The Penn's Grove record., 1916-02-25
GODS mercy GREAT
His Loving Care for the Individual
Soul a Matter Almost Be-
yond Comprehension.

We are getting so accustomed to
nearing Of vast numbers-numbers
Of soldiers on this side or that, num-
Dsrs OF casualties, numbers of killed
and wounded-that we forget the soil.
tude and separation of the individual
SOU. Yet numbers, be they never so
vast, are made up OF individuals, and
would speak to you today quite sim
ply OF Gods care for the individual
soul. The world groups and Classics;
1t deals with numbers. Not so God.
God speaks Of the -preciousness Of the
individual soul, and of his care for il
d all vicissitudes of life. 81 have
called thee by thy name; thou art
mine. When thou passest through the
waters, l will be with thee"
Think, then, Of the separatedness
Of each soul, the Il" in each of US.
the personality, that which separates
me on from being anyone else ex-
cept the person that 1 individually
am. May we not say that it is part
OF the divine plan that our lives
should be thus separate units? Is it
not part of Gods intention, and anal
ogous to his works elsewhere in the
world? Look up! The stars may
seem alike to the naked eye; but
take a telescope; and we know that
not two are quite alike. "One star diff.
fereth from another star in glory"
Look around you! There are myriads
and myriads of leaves on the trees.
yet botanists tell us no two leaves
are ever quite alike. Look below you!
Take up the pebbles on the seashora.
or the stones on the roadside in the
country. There are countless mil.
lions of them, yet biologists tell us
no two stones are ever quite alike.
There is separation, isolation, soli-
tude. 1t is as If each stone, and each
leaf, each planet were intended to
ut into some great plan, as if each
had its own separate part to play
in the great harmony of the uni
verse.
All Part of Gods Plan.
So also no two characters are ever
quite alike; each person starts in
life with his wi equipment of gifts
and possibilities; no two are ever ex-
actly alike. Each life starts alone on
a voyage Of discovery, so to speak.
The ship launches out at birth-it
comes into port at death. 1t speaks"
many and many another vessel on its
voyage, just as each separate life in
fuences and is Influenced by others
day by day as the years pass away.
Yet each life has its own special re-
sponsibilities which no one else can
bear; it is distinct, alone, separate.
1t is, I say, part of Gods plan, who re-
CARDS the value of the individual soul.
i called thee by thy name; thou art
mine"
Now, my brethren, what l want to
remind you of is-that God looks at
each individual, be he soldier or civili-
an, and says to him, Never think you
are lost in a crowd" Amid all the
countless multitudes on the earth, he
looks at each one with a look Of in
finite compassion and says, You are
not lost in a crowd. 1 know thee by
thy name; thou art mine; thou art an
object of my love and care. When
thou passest through the waters, 1
will be with thee. Amid all the ter
rible clash of arms God cares for every
single soul; no one is Insignificant in
his sight. Again and again he say to
each one, as he assures him of the
called thee by thy name; thou art
mine. When thou passest through
the waters, l will be with thee"
All Dear to God.
Those many lives which we mourn
Offered in sacrifice on the battle
felds-are each Of them dear to the
God who made and redeemed them.
Not n of them is forgotten; each
n of them is precious in the sight
Of God. Short lives they seem to US,
cut off in their prime, prematurely
cast aside; but Gods power is not
limited. OF each one he takes &C
count, for each n he has employ
ment beyond the grave, in a fuller
and nobler life, where, purged from
all stain of sin, they will serve him
day and night in his kingdom.
What did Christ die on the cross
for unless it was to disclose the
heart of God? And the heart that
he disclosed was a heart which cares.
On his cross U God in human flesh
stretches out his arms and tells US
how much he cares. He stretches out
his arms, l say, and, with a heart
breaking for love of each one of those
soldier lads, he says in language which
we cannot Observation-Disclosures
think you are lost in a crowd. Nay,
made thee; l shed my blood for thee,
| died for thee; 1 redeem thee. 81
have called thee by thy name; thou
art mine. When thou passest through
the waters, will be with thee; and
through the rivers they shall not over
flow thee."-Rev. Canon Randolph,