The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1923-04-25

$780, @@A $1,000 49,
~ "A~ though the clang
@A or may
SOME truth and the music of the finest
instruments may reveal some more
what wealth of truth would remain
unexpressed If we heard only these
Far deeper and Of more importance
than these sounds Is the appeal fol
be lesser truth, greater truth, OF ex-
allied truth.
l. There Is the appeal to the deaf.
Having ears, hear We not" (AIark
S:1S). For what was the ear formed,
If not for hearing? But here 1t Is fail
Ing to function. The speaker is the
Son of God; the result is as If He
had not spoken. AS well look for a
harvest of grain on a frozen lake
Physically, deafness is Il great afflic-
ton, but indescribably worse Is spirit
uai deafness. To such, as II with the
force of thunder may the words be
said: "He that hath ears to hear, let
him hear"
.. There is the appeal to the heed
less hearers: Take heed that you
hear" says Jesus Mark 4:24). No
man can hear everything at once. He
must, therefore, hear soIne things and
not hear others. 1t Is his duty to
distinguish. You may hear "jazz"
until your very soul seems to dance
the Jig of hysteria. You may hear
vulgarity until your very soul seems
septic. Or, you may hear truth I'M
til your very soul declares Forever,
o Lord, Thy word is settled in
heaven" Our subtle adversary is so
given to counterfeiting the good, that
we must even distinguish between
Gods Word and all partial OF frac-
tional substitutes for 1t. AS a drop
of ink will stain a glass of water, so
truth will be ~blackened by the admix-
ture of falsehOod.
8. There is partial hearing. Jesus
spake the word unto them as they
were able to hear" Mark :33). Ever
must we expect to meet this condition.
Ever will there be more than we can
hear. But there is the incentive to
listen eagerly, to listen alertly for the
truth. Ii is with reference to this
that Jesus is speaking his parallels.
He has attentive listeners. 1t Is the
picture of the teacher whose pupils
are earnest students. But note the
expression, "as they were able to
hear Here you. find truth, not run
ming away from the listener, n not
standing still until welcomed, but rath-
err. pleading, appealing, entreating the
listener to receive it, and more. Can
you bear more? then you shall have 1t.
Who could think of this without long
ing to be a good hearer? You see, it is
a question of being able, and as the
athlete increases his ability by his
exercises, that he may succeed the
better when in the contest, so may our
ability to hear be increased as we give
attention to the truth.
4. Hear Him." Mark go. That
voice from the cloud of glory and the
Mount of TRANSPORTATION declaring {:
"This is Ny beloved Son hear Him.
told in each of. the three first Gospels,
was more than a passing announce
ment. In that miniature Of the king
dom of God, the announcement was
made as if to declare that in the time
of His reign, men will recognize the
authority which it carries. Men must
come to realize that Christ must be
: heard. If they will not hear Him as
Savior, then they must hear Him as
Ruler and Judge. But that voice was
uttered, too, rs an appeal to souls,
including yours and mine. Only one
could walk among us and claim as
very man 81 am the Truth The APP
peal then is to hear Him. 1t means
that we turn a deaf ear to the imita-
tions, the shams, the ~falsehoods, and
listen to the truth. "Hear Him." call
ing: "Come unto Me, all We that labor
and are heavy laden, and | will give
you rest Hear Him saying; 81 am
the Good Shepherd, the Good Shep-
herd layeth down His life for the
sheep" Hear Him Yelling His own :
81 go to prepare a place for you, and
If | go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again and receive you unto
Myself" Hear Him in his assuring
words. 81 will not leave you comfort
less; | will come to you" He that
hath ears to hear, let him hear You
have heard what He did, you have
heard who He is, you have heard what
He said, you have heard what you
need; but have you heard Him? Only
one voice amid the noises offers peace
-"peace through the blood Of the
Cross
"Hast thou heard him, seen Him, known
Him?
Is not thine a captured heart?
Chief among ten thousand owned him