The Penn's Grove record., 1914-08-07
IN THE WORSHIPER
Reverence Is Something Which
Dwells in the Heart, and Is
Not of Material Things.

A burning bush In the desert, and
God was there; the court Of Solomon's
temple, and God was there; a cave on
the rock-ribbed mountain, and God was
there; the plains Of Bethlehem, and
God was there; the caravan track from
Jerusalem to Damascus, and God was
there; the stone quarries Of the Isle Of
Patmos, and God was there!
Reverence is not a thing of time or
place; it is not ~inseparably connected
with a day or an hour, isolated from
the rest Of the calendar; it is not to be
discovered only in a building set apart
from the other buildings. Reverence
is an attitude of mind, a state Of heart,
a constituencies Of soul to whatever is
sacred, to whatever speaks Of God.
Undoubtedly there are times and
places closely associated with moods
and acts Of worship, but the reverence
inheres In the disposition Of the person
who worships.
Expressions Of Reverence.
To have a nature that is quickly re-
sponsive to the presence Of God is the
first and major part Of reverence; 70
act becomingly is the second part. The
first is the same everywhere; the sec
ond varies in its form with latitude
and longitude. Whether to emo
the shoes or the hat, to stand or
kneel, to speak or be silent, is a mat
ter Of country and custom. Each must
express his reverence in his own way.
The soul that feels God-in the glow
Of the sunset, in the stately splendor
Of a great church, In the words Of the
Bible, in the helplessness Of little chill
dren, in the flowers, in the severe SIM
plicities of Puritan morality, in the lit
anies Of conventional worship, In the
heroisms Of self-sacrihcing men. in the
love Of pure and generous hearts, in
the mighty movements Of national
progress-the soul that feels God and
responds, is the soul that Is reverent-
Do not be ashamed Of 1t, do not re-
press or hide or smother 1t, do not
freeze it into the forms Of passing
fashion. Such moments Of ~exaltation,
such STRINGS of pure emotion, are
what constitute the wealth Of the
souls life; without them we shall
grow coarse or sterile-lightIess, mus
c~leless, hopeless.
Truth That Thrills.
The birds-say it out bravely and
naturally as Jesus did-my Father
feeds them; the lilies, my Father
clothes them; the temple, my Fathers
house-why disguise OF evade it? The
thrill comes, the spirit quivers with an
awakening wonder, deep calleth unto
deep, the ecstasy of spiritual discov-
cry fills the heart; and it is ours, as
truly as anything the palate tastes, the
eyes see or the hands touch. Let US
be natural in spiritual things.
There are times when It seems as If
God could not speak to the mind; the
prejudice and pride Of partial know[
edge stand in the way of receiving a
divine revelation. But If there is one
spot that is always sensitive, tender
to the slightest impression and listen
ing for the faintest accent, then God
will make himself known. Thus We
shall find the true meaning of u 9TH
erwise unintelligibIe lives.
The Everlasting Father is trying to
communicate with US through many
channels; reverence is simply our
readiness to receive the message in
whatever form it may come.
'Earth's crammed with heaven.
And every common bush a1re with Godi
But only he who sees takes on his shoes"