The Raymer enterprise., 1910-11-03
GODS g.
MESSENGERS
By REV. STEPHEN PAULsoN

And Jacob went on his way and the
messengers OF God met hlm.-Gen eel.
There are two supreme realities in
the universe-God and man. From
time to time messages are exchanged
between them and that is religion.
When man speaks to God 1t is prayer
and worship. When God speaks to
man 1t Is guidance and inspiration
what God did once for prophets and
apostles, He does for merchants and
husbandmen.
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 or
warning, or oyertures OF love
The voice OF conscience In mans
soul Is the voice Of God. What won.
deriul picture of the accusatory power
OF conscience is drawn In Shakes
peare's tragedy Of Macbeth. After &C.
complishing 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 1t is
so still that they can hear each others
heart beat. But Macbeth hears foot.
steps approaching the door, and a
voice which sGys: 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 long
and 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 OF 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 Is overcome by re.
morse, and he fears that armed men
may overtake him and bring him back
to 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 slum.
Der. And 1t seemed to him that a
bright star heightened into long
beam OF light that reached to the
earth, and tho beam of light broad
ensd 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 chapter
In the story OF mans soul. 1t might
be 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 II his message and pur.
pose. In the river that flows to the
sea. the individual drop loses its iden.
tity, but IN the great river of human.
ity that flows to eternity, there is no
loss OF individual identity. Each soul
Is as II were separate star divided
by millions of miles from its neighbor.
Jacob went on his way and the
messengers of God met him." It is
your own story. Do not look for some
great manifestation when God speaks
TO you. When God made Hmsel!
known to Elijah great earthquake
shook the foundations of the noun.
tains, but God was not In the earth.
quake, and fire come which Bills
tered the rocks, but God was not In
the fire; and windstorm came which
nprooted 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 to
you in the still small voice of daily
experience. Memory bears In her
arms the sheaves of the yesterday,
and II is to you a messenger of God.
Alone in the desert, Jacob remem.
bered his past life with all its sordid
Ineanness. The faces OF his aged par.
ents and Of his wronged brother came
up before him. Some mems sins 20
before them into judgment and some
march like caravans under the guild.
ance Of memory.
What an illustrated volume is the
book Of memory. In this very mo.
ment you may open II upon your lap.
There Is the old house where you
were born. and here are the faces of
your playmates. Now you walk old
paths, and now you look upon the
- FL.