THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, JULY 19, 1914.
12
CHARMING AMERICAN WIDOW WITH
MILLIONS WIDELY COURTED ABROAD
Manager of Japanese Theater Expects to Present American Novelties and Actresses Wear European Costumes.
Former Stage Favorite Now Prominent in Austrian Sporting and Society Circles.
' '' JljjJJ
' llllt '
V" & tts W. 2.sr2&rP -Ass-este Terzetto.
jSiflHBSXssssBBBiBefBBBjiHEel 9 IHIfe r KfPbb
a cmAmf ntatnr Snndav school. 10: E. L
7; 11, "What's In a Name"; S, Rev. A. G.
Child will preach.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH SOUTH
First, corner Union avenue and Multnomah
street. Preaching. 11 and 8, by pastor; Sun
day school. 10; Lovlck Pierce Law. pastor.
FBESBRXRIAX.
Calvary. Eleventh and Clay streets Rev.
Dr. Moore will preach. Services, 10:30 and
7:43. Morning, "God's Last Word"; even
ing. "Co-workers With God."
Fourth. First and Globs Rev. Henry Q.
Hanson, pastor. 10:30, "Barnabas"; 12.
Sunday school; 7, primary children's musl
cale; 8. Christian Endeavor.
Hawthorne Park Rev. L. K. Grimes, pas
tor. Preaching service, 10:30, subject,
"Cause and Effect In the Home"; Sunday
school, noon; no evening services.
RE-FORMED, ,
First German Rev. G. Hatner. pastor.
Services 10:0 and 7:30: Sunday school. 8:JU.
SPIRITUALISTS.
Spiritual Church of the Soul, Auditorium
Hall. J08V4 Third street "Rev. J. H. Lucas,
pastor. 11. conference; 2, lyceum; 3, me
diums' meeting, messages free; 7:45, lecture
by Mrs. Inez DTetton Bertschy, followed By
messages
UNI VERS ALIST.
Church of the Good Tidings. Broadway
and East Twenty-fourth Rev. J. D. Corby,
pastor. 10:30. "Some New Proofs That the
Bible Record Is True"; Sunday school. 1-:
No evening service.
UNITED PRESBYTERIAN.
First Sixth and Montgomery Rev. F D.
FIndlej. minister. 10:30, "A Great Heart
Dream and What Came of It"; Bible school,
1- Christian Endeavor, 7; 8, "Pass It On.
Church of the Strangers Rev. S. E. Du
Bois, pastor. 10:30. "A Profitable Summer
Vacation"; 8, "A Famous Singer's Testi
mony." UNITARIAN.
Church of Our Father, Broadway and
Yamhill Rev. T. L. Eliot, minister emeritus-
Rev W. G. Eliot, Jr., minister. Service
11 'Rev Fred Alban Weil, of Belllngham,
will speak on "The Besetting Ideal"; even
ing services intermitted.
Y. M. C. A.
City Association, Sixth and Taylor streets
R. E Randall religious work director.
Meeting for men at 3:15 will be addressed
by Chaplain Howard, of the Good Samaritan
Hospital on "The Passing of Individualism
and the Coming Socialism."
MI SCELLAN EOU S.
Divine Truth Chapel. Selling-Hirsch
building. Washington and West Park
,treets Rev. T. M. Mlnard, pastor. Ser
vices 11; mid-week meeting Tuesday at 2.
Christian Yoga, 311 Central building.
Tenth and Alder streets. 10:30, meditation;
11. Bible study; 12, young people's class; 8.
lecture by F. O. Garrison on "Divine
Power."
New Thought Temple of Truth. Eilers
building, 142 Broadway Rev. P. J. Green,
minister. Lecture, 8. on ''Some : ool Habits
of Civilization."
Church of the New Jerusalem Rev. C. A.
Nussbaum. pastor, services, 11, at Kecltal
Hall, 14!) Tenth street; subject, "The Fool
and the Shepherd."
Theosophical Society. 726 Morgan build
ing. 8, "Talk On the Hindu Bible."
MAN HAD BEEN IN PRISON FOR 32 YEARS
UNJUSTLY, FREED BY PRESIDENT WILSON
Blackfoot Indian Finally Convinces Authorities Killing Was in Self -Defense New Ambassador to Russia not
Wanted by France Because of His California Wine Industry Activities.
