Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1904-05-11
TnE way oF pELIvERANoE.

And the Lord said unto Moses,
wherefore criest thou unto me? Speak
unto the children of Israel that they
go forward. Elk. xiv, 10.
Between the bondage of ignorance,
oppression and doubt, and the prom
tsed land Of knowledge, freedom and
faith, there are many places of difficult
ty and infringement. The soul Journey
ing from limitations and restrictions to
enlargement and freedom encounters
perplexities and Is often in confusion.
The royal road of success is a course
of discipline and testing. There is,
However way out of every exigency
end snare. That way is to go forward.
1t is Gods way and it is the way of
the universe. There is an insistent de-
mand, inherent in all things. to move
on and up. The moral impulse In the
heart of humanity is q divine urgency
to make progress; to leave the "rudi
ments of life and to so on unto per-
lection"
The way out of Sodom for Lot was
by flight with never n look backward.
The way out Of the slough Of des-
pond" for christian" was on the side
toward the Celestial City and not
toward the place from which he had
come The way out of trouble for the
Children of Israel was not to return
to Egypt, but to go forward.
Gods way for Himself is TO go for
ward In creation He journeys from
chaos and darkness into organic sys-
TENS and moral projections. The law
of life is that we shall work with God
and His universe To refuse obedience
is to undertake to reverse the divine
order and to dispute His wisdom and
authority.
Can man 60 out against the rising
sun and drive it back to rise in the
West? Suppose he rebels against the
winter, can he stay its breath? Can
he destroy the law of gravitation be-
cause it seems to make his burdens
heavier? No; cooperation with God is
the way of life. The sting Of winter
may be removed by using the stored
up heat which the Creator has abund-
antly provided The winds, the riv
ers and the electricity will assist man
in carrying his burdens if he will go
forward out of limitations into intelh-
gence.
Columbus said to the sailors in mid
ocean, when fear and dismay came
upon them. Sail on and on" The
way out OF the situation was to go
forward He could not turn back and
move with God. Behind him lay ideas
of cruelty and intolerance. Depart
ing glory, greed and superstition were
there. Before him Were new resources
and opportunities. The future home
of new ideas, of man and his rights,
the birthplace of Washington and Lin
coin. the land of Invention. OF noble
ideals and high endeavors, was before
him. To 90 forward was to open the
way into a new era OF soul enfran-
chisement.
l. personal religious experience the
came law obtains. The way of escape
from doubts fears and besetting sins
is to go forward under Christ's leader
ship.
In journeying from youth to matur-
ity there are hating places where the
soul seems hedged about by question
ings and doubts. where complex condi-
tons and mixed motives seem to make
it hard to know what to do. There
is a longing for the easy confidence
OF youth, but there is only one way
out, and that is to 60 or to clearer
discernment and settled convictions.
Again. there is the experience of
c".1ing 10 feel the bondage of certain
stereotyped formulas Of religion In
iourncying away, seeking deliyerance,
many people become confused and
alarmed, finding no peace or rest. They
enter into the experience of Job and
content with themselves. their friends
and God concerning their unhappy
state
The only way out is the way Job
went He moved from the thought of
eternal good as the reward of the
righteous, to the consciousness of God
as within him and wound about him.
God appeared to him as in creation, all
wise and powerful and abundantIy
able to care for him and bless him.
In this expanding consciousness, and
in the Joy of 2 new and larger conf
dence, Job found God himself and his
place in the universe and was salts
fed. Fetters unloOse, prison doors fly
open. restrictions are removed and linn
itations disappear when the spirit of
man is under the marching order of
God.