Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-01-24

they caught the glimpse OF one WIN eN',s
| cd before the mountains were prousn 4.
| forth. or even the earth and the wo''.
| had been formed. who from eVe,'"sN"s
| TO everlasting is God. Through MI
rations He had been their dwelihs-p.aeo.
| their guide and tower OF defence. Aoove
| the camp beyond the tread OF 'nei,
| man sentries. they saw Him stand, Keep
| ing HIS sentinel watch amid the stars,
| their real leader and captain, whose pn",'
| ran through time, whose eye saw ,he e'.a
| from the beginning. around wnom aseo
marched I'm steady tread. and 10 "non'
| centuries were az shadows. For thou-
sand years In Thy sight is but as yes'es-
| day when Il IS past. and as watch ~
| tho night" When they looked pach ~
the light OF that eternal campfire 80
saw the meaning of their long marches
and hard battles in the wilderness; they
vera not I'm vain: Il was Gods discipline
in It's infancy rocking the nation III the
cradle OF war. fitting them to oe RAJ.
of warriors. that the fear OF them nlsnl
| fall on all nations. On the broad theauS
/ of time and in the great drama OF ms
tory, they were TO perform wonuellui
| part exert a dominant influence. s'aii'p
and mould all coming ages, decide the
destinies OF this world.
| FITTING THEM FOR THEIR DESTINY
He had given them the fairest portion
of the earth az n national inheritance,
they were 10 conquer it, TO hold II against
all foes hence, He was fitting them loi
their great destiny. The years In the
wilderness were not spent as tale that
Is told, idle words wasted, forgotten in
the night; they were garnering lessons
OF priceless wisdom. While they were
marching over the hot sands OF the desert
their footsteps were echoing through me
ages: they were taking their first steps
TO final and glorious triumph. AS they
looked up to Him. who standeth amid
the stars, this was the light that In HIS
light they saw; the wandering that SEEM
ed so aimless had accomplished great
purpose; the nation had not been sta
tionary or retrograding but steadily ad-
wancng on the way; Egypt ever further
off: the Land of Promise ever higher;
even now IT was Just beyond the rim Of
blue encircling hills; when tho curtain
Of night rolled up they would see 1t
stretching before them, flowing with milk
and honey.
Not only so: as they looked up they
saw even sweeter vision. Around that
eternal camp of the skies. basking In
its light. and clothed in the beauty Of
the Lord, they saw the comrades that
they thought were as asleep, cut down
and withered rs grass. Their warfare
| ended. they were forever at rest, be-
yond the shock Of battle, or the turmoil
OF conflict. So they learned that those
who persisted in fighting the battle or
| the Lord had not died In vain. Not only
had they attained Immortality; their
martyr-deaths had woven crown or
glory around Israel's brow; their eX-
ample was a legacy to the nation. an IN
| spiratlon to all ages. True, they had
turned to dust, but in turning them to
dust God was only calling them to Him.
self; through the apparent waste of their
lives and the dust of the grave they were
entering the portals of Immortality;
"Thou turnest them to destruction, and
sayest, Return. We, children OF men,"
It was not then. a wasted sacrifice.
Every grave was a milestone that marked
onward progress a stepping-stone. by
which the nation advanced to higher
things SO they caught the light that
came from Heaven and mingled with the
| light of the earthly campfire 1t was
well they held their watch, although at
| first so sad. The wall Of despair breaks
into song OF triumph; the tale that
was told goes back through the darkness
| till 1t finds God. Lord, thou hast been
our dwolling-place in all generations. !"
Let Thy work appear unto Thy SER
wants. and Thy glory unto their children.
! And let the beauty of the Lord, our God,
| be upon us; and establish Thou the work
Of our hands upon us-yea, the work OF
our hands establish Thou It," Is IT not
well for us 10 listen 10 the tale that was
| told by that campfire?
A BRIGHTER RETROSPECT.
May we not derive light and comfort
from it? When we look back at the
great conflict from the human stand
point, It seems a mystery Of Providence;
| but when we rise up to the divine stand
point, look back by faith. the shadows
begin to lift; beyond the planning OF
human minds, the marching OF human
feet, and the working Of human hands,
we see the footsteps OF God, the wave
and beck OF His invisible hand, gather
ing up the tangled. broken threads,
weaving them into symmetry. The war
was not an accident; it was not mis-
take Of craftsmanship; 1t was the pur-
pose of Him who reigns I'm nations. and
who never errs who guides His people,
albeit through the dreary desert and
the rocky wilderness, amid yawning
seas, and quak!ns mountains. BY the
| discipline of war He was preparing US
for a great destiny IN the future; ce-
| menting the nation into indissoluble
unity; linking the different tribes OF
| Israel into one host. with the tabernacle
/ of the Lord in the midst Of the camp, as
| the centre and rallying-point. Out OF
/ the war the nation has emerged strong
/ er. purer, nobler, and more united than
ever before. AS result Of the great
struggle, the valor, the military genius.
the martial spirit, and endurance dis
| - Ian raH
a reputation that won for it the respect
and admiration Of mankind.
1t was demonstrated that in the bosom
! of this peaceful and transformations re-
public there lurked a military force,
which, when aroused and united. could
l. bid defiance TO the world. This was
much, but not all: AS we look upward,
we see the dead who died in the Lord
were not lost; their lives not wasted. To
| the eye of sense, the Christian seems in
dying to be turned to destruction and
going into dust but in reality he is going
into Immortality, and returning 70 the
! bosom of God. Our righteous dead. then,
are not as asleep; their great hopes are
not as withered grass; they have been
gathered out of the shock and din OF
( battle to the quiet and the peace of
| Heaven. As we recall the vanished
/ faces tonight. as we hear again the IA
mlliar voices. we may surely antici-
pate a reunion around the eternal camp
fire there, if, like them, We die in the
Lord. And even another ray Of comfort
comes: The years of wandering IN the
wilderness were not stationary; the ma
ton was striding forward. coming nearer
to its great future. Already we arc
about to step across its threshold. As
Moses, with his undimmed eye, on Pts.
gah's height, surveyed the Land OF