The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-07-09

In cases they love the darkness. the ma
terial darkness-for their callings and their
deeds-ft may be safely inferred that the
thines and p6Ssica, ACTIVITIES what man
light.
Little wonder then that, in the language
of the peoples, light has always stood for
knowledge. truth. righteousness, purity and
spiritual vision. Darkness has always stood
for the opposite of these. 1t has stood for
ignorance. error, wickedness. impurity and
hardness OF heart.
..RecaIing this common experience and
conviction OF men. il IL easy to perceive the
forceful suggest.veness Of the text. The be-
fievinS pSalmist, speaking by and in the
Split of the Lord, affirms not only the value
of light but that light comes from the Lord
his God. Whatever and whomsoeyer dark
ness may be from. light is from God Thou
wilt light my candle; the Lord my God will
eulighten my darkness And il ought 10 be
easy 70 rise in thought and feeling from
the lower To the higher, from material Eight
that shines from the highest heavens. fruin
the throne of God himself. Then II is moi -
much light itself as the light-giying OF the
Lord that / suggest for our reflections. 1t
IS almost a startling thought that God Al
mighty ministers TO man by lighting his
little candle. God, who is light Itself. Will
come near to the humble. earnest. seeking
soul ard give II light. The Lord my God
will enlighten my darkness
terial agencies. He hath set the sun in
the heavens and the moon and the stars
he hath made He hath made the sun TO
rule the day and the moon and stars TO
rule the night. These are simply greater
and lesser candles. which the God of ma
ture hath lighted. They are material
agencies Instruments by which he en-
l:ghtens our darkness. These bring to US
the light of this world. Then. too. God has
artificial illumination. When 1 was a child
on my fathers Ohio farm we made tallow
candles. In my earliest recollection these
We're the only means of artificial iIlumina-
ton the farmhouse had. considerable
part of our evening or morning OCCUPATION
was going after the candle with pair of
shutters. Then after while came pc
troleum, rock OIL That was an improve
m.ent for Illumination.
This had been standing in the earth for
ages. God lad put whole sccans of il in
the bowels of the earth to enighten the
darkness OF man. 1t was there. but we did
not know il. How God has helped man
by so humble and common an agency as
coal oil.
Then later We are finding other things.
by very subtle fluid. We cali it electric
ity. That which formerly was known only
in the dazzling fash of the thunder bolt
now developed. concentrated and con-
tracted by man becomes the ready means
of beautiful and effective Illumination But
there was probably as much electricity
| Adam was young as in this year of grace
1869. God put IL there. and when the ages
were mature and the fulness of time for it
| had come. he lights this candle and un-
| lfghtens our darkness by this means. What
| more and other agents of material ilIumina-
ton there may be standing for the good of
man only the moving ages and the provi-
cence Of God will reveal. Already enough
has been discovered and utilized by man to
| impress US that the words the earth Is full
| of my riches is fuller of meaning than We
Yet have realized.
The Lord gives as light through and
by human agencies. 1t is the plan and Or
dinance of God that the babe is commit
| ted to the mother and the father: the i'm
mature, the youthful and the ignorant to
the mature and experienced. The law cam
not be changed without violence, -reyolu-
ton and disaster and ruin to all. Even in
this age. when IL has been said there is
4 just as much family government as ever
4 there was only great deal of IL has
changed hands and the power is held by
the children. instead of the parents it is
still true that II IS well for children to
honor their parents and not to forsake the
law of the mother. What one does through
another. he does himself God ordains to
enlighten the younger through the older.
| IL the Younger will not be enlightened that
Way, the certainty is that they will go on
in darkness and know not at what they
stumble. The indocile, self-willed, stubborn
child is doomed TO ruin. IL he will not be
enlightened by his elders and especially
by his parents, be will probably never DO