Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1914-11-15

Text: And lie kneeied upon his knees
three times day. and prayed as he
did aforetime."-D1n vi 10.
DO you want the secret of a great
soul? Does the desire for ~ strong
and happy life come upon you? It's
atiswer is here: Regularity In religious
exercises, customary devotions to the
Almighty. habitual holiness. fixed and
steady principles OF mind and OF heart.
Do not get the notion that the strains
that life brings upon character, that
the dark issues Of our pilgrimages can
be faced and overcome by momentary
magic.
When the decree was signed, Daniel
prayed. but only las lie did aforctimc."
He does not recourse to prayer. I'm
the agony of the hour. nor is he shaken
to convulsiye and dire effort in the
faces OF an "immutable' verdict. He
has calm and n poisc which come
from the painstaking past. He IL now
a gray-haired veteran or some ninety
years. Sixty-hve years since he first
came to this strange land, n youth with
Il thousand test!ngB before him. The
foreign slave will yet become the first
prince of the realm. If ne falls not In
fixing perpctually the temper OF his
daily life.
CONSTANT PREPARATION
BEFORE; NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT
I. There is much and constant
preparation before notable achievement
You have just seen n swimmer. win
in the match before the other fellow
got his second wind. but you did not
think that was his first stroke. The
tight-ropc walker is neither unneryed
Nor unbalanced though Niagara's seeth-
Ing flood Is 200 feet below his feet, now
gliding deity along the quiverlng wire.
But you never thought he began rope
walking only last year. You have Just
seen n certain young man refuse a sug-
gestion which led 10 foul indulgence,
but your reason did not lead you to
suppose that he had not been fortified
by a fathers counsel, mothers
prayer. n Christian or God-fearing in
stinct acquired through years CT train
Ing.
Daniel knew. as every man should
know. the power and purpose in his life,
and felt no misgiving. no panic. as to
the outcome.
So your morning prayer will pre-
empt your evening peril. Your GUS
tom to-day Will determine your con-
duct tomorrow.
II. Little wonder our church and
Christian lives are so negligible. Gods
tides come in twice each day, swelling
tho bosom of the ocean and bringing
fresh air and moisture from shores
afar; but the religious tide comes into
our lives but once. less, in seven
days. II IL rises Sunday, 1t GIBBS Mon
day. and 10 down and away through
the week. Man writes over his work
-.
his church. Religion Is religion"
And he says to- the one, Don't come
in here" and 20 the other. Don't go
Tin there" Some one has said that the
average man Of the business world
would not recognize the ten COM
mandmcnts. let alone the beatitudes
of Jesus, In his secular affairs, should
they look him I'm the face; and II the
holy forms that are seen and felt in
the sanctuary services were to appear
mn r ~ nIa fI,a,- H.
set upon by the traiiicker, with stones
and sticks. and Lsiven back into the
pale and shndowy confinement of four
church walls. With dust on family
Bibles. cobwcbs over windows which
omen toward heavens hills, places Of
public prayer empty, and tithes in de-
fault. church life Is n desolatior, and
personal piety a mask and gaberdine
for gibes.
When the Wall Street Journal takes
UP this note. we should be startlingly
Observation-Disclosures TO this modern
Daniel:
What America needs more than
railroad extension. Western irrigation.
low tariH, bigger wheat crop. mer-
chant marine, q new navy, is n revival
OF piety-the kind mother and father
used to have That counted 1t good
business to stop for daily prayer In the
middle OF harvest. that quit work an
hour earlier to do the chores and get
TO Thursday evening prayer meeting,
thnt borrowed money to pay the
preachers salary. and prayed fervent-
ly for the salvation OF the rich man
who looked with scorn on such unbusi-
nesslilSc procedure. Wealth never
made nation substantial or honor
able"
RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY
BUILDS UP CHARACTER
III. But regularity in religion pros
pcrs us so; 1t is the paradox OF our
modern mind that the granite stone for
the nobler structure. oft rejected by
the builders, should still be rejected :
that the Pearl OF greatest price should
be yet In dises.eem.
Fed upon good food, following a
strict regimen. daily training in muscle
and Drawn. develop the athlete, the
subject of interest and wonder the
world around. Fed with sincere milk
of Gods word. chastened in thought
and habit. energies the soul the char
acter the greater living. Up on this
plane Is the greater power, moral
might and excellence, where may be
realized something of the Psalmist's
figure: One man shall have the
strength ota thousand. and two men
put ten thousand to flight"
Blessed. yea, blessed is the man
whose strength is in the Lord, There
is protection, power. purity, victory
always in his right hand 1t was
'eS uiaiit' III ieHSioi mat hePt4 Danlei
safe In Babylon. Nothing else Will keep
us safe In our lot.
In the secret of Gods presence YOU
can tread the giddy streets and be un-
ensnared by their vanities, pass thea
tres and taverns and never think OF
entering in. DO summoned to noisy
bouts and goddess gatherings and have
no heart to go. Others will worship
golden images OF public opinion, others
Will fear the fiery furnaces of devilish
device. others will fall prey in the
lions den Of fashion and folly; not you.
You. Il man of probity and prayer In
the bedlam of commerce, Of piety and
purity in the mawkish parade OF
society, unseduccd, undistracted,, a
pilgrim at Vanity Fair, a Christian in
+ BY Meadows of Doubt, worshiper
amid idola.ers n Daniel in Rabvlnpt