The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1897-02-05

VI +HA eSE<S1A-AatsEl85H tHoI " dA " ldhe
<SSOesAA A%/HlD from it the bitter
REV. TALNAGE. ness. He was the
son of poor shepherd. and suffered;
but before the stammering rustic the
Philistines. and Syrians, and Phoenic-
ians. and Moabites. and AmmOnites.
and EdOmites. and Israelites trembled.
Moses was law-giver, Daniel was a
prince. Isaiah courtier. and David a
king: but Amos. the author of my text.
was a peasant. and. as might be sup
posed, nearly all his parallelisms are
pastoral. his prophecy full of the odor
of new-mown hay. and the rattle of
locusts. and the rumble of carts with
sheaveS. and the roar of wild beasts
devOuring the flock while the shepherd
came out in their defense. He
watched the herds by day. and
by night inhabited a booth made out
of bushes. so that through these
branches he could see the stars all
night long. and was more familiar
with them than we who have light
roofs to our houses. and hardly ever
see the stars except among the tall
brick chimneys of the great towns.
But at seasons of the year when the
herds were in special danger. he would
stay out in the open field all through
the darkness. his only shelter the cur
tain of the night-heaven. with the stel-
lar embroideries and silvered tassels of
lunar light.
What life of solitude, all alone with
his herds, Poor Amos, And at II o'clock
at night. bark to the VOLTS bark, and
the lions roar. and the bears growl,
and the owls te-whit-te-who. and the
serpent's hiss. as he unwittingly steps
too near while moving through the
thickets! So Amos. like other herds
men. got the habit of studying the map
of the Heavens. because it was so much
of the time spread out before him. He
noticed some stars advancing and
their dawn and setting with
certain seasons of the year He
had a poetic nature. and he read
night by night, and month by month.
and year by year. the poem of the con-
stellations. divinely rhythmic. But
two roSettes of stars especially attract
ed his attention while seated on the
ground. or lying on his back under the
open scroll of the midnight Heaven
the Pleiades, or Seven Stars. and Orion.
The former group this rustic prophet
associated with the spring. as it rises
about the 1st of MAY. The latter he
associated with the winter. as it comes
to the meridian in January. The
Pleiades. or Seven Stars. connected
with all sweetness and Joy; Orion. the
herald of the tempest. The ancients
were the more apt to study the physi-
ognOmy and juxtapOsition of the Heav-
emily bodies, because they thought they
had a special influence upon the earth;
and perhaps they were right. If the
moon. every few hours, lifts and let's
down the tides of the Atlantic ocean.
and the electric storms in the sun, by
all scientific admission, affected the
tionate effect?
And there are some things which
make me think that it may not have
been all superstition which connected
the movements and appearances of the
Heavenly bodies with great moral
events on earth. Did not a meteor run
on evangelistic errand on the first
Christmas night, and designate the
rough cradle of our Lord? Did not the
stars in their courses fight against
Sisera? Was it merely coincidental
that before the destruction of Jerusa-
lem the moon was hidden for twelve
nights? Did it merely hap
pen so that a new star appeared in con-
stellation Cassiopeia, and then disap- |
peared Just before Charles X. of
France. who was responsible for st. !
massacre. died? Was it |
without significance that in the days |
Of the Roman emperor Justinian war /
and famine were preceded by the dim !
ness of the sun. which for nearly /
year gave no more light than the moon, |
although there were no clouds to OBJ |
,cure It?
AstroIogy. after all. may have been /
more than a brilliant hea- /
-henism. No wonder that Amos Of the |
text. having heard these two anthems /
IF the stars. put down the stout. rough
staff OF the herdsman and took into his
brown hand and cut and knOtted /
fingers the pen of a prophet. and ad-
Used the recreant people of his time to
'eturn to God. saying: Seek Him
hat maketh the Seven Stars and
Orion This command which Amos
rave 7S5 years B. c.. is just as appro-
,riate for US 1897 \. D.
In the first place, Amos saw, as we
must see. that the God who made the
'Ieiades and Orion must be the God of
rider. It was not so much star here
md star there that impressed the in
pired herdsman, but seven in one
-roup. and seven in the other group.
lie saw that night after night, and
eason after season, and decade after
Iecade, they had kept step of light,
ach one in its own place sisterhoOd
lever elashing and never eontest:ng