Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1917-12-05
MOODS OF WARTIME
How the PsaImist Voices Com.
fort, Cheer, Strength and
Courage to Human Heart.


"Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and
he shall sustain thee."-Ps. 4:22.
It is one of the marks of the in
spiration of the Psalms that we
turn quite naturally to their splendid
phrases to find expression for our
deepest thoughts. When our hearts
are stirred, the right words do not
always come to US. But we find them
in the Psalter. And, if I mistake
not, there is in the words Of the
ffty-fifth Psalm q quite extraordi-
nary appropriateness to our thoughts In
these great days of alternate hope and
fear, and anger and grief, and pride
and patience. 1t is Psalm for time
Of war; it Is war that the Psalmist had
in his thoughts. And it seems to ex-
press the varying moods which we OBJ
serve in our nelghbors, and Of which
we are half conscious in ourselves, as
we try to keep our mental sanity, our
Christian faith. The Psalm begins and
ends with prayer, for it Is the outpour-
ing of his hearts desires by godly
man; but he passes through various
phases of thought as he prays-some
worthy Of the highest Christian saint
liness-some not so worthy, for he had
the weaknesses common to our poor
humanity. ,
"Hear my prayer" So he begins. 1t
is tho inevitable petition Of an un-
quiet soul. "Hear my prayer" But
the singer is afraid, for the danger is
near. !"The ungodly cometh on so fast;
they are minded to do some mischief,
so maliciously are they set against
me-" He is fainthearted, he doubts
the ultimate issue. "My heart is dis
uuieted within me-fearfulness and
trembling are common upon me-" And
he would fain escape from the horror
and misery of it all. "Oh, for the
wings of a dove, for then would flee
away and be at rest. would get me
away far off ~ to the wilder
ness, if need be. 81 would make haste
to escape" "Oh, for the wings OF q
dove!" The words when set to the
luscious music of Mendelssohn, charm
the ear, and they find response in
that desire for peace and rest which
is the emotion Of every tender and
Kindly heart, "Oh, for the wings of
dove!" Yet that is not the Christian
attitude to the stern realities OF lie.
It is a mood through which our
thoughts may pass. But it IS an un-
worthy mood. 1t is not the mood OF
faith, and another Psalm tells us so.
"In the Lord put my trust; how say
We then to my soul that she should flee
as a bird unto the hill?'
And so we pass on to the best
thought of all-the thought which is
the true key to the brave old Psal-
mist's courage and hope. With it he
begins-"Hear my prayer" for that
is the prayer of faith as we'll as the
prayer of fearfulness. To it he passes
on-"Ac FOR me, will call upon God,
and the Lord shall save me. In the
evening and morning and at monday
will I pray, and that instantly; and
he shall hear my voice" For this is
the mood of prayer, of the consecra-
tion of all high endeavor, of the hal
lowing of pain. Cast thy burden
upon the Lord, and he shall sustain
thee" Here is no counsel for weak
ling or craven. but of brave man
who has faced the worst. Cast thy
burden upon the "rd." 1t does not
mean that we shall leave the part of
danger to others, and rest in security
the while, craven-hearted. It is not
TO sing. ooh. for the wings Of a dove.
shat there may be way OF escape"
Nor does it mean that as we fight, we
curse the while. To fight without
cursing in the cause Of righteousness
is to follow in the steps Of the great
CAPTAIN Of the Christian soul. And so
1t means that We shall best fortify our
spirits by prayer.
And for US all, even while our hearts
leap as we read of the deeds done by
those of our own blood and speech
for us all, the Psalmists message is,
"Cast thy burden upon the Lord"
This is his final mood; this is the issue
of his thought. Cas- thy burden here.
Thus only can we stay the throbbing
of our pulse and anchor our souls upon
rock. The way may be long before
we reach the end of the journey. 1t
must be a way of pain. But the way
of the Cross Is the way of light. And
this is the way of the great crusade
BY the Archbishop Of Dublin.
fI-n r,nMNn nnrnE nEAIlTIHIIl