The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1895-03-02

in Israel's history; and the thought
comes to him, II, too, will ask for a
sign" So he bows his head in prayer,
and petitions that miracle may be
wrought for his benefit. He waits
and listens; but there is no answer
in thunder from the skies; no voice
from the serene heavens; no fiery
letters across the sky. He waits in
vain. At last lifting up his head he
looks down and beholds violet at
his f, ct. That is the sign of Gods
presence.
Whittier has sung:
I'VE ne but open eye and ear
To find the Orient's marvels here;
The still, small voice in autumn's hush,
Yon maple wood, the burning bush
| Forever old. forever new,
These home-seen splendors are the same
| Which over Eden's sunsets came
'Henceforth my heart shall sigh no more
For oden time and holer shore;
Co.'s love and blessing then and there
Are here and now and everywhere"
2. We find him IN the common life
Of today rather than IN the ectraoa'-
binary epochs of the past. Every age
looks poor and mean to those who
live in it, and the ages that went be-
fore look so sublime. But If we had
lived then, doubt whether things
and men would have looked so great.
We admire Elijah today; but if we
had seen him as he was with his great
flowing locks and shaggy mantle, and
if we could have heard his harsh re-
buke, we should probably have want
ed to get out Of his way, and deemed
him dangerous lunatic. We preach
about Paul and his glorious work to-
day; but If we had lived in Jerusa-
lem or Corinth, | doubt whether we
should have seen the grand character
in Paul, who has done SO much to
make Christian history. OF diminu
tive person, and with some chronic
weakness, as he himself tells US
making tents of camel's hair to SUP
port himself while he breaches the
sermons whose fragments even move
us today,-there was little in Paul
that would have attracted us person
ally; little promise of his age-long in
fluence. And of Jesus himself, those
who knew him best, only said, els not
this the carpenter?" No; we must
learn to zee God in our common life.
discern his movements in the passing
events. "Ceasing all vain travels" it
has been said, "and remaining with
his foot upon this weary earth, let one
subside into his own modern lore;
let the touch of sorrow or the tears
of conscience, or the tolls of duty,
open the hidden places of his affec-
tions, and the distance, infinite be-
fore, wholly disappears; and he finds
like the patriarch, that though the
stone is his pillow and the earth his
bed, he is yet in the very house of
God, and at the gate of heaven"
3. We must find him IN the COM
mon aoork of today rather than IN the
acork that is called great and honor
oroble. There is one way to ennoble
all work; that is, to put the thought
of God into it. ''It's hard piece of
work you have to do today" said one
of the young ladies of the household
kindly as she passed the Scotch
housemaid scrubbing the hard wood
floor of the hall. "Dinna fashl Well
get it done. We're workin' together,
Him and mel"
Who drives the horses of the sun
Shall lord 1t but day;
Better the lowly deed were DONE
And kept the humble way,
The rust will find the sword of fame;
The dust will hide the crown;
Ay, none shall nail so high his name
Time will not tear 1t down.
The happiest heart that ever beat
Was In some quiet breast
That found the common daylight sweet
And left to Heaven the rest,
So we find God always rather in the
commonplace than in the exceptional.
The wonder is not that one star trem-
bled conspicuously on the horizon
eighteen hundred years ago, but that
the countless hosts of heaven have
gone shining on in their appointed
places for ages unnumbered. The
marvel is not to be found in one life
miraculously introduced into this
planet at Bethlehem; for every birth
is marvel enough to awaken thoughts
that do often lie too deep for tears"
The wonder is not that there was one
Holy Family at Nazareth; but that
throughout the world and in all ages
there have been so many families
where love dwelt and honor reigned;
and these have all been holy families
as much as the household of Joseph
and Mary. The miracle is not in the