By day the winds were still, for the pitiless Asiatic sun made the
desert a furnace whose air rose upward. But when night falls the wind
rises. Then the sand begins to drift. Soon every object lies buried
under yellow flakes. Anon, sandstorms arise. Then the sole hope for
man is to fall upon his face; the sky rains bullets. Then appears the
ministry of the rocks. They stay the drifting sand. To the yellow sea
they say: "Thus far, but no farther." Desolation is held back. Soon
the land under the lee of the rocks becomes rich. It is fed by springs
that seep out of the cliffs. It becomes a veritable oasis with figs
and olives and vineyards and aromatic shrubs. Here dwell the sheik and
his flocks. Hither come the caravans seeking refreshment. In all the
Orient no spot so beautiful as the oasis under the shadow of the rocks.
Long centuries ago, while Isaiah rejoiced under the beneficent ministry
of these cliffs, his thoughts went out from dead rocks to living men.
In his vision he saw good men as Great Hearts, to whom crowded close
the weak and ignorant, seeking protection. Sheltered thereby barren
lives were nourished into bounty and beauty. With leaping heart and
streaming eyes he cried out; "O, what a desert is life but for the
ministry of the higher manhood! To what shall I liken a good man? A
man shall be as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land; a shelter
in the time of storm!"

Optimists always, we believe God's world is a good world. Joy is more
than sorrow; happiness outweighs misery; the reasons for living are
more numerous than the reasons against it. But let the candid mind
confess that life hath aspects very desert-like. Today prosperity
grows like a fruitful tree; to-morrow adversity's hot winds wither
every leaf. God plants companion, child, or friend in the life-garden;
but death blasts the tree under which the soul finds shelter; then
begins the desert pilgrimage. Soon comes loss of health; then the