The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-05-13

N "NN'F ~
city, or ward, or neighborhood, or
house you live. He will not have to
send out scouts OF explorers 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 hat he needed Moses.
He called his name twice, as afterward
when He called the great apostle Of the
gentiieS He called twice, saying, Saul.
Saul" and when He called the troub-
led housekeeper He called her twice.
saying. Martha. Martha" n when
He called the prophet TO his mission
He called him twice, saying, Samuel,
Samuel" and now when He wants a
delieverer He calls twice, saying, Mo
ses, Moses" Yes, if God has anything
for us to do He will call US twice by
name. At the first announcement of
our name we may think it possible that
we misunderstood the sound, but after
He calls US twice by name we know
He means us as certainly as when He
twice spoke the names of Saul or Mar
tina or Samuel or Moses.
You see, religion is a tremendous
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
AZ "a "a >ohA,SS iiAt VI INV NNtGt@7t
of a business partner or the demise of q
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 the
way in which God calls US twice? Two
failures of investments; two sickness
ses; two prosecutions; two bereave-
ments; two disappointments; two dis
asters. Moses, Moses!
Still further, notice that the call of
Moses was written in letters of fire. On
the Sinaitic peninsula there is a thorn
bush called the acacia, dry and brittle,
and it easily goes down at the touch of
the flame. 1t crackles and turns to
ashes very quickly. Moses, seeing one
Of these bushes on fire, goes to look at
it. At first, no doubt, it seemed to be
a botanical curiosity, burning, yet
crumpling no leaf, parting no stem,
scattering no ashes. 1t was a supernat-
ural fire that did no damage to the
vegetation. Tha 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 parch-
ment or typewriter, but it does not
amount to much until they get their
next call in letters Of fire. You will
not mount to much in usefulness un-
til SOmeWher near you find a burning
bush. 1t may be found burning in the
hectic flush of your child's cheek; it
may be found burning in business mis-
fortune; it may be found burning in
the fire of the worlds scorn or late
or Misrepresentation. But harken to
the crackle of the burning bush,
Oh, what a Fascinating and inspiring
character of Moses. How tame all
other stories compared with the biog-
raphy Of Moses! From the lattice of
her bathing house on the Nile Their
NUTS, daughter Of Pharaoh, sees him
in the floating cradle Of papyrus leaves
made water tight by bitumen; his in
fantile cry is heard among the marble
palaces n ~princeses hush him with
their %lulabies; workmen by the Dad
side drop their work to look on him
when as a boy he passed, so beautiful
was he; two bowls put before his in
FAINT eye for choice to demonstrate
| his wisdom, the one bowl containing
rubies and the other containing Goals
Of fire. Sufficiently wise was he to take
the gems, but dfvinely directed he took
the Goals and put them to his mouth,
and his tongu" was burned, and he was
left a stammer all his days, so that he
declared in Exodus iv, 10. 7 am 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 ,hunderous Thou
shal not" OF Nouns Sinai, the man
who went to the relief of the lsraelites
who were scouraged because without
chopped straw they were required TO
make firm bricks, the story OF their OPP
preston found chiseled on the ON Of
Roscherc at Thebes. and when his
armies were impeded by venoxnous ser
pent, sent crates of ibises. the snake
destroying birds, 70 clear the way 80
that his host could march straight
ahead, thus surprising the enemy, who
thought they must take another route
to avoid the reptiles; the whole sky
an aquarium TO drop quails for hin
and hosts following: the only man in
all ages whom Christ nkens TO him
self: the man of whom II Is written.
Jehovah spoke unto Moses face 70
face as a man speaketh 10 his friend
the nan who had the most wondorous
funeral Of all time the Lord coming
down out Of heaven 10 bury him. No
human lips to read She service. Ne
choir TO chant a psalm. No organ tC
rod a requiem. No angel aaighted upon
the scene. Out God laying him out To-