Milford chronicle., 1902-07-25

! ~ SLuuy you thoughts IN the flowers.
to hear Gods voice in the music of the
winds. No somnambuIance can so rest
the tired brain as the quietude of the
woods. That is where God wants rs
to rest. In the desert place means
near to the great, throbbing heart of
Mother Nature.
To prove that it win not cost very
much to go out for a few days into the
quietude of the country and rest
| awhile l would like to ask YOU a per-
tinent question. You have not had n
Vacation-that is, the kind Of vacation
christ wants you to take-for a long
while. How much did you spend IN
doctors bills last year? well" Won
answer, last winter was a hard win
ter for me. 1 seemed to be taking cold
all the time. My throat was very
weak, and each draft would affect ii.
| one week l was in bed threatened
with pneumonia; another time l had
bronchitis. l was away from the store
about ten days. My doctors bills
were very high. I have not paid them
all up yet" would like to ask you
| another pertinent question. What did
/ your druggist bills amount to last win
ter? oh" you answer, Il was buying
medicines all the time-medicines for
my digestion, medicines for my cough.
medicines for headaches, tablets for
this and that and the other thing"
The Economy of a Vacation.
Now, my friends, you are ready, l
| think, to listen to rational advice. You
| know that one of the great medical
| tenets states that it is far better TO
prevent disease rather than cure the
disease after it has come. Old DR..
Samuel d. Gross, the greatest surgical
authority Of his day, used to say to
his students. Gentlemen, any stupid
! butcher with meat AK can chop off
leg, but it often takes a very great sur
geon TO save enc" Any man can take
| medicine after lie is sick but It takes a
| wise man to look far enough ahead t.
keep his body in such physical trim
that he will not get sick. And, my
| friends would it not be far better for
| you as Christian workers to Look ahead
and spend the money which you might
give to the doctors and the druggists
In taking summer vacation? Would
it not be far more economical for YOU
to spend some money IN toning up your
physical system by taking rest? Then
you can resist the ordinary diseases;
then you viii not have to be placed
upon an invalid's bed until God SAYS
that your work is done; then you will
save money by resting as well as the
precious time which you can i'll afford
to lose from your next winters work.
But the greatest of all advantages in
| going off into a desert place to rest
awhile is that we can there come
nearer to Christ than we have ever
been before. In this age of work but
few men have time to stop and think.
! Daily tasks become so absorbing that
the second duty crowds itself upon you
as soon as the first duty is DONE The
rushing electric cars whirl the hus-
bands and fathers and brothers to the
store. From morning until night the
customers have to be seen. Then come
the evening tasks. And, though "a
man works from sun to sun, wom-
ans work is never done"
But when the Christian goes off into
the country to rest he can 90 off to
pray in the same spirit with which
Christ went. When he gets away from
the store, the factory, the home. his
rested mind will begin to clear. AS he
saunters out to lie down under the
shadows of the trees with his Bible
he will begin to realize how the good
ness Of God has followed him all the
>ys Of his life. He will begin to sec
in the quietude of the woods that even
in his troubles the hand of God has
been leading him, that all things work
together for good for those who love
the Lord. Then as he sits there in the
woods upon the hillside with the brook
gurgling by his side he will think that
he is sitting at Christ's feet, Just the
same as the disciples of old used to do
in the open air. Then he will hear a
chirp. When he looks up, he will see a
little bird swinging upon the tree
branches over his head. He will turn
and read from Matthew: "Are not two
sparrOws sold for farthing, and one
of them shall not fall on the ground
without your Father. Fear yenOt, there.
fore; We are of more value than many
sparrOws." AS the Christian wife
walks through the fields and picks the
daisies and clover tops and the golden
rod and the bright yellow buttercups
she will remember the words Jesus
spoke when he said that as he cared
for the lilies of the fields so he would
care for her. There is no place on earth
where man can get so close to God
as with an open Bible in the quietude
of the woods.
Never was l more impressed will
this thought than some years ago wher
l visited humble little country church
nesting among the Berkshire hills
People have often asked me what wa.
the most impressive religious service
ever attended. l have wOrshiped il
the Metropolitan tabernacle of EondoI
and witnessed the marvellous power
Charles H. Sturgeon had over his grea
audience. | have been at the feet o.
Joseph Parker, the mightiest one MAJ
religious force today in all England.
have heard Henry Ward Beecher anC
often Mr. Moody. have heard nearly
all of the great living preachers thi
side of the Atlantic and many from be
e yond the seas, but the most impressive
D religious service ever attended was il
that little white meeting house way III
i among the Berkshire hills. There wer
!. only about thirty-five people present
a The little organ was not worth NOR
t than $40. The young girl who sat an
e played the hymns knew but little abOu
music, but for three long hours befor
/. l entered that building l had been CON
i muning with God in the quietude of til
j hills. Alone with my Heavenly Fa
d ther | saw the setting sun. Alone wit
o my Heavenly Father, l had been livin
e III memory over my past sinful life
/ Alone with my Heavenly Father. wa
d telling the Saviour about my trouble.
= And when l saw the little light of til
g meeting house l was beckoned in. The
d the first prayer melted my heart unit
!. the whole room for me was filed wit
c the Holy Spirit.
p Take Christ Along.
Oi' my DAOlheA anu SISTER, 1 wan
o you to go out into the country not onl
l. to get a physical rest, but, like til
II disciples of old, I want you to tax
a Christ along. In the Quietude of til
woods, with your open Bible, war
II you to keep open receptive ear S
g that your Heavenly Father may talk /
you, and by prayer l want you to tai
re to your Heavenly Father. If you wi
e. only do this, you will not only in til
to country draw nearer to your Heavenl
lie Father, but you will find that Chri.
lie during all the long Oncoming wintC
re Months will Sfav vpl.v oIOso m Won