The commonwealth., 1906-12-20
] SATURDAY I
/ NIGHT TALKS. /
/ sy = e. DAWSON, RUTLAND VT.
GODS YARDSTICK AND MANS.
Dec. 80, 1906.

We have reached the apex of the
year. 1t is a hill top from which we
may look backward and forward.
The path we have trad we can see; a
mist hangs nver the raute we are to
take. It is a good time to stop and
take account OF the progress we have
made during the last twelve months.
And to help us in that decision let us
mediate upon Gods standard, and
the standard Of men.
The world says: What is his
height; what is his hat measures;
what are his manners; what is his
age; what are his accomplishments;
how much is he worth; who is his
tailor; what street does he live on;
what can he do; who are his back
t:s; has he got pulp The Al
mighty brushes all this aside, and
puts up against men the yardstick OF
everlasting righteousness and says:
What is his character? What is his
height when measured by the stan
dards OF eternity?
And it often happens that the men
who seem the tallest when estimated
by the worlds standards shrink to
ptgmies by the side of this infiexible
rule, and the men who are dwarfs IN
the worlds regard rise up like ce-
dars OF Lebanon when judged by
heavenly standards.
Avoirdupois, complexion, blue
blood, financial ability, family,
physique, culture, may he an ddFan-
tage, and they may not, but charac-
ter never yet handicapped soul,
and in the swift race of life always
comes out ahead. In the dust and
confusion of the arena, smartness,
scheming, high-stepping policy may
seem to lead oId-fashioned honesty,
but the showy prancing steed Is
wind-broken, and has 10 bottom,
and though leading at the quarter ts
always left far behind on the home
stretch.
The selection of the shepherd boy
David as the King Of Israel after the
rejection OF Saul is a practical and
vivid Illustration OF these facts.
Samuel was sent down to the house
of Jesse to anoint one Of his sons to
be the future king. Coming there,
his eyes fell upon the eldest son,
Eliab, and he was such fine, stall
wart, perpendicular sort Of a fellow
that the prophet fell in love with
him at first sight, and said: Behold,
the Lords anointed," But God said,
Not so, I am looking for another
kind cf king. | am looking for
brain, not Drawn; for quality, not
quantity; for heart, not head; for
character, not muscle" And Eliab
was rejected. One by one, all the
sons of Jesse passed before the
prophet, and he got no message for
any Of them. Samuel knew that Goo
makes no mistakes, and he inquired
OF the father if these were all his
children, "Oh, no." said Jesse. there
is the youngest, little Samuel, who is
tending the sheep" Well" said
the prophet ,"send and fetch him."
And when David came into his pres
ence, the youngest OF seven brothers,
the Spirit Of the Lord said to Sam
uel, Arise and anoint him, for this
Is the heaven-selectod king
BY means of the X-ray physicians
are now able to look through the hu-
man body and locate disease. But
long before the X-ray was dreamed
Of God was able to see the inside Of
a human heart, and diagnose the hui
man soul. "He knows what is in
man" And as he understood fully
mans life he proposed to select g
nan this time who had heart In
his breast instead Of a giZZard, and
who could respond to other inllu-
ences beside those which were
earthly, sensual, and devilish. There
fore he passed by ali the others, and
selected the untutored shepherd boy
to sit upon the throne OF Israel.
Never forget that true beauty Is
Of the heart; true greatness Is
greatness Of the mind; abiding maj
esty is moral majesty; what man
is III reality, he is in his soul. For
the bloom will fade from the check,
and the luster from the eye, and the
bodily strength will break down.
but moral elements, spiritual quail
ties, divine beauties, survive all
wrecks, and will live forever Sam
uel thought towering physical struct-
ure, sublime aspect, great breadth
was necessary in a king, and SO he
was prejudiced in favor Of the first
born son of Jesse. And the father,
Jesse, was prejudiced against David
because he was the youngest and
only a keeper Of sheep. To his mind
1t seemed ialpo1a:b!e that q man
should step from a shepherds Office
to a royal position. Yet the Lord
said of the STRIPPING David, "Anoint
him, this is he."
How much of that there is In life!
How prone we are to think that the
boys of our native town can never
amount to much. That the barefoot
ed urchins on our streets should ever
become doctors, lawyers, ministers,
managers of great concerns, public
officials, is too ridiculous. And so we
discount all they do, and look at
them through the green goggles of
our prejudice, and think placidly of
our superiority, until we wake up
some day to find that they have ac-
tually passed us on the road to fame.
By calling such men to do his
work God humbles human judgment,
and proves that those only are rep
resentatives of heaven who occupy
their positions by purity of heart
and conservation of life. That is the
difference In measurement