Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1907-09-19

sion made n child n partakcr in the
covenant. Abraham was child OF
God. Tic was to inherit Paiestlnc, and
besides this. he was TO have the divine
protection. His descendants were to
enjoy the Same privilege so long as
they obcycd Gods law. The promises
of God were to he continued from one
generation to another to all of Abra
hams descendants who fulfilled the oh
legations Of the covenant. II was q
bargain, and the seal of it was the out.
ward rite which marked the child II.
an heir OF the covenant. In other
words, circumcision in the old diSpen,
sation was the sealing of Il parental
compact with God. Lot nc illustrate
You come to me and want to buy
tract of land for $4,000 I say, "Mr
Jones, why are you buying this land p
"Oh," you answer, 81 am buying this
land for homestead whore can live
and my children can live after me,
generation after generation" "All
right" | say, 81 can sell you the land,
but you will have TO pay the taxes and
fulfill your obligations to the county,
and your children will have to do the
same when they inherit" You under
stand that, and say: "Then In con
sderation Of $4,000 will give you Il
deed Of that land for yourself and your
heirs forever. That decd will seal the
bargain" Just 80 the descendants Of
Abraham entered into covenant with
God. They were under obligations Of
which the rite was the visible sign.
But the rite counted for nothing II the
obligations were not fulfilled The
later history of Abrnham's DESCENDANTS
proved that the real condition was obc-
dicnce and that when this was not
rendered the outward sign was not ac-
copied. 1t became mockcry when It
no longer represented change Of
heart.
Ny brother do you wonder that pa
vid said. "Thy statutes have been my
songs when 7 was n baby in the era
dlc?' Was not David consecrated to
| God when be was a child by Il gOdly
father and mother? VIII YOU not al
low Christ to take YOU and hold YOU
close to his loving heart because your
Christian mother gave YOU to him by
prayer and pledge when YOU were q
| little innocent child? Thou divine Fa-
| Their, by the sacred mounds Of my ia
| TIERS and mothers graves l thank
thee that thou art and always wilt he
a covenant making Christ and wilt
save me in answer to the prayers Of
my loving parents for Christ's sake.
The Songs of Childhood.
! But the statutes were more than the
guardian angels which sang the songs
| bethlehem of Judaea. They sang for
! David the happy songs Of childhood.
/ The statutes became songs Of rejoic-
| ing. They were the conditions of SON
! ship and Inheritance which it was Il
| JOY to fulfill. They were the sweetest
rccollectioDs of the old homestead
! when he was growing boy. They
| were the songs which made his father
| and mother and brothers one Mt the
! family altar. They We're the songs
which taught him how TO say his
| evening prayers at his mothers knee.
/ They were the songs which made him
| as a child study the old Mosaic laws.
| They were the songs by which he was
| corrected when he did wrong And
! they were the songs which taught him
! faith in God as we'll as faith in his
| fellow men. In other words, they were
the same laws by which you and as
/ boys and girls were developed in a
! Christian home for orr LIES struggle.
| If you did not learn these statutes Of
! God when YOU We're young, then you
/ nre poor indeed. If you did learn the
! laws of Cod when Won were young,
+ then the memory Of them makes you
rich indeed
The happiness of our childhood days
was not dependent upon the size Of our
! fathers pocketbook. But to a great
extent it was dependent upon whether
our parents obeycd and made us obey
/ the statutes of our Lord in the house
! of our pilgrimage. Some time ago a
Borrowing son was on the way back
to the village of his hoyhood to bury
an aged parent. How much was your
father worth when he dicd?' asked one
( Of his friends. Nothing: think he
was worth less than nothing | sup
pose | shall have to bury him But
the day after the funeral the young
man was going down the village street.
As he walked along he met an Old man,
who held out his hand and said: God
bless you. my boy. Jim, you had a
good father. | knew him for over
forty years and | never knew him to
do one act which did not stamp him rs
q noble brave Christian hero" And a
! little farther on a young girl stopped
him and said: Jim, your father was
the best friend my mother ever had.
When papa died he gathered in all our
harvests ana has made 1t possible for
us to live A little farther on he
met another man, who said, 'Jim,
there is not man, woman or child in
this whole region who has not been
| brought nearer to God on account OF
the noble life of your father" When
the young man turned his steps toward
the old home he said to himself:
"Wcl my father did not have much
money. but he was rich. He lived rich
in Gods grace, and he died triumphant
in Gods love, and guess have in
herited as much good as any boy
could receive from any parent"
Sweet Memories Of Home.
Tell me. friend, was not the religious