River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1910-11-10
SHELTERING
MANHOOD
By REV. w. D. BRADFIELD
Pastor Trinity Methodist Episcopal
Church, Dallas, Texas


Righteousness and princes rule in judg-
| ment. And a man shall be a hiding place
from the wind, covert from the tenn
pest; as rivers of water in a dry place:
as the shadow of great rock in a weary
land.-Isaiah 32:1, 2.
The text is Isaiah's dream of g just
government. "a king shall reign in
righteousness and princes rule in
judgment" 1t is remarkable that Isa-
labs loftiest conception of the Mes
slanic reign is a just government. A
king his Messiah should be who reigns
in righteousness. Isaiah's dream is
the dream of the ages. History is lit
tie more than record of a strug-
gle for just government. A govern
ment allowing equal opportunities for
all, giving every man square deal,
has been the desire of all peoples.
Men want justice here and now. More
than benevolence or charity men de-
mand simple justice.
1t is too late now to seek to COM
pensate men for injustice here by the
promise of justice after they are dead.
Shelterless people here are no long
er comforted by the promise of man
sions In the skies. Hungry people are
no longer compensated for hunger
here by the promise Of eating bread
in the kingdom of God. Men demand
justice here, and the dream of mil
lions of hearts is for the just govern
ment which Isaiah foresaw.
The text gives us Isaiah's concep-
| ton of the fountain force of society:
"A man shall be as hiding place from
the wind"-a man. Society is COM
posed of an aggregation of individuals
is worth while which has goal 9TH
er than the Improvement of the char
acter Of individual men. The fountain
| force Of government and society is the
individual. "A man shall be as an
hiding place from the Wind"-a man.
The word masses" was not in the vo-
cabulary of the Christ. He did not seek
to reach men en- masse. He aimed
at the personal character of individ-
ual men and women.
His ministry was much to individ-
uals, now to ruined woman weary of
her sin, now to a confused seeker by
night. The sum total of his three
years work was the training of half
dozen or more individual men. The
fountain force of society is the indi-
vidual man or woman. Disseminate
learning, distribute wealth, do what
you will, but you have done nothing
permanent for society until you have
reached the bettered, the personal
character of individual men and WON
en-. Exactly this is the fountain
force of society as Isaiah saw it. "A
man shall be"-a man.
The text is Isaiah's portrait of q
sheltering manhood.
"a man shall be as a hiding place
from the wind, a cover from the tenn
pest; as rivers of water in dry place
as the shadow of great rock in q
weary land" Isaiah looked east Of
Palestine and beheld running north
and south great cliffs of rock. East
of these cliffs he beheld the drifting
sands of the Arabian desert. The
great cliffs he had seen rise in their
majesty and say to the burning, drift
ing sand: "Thus far and no farther.
The drift was arrested and to the lee
ward of the great rocks he beheld
GASES blossom as the rose. Here he
had seen fiocks and herds roam. Then
In his vision he said: "The time Is
coming-the good time is coming
when a man shall repeat the ministry
of the rocks. Under his sheltering
manhood the weak shall be protected
and the fainting inspired. A man shall
be as a hiding place from the wind
as a shadow of great rock In
a weary land"
It is admitted by all that Isaiah's
words are a luminous description OF
the inspiring and sheltering ministry
of Jesus Christ. But they are more
than that. They are Isaiah's ideal OF
what every life may be. "a man.
any man, every man-may repeat the
ministry of the sheltering rocks.
Life, It, has been said, has aspects
very desert-like. 1t is swept by drifts
now of cruel government, now of so
cial impurity, now Of commercial dis
honesty. The arresting force has al
ways been a man. The drift of Per
sian cruelty and social corruption
was arrested by Militiades at Mara
thon. The drift Of Mohammedan SUI
perstition was arrested by Charles
Martel at Tours. The drift Of medi
aeval ecclesiasticism was arrested by
Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms
Great outstanding characters who
have repeated the ministry of the
rocks which Isaiah saw have made his
tory. The achievements of history
are at bottom Of the work of these
men.
What Jesus Christ did and what the
great outstanding characters of his
tory have done you and / are called
upon in GUS lesser spheres to do
The manhood of each is to be shell
tering manhood. The weak are to be
protected, the fainting by the shadow
of our lives. Only this spirit car
solve our problems. Souls must be
given to our great corporations and
under the shelter of their benevolence
the weak az to be projected.
Unselfsh service is to be rendered
by every employee and under the shell
ter of his fidelity corporate interests
are to be safeguarded. Remember,
It is "a man." any man, every man.
who is required to repeat the In
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