The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-01-09

a son. a few evenings ago a large
grouD of friends gave a dinner 10 a
man, and among them were many lhsH
Of distinction, but a dlScefn1hS or
server could have seer that the guess
eyes wandered otteneSt 10 q NIUE ops
seated at the end OF the table. ne
cared more for the pleasure Of ms
son and for the Impressions his son
was gathering, than for all the gra-
cious words of courteous friends.
Zacharies lifted up his voice over
the birth Of his son. He was a blple
saturated man, and 50 his song nat
urally fell into the language OF scrip
ture. 1t was g psalm Of gratitude ana
Of Worship. All his life was lived
with a Godward aspect, and 50 ms
first thought when this supreme bless
ing of a child came TO him was OF
uraise to Jehovah. Modern critics lift
their eyebrows at the possibility Of
these humble New Testament ok
creating original poetry, breathing the
Hottest strains of Old Testament 1T
cratures. If they were to go 10 the
same land to-day, they would flno loV-
ers expressing their devotion IN I'M
proyised songs, and the bereaVed wall
ing for their dead in musical dlrges
sounding the virtues Of the departed.
because his is not done IN the west
IS not proof that 1t cannot be done
III the east.
The Mission of u Messenger.
The old P%uritanS used to give their
children Biblical names, such as
Praise God ~Barebones," which sound
ludicrous to our day, but there was a
big idea back Of the practice. It con-
nected God with the birth and life
Of their children. Zacharias, as his
F, song recited, saw In his son q mes
! senger Of the Highest. To his sancti-
> =, - --:-l 4tot VOC tho nnhtaSf off u a I
ings. He would rather that John
should be the herald Of the Coming
One than thai he should Yea the
diadcm OF HerOd.
Q Not long ago l was riding in 4 rail
G way train in Ireland with a wise and
G friendly Roman Catholic priest, and
as we talked Of conditions in the two
e countries, he said, "Over in America
/ your young men don't have a VOca-
ton He used that word vocation
G in it's highest significance, meaning
$ that few modern Americans hear the
9 call to the ministry of the world. He
g deplOred the exodus OF likely youths
from old ireland where free from the
material temptations Of America, they
would at least be likelier to lear The
" summons to the highest calling. The
CID priest touched Il vital spOt in Oul
modern life. It is not the custom
nowadays for parents to offer thei1
children on the altar as Gods min
listers. Many are saying distinctly tina
L. they would not care to have a sol
q become q preacher. This is one Q
d the signs of the times that is signi
ficant and depressing.
d The Discipline of the Desert.
- This wonderful boy John was not t
be trained in conventional schools
=, Not mis- the easy and ur
10 bane polish of the city dweller. Fror
VI t-fn 49, 10 r-c~ ~ he 80 ~@t aro ~,
- a Nazarite whose hair might not b
"a cat, and who might not touch tn
- fruit of the vine. After his earl
:" years in the gOdly home Of Zacharia
and Elizabeth, he went off into tn
= desert.
f. The imagination loves TO brood W
ed on this young man, far off from hi
fellows, doubtless somewhere alon
the great depression of the JOrda
he Valley. Perhaps he dWelt amid tn
fantastic caves of the mountains ca:
of the Lake Of Galilee. Possibly 6
nd tradition says, he made his home
Is. the huge ravine at the bottom Of whic
.te the brook Cherith flows, as Eliza
he had done before him. Perhaps
lived along the rugged shores Of tt
Dead Sea; it may even be that h
ed home was in one of the limesto1
caves on Mount NebO.
he Wherever it was, he had time
bid think. Detached from the world /
could estimate its values more trul
be. Beneath the soft skies OF night, u,
full sullied by smoke Of man, he cou
ere consider the will of God and &
ne. meanings Of life. Would that f
ary every one of us there might be a tin
zen apart in the desert places, where, fr
it from the roar Of the twentieth centu
ana the dlstracung anXieties Of Q
complex and artlflclal civilization, +,
uld might learn the real meaning Of e
"a silence. If there were more desc
CHI experiences, there would be few
Use nervous collapses. No dweller in t
ocsert can be an lnfidel. God is re
n normal to such: and his servi
IS perceived as the most proper m
Of sion for a man.
nor SEVEN SENTENCE SERMONS.
resolve to perform what you ougl
an perform without fail what YOU
md SOive.-Eranklin,
Uhn