The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-07-09
l"The Universal Cod
Selected for The Timcs-Dispatch

Selected for The Times Dispatch.) n
"'rhus saith the Lord, Because tie
Syrlans have sad, The Lord is G Cd of
the hills, but He; is not the God of the
valleys: therefore will deliver all tits
great multitude nto thine hand, and se
Shall know that am tn" Lord.''-I
Kings xx;22s.. \,
This, was,ithe profound m. STAKE which
the Syriaupsoydtsrs made But we fear
the whole ~orld't1s making Hthe same
mistake ~ jrlr oGt gat s.. ia,
What. if on insddiry2i It should be proved
that ne have but ~ partial
religion, religion Il useful here,
but useless there an adnira bic
contemplation for Sunday, but a griev-
Gus burden for Monday? What if we
practically reverse the Syrian conception
and say. that the Lord is God Of the
valleys, but not the, God of. the hills?
That We. want Him in the dark and
dangerous places, but we can fight for
ourselves in the open and on the tops
OF the breezy hills?
Is ours a local or a universal God?
Is 1t an error totsuppose that most of
us have God who Is called uron on
special occasions? How manx- of US Give,
more and have our being In God that
| enriches and protects and trains to high
purposes the whole life, body, soul and
spirit? For US does our God occupy
the hills alone or the valleys a:one? or
does He fill all things with the fulnc
and silence Of light?
Some confine Him TO the hills of spccu-
lation and exclude Him from. the, valleys
of daily life. They are the intellectual
patrons and flatterers Of God. He is too
great to be realized. He is the Supreme
Thought, the Infinite Conception. the I'm
conditioned Absolute. and various other
magnificent phrases: According to their
view, He can take no part in daily ex-
pcriences or In the common progress Of
life. He is grand, but useless. He is
| glorious, but unapproachable. And there
are some who recognize God !, in the
valleys of trouble, but ignore Him on
| the hills of strength and joy. They call
| Him In professionally. He is kept for
tho hour Of distress only. They make a
convenience of God.
| But God has as much to do with our
prosperity as with our adversely. Our
| breath Is in our nostrlls and our life
is the daily gift Of God.
The glory of our religion is that 1t
comprehends ana blesscs the whole life.
II life We're a straight, short line be-
| inning r. n n 10 syl,tI oI, he
eye could plainly see;,if 1t were All easy
game which every one could at once COM
prehend: II 1t were competition in
! business, or a race on an open road
and upon equal terms, then perhaps we
might say that religion was not needed,
What is this life for which true reli-
Glon must provide? 1t is no easy riddle.
what is It's origin? What Is this ite?'It cal
curse and pray; 1t can descend to beast
| hood; 1t can fill itself for heaven; II cnll
write poems In Ink. build them In stone.
paint them in color. And 1t can drive
away It's genius and die in lunacy
What is the hereafter of this multiplied
life? Does II go out like spark? Does
It perish like day? Does 1t burst like a
bubble? or does It go forward to new
scenes, grow UP into nobler powers, study
| profounder questions and eliminate In
tho very holiness of God? These are Some
of the question that life asks Itself
They come from the very center of the
soul. and are the very soul itself. trans
lated into anxious but knocking words.
Here is the proof of all true religion,
the comfort stay nf tho soul. 1t encom-
passes with an infinite snffieiency The
whole life; il is equally strong at every.