Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1890-11-28

the Lord God and the Lamb are the light
thereof"
Cheer up, Christian father and mother.
Cheer up! Where Joseph and Mary found
their boy you viii find yours-in the temple.
You see, God could not afford to do other
wise. One of the things He has positively
promised in the Bible is that He will answer
earnest and believing prayer. Failing 10 do
that He would wreck His own throne, and
the foundation Of His palace would give
way, and the bank of heaTen would suspend
payment, and the dark word, ''repudiatlon,"
would be written across the sky, and the
eternal government would be disbanded and
God Himself would become an exile. Keep
on with your prayer, and you Will yet find
your child in the temple, either the temple
here or the temple above.
Out on the western prairies was q happy
but isolated home. Father, mother and
child. By the sale Of cattle quite large
sum of money was one night in that cabin.
and the father was away. A robber who had
heard of the money one night looked in at
the window, and the wife and mother of
that home saw him and she was helpless.
Her child by ner side, she knelt down and
prayed among other things for all prodigals
who were wandering up and down the world.
The robber heard her prayer and was over
whelmed and entered the cabin and knelt
beside her and began to pray. He had come
to rob that house, but the prayer of that
woman for prodigals reminded him of his
mother and her prayers before he became
vagabond and from that hour he began new
life. Years after that woman in city
in great audience, and the orator who came
on the platform and plead gloriously for
Righteousness and God was the man who
many years before had looked into the cabin
on the prairie as robber. The speaker and
the auditor Immediately recognized each
other. After so long time q mothers
prayers answered.
But we must hurry on, for the muleteers
and baggage men have been ordered to pitch
our tents for tonight at Bethel. 1t is already
getting so dark that we have to give up all
idea of guiding the horses, and leave them to
their own sagacity. We ride down amid
mud cabins and into ravines, where the
horses leap from depth to depth rocks below
rocks. rocks under rocks. Whoa! Whoa!
we dlsmount in this place, memorable for
many things in Bible history, the two more
promInenta theological seminary, where of old
they made ministers, and for Jacobs dream
The students of this Bethel TheologicalS emil
nary were called ''sons of the prophets"
Here the young men were fitted for the
and those of us who ever had the
advantage of such institutions will everlast-
1ngiy be grateful and in the calendar of
saints, which 1 read with especial affection.
are the doctors of divinity who blessed he
with their care
/ thank God that from these theological
seminaries there is now coming forth mag
n1ficent crop of young ministers, who are
taking the pulpits in all parts of the land.
hail their coming, and tell these young
brothers to shake off the somnolence of cen
turtles, and get out from under the dusty
shelves of theological discussions which have
no practical bearing On this age which needs
to get rid of its sins and have its sorrows
Many of our pulpits are dying
Of humdrum. People do not 90 to church
because they cannot endure the technicalities
and profound explanations of nothing and
sermons about the eternal generation of
the son." and the difference between sub
lapsarianism and supra-lapsarianism, and
about who Melchisedec wasn't There ought
to be as much difference between the modes
Of presenting truth nov and in olden time
as between lightning express rail train and
q canal boat
Years ago went up to the door of a fac
tory in New England. On the outside door
saw the words, mo abundance" I went
in and came to another door over which were
the words mo admittance." OF course I
went in, and came to the third door inscribed
with the words, mo admittance" Having
entered this found the people inside making
pins, beautiful pins useful pins and nothing
but pins So over the outside door of many
Of the churches has been practically written
the words, 'sNo admittance." Some have
entered and have come to the inside door and
found the words, ''No admittance." But,
oersisting, they have come inside and found
Us sounding out our little nicetie5 of belief
pointing OuC our 1lUUI0 uIlIeF0uCOS Ol IAoOIOSi-
cal misunderstanding pins!
But most distinguished was Bethel for that
famous dream which Jacob had, his head on
q collection Of stones. He had no trouble in
this rocky region in finding a rocky pillow.
There is hardly anything else but stone. Yet
the people of those lands have way of draw
ing their outer garment up over their head
and face, and such pillow [ suppose Jacob
had under his head. The plural was used in
the Bible story, and you find it was not
pillow of stone, but of stones, I suppose so
that If one proved to be Of uneven surface he
would turn over in the night and take an
other stone, for with such a hard bolster he
would often change In the night. Well, that
night God built in Jacobs dream long,
splendid ladder, the feet of it on either side
of the tired pilgrims pillow, and the top of
it mortised in the sky. And bright immor-
tails came out from the castles Of amber and
gold and put their shining feet on the shining
rungs Of the ladder, and they kept coming
down and going up, procession both ways.
l suppose they had wings, for the Bible
almost always reports them as having
wings, but this was a ladder Oh which they
used hands and feet to encourage all those
of US who have no wings to climb, and en-
couraging US to believe that if we will use
what we have God will provide way. and
if we will employ the hand and foot He will
furnish the ladder. Young man, do not
wait for wings. Those angels folded theirs
to show you wings are not necessary. Let
all the people who have hard pillows-hard
for sickness, or hard for poverty, or hard for
persistence-know that hard pillow Is the
landing place for angels. They seldom
descend to pillows of eiderdown. They
seldom build dreams in the brain of the one
who sleeps easy.
The greatest dream of all time was that of
st. John. with his head on the rocks of Pat
in hat vic ho hQerH