And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took
sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of
harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered
neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of
the field by night. 2 Samuel 21:10
"Q: IF the love
of a woman to her slain sons could make her prolong her mournful vigil
for so long a period, shall we weary of considering the sufferings of
our blessed Lord?
---She drove away the birds of prey, 
Q: and shall not we
chase from our meditations those worldly and sinful thoughts which
defile both our minds and the sacred themes upon which we are occupied?
Away, ye birds of evil wing!
Leave ye the sacrifice alone!
---She bore the
heats of summer, the night dews and the rains, unsheltered and alone.
Sleep was chased from her weeping eyes: her heart was too full for
slumber. Behold how she loved her children!
---She chased
away even the wild beasts, with courage unusual in her gender, and will not
we be ready to encounter every foe for Jesus' sake?
---These her children
were slain by other hands than hers, and yet she wept and watched:
Q: what
ought we to do who have by our sins crucified our Lord?"
Charles Spurgeon
