To be near unto God - pagina 369

How great then is the it. grace that has been shown to us! Prophets and Psalmists, Jesus and apostles lived in a mountainous countr}'. This accounts for the frequent references in Scripture to water and thirst. ''With Thee is the fountain of life." "All my springs are in Thee." ''Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the Waters." ''Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst." Such is also the striking saying, regarding the valley of mulberries in Psalm 84. Mulberries ripen most lusciously in hottest, sunniest spots. Thus the valle^^ of mulberries is the image of those conditions in life, when everything in us languishes, makes us apprehensive, and chokes us with grief. When the heat of day and the heat of battle make us pant for air and breath, when we can do nothing more, and fear overtakes us, lest, unless God helps us, we shall faint by the way. known anything about

There

is

certainly

abundance

of water in

moun-

tainous districts which flows down from the snowfields and leaps down in murmuring brooks. But it is unequally divided. At one time it threatens to drag one down in its wild course; while again one travels a barren path for hours, without finding a single drop. And then there is but one relief, which is a tiny stream that trickles down the mountain side. The traveler refreshes liimself with this, and as he goes on again, his burning thirst is quenched. Hence in the valley of mulberries the Psalmist speaks of two forms of relief. One is that in the midst of scorching heat one comes unexpectedly to such a little stream. The other is that rainclouds gather overhead, 365

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