The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1889-06-20

one PM had shifting SAND for a foundation and
the other On eternal rock for basil: and
twenty years after he bnilt the whole scene
INTO q peroration of food and whirlwind that
seized his audience and lifted them into the
neights OF sublimety with the great arms of
patnos and terror, which sublime words /
render. asking as far as possible 20 forget
mat you ever heard them before: "Whoso-
ever heareth these sayings of mine, and
doeth them, will liken him unto a wise man.
which built his house upon q rock: and the
ain descended, and the foods came, and the
winds blew, and beat upon that house, and
IL Tell not; for it was founded up
on a rock. And every one that heareth
tnese sayings of mine, and doeth
them not, shall be likened unto a foolish
man. which built his house upon the sand;
and the rain descended, and the floods came,
house; and itfell; and great was the fall Of il"
Yes, from the naturalness, the simplicity,
the freshness of his parallels and SMILES and
metaphors in manhood discourse l know
that he had been a boy of the fields and had
bathed in the streams and heard the nightln-
gales call, and broken through the fowery
hedge and looked out of the embrasures Of
the fortress, and drank from the wells and
chased the butterflies, which travellers say
have always been one of the fitting beauties
OF that landscape, and talked with the
strange people from Damascus and Egypt
and Sapphoris and Syria, who in caravans
or on foot passed through his neighborhood,
the dogs barking at their approach at sun
down. AS afterward he was q perfect man, in
the time of which l speak he was a perfect
boy, with the spring of q boys foot, the
sparkle of a boys eye, the rebound ola boys
life, and just the opposite of those Juveniles
who off around morbid and otio
old men at ten. I warrant he was able to
take his own part and to take the part Of
Others. In that village of Nazareth l anu
certain there was what 10 found in all the
neighborhoods of the earth, that terror of
children, the bully, who seems born to strike,
to punch, to bruise, to overpower the less
muscular and robust. The Christ who after
ward in the limited terms denounced hypo-
critic and Pharisee, I warrant, never let such
juvenile villain impose upon less vigorous
childhood and yet go unscathed and undefend-
ed. At 10 years he was in sympathy with
the underlings, us he was at 30 and 80. l
want no further inspired or uninspired infor-
nation to persuade me that he was q splen-
did boy, a radiant boy, the grandest, hottest,
mend him as q boys Christ. What multi
tudes between 10 and Is years have found
him out as the one just suited by his own
personal experience to help any boy.
Let the world look out how it treads ON q
boy, for that very moment it treads on
Christ. You strike a boy, you strike Christ;
you insult a boy, you insult Christ; you
cheat q boy, you cheat Christ. 1t is an aw
full and infinite mistake to come as far as
manhood without a Christ when here is a
boy Christ. That was one reason, l sup.
pose, that Jonathan Edwards, afterward the
greatest American logician and preacher Of
his time, became o Christian at Z years oil
age; and Robert Hall, who afterward shook
Christendom with his sacred %eloquence, be-.
came a Christian at IL years OF age; and
Isaac Watts, who divided with Charles Wes-
ley the dominion of holy song, became a
Christian at 8 years of age; and if in any
large religious assemblage it were asked that
all the men and women who learned to love
Christ before they were Is years of age
would please lift their right hand, there
would be enough hands lifted to a q
col onation. What is true in a religious
sense. Themistocles amazed his school-fel-
the world stare. Isaac Newton, the boy, by
driving pegs in the side of the house to mark
the decline of the sun, evidenced a DISPOSE.
ton toward the experiments which after
ward showed the nations how the worlds
swing. Robert Stephenson, the boy, with
his kite on the commons experimental with
electric currents and prophesied work which
| clOulu NcU "uho Hill LII UdI. ucU OuU "
my way!" said a rough man to q boy, "get
out of my way! what are you good for, any.
way??" The boy answered: "They make
men out of such things as we are" Hear it,
fathers, mothers! hear it. philanthropists
and patriots; hear it, oil the youngl
The temporal and eternal destiny of the
most OF the inhabitants of this earth is de
Nazareth Christ, the village Christ, thu
country Christ. the how Christ.
But, having seen Christ the boy of tn
fields and the boy in the mechanics shop,
showyou q more marvellous scene, Christ tn
smooth browed lad among the long-bearded
w~hite-haired. high-ioreheaded ecclesiastic
Of tho temple. A child - years old SUI
rounded septuagenarians, he asking his ow1
questions and answering theirs. Let me in
troduce you to some of these ecclesiastics
! This is the great Rabbi Simeon! This j
the venerable Hillel! This is the fam on
shammai! These are the SON of the distin
guished Betirah. What can this 12-year-ol'
lad teach them or what questions can he asl
worthy their c%ogitation? Alb, the. first tim
in all their lives these religionists lave foun'
their match and more than their match
Though so young he knew all about tina
famous temple under whose roof they he'll
that most wonderful discussion of oil his
tory. He knew the meaning of every altar
of every sacrifice, of every golden candle
stick, of every embroidered curtain, of ever,
crumb OF shew bread. of every drop of oil il
that sacred ediice. He knew all about God
He knew all about man. He knew all abou
heaven, for he came from it. He knew al
about this world, for he made it. He kne,
all worlds, for they were only the sparkling
morning dew drops on the lawn in front Q
his heavenly palace. Put these seven bibl
words in a wreath of emphasis: "Both hear
ing them and asking them questions"
I am not so much interested in the ques
tions they asked him as in the questions h
asked them. He asked the questions not t.
get information from the doctors, for h
knew it. already, but to humble them b.
showing them the height and depth an
While the radiant boy thrusts these sell
conceited philosophers with the interroga
ton point, they put the forefnger Of tn
right hand to the temple as though to star
their thoughts into more vigor, and thel
they would look upward and then the!
would wrinkle their brows and then by alb
solute silence or in positive words confess
tory. With any one of 100 questions abou
theology, about philosophy, about astron
omy, about time, about eternity, he ma.
have baked them, disconnected them
flung them fat. Behold the boy Chris
asking questions and listen when you
child asks questions. He has the right to as
them. The more he asks the better. Ala
for the stupidity of the child without ir
auisitiveness! It is Christlike to ask ques
tions. Answer them If you can. Do notsay
81 can't be bothered now 1t is your plae
to be bothered with questions. If you al
j not able to answer, surrender and comics
your incapacity, as l believe no doubt di
Rabbi Simeon and Hillel and Shammai an
the sons of Betirah when that splendid DO.
sitting or standing there with a Carmen
reaching from neck to ankle, and girdled {
the waist, put them to their very witt EN-
~ rha = ,e a uds, doctors 1 WHO env;r IRON" A cIr,'
that day in the temple did not know or the