Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1907-07-25
~ 1~'
DAVID AND
JONATHAN
STORY BY THE HIGHWAY
AND BYWAY" PREACHER
SERMONE TIE.

X The soul OF Jonathan was
* knit with the soul OF DAVID
q Such friendship as is here es-
Q emplified can have but one es-
x pisnstion. II was heaven born.
y The purity and the eonstsney Of
3 the Divine nature finds expires
Q sion here. Here was the union
z OF two souls whose intense pas
x sion was the possession OF
O goodness and the fulfillmont OF
0 Gods will in the world.
2 The world has never before or
x since known more beautiful or
q remarkable friendship than that
0 Of David and Jonathan. a friend
2 ship which endured through the
< most trying vieissitudes Of life
x and which continued even after
D the tragic death Of Jonathan.
2 There are minor conditions
K which may account In part for
x this extraordinary attachment
o Of one person for another-the
2 similarity of age and tempera-
z ment. love Of the heroic, etc
x but deeper and more important
B than all these were tire two
o chief reasons assigned-the pas
2 sion for goodness and the de-
Z sire to see the will Of God done.
) Yes, there are friendships,
3 strong and enduring as far as
< this life goes, which are estsb-
lished solely upon human con-
3 ditions, upon mental and physi-
, cal similarities. Juoon social or
z business convenience and profit.
< but the truest friendships are
) those which are based upon the
more enduring principles, such
2 as the desire for goodness and
the wish to do Gods will.
: No merely human conditions
) or circumstance can alter such
Z a friendship as that. Lee hard
shiF or danger come, let priva.
tons or separations arise; let
> opposition or persecution assaii,
Z II is all the same, the ties
( OF friendship endure, because
) founded upon the rock which
D cannot be shaken-Righteous-
? ness, and the eternal purposes
< OF God! What stronger princi-
; Piles could be found to govern in
, the relationships of life7 And
2 what a different world il would
< be II such principles prevailed
, IN the world. It would at once
y do away with all the strife and
? envy. the heastless competition,
the selfish ambition which makes
one eager to mount by the mis-
) fortunes and weaknesses Of
4 others to greater heights Of hu-
man preferment ard worldly
D possessions. II would stop the
? cross currents of human en-
z deavor and permit life TO flow I
in enc sweet, wholesome. help
) full stream parallel with that
0 river of God which is for the
z BLESSING Of all peoples. II
Z would end graft and corruption
3 in public life. and usher in that
Q millennisl condition when truth
2 shall spring out of the earth,
and Righteousness shall look
X down from heaven"
o Analyze the motives which
2 govern your friendships. Are
X they based on purely selfish mo-
B tives, or the superficial eondi-
0 tons of life, or do they strike
2 the roots down deeper in the
x soil Of Gods eternal purposes.
3 Do we form human ties because
O we see reflected in another a
2 desire for goodness like unto
that which seeks FOE expression
x In our own life? Do we seek
0 to find in another :hc help and
9 cooperation which is needed to
x more perfectly bring the will of
q God to pass on earth, even as
b the angels cooperate in doinq
Q the will Of God in Heaven?