Amasa

“ And I verily believe, we have already received more damage and deeper wounds from pretended friends, than from professed and open enemies. The sad stories of Abner and Amasa inform us, that there is no fence against his stroke, who comes too near us, who stabs while he takes us aside to speak kindly to us, who draws his sword, while he hath a kiss at his lips, and art thou in health, my brother, at his tongue. ”

“ He omitted to execute his order to gather an army within three days; for that offense he deserved to suffer the death penalty."
Solomon: "Amasa failed to obey the king's order, because he had been taught by our sages that even a king's injunctions may be set at defiance if they involve neglect of the study of the Torah, which was the case with the order given to Amasa. And, indeed," continued Solomon, "it was not Amasa but thou thyself who didst rebel against the king, for thou wert about to join Absalom, and if thou didst refrain, it was from fear of David's strong-fisted troops." ”

“ His wife, Amasa's mother, was Abigail, David's sister, whose other sister, Zeruiah, was Joab's mother (1 Chron. ii. 16) , so that Amasa was in the same relation to David that Joab was. In honour to his family, even while he was in arms against his father, Absalom made him commander-in-chief of all his forces. Jesse is here called Nahash, for many had two names ”

“ Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, slew two lion-like men of Moab (the two sons of Ariel of Moab, R.V.) ; also, in time of snow, he slew a lion in a pit; and finally he slew an Egyptian, a powerful man, attacking him when he had only a staff in his hand, wrenching his spear from him, and killing him with his own spear. The third of this trio has not been mentioned; some conjecture that he was Amasa ("chief of the captains"—"the thirty," R.V., 1 Chron. xii. 18) , and that his name was not recorded because he deserted David to side with Absalom. ”

“ So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri. 11 And one of Joab's men stood by him, and said, He that favoureth Joab, and he that
is for David, let him go after Joab. 12 And Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he removed Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a cloth upon him, when he saw that every one that came by him stood still. 13 When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri. ”

“ Abishai, and Joab, and Asahel, three.
2:17 And Abigail bare Amasa: and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmeelite.
2:18 And Caleb the son of Hezron begat children of Azubah his wife, and of Jerioth: her sons are these; Jesher, and Shobab, and Ardon.
2:19 And when Azubah was dead, Caleb took unto him Ephrath, which bare him Hur.
2:20 And Hur begat Uri, and Uri begat Bezaleel.
2:21 And afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead, whom he married when he was threescore years old; and she bare him Segub. ”

“ So to-day he lives, a connecting link between old and new Japan, between [188] the feudalism of the past and the encroachments of the foreign civilization of the present,—a monument to the ruin of chivalry, knightly pursuits, and glorious deeds of arms; a poor, ragged, despised jinrikisha man, but with a glorious heritage in the superb Muramasa blade which hangs on the walls of his hut. ”

“ I have long looked forward to the breaking out of this war, and I thought at one time that my son would realize my hopes [90] of a glorious career in arms; but although physically strong and active, he does not possess a nature to achieve great things. You, however, I firmly believe, will make a name. When you return from this campaign the hand of O Tetsu shall be yours; and the name of Muramasa shall indeed be coupled, not only with the skill of the forge, but also with the memory of heroic deeds. ”

“ Nagamasa was sent to his fief in disgrace, and Ieyasu questioned.
“There is a lesson that we should heed in this accusation by Nagamasa; who loves you as he does his life; the barons have been, as you well know, subjected by force, and with the master gone out of the country they should be ill content to wear the yoke: Ieyasu is not the man to do Hideyoshi’s work,” argued Ieyasu, to Hideyoshi, discreetly: with a purpose and an estimation not wholly made known. ”

“ In the struggle before us, which is the cause of the heaven-descended Emperors, we need not fear defeat in the end; but should it happen that any single action in which you participate [95] go against us, I charge all your companions to see that this sword is not lost, and that even if you fall, it be brought back here and returned to your father. It will be the thought of many that Muramasa has distinguished you in a way which your years hardly justify; but he has only given expression to opinions which I also hold as to your merit. I hope and believe you will return safely and with honor ”

“ The sword is the soul of the samurai, and it imparts its nature to him who wears it. I knew that that gentle old man could never give to a blade those qualities which men need who are bent on strife or revenge. My [181] forging is of a different nature. You are kind and gentle too, Sennoske; yet your sword would never let you exercise feelings of pity or compassion. I am vindicated,—vindicated through you; and I know that the name of Muramasa will endure, honored and prized, as long as the samurai spirit shall exist, as long as there are men ready to fight for right and for revenge. ”

“ Amalekites, the, dwell with the tribe of Judah, 1, 39. war of, with Saul, 1, 91–2. burn Ziklag, 1, 106–7. Amali, the, a Gothic family, 3, 27. Amalrich of Jerusalem, campaign of, 3, 444. Amantius, governor of the East, punishes rioters, 3, 17. Amasa, cousin of David, joins Absalom, 1, 139. lacks military genius, 1, 143. influences the men of Judah, 1, 146. commander against Sheba, 1, 148. killed by Joab, 1, 149. Amasia (Amazia) , the Spanish exiles in, 4, 405. the Jews of, accused of murder, 4, 553. Amasis, reigns over Egypt, 1, 327. opponent of Cyrus, 1, 343. ”

“ Muramasa then stood at the head of his profession, without a rival in the country. His superiority was acknowledged by his brother artisans as well as by the nobility; and many of the latter—men of great means too—would willingly have beggared themselves to obtain a sword of his making. To have a man like this living in his dominions was considered a great honor, and was, moreover, a source of real power and influence, of which the Duke was fully aware ”

