Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1912-08-22
AASATURDAY
R NIGHT
J | SERMONS \
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
THE GARDEN OF ALLAH.

| Text, HE will make her desert like the
| garden of the Lord. lisa II, 8.
tits Goo forsaken, sure enough" OBJ
served a fellow traveller as we stood
on the rear platform Of Overland
train crossing section Of utah, bit
| of great American desert now fast
| passing away. Nothing but sand,
| rattlesnakes, skeletons Of cattle and
sagebrush," he commented. BEST hon
| ey on egrth comes from that sage
BRUSH" said another by his SIDE Good
| l liked that Not many can see bless
ings in the desert. Kitchens explains
the fascination of the Sahara; Mary An
derson helps depict it on the stage and
Maude Adams in magazine. Ancient
Israelite or modern Moslem finds it the
garden of the Lord 1.-THE man who is
afraid Of prayer is unwise to set foot
beyond the palm trees" says HIGH
ems character "Why unwise?" ''The
Arabs have saying, The desert Is a
garden OF Allah" Some thoughtful
natures feel the call of the sands as
others do the call Of the waters. To
them the desert stretches from the
palms OF human centers as eternity
stretches from the edge of time. They
revel In the impossible blue of the sky
and the blood red Of the moon. For
them the quaint perfume seller. the
weird sand diviner. the mystic fakir,
the beating of tomtom, the Arab
spreading his praying mat and falling
with his face toward Mecca, have an
absorbing charm. Kismet. destiny,
narcotic fatalism, sweeps over them,
and they quote the Koran. THE fate
of every man have we bound about his
neck"
The Garden Of Allah
The desert has its counterpart in the
soul of man. Come We yourselves
apart into desert place" said Christ.
A soul desert Is any place where one
is separated from mainland left alone
with God. 1t is the great brooding
place of human soul. mo one but
God and knows what is in my heart"
is the strain of the African flute player.
Sometimes when men refuse to isolate
themselves from the world, become 80
wrapped up In requirement of pleas
ures position. wealth. that they never
get alone with God, be calls them by
misfortune. sickness. bereavement. be-
yond the pslms into the garden of the
Lord "Oh. that | might know where
to find him. Is the cry of the age.
And when MT last be is found it is
where we had least expected it--at our
side How near God Isl Yes. and
how far we travel to find him. De-
feats. thwartings. heartaches. are dry,
parching sands The drearlest acre of
wilderness contained the we'll Of Beer
sheba There's no sorrow but there's
q balm. Only there's nothing SO blind
as sense Of injustice. grief, dis
appointment. So some become doubt
ers. hurt and offended at God. But
listen. Do you believe In God at an?
Certainly. Well. then, do you believe
that he would make desert. send us
into it and not put well of water into
It? That would be devil not God.
II there is God. then there is water!
care not for gathering vultures or
binding stand storm If God lives Kis-
met? No. trust!
The Desert of Human H.
The garden of Allah is open to those
who suffer. Pain is part of humanity's
lot The more highly organized, the
finer your nervous system. the more
you suffer. Creatures without nervous
systems do not suffer. An iron crow
bar does not vibrate like piano string
The body lis marvellous harp-not
clam or a crab. Those who mourn will
find the desert place of comfort. Re
member THE Light Of Asia?' Young
mother. with her dead serpent bitten
child. comes to Buddha What will
tard seed from house where neither
father mother. child nor slave has
died. The bitter Balm of Buddha
was to seek for what none could find
Christ says, Il am the resurrection and
the life" The desert holds something
else besides physical suffering and men
tai torment The desert holds the per-
sonal presence and ministry of God.
| 1t has taught man some of the choicest
secrets be has ever learned Mystic
words would never have been heard
amid the din of daily life. Flashes of
revelation would never have been no.
ticed In the glare of the world. The
God Of the desert speaks louder than
the God of the city
Write II IN the Sand"
The Arabs have Al saying. I'm the
desert one forgets everything, one re-
members nothing any more That is
the message OF the endless wastes It
is easier to remember than to forget
But many things we must forget If
we wenld be happy Forget that you
sighted opportunities for knowledge
when you were younger; that you lost
4 opportunities for Investment; that you
married unwisely; that In youth you
wasted vital forces and sinned against
your body. Forget injuries. faults. in
Justices II you see fellow succeed
ing and know something that would
| humiliate him: IL YOU know Of q skele-