Virginia gazette. [volume] (Williamsburg, Va.) 1893-192?, 1904-11-26
THE BLESSED HOP
OUR REGULAR SUNDAY SERMON
There Is a Perfect Home of Joy aud
Rest and Besu,v Reserved For All
the Finally Faithful


the Puritan Congregational Church, the
pastor, the Rev. Livingston l.. Taylor, had
for the subject of his sermon. The
knowledge OF God" The text was from
Psalm lxxxiv.2. My neart aud my flesh
crieth out for the living God" Slr. lay
lor sand:
1 come back to this pulpit in no uneer-
tainty of mind with reference TO what my /
message should be. l know. at any rate. /
where lt must begin. Unless l mistake 4
the terms OF my commission. unless / mis- /
take the nature OF the means placed at my I
disposal, which are the Bible and the I
church. unless l mistake the example of |
my Master. IL Is my business TO hep men, /
90 far as in me lies. TO find God
There Is no mistoSing my own mind. I
nor what the summer has done To confirm
AZ IN this conviction. To me. es 20 many
OF You, the glory of the Lord has been re-
vealcd anew in earth and SKY and sea. 10
me. as 20 many ct YOU. has come the OPP
pOrtunity TO read and 20 think and 20 en-
ter INTO the thoughts Of other persons. We
have gone out OF doors with our religion.
We have taken our ideas OF God and life
away from home with Us. We have srav-
eled far afe,d with them IN the books
which We have read. How have they
fsreds
For myself I did not 10y any means get
nd OF Joremiahs words by preaching on
them last sunday morning. They stay by
me. As they began TO stay by me ln the
cary summer. The gods that have not
made the heavens and the earth. these
shall perish from the earth and from I'M
der the heavens" Heaven and earth bear
testimony against every inadequate idea or
God. We must have a God whom nothing
IN heaven or on earth can dethrone. We
must have a God our faith IN whom need
not be shaken by anything we may learn
about nature. or about the Bible. or about
the life OF men and nations. We must
/ have God who VIII not break down and
perish out OF our souls IN the hour OF trial.
/ We must have q God who shall be God TO
Us. our God. even when we can only CRY
with JOB. "Oh, that l knew where ]
might find HIM" We must have a God
| 90 whom we may FAY. Father. INTO Thy
| hands l commend my spirit IN the very
| hour IN which we may have erred My
/ God. my God, why hast Thou iorsakcn
/ me - such Is the God and Father OF 0alr
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Such y
the God from whom nothing IN the height
or IN the depths. nothing IN the past, the
present or the future could dctsch the
faith OF Paul. Such - the Cod our need oi
whom may be revealed Go Us at any mo-
ment by the lightning fash OF some grcai
calamity. such 10 the God our need of
whom VIII bear down upon our mind.
more and more heavily as we face more
and more frankly tho facts OF life.
Here j. 4 man who has been summoned
/ by = midnight message % the bedside o
his child As he goes from ferry 90 ferrl
20 ascertain by what route he can reacl
her most quickly. every man he address,
reads ms secret and Allows him kindness
/ Connections are close Over every sigma
lght chat delays him the engineer sees
night lamp ga a sick room that tells hiu
every second lost must be made up. Tn
conductor uervousiy hurries passengers Of
and on the train az every stop. The rae
Is won. The father stands beside las child
. There are the doctors. There are Ga
! | nurses. There are friends. Evcrythin
that human love and sympathy and ski
can suggest Is being done. Where a. ia
God: / say, father, where - thy God
. Nature saw 10 aim. Il have contrived
T httle sack in your childs body. ] hay
b. | filled 10 with poison. Within twenty-iOi
hours I propose 90 break u. II l hrca
= il your child viii die. II YOU are williu
a move Il. Then 1 wil 60 the best ca
Tor YOU
some men tell me that their God is "a
p turc. Does your God thus speak His who
rnindt Why. that room where father
making up his mind what answer 60 gi'
90 natures ultimatum b. flooded with pa
love. livery body cares. Arc You ready
d / say EVERYBODY cares but Godr' There
40 sick child there 60 be accounted io
There is harsh uitimatum OF nature
i- be accounted ior. But there are Iowa
- | hearts in that room 20 be accounted q,
also. And there IS q universal capacity {
, ! sympathy and helpful action 10 be q
counted Tor. T. - scene which lar
-H / represents tho tragedy OF the word pI
id / cess. Ina which aspects OF It do you q
rs Germ the working OF the higher lawn G
merciess progress OF the disease or
ir what u being done 10 save. 20 heal.
III comfort IL there u any purpose. or ev
any tendency, 90 be discovered IN such
scene. IS &c the triumph OF pam and {
periecting OF cruelty that - being pi
moteds or ls it the periectsng " faith q
a loves
Christians should know where 20 70
. for God ia such scenes. They will 81
Him IN precisely the place IA which ti
an would look for Jesus Christ. SOmetin
j. We wonder why 50 many miracles oi ht
ing are recorded in the gospels. May
not be because God wants Us 90 kn
iiS where 20 place Him when we are coniro
Do 1 ed by the elemental questions v Inch ~
or ness and pam and death are certain
rsise IN our minds, IL 10 the higher
which shOuld ever speak 90 NJ Of q
II Is with hie and healing. with love >.
care, that We are taught TO associate
thought OF God. IN the midst OF hfes C
4 fusions We know an part. When g
". which j. perfect j. come 10 VIII prove
be-love. We can even think OF oursc.'
when i i AL over. looking back and
ing.
with mercy and with judgments
Aiy web OF time lie wovc.
And ave the dews OF sOrrOw
Were lustered with HE love:
III bless the hand that guided.
III bless the heart that planned.
When throned where glory dwcllctl
In Emmanuei's land
like 20 think OF the positive aspect
the First Commandment Thou shalt
no other God before Ne" That me
stated positively: Thou shalt have a {
and thOu shalt have Aie for thy [
Thou shalt have God. 10 is the FIRST