El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-01-24

hearZened to my commandments! Then had
thy peace been as a river, and thy right
eOusness as the waves OF the sea-"
~ HIS chapter was written by Isaiah.
one Of Gods sublimest prophets and
it contains q solemn address to the
- Jews, and is a reproof to them as a
people for their hypocrisy, obstinacy, and
especially for their sin Of idolatry They
had been previously warned Of the dire re-
suits Of disobedience, which is sin. The 48th
chapter Of Isaiah, in which my text Is re-
corded, is replete with Thoughts OF exile and
home coming; captivity and deiiverance;
Judgment and mercy There is IN the irnme-
diate context an expression OF the deepest,
most sorrowful regret on Gods part df I
may make use of such a phrase) that the
spirit and behavior Of his own people had
been Of such a character as to make 1t
necessary to bring to them such heavy
judgment. On the other hand, my text
seems to breathe out a tender wish on the
part of God, that they from the first might
have chosen the better way.
ooh, that thou hadst hearkened to my
commandments The prophet gives them
to understand that their suffering, defeat
and failure were a result Of their own sin
fitness, and that none Of It could be charged
up to God, for he had given them counsel
and commands, and had warned them Of
the gathering storm. The prophet told them
that had they been obedient-had they not
missed the nark-had they not lost sight
of LIES high ideal, their peace would have
been as a river and their righteousness as
r the waves Of the sea. In other words, their
peace and prosperity would have been num-
berless and abundant.
In your study Of the bible I am sure you
have discovered that Gods promises to man
kind are conditional, based upon obedience.
In Isaiah 1858 perfect peace is promised to
the man who perfectly trusts in God. Thou
wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind
Is staid on thee" Why? Because he
confess our sins he is faithful and just to
forgive US our sins and to cleanse US from
all unrighteousness."
Gods Promises Conditional.
more that may occur to the minds Of many
illustrate prove the truth OF the state
ment which have just made-that Gods
promises are conditional and that success,
happiness and peace are the result OF obedi-
ence TO the will Of God. The man who
fails and falls short Of that for which God
created him makes shipwreck Of his life
and misses heaven at last, is the man who
has lost sight of life's high and holy way.
COO mas gwen TO the Wofld perfect e1-
ample; an ideal as high as heaven in the
person Of his only begotten son, and then
he has mapped out for US the life should
live both in the old and the new tesla
plain-so definitely marked out, that even
wayfaring man. though a fool may not
make mistake.
Christ the Worlds Ideal.
Jesus Christ is not only the worlds
savior, but he is the worlds ideal, and no
man has ever gone down to defeat disgrace
and death, who has taken Christ as his
polar star. Simon Peter walked upon the
water long as his eyes were resting upon
serpent in the wilderness, so must the son
Of man be lifted up, that whosOever believ-
eth in him should not perish, but have eter-
nal life"
From Eden's blooming garden down to
this present moment, the shores Of time are
strewn with human wreckage, because men
have failed TO see the lights and read the
signals along the way. They have shaped
their course by some earthly ideal. 1t is
this picture, so dark, so sad, that wrung
from the heart and mind Of God the words
Of my text. ooh, that thou hadst hearkened
to my commandments Then had thy peace
been as river. and thy righteousness as
the waves Of the sea" The thought i'm
piled here is that Of a lost ideal, or what
might have been. The words of the text
suggest that in the highest and truest sense,
not only that which might have been, but
should have been "Of all sad words OF
tongue or pen, the saddest are these, 1t
might have been
God made man for a glorious destiny.
and purposed that he should live a high
and holy lfe-but mans failure to measure /
up to Gods idea for him is the thing over
which Jehovah laments. God sees all things,
nothing is hidden from his penetrating gaze; /
he makes no mistake in his estimate of man. !
and as he considered man the GROWING work
Of his creative genius he saw clearly how
bright and beautiful were the possibilities
for his child. But alasi He saw how man,
short OF attaining to that high and holy
estate for which he was created. AS
mother grieves over the failures, the short
comings Of son or daughter, so God our
father is grieved over our failures. There IS .
to each of US ideal ife-a bright, pure
and perfect way along which may go
from earth to heaven This is not an
imaginary thing; it is not something barely
possible but is something within the reach
Of every man in the world The ideal life is
the true life-all others that come in the
place Of it are pretenders and usurpers and
are come but to steal to destroy and to
Many Miss the Mark.
Did you ever stop to consider the vast .
difference between what you are and what