The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-26

0AtA JoN B1AeiRSN iiAo Aiiitt 0oiS NGlt dli crowned as victors Tn one day in the Olympic games that when these three sons brought to him their victorious palms he dropped dead into their arms. If Joy Tor an earthly conquest could make such an impression upon Diageras, have we had no deep impressions made upon our minds and hearts because Christ comes and freely offers to Us the palms of His sacrifice? If you would remember the benefits of God 8 mercy you must first fully grasp and know what the birth and the death and the resurrection of Christ mean. You can fully grasp the atonement of Christ If you will only kneel as penitent sinners at His altars and plead for the divine gift of grace.
 Just an Imitation.
 But to have first impressions of God s love Is not enough. An idiot can get a great impression upon the mlnd and this mental impression will do him but little good For many years there has been going up and down the world a strange genius. He goes by the name of "Blind Tom He is a full blooded negro, as black as coal. He has a wonderful musi- cal memory. He comes into the public auditorium with the peculiar smile of the mental incompetent upon his lps Any musician in the audience who wishes to volunteer car go forward, seat him self at the piano and play there the most difficult classical music. He can play any one of Beethovens sonatas or Liszt rhapsodies,. or Chopins ballads, or Hnm- mel's concertos. Then at once this ig- norant black man. who cannot spell his own name, will sit down at the ivory keys and duplicate the same music. Then as soon as the rendition is over as little child he will laugh and clap his hands and call Good for you. Blind Tom! Good for you Good for your' Then al- most immediately he will forget what he has done and how he does it. Oh, yes, in order to have true gospel menemon- fcs" you must have more than mere men tai impressions You must be able to combine your first impressions of God 8 love with the great mnemonic law of as- soclation of ideas Then you will remem- Der Gods love. because like the links of a great chain that link is held by other links.
 Then. too, you must have a central thought Just as each constellation of the heavens revolyes about some one centre, and you can not think of that centre unless you think of the stars that compose that constellation. each thought by the law of the association of ideas brings up other thoughts which revolve about that thought. When I mention to you the name of your dead mother at once you picture all the scenes of your childhood. You see the old homestead. You hear the laughter of your brothers and sisters at play. You see yourself trudging awaygto the village school. You picture the family pew in church and the evening hour of family prayers. You think of her funeral and the lonesomeness of the house after she was gone. When I mention the name of your dead wife at once there comes before you the pie ture of the girl you courted and the mar riage altar and of the first home you set up and of the first baby and of the struggle of young manhood. One name, seemingly an insignificant name, may marsha! before your mind whole regi- ments. whole brigades. whole armies of incidents and facts. The law of assoeia- tion makes them one and all a cohesive entity, The old poet well expressed my idea by asking this question:
 Why should at times a passing scent
 Just sniffed a moment on the breeze, It's sensuous power so swiftly spent
 Come laden with more memories
 That the low hum of honeybees
 Or sound of old familiar strains,
 Or rustling of the autumn grain,
 Or voices of the whispering trees,
 Or running brooks or pattering rain?
 On the fatal night when Abraham Lin coin was shot in Ford's theatre young man was seated by the side of a young lady She was offering to him a little flower at the moment that John Wilkes Booths pistol shot rang out, Though this young man lived to be old man, yet so powerful was the law of the as- sociation of ideas that he never saw that kind Of a flower which this young lady offered to him that fatal night than there rushed through his mind the awful scene of dying president; of the young tragic actor limping across the stage; of the blanched faces of men and the faintlng forms of women dropping under the hor TOT of the tragedy Thus, my brother. if you and I would remember the bene- fits which God has given to us we must remember them by the law of the asso- citation of ideas.
 Law of Association.
 We must find these benefits everywhere. When you and 1 go to the dinner table we must see Gods mercies .here. We must look for Him and find linn. We must in our blessings says, 70, Lord, as thou dost feed the birds of the air and clothe the lily of the field may we find thee feeding aus today" When we, as pedestrians, go swinging down the street in perfect health may we say: 70, Lord, thou didst healtthe sick in olden times. We thank thee that thou hast done more for us. Thou has kept us well that we may not know the bangs of physical suffering" When we come home at night after a hard days work in the store to gl leet a dear wife or a litt.e child may we say: '"rhe Lord gave and the Lord gi1 es to us our dear ones We thank thee Father that thou hast not taken them away" If you would remember the benefits which God has placed on every side us, then you must find God every where. By the law of the association of ideas you must see Him in the smile of a baby coong in the crup, in the coat that you wear upon your back, in the refreshing slurnber of the past night You must see lInl anu feel him everywhere about you. What God takes away we miss But when God blesses the present we often take it for granted that God Is not in the blessing and that God is nowhere around.
 But gospel mnemonics" Imply more than mere mental absorption and the law of the association of ideas. In order to re- member well a fact you must be able mentallX to take that fact in. Oh. yes. But. more s-in that you must be able to give out that fact If the waters within a reservoir have no outlet and only in- lets those waters become murky and brackish and muddy But if the streams of knowledge which flow into the mind are allowed to flow out then those streams, instead of becoming stagnant pools as mountain brooks will gurgle and plash, will leap and sparkle in glori- ous life
 All a tumble.
 It is my broadening knowledge that the grip of the memory becomes stronger tII. .A-.la a41.,