News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1900-01-17
HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN
WHY DO We ALSO TRANsGRESS THIS
COMMANDMENTS OF GOD.

If the Laws Which Environ the Soul Are
Obeyed 1t Develops Laid a High.
way From the Grad to Heaven Gather.
ing Weeds Instead of Flowers.
Why do we also transgress the COM
mandments of God Matthew XIV, 3.
The physical law in accordance with
which locomotive is constructed de-
mands that it shall keep on the rails
and never leave them. AS long as 1t
obeys that law it can speed at what
ever pace it pleases. and with entire
safety; but if it transgresses, or. as
the word implies, goes beyond" the
track. not only is it's progress checked,
but it finds itself in the midst of en-
barrassing difficulties, which may even
prove ruinous. The manufacturer has
not adapted the locomotive to any
mode of travel except on the rails
which have been laid for that partic-
uiar purpose. 1t would therefore be
unreasonable to criticize the builder
for issuing an ineXorable command
ment to his locomotive to keep on the
track and warning it in the most i'm
pressive way never to transgress.
Now. the soul has been created with
special reference to a certain course OF
action, Just as the locomotive is. If
the laws which environ the soul are
observed It develops in such royal
fashion that physical health and spir-
1tuaj contentment are the result. a.
law obeyed cannot produce anything
except hapl~Aess and a well rounded
Wilderness. AL misery and all disease
are born in the domain of disobedience.
When man is acsuainted with the
conditions which God has imposed, and
lives in harmony with them, he grows
as naturally as the plant does, BIOS
SONS in the sunshine as the tree does,
and bears fruit as easily, as joyously
and as plentifully.
God has laid out His highway from
the cradle to heaven along the best
possible route. 1t has been done with
infinite wisdom and with solicitous and
loving reference to our necessities, our
convenience and our comfort. The
whole life and mission of Christ may
be summed up in the words of the
prophet. This is the way, walk We in
it." Revelation is practically nothing
uuI d dldS dul pI6SChJGu " CdCn oOuL
as it comes into the world, a diagram
on which this highway is clearly mark
ed, with a picture of babe in its
mothers arms at the beginning of the
journey, and the same being grown to
spiritual manhood standing on the
threshold of the eternal life at the
journeys end.
But instead Of accepting Gods plan
We have plan of our own, and hence
the confusion and WEAKNESS and doubt
which prevail. Could any one have
doubts if he were really living and
moving and having his being in God?
Could any one be confused as to duty,
or as to the happiness which is to be
found in doing it, if he felt himself in
harmony with the laws of the universe,
as the player in an orchestra is in ac-
cord with the baton of his leader?
And could any one suffer from that
sense of WEAKNESS which is so op-
pressive that we wonder whether it is
worth while to live if he was sure
that angels were with him in his work
and helping him to bear his burdens?
1t is only when we transgress-tha
is, "go beyond" the highway of the re-
vealed diagram and get into the
fields and forests and among the bram-
bles, and so lose our way-that we
gather weeds instead of flowers and
| have mo shelter from the storms of
experience. When man determines
to follow his own will, does what i'm
pulse or passion may suggest, he is
simply a locomotive off the track. He
is a magnificent machine doing what
/ he was never intended to do, and de-
stroying himself body and spirit in
the attempt to do it. The manufac4
turer is not responsible for the loco
motives mishaps, and God is not REL
sponsible for mans. If you defy Prov
idence and bring wretchedness on
yourself it is illogical to call your
Indebtedness providential, for you and
not God are its author. God did all
that could be done to prevent the ca
lamity, but you would have it in spite
of Him We blame the Lord for a
great many things which are simply
the result of our own misdoing.
But here comes the law of heredity.
| Our fathers left the highway and we
were born in the fields, on some part
of the cross road, among the briers OF
parental tendencies. What is to be
done? The doctrine Of total depravity
had its origin in that fact. But We
are not totally depraved. No one ever
lived who was wholly bad Aspira-
lions are like thirst, that cannot be
quenched until the lips and the clear
stream come together.
Religion Is the physician that pre-
scribes the remedy. When conscious
of physical ailment, when the business
of life is impededI by it and you are
powerless to overcome it, you naturally
seek advice. In confidence you tell the
physician the whole story, your mode
of life, your temptations, your surren-
ders. He Is the Lord of your body,
knows where you are, where you wish
to be and how to get there. His
knowledge is at your service, and II
you are obedient you recover and be-
come whole again.
In like manner you are spiritually
ailing. You are troubled by fears, by
doubts, by dependency. You are
without aim or purpose. The living
God is the only physician in the uni
verse who can prescribe remedy. He
ts ne raaI M the dnrtor who lives in