The Cairo bulletin., 1904-08-14

>ANH"h'eu ieuIHi beneath the waves,
ana novel and strange Interpretation
~ given TO the mystery Of the sea. The
Text Is Revelations XXI, l, "And there
was no more sea-"
Who was the writer? Where were
lis ieet planted when he saw the spec
tacles which he describes In his divine
~ inspired Apocalypsel These two
conditions must be clearly understood
before one can in any true way grasp
the meaning Of the words of my text.
Indeed to properly appreciate the
words or the actions OF any man we
must first put ourselves In that mans
place.
We all understand this condition In
everyday life. Why, then, cannot we
put ourselves in the biblical writer's
places when we try to interpret the
holy book? During the darkest days
OF the civil war Congressman Dixon of
New York state entered the White
House with long list Of grievances.
which he and some of his colleagues
had drawn up against the government.
Until he was through. Then he said;
"Dixon, believe you and your friends
were truly honest men when you drew
up those criticisms against my admin
istration. But the trouble is you fell
lows do not put yourselves In my place.
II you did. you would do just about
what | am doing. tell you how
Twin fix these matters. You go home
and think up all the things you would
like me to do, and then come back tot
morrow and tell me the result, and
Will do just what you want me to do"l
Congressman Dixon said: Il VENT
back TO my hotel that evening with my
head high up among the clouds. Why
said | to myself, Lincoln said he will |
do anything | want. him TO do; that |
makes me tonight practically president |
OF the United States But after sup |
per that night Congressman Dixon |
went to his room. He laid the white
sheets Of paper upon his desk and be- |
gan TO plan what he wanted Lincoln
to do. The more, however. he thought,
the more difficult it was for him to find
anything to write. Why Because the
more he put himself in the presidents
place the more he felt lie would do
just as Lincoln was doing and had
done. The next day came. did not
go TO the White House, said Congress
man Dixon, neither did go the next
day or the next. About three weeks
later | attended public reception at
the White House. AS soon as | en-
tered the room the president saw me
and he called out Hello Dixon. Why
did you not keep your appointment
with Inc the day after our conversa
Iion!' Because | was ashamed to do
So. All, yes, said Lincoln. i thought
you would not come back. The actions
and words of n man appear entirely
different when you put yourself in that
mans place than when you criticisc
Lhem from an outsiders standpoint"
Put Yourself In xYis Place.
Today, In order to rightly interpret
the words of my text,-we must first
put ourselves In ST. Johns place. In
he first instance, we notice, he is an
Did man. His llfe's work was nearly
lone A man at eighty looks at condi-
ions In heaven and on earth differently
rom the way a young man at twenty
ooks at them. The struggles OF life
we're to st. John very real and intense.
For years he had been resident OF
sphesus, in Asia Minor. He had been
mighty factor In the spreading of
he gospel through all those regions.
lie had suffered for Christ; he had al
most been martyred. The second fact /,
We must notice Is that ST. John is an
xile. Like Napoleon ut st. Helena, he ..
new that In all probability he could
ever again 20 back to his earthly
york. Under the Domitian persecu-
ion. he was sent to this lonely, rock
ound island of the Mediterranean.
therefore, the sea meant more TO him
han 1t might mean to some of us. II
meant, as | shall try to show. first, the /
sea of mystery" secondly, the ''sca
( hate" thirdly, the sea OF separa- !
Ion:" and fourthly. the sea OF spirit
al struggle" BY putting ourselves In :
/. Johns place as exiles upon the
,land of Patmos, | believe we can
ymbolize all these facts.
First. the sea Is n mysterious mon =
ter Do we have TO go TO a Johan-
ian vision TO know that? Has any
ian. woman or child ever stood upon :
be beach and looked off upon the !
lightly deep and not wondered about a
hat was happening away down in
ne depths that no fathom line has ever
ct been able TO sound! For years and
ears Africa was called the dark con !
nent. No white mans foot had pene- II
'ated its secret haunts until the last
injury But the dark continent was u
ever more dark than is the dark .
,ean. What Henry VI. Stanley has '
zen TO darkest Africa In one sense
lr Wyville Thomson. and after his
cath Sir John Murray. have been TO
re depths of the sea. The scientists 8
ave unraveled few of the seas mys-
ries. They have shown the world that r
lere are different sea currents flowing j
rer one another in different directions. q
the different currents of the air al !
W the aerOnaut TO journey in one d. u
'ction or another. BY deep sea drcdg- n