Evening star., 1943-07-04
TOMORROW BRINGS THE DAWN. a..
BY the Req. John w. Rusttn, D. D.,
Minister, Mount Vernon Place Methodist Church.

could not accept 1t. It seemed un-
believable. Even as the radio brought
us the news we would not believe 1t.
Then followed Dunkirk. Those terrible
days for England when day and night
no respite from the bombs that fell.
Children buried by the dozens In wrecks
Of school buildings, homes demolished,
people fleeing to the open countries.
Then came December Z and Pearl Har-
Dor, with all Of its horror. The flower
Of this country shot down, burned and
drowned by the hundreds.
It is necessary, II one is to believe
that the light will ever come back again,
to believe that it was because those who
faced the darkness Of other days saw the
dawn come again. But II yesterdays
darkness was dispelled by the dawn Of .
new day. that dawn came because con-
ditions were met. Those Pilgrim Fathers
continued to have faith In God. even
when the darkness was 70 great. One
sees them worshiping at crude affairs
on hard benches. One never thinks Of
those Pilgrim Fathers without thinking
Of their faith In God and the observance
of their Sabbath. If one would see the
true picture Of Valley Forge, he would
not only see the mud. snow and the
hungry soldiers. but one needs to see
George Washington standing in the
twilight. his face uplifted in prayer to
Almighty God. If one is to ever under
stand the days OF reconstruction that fol-
lowed the Civil War, he needs not just
to read Gone With the Wind" to see
how a broken, devastated section of our
country can be reborn again because
Of . great faith in eternal verities that
could not be shaken. In England in the
fall Of 1910 in the period of her greatest
darkness, her ruler could say: Il said to
a man who stood at the gate of the
year: Give me light that may tread
safely into the unknown And he re-
piled: Go out into the darkness and put
your hand into the hand of God. That
shall be to you better than light, safer
than . known way So I went forth,
and finding the hand Of God, trod gladly
into the night. He led me toward the
hills and the breaking Of day In the lone
east May His almighty hand guide and
uphold us ALL"
How dark 1t Is now! Almost daily some
one among our friends is getting news
OF brothers death, 4 husband missing
in action. Are We meeting the condi-
tions that make 1t possible for the dawn
to ever come agaln-for the light to ever
break In our so great q darkness? Does
the message Of Rickenbacker become
real to US? Do we know:
I'm the darkest night Of the year,
When the stars are all gone out,
That courage is better than fear,
And faith is truer than doubt"
Surely We must have some help for this
hour-some whisper Of comfort that will
enable US to carry on. We can turn oul
faces to the source from whence cometh
our help and say, % God, our Father
We are Thy children, tell us how to live
when our lights 60 out!" 1t may be that
He would lead US again to Calvary's hill
where the earth shook, and there wal
darkness everywhere, and show that ever
In 50 great darkness as that the lish,
could shine again. It may be that He
would take my hand and lead me te
LIES garden fair by fragrant flowers ano
laughing brooks-He would show me how
right seemed often on the scanold, and
wrong seemed often on the throne, but
He would tell me that that scafIolo
svays the future, and in the dim un.
known God is standing in the shadow.
keeping watch over His own. He woulc
tell us again that the darkness coulo
not put out the light If that light be the
light Of faith.