The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-12-26
God and Some Men

far east, was speaking Oh lIAS
sentiment at Washington, since ne held
a post there which gave him national
reputation. Il tell you" he declared,
the government at Washington mas
learned that there is a God Almighty
That was rather a graphic way OF e&-
pressing the deeper meaning of the new
sense of idealism which has come over
the United States, and over the WhoIe
Of C.hristendon1. of recent years. EVERY
where it is felt that the hand or COO Is
in our marvellous contemporary MS
tory of ancient Israel And that is the
lesson of these lessons. Wheh we re-
view this course of Old Testament
studies we find. looming above all etSe,
this truth for our own times, that the
Cod of nations still sits on his throne
dealing with peoples as well as with In
dividuaIs When we look back upon
these troublous beginnings OF IsraeI
history we find that, even as TO-DAY
''Behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow.
Keeping watch above His own
What Makes Men Great.
1t is a procession of persons, rather
than panorama of history Ina 20
contemplation of these lessons calls TO
mind. six months of study has COW
cred three reigns in the kingdoms ms
tory. and it's greatest epoehs NOW, &c
we leave the Old Testament Tor a year
Of vJorl< in the New, we recall how
brief has been the period considered
and how few the principal actors tnere~
IN In addition to the three hiA ~
great ling-rnaker and prophet, samuel
the fearless Nathan, and the princes
Jonathan AbsaloIn and Adonl1an-
Take this list to pieces and II IS al
orce made plain that the men We're
snail ar great according to their rela-
lions with Jehovah. Another illusIa-
lions of the oft-neglected truth tnat .
mans religion is the most lhpottane
fact about him. Literally, 1t matteFs
less what a man owns or does, lhan
what he believes. His faith Is OF
more Importance than his fortune. me
king on his throne, like Saul anu Da ~
and solomon, and the peasant at ms
pIoyy. are made or unnade Dy thelr tt
Iigious convictions What says tne
quarters golden text? Keep thy heart
With all diligence for out of it are the
issues of life" Well for the nation
which learns, as the colonel remarked
AT the breakfast table, that 'there Is O
COD: for only on the foundation oL
this living faith can a people bulIo
worthy society States and men arc
great only in proportion to their pos
session of God.
Some Selfish SOvereigns.
Some dav the world-the little world
which knows us-is going to sit In
Judgment upon our failure or success,
even as we now sit in judgment upon
these ancient Hebrew kings m IN IF ~
clear light of history, we see that OF
the great triumvirate Saul and SOLO
mon had the best chance Saul ascend
ed the throne amid the huzzas of
united. Enthusiastic ana 6ARCChehIAL P~S-
pie. Solomon, by no effort of MS own
entered upon a heritagie made ready
for him by the wars and heart-breaks
of his father David. Both kings Ialleo-
Why?
The answer is so simple. so common
place, that its tremendous slgnlhc1nce
is likely to be overlooked. They were
selfsh-with just the plain, Ordinary
a1-ar1y-dax sort of seIfiShness which
makes you and me take the pest piece
Of celery from the dish, or rush Tor the
first seat in the dining car, or the pes
place at the bargain counter; or thal
prompts us to allow mother or VIE u
sister 10 wait on US and sacrlhce Ioa
us: that makes us enter upon even tne
social and church relations of lie win
the delight of our own personal az
vantage uppermost. That was Saurs
sort and in a worse degree, Solonon's
sort They missed the mark because
they were looking out for number one
The old proverb that when every man
is for himself the devils gets the . nlno-
most Is utterly wrong; when II Is every t
man for himself" then the devil gets
the foremost The chief in selhshness
is the worst failure
Our Days New Spirit
sheer egotism wrecked Solomon and
Saul They were looking out Tor
themselves, for their own power ana
pIorv and well being rather than for
The welfare of the kingdom The
cardinal sin is simply selhshness-
business man was talking ABOUT
preacher who is candidate for GER
tain pulpit, and said: 'Oh. he is al
right except he is utterly selfish" "All
rtght!'' exclaimed his friend; Il say
he Is all wrong. There Is no heresy
so great as selfishness; 1t utterly In
validates his gospel. A selfish man
has absolutely no business In the pull
pit; he cannot sincerely preach the
message of Jesus" Selhshness Is the
supreme sin. and unselhshness is the
supreme Christliness.
This new socialistic trend of ouI
own times is an expression OF the
spirit of Jesus The days battle OF
altruism against self-intefest is tbs
war of Christ against all the allied
forces OF evil. And by the example
of Saul and Solomon and ten thou
sand others like them We know what
the selfist is doom to failure. The
might of Saul and the wisdom Of
solomon could not save them from
shameful end because their hearts
were fixed upon themselves.
The Poets Heart.
over against the other two kings Of
the story must be placed David, big
laundering, penitent David. Why Il
he the greatest OF the three, when h
sinned worse than either? He had no
Saul's native regalness nor solomon
wisdom; and he saw the kingdom
torn by internal factions and rebel
lions and by outward wars. Yet GU
OF the dryness and dim history, h
energies in warm humanness' and W.
love him. Despite his failures anC
most grievous iniquities, he wa
headed right. For every drop of sim
indulgence that he quaffed, he dranl
deeply of the cup of remorse. T.
borrow a phrase from the doctor S
Is trouble was functional, and no
Iganfc. His heart meant right. H,
ssved and served his nation supremacy
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