Connecticut western news., 1898-05-12


 fort, at wells of joy, at wells of religion and at wells of literature there are out rages practiced. the wrong herds get ting the first water. Those who have the previous right come in last if they como in at all. Thank God we have hero and there strong man to set things rightl am so glad that when God has an especial work to do he has some one ready to accomplish it. Is there 0 Bible to translate, there is a Wyclif to translate it; if there is a literature to be energized, there is a Shakespeare to energize it; if there is an error to smite, there is a Luther to smite 1t; if there is to be O nation freed, there is a Moses to free it. But courage is needed i'll religion, in literature, in statesmanship, in all spheres; heroics to defend Jethros seven daughters and their tiocks and put to flight the insolent invaders. And those who do the brave work will win somewhere high reward. The loudest cheer of heaven is to be given ito him that overcometh.
 How God Calls.
 Still further, see in this call of Moses that if God has any especial work for you to do he will find you. There was Egypt and Arabia and Palestine with their crowded population, but the man the Lord wanted was at the southern point of the triangle of Arabia, and he picks him right out, the shepherd who kept the flock of Jethro, his fatherin- law, the priest and sheik. So God will not find it hard to take you out from the ,600, 900, 900 of the human race if he wants you for anything especial. There was only just one man qualified. Other men had courage like Moses; oth- CT men had some of the talents of Moses; other men had romance in their history, as had Moses; other men were impetuous .;ke Moses, but no other man had these different qualities in the exact proportion as had Moses, and God, who makes no mistake, found the right man for the right place. Do not fear you will be overlooked or that when you are wanted God cannot find you. He knows your name, your features, sour temperament and your characteristics, and in what land, or city. or ward, or neighborhood, or house you live. He will not have to send out scouts or ex- plorers to find your residence or place of stopping, and when he wants you he will make it as plain that he means you as he made it plain that he needed Moses. He called his name twice, as afterward when he called the great apostle of the gentiles he called twice, saying, "Saul, Saul," and when he called the troubled housekeeper he call ed her twice, saying, Martha, Mar tha," and when he called the prophet to his mission he called him twice, say ing, Samuel, Samuel" and now when he wants deliverer be calls twice, say ing, "Moses, Moses. '' Yes, if God has anything for us to do he will call IFS twice by name. At the first announce- ment of our name we may think 1t pos sible that we misunderstood the sound. but after he calls us twice by nanIe we know he means us as certainly as when he twice spoke the names of Saul or Martha or SsRuel or Moses.
 You see, religion is tremendou1 personality. We all have the general call of salvation. We hear it in songs, in sermons, in prayers; we hear it year after year. But after awhile, through our own sudden and alarming illness or the death of a playmate or a school mate or college mate or the decease of business partner or the demise of a next door neighbor, we get the especial call to repentance and a new life and eternal happiness. and we know that God means us. You have noticed tho way in which God calls us twice? Two failures of investments; two sioknesses; two prosecutions; two bereavements; two disappointments; two disasters. Moses, Mosesl
 Still further, notice that the call of Moses was written in letters of fire. On the Sinaitic peninsula there is thorn bush called the acacia, dry and brittle, and 1t easily goes down at the touch of the flame. It crackles and turns to ashes very quickly. Moses, seeing ono of these bushes on fire, goes to look at it. At first, no doubt, it seemed to be a botan- ical curiosity, burning, yet crumpling no leaf, parting no stem, scattering no ashes. It was a supernatural fire that did no damage to the vegetation. That burning bush was the call.
 Your call will probably come in let ters of fire. Ministers get their call to preach in letters on paper or parchment or typewriter, but it does not amount to much until they get their next call in letters of fire. You will not amount to much in usefulness until somewhere near you find burning bush. It may be found burning in the hectic flush of your child's cheek; it may be found burning in business misfortune; it may be found burning in the fire of the worlds scorn or hate or nlisrepresenta- tion. But harken to the crackle of the burning bushl
 Oh, what fascinating and inspiring character this Moses How tame all oth- CT stories compared with the biography of Moses From the lattice of her bath ing house on the Nile Thermutis, daugh. ter of Pharaoh, sees him in the floating cradle of papyrus leaves made water tight by bitumen; his infantile cry is heard among the marble palaces and prinoesses hush him with their lulla- bies: workmen by the roadside drop bu6lE WOEh lO lOOh Ou ulIl WuCu Us q boy he passed, so beautiful was he; two bowls put before his infant eyes for choice to demonstrate his wisdom, the one bowl containing rubies and the oth- CT containing coals of fire. Sufficiently wise was he to take the gems, but di- vinely directed he took the coals and put them to his mouth, and his tongue was burned, and he was left a stammer- CT all his days, so that he declared in Exodus iv, 10, liam slow of speech and of slow tongue;" on and on until he set firm foot among the crumbling basalt, and his ear was not deafened by the thunderous "Thou shalt not'' of Mount Sinai, the man who went to the relief of the lsraelites who were scourged be- cause without chopped straw they were required to make firm bricks, the story of their oppression found chiseled on the tomb of Rosohere at Thebes, and when his armies were impeded by vpnomouS Sprpeuta saDt cratac of ibicac