The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-03-27


 less change unexpected surprises, unac- colnted disclosures, but 1t is all cosmos, rot chaos The very atoms dance, but their dance Is rythmie. There are no mad forces in nature Like causes produce like effects. Every effect is itself cause in the endless chain Science is nothing more or less than mans success in trae- ing this consequence. In discovering this order. He finds everywhere power, but nowhere confusion. Life manifests itself in a climbing series, an ascending scale, the beginning or end of which we know
 not. But we do know that it is a pro- 1 gressve series reaching from fiery nebu-
 lac to Jesus of Nazareth
 God asserts himself in law, reveals him. self to man. through man, who is the
 product of immeasurable ages, the es- sence of unnumbered lives. the concentra- | tion and eulmination of energies that reach from Monad to the mind of Shakes | care. This God of law besets us before
 and behind Is manifest In the life of plant and planet. he conditions the arctic maple | that reaches it's maturity at a height of
 three inches, as He does the spreading palm that gives columnar dignity to the l tropic desert.
 Manifested in Law.
 | Far, indeed, must we search to find one | who denies this self-asserting and self | protecting God, manifested in the laws of
 the universe. Miracles may tarry while
 il, our theology, but we are careful to ex- clude them out of our industries A rot 1 ten hulk loaded with Bibles goes under;
 stalwart craft loaded with whsley and l gun powder. steered by a pilot for nefar- | icnc ufo "a do ,k
 want to ride over a shaky bridge; we
 know better than to fool with a buzz-saw
 when 1t is going we keep our thumbs out | of its way if we do not wish to lose them Thus it Is, that the God of law asserts
 His majesty protects Himself against our l impudent atheism. In the realm of spirit | He is as persistent, enacts as summarlly | as in the realms of physics. It IS by law
 that the gates of heaven are swung open; i; | by law the hatch ways are lifted that un-
 cover the hells that await the disloyal | soul. A mean act cannot be made an | angel of good in spirit no more than in
 matter. We cannot make a marble statue
 o,,- of pine log.
 Strength in Toll.
 The God of law protects Himself against
 our infdel schemes and our atheistic
 search for shortcut redemptions; com
 pels us to recognize soon or late that by 1 toll only is strength gained or true wealth accumulated. Character is the slow ac-
 cumuation of submissive efforts to con l form to the mandates of this God of law,
 who protects Himself against impiety by
 defeating rash adventure, rewardlng ra- | tional endeavor.
 | History as much as chemistry is law
 environed. To the sufficiently devout the l one is as much a matter of scientific study | ,tl, fc otx., .tt,.
 dication of our text, "Thou hast beset me
 behind and before and laid thine hand
 upon me"
 2. In the second place. the besetting God asserts himself in beauty everywhere and
 always. The universe is partial to har- mony; it is pledged to rhythm. In life as in nature discordant notes do not | carry; they fall out by the way. Perfect
 ones escaping the control of man, con l tinue benignant force in the world. The
 rose that bushes unseen in desert air
 does not on that account waste it's frag- | rance The flies of early geologic ages, preserved in amber, of which there are
 many hundred species studied, were
 touched with beauty when there was no
 human eye to look on them. Rare flow CTS bloom in jungle depths and there
 birds of gayest plumage fit Exquisite | realms of sound lie above the reach of
 the human ear and the solemn thunder of
 sub-bass lies below it's reach.
 The Beautiful.
 This God of beauty laughs at the dis
 functions of our philosophy, so fundamen-
 tai is it. Human art once rejoiced in the ! trinketed cavalier, the be-ribboned belle of the ball room as types of beauty, but
 Jean Francois Mllet painted a potato digger and his wife at sheep-shearing in
 such a way as to prove that these also
 were beautiful. Beauty every where, al
 ways. The metaphysics that leaves 1t out | stands self-condemned. The morality
 that would ignore or defy 1t turns out
 to be immoral The architect must make
 allowances for the rhythmic swing of his
 columns through heat and cold. The
 engineer must calculate for the rhythmic play of atoms in the walls of his boiler. The locomotive made of iron must have l its seasons of rest or 1t breaks prema- | turely
 | Beauty Is A manifestation of the beset- ting God who lays His hands upon us behind and before."
 | God Is Love.
 l 8 Again this besetting God asserts | himself as love. The revelations of love | are progressive. It's demonstrations in- l crease with the increase of life. Tho | earliest is among the gases. The atoms | O. oxygen and hydrogen have their TO- | mances. The lowest forms of life are | tlnged with dawn of sentiment. The l plants promptly fall into conJugal hab- | it's The birds are fraternal; they have | their family secrets The ants are po- | litlcal; the bees communistic. Outside
 and beyond man anu woman there is that which presses them to His bosom when l it teaches them the ecstasies of a kiss. l The babe at mothers breast finds it's | trustfulness matched by a devotion that Is unaccountable save on the theory that | there is that in the universe that makes | for love. Alasl for the soul that ignores | the presence of this God of love in