The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-06-04

brought Agag the king of Amalek,
and have utterly destroyed the
Amalekites. But the people took
of the spoil sheep and oxen, the
chief of the devoted things. to sac
rifice unto Jehovah thy God in
Gilgal And Samuel said. Hath Je-
hovah as great delight in burnt-of-
ferings and sacrifices as in obeying
the voice of Jehovah? ABehold, to
obey is better than sacrifice, and to
hearken than the fat of rams. For
rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
and stubbornness is as idolatry and
teraphim. Because thou hast re-
jeeted the word of Jehovah, He
hath also rejected thee from being
king"
The Perfect Tribute.
Public men in various departments
of life have long labored under the
notion, by no means new. that they
are personally exempt from obedience
to the divine law IL only they express
appreciation of it. Thus we have the
testimonies of well known men to
Christianity and the Bible, as If
thereby a greac and eondeseending
service had been done to the Almighty
by these creatures of His Preachers
are accustomed to exhibit publicly the
spectacle of men of goddess life
Napoleon being a familiar case in
point-in the act, as it were. of patting
the Lord approving upon the shoulder.
This is not far from the fawning syeo-
phancy of the German divines who
groveled at the feet of the kaiser in his
most blasphemous moments.
Squarely condemning this practice
which is of a piece with King Saul's
offering sacrifices when he should
have been showing obedience instead,
come the inspired word Behold. to
obey is better than to saerifice," No
tribue to God is perfect except that of
obedience God does not want flat
terry; he is offended by it. He asks
first and only of every mortal obedi-
ence to his revealed word This is
| the only incense that smells sweet in
his nostrills. To camouflage disobedf-
ence by praise and profession is OBJ
horrent to Him.
Heavens angels sing no sweeter
tribute to the Eternal than is rendered
by life of earnest obedience The
most eloquent tongue or pen cannot
phrase a eulogy of the attributes of
the Diety that will compare with the
humble holiness of the lowliest saint
who orders her or his life by the word
of God Nations can enact no statutes
so Christian as the simple following
of the plain law of God in their deal
ing one with another and with their
peoples. The bleating of the sheep
lNof disobedience deafens the ears of
the Highest to all outward forms of
worship No man can present a
church organ or a set of steep1e
chimes that will drown the noise of
the bleating sheep of a life lived con-
! trary to the will of God
| Stern is the monition of our Les
son. The nation or the people that
departs from the law of God will be
| repudiated by Him. Only the dis
favor of the Lord can follow a public
policy that does not square with His
| explicit will. These should be days
of heart-searching among leaders OF
! the nations, and among the people
/ too. There is no calamity possible to
a country equal to the withdrawal OF
| the divine favor.
On the other hand, 1t is equally
clear that the one plain path to peace
for our troubled social and economic
order, as well as for the nations. is by
a return to the revealed word of God
| We seem SO engrossed in the labor
question. the high cost of living ques-
ton. the peace treaty question, the po-
/ litical question, that we have crowd &c
out of our minds the first question OF
all. which is whether our hearts are
right with God. Are we following the
ancient path of obedience to the will
/ of God? Is our first concern that We
shall do whatever He would like te
/ have us do? We need to
| "Give ourselves to Thy obedience,
/ Love and serve Thee best of ALL"