“ He had not yet found time in the hurry of preparation to take leave of Muramasa and O Tetsu. Going to Senjuin late in the evening, when all his arrangements for departure had been completed, he found the girl at the open door of the forge awaiting his arrival, the smith and his son being within, busily engaged in work. The young man followed his future little wife, as he already sometimes playfully called her, to a room above ”

“ What has it ever done for any man, or for any people who have been so happy as to enjoy the blessing of its presence with them, as to partake of its fruits, to live and enjoy the life which it imparts? ”

“ When will be the day of righteousness that we talk about, when peace and truth, and the kingdom of God shall cover the earth as the waters do the deep? It will be when the principle of truth and light and life are developed in the hearts of the people that dwell on the face of the earth, and never until then. ”

“ Among those who contributed to Sennoske’s training was one whose name was then already famous in Japan,—Muramasa, the sword-smith. An immense gulf divided, at that time, the samurai from the merchant, the farmer, the artisan, and, in fact, from all other classes. To this rule the sword-smith [36] formed the only exception. He Who could forge a sword fairly well stood far higher in social rank than the artisan of equal skill in any other profession; and a master of the art, however low his extraction, was considered and treated as an equal by the two-sworded gentry. ”

“ If it is not the love of the truth that binds the people of God together, that holds them firmly round the great centre from which they cannot be induced to take their departure, and for which there is no feeling of the soul but would exert its influence to the fullest extent to bind them to it, then what is it? ”

“ Have we profited from it all? When we have supposed that the hand of chastisement was upon us, and we have been afflicted, has that affliction been to us a source of knowledge to benefit and to perfect us in our sphere of action? ”

“ I fear that if the clouds were now all dissipated and driven away, and if the sunshine of prosperity should begin to shine upon us, some would forget God and the duties they owe to him and to one another: I fear that we should forget the sacred obligations which we are under. ”

“ If you could do all this with a reference to those little things that disturb the peace at home, that plant a thorn where a rose should be planted, that cultivate principles of strife where quietude and harmony should prevail, great would be our happiness as a people, both at home and in our public assemblies. ”

“ I do not feel any other way than that we are a part of the work of God, and that the decree of the Almighty has fixed it immutably and unchangeably that his kingdom shall be built up, and that as it rises in its greatness and grandeur he has fixed our exaltation and glory, if we are so happy as to maintain our relationship unchanged in harmony and beauty. ”

“ Take this course, and the fountain of knowledge and eternal life will by-and-by be established within you. This is what we are seeking for. It is the rich boon of heaven that we are striving for; and why is it that we do not get it? It is here; it is all around us. We can look—we can travel to the place where it is. Why do we not enjoy it? ”

“ I have come to the conclusion that the more I talk about the right and the less I talk about the wrong, and the more I become occupied with the right the less danger I shall be in of becoming occupied by the wrong. ”

“ If the storm-clouds lour around you, you will be comforted by the sunshine of the Spirit of God; and however dark the clouds that may lour around, you will find that Spirit to be your companion; you will see the sunshine that opens to you the prospect of happiness, of glory, and of eternal life when the clouds shall pass away. ”

“ Can you think of a principle that is universal, and infinite in its extent; there being no space that is not filled with it; no creation that does not owe its existence to its power and influence? Think of that, and ask yourselves the question, who is it, and what is it that can lead you into all that vast infinitude of truth, but that principle. ”

“ Whenever there is peace, and the home circle lives in peace and quietude, the blessings of heaven and the revelations of the Holy Spirit will be there; its inspiration will be there, and it will be like a burning, never-dying flame within you, and you will walk together in peace and in harmony. You won't stumble and die in the way ”

“ We were passing through this as a necessary school of experience. And when we have passed through it, has it left with us an increase to the store of our knowledge? Has it profited us to an extent that we have comprehended more of the truth that influences our Father in the heavens? And have we learned more of the principles which constitute our happiness and that will be the bliss and the glory of the saved and the sanctified? ”

“ The Gospel that saved Jesus, that clothed him with power, that bestowed upon him all the perfections that he possessed as a God, why has it not wrought out its work with us? Our firesides have not been blessed with the harmony and bliss that is affected by its purity and hallowed influence. ”

“ If the same prayers were to ascend to God with the same degree of fervency—was the same attention paid to the propriety of examples that are set—was the same word of wisdom and truth and goodness and virtue constantly flowing from them in the midst of the home circle that might characterize all their labours abroad, then the misery at home would become prolific in truth, in which plants of righteousness would spring up and yield the fruits of peace. ”

“ Here is a God that I see, a God that I have heard, whose voice is uttered by all time, and millions of earths, and suns, in the magnitude of the universe, and thousands of universes, associated together, shadow forth His greatness and glory. Then there is a God who is gentle and kind, easy to be entreated, full of compassion and tender mercy, whose store house of good is richly filled to make—who happy? Those that seek for happiness. ”

“ It is the history of every man that comes into the world. Man comes into the world a beggar, naked, destitute, and the veriest specimen of dependence and poverty that ever was laid out on the stage of human existence? ”

“ How often have we been told that it was requisite for us to live that the Spirit of God would come and dwell with us, live in us constantly, until it should be a living fountain of life, and light, and glory in our souls, until it should lead us into all truth. ”

“ Where is the evidence of the truth that the people are not happy in this country? Where are those who are not satisfied in this country? I do not believe that there is a dissatisfied soul in the whole length and breadth of the land where the Saints dwell that enjoys the Spirit of God. ”