Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1913-09-13

hear the burst OF
his tenderness,
the moan of his penitence, the pathos
of his sorrow, the triumph of his vic
tory, the despair of his defeat, the
firmness. of his confidence. and the
rapture of his assured hope" In these
psalms many travellers of every age
and cline have found rivers of re-
freshment and wells Of consolation.
Here God opens the door, shows us
his secret dwelling place, and tells us
how we may get close to him in fell
lowshfp. Here he speaks to us; but
more, here we speak, telling our own
experiences and anon crying to God;
we have written many OF the psalms
out of the experiences of our own
lives.
This first psalm is regarded as q
sort of preface to the entire collection,
specially 1t is a picture of the pros
porous life, and by sharp contrast q
picture of the life without God In it
There is really only one life worth
considering or cultivating; that is the
life hid with Christ in God, and it
should be our utmost concern to make
that life blessed. Consider the eIe-
ments of such life as set forth In
the entire psalm
Refusal.
The prosperous life is sheltered be-
hind wall. Verses 1-3 set forth the
great character, and it is marked by
great refusal 1. Evil practice
walketh not in the counsel of the IN
-godly; 2. Evil habit-nor standeth in
the way of sinners; 3. Evil charac-
ter-nor stitch in the seat of the
scornful- The prosperous life must
not think wrongly, nor speak wrongly.
If God is not in all your thoughts,
loose thinking soon will lead to loose
living. and things that would eat away
the fiber of will and conscience and
feeling. OH the blessedness-the
happiness-of the man who can say,
will not defile myself; who will not
take these three downward steps in
the evolution of sin; and God pity
the man who has taken the third de-
gree in sin
But refusal of evil thought, practice,
and habit is not enough. One does
not acquire physical health, vigor and
power simply by refusal to eat poi
sonous foods or drink damaging liq-
uors- The physical life requires food.
The soul grows beautiful and strong,
and the life prosperous and useful not
only by its great refusal, but by the
reception of all things that are full of
nourishment-the pure, the honest,
the lovely, the things of good report
God not only brings US away from
Egypt; he leads us into Canaan-a
land flowing with milk and honey.
The life tina; refuses the evil and
received the good will be crowned
with glorious blessings. They are
stated so plainly in this psalm. q am
indebted to friend for those brief sug-
gestions-e Noble growth--iike a
tree" land that figure meant much in
Paiestine3; propitious placing
planted" snstenance-"by the rivers
OF water fruftfulness-"that bring
eth forth it's fruit in it's season"
beauty of character-t'his leaf also
shall not wither;" real prosperity
whatsoever ne doeth shall prosper"
This result is measured by Gods
standard-"all things work together
for good to them that love God" Yes,
above all conditions apparently unfa-
forable and all results temporarily dis
tressing, this is Gods way of reward
ing the man who trusts him. who
waits upon God for sustenance. who
delights himself in God, and who
makes Gods viii not only the law of
his life, or the joy of his life, but reai-
ly has life.
Contrast.
Look at this picture-Blessed is the
wan, whatsoever he 6oeth shall pros
per; then on this--Nct SO the ungod-
ly, not So" And By this sharp con-
trast and sudden change the psalmist
increases the emphasis on the ele-
ments that constitute a prosperous
Life. and the blessings that attend it.
Notice the characterize ungodly,
simply the man who does not live in
the way God demands. notice his
charaeter-Hke the char; notice his
doOm-which the wind driveth away
/ call You by the persuasion of this
psalm to choose the prospercas life
Nothing else is worth while. nothing
else abides. For the Lord kno3feth
the way of the righteous, but the way
of the ungodly shall perish What
God knows, lasts; what he does not
know, perishes- Choose gov your
place. and decide your character. your
usefulness. and your destiny Which
shah 1t be-tree. or chaff2