The Alaska citizen., 1915-05-31
Sermon to the People
BY THE REV. G. G. BRUCE.

| WnOm base woman COuld not defli'
and prison life could not mar, ar.
those same brothers. while on,
makes the confession, For gu
/ brothers anguish was ever before
US"
! No contrast could have been great
er than the prosperity Of JOSEPH
and the wretchedness of his broth
ers. Toiling through twenty year.
/ the load had become unbearable
Such Is the stage upon which mem
/ DRY calls US to review the acts o
/ life He who has lived well yester
day can look for joy tomorrow. The
soul that can look joyfully back car
look gladly forward And the Cox
who sent the Messenger yesterday
/ lets him linger through all the days
and he is nigh thee even in thy
mouth and heart.
Again God speaks to men by the
voice of conscience and its voice is
ever sounding through the aisles OF
| mans soul. When it is least ex
pected calm and clear its certain
whisper is heard. When Herod hat
taken the life Of John the Baptist
and given his head in a charger tc
that wicked young woman who's.
lewdness had gained a base request
and Jesus was teaching in the vicin
| ity of his home, he threw up his
hands in horror and said:
1T is John risen from the dead
| When the finger of Nathan point
ed at the King of Israel and the
voice of the prophet was heard by
| David to say, Thou art the man
conscience finished the work in the
soul OF the adulterer.
! The same truth is manifest in that
ancient tale of Ibcus A traveller
crossing the desert was overtaken
| by sheik who killed and robbed
him of his purse. At that moment
two cranes high above attracted at
tention as they flew southwark to q
warmer cline, their harsh cries
startling the murderer. All Greece
felt the wound of their heart in the
| loss of their pious poet. At the
games the next day in Corinth the
| murderer mingled with the crowds
| in the open amphitheatre. AS the
great throng listened intently to a
drama that would harass the con
science flock of cranes flew north
ward over the place. High on the top
tier OF seats a man arose and III
great terror cried forth? The cranes
of Ibicus, the cranes of lbiCuS.
Conscience had driven him to con
fess that which he had hoped to
keep quiet forever. God has not
left himself without a witness. We
need not go to the heavens or over
the seas, for the voice is within
the heart.
Gods Messenger speaks to men
through the voice Of Hope. There
are two ways of judging the uni
;erse and mantle one way is to
begin with any biological fact and
look downward that is the way of
the materialist; the other is begin
with the fact and look upward, that
5 the way of cheer and hope. In
the book World of Life" the auth
or begins with mans body and looks
downward. He looks at the hand
of man wonderful in its possibilities,
then spoils 1t all by saying its rudi-
ment are in the bats wing, the
horses leg. and the fin of the fish.
He looks at the wonders OF the hui
man eye-telescope for the stars and
planets and nameless worlds, micro
scope for the dagger of the bee.
Then spoils it all by saying that in
the lowest of the orders of nature
there is rudiment of an eye
slowly evolving He takes the in
tellect of man that builds water
powers, and ships and measures the
distance to the stars, then spolls 1t
Iii by saying that the beaver can
build dams and a spider trap
door.
Alas for the scientist who looks at
the precious stones and says only
clay" Jesus looks at the clay that
lays about Him and sees the mater
ial out of which God can construct
worlds and men, and man made in
the image of God. To-day shalt thou
be with me in paradise thus
kindling a living hope. Standing
before a yaWning grave. He looks
into heaven, and, uttering prayer
calls forth body again to life. The
world is dark and cold and filled
with wickedness and sin. The ma
terialist sees that sadness and points
down and down to mans utter ruin.
Jesus begins at the selfsame point
and watches the gloom of war and
w
light Built upon the foundation Of
hope He smiles men into new things
and calls them to enlist in his new
world and greater glories of the
gospel,
God has ordained that man should
live life of sacrifice. All nature
bears out this idea. The grain dies
that the crop may be renewed many
fold The petal loses its sweetness
and dies that new petal may live
The happy bee flies from flower to
flower gathering sweets which he
carries busily to his hive. He lays
up full store and dies.
But as he flies from flower to
flower gathering treasured sweets
and carrying bread to the young at
home, he also is carrying pollen from
stamen to stamen and the result is
a rich harvest for man. In caring
for the child the mother watches
over her little one with ceaseless
courage and anxiety. All through
the years of the child's development
the mother continues her vigil
In after days when mother has
grown old, the child awakens to the
fact. and eXclaims, she died for
met" 1t is not hard to see that in
the realm of the soul every act Is
one OF sacrifice and devotion. Com
ing from the halls of judgment is
the Savior bearing His cross, weary
and worn and sad he wends his