The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1916-04-06

:.
y5 the birds have
z a4.ee-ezssas. - &szg scream an d
wheeled about the crags, and far
out at sea the ships have let their
traces In foam--then turning inland
have gone down the hillside into the
still valley, sheltered from the winds
and there the lonely plowman drove
the team across the heavy clods. All
is still-dull. II YOU please to cell 1t
so--that Is Isaac" AS another has
put IL. the salient feature Of his lie
is that II has no salient features" He
Is type OF the commonplace people
OF whom God has made so many. How
thrilling II is to know that God is the
God of Isaac and OF all like unto
him!
lsanc's life was no doubt disap
pointment to men. He came by
miraculous birth. yet proved to be just
an ordinary man. Many have honed
to be the happy fathers Of artists.
sculptors, musicians and scholars, but
their children have turned out to be
house painters, stone masons. and dry
goods clerks. Still, II is well to have
entertained these hopes. for II our
children are no more remarkable than
they are. in spite OF our ambitions,
what might they have been II we had
had no ambitions for them.
Isaac's life was directed by Cod.
This appears especially in the story
OF his marriage. found In Gen. a..
"The stems OF good man are ordered
OF the Lord" no matter how dull and
brown his life NAV be cutwardly; an
"ordinarv" lie may still be an cor.
dered" life Horace Bushnell. in his
great sermon on Every Mans Life
a Plan OF Cod" states his theme thus:
THAT God has a definite plan for
everv human person, girding him
visibly or invislbly for some exact
thing. which II win be the true sig
nihcance and glory OF his life to have
ACCOMPLISHED"
In character IsaGc was marked by
the passive virtues. We do not ap-
preciate patience. gentleness. meek.
ness. and other ou'et graces as much
as we should Sunhowers and orchids
are more gorgeous. but who would do
away with pansies and violets
Submission was marked element
In his makeup When Abraham would
offer him as a sacrifice on Mount Mo-
rlah he made no resistance. though
the knife actually flashed over him.
| What picture ho was OF our Lord
In his submission fHeb. l0:5-7J. This
element appears again in 'saac's life
at Gerar. AS fast as he would dig
wells at this place the Philistines
would contend for them, but instead
OF dulrreling. Isaac would move on
and dig another well The outcome
OF his meekness was that the Philis.
tines came TO him 10 make COW
enant saying. I'VE saw certainly that
the Lord was with thee" Even now
there is sense in which the meek
inherit the earth.
This quiet man was thoughtful. and
we see him going ont to mediate In
the fields at the eventide fGeu. 24:63).
Quiet people NAV know things better
than others and know them more
deeplv. This twentieth century. with
blooCshot eve and fevered pulse" has
lost the art OF meditation. but only
when truth satIrates us does II really
become a life power.
Isaac was affectionate. as manifest.
ed In his relation TO his mother and
his wife CGen. 24:67l. We need such
people In the world. We have often
noticed that a plain mother. who has
a great heart, will be adored by son
who shines In the world Of science or
letters. How weary life would he II
all wore brilliant and none with heart
predominant
How surprising II Is to find that this
quiet man was. nevertheless. sensu.
ous. "Israc loved Esau because he
die eat Of his venison" fGen 25;2S;
27:2N. We have. In this matter. a
suggestion OF one danger of the ouiet
life. Alexander Wright saws the great
est glutton he ever knew never
crossed his own doorstep and his only
walk was between his desk and the
dining table. Temperance, or. as the
Revised Version renders. seli.control.
is grace much insisted on in the
New Testament.
Isanc's COMMONPLACE life is notable
because linked With Christ He was
an ancestor OF Christ and also q tyne
OF him In that his birth was super
natural and that, "in fgure." he was
offered nm and also raised from the
dead. Our lives NAV be made signif-
rant. In that thev. too. may he linked
with Christ. Parl exhorts that even
slaves shall do their work not as unto
their earthly masters, but as ito the
Lord. for" saws he. we serve the
Lord Christ" Our commonest actions
can he done with the same motive as
our highest deeds-"to be we'll pleas.
ing unto him" "The world passeth
away and the lust thereof: but ne that
doeth the will OF God abldeth forever"