Delaware inquirer. (Wilmington, Del.) 1859-18??, 1860-04-28
VOL. No. 50.

| anu neaYen-DlesSed llfe, not hesitate 10 sehu
the ploughshare onestdeterminationth through
our thorns and thistles, and break up our fall
low ground. "IIe that goeth and weepeth,
bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come
again with rejoicing, bringing his sheayes with
him."-Ps. cxxvi. 6.
But corn, before it is fit for human food must
| be brought to the mill, and ground; and this
operation is more especially connected with
the subject before us. The use of grinding is
| two-fold; first the separation of the husk, and
less nutritious portion, from the richer, interior
substance of the corn; and secondly, the tritu-
ration and pulveriEing, which reduces the
grain to -four, and thus presents it fully pre-
pared for the sustenation of man. Both these
essential services are done by the mill. In an
cient times, each family had its own mill, and
the -four for daily use was ground each day
The mill was composed of two circular, fiat
stones; one the upper, the other the lower.
In the upper one there was hole, in which a
wooden handle was fixed, by which it was
made to go round The persons grinding sat
TO their work, and frequently when women did
il, there would be two, and one passed the
handle round to the other, and 50 the work
went on. To this our blessed Lord alludes
when He says, at the end of the Church, meant
by the end of the age, or world, "Two women
shall be grinding at the mill, the one shall be
taken, and the other left,"-Mat. xiv. Al.
These circumstances all guide us to the cor
respondence. Corn, we have seen, corresponds
to the good in life to which truth leads. The
virtues which our views of religion open up to
us are harvest of graces; but as general
principles, they are not quite ready for daily
use. They require to be nationally Investigated
to be stripped of the forms in which we learned
them, and to be accommodated to our own
wants and circumstances. This is one of the
works of tho rational faculty in man. In this
respect ii is a spiritual mill. The operation Of
mental grinding is most interesting to contem-
plate. Let us endeavor to obtain q definite
view of it. We are taught in the Divine Word
the duty, and the right, of yielding ready and
implicit obedience to the commands OF the
Most High. This was the law in Eden. 1t was
thundered on Sinai, it was announced again
and again to the Israelites The flying words
of sNIoses impressively hung upon this duty.
He said unto them, aSet your hearts unto all
the words which testify among you this day,
which ye shall command your children to OBJ
!, serve TO do all the words of this law, for it is
mot a vain thing for you because it is your
life" The whole history of the Jews is an ex-
qualification of this truth. When they were
! obedient all went well with them; when they
. uNru uisoDeaieni their guilt was soon Ioilome ca
bydefeat, distress, captivity, slavery and de-
str,ction. The Psalmst sung the blessedness
of cbeying the law. The prophets announced
: thatall future glory was based upon a faithful
COMPLIANCE with the divine commandments
! as ali past loss had resulted from past derelle-
tion. "Oh that thou hadst hearkened to my
commandments, then would thy peace have
been rs a river, and thy righteousness as the
waves Vi the sea-" When our Divine rather
Himself tabernacled amongst us, He not only
: proclaimed that he who broke the least COM
mandmeat, and taught men so, would be con-
' sdered the least in the kingdom oil God, ohl
:, He fulfilled in every particular His own
law. and made il honorable. II lie, Gou
incarnate, might not break it, but must iulhl
all righteousness, much more must we. II we
: lwonld enter into life, We must keep the COM
Amendments. lie came to give us power 10 uu
it, lie is ever present TO the seeking soul, ioi
the same gracious purpose, now. II we reau
the Word with single eye, we learn tins doc
!. trine in every page. We ponder over II, we
: pray over ii. It grows up within us from story
and history, fom precept and propheey' VIZ
obtain clea understanding OF It. Ihen
comes the determination, if we are wisei tc
will and to do t. We have then got "the iai
corn in the ear But obedience with us ha'
a very different application from that whlch II
Ind in ancient tines. We need yet to sec no"
J to apply this general principle to our own CIR
1 cnmstances. We are merchants, tradesmen
workmen. We are engaged, it may PEI III th'
i warehouse, 1T the counter, in the shop. we
are engaged in factories, or in land carriage
A or are seamen. We are possibly men ofletters
e or engaged in medical or legal pursuits, or II
: the ministry. We fathers, brothers, friends
citizens, subjects, or governors Weafe oi 'n'
! gentler perhaps; we are mothers wives
: sisters, mistresses, or servants. What ooe'
E obedience to Gods commandments require
! us? How is it to be applied to our case. any
i :, our circumstances? We must set our men
0 tol mill TO work to bring this sacred auy
: obodience TO our daily operations of life, ant
: Tins reduce the corn to -four, which VIII serS'