Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-28
MAN NEEDS A DIVINE TEACHER
Can Learn Most NeedfuI Things from
None other


Rev. J. Narver Gortner Of McCabe
Methodist church. preaching on the text,
"A Prayer OF Moses, the Nan OF God
Sunday morning. said:
Man needs a divine teacher. There are
many things that men can teach us. There
are many things that we can learn In
academies and colleges and universities.
There is much that can be learned in that
larger school,. the school OF experience and
life. But there is much that no man, how
ever learned. can teach us; there is much
that we must remain forever Ignorant OF
unless taught by the Great Teacher, who
understands the most intricate problems
and whose competency to instruct is not
to be compared with the competency OF
any mortal man.
1.-THE desire Of Moses was that he and all
Israel might be taught by God to consider
the brevity of human life. Moses lived for
more than a century. He was 100 years
old when he died in the presence Of Je-
hOvah on the mountain top. But even the
life OF Moses was brief when compared
with the ages of eternity.
Suppose you were TO live as long as
Moses lived. when compared with the
countless ages your life would appear like
a tiny atom IN the realm OF limltless space.
or as less than a drop OF water picked up
out OF an ocean that has no shores and
the fathomless depths of which no sounding
cord has ever reached. The longest lives,
even the lives OF the antediluvian patri-
archs who lived for centuries, have been
brief. The years are swiftly passing. 1t
will not be long until somebody else will
be doing the work that now engages your
thought and engrosses your attention. A
new generation will have arisen. How Inn
TOrkapt a. e that ua ahOuld lea Urn tn nrav
the prayer of Moses. the man of God. so
teach us to number our days that we may
apply our hearts unto wisdom
Many people think that wisdom and
knowledge are synonymous terms. They
are not. Many who have the latter are
without the former. and vice versa. 1t Is
we'll that the mind should be applied unto
knowledge; 1t is better that the heart
should be applied unto wisdom. That man
who is not wise unto salvation is not wise
at all. He may lave what the world
calls wisdom. He may be great as a
philosopher, great as a scientist, great as
a legislator, or great as a financier He
may hand down to succeeding generations
n name that Will live and be honored
while the foundations of the earth remain
intact. But II he lays up no treasures in
heaven he is guilty OF the same criminal
iOlly lnhl the IItu uldH was Buity - lAS
rich man TO whom God said, Thou fool,
this night shall thy soul be required Of
thee
1.-THE old year will soon die. Already we
have begun to look back and count its
successes and its failures. What nuperous
mistakes we have made! What blunders
have been ours! What opportunities we
have neglected! What defeats we have
sustained What sins we have committed
The past can never be recalled. The book
will soon be closed and sealed. But the
future is before us. The new year.. preg-
nant with possibilities and biossoming with
hope, will soon begin. Let us close the
old year and begin the new year with the
prayer of Moses, the man of God. so
teach us to number our days that we
may apply our hearts unto wisdom go"