Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-01-31


session of the Wilderness school
The Jews had to learn before they
i could become in truth n nation, that
Jehovah alone was God. and that
He was their God. their guide, their
protector. their provider. Proud
man has to be made aware of his
lnsufhciency; earth is utterly depen-
dent upon heaven. In the face of q
storm, drought. n flood, he is as
helpless as cockleshell upon the
wind-tossed ocean. To learn the en-
istence of heaven il is worth while
TO reel the shaking of earth beneath
ones feet.
The tremendous and vital truth
iof Gods providence may not be OBJ
scured by secondary causes What
IL He chooses to send our daily
bread by the way of the wheat field
the miller, and the bake oven. in
stead of rain from heaven? AS Malt
bic ID. Babcock sang:
Back of the loaf is The snowy flour,
And back of the flour the mill;
And back of the mill is the whea;
and the shower,
And the sun and the Fathers will"
Greedy and GrumbIing
Loyalty is the mark of the good
soldier. A really fine fighter is sure
10 De a man who trusts his leaders
IN adversfty as well as in prosper
ity. The universal revulsion against
the German outburst of whimper-
ing and faultfinding shows that there
is wholesome and instructive re-
pugnance in human nature against
lack of loyalty and stamina In
what glaring contrast it has been to
tne spirit of the brave Englishman,
Henley, who sang:
In the fell clutch of circumstance,
nave not WINGED nor cried aloud,
beneath the buldgeonings of chance,
My head is bloody. but unbowed."
Those ungrateful slaves, 1.-The
whole congregation of the children
OF israel turned against their
leaders as soon as they felt the pinch
OF hardship. Hear them: Would
that We had died by the hand OF
JehoVah in the land of Egypt, where
we sat the fiesh-pots, where we did
eat bread to the full; for We have
Drought us forth into this wilderness
70 XIII the whole assembly with
hunger"
Poor Moses! He deserves the SYM
pathy which every great leader al
ways deserves and rarely receives:
ana especial commiseration should
De extended to him because he had
to work with an uncommonlv for
get1ul, ungrateful, unappreciative
and rebellious aggregation of fol-
lowers. Everybody finds it hard 10
work with people, and many are
prone to say that they have the most
uncongenial and difficult company
OF associates. But Moses really did
have rare lot of spineless grom-
pliers on his hands. What a sermon
he could preach on the grace of good
nature!
Among earth's martyrs must be
counted those who have to live with
complaining, fault-finding, whimper-
ing and petulant persons. More un-
happy homes are caused by nagging
and fll-nature than by marital in
hdelity. Just as this wicked habit
(really, is drunkenness much worse?)
turns the married state, which God
meant to be a blissful one, into e
state of torment, so fretting, wor-
rying and fear convert the Chris
tian's relationship with God, which
should be a peaceful, confident
thing into a burden and a cross.
John Wesley said that he would no
more dare to fret than to swear;
for he knew that both are express
sions of impiety.
The Rain of Bread
The grumbler would grumble in
heaven, If a grumbler were ever ad-
mitted there. Jehovah undertook to
show the 1sraelites that the root OF
their complaining lay deeper than
the lack of bread. First, though, He
made it plain that their murmuring
was not against Moses and Aaron,
but against Him. Who ever insults
the kings ambassadors insults the
king. They who rail against fate
and circumstances are usually rail-
ing against God.
To vindicate His own glory u
which is dearer to Him than men
commonly think-Jehovah promised
to rain bread from heaven for them
day by day-bread in the morning,
and, occasionally. at least, meat in
the evening. 1t was to come day by
day, suggesting that the spiritual
life cannot be sustained on past ex-
periences any more than the body
on stale mamma
OF course all this was a miracle
Mamma or What is it?" cried
the astonished pilgrims. But this
is not wonderful. The principle of
divine providence is so important
that God will work any number of
to maintain Ii. Back of the
fact, and not to be obscured by ii.
lies the truth. God will care for
His own even IL he has to send the
Angel Gabriel down from the high
est heaven to act as one of earth's
The Lord will pro-
vide." is the homely, tested teaching
of this event, and of the history of
all those whom Jehovah has called
His friends throughout the centur-
les.
In a thousand ways during the
war, by natural increase of harvest.
by the appearance of unexpected
allies and resources, by opportune
fogs and rains. by the timely arrival
Of re-enforcements, by the develop
ment of women workers, we have
been taught during the war of old.
simple and profound lesson of the
good providences of God. He is the
Lord of the mama and the ravens
and of the widows cruise.
AS to the mama, we can only re-
peat the exclamation of those who
first found it-"What is is?' 1t was
plainly not a natural product; we
only know why it was sent and the
purpose it served. When Gods peo-
pie are in need He brings out of His
Infinite treasure-house stores new
and old for their help. They think
lightly of Him who say that He can