The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1917-06-14

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ignoring of God
means ruin to the individual and to
the community. Amidst the accumu-
lation Of the ordinary cares of life and
Its pleasures and the frequent extra.
ordinary calls made on man as n men,
Der of society, he often becomes so
overwhelmed that he does not appear
TO have time TO get God in his thoughts,
and II seems as II man everywhere in
these awful times is thus troubled and
deserves our kindest consideration.
The first suggestion is that God is
what he Is. In the text he is represent
ed as having purpose and that 1t is i'm
possible to change that purpose; f; every
thing he purposes goes through to the
end. God himself claims that his coun-
sci shall stand, and he Is the first and
he Is the last, and besides him there Is
no other God. He asks of men that
they be still and know that he Is God,
and he will be exalted In the earth He
takes up the Islands of the sea as
a very little thing. All nations before
him are as nothing and vanity, and he
sitteth upon the circle of the earth
and the inhabitants thereof are as
grasshoppers. Paul chlded the intel
lectual Atheninns because they seemed
to think God like unto gold and silver,
and Job said In ancient times that
man is foolish who strives against God,
for he does not give account of any of
his matters, and again and again does
the Bible represent God in his infinite
creative power as speaking, and ma
terial things, worlds and universes
even spring into being.
The proper thought of God will take
away the despair that often comes to
men us they contemplate the world
about them. Never in the history of
the race were the affairs of men in
such ruin as today. The world seems
aflame. Material things seem to be
dissolving and higher things held dear
to man seem to be going down In
universal crash. Millions of men are
dying or are mangled in battle. Mil
lions of women and children are starv-
ing, and there Is chaos everywhere, but
over II all God rules. In the dark mo-
ments when President Lincoln was
stricken down by the assassin's bullet,
Congressman Garfield, afterwards pres
ident, said In New York, "Clouds and
darkness are round about him, right
eousness and judgment are the habita-
tion of his throne" God was not asleep
when the bullet Of Booth crashed into
the brain Of the president Gods
throne in the midst of the clouds and
the darkness did not even feel
tremor.
Furthermore, God is in all the affairs
of life, whether man recognizes his
presence or not. When Victor Hugo In
lies Mserables" was seeking an ex-
planation of the battle of Waterloo he
asked. "Was it possible for Napoleon
to win the battle?' We answer in the
negative. Why? On account of yelling
ton, of Blucher2 No, on account Of
God. D.. Napoleon had been de-
nounced in infinitude, and his fall was
decided. Waterloo was not battle;
ii was the transformation of uni
verse"
Gettysburg Is considered the pivotal
battle Of the Civil war and "lf' occurs
very frequently in the story of that
three days conflict. II General Lee
had attacked Howard's broken corps
on July 2; II General Warren had not
dlsobeyed orders in occupying Little
Round Top; If the Confederate general
Johnston had marched in the darkness
n half mile farther, the issue of that
battle might have been very different.
How explain? The only explanation
is God was In 1t. Suppose the mighty
army of Germany had not been sudden
ly stopped at the Marne, what would
have occurred? Some say angels in
tervened, but whether they did or not,
the explanation is-God.
We should think of God because
thereby the highest ideals of mans ex-
istence, whether as an individual or as
n member of community, will be real
lied. In these days when the individual
seems lost in the general turmoil, 1t is
well to remember that God has always
dealt with man in communities. The
families of Noah, Abraham, Jacob and
Israel In all its national history had
Gods recognition, and God has given
the warning to such communities or
nations that forget him that they shall
be cast into hell, which has always
been true. There is to be realized
Augustine's hope of a real civitas Del,
or city Of God. This will not be real
lied by the development of the national
life of today, but when Jesus Christ
shall become king of kings and lord
Of lords, but preceding that realiza-
ton II Is well for each individual rs a
member Of the community or state to
think of the relation of God to such
communities, and especially is 1t true
In these times when people are imagln-
Ing vain things.
Back. to God Through the Bible.
Never was the door back to God so
open as today, because today his word,
containing the best rules for any kind
of true life, in some sense is the cheap
est public commodity. These are the
thoughts of God concerning individual
man and of his needs as member of
society.