The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1894-03-12
TIE vALUEoF LIFE.
ExtrActs From Yesterdays Sermon,
Delivered by Rev. II. II. Shaw
han, Pastor Of the Preshy-
teriAn Chureh.

Text: "The spirit of G od hath made
me, and the breath of the Almighty
hath given me life" Job So: 4.-Af-
ter dilating upon the divine origin of
life, and exhorting his hearers to at-
tach the proper valuation to it be-
cause it is from God, the speaker
said:
But again, life 10 valuable because
OF its magnificent opportunities.
From one end to the other it is laden.
Not q stage of life which does not
open some well paved avenue to sue
cess. We may look in no direction
without seeing uncOnquered fields
LETT for rs TO conquer. AlIs upon
Alps all the way. Higher heights for
us to reach than have ever been at
tGined. Grander achievements and
more noble exploits than have ever
crossed mems minds. We stand to-
day on a pedestal erected out of the
best thoughts OF sixty centuries, and
looked into the unexplOred sre4lm Of
knowledge. With the wealth of An
hundred aud twenty generations un-
der our feet We may step into a un-
touched universe. We are looking
through telescope six thousand years
long which brings before ms worlds
and thoughts before unknown all the
| implements and instruments of the
past are placed in our hands with the
injunction. "Go yet further forward"
We talk about the "good old times;"
God never made better times than
he year of grace 1894. With all the
experience, thought, work, aud
achievement. OF the past at hand, was
ever an age fraught with grander Op-
portuEitier? Was life ever more worth
living than it is today9 Ah, we sit and
long for q return of the "dayS of yOre,"
and let these golden days slip through
our fingers. Watch thai sand aS it
runs through the glass:-every grain
is q diamond telling of hours OF un-
surpassed opportunities.
lie then spoke of the opportunities
for self improvement, pressing the
truth that development comes "by
dint Of persistent effort" 1.-The mind"
he continued, "neVer strengthens by
the mere bcholdine of strong minds
nor the heart grow sympathetic ut the
sight of sympathetic hearts; nor even
b! longing for strong personality
can it be hal. AS we'll loug for the
strong Am of the blacksmith without
his hammer and anvil; or the fine
physique of the athlete without his
bars, rings and dumb bells. Talents
are murtured and increased by in-
tense and constant exertiOn. ChArac-
ter is formed just as is muscle"
"See what men have done. low
history sparklcs with their names like
N timepiece set with diamonds! Some
times in clusters; sometimes dazzling
solitairs, as when Luther, or Knox, or
St. Pierre stood alone, set in the base
metal Of bigotr! aud ignorance. Nor
were hey carried to their gre9tneee.
The great men Of the world were
born at the foot of the ladder, and
reached the top by climbing. George
Peabody was wood sawyer, and
learned to handle the knotty prob
lens of life by handling knotty sticks
of wood. Hugh Miller, the geologist,
commenced his knowledge Of rocks
by laying them in st6nc walls; his
Masonry was the stepping, stone to
his greatness. Herschel played IN a
Grassland before he learned the
music of the stars. Columbus, Living
, ingstone aud Wilson. the ornitholo-
gist, were weavers. Self made men!
/ They worked out their own earthly
destiny. They were diamonds of
their own cuttipgj each facet was pol
iShed by their own ceaseleSs toll"
SosSc time was devoted to encour
agement in embracing opportunities
of helping others, on the ground that
no lite is well rounded which is wrap
ped mp In self improvement. ~Eec-
triciIy 10 useless % long - it - kept
: in jars; it must get cut on the wires
. to make itself felt" This was followed
by the statement that "the highest
stYle OF life to be attained is one of
entire submission to God" This
thought fOllSWs frOsn Gods creator
chip which entities him to ownership,
and this ownerahip entities him to
the control"