Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1905-03-03


nearer and nearer 20 the great ocean OF
eternity the volume OF the river in
creaSes until IL becomes n peace that
pasSeth understanding.
Is this increasing power true i'm ref
erence TO our spiritual peace? AS you
compare your present life with that
OF your spiritual life ten, twenty, thir-
~ years ago are you conscious that you
love God more now than you did then Z?
Do you read the Bible more now than
you did when you Joined the church
and prepared for your first commun-
ion? Is your enjoyment of prayer and
your dependence upon il more intense
now than they were at first? Are you
striving more earnestly than formerly
10 gather the showers OF blessing that
are everywhere falling around you into
your OWN spiritual nature? Are you
more ready now than at the beginning
or your Christian career to 20 into the
house of n neighbor on whom sickness
or bereavement has fallen to admins
ter comfort and TO cheer him with re-
minders of Gods promises? There is
something awfully wrong with Chris
tan who. while his wealth and mental
power increase with the passing years.
finds that his spiritual nature does not
widen and deepen like the pleading
river of Gods peace.
Not Like n River
Indeed, sometimes think that our
so called peace is not like q river AT
all. 1t is more like brackish. stag.
nant pool or as a dried up well that
gives forth no water. There was q
very good well here once" said an old
farmer in reference to certain drink.
ing trough. Indeed" answered a
preacher on his vacation, sis that so;
wonder what is the matter with II.
How did it get filled upT' Neglect,
sir" answered the farmer First q
little rubbish got in 1t, then a little
more and n little more and n little
more. The dirt and refuse were not
cleared out, and the water grew worse
and worse and less and less until Mt
last the well became choked up. I
wonder IL there is any water at the
bottom Of this wellY' "Yes," said the
preacher, az wonder IL there is any wa
ter at the bottom of the wellY Is
that the figure Of our peace? Is It q
well and not n river?
As the Mississippi river is fed by the
Missouri, the Ohio, the Tennessee and
the Red rivers and indirectly by the
Allegheny, the Monongahela, the Vel
lowstone and the Platte, SO from many
sources might the river of our peace re-
ceive the waters OF blessing, but in
CfnQ6 ol hn If,-f n,,I -
this world to choke the passages by
which they might enter and our river
dwindles into stagnant pool. Have
we become dried up spiritual wells2 As
the tourists dropping pebbles into
Jacobs well have choked il up, some
OF us have choked up our gospel wells.
Years ago we dropped the pebble OF
Sabbath Dissertation into It. Years ago
in went another pebble-absence from
Sunday school and church worship.
Years ago we took to reading the
Sunday newspapers instead OF the BIZ
bic. No wonder that our peace, which
should pass all understanding and be
like river, widening and deepening
each year, is like n brackish, stagnant
pool or dried up IKE Jacobs well. II
it be not like river. the fault is ours
and not Gods. God is pouring down
upon us everywhere his showers OF
spiritual blessing. which we should
gather, freshet-like, into the river beds
OF our hearts.
But the pleading river not only
teaches our relationship to God. but
also our practical spiritual relationship
TO our fellow men. 1t clearly and en-
phatically and distinctly says. Gospel
peace must be eyes TO the blind, food
for the hungry, clothing for the naked
and happy fresides for the homeless"
1t teaches man that the first great COM
mandment is TO love the Lord our God
with all our soul and strength and
mind. And the second is like unto IL:
we must love our nelgbbors as our
selves. IL is a law OF our nature that
peace and happiness come to us through
service TO others. No man Is so happy
as lie who has made another happy.
NO pillow is so restful as that OF him
who has relieved the anxiety Of his
brother. The peace that passeth under.
: mding never fills the heart that cher.
isles selfish desires or turns away from
nnother's misery.
The Secret OF Happiness
HOW Is 1t with America? ~ would
IKE 10 see America, but the people are
not as great as you think" said Thorn
ms Carlyle TO an American visitor. "You
may boast Of your democracy or any
other 'cracy' or any other kind OF polit-
icai rubbish, but the reason why your
iaboring folks are so happy Is that Won
have vast deal OF land for very few
people" True, Thomas Carlyle. true.
But what would our lands be worth IL
we did not have our mighty rivers To
water them? Whence could our cattle
ind water to drink and grass to eat
but for the rivers? How could our
grain lift its golden cheek 10 be kissed
or the sun unless its roots once waded
knee deep In the mud? What makes
the Atlantic coast, especially New Eng
land, have the most fertile valleys? The
rivers. What makes Sahara one great
sea OF sandi The absence of the rivers
Yes. as the Egyptians for centuries
worshiped the river Nile because its
rise or fall meant TO them food or fam
Inc. Clothing or nakedness, prosperity
or poverty, health or disease. the rivers
or our land are the source of fertility
TO the soil and prosperity to our people
III the peace of our hearts Is to be like
river 1t must give help temporal and
spiritual to all around us.
Are we temporal and spiritual "riv-
ers or life" TO our fellow men? Some
or us are truly rivers OF death" or
rivers of seclusion." Our lives are like
the stygian stream In the great Mann
moth cave OF Kentucky. We are SUR
rounded by grandeurs and beauties on
every side, but. we have walled our
selves in by solid rock, where we can
do no good to others and where Others
cannot do any good to us.
Like Laray Cave.
Or our lives. IL they are not like the
Styx of a Mammoth cave. supporting
only few blind fish swimming hun.
dreds OF feet below the surface of the
earth. may be like the wonderfully
suggestive beauties of Luray cave OF
old Virginia, which likewise arc do,1o