The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1879-06-27
SUNDAY READING.
cons UpsIDISGs.
BY THEODORE L. CUTLER, D. D.

sat-at the feet of Jesus. And the en-
couragement to us is: "Call unto me,
and l will answer thee and shew thee
great and mighty things which thou
knowest not" This does not mean ey-
erything, even though our hearts NAV
ache TO find out many mysteries. The
secret things belong unto God" Over
certain doors the inscription is affixed:
"No admittance here" In Heaven we
may know these things even as we are
known; but now they are wisely hid
den from our eyes.
Yet our all-wise and loving God is
constantly unfolding himself to his
earthly children. All scientific discov-
cry is the passage from the unknown
INTO the known; every truth discovered
Is fresh unfolding of the Creator.
very slowly, very gradually is this pro-
gress elected. Centuries passed away
before Galileo found out the rotation of
the earth, and Newton the law of gray
itation. Other generations must roll
by before men learned enough about
Gods laws of electromagnetic 10
fashion the ocean telegraph. Yet these
laws were all in existence in the days
of Abraham and Noah; only they had
not yet been unfolded. once spent a
night on Mount Righi, and there was
nothing visible for q rood from nv
window. But when the morning broke
the icy crowns of the Jnngfrau and the
Schreckhorn began to glitter in the ear
ly beams. They had been there all the
night, waiting for the unfoldings of the
dawn. Even SO have all Gods laws of
the material universe and all his pur-
poses of redeeming mercy through
Jesus Christ been in existence from the
beginning. They only waited for the
dayspring of discovery. And one of
the most delightful occupations of de-
vout mind is to watch the nnfoldings of
God, and to drink in new truths as he
gradually reveals them.
The more closely l study my Bible,
the more detect steady progress Of
divine doctrine, from the first line of
Genesis to the closing grandeur of the
Apocalypse. That little altar ofturf on
which Abel lays the lamb points on.
ward to Calvary. The whole Jewish
dispensation goes on step by step until
the Messiah comes. Then find four
sections of the Book which photograph
the life OF Jesus to me, each one pre-
senting some particular view of nv
Saviouts face and footsteps, and MIRA
cles and teachings. Calvary and the
resurrection only prepare the way for
the descent of the Holy Spirit. Then
comes the visible manifestation of the
Gospel, in the conversion and organiza-
tloh OF the Primitive church. Peters
tongue, and PauPs brain, and Johns
heart, and Dorcas's needle all get into
motion. These new converts REQUIRE
spiritual instruction, and the whole &c.
rles OF inspired epistles are produced.
The man or the minister who asserts
that the writings of the four evangelists
are "Bible enough for him." and that
the epistles of Paul are only excellent
surplusage, but worthy of small atten-
ton, simply writes himself down an
ignoramus. There is as veritable an
unfolding of heavenly truth in the
eighth chapter to the Romans as in the
Sermon on the Mount. And when the
laws of our spiritual life have been un-
folded in the inspired epistles of Paul,
John, Peter, and James, then the mag
nificent panorama of the Apocalypse is
unrolled, and we get GLIMPSE of
Christs final triumphs and the glory of
his Celestial Kingdom. After John
lays down his pen, History takes up
martyrdom of saints, and the councils.
and the conflicts, and the Reformation
period, and the Inauguration of modern
missions to the nations who sit in dark
ness. AT the foot of every page she
writes: 1.-The earth is the Lords and
the fullness thereof" ..
In no direction do we beheld more
wonderful unfoldings of God than in
what we call his Providence. This is
department of Gods school in which
we are learning fresh lessons every day.
In Providence, divine wisdom is mar
ried to divine love. All things work
together for good to them who love
God and trust him. The skeptic jeers
at this; but the trusting Christian
kno~S it from actual experience. 1t is
often dear-bought experience, for
some of Gods truths are knocked into
us by hard blows, and some lessons
are spelled out through eyes cleansed
with tears. Our perverse mistake is
that we demand that God shall explain
himself at every step, instead of wait
ing for him to unfold his intricate pur-
poses in his own tim0 and in his own
way. Why A is set up and good
brother B (who seems equally de-
serving) is cast down; why the only
little crib in one Christian home is
emptied by death, and the nursery in
another home is full of happy voices:
why one good enterprise prospers and
another one is wrecked --all such per-
picking puzzles shake terribly the faith
that is not well-grounded on the Rock.
To all these pitiable outcries the
calm voice of our Heavenly Father Is
"Be still, and know that am God. l
lead the blind by way they know not.
What do thou knowest not now; but
thou shalt know hereafter" These are
the voices of love which come to us
from behind the cloud. If we wait pa
tiently, the cloud will break away or
part asunder, and our eyes will behold
the rainbow of Mercy overarchiug the
Throne. Twenty years ago ascended
Monnt Washington by the old bridle-
path, on day of thick fog aud storm.
Over the slippery powders we picked
our toilsome way, unable to see any,
thing but our sure-sooted horse and our
guide. A sulky company were we
when we reached the "Tip-top House"
But presently a strong wind swept
away the banks of mist, and revealed
the magnificent landscape from the
mountains base to the great wide sea.
AS the wonderful vision unfolded itself
to our delighted eyes, we could mark
the pathway by which we had been led
up that mount of discovery. Tenfold
more delightful was the outlook be-
cause we had gained il by such hard
toll and it had been SO long hidden
from our sight.
That days experience was a sermon
to my soul. 1t taught me afresh Just
how believer must leave God to order
his footsteps, and how he must wait fol
God to unfold the hidden purposes Of
his love. Faiths stairways are steer
and slippery. They can only be climb
2 ed by sure foot and steady hold OF
the Unseen Hand. In the hard chamber
We are often thrown down on oul
knees. Cry as loudly as we may in tho
driving mist for ''more light" we dc
not receive any other that this: ssFeal