The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-12-18

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Preparation" IS
'erhe voice OF him that crietli IN tho!
Wilderness, prepare ye the way o. t y,
| Lord. Every valley shall be exalted and
! every mountain and Hill shall be made
1 low, and isthe crooked shall i,e made,
| straight, and the rough places plain; and
| tho glory OF the Lord shall be re vealet,.i
+ ind all flesh shall see It together. O
Z Zion that hrinsest good tldings. get thee
l,ip Unto the high mountain a s'ey,S +
1 behold your God .''--1saiah xl go.
| That voice is always crying And the
note snli progressive times IS always
a note of urgency. The King is Always s
4 coming, but as to the form or method of
1 His coming who can tell :? Refrain. from
\ all useless and unwisc speculation and
cultivate the spirit of expectancy, of
sncred hope and Joyous condolences A.. &
1T was a >very little wilderness here
Indicated, lying between he .E,irl'ratees
aud Judah: but we know now that there
| was also intended the moral reference to
a wilderness Infinite. Yet even thtlt
bonndless desert shall be traversed by
light. quickest OF all travellers, coming
suddenly, flashing abroad In time. Before
VIC IRE we'll aware 1t has come; 1t will
have banshed all the darkness, and the
blue heavens will be shining above us
oloudlcssy like a blessing. \.
1t is In this spirit we must do our
work. Without this spirit wo cannot
work. Tho history Of tho world Is full
/ Of drcarness. bnckwardness, and cnor-
| nous difficulty; yet even that history
has been making advances, slowly but
| surely growing, extending, consolidating
until 1t would be impossible now to roll,
back the progress Of the world.
Sometimes there is nothing to Instruct
us but voice." We hear 1t, but cannot
trace It. 1t is called "the spirit Of the
times" the voice OF the day, ]" tho gen
Jus OF the hour Sometimes 1t is per-
sonated by one man, one policy. At other
times 1t is diffuscd voice coming, as
l5it were, from all points of the COM
pass at once but with u singular una
nimity, emphasis. and truthfulness.
It is never a voice OF despair, but al
, ways like q clarion, trumpet, or u Chin.
ing bell, or q fathers call, or a soldiers
rcsounding peal. Blessed are they who
have ears to Near. Who respond to tho
call OF the times with prompttude,, and
dillgent, and loyal love- They shall &bef
blessed with all heavenly treasure and
benediction.R We may Judge OF the reality
OF the voice (alld need We shrink from
saying the divinityO BY the mesa &c that
it delivers When tho voice says, 80
back" we may be quite sure IT does not
come from heaven. Heaven is q growing
Kingdom When God s kingdom rests. 1t
Is that 1t may. come up again in even.
larger and fuller powers. Our law must
be growth, development every day, every
year, SO that we may always be casting
of our old selves and pressing forward
Pinto a newer life, richer more useful and
man full. q s I 81 d. S8 lsS .i
And then what Will happen? Every
Valley shall be exalted" Mountain,
hill, valley" may be regarded as mere
lx s co graph lcal srms, but the true Big
MITIGATION Is Gmot;aS The real g1neaniptg Is.
-that the iprouus sahail bts brtdght' low The
meek discovered and exalted the 5wrrtong
shall be rectified, and the Toughests Of
men shall become as gentle as Ian, BIS. II
How is it that We do not understand
tho signs Of the times, orgftte moral i
outlook or to day? Are there any hints
that pride is being debqsed aNot3slmaany
to the vulgar eye; yet to those who can
seesthe inner circle and read between the
lines in the big print Of events there Is,
a 'wvtondrous dawntng Of new powers.
Hrs ,ttrt,f
arches, and clustering dcspotism Is far
spcnta History may diligently. The Lord
will bring in all HIS purpose. He will
IfinspIte, enlarge ANA gorifys human prog
ross, and men shall be almost uncon-
scous Of It's coming until they are filled
with its blessings. II #t
For "the glory OF the Lord shall be re-
',vealed" when men feel that they cannot
be put to silence. ''All flesh shall see It
together The Jew Is there and the
Gentle, the bond and free. the mighty
man, and tho pauper, old men and little
lschildren, young men and innldens.s,Slt
shall be u coming blessing, universal
gift, an impartial revelation Of Divine,
| glory. II God g power Is but another term
| for Ills goodness, coos glory uhotner
way of showing forth Ills holiness, we
read Of wisdom, holiness, mercy, COM
passion, ana when we put It all into
wo:ds Of one syllable. and say God is
love" 1T is then nroonday with clviliza-
ton, high noon with manhood, perfect
contamination below the heavens. Ell rs
20 zion, that bringeth good tidfngs"'
Il i, A..
mountain is high enough, lct3the.9 world
hear thut the day Of the Lord has
come. Ri. 4; ss I NJ al +,
"oh, zlon!" Oh, Jerusalem Gerry aloud!
spare not, and publish this jubtlee;1 this
gospel OF peace to the whole world. say
Ing, "Behold your Godl" 5ss,
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A correspondent in yesterdays paper