Lily of the valley = Convallaria majalis

Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis), sometimes written lily-of-the-valley, is a woodland flowering plant with sweetly scented, pendent, bell-shaped white flowers borne in sprays in spring. It is native throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere in Asia and Europe, but is considered generally invasive in parts of North America.

Despite its name, it is actually not really a lily.  it is scientifically classified as a part of the Asparagaceae (asparagus ) family. 
 

Taxonomy

In the APG III system, the genus is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae (formerly the family Ruscaceae). It was formerly placed in its own family Convallariaceae, and, like many lilioid monocots, before that in the lily family Liliaceae.
 
There are three varieties that have sometimes been separated out as distinct species or subspecies by some botanists.
Convallaria majalis var. keiskei – from China and Japan, with red fruit and bowl-shaped flowers
Convallaria majalis var. majalis – from Eurasia, with white midribs on the flowers
Convallaria majalis var. montana – from the United States, with green-tinted midribs on the flowers
 

Mention in Bible

I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.

Song of Songs 2:1

The Old Rugged Cross, 1912 (hymn)

 

"The Old Rugged Cross" is a popular hymn written in 1912 by American evangelist and song-leader George Bennard (1873–1958).

History

George Bennard was a native of Youngstown, Ohio, but was reared in Iowa. After his conversion in a Salvation Army meeting, he and his wife became brigade leaders before leaving the organization for the Methodist Church.

As a Methodist evangelist, Bennard wrote the first verse of "The Old Rugged Cross" in Albion, Michigan, in the fall of 1912 as a response to ridicule that he had received at a revival meeting. 

Bennard traveled with Ed E. Mieras from Chicago to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin where they held evangelistic meetings at the Friends Church from December 29, 1912 to January 12, 1913. During the meetings Rev. George Bennard finished "The Old Rugged Cross" and on the last night of the meeting Bennard and Mieras performed it as a duet before a full house with Pearl Torstensen Berg, organist for the meeting, as accompanist. Charles H. Gabriel, a well-known gospel-song composer helped Bennard with the harmonies. 

The completed version was then performed on June 7, 1913, by a choir of five, accompanied by a guitar in Pokagon, Michigan, at the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Pokagon. 

Published in 1915, the song was popularized during Billy Sunday evangelistic campaigns by two members of his campaign staff, Homer Rodeheaver (who bought rights to the song for $50 or $500) and Virginia Asher, who were perhaps also the first to record it in 1921. 

Be Thou My Vision, 1912 (hymn)

"Be Thou My Vision" (Old Irish: Rop tú mo baile or Rob tú mo bhoile) is a traditional Christian hymn of Irish origin. The words are based on a Middle Irish poem that has traditionally been attributed to

Dallán Forgaill ( AD 560-640 ).

The best-known English version, with some minor variations, was translated in 1905 by Mary Elizabeth Byrne (1880-1931)  in 1905, then made into verse by Eleanor Hull ( 1860-1935 ) and published in 1912. 

Since 1919 it has been commonly sung to an Irish folk tune, noted as "Slane" in church hymnals, and is one of the most popular hymns in the United Kingdom.

The Lily of The Valley, 1881 (hymn)

 

"The Lily of the Valley" ("I've Found a Friend in Jesus") is a Christian hymn written by William Charles Fry (1837–1882) in London for the Salvation Army. Ira D. Sankey (1840-1908) arranged the words to the music of "The Little Old Log Cabin In The Lane" composed by Will S. Hays (1837-1907).

History

Fry and his family were members of the Salvation Army which was then was in crisis. It is recorded that Fry did not like the abuse he saw hurled at the Salvation Army when they established their ministry in 1878 in Salisbury, where the Fry family lived. 

Mr. Fry, who was a bricklayer, and his three sons offered to serve as bodyguards for the Salvation Army workers. The next day the four men arrived with their “weapons". These weapons consisted of two cornets, a trombone and a small tuba. In between fighting off the troublemakers, the Fry men played, and their music attracted a crowd for the Salvation Army preachers. This was the first Salvation Army brass band with Mr. Fry as the leader of the band as inscribed on his grave stone.

Fry took the term "Lily of the Valley" from the book of Song of Solomon 2:1 < I am the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valley …>. He used this verse of Scripture to represent the message of the preacher William Booth to the people during the protests of 1881 describing a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus. 

Those words were first published in the December 29, 1881, edition of the Salvation Army national magazine, the War Cry. 

Charles Fry died the year after publishing the hymn, on August 24, 1882, in Park Hall, Polmont, Scotland. American evangelist Ira D. Sankey adapted Fry's words to the music of "The Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane" composed in 1871 by Will Hays for a secular minstrel show.

Origin of MPH Bookstore

MPH Group Malaysia Sdn Bhd is a Malaysian group of companies best known for its book retailing  and online retailing services as well as being involved in the printing, publishing and distribution of books and library services in Malaysia and Singapore. Its bookstore chain, MPH Bookstores Sdn Bhd, headquartered in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, is among the largest in Malaysia.