NEW YORK, July 18. (Special.)
Mrs. Philip Van Volkenburgh. of
New York, now In Paris, Is so
besieged by suitors, who are vtelng
with one another for her heart and
hand, that a mere proposal of mar
riage Is beginning to bore the fair
lady, who is the possessor of a for
tune amounting to $10,000,000.
It Isn't the money only which Is so
much an attraction to those who come
to lay their heart and hand at the feet
of the charming young widow, for Mrs.
Van Volkenburgh Is a noted American
beauty. The race for the charming
lady and her doubly charming millions
has now reached the final elimination
period, in which the Iuke of Oporto
and Prince Wolff Metternicli are run
ning almost neck and neck, though it
is said that Mrs. Van Volkenburgh fa
Tors the Austrian Prince, at whose
great castle in Hanover aha is soon to
be a guest. The Prince himself thinks
that the Portuguese Duke isn't In the
running. Figure the system any way
you wish, the result will never be
knowh till the fair lady herself de
cides. Three prominent actresses from the
principal theater of Japan are Namlko
Hatsuse, Kltsumo Mori and Kakuko
Mourata. of the Teikoku Gekljo, or Im
perial Theater (Limited), of Toklo.
The manager of the theater. K. Yarn
amoto, was In the United States not
long ago getting Ideas for his place of
amusement, which is quite cosmopoli
tan in its. offerings. Its actors appear
in plays of Ibsen and Shakespeare and
other noted dramatists of Europe and
America In preference to the Japanese
play. Of course, when thty appear in
these they call "A Doll's House" a "cos
tume play." because In it they wear
European clothing. Just as "The Dar
ling of the Gods" was a costume play
to our actors. The Imperial Theater
occupies one of the finest buildings in
Tokio, quite un-Japanese in its archi
tecture. Baroness Ferida, formerly the best
known actress at the Neue Wiener
Buhne, is now the most popular titled
woman in the Austrian racing world.
She is prominent In the smart seml-
Bohemian set of the capital, and re
nowned for her jewels, which represent
a fortune.
Mrs. William G. Sharp is tho wife of
the Ambassador to France and will pre
side over the American Embassy at
Paris.
Sunday Church Services
(Continued From Page Ten.)
"An Unreasonable Attitude Toward Christ";
Epworth League, 7.
Patton, Michigan and Alberta Rev. G. F.
Hopkins, pastor. Sunday school, 10; 11,
"Highest Motive of Endeavor"; T:4.", "Back
to the Home"; midweek meeting. Thursday
evening.
Rose City Park, Rose City Park Clubhouse
Rev. W. W. Youngson, minister. 9:4r. Sun
day school: 11. "The Opal Sea"; 8, "The At
mosphere of the Market."
Woodlawn Rev. I.ouis Thomas, pastor.
Sunday school, 10; E. L., 7:10; preaching,
11 and 8. .
Sunnyslde. K. Elmer Smith, pastor. Sub
jects, A. M., "Four Anchors"; P. M-. "Like
a Tree."
Trinity, East Tenth and Sherman Rev. A.
Straining Eyes Often Cause
of Headache.
.Nervousness or General Fatigue
Likely to Be Result of Writing by
Dim Llgbt or Doing .Needlework
In Twilight.
F1W persons realize how much eye
trouble comes directly from over
strain from exposure to light and to
too confining use.
You should not think that Just be
cause you are not far sighted and do
not have to stoop to your work your
eyes are not overstrained. For eyes
that are neither far-sighted nor short
sighted can be easily strained. Per
haps the effect of this abuse comes in
a dull headache, nervousness or gen
eral fatigue.
The next time you have a headache
that you cannot account for stop and
think whether you have not abused
your eyes the day before. In a sur
prisingly great number of cases you
will recall that the day before the
headache you sat up writing letters
by an inadequate light after the fam
ily had gone to bed; that you insisted
on doing needlework on the piazza an
hour after the twilight had begun to
come, or that you sat up half the night
to read a book.
