The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1892-09-28
1t Brings Us Into Il Bright and Close
EellOWshin With God.

1t Brings Us Into Il Bright and Close
Fellowship With God
Mark Guy Pearse speaks of medita-
ton as "a lost art" and there is but
too much truth in the opinion he has
thus expressed. The conditions of life
in our day our unfavorable to that con-
centration of thought and isolation of
spirit which are of the very essence OF
meditation. Life is lived now at
pressure and amid distractions practi-
cally unknown in the good old times,
when men had leisure enough to taste
to the full the sweetest of reflection, if
they were SO disposed.
The altered conditions of life in our
day only emphasize the need for and
the value of meditation. The tyranny
of the world is felt keenly by
every thoughtful mind. The exact
ing demands of professional activity,
| the exhausting rush of business claims,
and the weary routine of domestic
cares, makes all of us prisoners. We
are shut up in the cell of our own occu-
patton. Two doors open way for us
out of the influences which ''crib, ca bin
and confine" us. One is sleep, the 9TH
err is meditation. Sleep leads us into
the green fields of dreamland, where
the sun always shines, where the fra
grant flowers are always in bloom, and
where the dust and din of the city are
unheard. Meditation takes us by the
hand out of the pestiferous atmosphere
and hard ways of the world in which
most of us have to live, into quiet pas
lures, where a healing benediction falls
on the weary spirit, and new strength
comes to the endeavor to live nobler
life
The value of meditation is Endorsed
by the habitual custom of the God man,
| the Lord Jesus Christ. 1t was His prac-
tice to rise early in the morning and to
retire to some solitary place, in which
He gathered strength for the work of
the day. Such seasons of solitude were
highly priced by Him. There can be
no doubt that the unbroken calm and
restful energy which characterized His
activity found their source in these
morning meditations. AS it was with
the Master, so has it ever been with His
most distinguished disciples. In the
moods and places of silence, where man
was far away, but God was very near,
they won the serenity Of spirit and pow
er of endurance that enabled them. tc
fulfill their mission in life. Paul received
a training in the seclusion of Arabia,
which equipped him more effectually
for his apostolic labors, than all the les
sons he was taught at the feet of Gam
aliel The lonely isle of Patmos wa.
for John the Divine school in which
the deepest mysteries of the spiritua
life were unveiled. Martin Luther
could not have been the reformer of tn,
middle ages but for the convictions hi
formed in the solitary struggles of tn,
monastry. John Bunyan's silenced lip
and prison meditations brought t,
Christendom the gift of the Pilgrim
Progress" Other examples must ris,
to the reader'so memory of eminen
workers for God who found inspiratio
in meditation which led them into the
secret place of the Most High
The old Puritan theologians, massive
in the largeness of their spiritual at
tainments as well as in the largeness o
their knowledge. used to say that tire,
things went to the making of /,
theologian. These were meditation
temptation and prayer. 1t may be tina
much of the shallowness of the think
ing of our day on the problems of ex
!, detrimental religion is due to the neglec
of meditation. One thing is certain;
firm grip of and a living acquaintanc,
. with the fundamental experiences o
the Christian life can be had only b,
,, long and solitary bordering owe
spiritual truths. AS the river is fed b,
l the little streams it takes to itself o.
it's way to the sea. so the life
: large with the largeness of Chris,
is fed by the moods of medita
ton which the experiences of eacl
new day bring to the Christian eager t
improve his opportunities of spiritua
culture. Gurnall says that ''meditatio
is prayers handmade" Another Pur
: tan writer declares that ''meditatio
! and prayer are like the spies that wer
! to search the land of Canaan; the on
views and the other cuts down, an
both bring home taste of the faire:
= and sweetest fruits of Heaven. Med
= tation. like the eye, views our mercie
;, and prayer, lik> the hand, reacheth
:. those mercies." The truth of this u
n terance will be cheerfully corroborate
a by every reader who has tasted Il
fruits of devotional medltation-frui
A which are as real foretaste of til
is JOYS of Heaven as the grapes of Esch
: were of the fruits of the promise
! land.