The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-11-18
9aturday DIGIT
"oIkc By Rev. F. E. DAWSON
N~htNS Rutland, VI
l.to4otofo+o4ofo+o+o4oloto
THE KING IN THE cRUcI6LE.
international Bible Lesson for Nov.
20, '1o-(Matt. 26:4o-h6).

20, '1o-(Matt. 26:4o-56).
There is a Gethsemane in the path
way OF every man. He may be con-
scious OF 1t or ignorant OF It; he may
try to prepare for It, or put 1t out OF
his mind; he may meet it early, or he
may meet II late, but sooner or later
he will walk down into its shadow of
death, and sweat blood. All mankind
is divided into these two classes, those
that have been in Gethsemane, and
those who are going there. There is
no escape from this experience. Jesus
Christ the worlds redeemer, could not
avoid 1t. The brightest and the best
as well as the dullest and the worst
march through those grim portals,
solitary and alone. Death Is only
circumstance compared with that;
when one has drank the cup OF the
garden the quintessence of bitterness
has been drained Henceforth they
are marked men. Whether one drinks
that cup for his own sins, or for the
sins Of others, the effect is always
the same.
Greatness Not Exempt.
That is a superficial view of life
which looks upon greatness as ex-
empted from suffering and which re-
ga Ids tears as an evidence of weak
ness. The greatest men the world
has ever known have been the most
tenderhearted and human. Greatness
does not consist in stoical indiffer-
ence to suffering. Was Washington
weak when he knelt in the SHOWS of
Valley Forge and prayed for the as
sistance of the God OF Battles? Was
Lincoln weak when he fell on his
face in the White House and wrestled
for victory for the Boys in Blue? Was
William E. Gladstone Prime Minister
of England, weak when he knelt by
the side of a crossing sweeper to COM
mend his soul to God? Was Jesus
Christ weak when the weight of the
worlds woe crushed Him to the earth
and He "sweat as it were great drops
of blood?" If they were, then weak
ness is the most magnificent charac-
teristic of the human race, the thing
which above all others differentiates
man from the brute creation, and al
lies him to the angels.
Growing of Character.
Gethsemane may be bitter, but 1t
is the crowning development Of char
acter. 1t is the wine press. 1t is the
crucible 1t is the threshing floor.
Ralph Connor in the Sky Pilot" gives
an Illustration of the utility Of Gethse-
name in human life. Nature came to
the prairie and demanded flowers Of
her. And the next year, crocuses and
roses and wild sunfiowers grew, but
nature looked in vain for the colum-
bine, the clematis, and the sweet vio-
| lets, and when she inquired the rea-
| son. she was told that the wind was
too rough, and the sun was too hot for
! such delicate blossoms. Then nature
| commanded and the lightning cleft
the rock with one swift stroke, and
into the deep, jagged wound river
flowed, bearing rich black mold. Then
the birds dropped the seeds, and in
the canyon there sprang up MOSES
and ferns, and 10, the columbine, the
clemats and the sweet violets, the
! favorites of nature.
Rusgedness Without Fragrance.
Many life is like that. There is
broad expanse of character but few
flowers. Ruggedness there is, but no
fragrance. Then, suddenly lightning
flashes, jagged canyons appear, cata-
clysms of upheaval take place, and
when the storm has spent its fury and
is passed, instead of a dead level ex'
perience, however grand, the deep
valleys are filled with richer soil. and
the fragrance of flowers fills the life.
People who have had things their
own way are not the most agreeable
people. In many cases they are
proud, conceited, naughty. No one
goes to them for sympathy and con
dolence in the hour OF trial, they have
no knowledge Of the balm for wounds
But not so, those who have passed
through the portals of Gethsemane
They know how to minister to a
mind diseased" They have a look
in their eyes that begets confidence
They have a grasp OF the hand thai
puts inspiration into the discouraged
For them to say, 81 know Just how
you feel. have been there myself,
puts hope into the hopeless. "One
touch of nature makes the whole
world kin"
Priesthood of Help.
When Christian, in Pilgrims Pro
gress, was passing through the VALLEY
OF the Shadow Of Death, overpowereC
with the darkness, frightened by thu
hobgoblins which leered and chatter
ed around him, almost ready to sinl
down into despair. he heard the voic,
OF Hopeful sounding in the pathwa!
on before him, and cheered by tn,
ringing assurance of that fellow travel