greet!

This is the death of Death, to breathe away a breath,
And know the end of strife and taste the deathless life.

And joy without a fear and smile without a tear,
And work, nor care, nor rest, and find the last the best.

--_Maltbie D. Babcock_

"=_Thy Rod and Thy Staff They Comfort Me_="

The rod is a protection from all the adversaries of the night. No enemy,
not even the last enemy, death, can affright the soul in the care of the
tender Shepherd, for He has extracted the sting from death. The staff is
used for counting the sheep as they pass one by one into the fold. This
action is sometimes called "passing under the rod." The language used
here indicates safety and security.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight and tears on bitterness.
Where is death's sting? where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

--_Henry F. Lyte_

Christ hath _abolished_ death and brought life and immortality to light.
The word "abolished" is a very strong one in the Greek. It has three
root letters, a, r and g. Then the preposition _kata_ is added to it,
thus making our English word "energy" which means "a working force."
Then, in a way known to Greek students, the preposition gives the word,
as it were, the force of a double negative. So the Apostle teaches us
that Christ, when He came into the world and died on the cross, did
something with death. He double-twisted it, He de-vitalized it,
double-negatived it, made it inoperative, rendered it powerless, so that
ever afterwards it would be unable to hurt the children of God.

I do not know very much about bees except, of course, that they sting. I
am told, however, that when a bee stings you it leaves its sting in the
wound and goes away to die. A little child may play with the bee after
it has stung a person without any harm coming to the child. The bee has
lost its power to hurt. So we are told that the sting of death is sin.
Death stung Christ on the cross and left its sting in Him, so that ever
after it could not hurt the children of God. He is "Death of death and
hell's destruction."

Christ, the Great Shepherd, will be there at the entrance of the valley
to meet you and lead you through. He will beat off all the powers of
death. He will destroy all the enemies of darkness and convey you safely
through the vall