"Then the Spirit took me up... and the Lord said to me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with you." Ezek. 3:12.22

   "You whose work is pre-eminently on the plain, get a preliminary glimpse of God! Come up and see the sunrise before you go down into the toils of the wilderness! You who labor among the sick, come first to the top of the hill! You who labor among the poor, come first to the the of the hill! - take a deep draught of hope before you traverse the dens and alleys! You who labor among the lapsed, come first to the top of the hill! - get a sight of human possibilities before you tread the path of tears! For it is not despair that emboldens you or nerves you, you workers in waste and wilderness. They among whom you sojourn may be sunk in depravity, dead in trespasses and sin; yet it is not despair that nerves you. Paul says we are saved by hope; yes, and we save others by hope. You that toil in the penitentiaries, what is it you see? Is it the depraved soul walking amid the tombs? No, it is the soul set free -- the soul as God painted it. Never lose sight of the Christ when you stand in Bethlehem's manger! For it is Christ that makes the manger bearable. Hope, and you will help; be bright, and you will bear; enjoy the vision of triumph, and you will endure the vale of tears. They who have mounted up as eagles in the morning, shall in the afternoon walk and not faint." George Matheson.