The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1888-06-27

fourth chapter of Exodus.
WHAT THE LESSON TEACHES.
Come up unto the Lord. Sinai's lofty emf
hence stands out upon the view. IL is the
scene OF the laws transmission. q holy, hal
lowed spot. For eleven months Israel tar
ried at the foot of this mount. hearing and
seeing wonderful things for their endue-
ment and ours. Modern investigation has
fixed upon the northwest peak OF Mt. Sinai,
in Arabia, as the place where the law was
given. BY close defiles you climb from the
wilderness until at last 10 breaks upon you.
1t towers up in awful grandeur from level
plain two miles long by half mile broad.
embracing four hundred acres of drill plat,
which the hills about throw into amphi-
theatrical form. The air is remarkably
clear, giving great range both for sight and
sound. Here, amid these quiet and sober
ing surroundings. having in their laborious
approach put all the world far beneath and
behind them, the people tarried and talked
with God. A very closeting with Jehovah
il was for Israel. Alone they were with God.
SO may we find our secret place for divine
communion. AS that spiritual teacher. An
drew Murray, in his With Christ in the
School of Prayer" says, Every one must
have some solitary spot where he can be
alone with God. That inner cham
Der. that solitary place. is Jesus school
ROOM"
Worship ye afdr off, That reverent. far
of feeling is still a part of worship, and
should remain salient part. Through
Christ we are brought nigh. accepted in the
beloved: but in ourselves we are utterly un-
worthy and. looking toward Gods height
of holiness, we instinctively PROSTATE our
selves in the dust and we worship "afar of. ;"
How could Israel do else than worship con-
tritely under such a spectacle In the fast
nesses of the hills. always full of pious sug-
gestions; behind them the rocky gates
through which they had come. all around
sentinel granite; and in front towering up the
of GuHnpnlW IL
wreathed with smoke, with lightnings darting
across. IL is the symbol of Gods presence
Well may the people bow their heads. and the
seventy, who have gone forward with Moses,
lay their faces TO the ground in holy awe.
Learn lesson OF reverence and sObriety in
Gods house. a lesson which Professionalism
with its half secularized temples is in danger
OF throwing away. In the public prayer. in
the song of praise. let there be sober. wor-
shipful decorum. Had we more of such piety
one prominent minister would not have felt
constrained 10 dismiss his congregations
without the doXology. He did not think it
was meant for the general pulling on of over
shoes and overcoats.
Noses alone shall come near. Look once
again at Moses. Gods man he was, indeed.
the brightest figure of Testament days
Before Christ, Moses" said grandma, when
asked as to her hero, after Christ. Paul. "
These two are indeed the chief actors; their
shining faces stand out in the gallery of in
SDlEtu men. 10 MOSES was given Lle great
and in his day exceptional honor that he
should talk with God face TO face, and mouth
to mouth, an eminence which inspiration
itself emphasizes Numbers 1873. Such
ncarness of access accounts TO us for the
unparalleled patience and meekness Of the
wilderness prophet-the man who could
say without arrogance, pointing forward TO
Christ, a Prophet like unto me-" Here is
our JOY. That which was Moses pre-emi-
nent preferment in OldTestament days is
a..
US all. God has spoken unto us by his
Son" Let us draw nigh even with the blessed
nearness that Moses had. Can we afford to
do less?
And Noses came and told the people. We
know then our vocation If ours is an en-
ducment similar TO that of Moses. il is 10
the same end; namely. that we may go and
tell the people "dH the UOrdS Of tie Lord. -
Alas. that there shall be so little of going
and tilling in the church. Surely, the world
will not be converted till all are telling it.
till the laity Joins with the clergy in a world
wide and, indeed. house-to- house procla-
nation of the truth. The church needs 10
pray nightly for loosened tongues. We
came across curious prophecy the other
day, which we at once put away in our book
of texts for future use. Il will give thee,
it reads in Ezekiel. 1921. 'the opening OF
tie mouth in the midst of them; and they
shall know that / am the Lord" God grant
il soon, the opening Of the mouth in the
midst OF them" Then shall the world know
that God is the Lord. The difference be-
tween Christians as TO their conversion. as
we heard some one quantity observe. is for
soOth only this difference between tweedle-
dun and tweedledee. But you finish one
with your mouth closed and you finish the
other with your mouth open.
AL the cords aChjch The Lord hath said
UiH ire do. That Was easily spoken. The
doing Of il was the difficult matter In next
weeks lesson of the Golden Calf" we shall
see how far short the people came. 1t was
a thoughtless promise, not deliberate cove
nant and VOW They spoke it seemingly as d
part of the responsive service at the foot OF
! the mount, perfunctorily and vainy. SO we
sometimes say, perhaps, when we go TO the
| church, Lord. have mercy on us miserable
! sinners, and drop the last word 10 whisper
! some nonsense TO the seat-mate or we sing
Bring forth the royal diadem and crown
! him Lord OF all, our mind absorbed. perhaps
! with the probable price of the new spring
! bonnet ahead of us. or the market value OF
] the tenor voice in the choir. Oh. friends, let
our singing oftener mean what 10 SAYS. We
! have had enough of that sort whore the lead
/ er suggests, What friend we have in Je-
sus," while the people are coming in. or. as
some one once heard. Nearer. my God. tC
| thee while the sexton pokes the stove.
! Give US honesty and truthfulness in the
! holy place.
Noses lcrote all the ,oords. We accept
| the statement. 1t accounts best for all the
| facts in the case There is different theory
we know, and the writer along with others
has in time past derived not n little intel
! lectual amusement from it. But when we
get right down TO reason rather than con
! lecture, and 10 facts rather than fancy. there
! is but one sensible and substantial conclu-
sion, namely. that the record tells the truth
| about itself, and that Moses. as he affirms
wrote the law. Anything else requires too
much strain upon human credulity. The
| English critics have gone away beyond
/ Kuenen himself. for while the German doc
/ tor proved To his own satisfaction that the
writers of the books prevaricated i'm the
matter of authorship. he never thought t.
| accept of such a view and hold the writings
! as still sacredly trustworthy. IL required
! the English school TO sanctify falsehood anC
make an imposter record a safe and God
| given guide. But be reasonable, now. Sup.
pose we had never seen the words at tn,
head of this paragraph before We only
| knew that the books were very ancient. very
sacred. remarkably one in style and spirit
attributed 20 "A single author by all the sue
| cessiye scribes, and so attested by Chris
! himself Coming across such n statemen
as this. Noses lcrOte all The tCordS, would on
minds not at once leap TO the conclusion
that here. at last. is adequate authorship il
the ancient sage of Israel. the ordained law
giver of Horeb, the prophetic prototype o
| Christ?
Nevt Tceeon "Tho Goidap Calf t.