Upper Subject: Moon and Stars
Inscription: “Lord, I Have Loved The Habitation Of Thy House And The Place Where Thine Honor Dwelleth”
Dedication: Wellington and Victoria Stevens Wallace
Maker/Date: Charles E. Hogemen, 1908. Easter, 1908
Description: This is from Psalm 26:8
1Vindicate me, O Lord,
for I have walked in my integrity,
and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
2Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
test my heart and mind.
3For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
and I walk in faithfulness to you.*
4I do not sit with the worthless,
nor do I consort with hypocrites;
5I hate the company of evildoers,
and will not sit with the wicked.
6I wash my hands in innocence,
and go around your altar, O Lord,
7singing aloud a song of thanksgiving,
and telling all your wondrous deeds.
8O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell,
and the place where your glory abides.
9Do not sweep me away with sinners,
nor my life with the bloodthirsty,
10those in whose hands are evil devices,
and whose right hands are full of bribes.
11But as for me, I walk in my integrity;
redeem me, and be gracious to me.
12My foot stands on level ground;
in the great congregation I will bless the Lord.
This appeal to heaven my have been written by David at the time of the assassination of Ishbosheth, by Baanah and Rechab, to protest his innocence of all participation in that treacherous murder; the tenor of the Psalm certainly agrees with the supposed occasion, but it is not possible with such a slender clue to go beyond conjecture.
Symbol: Moon and Stars
To the Greeks and Roman, stars were divinities, a belief derived from Persia and Babylonia.
Heavenly bodies identified with gods to be worshiped according to the advice of astrologers. The gods as planetary figures may be represented by a star on their brow.
Christianity absorbed this idea. Christ is described as the “bright star of dawn.” (Revelation 22:16)
Early Renaissance art often shows a star on the shoulder of the Virgin’s cloak. Virgin Mary is crowned with a circle of stars. Star led the magi to the birth of Christ. The ‘ancient’ Christ of the Book of Revelation held 7 stars in his right hand
Techniques – The Wallace windows use similar glass around center symbols arranged in five rows of stone with the central theme in the middle. Surrounding the symbol are two concentric circles of stones. Within each row are different shapes of glass. The effect is traditional without any special treatment of the glass or painting.