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that of a wise and very strict lawyer。  I remember well the awful

conception of God which I had when a boy。  I was given an illustrated

edition of Watts' hymns察in which God was represented as a great

piercing eye in the midst of a great black thunder cloud。  The

idea which that picture gave to my young imagination was that of

God as a great detective察playing the spy upon my actions察as the

hymn says



;Writing now the story of what little children do。;



That was a very mistaken and harmful idea which it has taken me

years to obliterate。  We think of God as ;up there察─or as one who

made the world six thousand years ago and then retired。  We must

learn that He is not confined either to time or space。  God is

not to be thought of as merely back there in time察or up there in

space。  If not察where is He拭  The word is nigh thee察even in thy

mouth。;  The Kingdom of God is within you察and God Himself is among

men。  When are we to exchange the terrible察far´away察absentee God

of our childhood for the everywhere present God of the Bible拭 Too

many of the old Christian writers seem to have conceived of God

as not much more than the greatest mana kind of divine emperor。

He is infinitely more察He is a spirit察as Jesus said to the woman

at the well察and in Him we live and move and have our being。  Let us

think of God as ImmanuelGod with usan ever´present察omnipresent

eternal One。  Long察long ago察God made matter察then He made the

flowers and trees and animals察then He made man。  Did He stop拭 Is

God dead拭 If He lives and acts what is He doing拭 He is



Making men better。



He it is that ;worketh in you。;  The buds of our nature are not

all out yet察the sap to make them comes from the God who made us

from the indwelling Christ。  Our bodies are the temples of the Holy

Ghost察and we must bear this in mind察because the sense of God is

kept up察not by logic察but by experience。



Until she was seven years of age the life of Helen Keller察the

Boston girl who was deaf and dumb and blind察was an absolute blank

nothing could go into that mind because the ears and eyes were

closed to the outer world。  Then by that great process which has

been discovered察by which the blind see察and the deaf hear察and the

mute speak察that girl's soul became opened察and they began to put

in little bits of knowledge察and bit by bit they began to educate

her。  They reserved her religious instruction for Phillips Brooks。

After some years察when she was twelve years old察they took her to

him and he began to talk to her through the young lady who could

communicate with her by the exceedingly delicate process of touch。

He began to tell her about God and what He had done察and how He loved

men察and what He is to us。  The child listened very intelligently

and finally said



;Mr。 Brooks察I knew all that before察but I didn't know His name。;



How often we have felt something within us impelling us to do

something which we would not have conceived of by ourselves察or

enabling us to do something which we could not have done alone。

;It is God which worketh in you。;  This great simple fact



Explains many of the mysteries of life



and takes away the fear which we would otherwise have in meeting

the difficulties which lie before us。



Two Americans who were crossing the Atlantic met on Sunday night

to sing hymns in the cabin。  As they sang the hymn察 Jesus察Lover

of my Soul察─one of the Americans heard an exceedingly rich and

beautiful voice behind him。  He looked around察and although he did

not know the face he thought that he recognized the voice。  So when

the music ceased he turned and asked the man if he had not been

in the Civil war。  The man replied that he had been a Confederate

soldier。  ;Were you at such a place on such a night拭─ asked the

first。  ;Yes察─he said察 and a curious thing happened that night

this hymn recalled it to my mind。  I was on sentry duty on the

edge of the wood。  It was a dark night and very cold察and I was a

little frightened because the enemy was supposed to be very near

at hand。  I felt very homesick and miserable察and about midnight

when everything was very still察I was beginning to feel very weary

and thought that I would comfort myself by praying and singing a

hymn。  I remember singing this hymn





'All my trust on Thee is stayed

  All my help from Thee I bring

 Cover my defenceless head

  With the shadow of Thy wing。'





After I had sung those words a strange peace came down upon me

and through the long night I remember having felt no more fear。;



;Now察─said the other man察 listen to my story。  I was a Union

soldier察and was in the wood that night with a party of scouts。  I

saw you standing up察although I didn't see your face察and my men

had their rifles focused upon you waiting the word to fire察but

when you sang out





'Cover my defenceless head

  With the shadow of Thy wing。'





I said察'Boys察put down your rifles察we will go home。'  I couldn't

kill you after that。;



God was working in each of them察in His own way carrying out His

will。  God keeps his people and guides them and without Him life

is but a living death。



III。



The third element in life about which I wish to speak is LOVE。



In this picture we notice the delicate sense of companionship

brought out by the young man and the young woman。  It matters not

whether they are brother and sister察or lover and loved察there

you have the idea of friendship察the final ingredient in our life

after the two I have named。  If the man or the woman had been

standing in that field alone it would have been incomplete。



Love is the divine element in life察because ;God is love。;  ;He

that loveth is born of God察─therefore察as some one has said察let

us ;keep our friendships in repair。;  Let us cultivate the spirit

of friendship察and let the love of Christ develop it into a great

love察not only for our friends察but for all humanity。  Wherever

you go and whatever you do察your work will be a failure unless you

have this element in your life。



These three things go far toward forming a well´rounded life。  Some

of us may not have these ingredients in their right proportion

but if you are lacking in one or the other of them察then pray for

it and work for it that your life may be rounded and complete as

God intended it should be。











Pax Vobiscum。









I once heard a sermon by a distinguished preacher upon ;Rest。;

It was full of beautiful thoughts察but when I came to ask myself

;How does he say I can get Rest拭─there was no answer。  The sermon

was sincerely meant to be practical察yet it contained no experience

that seemed to me to be tangible察nor any advice that I could

graspany advice察that is to say察which could help me to find the

thing itself as I went about the world。



Yet this omission of what is察after all察the only important problem

was not the fault of the preacher。  The whole popular religion is

in the twilight here。  And when pressed for really working specifics

for the experiences with which it deals察it falters察and seems to

lose itself in mist。



The want of connection between the great words of religion and

every´day life has bewildered and discouraged all of us。  Christianity

possesses the noblest words in the language察its literature overflows

with terms expressive of the greatest and happiest moods which can

fill the soul of man。  Rest察Joy察Peace察Faith察Love察Lightthese

words occur with such persistency in hymns and prayers that an

observer might think they formed the staple of Christian experience。

But on coming to close quarters with the actual life of most of us

how surely would he be disenchanted。  I do not think we ourselves

are aware of how much our religious life is



Made up of phrases



how much of what we call Christian Experience is only a dialect

of the Churches察a mere religious phraseology with almost nothing

behind it in what we really feel and know。



To some of us察indeed察the Christian experiences seem further away

than when we took the first steps in the Christian life。  That life

has not opened out as we had hoped。  We do not regret our religion

but we are disappointed with it。  There are times察perhaps察when

wandering notes form a diviner music stray into our spirits察but

these experiences come at few and fitful moments。  We have no sense

of possession in them。  When they visit us察it is as surprise。

When they leave us察it is without explanation。  When we wish their

return察we do not know how to secure it。



All of which means a religion without solid base察and a poor and

flickering life。  It means a great bankruptcy in those experiences

which give Christianity its personal solace and make it attractive

to the world察and a great uncertainty as to any remedy。  It is as

if we knew everything about healthexcept the way to get 

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