THE BEAUTIFUL LADDER. 317 
no Stopping-place will be found until we strike 
the pathway of the moon; but she is too insig¬ 
nificant to delay our upward flight. Onward and 
upward be the aspiration until, bathed in the 
light of the stars and lost in the infinite, there 
will remain only one refuge for rest and security. 
‘ Is not God in the height of the heaven ? and 
behold the height of the stars, how high they 
are?’ This was the goal of our starting; and 
every waymark has been carefully scrutinized 
to enable us to keep the straight and narrow 
path. Having safely reached the glorious alti¬ 
tude we were seeking, we drop all guidance. 
All wonder is lost in him who is ‘ Wonderful,’ 
and created beauty has no radiance when stand¬ 
ing in the presence of the ‘ King in his beauty.’ 
Ravished by that beholding, the cry of every 
devout heart will be, ‘Whom have I in heaven 
but thee ? and there is none upon the earth that 
I desire beside thee.’ 
“ When the angels descended on the heavenly 
ladder which Jacob saw, it was to bring to him 
a blessing in a clearer recognition of God’s spe¬ 
cial care and goodness—a blessing which so 
quickened him that he devoutly set up an altar 
and worshipped; and we shall profane our beau- 
