The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1904-09-09

Gods ideal for man Is a most exalted and
sublime being, with mental and moral en-
dowments of tremendous SCOPE so i'm
measurably superior in parts and mowers
to all else we know, that il seems the whole
creation must eliminate in him. God de-
signed man in His own image, intended
him for communion and companionshin
with himself, determined to make him His
vlee-regent here on the earth, and Dro-
posed at last to share the government Of
the universe with Him forever. The
thought OF such dignity is an astonishing
and overwhelming conception, but nothing
less than this is Gods ideal for man. if !
read the Scriptures Alright.
But the distance between inception and
completion is greater here than elsewhere
not only because man is destined to rise
higher than other creatures, but also be-
cause he begins lower. 1t is a well-known
tact that the young of the human species
IS inferior in strength and activity to the
young Of many of the lower animals. True,
we walk round the cradle of the sleeping
infant with soft and reverent step, and
TINS is fitting. Heaven itself looks down
on human infancy with reverence. / doubt
II 1T IS too strong to say that God stations
a quaternion of guardian angels at the four
corners of every little crib in the land.
But the reverence with which we regard
the child arises from a prophetic instinct
OF what the child will be, rather than from
any perception of what it now is.
The human baby is the absolute extreme
of feeb.eness, helplessness and ignorance.
1T cannot stand, nor walk, nor even creep.
1t cannot think. It does not know. 1t
has no true perception, nor any mental ac-
ton whatever, apart froll what we call
instinct 1t is utterly without the moral
Experimentation love, without hate,
without hope, without faith Though be-
longing to the Kingdom of God, it Knows
as little of God as Herbert Spencer used
to insist he and the rest of mankind knew.
1t is nothing but hurdle of unconscious
organized life, with inherent capabilities
not yet manifest 1t hasn't ability enough
to recognize itself, nor will it ever have
memory enough to remember itself at this
stage of its being. Were it not for that
first miracle of Providence in human life
the mothers love-it would perish from
the earth on the day of its birth.
But wait little and see. Wait until
the mothers fostering care, and the faith
er's disciplinary training, and the instruc-
ton of the schools and the churches, and
all the various appliances of Christian civ
ilization have wrought their vast part in
with the universal law of de-
velopment and progress-and then observe
the child, now become the man. How
wonderful and understandable the result!
That little child now stands erect and sur.
veys the high places of the earth. He
climbs the heights, and, walking with God
on the horns of the mountains. he sur
veys the heavens. He counts the stars
and calls them by their names. He knows
he is superior to suns and systems. His
heart thrills with pulsations that are
mightier than ocean currents or solar in
fluences. He sees. He knows. He I'M
derstands. He reasons. He feels within
himself the mighty mastery. He calls out
to God, and God answers him. The scep-
ire is already in his hand, and the crown
is in sight that the Son of Man Himself
will soon place on his brow Henceforth
he is king, and alive forevermore, with a
life that will rule the world and conquer
death.
Such is the law of progress which is
here applied to the church, both collec-
lively and individually. We are here sol
emily commanded to rise up and seize our
Never before in all the ages
was there such concurrent blast of trum-
pets from all quarters of the globe calling
the church to go forward. Let the Coz
umns form and the march begin.