The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-06-27
PASTOR DRAWS A
LESSON FROM JOB
Rev. Dr.. Foster breaches from
a Familiar Text
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
Great Commanders Won Victories by
Massing Troops About Com
mon center-concentration
Against Evil.
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

The Rev. DR.. Sterling ]. Foster. pastor
of the South Highlands Presbyterian
church. delivered the following discourse
Yesterday at the Il O'Clock service:
9TH 1 die l will hold fast mine In
tegrity" Job 27:5.
History tells us that Alexander the
Great first evolved and developed that
method of warfare that made him easily
the conqueror Of the world. This method
consisted in massing his troops about a
comon center and hurting them with ter
rife force against some given point in the
enemies lines, breaking them to pieces,
and then attacking the wings thus separ-
ated he would rout them with terrible
slaughter.
1t was by this method that Julius Gaze
sar conquered the Gauls and the scat
tered tribes of Britans; that Gustavous
Adolphus over-ran Germany never losing
a battle, his troops holding together and
winning victory even after his death in
the battle of Lutzen. With more modern
arms and equipments Napoleon brought
this method to its highest perfection. and
seemed invlnclble, save by the forces of
nature. on his disastrous march into
Russia.
Also Jobs Method.
But long before Alexander the Great
Job the ancient patriarch, had adopted
this method in his warfare In defense OF
the sacred city of Mansoul The words
of the text teach us that he recognized
the value Of such tactics. 9TH / die
he says, Il will hold fast mine integri
ty." This word integrity includes with
In itself this method of the great con
querors. 1t is derived, I need hardly re
mind you, from the world integer, an,
signifies Wilderness, completeness, com
pactness. stability. 1t means the mass
ing together around one great purpose
all the ambitions, aspirations and desire
of the soul and hurting them with all tn
power within us against the enemie
which conspire against us.
All the advantages attaching to thi
method in conducting a great campaign
with modern guns and equipment, belonI
to 1t, in the deadly warfare to which W.
as Christians are called. The suprem,
danger to which we are exposed in al
age like this is the danger of a division
of interests Amidst a civilization 81
highly developed and of such infinit
variety, the temptation to a life spill
up into sections and fractions grows ter
ribly strange. s
Divisions Fatal.
But sections and fractions are Difficult
to manage, and have habit or breakin!
up into sub-sections and smaller frac
tions until we become bewildered in tn
hopeless undertaking Of reducing then
to order and harmony. Then with lif
dlsordered and confused, we are the cas-,
prey of any vagrant whim or maraudinl
temptation which may happen to cross
our pathway. But integrity cannot b'
divided; the very act of dividing it de
stroys 1t. You can add to it, or subtrac
from 1t, multiply It, and it will be In
tegrity q whole number, a complete
thing still, but division is fatal TO it.
AS some one has said, COG allowed
Satan to perform a sum In subtraction
on Job. He subtracted from his worldly
substance, eamels. sheep and oxen; from
his family, sons and daughters, and from
job himself health and strength The poor
man had not much left as he sat in sack
cloth and ashes But he was whole mar
still. what" said his wife, 'dost thou
still hold fast thine integrity? Curse Goo
and die" But he said to her. "Thot
speakest as one of the foolish womer
spoaketh, Shall we receive good at tht
hands of the Lord, and not evil?'' Thu
was he brought to poverty and affliction
but his resolution remained fixed-'Till
die I will hold fast mine integrity"
We hear much today of the need o
"the simple life," and many wonder |
II is pessiblein this age. There are man.
who offer infall'ble guidance for attaining
1t. But surely 1t is vain offer unless
has compounded In 1t some of the reso
luton of this ancient man of God. 1t 1
when q mans character becomes frac
tional, broken, that complication arise
in his life and simplicity, directness, har
mony are gone from him.
Mans Chief End.
Some have found fault with some of tn
answers found in the Shorter catecism'
of the Westminster assembly, but nom
| believe have objected to the answer t.
the first question Mans chief need Il
to glorify God and enjoy him forever
Around this purpose as a comon center
II we mass the powers and faculties o.
our souls Their is no power Of earth tha
can resist u.s. The whole problem of lifs
is simplifed, and there Is found no place
in It, for the Respondent note the cyniea
tone so prevalent today. This and this
alone can reach the seat of the disorder
This can alone bring together the discor'
dant and warning factions in the indi
vidual life, and so quiet the janglinf
noises and nerve-wearihg confusion that
Is destroying all the joy and happiness
of living and working US into race Of
morose and surly grumblers.
The Psalmist who had tested the Who'll,
scale of human life and had tasted its vic
tories and defeats and knew its suprem
est necessities makes this as the prayer
holding the keynote Of his desires. 20