Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1899-03-06


whole pack of epidemics surround the
cradle and threaten its occupant. and
infant Moses in the ark of bulGashes
was not more imperiled by the moAsters
of the Nile than every cradle is imperil-
ed by ailments all devouring In after
years there are foes within and foes
without. Evil appetite joined by out
side allurements. Temptations that
have utterly destroyed more people than
now inhabit the earth Gambling sa-
looms and rummeries and places where
dissoluteness reigns supreme, enough
in number to go round and round and
round the earth. Discouragements, jeal-
ousies, revenges, malevolences, disap-
pointments swindles, arsons, conhagra-
tions and cruelties, which make contin
ued existence Of the human race won
derment. Was any valuable bundle
ever so imperiled as this bndle of life
Oh, look at the address and get that
bundle going in the right way ''Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart and soul and mind and
strength. Heaven with its 10 gates
standing wide open with invitation.
All the forces of the Godhead pledged
for our heavenly arrival if we will do
the right thing All angeldom ready
for our advance and guidance All the
hghtnings of heaven so many drawn
swords for our protection. What a pity,
what an everlasting pity, if this bundle
of life, so well bound and SO plainly di-
rected, does not come out at the right
station, but becomes lost bundle, cast
out amid the rubbish Of the universe
Two Treasures.
Know also that a bundle may have
in it more than one invaluable. There
may be in it a photograph Of loved
one and jewel for carca1et. It may
contain an embroidered robe and Dore's
illustrated Bible. A bundle may have
two treasures. Abigail in my text rec
ognized this when she said to David,
''The soul of my lord is bound in the
bundle Of life with the Lord thy God. .
And Abigail was right We may be
bound up with a loving and sympa-
thetic God We may be as near to him
as ever were emerald and ruby united
in one ring, as ever were two deeds in
one package, as ever were two vases on
the same shelf, as ever were two valu
ables in the same bundle Together in
time of sorrow. Together in time of
joy. Together on earth. Together in
heaven. Close companionship of God.
Hear him, 81 will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee ssFor the mountains
shall depart and the hills be removed,
but my kindness shall not depart from
thee, neither shall the covenant of my
peace be removed, saith the Lord that
hath mercy on thee. And when those
Bible authors compared Gods friend
ship to the mountains for height and
firmness they knew what they were
writing about, for they well knew what
mountains are. All these lands are
mountainous. Mount Hermon, Mount
Gilboa, Mount Gerizim, Mount Engedi,
Mount Horeb, Mount Nebo Mount Pts
gah, Mount Olivet Mount Zion, Mount
Moriah, Mount Lebanon, Mount Sinai,
Mount GOlgotha. Yes, we have the di-
vine promise that all those mountains
shall weigh their anchorage Of rocks
and move away from the earth before a
loving and sympathetic God will move
away from Us if we love and trust him.
Oh, if we could realize that according
to my text we may be bound up with
that God, how independent it would
make US of things that now harass and
annoy and discompose and torment US !!
Instead of a grasshopper being a bur
den, world of care would be as light
as a feather, and tombstones would be
marble stairs to the Kings palace, and
all the giants Of opposition we would
smite down hip and thigh with great
slaughter.
God Is Near.
A God away up in the heavens is not
much consolation to us when we get in
to lifes struggle. 1t is a God close by,
as near to us as any two articles of ap-
parel were near to each other in that
bundle that you sent the other day to
that shivering home, through whose
roof the snow sifted and through whose
broken window pane the night winds
howled. It was sanctifed irony and holy
sarcasm that Elijah used when he told
the idolaters of Baal to pray louder
saying that their god might be asleep or
talking or on a journey or gone a-hunt-
ing. But our God is always wide awake
and always hears and is always close by
and to him whisper of prayer is as
loud as an archangePs trumpet, and a
child's ''Now lay me down to sleep"
is as easily heard by him as the prayer
of the great Scotchman amid the high
lands when pursued by Lord Claver-
houses miscreants. The Covenanter
said, go Lord, cast the lap of thy
cloak about these children of the cove
nant, - and a mountain fog instantly hid
the pursued from their bloodthirsty pur-
suers. proclaim him God close by.
When we are tempted to do wrong
when we have questions Of livelihood
too much for us, when we put our dar-
lings into the last sleep, when we are
overwhelmed with physical distresses,
when we are perplexed about what next
L. 10 ol,r,4 II,