The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1903-01-16
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE ENTITLED
UPPER AND NEITHER SPRINGS"
The Rev. Dr. j. wilbur Chapman Gees
an Old Testament story as = Parallel to
illustrate tho Great Blessings We Re-
eeIve From Our Heavenly Father.

illustrate the Great Blessings We Re-
eeive From Our Heavenly Father.
NEW YORK CITY.-The following ser
mon Is one Of a series prepared some time
sine. by the Rev. DIR. j. Wilbur Chapman;
the distinguished evangelist. 1t is entitled
| was preached from the text And ne gave
her the, upper springs and the neither
springs" Joshua xv.: l9
Half way between Hebron and Beershe-
ba there once stood the ancient city OF
Debir. II was the city of brains and books
and the centre OF intellectual culture OF the
olden days. At the same point now may
be seen a rude assemb.age OF stone hove.s,
many OF which are half standing, but the
others are entirely broken down.
One OF the names gwen 10 this city,
being translated, means the City OF BROOKS,
or OF learning-what Athens was to Greece
the city OF Debir was 20 Southern Pales-
tine. IL was supposed that all the records
OF antiquity OF the nation were stored
there. It was, indeed, a famous place.
/ Caleb, the son OF Heron, OF the tribe OF
Judah, was very anxious 10 secure posses
sion Of the city. IL is this fact which gives
rise 10 the text. His name is very familiar
10 US. He was one of the twelve spies
sent by Moses over into Canaan, and he
and Joshua were the only two born in
Egypt who were given the privilege OF en-
tering Canaan, with the possible exception
of the Levites, and that, not only because
they had brought truthful report of the
land they had explored, but we're also will
( ing 10 take God at His word, and put all
their trust in Him.
Forty-fve years after, when the wander
ings were over, Caleb applied to Joshua
for the share of the land which had been
promised him, and among other portions
there was granted 10 him Debir, the city of
learning. II was still, however, the strong
hold OF the giants Of Canaan, and must be
captured 20 be possessed.
Caleb then made the proposition that he
would give his daughter Achsah in mar
rlage to any one who was able to take the
city, and one Othniel, who had been much
Of warrior, for he had delivered the chill
dren of Israel from the King of Mesopota-
mia, marched against Debir. After a great
struggle the gates were broken down, the
} giants were captured or driven away. and
the City OF Books lay at the feet of the
conqueror When the victory was won
( Caleb was as good as his word. and his
I daughter was gwen In marriage to the sol
! der. With her he also gave as an inherit
I ance, a peculiar piece of property, known
as THE South Land, valuable for some
( reasons, but it was mountainous and sloped
| southwark toward the deserts of Arabia,
! the hot winds of which again and again
! swept across it. Before Achsah left her
fathers house she besought him for his
/ blessing. The south land was not enough.
she would also have springs of water, and
Caleb responded at once, and gave her
more than she had asked, for we read in
the text: HE gave her the upper springs
/ and the neither springs" From an exceed
| ingly fertile territory the land was chosen.
! II contained no less than fourteen springs.
! The valley was beautiful, for look which
/ way you would you could see them gushing
| forth. Their presence in the field meant
not only a blessing for the field In which
they were found, but for all the country
around them
find in this beautiful story good illus
! tration of all that we receive from our
| Father.
| All that has been bestowed upon us is as
! soclated with victory, and that was won by
| Him whose name was called in the pro-
| phets the Conqueror. 1t was for Him a
| fierce struggle, but He came off more than
conqueror. Then, after that, lie was called
| the bridegroom OF the church, which is to
| be His bride, and with Him we have re-
| ceived not only the gift of salvation, but IN
| Him we are also blessed with all spiritual
blessings Paul gives us this when he
writes to the Ephesians, blessed be the
! God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
! who hath blessed us with all spiritual
! blessings in heavenly places in Christ
| Jesus"
l. God starts His children in this world
as Caleb started his daughter. with an in
| heritance. No one is so poor but God has
! given him something.
| Some have taken the inheritance and
| treated it as the man with the five talents,
! they have gained other five also others
! like the man with one talent, have wrapped
! it in a napkin, and so they leave the world
! as poor as when they entered It. God has
been very good to us. He has given us this
! world with all its beauty, its green pas
! lures. its still waters, its rivers and its seas,
/ its starry canopy stretching out above.
! The world is filed with forces of all kinds,
but man has seemed to gain GGontro,l. oyer
| them, until to-day he stands himself like
q conquerer in the midst of them all.
But the inheritance is better than that.
/ He has given US all the faculties of mind
/ and all the powers of body. The mind, the
heart. the hands, the feet--no one is sent
! placed n fortune in the grasp of every
! have mind for with it man is able to
/ search the deep things of God and really
take hold of the thought of the Eternal.
The science of geometry was worked out
from a few simple principles by Euclid
and Archimedes: by pure reasoning out of
their minds. and on the sands of the floor
of the room where they were studying
Archimedes traced the curves in which, ac-
cording 10 science, the heavenly bodies
must move. And long after, when the tele-
scope was invented. the Galilcos and the
Newtons beheld with reverent wonder that
the heavenly bodies were sweeping along
in the same curves described so long ago by
the great Mathematician. IL is, indeed. a
wonderful thing to have a mind.
But IL these things which | have men.
toned as our natural inheritance are all
what we possess. then. with the success
that may be gained by means of them we
may still be of all men the most miserable.
For they are like the south land OF Ach.
sab. they stretch off toward the deserts of
sorrow and care and darkness. and the hot
winds OF despair come sweeping past us
again and again. The most miserable peo-
/ pie in the world. sooner or later. are those
! who have just the world and nothing else.
/ Men are born unto trouble as the sparks
/ hy upward. and this south land OF the
world is a poor portion. Ii is beautiful il
is the handiwork Of God. But we must
have more than that IL the soul be salts.
fed. "The stars are beautiful. but they
pour no light into the midnight OF a
troubled soul. The flowers are sweet, but
they pour no balm into the wounded
heart" There are times when the hungry.
thirsty, fcvered soul must have what tho
natural inheritance can not give, and God
has made provision for that
Man sighs with grOanings which can not
be uttered for the infinite. II Won put
seashell TO YOUR ear you viii find in il
"reminiscences OF its original home the roar
: of the sea the wall OF the wind. the gro1n
of the dying wave. all discernib'e therein.
D IL has the witness in itself that u belongs
20 the mighty deep. And il you listen at.
tentiyely to your own heart you VIII find
constant proofs Of its destined abode. The
sighs. the yearnings, the dreams. the tears,
the sadness. the music. all testify that we
are. made for God. and th,t only God can
satisfy our wants. And God knew this,
NJ a., urefi 81 the sfyuth land