Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-07-07
THE DIFFICULT TASK
Is the One That is Always the
Most Highly Regarded.
DAVID AND BETHLEaEM's WELL.
Rev. George Hodges Explains Very I'm
portant Distinction.
A COMMON ATTRIBUTE OF GOD AND MAN
WRITTEN FOR THE pIsPATcH.I


Itwas in time of war. David was fight
ing the Philistines. David and his men
held the rocky hills, and the Philistines
were in the green valley. And one day
when the harvest sun was hot, and shade
was scanty, and the battle long and weari-
some, David grew very thirsty. And he
thought, as thirsty people wtll, about the
sweet taste of cool water. He remembered
well. at Bethlehem, beside the village
gate. He had played around it as boy.
The trees grew near 1t, the winds blew over
1t, and the clear water, deep in the rock,
was the coolest and sweetest in the world, TO
David's taste.
He looked out over the tents of the enemy,
afar into the green valley, and he fancied
that ne could almost see the little village,
with the well beside the gate. And he
spoke and said half to himself, "Oh, that
1 had a drink Of water from the
well of Bethlehem" And three men
heard him-three stout soldiers of his army
and away they started for the we'll. The
whole host of the Philistines lay between, end
Bethlehem was the enemy's headquarters.
Nevertheless, these heroes made their way
through the entire army of the Philistines,
and got a cup of water from that well aud
brought it back. 1t reads like o story of
the days of chivalry. And what did David
do? He took the cup as if it were the chalice
in sacrament, and poured the water rever-
emily out upon the ground, like libation
in sacrifice. He would not drink it.
He would not drink thereof but poured it
out unto the Lord"
L. But why? 1t was the same water of
which David had drunk often and care
lessly. The look Of it, the taste of it, had
not altered. If it had been analyzed no
chemical change would have been dis
covered. 1t was just a common cup of COM
mon water. Again and again at Bethle-
hem, beside the well, one friend and an
other had given David the same kind of
cup filled with the same kind of water, and
had offered it with the same gesture and
the same words. And he had never refused
it before.
THE DIFFERENCE.
1t was very good water, but it had never
occurred to him before that there was any
thing sacred about it. But now he could
not drink it. Now it was somehow
changed, consecrated, sacred. He could
only stand, thirsty as he was, and pour it
all out upon the ground, with tears in his
eyes. Why? Not because there was any
difference in the gift, but because there was
a difference unspeakable in the giver and
in the giving.
The story turns upon one of the universal
truths OF human nature. A large part of
the secret Of value is difficulty. Among
the hills Of Switzerland the best gift which
lover can give his lady is a sprig of edel-
weiss. The edelweiss is not a particularly
beautiful flower, but it grows in particu-
and dangerous climbing to get ii, and so
it is gift--just as the cup of
water was-which means something It
means difficulty. The gift is consecrated
by the difficulty of the giving. These il
lustrations touch, it is true, the exceptional
side of life, but the truth for which they
stand holds good everywhere and every day. |
For everyone of us, unless we are very |
selfish, the value of gift depends upon the |
love of the giver, and the love of the giver
is shown by the pains which he has been |
willing to take to get the gift.
Now, by studying the nature of man we |
make discoveries about the nature of God. |
God has, indeed, told us about Himself, but |
always and Of necessity in terms drawn |
from our own experience. That is the only |
language which we can understand. We |
must by the constitution of our minds think |
of God as the superlative of man, the posi- /
tive. We take the best in the nature of |
man, and. multiplying it by infnity, gain |
an idea of God.
AN INFINITE TRUTH.
And so this truth about ourselves, is a |
truth also, we may believe, about God. |
Whatever we do easily does not greatly |
please God. He thinks as little of 1t as we |
do Of easy and umimportant things done for |
us. 1t would displease Him il we were to |
leave easy things undone. Because they
are so easy there is so much the more reason |
for doing and not neglecting them. But we |
are not to think that we have really done |
anything for God, when we have done only |
easy things. 1t is the hard things which |
please God. Let me say that over again,
the whole message of the sermon is in that |
sentence; 1t ia the hard things which please |
God.
The hard things please God not for their
own sake-not because they are hard, that
was the mistake of the old ascetics They
did great many hard things under an i'm
preston that pain somehow pleased God;
that the more uncomfortable human life
could be made, the closer it approached to
the ideal OF life which God had. 1t would
be very hard thing to hold your hand in
one position, pressing the finger tips against
the palm, until the nails should grow
through the testered flesh. But that would
not please God. There would be nothing
about such an act except its difficulty. It
would be sign of nothing else but the per-
severance and endurance and foolishness of
the doer. David would not have applauded
the heroes of that adventure, if they had
simply done that daring feat for the sake Of
doing it. God does not want US to do hard
things just for the sake of doing them.
1t is true that there is a good deal said in
the Bible about the difficulty of the Chris
tian life. We are promised tyibulation.
We are told to beware when all things are
going smoothly and all men are speaking
we'll of us. We are assured that life is. as
the old Persian called it. the Path of the
Two Destinies; that the right side of the
path may be known by its exceeding mar
rowness and difficulty. and by the small
number of the travellers upon it, and that
the easy and comfortable and popular side
of the path leads to a destiny from which
may God deliver us. We are reminded
that they only are worthy OF their Master
who deny themselves and take up their
cross daily and follow Him.
THE GREAT EXAMPLE.
The central fact in the Christian religion
is the crucifxion Of Christ and the most
sacred symbol is the cross. The true Chris
tian life Is full of difficulty, You remember
the beautiful and significant story of st.
Martins dream. A great light filed his
room, and shining vision, as Of the Christ,
stood beside the saint. And he saw q glori-
Gus chariot Of fire like that which carried
the old prophet from the banks of the river
Jordan to the fair borders OF the River of
Life, and he heard voice bidding him en-
ter, for his mother had come to take him !
alsO to the realms of low And ST Martin |