The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1908-09-11

continent In four days without losing
breath or bringing tire. Mans voice
Is no stronger than II was In the days
when Caesar made 10000 soldiers
hear his command. but now a power
not In himself but in electricity
makes for eloQuence and speech
across a thousand miles of space.
And how shall We explain the trans
formation OF impetuous Peter. and
passionful David and this cold. Graf
". ambitious. cruel rabbi, Saul. into
this gentle Paul? There Is a power
In the universe not David. or Peter,
nor Saul. that makes for righteous
ness. Christ descended upon them To
give life, and TO give II more abund-
antly. How do you explain the Ital-
ian Renaissance? There was a pow
er in the world that made for beauty
and sweetness, that descended upon
the young scholar. How do you ac-
count for the German Reformation?
There was a power in the universe
that made for faith. and character.
and self-surrender. And that power
descended on Martin Luther. Whence
came the Puritan Reformation In
England? The explanation was not
In John Eliot. or Sir Harry Vane. or
John Pym. There was a power In
the world that made for the sense OF
personal worth, inspiring each man
TO give an account Of himself to God.
challenging him to stand upon his
own feet and assert his manhood.
urging the sense OF brotherhood, and
that unseen power flooded the souls
OF the Pilgrim Fathers and the Eng
lish heroes. and changed the face OF
the whole world. Well may the men
or every great era OF outbreaking ge-
MUS exclaim: eve lift our eyes unto
the hills from whence cometh our
help" Our help cometh from the
Lord. who made heaven and earth"
Let us now praise famous men OF
old. who have redeemed the people.
But let us remember that God clothed
the knight with His shining armor,
that God pressed that blade with the
two edge into the hero's hand that
victory that they sing beside the
camp fires; that Christ came to lead
His followers forth TO their holy war.
giving them life. yea, life abundantly.
This principle also explains the Sc
cret OF growth that begins with life.
The old idea was that salvation was
is salvation by life through the new
heart. Bald intellectualism says
Blessed be wisdom" Christ says,
blessed is character" Here Is a
little child. In his selfishness he
seizes his sisters little toy and breaks
IL. Time and growth will increase
the amount of his selfshness and
make him strike his own wife and
break the heart of his little child, for
growth increases me size, does not
change the sort. Here is the youth
who is sowing wild oats. Little by
little he is draining of all the vital
forces. The false friend says, Don't
be discouraged he will outgrow
this" But every farmer is In terror
when he finds the wild oats growing
amidst the tame. The wild oats
drink up the rain, steal the richness
from the soil, starve the tame oats.
And IL they do this when the false
oats are young. time and growth SIM
ply multiply the havoc. Time can do
nothing for a youth who Is sowing
wild oats save gather the harvest OF
pain. disaster and heartbreak Time
can turn a spark into a conflagration.
growth can turn a little leak into a
large one that will ruin the dixie and
submerge the land. Given disease.
time does not cure 1t, but only en-
larges and spreads the poisoned tis-
sue. Given selfish child. growth
turns him into a monster. Given an
avaricious child, time and growth
produce miser. Given a tricky and
cunning child, years end with Ben
edict Arnold or an Aaron Burr, or a
Judas and a Apostate Julian. What
the wild thorn needs is the rich life
OF double rose grated within. The
orchardist can use the wild root, but
he cuts from a tested peach or plum
cutting that turns the sour sap into
sugar. IL Is new life we need. Jesus
was right when He showed the Sc
cret. the new heart, that brings VIC
tory and peace.
Disheartened and discouraged, the
way is not TO fee from God, but to
fee TO Him. We live and move and
have our being in God, as our world
floats in amethyst and ether. borrow
ing all its colors from the light that
surrounds II. We have our life from
Christ as the tree has its life in the
rich juices OF the soil. wherein the
tree IS rooted-the stimulating at
mosphere with which the boughs are
surrounded, and the all-embracing
sunshine that lends warmth and
beauty to the sweet blossoms and the
ripe fruit.
Spiritual Religion.