The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1905-04-07


cure you, o immortal Of your sin. Are
you ready 10 welcome this divine peace.
like a river, which will come TO you
through Jesus Christi The way Of the
cross is the source Of this peace. From
the mount of Calvary that stream
gushes forth. as from Mount Hermon
flows the Jordan and from the Ad-
irondacks the mighty Hudson.
But the pleading river teaches us an
other lesson about the divine peace
which passeth all understanding. The
longer disciple Of Jesus Christ lives a
Christian life the deeper and wider does
the river Of his peace become. II
should deepen and widen and grow
Tore majestic i'm volume even as the
waters of the Hudson grow deeper and
wider as they slip past the highlands
and lap the feet Of the Palisades and
sweep on in their grandeur TO the place
where they are married TO the waters
Of the mighty deep at the nuptial altar
of Governors island, in upper New York
bay. 10 should 20 on growing deeper
and wider. even as become the waters
of the river OrinocO where they empty
themselves into the unfathOmable
depths Of the sea. When, In ll9S,
Christopher Columbus for the first time
touched the mainland of South Ameri-
ca and saw this great river. one of his
officers congratulated him because he
had discovered another island The
immortal explorer replied NO such
river AIS that flows from an island.
1nat mighty torrent drains the waters
of a continent" The pleading river Of
Gods peace grows wider and deeper as
we travel along its banks in the journey
Of life At the beginning Of our Chris
fian course il may seem a small stream,
bat as the yearspass and our feet come
nearer and nearer TO the great ocean Of
eternity the volume of the river in
creases until it becomes a peace that
passeth understanding.
Is this increasing power true in ref
erence 90 our spiritual peace: As yOu
compare Your present life with that
Of your spiritual life ten twenty. thir-
ty years ago are you conscious that You
love God more now than you did thenl
DO you read the Bible more nov than
YOU did when You joined the church
and prepared for your first commune
iOnt Is your enjoyment of prayer and
your dependence upon # more intense
now than they We're at irsty 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
Of your Christian career TO 90 into the
house of a neighbOr on whom sickness
or bereavement has fallen to admins
ter comfort and TO cheer him with re
mmders of Gods promises? There is
something awfully wrong with Chris
tian 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
Indeed, ! sometimes think that our
so called peace is not like a river at
an. II is more like a brackish, stag
nant pool or as a dried up well that
gives forth no water. "There was a
very good well here once" said an old
farmer i'm reference TO a certain drink
ing trough. Indeed" answered n
preacher on his vacation. "is that so?
wonder what is the matter with it.
How did it get filed upT Neglect,
sir" answered the farmer. First a
little rubbish got i'm IT, then little
more and little more and a little
more. The dirt and refuse were not
cleared out. and the water grew worse
and worse and less and less until at
last the well became choked up. l
wonder If there is any water at the
bottom Of this wellT" Yes" said the
preacher. Il wonder II there is any wa
ter at the bottom OF the well| Is
that the figure Of our peace Is It a
well and not a 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
stead we allow the dirt and refuse Of
this world to choke the passages 10y
which they might enter and our river
dwndes into a stagnant pool Have
we become dried mp spiritual wells: As
the tourists dropping pebbles into
Jacobs well have choked it up. some
Of us have choked mp our gospel wells.
Years ago we dropped the pebble Of
Sabbath desecrati0n into IL. 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 81 |
BILE. No wonder that our peace, which |
should pass all understanding and be |
like river. widening and deepening |
each year. is like a brackish, stagnant |
pool or dried up like Jacobs well If |
it be not like a river the fault is ours |
and not Gods God is pouring down |
upon us everywhere his showers Of |
spiritual blessing, which we should |
gather. freshetllke. into the river beds |
Of our hearts.
But the pleading river not only |
teaches our relationship to God, but /
also our practical spiritual relationship |
10 our fellow men. II clearly and en- |
4 -. al
peace must be eyes TO the blind, food |
for the hungry. clothing for the naked /
and happy fresides for the homeless"
II teaches man that the first great com |
mandment IS 10 love the Lord our God |
with an our soul aud strength and |
mind. And the second is like unto it; /
we must love our neighbors as our |
selves. II is law Of our nature that 1
peace and happiness come to MS through /