St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1886-04-22

Hittite, and the field and the cave
therein and all the trees round about
were made sure unto Abraham for a
possession of a burying place, by the
sons of Heth. Along thousands of
years that primitive balance stood be-
twixt man and man. 1t facilitated
business, it declared that equity
should rule in trade. Yea, amongst
the heather traffickers, was the figure
of Astraa. the goddess with the scales
in her hands.
But the ways of men change, though
the just rule never changes. The old
balance was not enough for the new
commerce. The steelyard of Rome
was not equal to the needs of to-day.
When the age of business energy was
fully come, it required superior scale
"a scale commensurate with the mer-
chandise of continents-a scale equiv
alent to the ponderous machinery of
faetories-a scale that could lift up
loaded train in the balance as a very
little thing. Then God sent into the
world man who should think his
thoughts after him, and introduce a
change in the ways of weighing that
had been in use for millenniums. He
led on the mind of his servant from
one device to another; along magma
ry queer shaped levers, over knife
edges, up perpendicular rods, amongst
pOlses and beams and loops; till at
length, gradually outlining itself
through the darkness came the c0mbi
nation of levers that makes the plat
form scale of to-day, over which rolls
the traffic of the world. This curious
hoi nd 10 fba L
man who first caught sight of it felt it
was the Lords, not mans, and what
ever might come of it should be to the
honor of God.
One night last week, being wide
awake, l seemed to see something. 1t
certainly was not dream. | should
say it was vision seen by the mind,
coming all at once, so swiftly and COM
pletely, that, (lest should fall asleep
and lose something of it) 1 straightway
got up and put the outlines thereof on
paper.
| seemed to see, amidst the darkness,
the scale, which God, not man, had set
up. A certain weight was hung from
the beam. 1t was not marked in lbs.
or ounces, but with the ancient Hebrew
character ISH, that stands for one
man. 1t seemed to be the index of
Gods plan for one man, the ideal of
what God wished one man to be. AS
though God had set that weight on the
beam and said, now shall it be seen
whether this one man shall fulfil my
purpose, and, according to his ability,
balance this weight ISH, or whether
it shall be writ of him some future day,
| TEKEL, thou art weighed in the
balances and found wanting.
Then l saw in my waking vision a
man slowly, carefully toiling through
long years to lay on the platform of
that scale, qualities and attainments
that should balance the ideal of life
which God was gradually unfolding to
him. | do not say that he succeeded.
l only recognized the fact that he was
aiming to fulfil an ideal. And | MOTTO
ed that the first thing which appeared
on his side of the balance was a spirit
of Reverence topard God. 1t seemed as
if the vanishing figure of pious moth
err was lowering near to make sure that
this wOrshipfulness and simple faith in
God should become the earliest and
centremOst fact in that life. Also it
seemed to me that when that senti-
ment of veneration, and of early piety
went on to the scale, the beam thereof
moved perceptibly.
Presently | saw in my vision how
the man was putting something else
on the scale. And when | could read
what was written thereon, it was
TABNITH, pattern. And [ saw it
meant that the man did things according
to the patterns. 1t meant that he was
very exact in whatsoever he did, or
wanted done. He might have been
called a pattern-maker, only that |
think the patterns were given him on
some mount of superior vision, and
that still voice was saying in his
soul "see that thou do all things ac-
cording to the pattern showed thee"
Consequently it made great difference
with him, whether thing was pretty
nearly right, or right. If it was pretty
nearly right it was Just aorOng, and
must be done over again, and yet
again, and again, till Just right. Only
so, could he become a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed, approved
unto God for this rule in mechanics was
the rule in religion also, and in relig-
ion first of all.
Soon 1 saw another element showing
itself on the scale. 1t had the appear
ance of IenGcity, Firm VII. Would
you call it wilfulness, pertinacty I?
Hardly that, if ones face is seriously
set in the right direction. To bring
life up to the standard hung on the
beam would require life habit of per-
sistence, a stiff holding on to the thing
in hand. If a young foundryman
drawing a load of pig-iron forty miles,
is brought up suddenly after dark in
the mud by a broken axle, we should
say he had better find the nearest shell
ter and quietly wait for daylight. But
if on the contrary, going in to the
neighbOring thicket he shall get down
young tree, trim it and shape it with
his pocket knife to the hub of his
wheel, brace up the load, attach the
new-made axle tree, and drive on
through the mud so as to reach home
by daylight, we shall infer there must
be in that young plow-maker some of
the stuff that makes weight in the
scale. And if in later life it be found
that he is not easily baff1ed, but quiet
ly takes hold of difficulties and holds
on persistently, "making everything
out of nothing" we shall come to like
it as an element of dignity and
strength. We shall think it right for
such an one to hold his matured opin-
ions strongly. Perhaps he has learned
to see farther than some do, and if a
mistake or harmless foible falls out
here or there we shall not be in haste
to pick it up and publish it.
Now / saw in my vision that the
man of firm will was also loading up
the scale with goodly bulk of Gentle
ness. He believed that the servant of
the Lord must not strive, but be gen.
tie unto all men, especially if any