The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-12-28

Bats " = SHALL "
it."Would he close his sermo on the
mount with a peroratiou that would re-
sound through centuries. standing on a
rock SO mig hat il oyerlookS lake Gal
flee to the right and on a clear day
overloOks the Mediterranean to the left
/ near him stamp his foot on the rock
beneath him as he cries to the slrging
multitudes at the base Of that rock,
whatsoever heareth these sayings of
mine and doeth them l will liken him
unto a wise man, which built his house
upon a rock, and the rain descended,
and the floods came, and the winds
blew ard beat Upon that house. 7 it
fell not, for it was founded upon a
rock." All, my friends, we want a
syEarthy, a stalwart, a brawny religion
We have a great many people who can
sit and gently rock the cradle. Of their
nfantile hopes, and can family smile
when good is accomplished, and walk
softly through a Sickroom, and live in
offensive lives, and manage to tread
on no ones p~rejudices. and their re-
ligion is at the best when the vino is
from the nowthwest and the thermom-
eter at 20 degrees F., and they have
their spheres, and may God prosper
them. But We want in this great Dat
tie of God against allied forces of per-
ditfOn some JOh KnoXes, some Martin
Luthers-men of nerve and faith and
prowesS, like the H~uguenots, and the
pilgrim fathers, and the Dutch at Ley
den keeping back the enemy until the
des of the sea came in. Lord, God of
the rocks, help US in this awful struggle
in which heaven or he'll is , u..d to
beat.
How much the rocks nave h 20 do
with the cause of God in all ages. In
the wilderness Gods Israel were fed
with honey out of the rock. How the
rock of Roreb paid Moses back in gush-
ing, ripping, sparkling waters for the
two stout strokes with which he struck
it! And there stands the rock with
name-1 guess the longest word in the
Observation-Disclosures and it was
worthy of a resounding, sesquipedal-
ian nomenclature, for at that rock
Saul was compelled to quit his per-
suit of David and go home and look
after the Philistines, who were MAX
ing a flank movement. There were
the rocks of BOZeZ and Seneh, between
which Jonathan climbed up and sent
flying in retreat the garrison of the I'M
circumcised. And yonder see David
and MS men hidden in the rock of
Adullam and Engedi.
DIVINE DELIBERATION.
But while I go on with my study of
the geology of the Bible, or God among
the rocks, I get a more intelligent and
helpful idea of divine elaboration.
These rocks. the growth of thousands
of years, aid, geology says, of millions
of years, ought to show the prCrOnga-
ton of Gods plans and cure our fmpa-
thence because things are not done in
short order. Men without seeing it be-
come critical Of the Almighty and think
Why does he not do this and do that
~~I a. : - 1~LL r-ox,O r. fAa1
times as if we could not wait. Well.
l guess we viii have to wait. God is
never in a hurry except about two
things. His pans, sweeping through
eternity, are beyond our comprehen-
sion. They have such w.da circles,
such vastness of revolution, such in
finitude that we can not compass them.
Indeed we would not be much of a God
| whom we could thoroughly understand.
That would net be much OF a father
who had no thoughts or plans larger
thar this babe CT l year old could COM
| pass. If God takes millions of years to
make one rock, do not let us become
critical if he takes 90 years of a cen
fury or several centuries to do that
which we would like to W. lone i'm
mediately. Do not repeat the folly of
those who conclude mere is no God or
| that he is not in sympathy with the
| right and the good because he does not
| do certain things in the time we set
| apart for their performance. Do not
let us hold up our little watch, with it's
tiny hou hand and minute hand, and
| by it try to correct the clock of the uni
verse, it's pendulum taking 500 years to
swing this way and 90 years to swing
| that way. Do not let us set up our lit
tie spinning Wheel beside the loom in
which God weaveS sunrises and sun
| sets and auroras. We have the best
of authority for saying that 'tone day
with the Lord IS as a thousand years
| and a thousand years as one day" Do
not expect that Uzzah's oxen, even if
they do not shy off, but go straight
ahead. can keep UP with the fire shod
l~ightnings.
But that was not a slip Of the tongue
when 1 said that God is never in a
hurry except IN two things. Those W
things are when he goes to save a re-
pentarEt sinner and comfort a. praying
m%ourner. The one divine hurry was set
forth in the parable Of the prodigal son
when IT says, the father ram" He
was old, n I suppose had as much as
he could do to walk, but the sight II his
bad boy coming home limbared the stiff
knees and heightened the shortened
pace Of the old man in an athletic
1 - I0C. LIE ldCIlcI ran. fuC 1t INTO
your oratorios. Sound it with full or
chestra. Repeat it through all heavens
the father RAM" o soul f%artherest
of. come back. and God. your father.
Will come out to meet you at full run!
The other time when God is in a hurry
is when a troubled soul calls for COM
fort. Then the Bible represents the di-
vine gait and swing and velocity by
the reindeer. saying. B thou like a
o or a young hart ON the mountains
OF Bether." That parenthesis I put in
thinking that there may be some
repentant sinner who wants to find par
don or some mourning soul who needs
comfort, and therefore I mention the
two things about which God is in a
great hurry.
TRUTH OF THE OMN1POTENT.
But concerning all the vast things of