Do not think that the only exercises
that strain the eyes are so-called close
application. Long hours spent over the
preserving kettle, with the steam ris
ing before the eyes, are quite as harm
ful to the eyes as is fine needlework.
Departure From Custom,
(Washington Star.)
"You say this part of the country is
unique?"
"It Is," replied Farmer Corntossel,
"as a Summer resort"
"In what respect?"
"Well, we haven't any cliff called
'Lover's Leap' nor any ridge known as
'The Devil's Backbone.' "
1 R I
NEW YORK, July 18. (Special.)
Spo Pee, an Indian of the Black
foot tribe, was imprisoned in the
Government Hospital for the Insane at
Washington 32 years ago for killing a
white camper in Montana just after
the Custer massacre. His testimony
was that he killed in self-defense.
Corroboratory evidence, discovered by
the Department of Justice, fully con
vinced the President that the Indian
has told the truth. On hearing this
evidence, President Wilson Immedi
ately commuted the" sentence to expire
at once. Spo Pee will be taken to his
daughter, Mrs. Takes Gune, at Brown
ing. Mont., to enjoy his liberty.
President Wilson has chosen George
T. Mayre, Jr., of San Francisco,
to be Ambassador to Russia. Mr.
Mayre was born in Baltimore in 1856
but was taken to California by his
father, who was one of the early gold
prospectors. He was educated abroad,
is an international lawyer, but, within
recent years, has devoted all his time
to the mining business, to which he
succeeded his father. Mr. Mayre was
considered for the Ambassadorship of
France, but on account of his activities
in behalf of the California winemakers
to the detriment of the French com
petitors, the French government inti
mated that it, under the circumstances,
would prefer that someone else be ap
pointed. This is the first public office,
excepting a term as regent of the Uni
versity of California, to which Mr.
Mayre has been appointed.
Sir Edmund Osier, who sailed for
SrC - c r Ois cA
I Interior Is named Bo .Sweeney. No. Bo
I is not a nickname; ho received It from
nis parents jusi as n manuo. v
from Seattle.
Dr. Manuel Ugarte Is the Argentine
poet and agitator who has been making
violent anti-American speeches In Mex
ico and other Latin-American countries
He has formed a committee to make I
big demonstration against the United
States on account of its policy toward
Mexico.
Colonel Jerome H. Joyce la tha head
of the committee making preparations
for the celebration of the Star-Spangled
Banner Centennial In Baltimore tha
week beginning September .
England on the Baltic a few days ago.
is a brother of the more famous Sir
William Osier, who was the father of
tire word "oslerized," now generally
adopted into the language. Sir Edmund
is a Canadian and a'-member of the Do
minion Houso of Commons. He is a
director of the Canadian Pacific Rail
way, president of the Dominion Bank
of Canada and president of the Ontario
Rifle Association.
The new Assistant Secretary of the
FARMER SWALLOWS BEE
Colorado Man May Die From Stings
Inflicted In Stomach.
BOULDER. Colo.. July IB. While
trying to capture a swarm of beae
which had alighted on his premises.
John Andrews, a farmer living a few
miles east of here, waa badly Injured
when one of the insects flew down his
throat, atlnging Its way to his stom
ach. Andrews was unable to control the
muscles of his throat on accoount of
the pain and assisted the bee's Ingres
by swallowing It. Andrews la suffer
ing acute pain and his physician saya
he may die.
GOD'S PARDON FOR SIN AND ERASURE OF THE RECORD TOLD
"David's Comparisons" Is Theme of Sermon at White Temple by Dr. Walter B. Hinson, Taking Psalms 103:11-13 as Text.
"A
BY WALTER B. HINSON. D. D.
Pastor of white Temple.
S the heaven ia high above the
earth, so great Is Uod s mercy
rnu-arl them th.1t f-ar him."
You are aware how frequently this
comparison Is used to represent mat
which is high; how common it is to
talk about the height of the heavens.
Job. speaking of God. tells how "It is
high as heaven. what canst thou
know?" And God himself in Isaiah's
prophecy declares. "As the heaven is
high above the earth, so are my ways
higher than your ways and my thoughts
than your thoughts"; while the modern
hymn writer has told how God's love Is
Blfher than the highest heaven.
