The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-01-16

In this present state and to that extent 1t tends toward satisfaction. It cal feed us and clothe us and shelter us; but 1t can never reach sour higher aspi- rations. because these belong to an tmmortaf spirit that chafes under It's limitations in prison house of clay.
 when the Psalmist wrote the words of the text he probably had the wealth of rich Kingdom at his command. Yet in the midst of his abounding posses sions he feels an inward longing for something better than he had known something better than wealth could give; and as inspiration lights up ms 1 mind and enables his vision to traverse the reach of future years and see his coming redemption through his coming, ! he exclaims. Lord. shall be satisfied when I awake with Thy likeness Indulgence in this worlds pleasures Is likewise powerless to relieve those deep-seated wants of man. This Is one way in which many seek and think ! to find their highest satisfaction. They see no reason why they should not rush headlong>~ upon that enchanted road which they think will presently con- duct them to the goal where complete happiness will be attained.
 But what an old story it is that | those who give themselves over to
 
 in the end. There is of course an en- joyment in such things. Eating and drinking and mcrrymaking and all that l is called the pleasures of the world, f some of 1t good and some bad. has It's power to please but not to satisfy. And sometimes 1t turns out that those who have made pleasure their God are the most dissatisfied of all people. like the poet of whom 1t was said he
 |" Drank every cup of toy.
 Heard every trump of fame:
 Drank early. deeply drank. Drank draughts that common millions might have quenched,
 Then died of thirst because there was l no more to drink.
 T said Tn my heart, Go to now, 1 will prove thee with mirth therefore enjoy pleasure; and behold. this also is vanity. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them; I with held not my heart from any joy, and behold. all was vanity and vexation of spirit. and there was no profit under 1 the sun. | "As some live for wealth and some for pleasure, so there are those who love power supremely and worship the god of ambition. Perhaps when we 1 look upon those who are in authority we think surely they are entirely hap py and entirely satisfied. They are obeyed and honored and admired. They say to one man, Co., and he goeth; to another. Come and he cometh, and l to another, Do this and he doeth 1t. And especially when we think upon one in the position of a king. we may imag- inc that in such we must find satisfac- ton. But we are reminded of the old story of the peasant who thought that the king ought to be perfectly happy, with whom the king agreed to ex- change places for a day As the peas ant took the kings place on the throne he thought he had never felt so happy before, and the only thing needful to satisfy him entirely would be the as- surance that he might remain king all his life instead of only for one day. But just then he looked up and saw a very heavy sword suspended directly over his head and hanging by a single little thread. Immediately his happi- ness was gone. and he was miserable I the rest of the time that he sat on the throne. Thus was he taught that Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown
 l Moreover. the desire for power is in Its every nature unsuitable The heav- en-born child of destiny may go on in his God-marked and unbounded path to greatness and to glory. He may re
 move every obstacle and surmount every difficulty which confronts him; l and halt not in his careerlng flight till he stands victorious on Flames dizzy heights, and looks upon an admiring world at his feet But that is not sat- | isfaction and even In his exalted posi- tion he longs for other nations to ad- mire him or weeps for other worlds to rule.
 Again there are those who seek sat- | isfaction in knowledge. They are not so foolish as to think that man lives by bread alone. or can be satisfied with things which fulfill only the desires of his physical nature. They take into account the fact that man has an In- tellectual nature, and that the complete satisfaction of the whole man cannot be attained without the qualification of his mental as well as his physical ca pacities. He hungers mot only for | bread. but for knowledge. He thirsts not only for drink, but for truth. Do we, then, find satisfaction among the learned and the wiser
 Ts the problem solved by exercising | the mind In the acquisition of truth and storing 1t with information? The worlds great scholars answer, No, we are not satisfied The mind itself IS 1 unsuitable in its desire for knowledge l wider domains-to soar to higher and yet higher realms in its search for | truth.
 "A philosopher once said if God were to give nim his choice either to know all truth or the power to learn 1t | by study. he would choose not to know 1t. but to study 1t out This illustrates ! to us a fact which students have felt. 1 that while the process of acquiring knowledge is Otisfying to the mind. yet knowledge acquired Is not satisfac- | ton to the mind.
 'The mathematician may learn all that other men have known of the scl- enee of numbers-but he Is not satis- l fed. He keeps on struggling with his abstruse problems. The chemist may | learn all that others have known about chemistry. but he Is n%t satisfied. He continues his search for new elements or new combinations and changes in the old ones. The astropomer learns all that others have learned about the stars but he Is not satished-and h+ cannot he satisfied through his pres ent means of acquainting himself with the glories of the heavenly worl Is. 1 And even If he human mind were slt- isfled with knowledge. that would not mean that the man himself would ne satisfied. And if both his bodily and