The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1869-08-18
Called and Mizpeh.

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communion that we DO not call to mind the
words at the head of this article. Called,
the witness, and Mizpeh, the watch. "And
Laban said, this heap is witness between
me and thee this day" 1t was in the hills
of GiIead.
Jacob has had his Bethel; twas on the
bare ground, stone for pillow; yet was
it the house of God, and the cheap of wit.
ness" to celestial visitation and divine pres
ence He laid down wanderer, homeless
and friendlass, but awoke from blissful
dreams conscious friend of God, and en-
circled in the sweet bonds of heavenly and
perpetual covenant This was going out
twenty years before the scene to which we
have adverted.
He is returning now. The covenant has
been kept, and God has greatly blessed him,
and his uncle Laban's house for his sake.
He has left his uncle's house suddenly and
by stealth, taking his own household with
him. He is hotly pursued by his angry rel
ative, and is overtaken at Gilead. Much
chiding follows, and the overfcwing Of a
fathers heart who feels wronged and insult
ed. The missing images are not found
Rachel hides them by her artful assembling.
But reconciliation is effected. Peace is
declared and harmony is established. A
token of amity, mutual forgiveness, and mu-
tual covenant must be created witness
and watch. 'Tis rudely but well done
Bethel was a stone, and God hallowed it,
and if between God and man, why not be-
tween man and man? The stones are
brought, the heap is made, bread is broken
and eaten in token Of fellowship, covenant
is solemnly uttered, and Called, the wit
ness, and Mizpeh, the watch, are consecra-
ted on the evermore sacred heights of Gil
lead.
The history of the world is collection of
memorials-memorial of men who have dis
turbed their times, and of circumstances
which have made men. Men pass away, but
the monuments they leave, "the witness
heaps" which they raise, endure, to teach the
growing ages the lesson of the past. The
Pyramids tell, as no pen can, past glory,
which crowned with majesty and splendor
ancient kings, and seem, beneath their silent
shadows to unearth the mighty nations of
the dead. The delphic stones of Greece,
visible yet, in the second century were
magnetic memorials which seemed by their
traditions to inspire devout pilgrims with
primitive heroism and devotion.
Our Zion is filled with memorials God
has never visited his people and did not leave
behind him an imperishable mark-a sacred
cheap of witness" The divine voice that
broke the guilty stiffness of Eden in plain
tive search for Adam, still winds through
the desolate ways of sin, still searches for
Adam the transgressor, still inquiries of the
depraved wanderer, "Where art thou?' The
flaming sentinel, who with fiery sword stood
guard before the Tree of Life, still, with
unwearied diligence protects the way, and
testi6es the sleepless vigilance of mercy.
The burning bush, yet unconsumed, was the
visible glow of his presence; the clearing Of
the sea, the overthrow of the naughty
Pharoah, the pillar of cloud and fiery column
-Speechless but Almighty leaders through
the wilderness-the gushing Horeb to sup
ply, and the fiery serpent to destroy, and
finally, Canaan itself were the footprints of
the Almighty God in his walks through his
ancient Zion, and they abide to US with all
their holy lessons, cherished heaps of witness.
They are oracles to us. They roll back the
vexed ages, and reveal in beautiful simpli-
ity the church of the frst-born of our breth-
ren, and repeat the grand revelations of God.
They are household pictures, illustrative Of
home, and enrich our hearts with associa-
tions, memories, and thoughts that make
earth heaven.
But we are richer still in heaps of witness.
Not an ancient gallery. only, but a more
modern wealth of sacred wonders bless the
Church to-day. Galeeds and Mizpehs every
where confront us, reminding us of the eter-
nal, unchanging love of God.