Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-12-28
months"



It IL always natural for the travellers
up the mountain heights 10 look back
toward the land over which they have
come. DO you not suppose Balboa
turned his eyes toward Spain as well
az toward the occident when he saw
the Pacific ocean roll at his feet? DO
you not suppose ne Soto and Raleigh
and Sir Francis Drake and Captain
Cook and Marquette and la Sale and
Livingstone and Stanley and all the
modern as well az ancient navigators
and discoveries have looked toward
their home lands as well ns toward the
regions to which they were heading?
Thus the most natural place toward
which Moses turned his eyes after no
had climbed Pisgah's heights was to
the south and the east and the north as
we'll as toward the west. He looked to.
ward the geographical scenes Of his
childhood and middle age and old age
as well az townrd the future and the
promised land.
How good God has been 10 Moses!
How good he has been to us. Let us
for moment 90 back to the scenes Of
our infancy. MS Moses thoughts turned
to the river Nile and to Egypt. Did we
not then have some one TO love us and
provide FOR us during the days Of our
childhood? When Eliphalet Mott, the
great president Of Union college, be.
came n very old man. he lapsed into a
beautiful second childhood. Day by
dav his faithful wife used TO sing the
same lullabics with which his mother
once sang him TO sleep. When the
white haired patriarch became restless
at night. she would gently place her
hnnd upon his wrinkled forehead and
softly sing Isaac Watts old hymn:
Hush. my dear: lie still and slumber:
Holy angels guard thy bed.
Heavenly blessings without number
Gently falling on thy head.
Then the old man would close his
ewes like n little babe. lie continually
kept calling over the names Of his
mother and father and sisters and
brothers. And when he conducted fam
| ily prayers for the last time he closed
with the simple evening prayer. Now
lay me down to sleep: l pray the
Lord my soul to keep" As he lived
over again the scenes Of childhood a
strange peace came to his soul. SO with
| Moses So with us. The associations OF
childhood speak TO us Of the infinite
love and care that were about us then
and encourage us to hope that the!
will be with us to the end.
Then. like Moses. we turn our eyes
from Egypt toward the wilderness.
| What Is the strange storm there IN our
young manhood and middle life? Is 1t
a rainstorm? No, it looks more like a
snowstorm. And yet as we reach up
and gather handful Of the falling
flakes they do not melt In our hands,
though they are as white as the driven
snow. No. my friends. that is not a
snowstorm falling in the wilderness
1t Is a shower of mama which we see
and feel. That is the provision God
made for you in the years Of your viii
derness wanderings, which has been
sufficient for you and your family &c
this day. Has there been day in
your past life when that mamma failed
There have been crises in your life. as
there were in the life of Moses-per
haps financial crises-but. day by day
and week by week. year by year. God
has fed you. Has he not. my brother
All. it is a mighty fact for you at your
time Of life to be able to stand upon
Pisgah's heights and say. God has
taken care Of me all the way through
| on IA ~
A Beautiful Legend.
Sometimes we did not understand
how God was going to feed MS wher
the cupboard was empty. But feed III
and ours he always did. There IL ,
beautiful legend told about the conven
Of st. Sabina OF Rome. Many year,
ago. when ST. Dominic was vt the heat
Of this convent, the food gave out
What were the inmates to do: Come.
said the leader; "let us go into the re
fectory and sit down at the table. ]
we cannot provide food for ourselve
God will do 40 for us With that 81
Dominic and his frars went TO the re
fectory and sat down. Then the len,le
lifted his hands and made prayer lik
this: 20 God. we thank thee for IN,
food which thou hast given us in tn
past. and we thank thee for the foot
which thou art going - give to u
now" No sooner had the blessing beef
said than, behold. two beautiful an
gels appeared clothed in white, Th
one bore a basket Of bread the other
pitcher of wine. They silently place.
the basket and the pitcher upon the ia
bic and then disappeared. Then 81
Dominic turned to his frlars and said
Eat. children. what God hath sent yo
by his angels" That is only legend
but it IL u legend which. In figurativ
sense. has been seen in our lives a
we'll ~ in that Of Moses. Sometime
We could not see where our next mea
was to come from. but come it Away
did. God has fed us as truly as in tn
legend he was supposed to have fed tn
inmates Of st. Sabina convent. Stan
yc not upon Pisga6's heights today
Twenty, forty. fifty years Of tempora
care are reaching out before you. Than
God today for the food he has given t
you to eat. for the clothing he has given I
you to wear and for the houses in whic
l YOU and yours have lived. The SUPERB
2 bundances have not always been yours
I but the temporal necessities have a
= ways been supplied. Day by day. wee
' by week, month by month year b