d beneath the clods
of the valley, and have exchanged buds of orange for the most intensely
sable of earthly weeds; you who once walked on your earthly journey in
sweet companionship which brightened your days; who were wont to lay
your weary head every night on the faithful "pillowing breast," and
there forget your woes and cares, but who are now _alone_; you who
trusted in manly counsel and guidance for your little ones, but who now
shed bitter, unavailing tears in every emergency which reminds you that
they are fatherless; and, worse than all, you who had all your wants
supplied by the loving, toiling husband and father, but have now to
contend single-handed with poverty,--come, sorrowing, widowed hearts,
visit with us Horeb's holy mound. It is, indeed, a barren spot;
nevertheless, it has blossoms of loveliness for you. Come in faith, and
perchance the prophet's vision shall be yours--peradventure, the "still,
small voice" which bade to rest the turmoil of his soul, shall soothe
your griefs also; the words which are heard from its summit as Jehovah
gives to Moses his directions, have indeed to do with "meats and drinks
and divers washings," yet, if you listen intently, you will now and then
hear those which, as the expression of your Heavenly Father's heart,
will amply repay the toil of the ascent. Draw near and hearken:

"Ye shall not afflict any widow nor fatherless child. If thou afflict
them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their
cry, and my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword;
and your wives shall be widows, your children fatherless."

Will you not now be comforted? "The Eternal makes your sorrows his own,"
and Himself stands forth as your protector against every ill.

"When thou cuttest down thy harvest in thy field, and hast forgotten the
sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it, but it shall be
for the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord thy
God may bless thee in all the works of thy hands."

If God's will is done, you see you will not suffer. He will raise you up
friends, and those who obey Him, who wish to please Him, will always be
ready to aid you for His sake. As shown to himself, he regards and will
reward the kindness shown to you, and He has all hearts in his hands.
But this is not all. A certain portion of every Israelite's possessions
is to be given to furnish the table of the Lord, and, as if to assure
you that