Milford chronicle., 1906-02-09

he gave me Dc
took into the Sahara desert. Mile after
mile he went until there was nothing
before him or on either side of him or
behind him but a great sea Of sand.
Along the valley of the river Nile there
were the most luxuriant harvest fields
Of the world, but as soon as he turned
his back upon that river he found moth
ing but an apparently endless area Of
sand. Not one spear Of grass was
growing there. Not one tree was reach
ing out its strong branch and beckOn-
Ing. Come traveller, and lie under my
shadow" Not one bird was cooling
his parched throat by some running
saaol to sing another song. Not one
farmhouse or one village greeted his
vision. There were mountains Of sand,
valleys Of sand plateaus of sand, roll
ing prairies Of sand. great heaving tidal
waves Of sand; nothing was there but
sand. So completely devoid of all life
was this region of sand that not even
a lizard or a jackal came in sight
Not a fly or a mosquito buzzed about
his eyes Not a buzzard's wing was
seen afioat in the heavens of blue
There was not the rustic of one leaf
or the swapping of one twig. The only
sound heard was the pattering Of his
camels feet as they sank into the aw-
ful the appalling, the endless sand.
A Drenry Waste.
What the Sahara desert is to north
ern Africa the Arabian desert is to
southwestern Asia. Like the Sahara,
with its luxuriant valley of the river
Nile, Arabia has its oases, its places
where vegetable life can grow. But
for the most part Arabia Is a weary
waste Of sand. If you would like a
full description of it read about Arabia
in Lew Wanace's prince Of India"
There is found as wonderful a piece of |
word painting in reference to its sands |
and its endless silence as the Indiana |
author gave in his famous chariot race ]
Of Ben-Hur But not alone to Lew |
Wallace do we have to go to find a de-
scriptiOn Of its loneliness. The Greeks |
and Romans used to say, "All Arabia
IS divided into three parts-Arabia Pc /
trae or the stony part; Arabia Deserta,
or the desert part, and Arabia Felix,
or the happy part" But where the
stony part ends and the desert part
begins is very hard to distinguish,
while the happy part is Of very small
area, SO small that for the most part
Arabia is inhabited only by wandering
nOmad BedOuin tribes. Thus when
Paul wrote the words Of my text,
Neither went l up to Jerusalem to
them which were apostles before me-
but went into Arabia" be practically
meant this: Instead Of going at once
into great city as soon as was con.
verted l departed into a desert place
went of to be alone with Christ l
tarried for three long years in Arabia
in order to ft myself spiritually for the
work God was to give me to do. Then
went ] up to Jerusalem to see Peter
and abode with him fifteen days"
We all ought to have our sacred Ara
bias. We should ever and anon turn
our backs upon the world and have
our quiet communion with Christ What
is a desert Of sand to many a human
EYE may be a spiritual Arabian har-
vest field to the children Of God.
The Arabian desert, in the first place,
neant for Paul theological education.
u meant thirty-six long months, when
no did little but study the science Of
5od's relation to the world. 1t meant
weeks and weeks aud weeks Of read
ng scripture and of saturating him
elf with the history Of Jesus Christs
ife It meant Paul living over again
ia past scholastic life and interpreting
,is studies from a new spiritual stand
point, and tl,is for man Of Paufs
mental callber was no short or light
ask
The stronger a man is mentally the
wider Is the range Of his spiritual hori-
.on; the more man natures the more !