The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1905-03-24
A MYSTERY OF LIFE.
Rev. Dr.. Talmage Says That Toll
and Suffering Must Be.
Only Through Pain and sorrow and
Arduous Labosr Can Human Char
acter lie Made strong
and Noble.

hllliuE trouble ana sorrow 10 continue
in the world is claimed by the preacher
IN this sermon on the mysteries of lie
text. Genesis xviii, II, "ls anything toe
hard for the LordF'
God is a spirit infinite, eternal and
Interchangeable in his being, wisdom
power, holiness. justice, goodness and
truth" This is the definition of God
found In the Westminster Shorter Cate
chism. No man or body Of men could
give a complete definition Of all that
God is His nature transcends all hu
man conception. Language fails in
the attempt to describe his infinite per
fection. Strive as we may. We realize
that he Is far beyond all that We can
think or imagine. Probably no one has
framed an utterance that comes 50 near
TO the truth as this of the Westmln-
ster diyines. and though it is confess
edly inadequate. # stands unparalleled
In the struggle 10 reach the unattain.
able.
1t Is a strange story that is told OF
its origin. The cOnyOcation Of the West
minsterdiyinesw was drawing to its close.
For nearly six long years, since July
l, 1913. they had been meeting almost
daily in the famous hall Of Westmin-
ster which now bears their name.
They had organized for the church a
directory Of public worship" and had
almost finished the larger and the
shorter catechisms. Their work was
practically finished with but one excep-
ton They could not frame a dehni-
ton which would clearly, comprehen-
sively and completely answer the ques-
ton. What is GOdf" At last. i'm the
midst Of heated debate. a young man
who was comparatively an obscure
member arose and said, Let us pray"
Then he commenced his prayer In these
simple words: 20 God, thou who art
a spirit. infinite, eternal and unchange-
able in thy being, wisdom, power, holi-
ness. Justice. goodness and truth. teach
us what thou art" with that" S,
says tradition, "all the members Of the
Westminster convocatiOn leaped 10
their feet. crying. That is our definition
OF what is God II Is an inspiration
from his throne" SO it was inserted
in the catechism as the best and fullest
definition that could be made Of the
Being whose attributes are beyond
human knowledge.
Many profess to believe that God is
omnlpotent, Omnipresent and omnis-
cient, yet 1t Is awfully hard for us in
truth to comprehend this. We say,
He can do all things" But when
some one begins to pin our faith down
to a practical illustration Of "Can God
do thisT' we say, like Nicodemus,
How can these things beT We need
to remember that there are
no limitations to the divine power and
that all that he has promised he Is
able to perform. When
we see some gigantic evil that needs
to be removed; when we think Of some
benefit that seems necessary 10 the
world. our hearts often sink IN despair
as we regard it as impossible. Then
new courage and new hope ought TO oil
our minds as we reflect on the omnipo-
tence Of the God IN whom we trust.
God is all powerful all present and
all seeing. You grant It, Then !
would invite you 10 consider the natu-
raj influences Of your belief. We ask
ourselves why a God of unlimited pow
er does not remove some Of the evils
that cause 80 much misery IN the
world. We know not.
Easy would II be II God wished to
take all poverty out OF the world. With
mere word he could create for every
man a palace in which to live. With
a mere word he could place that palace
In the midst Of garden. With a mere
word he could have rainbows playing
hide and seek among the falling, spring
ing. tumbling waters Of the fountains
of that garden With mere word he
could have every mans table groaning
under the richest treasures Of orchards
and gardens. Yet this abundant wealth
is to be obtained by men only by hard
labor. II is his law that man shall
work for the riches that are provided
for him. God practically gives US
nothing unless we are ready to work
for IL.
The far reaching commandment which
God spoke TO Adam Of old he speaks TO
us: Cursed is the ground for thy sake;
I'm sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the
days Of thy life; thorns aud thistles
shall il bring forth TO thee, and thou
shalt eat the herb Of the field: m the
sweat OF thy brow shalt thou eat bread
tin thou return unto the ground, for
out Of it vast thou taken, for dust
thou art, and unto dust thou shalt re
turn"
Cursed be the ground for thy sake"
I remember being struck with a prac-
teal illustration Of what God meant by
that sentence. Some years ago out In
the country | was walking over the
hillsides overlooking a beautiful valley
filed with rich farms. said to the
companion by my side: Look! Did you
ever see a more beautiful country than
that? God is certainly a rich pr0yider
for his children" Yes" answered my
but did you ever stop to
think that. though Gods wealth Is un'
limited. he gives but few Of the neces
stiles TO man unless man Is ready to
work for theml God gives us the soil;
God gives us the seeds But the essen.
tial food products which come from
that soil must be developed by unceas-
ing toll This fact is emphatically true
Of all the cereals" Then | commenced
10 ponder over the words Of my friend,
aud | said: yes. you are right. Never
since the fall of man has God provided
for man wheat or rye or corn unless
man as a farmer will cultivate those
cereals. All kinds OF weeds may grow
wild. all kinds Of thorns and thstles