Deeper than the deepest sea
High as heaven! The words are
easily said, the sentence soon ex
pressed;; but after all. what does it
mean and what is its significance to
us? Speaking for the time as though
the earth were flat, let us" in imagina
tion climb a lofty mountain, lifting
Itself 25.000 feet above the plain, with
the everlasting snow crowning Its peak
with silver. And from this mountain
let us still ascend until we reach the
moon and stand in fancy where mortal
never stood in fact, nearly 500,000 miles
above the earth. We have left the
mountain far behind, but the heaven
is still above ua.
And still soaring, we arrive where
the sun burns in the awful space. And
now moon as well as mountain Is lost
In the distance. Tor we are 90.000.000
mllea from them both. And still pur
suing our upward flight. w reach the
planet named by men Mercury. And
we are now 37,000.000 miles above the
sun. our last resting place. And still
upward we go until we reach Venus,
almost as far from Mercury as was
Mercury from the sun. And upward
again until the red planet Mars is
reached, and we think of the sun that
we left 141.000.000 miles below. And
still ascending. Jupiter comes in view
and we are dazed with the conscious
ness that the shining sun is far be
low, some 481.000. 000 miles. And pur
suing our flight, we speed on until Sat
urn is reached, mora than 884.000.000
alias from that solid frame, the earth.
Seventeen hundred and eighty mil
lion mllea further, and Uranus shines
by us; and continuing upward we next
greet Neptune, and stand above all
mortals: for we are up 3.952.000.000
miles. . And if Imagination ran bear the
train, we can still in fancy lift our
selves until we are found among the
fixed stars. here the miles can only be
measured by the billion.
And still upward, for far beyond
those blank voids of noiseless space,
tha word "heaven" reaches. And the
fancy ia wearied, and the Imagination
awestruck; and when returning to the
text we breathe heavily as do men after
prolonged exertion: and the word
heaven is viewed by us with wonder
and amazement.
So' the comparison is Inexhaustible.
And the more we examine the greater
cause we see for profound gratitude to
God for his infinite mercy: the mercy
that is as high as heaven. For we have
been like travellers up some mountain
slope. When we commenced to climb,
our eyes were fixed on some Jutting
point and we thought, "Yonder is the
top." But having reached that promi
nence, we perceive another point yet
nearer to the clouds, and we say,
"surelv the summit is there." Yet,
having gained it we see the hill still
towering upward, losing its icy peak in
the cloud mists.
So it is with the goodness of God. We
stand on some high pinnacle where
grace illuminates the pathway, and im
agine we understand the height and
depth of his love: but then again some
Tabor manifestation eclipses the former
scene, and in our glad bewilderment we
say, "Oh the height of the riches of
the wisdom and mercy of God; how un
searchable are his Judgments, and his
I ways past finding out." And however
lofty our standing ground may oe, nis
mercy is still high as the heaven, and
like the heaven, still beyond our reach.
God's Mercy Immeasureable.
In other words. It Is here asserted
that God's mercy is Infinite and quite
Immeasureable. That in height and
depth, in breadth and everlasting
strength, it passes knowledge. What a
world of comfort does this great fact
afford.
For we have sinned against light and
revelation with both hands earnestly;
and the wages for which we have so
assiduously labored are death; and the
God whom we have offended, and the
king whose laws we have broken, what
shall be our plea, our hope, as we ap
proach him begging for pardon? What
plea other than his all abounding,
limitless mercy. We will "plead for
his own mercy sake" and to encourage
our drooping spirits, while we plead
we will ever bear In mind his mercy
is high as heaven. A foolish child was
once observed hiding a part of its
breakfast while manifesting a desire
to consume it.
Upon being questioned by the father,
tha child replied that a fear of the
father's resources coming to an end
had caused It to try and provide for
Its dinner. And times without number
there have been, when we have been
Just as stupid. When we Imagined the
great sea of his fullness would be in
sufficient for our returning wants. We
have- measured the father by the child.
and Judged the Infinite by the finite:
forgetful that while our love to God Is
as a rippling stream now almost dry,
yet anon flowing with replenished
strength; his love for us is like the
broad Atlantic, always full. O saints
of the most high, behold the Infinite
resources of your God, and learn that
when approaching the great king you
may present large petitions, for verily
His grace and power are such.
