Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1904-02-03

fuH OF rare documents of great an
tiquity and value, such as the original
Magma Charta, autograph of early Eng
lish sUycreigns and the AlexandIian
Bible next TO the oldest biblical manu-
script in existence.
But none of these relic> are more In
terestin1 than the illuminated texts
of the Bible, illustrated psalters and
gospels. in colors and gold, dating back
nearly thousand years.
In the illuminated Bibles are seen
such decorations as you might expect
Capita letters beginning chapter are
printed in large size and in gold. There
are artistic embroideries and beautiful
colored decorations. But these are not
all There is evident desire to pie
ture the truth.
Symbolical representations of he'll
appear where chapters take up that
topic. Curious attempts are made TO
illustrate the book of Revelation, its
verses and strange symbols. But most
of the pictures touch upon more prac
teal phases of truth, such as the Cos
pei narratives and teachings. The peo-
pie desired 10 make more vivid the
things of God. and for that purpose
used Illustrations
Ours, too, is a picture age. Art is
rendering large service in representing
biblical scenes and characters, making
them real and attractive. But a still
more effective way of picturing the
truth is that which Christ's followers
employ when in daily conduct we in
carnate it, showing forth Christ's teach
ing in our lives. Nothing can make
the Golden Rule so graphic or so force
full as our actually doing. unto Others
as we would that they should Go unto
u.s."
In olden times an abundance of gold
and silver was used in Illuminating
the gospels. FURNISHED gold and beauti-
full colors to give luster to the books.
A very old Bible can be seen in the
British Museum all studded with crys-
tails and prec Gus stones, all covered
with gold. WITH no cost spared to make
it as attractive as possible.
PVT we believe a better way of
adorning the Bible is shown to-day,
when its teachings are made evident
and winsome in our lives, by putting
our gold and silver into church treas
uries and Christian charities, by be-
coming walking Bibles, gospels in
shoes, living epistles of Christ, known
and read of all men having such char
acters as 'adorn the doctrine of God
our Savior in all things The best
Illustrated Bible is well defined as the
conduct of the people that profess to
take it for their guide and law"
When Jesus sent out his disciples
he said GAS We go, preach, saying the
kingdom of heaven is at hand" But
they did not do all their preaching
when declaring the gospel message;
as they went their lives preached. I'm
DERIVING this is great fact.
We are all living epistles. This is
true Of laymen as wei as clergymen
of men of the world as well as of
church members; as we go daily we
all preach, not only by our CONVERSE
ton, but by our trades, our looks, our
thoughts, our acts. We may not realize
it, but we are contagious; we are pho
tographing ourselves upon others. And
this solemn question should arrest us,
What are we preaching as we go?
What are we illustrating by our lives?
Are we picture the truth as it is
in Jesus or are we repeating the devils
lies and follies? Are we illustra ting
the beauty of holiness and sett-sacri-
fee, or the ugliness of sin and selfish
ness? Do our lives say as we go
through the world, THE kingdom of
heaven is at hand?" Do people feel
the kingdom of love and purity in u.s.
and are they helped to better lives by
mingling with us?
Whatever is within us will out.
Heavens kingdom must be within US
before we can preach it in our daily
conduct. An imperative call is upon
us all to propagate the best things in
the world and overcome the worst, TO
illustrate the Christ and become living
pictures and preachers of his gospel
of righteousness and love.
POWER OF CONSISTENT PRAYER
BY Rev. ". ID. BradfieId, d. ID.
Stripped of its accidents, prayer is
the lifting of the soul to God. You
may kneel, or you may stand, or you
may sit, or you may lie upon your
face you may employ many words or
few words, eloquent words or STAN
mering words, but the one ess Ential is
that you lift your soul to God. I
insist upon no accident of prayer; /
insist only that you pray.
Prayer is an instinct of the soul.
1t is natural to pray. Prayer exhales
from the soul as spontaneously as the
perfume from the flower. You find
no tribe that does not pray; you find
no individual who under certain con-
ditions will not pray. The sense Of
need and the conviction of a helper
somewhere constitute the basis of
prayer Prayer is the expression OF
ths religious nature Of man, and a
roll call of the worlds worthless will
bring US face to face with men mighty
in prayer.
Prayer is reasonable, because
grounded upon the most rational con-
ception of God, of his relation to our
world If your conception of God is
atheistic. namely, that God is not; if
it is deistic. namely, that God is. but
far removed from our world; if it is
agnostic, namely that God may be,
but we cannot know him, then. in
either case. there is 70 rational place