The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-07-31

VA, SUNDAY, J
brought to mo 30 keep, my life Tor MS
life II let TN go And as thy SER
want was busy here and there, he was
gone" And the King said you must
meet the punishment" Then the man
brushed the ashes from his face, and
as the King looked behold, he was
prophet! And the prophet said; You
must meet the punishment yourself!
You have triumphed in the battle, but
you have broken the commandment of
the Lord. You have done your own
VIII, and the will of the Lord you
have disregarded.' So the prophet
turned back into the fields, and the
King went home "heavy and dis
pleased"
The parable which reached the
heart of the contented King Is meant
for us. Thy servant was exceeding-
ly busy; there were a thousand things
to do; every moment as crowded full
of occupation; but, somehow, in the
midst of all this strain and III ste
perhaps on account of 1.-THE supreme
thing went undone. The man's life
was like a foolish clock, with a hand
to mark the minutes, but none to mark
the hours. He was busy-so busy
but idly busy, as you or / may have
been yesterday or the day before, and
the one thing needful was left un-
done.
To be burdened with many cares. to
be full OF many nt.tests, has peen
the state Of man for ages But to be
in continual hurry is especially
characteristic of the present genera
, ton. New and tremendous forcos have
changed. and are stall chang.:.. the
every direction old things are passing
away, and all things are becoming
new. The minds Of men are strained
to keep up with the procession OF
progress. So much there is which we
must see, or read, or know, that we
are confused and distressed to decide
what we must do next. Since the
world began. people have never been
SO "busy here and there as we are
to-day.
This busy life has its effect in all
our enterprises and judgments-in
many ways for good, and yet neces-
sarily with many evil tendencies.
We are interested in reform and
willing and glad In the spirit Of SER
vice to do our part in establishing the
kingdom Of heaven; but we are SO
busy that we fall into impatience, and
want results tomorrow. We feel we
have done all that we have time for,
and turn from being busy here to
being busy there. In the meantime,
the DEVIL who is very patient, and
also we'll acquainted with human ma
ture, waits until our aggressive en-
thusiasm wanes. and then quietly goes
on with his internal operations.
One great trouble is the influence
of an over-busy life upon personal re-
ligion- Men get SO tired during the
stress of the week that they do not
care to go to church on Sunday: and
not only this but they are so occupied
so interested. SO distracted, so busy
they do not get time to think. No
man is really irreliglous except the
man who does not think. The deep
problems of God and this great world
of sin and how to be saved from it;
the soul and its destiny; these have
beset the heart of man from the be-
ginning. and we cannot rid ourselves
of them except by not thinking.
Jesus Christ undertook the refor-
, nation of this planet. The needs OF
man, with manifold opportunities for
service. opened before Him as they
have never done before or since. The
! task which confronts Him Is immeas.
: urable. But He is in no hurry. Quiet
1t in such fashion that we are
amazed. Surely He will begin at Je.
, rusalem; He will do miracles to at
tract the multitudes. He will agitate
He will organize. He does nothing OF
the kind! He goes out into the coun.
try, sits down on a hillside under q
8 great tree, looks out on a pleasant
$ lake. and talks all day with some poor
e fisherman. Thus He begins the con.
e quest of the Roman Empire. Thus HI
e lays the foundation of the kingdom
: of God. He did more work than any
$ man who ever labored on this planet
/: but He was never hurried, never ner.
v vous, never over-busy.
$ We must have moments of quiet re
:, Election. when the noise is all shut gu
. and the soul talks with God; season!
O of prayer, when we kneel in the con
: scious presence of the Eternal, ant
y J. esil III