Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1895-08-08
A. Message for the Future
ny THE REV. +. b. MEYER

1t is q relief to be aole 10 cloSe VI"
book that contains the record OF the
mast. and to be permitted to COM
mence a new one, the pages OF when
are unsullied. Who is there that
does not step across the threshold OF
the day with a hope that it may be
the entrance on sweeter, purer
better way Of living? There must be
something better, we think, than the
failures and discords that have
obscured the promise of our earlier
life. H.
giving, because we have made 50
many beginnings in the past whlcn
have all ended in the same disastrous
failure. AS far as we are concerned,
we cannot resolve more earnestly or
begin more hopefully than we have
done thousands of times before And
vet it may be that we have never
fully realized the significance OF the
first words in the Bible, I'm the
beginning God"
We have made a great many be-
vinniugs with ourselves, our vows,
our firmly set purposes as the found
alton. and We have seen the structure
wa have endeavored to rear subslde
into the shifting quicksrnds; but If
wa would only put God first. and
make Hin our Alpha, our Foundation
Rock. our Beginning, we should find
that the building Of our life would
stand foursquare and solid against
the fury of the storm, as the EDDY
stone Lighthouse IN the front OF
Plymouth Bay.
Your salvation must begin wItE
God. The dellverenee of the people
of God from the thrall OF Egyp
bea an in the promise Of a deIiVerenS'
spoken in the tents of ABR. nam lou
hundred ears before, and the who.
stress of it was born from the begin,
ming by Him who compares Himself
to the eagle mother, bearing her
young upon her wings. He broke in
sunder the bars of iron; He smote to
the ground Pharaoh's power; He cleft
the sea for the redeemed to pass
through. His right hand and His
holy arm secured deliversnce. So He
must do for rs all that needs to be
done. The thought Of mans redemp-
ton must emanate from Him. His
the love that devises; His the blood
that purchases; His the Spirit that
strives; His the grace that will not let
us go. In every effort to overcome
besetting sin, to gain some attractive
characteristic, to resemble more COM
pletely the Saviour, as the first sug-
gestlon comes from God, so must
your first signs and prayers be breath
ed to Him, and so must you receive
from Him the patience to persevere,
and the power by which you may be-
come what you wsuld be.
Your days must begin with God,
Probably nothing would make 80
great difference in the majority Of
people as a greater watchfulness over
the morning hour. If only we could
spend uninterrupted moments with
our Bible aud prayer and meditation,
we should find 1t not so hard to walk
with God in the path that He has
prepared for us. What we are in the
morning we are likely to be the day
through. The way the rudder is set,
as the boat leaves the shore at sun
rise, will determine the course that
she will take under sunset skies. And
what Is true for the individual il
equally so for the family. 1t is
profound mistake to suppose that W,
lose time by family prayer. Tempe
OF the home is purified and sweetenet
by prayer and hymn and Scripture
as the sultry day by the refreshing
baptism Of morning dew.
Your plans must begin with Goo
Too often we have rushed into enter
prises unbldden, to repent our foil
with bitter cries; and as we locke
we knew that we began without fir
consulting ''our Father" The yer
heather might teach us better. I
Egypt, Rome, and Greece the mo;
trivial enterprise was not taken
hand without first consulting the wi
of the deity. Eliezer, the grand spec
men Of true service, commenced b