 

1890	Captain W.G. Shellabear founded Amelia Bishop Press in Singapore, publishing Christian literature.
1893	Rev. William T. Cherry rename it  American Mission Press, expanding to printing, publishing, distribution and bookselling.
1906	Rev. William T. Cherry renamed it Methodist Publishing House
1927	MPH became a public stock company, rename it Malaya Publishing House Ltd
1963	Renamed Malaysia Publishing House, operated a wholesale book department. Opened Malaysian Books Ltd retail bookstore in KL, Penang and Malacca
1966	Acquired by Mas Agung ( Indonesia ).  Restructured into 4 subsidiaries : MPH Books, MPH Printers, MPH Publications & Lian Tak MPH
1972	Acquired by Jack Chia Holdings ( HK ), renamed Jack Chia MPH Ltd.  Restructured into 5 Divisions : Books & Publications, Consumer Products, Timber, Hotel and Services.
1999	Acquired by Singaporean Simon Cheong, renamed MPH Ltd.
2002	MPH Bookstores & MPH Distributors acquired by Jalinan Inspirasi Sdn Bhd.   Jalinan Inspirasi  Sdn Bhd renamed MPH Group (M) Sdn Bhd.  Restructured into MPH Bookstores, MPH Distributors, MPH Group Publishing ( M ) & MPH Library Services (S )

  

 

The Temple Tax

 
Coins of at least three different nations were used in everyday life in Judea during the NT era. The NT text uses the names of Greek coins, Roman coins, and Jewish coins. The original readers of the NT were presumably very familiar with all of these terms and also knew their relative values.
 
The challenge for the translator is to use English terms for the various coins that will convey for modern readers the same intuitive sense of meaning. A case in point is the incident in Matt 17:24-27, in which Jesus sent Peter to find a coin (in a fish’s mouth!) to pay the Temple tax.
 
Matthew–the former tax collector–is the only Gospel writer to tell about this incident. And in the space of four verses, he uses the names of two Greek coins. In 17:24 he twice uses the term didrachma, which means simply a two-drachma coin. (The drachma was the Greek coin more or less equivalent to the Roman denarius, and both coins represent the daily wage for a laborer.) This is the only use of didrachma in the NT, and it is used to refer to the annual tax required for the upkeep of the Temple.  In Exodus 30:13-16, its predecessor–the tax for the care of the Tabernacle–is presented (in ancient Hebrew terminology) as a tax of “half a shekel.”
 
Matthew’s readers would intuitively have understood what was meant when the tax collectors came to ask Peter, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the didrachma?” But how should this term be translated into English?
 
A few verses later (Matt 17:27), Jesus tells Peter to go catch a fish, open its mouth, and pull out a stater. This Greek coin–mentioned only here in the NT–is equal to two didrachmas, or four drachmas. And if a didrachma pays the temple tax for one man, a stater is sufficient to pay the tax for both of them.
 
Here’s a list of how some English translations have handled the translation :
 
The NLT, the NKVJ and the NRSV all communicate clearly that the temple tax is in view. The RSV and the ESV, both borrow from Hebrew terminology (half-shekel) to help make the connection with the tax first mentioned in Exodus.   The most literal (word-to-word) renderings are found in the Darby Translation, the DRA and the Disciples’s Literal NT.

English Bible Translations	Matthew 17:24	Matthew 17:27
Darby, 1867	didrachmas	stater
DRA, 1899	didrachmas	stater
Disciples’ Literal NT, 2011	Double-drachmas	stater
NLT, 1996	the Temple tax	a large silver coin
KJV, 1611	tribute money	a piece of money
NKJV, 1982	the temple tax	a piece of money
NASB, 1971	the two-drachma tax	a shekel
RSV, 1952	the half-shekel tax	a shekel
NRSV, 1989	the temple tax	a coin
ESV, 2001	the half-shekel tax	a shekel
NIV, 1978	the two-drachma tax	a four-drachma coin
HCSB, 2004	the double-drachma tax	a coin

The NLT, the NKVJ and the NRSV all communicate clearly that the temple tax is in view. The RSV and the ESV, both borrow from Hebrew terminology (half-shekel) to help make the connection with the tax first mentioned in Exodus.   The most literal (word-to-word) renderings are found in the Darby Translation, the DRA and the Disciples’

This Is My Father's World, 1915 (hymn)

"This is My Father's World" is a Christian hymn adapted from poem written by Maltbie Davenport Babcock, which was published posthumously in 1901.  The melody "Terra Beata", an old English melody of  set by Franklin L. Sheppard in 1915.

The poem, also named  “My Father’s World”, was published in a compilation of Babcock’s writings entitled Thoughts for Every-Day Living, shortly after his death in 1901.