The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1895-03-02

Or this other word: "Then shall we
know, if we follow on to know the
Lord, that his going forth is pre-
pared as morning" The day does
not break to martial music. But what
more welcome than the day? What
diffuses such cheer and gladness? /
do not wonder that John in his vision
exclaimed, II saw an angel standing
in the sum-" How the morning lifts
the mantle of mist and fog that wraps
the eartbl How it enters the defiles
and gorges of the mountains and bids
the shadows flee away! With what
roseate hues it tints the leaden clouds
How it comes into the dungeon of the
captive with messages of hope How
it steals, with its evangel of comfort
into the sick room, where weary eyes
of pain have watched through Sleep
les hours! His going forth is as the
morning.
2. The lesson IS still needed. a.
We need this thought of God, if we
are to develop the gentler side of our
own nature; if we are to grow in
meekness and gentleness and pa
thence. We shall, as a rule, try to be
what our conception of God requires.
An illustration of this was found not
long since, in one of the New York
newsboys. He was seated on graf
ing in the sidewalk, up through which
came little warmth from the base
ment below. He had something be-
side him covered up with a ragged
and dirty old handkerchief and as
the narrator sat down beside him, he
cautioned "Look out now and don't
hurt him." "What is it7" He
lifted the handkerchief with the
greatest care, and there On one of the
iron bars, all huddled up and half
frozen, was little brown sparrow.
where did you get him." GIN the
street out there. Got so cold he was
tuckered." "And what will you do
with him." "Warm him up and let
him go. If God cares for sparrows,
why shouldn't II" The boy was
trying to live up to that thought of
God which the great Master had en-
bodied in the words, "Not sparrow
falleth to the ground without your
Father"
(2) We need this thought of God
in all our work for the world. The
old Hebrew regarded him as wrath,
and the sword was unsheathed
against his foes. We must conceive
of him as love and break our swords
into pieces.
49, We need this thought of God
for our comfort and strength. What
ever you give up of doctrine or creed,
hold on to this one belief, if to moth
ing else, that at the center of all things,
there is a brain of wisdom and a
heart of love. Conceive of this power
as you may, call it what you will,
personify it or refuse to personify it,
yet grasp the idea firmly, and this
tangled, discordant, jarring universe,
will at length be reduced to order
and harmony. Hold it as firmly as
did the great apostle, when he ex-
claimed, Il am persuaded that
neither death nor life, nor angels,
nor municipalities, nor powers, nor
things present nor things to come,
nor height, nor depth, nor any other
creature, shall be able to separate us
from the love of God, which is in
Christ Jesus, our Lord"
ii. The new thought of God that
came to the prophet at Horeb must
also have taken another direction:
that COP WAS NOT TO BE FOUND so MUCH
IN THE EXCEPTIONAL AS IN THE COMMON
PLACE.
The Lord was not in the hurricane,
nor in the earthquake, nor in the
lightning; but in the "still, small
voice."
1. We find him IN the common
things and processes of nature, rath-
er than IN extraordinary interUen-
tions. There is a certain class of
minds that will not believe in God or
his truth, unless they see some spec
ial manifestation of power, breaking
through the established order, and
making direct appeal to the senses.
But what proof of God can be strong
er than that which we find in the es-
tablished order itselfs The evidences
must always be at hand. We can
not wait for masked and extraordin-
airy proofs-we may never get them.
We must find them all about us. He
is not God afar off, but God at
hand. Either he is everywhere pres
emit and operating always; or he is
nowhere. Either he is the very life