Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1910-11-03
GODS
MESSENGERS
By REV. STEPHEN PAulsoN

Textile maSeth the winds hi. mes
srnE~rs HE ministers a flaming nre.-Fs
i0tt
And Jacob went on his way and The
messengers % Cod met him.-Gen ri
There are two supreme realities In
the u~niverse-God and man. From
time to time messages are exchanged
between them and that is religion.
When man speaks TO God Il is prayer
and worship when God speaks q
man Il is guidance and inspiration.
What God did once for prophets and
apostles, He does for merchants and
usbandmen.
Not that Gods messengers always
speak with human voices. He speaks
through mans inner Consciousness,
through memory. through some Incl.
dent or occurrence in your life. To
David God spoke by the sad and stern
prophet. To solomon He spoke
through fear: to Peter through a
simple meal spread on the shore Of
the lake. And so every day Gods
messengers stand at the door Of your
soul. bringing encouragement OF
warning, OF overtures Of love from
The voice OF conscience in mans
soul Is the voice OF God What a won.
derful picture OF the a%ccusatory power
OF conscience is drawn in Shakes.
peares tragedy Of Macbeth. After &C.
comprising his purpose on Duncan
Macbeth goes into his wife's room and
locks the door. II is midnight and the
stars are shining brightly. and IL is
so still that they can hear each others
heart beat. But Macbeth hears foot
steps approaching the door. and a
voice which says: Sleep no more.
Macbeth hath murdered sleep Like
Jacob the guilty king had met Gods
messengers. and evermore he was to
hear in the night the football OF the
unseen pursuer. that Nemesis which
was upon his track. oh, II is a long
n thrilling journey that man makes
through life. and every day the mes
sengers Of God meet him. and some
times he heeds their message. but
often he takes his own way and wan.
ders on into the desert.
The life drama Of which this meet.
ing with the divine messengers is a
part. has. to do with the education Of
Jacob. He had deceived his aged and
blind father. robbed his brother. and
Is now fleeing from his wrath. He is
in the desert and 10 overcome By re-
mnwEa and h. Fa.w- ~. 60. -
may overtake him and bring him back
10 punishment. In that day he prayed
that night might come and hide him.
When night fell he was alone with
nature and God. The stars above him
seemed TO pierce into his soul like
accusing eyes. He knelt and prayed
and then he fell into a troubled Stun
Der. And Il seemed 70 him that a
bright star heightened into a long
beam Of light that reached TO the
earth. and the beam Of light broad
ened into a stair up which the angels
OF God took his prayer and penitence.
and down which they brought encour-
agement and mercy. And hope began
to stir in his heart that God might
pardon his sins. and that in Gods mer.
cy he might redeem the future.
How human and real is this ehap,er
in the story of a mans soul. II might
be a page torn out Of our own biog
raphy. The epoch OF divine messen-
gers Is not gone. There is no life so
isolated. no talent so small. but that
God has for It his message and pur.
pose. In The river that flows 10 the
sea. the individual drop loses its ider-
tity. but in the great river OF human
ity that flows I eternity. there l. no
loss Of individual identity. Each soul
Is as il were a separate star divided
by millions OF miles from its neighbor
Jacob went on his way and the
messengers OF God met him" II is
your Own story. Do not look for some
great manifestation when God speaks
TO you. When God made Himself
known TO Elijah a great earthquake
shook the foundations OF the noun.
tains. but God was not in the earth.
quake: and a fire come which Bills
tered the rocks. but God was not in
the fire: and a windstorm came which
uprooted the trees, and God was not
in the storm: and there came a still.
small voice, and God was in that still
small voice.
So the messengers Of God come 10
o in the still small voice OF daily
experience. Memory bears in her
arms the sheayes of the yesterday.
and it is to YOU a messenger of God.
Alone in the desert. Jacob .remem-
bered his past life with all its sordii
meanness. The faces of his aged par.
ents and of his wronged brother came
up before him. Some mems sins go
before them into judgment and some
march like caravans under the v,,id