The Penn's Grove record., 1904-05-13

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life has been endowed and prepared.
To have learned that God Is everywhere
was also to learn that since God is God
there can be no limit to His divine love
that God has love and blessing for all peO-
pie and every person. So that IN Jonah
being cast into the sea, it was not a pun
ishment, but one method of a fuller reve-
lation of the care and love Of God for those
who became willing to obey Him. Our sor-
row is not a punishment, but a method for
a higher and fuller revelation Of Gods love
and blessing. There Is often a little tinge
Of atheism in our thought about Christian
trouble or sorrow. 1t does not seem right
to speak of any Christian sorrow as some
thing allowed of God and overruled to a
higher purpose. All Christian sorrow, as
well as all Christian experiences are but
different methods of Gods. own through
which He gives higher and fuller reyela-
tions of His love and blessing, and devel-
ops His people to better fitness for service.
And this is what Jonah learned, and hav-
ing learned it he went at one to that city
OF Nineveh and delivered the message God
had given him to deliver. He tells the
NineYites all he knows about the love Of
God. He tells them also all about the pure
and righteous demands of God, and that If
they persist in living tier awful lives OF
selfshness and sin destruction must come
to them as it must come to all men who
persist in shining.
The city did repent and God did bless
the people. And in this way Jonah learned
that the very blessings he had himself re-
eeived and his people had received were
not for themselves alone, but also for 9TH
ers-Nineveh and every other Nineveh that
needed the knowledge of the love and
righteousness of God. 1t s this that makes
this parable of Jonah so like the parallels
of Jesus-illustrations of the love OF God
and of What Cod pvpacts from those WIN
already have been blessed.
And this second thought was Just as Wv
idly taught as the first one. After preach
ing for about five weeks IN Nineveh, Jonah
thought God was showing too much favor
to this city. He was granting it too many
blessings. This he regarded as a very pain
full reflection upon Jewish traditions, and
this he resented. At the close of a days
preaching he went out into the country to
think it all out and have a real satisfactory
grumble about it all by himself. He sat
down near to a large, big leaved gourd,
whose refreshing shade, as the sun moved
around, kept its burning rays from harm
ing him. Next morning he went back TO
the same place, but the gourd had with
cred during the night. Jonah got angry,
and in his indignation pitied the gourd
thus destroyed so soon. But as he cooled
off and his reason and his heart again as
serted themselves, that voice seemed again
to speak within him, Jonah, what a fool
ish, unreasonable creature you are! Here
you pity this gourd, and yet you ind fault
with and upbraid God because lie has
shown His pitying love and blessing to-
ward these people of Nineveh-are not sin
full, sorrowing human beings of more value
than a gourd?" That was enough for Jo-
nah. He was satisfied God did care for
the people of Nineveh, and that it was
Godlike to do 500 yea, and what was more
important, that His love and blessing were
to be made known to them through the
people already blessed. That is the teach
ing Of the book of Jonah; that is the les
son Jonah learned, that he must offer God
missionary service as well as worship, that
he must offer God service as well as love,
that to carry the message of Gods love to
lis fellow men is to worship God.
Do you know, 1 think that is what God
still asks? And yet, and yet, l sometimes
think we rebel against the thought OF 1t
quite as much as Jonah did. That is why
[ nave been led to bring this study of Jo-
nah this morning. If we are not going to
help the people of our Nineveh, who is
going to do it? Like Jonah, we spend
enough upon ourselves; we do not deny
ourselves a single thing we set our hearts
upon-social parties, theatres, entertain
ment, home comforts, bodily comforts, ira
vel by land and sea. And these have all
their own place-but we must not forget
the people in Nineveh. In addition to our
own care for ourselves and our worship,
We have one other responsibility-the peo-
pie in Nineveh. For them I speak this
morning. We may take to sea as Jonah
did, but it is not a very profitable busl-
ness. Much better respond to the Lord
gladly. True, we do not say with Jonah
that God is not everywhere, or that His
love is not for every creature-that IS the
very essence of our creed, but we may say
with Jonah, Let some one else help Nine
veh. I don't want to do it; if Nlneveh
can't take care of itself and some one must
help them, let some one else do so. ms
is not what we are going to say to-day
We are going to say, rather, tell us where
our Nineveh is. tell US how we can best
help at this particular time and we will do
it! NY answer is, this home mission offer
ing is our NIneveh.
WHY should we? Because it is Godlike.
God Himself is our supreme example. Be
cause it is good for US to glve-we feel our
brotherhood better and the JOY Of giving
becomes ours. Because new American
communities need our help to fill them
with hope, and by church privileges inspire
them with those same God-given prlnci-
pies and truths that have made New Eng
land and New York, that have made our
selves and given us our prosperous ENVIRON
ment.. For Gods sake, for our own sake,
for America 5 axe JnlS Is our opportunity
We want these people 20 know the same
God we know and to speak to Him as con-
idently as we do and call Him Father.
When these people come together on Sun
DAYS we want them to be able to say with
us "Our Father" When they gather their
little, white-robed children around them
at the even hour, we want them, children
and parents together, to say Our Father"
When they come to lay any of these little
ones out on the hillside and place upon the
marker the words Our Darling" We want
them also c~onfdingly to say, My Father"
And when they themselves com to the
edge of the deep waters and wonder what
ferryboat is to bear them across their JOr-
dan we want them trustfully, lovingly, to
be able to put their hands outward and up
ward and say, My Father" That is out
Nineveh. VIII you help? Help US unto
Him!