Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1885-06-27
JOY IN KNOWING GOD,
Rev. Mr. Converse's Sunday Morn,

w. LIN A4NO :" AINU SO0s
Rev. Mr. Converse's Sunday Morn
ing Sermon.
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you, through thu
knowledge 81 Cod and Of Jesus cur IcriIH,n Yetsr ~
The Christian has many weary, sor.
rowing hours in his pilgrimage.
Troubles press upon him; struggles with
temptation beset,h him. and grief at the
prevalence of evil distresses him. The
Christian pilgrimage can not be all sum.
mer and sunshine in such a world as
this. If he is to be happy he must have
some resting place of Joy where he can
retire for refresllment when the hours
of gloom Cypress him. Our text very
forcibly expresses where this joyful rest
is to be found, in "the knowledge OF
God, and Of Jesus our Lord"
1t seems queer comfort to those who
have no experimental knowledge of its
value, but those who have tasted it have
found here glorious consolation and
peace. The soul of man is SO CONSTITUTE
ed that it can find rest no where else.
The pleasant things of life are by no
means to be despised, for Christianity
is not proud stoicism despising :inno-
cent amusement. Rather are they to
N welcomed as gifts of the Heavenly
Father and proofs of his love. But
they are fleeting and lack the substance
that soul hunger demands. The child
delights in his playthings, and they are
very useful in their place, but they will
not serve to develop the maturity of
manhood.
Nor can the Christian find peace in
dwelling upon his own %excellency and
attainments. He will be thankful for
all the progress made, but as he looks
within his own heart will find far more
to grieve than to please
But in God, the Heavenly Father.
there is an inexhaustible reservoir of
peace and joy. His character is radiant
in beauty; holiness, justice, purity and
truth form a diadem OF glory. Nor is it
the cold, distant beauty of the stars
which must be studied through the tel
escope, for mercy is the crown of its
perfection. "God is love-" these are the
words that bind heaven and earth to-
gether. Hence man finds in God his
home, and millions have re-echoed the
words of the Psalmist, 'Lord, thou
has been u dwelling place in all gen.
erations." In him every want of mans
soul is richly met. Here is rest, COM
fort, sympathy, love, hope; here the
refuge in the hour Of trouble, the
anchor when tempests howl, the soul
home not only for life but for eternity.
How empty appear all other joys in com-
parison when sickness and death inter-
rupt the current of our daily lives.
God may be studied in the works of
creation, and in his providential govern
ment of the world. But specially in
the life and words of the Lord Jesus
Christ, "the brightness of the Fathers
glory, and express image of his person."
This knowledge can never be exhausted;
it is infinite in excellence and bound
less in extent.
The heart is even more important
than the head in this study. Intellec-
tual knowledge is of value only as it
serves to promote heart knowledge. The
knowledge of the child, resting in his
fathers arms, telling him every childish
trouble and difficulty, and almost un.
consciously drinking in the tenderness
of the fathers heart. this is the kind of
knowledge that opens the fountains of
Christian joy.