The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1902-05-15
The Temple of God.

Oh come, let us worship and bow
down.-Psalms, xcv, 6.
The impulse to worship is impera-
tive, and all kinds of worship invig-
Grating, cheering and productive of
inward peace. To bend the knee to
the worlds Master is to feel a de-
pendence upon Him; to depend upon
Him is to have some sort of personal
relation to Him, and if this relation
ship means trust and confidence we
have the essentials of true religion.
When the race was young and
ignorant religion consisted largely of
fear. Before men began to think
out the problems of the universe
they were frightened at being alive.
All natural forces seemed tyrannical,
and men felt helpless in the pres
once of constant danger. They per
soni6ed the thunderstorm, the tenn
pest, the earthquake; converted them
into giants who worked their will
and their caprice without reference
to our welfare or happiness. So all
mankind trembled at what appeared
to be the vengeful attitude of the
invisible powers which controlled
their destiny. This is not to be won
dered at, for human life is an ave-
some thing unless it be understood,
and the experiences which are thrust
upon us have an element of cruelty
and injustice in them to him who
has no spiritual philosophy to teach
him their secret.
The pity of it is that even Chris
tians have inherited something of
this fear, and therefore ruined their
outlook heavenward. The passage
of time and our increasing intelli-
gence are slowly eliminating it, but
it is still persistent, and interferes
with our right relations to Him
whom we call our Father, but whom
we feel to be something less than
Father. When we wholly get rid of
fear and discover that the Lord s
Prayer is literal statement of facts,
then for the first time we shall COM
mune with the aspirations and
hopes, the good cheer and the spir.
itual quiescence which religion was
intended to produce.
One cannot live thoughtfully
without stretching out a prayerful
hand to grasp helping hand which
is hidden to our nearsightedness.
Not only are we in a world OF
mysteries, but a world whose every
highway leads up to a loving a sym
pathetic God. To study the weed
that we trample under our feet is to
take a days's journey toward heaven.
1t draws its nourishment, it's color,
its blossom, from the crude and mig
gardly soil in way we cannot COM
prehend, and breaches sermon on
fitting ourselves to our environment
as eloquent as it is impressive. Per-
feet in structure, it achieves it's des.
tiny as completely as the saintliest
soul that ever fought for the truth.
That weed is an expression of God,
manifestation and revelation OF
Him. We touch the Almighty in
the flower, the sheaf of wheat, in the
stars the clouds. He is everywhere,
hint, warning, a command. As
friend converses with friend He talks
to us at every turn, and if we study
Him in what He has made we cannot
resist the impulse to fall on our knees
in worship. The earth is vast tenn
pie, temple for prayer and praise,
and nature is our preacher. To love
nature is to come at last to love the
God of nature. An hours thought
with rose in your hand will lead
you to higher spiritual level. Every
blade of grass is path leading up
to infinite wisdom.