s to found a family. Just as
abroad, a patrician gentleman builds a baronial mansion, fills it with
art treasures, hangs the shields and portraits of his ancestors upon
the walls, hoping to hand the mansion forward to generations yet
unborn, so every worthy Hebrew longed to found a noble family. How
keen the anguish, therefore, of this exile in the desert! What a scene
is that of the exiles upon the edge of the desert. Darkness is upon
the land and the fire burns low into coals. Worn and exhausted,
children are sleeping beside the mother. Here is an old man, lying
apart, broken and bitter in spirit--one son stands forth a dim
figure--looking down upon his aged parents, upon the wife of his
bosom and upon his little children. Standing under the stars, he
meditates his plans. How shall he care for these, when he returns to
his ruined estate? In the event of death, what arm shall lift a shield
above these little ones? What if sickness or death pounce upon a home
as an eagle upon a dove, as wolves upon lambs, or as brigands descend
from the mountains upon sleeping herdsmen!

Every founder of a family knows the agony of such an hour! We are in a
world where men are never more than a few weeks from, possible poverty
and want; little wonder then that all men seek to provide for the
future of the home and the children. But to the exile standing in the
darkness, with love that broods above his babes, there comes this
word of comfort: God's solicitude for you and yours will not let Him
slumber or sleep! God will lift up a highway for the feet of the
little band of pilgrims. The eternal God shall be thy guide in the
march through the desert. His pillar of cloud by day and of fire by
night shall stand in the sky; He shall lead the flock like a shepherd;
He shall gather the little ones in His arms, and carry the children
in His bosom. And if the father fall on the march, the wings of the
Eternal shall brood the babes that are left. His right arm shall be a
sword and His left arm a shield. The eternal God fainteth not, neither
is weary. Having time to care for the stars, and to lead them forth by
name, He hath time and thought also for His children. What a word is
this for the home! What comfort for all whose hearts turn toward their
children! What a pledge to fathers for generations yet unborn! This
truth arms every parent for any emergency. For God is round about
every home as the mountains are round about Jerusalem, for bounty and