Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1904-12-24

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tzzM4E&%f/#U much more we, who
M%IV Nm " and have entered
~ of that greater era
- which knows the
Leader of leaders,
OF which Moses both wrote and spoke.
There is nothing in this world which
God has given into the hands OF man
SO valuable as time, and there is
nothing of which he is so profligate.
Timei What is it? Stroughton puts
IL pungently and forcibly thus: thine
is LIES freightage, wherewith some
men trade, and make a fortune; and
others suffer it to molder all away, or
waste in extravaganza. Time is
LIES book, out of which some ex-
tract wondrous wisdom; while others
let it lie uncovered, and then die fools.
Time is life's tree, from which some
gather precious fruit, while others lie
down under its shadow, and perish
with hunger. Time is lifes ladder,
whereby some raise themselves up to
honor and renown and glory; and some
let themselves down into the deeps of
shame, degradation and ignominy.
Time will be to us what, by our use Of
the treasure, we make tia good or an
evil, a blessing or a curse" With time
SO laden with possibilities for good and
evil, for this life and the life to come,
uyan nj &c ~
the year, and Make Moses prayer our
prayer: 80 teach us to number our
days that we may apply our hearts unto
wisdom" So impress us with the value
Of time that wisdom shall become our
teacher, and we shall no longer waste
or misuse that which is SO precious.
HOW often one hears the words
spoken with regretful sigh: ''If
I had more time, would do so and
So" referring TO some neglected duty,
some unimproved opportunity, some
kindly word or service left undone.
And the soul would unconsciously seek
refuge in the thought that the fault
lay not within the individual, but was
chargeable to time itself. But we
have all the time there is. We have
all the time which God intended we
should have. He has placed "a
hours In each day, for which we
are accountable to Him, and sure
ly this is responsibility enough, with
out wishing that the day were
longer, that we had more time. Idle
Is the wish for more time. Reckless
and unrighteous is the longing for
the hours to pass swiftly and bring
another day. 1t Is not a case of the
changing Of time, retarding or a has
tening of its passage. 1t is matter
OF the use to which time Is put God
does not come to you and to me and
ask us how many hours we had in
the day, but how did we use those
hours. And He from Whose hands
the hours have come with such faith
full regularity is ethe One to Whom
we must render our accounting. 1
DO not think 1t Is possible for man
in and of himself to decide how best
he can use the time which is given
him. He needs Divine guidance in the
use of that which God treasures so
highly as to give 1t with frugal
hand. moment by moment. Fenelon
has said that God has done this that
He might impress man with the worth
of time. 'He never gives us two mo-
ments together. nor grants us a sec
ond till He has withdrawn the first.
still keeping the third in His own
hands. SO that we are In perfect I'M
certainty whether We shall have 1t or
not"
600 TEACH u.s." We need to enter
~ Gods school and learn of Him
Just how to use time. We need to
know the Divine values and to I'M
derstand the highest uses to which
time may be put. With what I'M
worthy aims and motives man fills the
moments as they pass. With what
greedy hand he reaches out and gath
ers from the fleeing days the treas
ures Of this life which perish with the
using. With what thoughtless en-
deavor and aimless PURPOSE he fills
the hours as they pass. But man, even
at his best, if left to his own eounsels
and wisdom, is more than apt to mis-
use the time. How futile and need
less are some Of mans best efforts as
they stand revealed in the light of the
experiences Of subsequent days. How
often we have to look back on past en-
deavor and admit that il was misdi-
rected and useless Our purpose may
have been the purest, our energies
wisely directed. our ideals the noblest,
but, notwithstanding all this, we real
lie at last that human conceptions and
expectations have failed, our plans
have miscarried. and the time spent
has been practically thrown away.
But II we had looked to a higher wis
dom than our own, If we had been
obedient to leadership which was
unerring and faultless, we would have
done differently, We would have writ