The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-07-06


from every quarter, rises to meet the moon. Let
~. one o. Us faii 70 rise with Paul. plastic ODE
olent, under celestial attraction, until mercy in
0ou ana truth IN man are met together: until
righteousness IN Jesus and peace among men
nave kissed each other in the fiual form Of our
cnafacters' until seross the chaos of evil and
DARKNESS, not only the Divine hand shall grasp
humanity, but the human hand shall gresp al
yfnity; until under his grasp we become the
bond-servants OF Savior rather than of ain: nm
vi We also love God, because he first loved US
And let this apprehension of God and His
gifts be practical, that we NAV learn how the
path OF patience is the path OF perfection and
iruition- Paul Immediately learned that Gods
apprehension OF him meant that he should EN-
brace a. part OF his heritage share in the suffer
ings OF Christ Immediately his thorn in the
h hes became means OF grace to him. By it he
mad near communion with God Shall not We
IN our effort TO lay hold of every experience
God sends US, rise 20 the height of Paul and
nnd GODS favor ufhsient, ana his strength
made perfect in our weakness Thus the tiny
Creatures on the oceans bottom treat q grain OF
sand that has drifted into their she'll They have
not the power TO throw it out. But they do not
allow themselves TO be cut on IL. They pour
around IL soft white fluid that covers its sharp
corners and becomes In time a peari. They
simply treat that grain of sand In the manner
1od intended. Every pearl represents the suf-
fering OF some humble form OF life Men, see
ing how this happens, collect these dwellers of
the sea, place grain of something harsh in
and kept, and thus establish nursery of pearls.
This Is what the world was meant to be- We
may chafe against our troubles and destroy our
selves; or We may produce pearly ornament of
character as the fruit OF every one of them: we
may ind in every one q glorious opportunity of
rounding out our life and having communion
with God. 1t the hand of Jesus has been laid
upon You for such purpose, as upon Paul, 10
bring forth beauty and strength out of -ugliness
and andy weakness, let the divine plan have fulfill;
us for the highest purpose we know
that IL is our glory and privilege to
give to the world for every thorn in the flesh
tear. If there is foreign and evil matter in your
soul, You may not be able TO cast it OUT perhaps
the resistless tides of Gods fathomless purpose
have drifted it into the soul But the foreign
substance may be encyFted by the love OF Christ;
II may become your most precious possession
instead OF . disease germ, and a token of the In
dwelling spirit instead OF fearful sign OF i'm.
pending death. But this is only one example of
that development which is possible to us BY
welcoming these many opportunities of soul
growth. To-day the sweetest and truest gems
OF thought which we enjoy are the products of
ages of patient toll or suffering in many minds
20 bring forth beauty out of pain.
Jesus himself became not the Sayio. of men
because of the merit of His birth. There was
not merit in that. The prophesy of Messiah
had been standing ages before He came Every
Hebrew boy was prospective Messiah in his
parents eyes. The prophesy had been waiting
for some one who would be at once grand
enough and humble enough TO live the life
the Messiah must live, and become the author
OF eternal salvation. Il was for every man TO
help in the eternal purpose; to lay hold of the
greatness God had for him. But none before the
Son of God know how to be a real son of man.
Jesus Himself became the Christ, because His
every thought was strained to fulfill the outlines
of the MessiRh's life. Ii was by this consecra-
ton TO the divine will that Jesus was able to
perceive what sort of man the Savior must be.
By this conservation He grasped the deep things
OF God. He, more than Paul, saw wonderful
things which lips cannot utter. Thus, as hidden
truth eludes us like quicksilver slipping through
our fingers, and as the beauty of snow crystal
when we take 1t in our hand 10 seen only TO dis
appear, remaining ouly long enough to fasci-
nate US with its beauty and then escape, so do
we lose the best and sweetest things in this uni
verse of God, because we press not on 10 appre-
bend our destiny in Jesus. We fear to let go the
refuse, and count all things loss for the excel
lence OF the knowledge of Christ Jesus, our
Lord Our religion lacks whoieheartedness. We
look for God to grasp Us, while We grasp some
dearest idol. We hug the shore of an ocean that
contains all our future We forget that the only
absolute safety for ship is in deep water and
the only complete salvation for us 10 to launch
Us free on that shoreless ocean of our God.
