Milford chronicle., 1889-06-21

in the wilderness. May God have mercy
upon woman in her tolls, her struggles, her
hardships, her desolation, and may tho great
heart Of Divine sympathy inclose her for
ever.
THE TREMENDOUS INFLUENCE or MOTHERS.
Again: | find in this Oriental scene the
fact that every mother leads forth tremen-
dous destinies. You say. THAT isn't an I'M
usual scene, a mother leading her child by
the handn Who is it that she is leadingi
Ishmael, you say Who is lshmaeli A great
nation is to be founded, a nation SO strong
that it is to stand for thousands of years
against all the armies Of the world. Egypt
and Assyria thunder against it, but in vain.
Gaulus brings up his army, and his army is
smtten. Alexander decides upon cam
paign, brings up his hosts and dies. For
long while that nation monopolizes the learn
ing Of the world 1t is the nation Of the
Arabs Who founded til Ishmael, the lad
that Hagar led into the wilderness. She had
no idea she was leading forth such destinies.
Neither does any mother You pass along the
street, and see pass boys and girls who viii yet
make the earth quake with their influence.
Who is that boy at Sutton Pool, Plymouth,
England, barefooted, wading down into the
slush and slime until his bare foot comes
upon piece Of glass, and he lifts it, bleeding
and pain struck That wound in the foot de-
cides that he be sedentary in his life, decides
that he be a student That wound by the
glass in the foot decides that he shall be John
Kitto, who shall provide the best religious en-
cyclopedia the world has ever had provided,
and, with his other writings as well, throw
ing a light upon the Word Of God such as has
come from no other man in this century. o
mother, mother, that little hand that wan
ders over your face may yet be lifted to hurl
thunderbolts of war or drop benedictions
That little voice may blaspheme God in the
grog shop or cry "Forwardw to the Lords
hosts, as they 90 out for their last victory.
My mind today leaps thirty years ahead,
and see a merchant prince of New York. One
stroke Of his pen brings ship out Of Canton.
Another stroke Of his pen brings a ship into
Madras. He is mighty in all the money
markets Of the world. Who is hel He sits
today beside you in the Tabernacle My mind
leaps thirty years forward from this time,
and find myself in a relief association A
great multitude Of Christian women have met
together for a generous purpose. There is one
woman in that crowd who seems to have the
confidence Of all the others, and they all look
up to her for her counsel ard for her prayers
Sabbath school, while the teacher tells her Of
that Christ who clothed the naked, and fed
the hungry, and healed the sick. My mind
leaps forward thirty years from now, and
! find myself in an African jungle;
and there is missionary Of the
cross addressing the natives, and their
dusl1y countenances are irradiated with the
glad tidngs of great joy and salvation.
Who is hel Did you not hear his voice to-
day in the first songs Of the servicel My
mind leaps forward thirty years from now,
and | find myself looking through the wickets
of a prison. l see a face SCARED with every
crime. His chin on his open palm, his elbow
on his knee-a picture Of despair As l open
the wicket he starts, and | hear his chain
clank The Jail keeper tells me that he has
been in there now three times. First for
theft, then for arson, now for murder. He
steps upon the trap door, the rope is fastened
to his neck, the plank falls, his body swings
into the air. his soul swings off into eternity.
Who is he, and where is hel Today playing
kite on the city commons. Mother, you are
today hosting a throne or forging a chain
you are kindling star or digging dungeon
GREAT GROWTH OF SMALL BEGINNINGS
A good many years ago q Christian mother
sat teaching lessons of relig zion to her child;
and he drank in those lessons She never
knew that Lamphier would come forth and
establish the Fulton street prayer meeting,
and by one meeting revolutionize the devo-
tions of the whole earth, and thrill the eter-
mites with his Christian influence. Lamphier
said it was his mother who brought him to
Jesus Christ. She never had an idea that sho
was leading forth such destinies. But o,
e
rattling,, on toward destruction, garlanded
for the sacrifice with unseemly mirth and
godlessness, gayly tripping on down to ruin,
taking her children in the same direction, !
cannot help but say; "There they go-there
they go; Hagar and IshmaelT l tell you
there are wilder deserts than Beer-sheba in
many of the domestic circles of this day.
Dissipated parents leading dissipated chill
dren. Avaricious parents leading avariciOus
children Prayerless parents leading prayer
less children They go through every street,
up every dark alley, into every cellar, along
every highway. Hasar and Ishmaell Aud
while pronounce their names it seems like
the moaning of the death wind; Hagar and
Ishmaell
learn one more lesson from this Oriental
scene, and that is, that every wilderness has
a well in it. Hagar and Ishmael gave up to
die Hagars heart sank within her as she
heard her child crying, "Wateri Water
Water" "Ah" she says, my darling,
there is no water This is a desertn And
then Gods angel said from the cloud; "What
aileth thee, Hagarl" And she looked up and
saw him pointing to well of water, where
she filed the bottle for the lad. Blessed be
God that there is in every wilderness a well,
if you only know how to find it-fountains
for all these thirsty souls today. ION that
last day, on that great day Of the feast, Jesus
stood and cried: If any man thirst, let him
come to Ihe and drink" All these other
fountains you find are mere mirages Of the
desert. Paracelsus, you know, spent his
time in trying to find out the elixir OF
life-a liquid which, if taken, would keep
one perpetually young in this world, and
would change the aged back again to youth.
OF course he was disappointed; he found not
the elixir. But here / tell you today Of the
elixir of everlasting life bursting from the
Crock of Ages" and that drinking that
water you shall never get old, and you will
never be sick, and you will never die. "Ho,
every one that thirsteth, come ye to the
watersl" All, here is a man who says; Il
have been looking for that fountain a great
while, but can't find it." And here is some
one else who says; Il believe all you say, but
have been trudging along in the wilderness,
and can't find the Fountain Do you know
the reasonl viii tell you. You never
looked in the right direction co." you say,
81 have looked everywhere. l have looked
NORTH, south, east and west, and haven't found
the fountain" Why, you are not looking in
the right direction at all. Look up, where
Hagar looked. She never would have found
the fountain at all, but when she heard the
voice of the angel she looked up, and she saw
the finger pointing to the supply. And, 0
soul, if today, with one earnest, intense
prayer you would only look up to Christ, be
would point you down to the supply in the
wilderness. "Look unto me all ye ends Of
the earth, and be ye saved; for / am God,
and there is none else" Lookl lookI as Ha-
gar looked
EVERY DESERT HAS ITS WE'LL.
Yes, there is a well for every desert of be
Looking over the audience to-
day Aotice signs Of mourning. Have you