The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1904-08-27

T ~ N1AA 80
~ NJ search for the ia
TN bled pot of gold at
@AjN the end Of the rain
NS bow. or the persist
ent effort TO discover the fountain OF
perpetual youth. All. how vain and DIS
amounting is much of the struggle anu
search of human kind! Much seeking
but little finding, Feverish. persistent
quest for fading joys and p~erishable pos
sessions. and never realization or oe-
Sires or satisfaction of soul! 1t is be-
cause the things sought for are either
~unattSinable, or, if ~attainable. are dis
eppointing and unsatisfying when
gained. It is the search for the gilt
tering gem, which. when within the
grasp, proves naught but the worthless
bauble Of tinsel and silt. Search for
happiness, wealth, power, business, So
Cial or intellectual preferment and sue
cess. and when the prize is o at last
estcr the first delightful thrill of pos
session has passed, it proves unsatlsIy-
ing. The ideal is never attained. lt
is always Just beyond the reach. But
cot SO the search after God. God is the
a~ttainable and the satisfying reward OF
every hungry. seeking soul. He is the
'FindableG God" Buthowmany there are
~ HhC doubt this. How many believing
- It. yet grow weary in their search, and
fail to reach the goal of Gods presence.
But there are those who seek Him with
their whole desire and He is foundO of
them. Many, like Job, cried out, as they
struggled through darkness and dis
enlargement and suffering: o that |
knew where 1 might find Him. The
way seems so long. Faiths eye grows
dim and the heart faint and discouraged,
but at last the soul merges into the
light of His presence, and GODS voice
is heard, even as Job came face to face
with Him in the whirlwind, and heard
Him SPEAK His rebuke and pronounce
Ills blessing. The seeker after God
always comes into the Divine presence,
IL faith fail not and the heart turn not
from its purpose. Seek Il ye shall
find" was Jesus encouraging promise.
The seeker shall be rewarded, but how
much is involved in the seeking!
r. HE declaration Of our text that HE
NNOul Oo 1SO1O vi NAACLA 49,
ence to a spiritual apprehension and ap-
probation of the Divine God-head. Man
may and does find Goo in the nature
about him. God Is everywhere in His
universe. The efforts of the atheists
aud the Darwinian scientists have never
succeeded In eliminating God as a
Factor and Conscious Presence in the
heavens and the earth which declare
His handiwork" and reveal His wis
dom and power. God is found in every
starry height and every retreating and
shadowy depth. His presence is found
upon the wide expanse OF the fathomless
sea; upon river, lake and sparkling rill.
The rugged mountains mark the course
of His mighty tread through the earth
and the gentle valleys display the YER
dure and beauty of His omnipotent hand.
The woods are vibrant with the life
which has been bestowed by Him. The
birds In joyful note; the insects with
their busy hum or lazy swinging on
the gentle breeze: the thrifty ant, with
hurried passage through his forest jun
Gle Of grass on definite business bent;
the animal creation from the little squir-
rels that find their coy home in the
friendly, h~ospitable heart of the great
tree, or the sleek-coated gopher that
burrows meath the mellow sod, or the
rabbits that scurry away before the in
truding presence Of man. and then stop
long enough to raise their saUcy, in
quisitive heads above the tall grass and
woodland flowers to watch you as you
pass; up to the graceful, swift deer that
takes one fleeting glance at you as you
invade his leafy arbor and then dashes
away with the speed of the wind to some
more secluded retreat-all. all speak of
Coo and declare His presence in the
worlG which He has made.
A ND man may find God all about him.
u He may be conscious of His pres
ence. He may realize that God is every
where in His nature. He may be among
those who in loving appreciation hold
communion with natures invisible
forms and hear her speak a varying Ian
guage. with God as the keynote of ii
all. But such recognition of God, such
finding Of Him, is not the experience to
which our text has reference. God is
to be found III known in a deeper and
fuller and richer sense than this. Mans
quickened soul finds a God to Whom
the natural heart and mind of man are
q complete stranger. "Who by search
ing can find out God?" The searching o.
the natural man will never be rewarded
by that finding of God which reveals
Him in His saving, cleansing, keeping
fructifying power. So the finding of Goo
means more than the superficial, the
intellectual conception of God. i
means the q~uickening of the heart tt
the deepest sense of the need of God, anc
che expanding and charging of the
treart to the realities and consciousness
Of God. When the whole desire goe'
out after God, then is He found O
those thus yearning for Him. Hav'
you found God, or are you still a strange,
to Him? And if a stranger to Him here
q stranger 10 him In the life to come