The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1914-12-25

bOu nut almost
all men acknowl-
edge the existence of God. How do
they treat him?
Some decline TO acknowledge him as
having any personal relation to them.
lie Is an intangible, far.away being.
possibly nothing more than the great
Pan OF the ancients. Some forget God.
having occasional moments of recog-
milton, especially when he appeals to
them by catastrophe. but the words of
the psalmist are again true: God is
not In all their thoughts" This is true
oftentimes of bodies OF men, even
great nations.
Some defy God. following the advice
OF the wife Of Job--to curse God and
die. They fight against God. but they
mover think Of asking the result of the
fight. They never win Some parley
with God. having some recognition Of
his being and OF their moral obliga.
tion8 to him, but when those obliga-
tons are pressed as present duties
they say Tomorrow" or Consider our
business, our political or domestic sit.
uation and excuse us"
The Demand Of God.
We have in the text a command. not
a mere suggestion or intlmaton
Know that | am Cod" The latter
part Of the verse defines what God
means; Il will be exalted among the
heather. | will be exalted in the
earth" The cry of the Mohammedan
muezzin Ia not wrong: God Is great"
In the Old Testament we have the
word "Elohtm." which means "the
strong or faithful one" used 2,3OO
times. The root In that word, Ell"
means the strong or mighty one"
That was Gods claim in those times
and one OF the things upon which he
has been most sensitive is that OF his
unchangeableness. What he was to
Moses or David or Nebuchadnezzar he
Is TO us, God makes a demand In the
text. and no man has a right to chal.
lenge It. 81 am God"
How Obey the Command.
In our authorized version of the
Scriptures we have the words: BE
still" Most mem make such a clamor
in their business or In the political
world, or on the battle field that they
cannot hear God. Elijah in the cleft
of the mountain, side heard God more
distinctly in the still. small voice than
in the raging fire or stormy wind /
Men have come close to God as they /
have sat by the silent sea. or in the |
stiffness of the woods. or in the hush /
of the midnight hour. The Hebrew
word translated still" might be trans. !
lated Cease ye," or Let your hands .
hang down." which means that efforts |
should cease. Many claiming to rec.
ognize God struggle on, attempting to
do things that God would do, but |
which he cannot do because men in.
sist on doing them for themselves.
While God has been compelled to
show his almightlness or strength in
sending catastrophes on men he shows
this same strength in simple ways.
The Nations and God.
Probably In these days when the
earth is trembling with the crash OF
the mightiest armies that the world
has ever known there should be n
thought of God and his power What
are kings and empercrs and great ma.
lions? Nations are az a drop In the
bucket and are counted as the small
dust in the balance. AS the rulers of
the earth take counsel together
against the Lord and against his
anointed, God sits in the heavens and
laughs at them and has them in de.
rision.
Over the armies of Europe now in
conflict God is standing. He has A
purpose in this unparalleled war and
that purpose will be realized. The
mighty fighting organization OF Ger
many will not Illustrate 1t, nor the pa.
triotism and impetuosity of the French,
nor the tenacity of the English, nor
the masses of the Russians.
Waterloo and God.
Victor Hugo asks with reference to
Waterloo: WAS II possible that Ma
poleon should win this battle? We
answer. No. And why? Because OF
Because of BlucherY
No. Because OF God" And he says:
Napoleon had been impeached before
the Infinite and his fall decreed. He
vexed God"
Tho man is wise who makes God hiz /
refuge and strength. a very presen.
help In trouble. To-day the. glory OF
America lies in the fact that Its chief |
executive is man of clear recogni.
ion of God. and his remarkable
achievements may be accounted for by
hose moments OF solitude before God,
n HIS chamber.