The Point Pleasant register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, W. Va.) 1909-1939, 1910-04-20
AS THE DAYS OF
HEAVEN UPON
THE EARTH
By REV. HUGH BLACK

therefore shall ye lay Up my words in
your henrt and in your soul that
I your days may be multiplied II the land
:. as the days OF heaven upon the
earth.-Deut MS. 2.
The permanence Of the ife prom.
ised springs from the quality Of the
life lived. The continuance Of Isra-
els national existence as the seed
shall be as "tho days of heaven upon
the earth" This has been the dream
of mHn always; this the hope of the
faithful. the vision of the seer. In some
form or other. the great consumma.
ton that inspires the work Of the re-
former. the phllanthrcpist and the
missionary. the hope Of the future. "as
the days Of heaven upon tho earth. Z"
These words aDtly describe thai
reaching forward which we troce in
every page Of the Bible. from start 10
finish: through the history Of the
chosen people Of Israel, through tn.
visions Of the prophets. even through
the years Of their sorrow and de.
SPAR. as they cry out. 20 Lord. how
long. how long7" Nothing else WILL
satisfy them. nothing else will they
strive for but "the days Of heaven
upon the earth" There is no single
phrase which can so sum up in our
own life the aim Of the people. Think
how It explains. for instance. the
books OF the Old Testament: or think
how It gives the moral Of all the his.
toricai books OF the Old Testament.
And this is no less true when they
tell as. as they so often do, OF days
that were as he'll upon earth. Trace
the content Of this very promise that
1t should be different. that It should
be or might have been as 4he very
days OF heaven upon the earth
Think how It expresses the prophet.
&c books. so varied IN time. in TEN.
per, In language. and yet one and
the same in their possession Of this
idea. warning. threatening: all in
spired by the same thing and all
sustained by their sense Of the days
that shall be "the very day Of heaven
upon earth" Think. also. how It GOV.
ers and expresses the whole new Tes
lament. from that message of John
the Baptist. from his announcement
that the kingdom of heaven was at
hand. from the birth of Jesus Christ
at Bethlehem, to that vision Of the
holy city.
Think how It expresses our Lords
teaching about the gentle life. about
forgiveness. about love and humble
piety. His teaching about the king
dom OF God which in the body he
came to found; his prayer, which he
taught his disciples to pray. that Gods
will might be done on earth ''as It is
In heaven" and that his kingdom
may be entered into upon earth. You
can trace It from the very cradle OF
Bethlehem, where he was born. that
our salvation by grace might be &C.
complished, and from the cross where
he died that we might live and be
reconciled to God and put on the
new man" Is not the whole promise
OF Christian faith Just a picture Of the
words. as the days OF heaven upon
the earth" That is what makes a re-
former and gives him patience and
courage to work. He strikes a tell.
ing blow for the next point Of vantage
that will bring him nearer that good
time coming. which is THE days of
heaven upon the earth" In business
and politics. true hearts look forward
toward a finer type OF living. and in
all these things We are inspired by the
hope of time when It shall be as
the days Of heaven upon the earth. :
Even In this lie we live much IN
the future, and Il our thoughts Of the
future are right. and our prospects
are based on right intentions. that fu.
ture OF which we dream may be n
source Of inspiration 10 us individual.
ly as well as socially. When we wish
man well. are we not dealing with
this dream which we have traced
through the Bible and which we have
traced through human life at It's very
best; are We not asking that this
dream shall be realized? AS men,
We dare not let so OF hope: we must
work for this or we slide back to low
er levels. When our hearts are warm
and our minds are full of generous
thoughts. we can always use these
very words OF our text. AS the days
Of heaven upon the earth"
What does that mean? What does
that prayer mean? It does not mean
Just the usual elements of what we
call blessings. long life and prosperity.
These things should not be excluded.
It is not intended that we should ex.
clude these things from religion. but
they are not defined by the words OF
our text The barns may be fun to
bursting. and not a cloud be there to
hide the sunshine. and at the same
time a man may be without hope.
without Joy. without love. With all
the other things that the world terms
good. such a man Is without prosper.
I ity