children of Zion by faith beheld their King; had they repented in sack-cloth and ashes, like the inhabitants of Nineveh at the preaching of Jonah, and wept and prayed unto the Lord, even then the judgment might have been reversed, and mercy have triumphed. But they hardened their hearts, they killed the Holy One and the Just, and the city which saw his death must see his vengeance. The day on which our Master made his public entrance into Jerusalem, he passed much time in the temple, preaching and teaching the people; and when eventide was come, he again returned to our dwelling, accompanied by his twelve apostles.

"Again on the following morning he repaired to the temple, and to the astonishment of the priests and elders, he drove out all those who were profaning his Father's house by buying and selling within the sacred courts. They were filled with indignation at his boldness, and at the applauses of the multitude; and these ministers, appointed for God's service, who should have led the people to the feet of Jesus, to listen to his words, took counsel how they might slay him, because many believed on him. But as yet they feared to take him, for they saw that the multitude who constantly surrounded him would rise up in his defence; and that night also he returned unmolested to Bethany. It was not till the following evening that the traitor Judas went to the chief priests, and offered to deliver up his master into their hands; and the next day was the Passover. The treachery of Judas, and the determination of the chief priests to put him to death, must have been well known to the Lord; yet he openly went again to the city, and eat the Passover with his twelve disciples, not even excluding him who had already betrayed him. Then did he institute that holy feast, which it is the happiness and privilege of his disciples, in every age and every land, to celebrate in remembrance of him. You, Theophilus and Naomi, have already been permitted to partake of this memorial of your Saviour's dying love, and our dear Claudia will soon enjoy the same privilege. May it ever be your highest joy thus to declare yourselves his disciples; and may you so eat his flesh and drink his blood that you may be partakers in the salvation which by his death he purchased for you. When our beloved Master left Bethany on the day of the Passover, we little thought of the circumstances under which we should next behold him, and that he would never again return to our house before his death. But that very night the treacherous schemes of Judas were accomplished. I have often repeated to you already, what I afterwards heard from the blessed disciple John, of the gracious and affecting discourse which he addressed to his chosen followers before he left the room in which he had eaten his last supper; and how, having sung a hymn with them, he repaired to the garden which you have visited to-day, and passed hours in deep and mysterious agony, such as we cannot comprehend. There, to a retired and favourite spot, where Judas had often followed his Master, he now led the soldiers who were commissioned to take him. No admiring multitude now stood round him, to prevent the deed of sacrilege. The darkness of night shrouded alike the divine sufferer and his malignant enemies. The powers of evil were abroad, and were permitted in that hour to bring to pass what had been decreed in the everlasting counsels of Jehovah. Even the chosen disciples, the lion-hearted Peter and the devoted John, were sunk in sleep, worn out with sorrow and anxiety, and watched not with their sorrowing Lord, until he roused them to meet the approaching foe. Oh! my heart burns when I think of the insult which he then received from Judas. The traitor met him with a kiss! And the Lord of heaven and earth, who could have called down legions of angels to his defence, submitted to the salutation, and suffered himself to be bound and led away unresistingly, as a lamb to the slaughter. The rumour that he was taken prisoner by the chief priests reached us at Bethany before break of day; and in anguish not to be told, we hastened to the city. We found that he had been led to Ananius first, and at the entrance of his court we waited in trembling anxiety, until we beheld him brought forth, not, as we hoped, to freedom, but only to be dragged from thence to the palace of Caiaphas. John was permitted to follow his Master into the palace, and my heart went with him, but we were not allowed to enter. Soon the beloved disciple returned and took in Peter also: but it had been well for him if he had not been admitted. You all know how Satan overcame him, and how grievously he fell. That fall has been a warning to us all; and may we be instructed by it! But we will not dwell on the errors of that distinguished and now glorified disciple. They were pardoned by his benign Master, and are only recorded for our instruction."

"Was John standing by him when he uttered his denial?" asked Claudia. "I think the affectionate heart of the disciple whom Jesus loved must have been deeply wounded to hear such words from the mouth of his companion."

"John had followed the Lord Jesus into the presence of the high-priest, and did not therefore witness the cowardice of Peter. But he who knew even the thoughts of their hearts, heard his name denied three times; and it must have added to the sorrows that already weighed so heavily on his soul. But pity was all he felt; and he turned on Peter such a look as reached him in the distant crowd, and told him at once of the grief and the forgiveness of his Master. His repentance was instant and sincere, and with bitter tears he mourned his guilt."