The Boys of Holy Writ and Bible Narratives (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.1865 Excerpt: ... ST. JOHN. THE EVANGELIST. It would be scarcely fulfilling the promise of our titlepage if we ended our record of holy boyhood with the close of the Old Testament. Among the Apostles of our Lord Himself, we find a youth who was the dearest to Him of them all. St. John was the youngest son of Zebedee, a fisherman of Bethsaida, in Galilee. He and his elder brother James shared, in conjunction with some hired servants, the toils and dangers of the fisher's life with their father. The youth of John was cast in troublous and eventful times. His country was in thraldom to Rome; it paid tribute to the heathen and the stranger. But throughout the length and breadth of the land there prevailed an expectation that the chosen people of God were shortly to be delivered from the conqueror's yoke; that the King--the Messiah--should soon appear and reestablish the throne of David and Solomon. Seated in his boat on the blue Galilean Sea, the young John, doubtless, meditated on these things. He heard how a great prophet had appeared in the wilderness, and how all Jerusalem had gone out to hear him, and to ask if he was the Messiah. One of his own father's partners, Andrew, had gone; and, since that, had led his brother Peter to One, to whom John the Baptist had directed them, and had declared to be even greater than he was, "The Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world;" and they had returned to their ordinary toil, after some interval of absence; during which they had actually dwelt with this Teacher, and seen Him do many wonderful works. Simon and Andrew had told their partners how Jesus had made water into wine at the marriage feast; how He had wrought marvels during the late Passover at Jerusalem; and the young John doubtless listened eagerly to their words, and...