Paul never forgot that he was simply Just fed
by God, for Jesus sake. That was no merit.
He bore it ever in mind that lying passively in
the hand of God is no better than TO be a stone.
IL 10 not what we are saved from, but what we
are saved to. that we live for. These rescued
from a shipwreck are not rescued TO lie tattered
and aim of their salvation, they had better have
been drowned. For what are we converted?
even to take 1t by violence. Are you farmer,
machinist, q stonecutter, trader? The Lord
Christ came into the world to make you a
Christian! The destiny OF q Christian is not
himself-by the degree Of the energies he puts
forth TO understand and live with Jesus Christ.
Alas for the man-that numerous individual
70 whom the plans of God concerning his life
seem TO have no unity; for him whose highest
thought Is TO be fair in business. TO clothe and
feed and shelter his family. ii Jesus and Paul
had had these things as their only care, their oc-
cupation would have been gone. The man who
has no mission, no vision OF the glory that is
the unfolding of truth-he has never thought
how eagerly Jesus, aud Paul after him, listened
for voice 20 tell them how TO apprehend and
all up the history OF redemption; m RAD OF
away. history of what they were lived for
would have no title or peroratiou, no rising tide
Gauss there was never entertained within them
any question higher than market quotations or
party politics. Under the light of an increaS-
ingly symmetrical and plain revelation of tho
person and purpose of Jesus, this Protestant
civilized world is very irreligious, very Christ
less To the many, life never presents the
beauties OF It's possleiLilties. because they have
and train OF men with Gods seal on their
lorheads, are in a white heat of eagerness after
an exalted life, some of US are thinking OF to-
morrow's trade The stately pines of Oregon
lit their giant heads 10 heaven, and the lily lies
lowly on the ground; yet each in its own fash
ion, and as God gave Il grace, utters without
have me to dor" Yet man, the lord of creation,
who hews down one and steps on the ether, is
more thoughtless than either. and looks not
once up Into the world which holds all his des-
tiny. He takes hold of nothing eternal What
an absymal error we fall into when we say that
we have nothing TO live forl When we say that
our friends are dead, our health impaired! Our
character ruinedl
Alas for him who never sees
The stars shine through the cypress trees.
Alas fer such q man, there is nothing left for
him. Nothing but Christ and God; nothing but
the best and the mightiest; nothing but eudur-
ing creations and paths of glory, That is all
But these are left Tor every one who lays hold of
them. Every man who repines is worse than
blind. He is beginning TO die. Neither Moses
nor Elijah nor Stephen repined as having at
tanned all that was good in this world. They
what they were from what they yet might bel
Let no man hatter himself that death viii
bring a solution of all woes and that to be saved
like the robber on the is enough. BE
assured there must be a tremendous develop
ment before that robber before he can stand
with the great in the kingdom of heaven!
believe we never half wake TO what God has
for us to do IL is for us 10 voice eternal truth:
10 be the prophets of this latter age. There are
predictions for us to fullll. The Lord God has
waited ever since the time. OF Jesus for man
who will master his own destiny, instead of al
lowing his destiny 10 master him. Paul, seeing
solemn unprophetlc under;one pronounces OF
many another one.
He passes the flaming bounds of time and
space,
The living throne. the sapphire blaze
Where angels trerable while they gsZe,
He saw, but blasted with excess OF light,
Closed his eyes in endless night,
self-punished, not damned; simply shriveled,
eyAporated.
The same spirit warmth and light that deyel-
ops some becomes TO Others who will not respond
20 Il. whitening influence. But, my Lord,
give me, when struck to the ground by the glory