Evening journal., 1916-01-21

duces discord and disaster. Harmony
GENES only when the soul attunes
itself TO the divine law Many of us
have had to struggle long in the
slough Of sorrow and the darkness of
difficulty because we have been un-
willing TO accept Gods guidance. We
insisted on choosing our own path or
following our own plan without con-
sulting Him. We were unwilling 10
take His way and follow His leader
ship II is only as we confessed our
failure and acknowledged His author
ity that we either made progress or
obtained rest.
The illustration Of the sheep and
the shepherd is favorite one
throughout all Scripture. It is only
4 as the flock are willing TO follow
their Master that they are led into
the refreshing pastures and beside the
/ still waters. Wandering from the
sight Of his eye and the sound of his
voice they are lost in the wilderness
and on the mountain apd become the
prey of wild beasts. Cease, oh soul,
thy rebellion. and covenant with
Christ to do His will and go where
! He would have thee to 60 and thou
1 wilt find the peace that passeth all
understanding.
The next essential for this great
] blessing is a humble heart. Discour-
agement has been defined as olsen
chanted egOtism. When we initiate
our physical or intellectual or social
worth and the world refuses to take
us at our self-appraised value. our
pride suffers a fall. When the bubble
is pricked il drops. The life that re-
| mains in the dust Of humility need
not be fearful Of being cast down. In
the second chapter of Philippians. the
apostle tells us that one Of the steps
in the glOrification Of Jesus was that
He humbled Himself Here was a
condescensiOn that was voluntary
and self-impOsed. Far better to have
! humility than humiliation better to
humble yourself than to be humbled.
If you know the peace of Jesus You
must share the position OF Jesus. The
rich Iacchaeus had 10 come down out
of the tree before he could get ac-
quainted with the Lord Christ is al
ways down here. not up there. BY a
strange anomaly. descension is es-
sential for exaltation.
BY the operation Of that great law
Of balances, the sould that is possess
ed of great power is apt also to be
possessed Of corresponding weak
4 nesses. With the excellent quality of
p self-reliance. there is apt also to be
, the drOss of pride and selfshness.
With a great majority of people this
element Of meekness of soul can be
obtained only by hardship. Paul had
I ana1vynd fho pbffoeonbV of bfc oVfu
suffering when he said lest he should
be exalted Over-much there was given
to him a thorn in the flesh Very
many Of us are slow to recognize the
necessity for trial and disappOint-
ment in order to keep us in the place
where God can use us. That is, very
few are by nature possessed. with
] true humility Of heart Il is the ele-
E ment Of character which, like regen-
GRAFTON. has to come from above
! Peter had to learn this lesson in the
s bitter school of experience. We hear
, him in his self-cOnfidence exclaimini
n to his Master, Gwen if | must die
b. with Thee, l will not deny Thee, anC
v in the next hour in the crisis OF Geth
) semane he lapses into slumber. an,
! soon after in the courtyard fearful
= for his own safety he utters Oaths o
4 blasphemy. His misfortune was hi
: salvation II was from his own ex
perience that he wrote in his frs
h epistle. "Gird yourselves with hu
4 mility to serve one another, for Co
; resisteth the proud. but giveth grac
/ TO the humble Humble yourselve
e therefore under the mighty hand o
II God. that He may exalt you i'm du
n time; casting all your anxiety o
/, Him, for He careth for YOU" II wa
this humility that he had gained b.
. such scourging that enabled him Il
close the epistle with the prayer 70
! peace: "Peace be unto all you tha
- are i'm Christ"
The greatest enemy of humility 4