None can ever ask too much.
We often hear the old men say in
their prayers, "Giving doth not impov
erish thee." Blessed be God, that is
true. I told you once of the great
Augustine walking by the seashore and
being told by a little child with a toy
bucket. "I'm emptying the sea." Ah,
soul, fear not to take thy empty vessel
to the Father, for out of his unfailing
treasury he can meet all thy wants,
and until toy bucket in child's hand
has drained old ocean dry thou need'st
not fear but "my God shall supply all
your needs."
And as someone has aptly said, "If
the word heaven simply reached to the
sun. then is God's mercy 90.000,000 miles
thick, and surely that much .mercy is
enough to be the stay of thy soul."
For the second comparison we-have
been In a measure prepared by the first.
For after seeing God's mercy towering
up beyond sun and moon and stars, we
are not surprised to learn how that in
finite love has removed our transgres
sions far from us. At the same time
we will not tarry at the doorstep of
this illustration, but boldly enter In
and seek to find out how far from us
God has taken our sins and whether
there is any probability of their re
turning to sink us down to death.
As far as the east is from the west.
This has ever been used to denote vast
ness . of distance. When God prophe
sied of Israel's greatness and. of how
the Jews should scatter over the earth's
surface, he said to Jacob, "Thou shalt
spread abroad to the east and the
west " And when Asaph would rebuke
the haughty pride of the wicked, he is
constrained to say, "Promotion cometh
not from east or west, but from God.
And when Christ describes the com
ing of his redeemeed from all quarters,
he says, "Many shall come from the
east and the west." So today, when
the speaker would employ a figure de
scribing utmost breadth of extent, he
uses this old-time simile, "As far as
the east is from the west." But how far
is that? Have we any possibility of
finding out? And finding out, shall we
be able to say to a mile what is the
distance between our soul and our
soul's sin?
Slna Entirely Forgotten.
We stand on the vessel's deck and
look abroad o'er the expanse of water.
Our vision extends to less than 30
miles. That is our east and west
there. Are our sins but 30 miles from
us? If so, 'twere needful for the heavens
to be pitiful, for the damning eddies of
evil would sweep us into the vortex
again.
But we broaden the figure and we
think of the extreme east and west; of
the distance lying between the most
eastern and most western portions of
the earth. Now we have some 8000
miles of separation from our sins. And
each separate mile is an additional
source of comfort. But the satisfac
tion is very measurable which we de
rive from this. For considering the
power of evil, the cunning of our ad
versary, the devil, and the weakness
of our own hearts, there is fear lest
the 8000 miles be insufficient to keep us
from our guilt.
So the figure cannot yet be exhaust
ed, for Christ Bays, "Fear not." and In
spiration never gives us cause for de
spair. What then is the force of the
figure? Let us loog again. Sail far
enough east and you land in the west.
Sail far enough west and you disem
bark in the east In other words,
when trie boy lmagiwes In the extreme
east there is a great wall, at which he
must turn and walk until the great
wall in the west bars his way, he
makes a huge mistake. And we tell
him east and west are simply terms we
use to aid our shortness of vision and
mental weakness. And we tell him so
far as his conception goes there is no
east and there is no west.
Ah now the meaning of the text
becomes clearer, the mists are lift
ing, and the mountain of our assur
ance Is rapidly increasing in size. For
the distance between the sin and the
soul of a believer is altogether mea
sureless. And though the cross on
which Christ bled was but inches n
thickness, yet the sundering of sin
and soul when that cross gets between
them is something the millions of miles
can only hint at, but can never mea-
""csoul I think God wants to tell you
here that He has removed your sins
as far as possible from your soul. But
are not these words too bold? As far
as possible. Dare we say this of God?
For with, God all things are possible.
Aye, that they are; and when this
great God removes our sins as far
from our souls as it is possible for
even, God to do, I am sure there ia
no power can reunite what Almighty
God has sundered.
Say not I preach you a strange doc
trine when I speak thus. For the
bible is full of passages which but
tress the meaning I give my text
See what wondrous assurances to this
effect we find in the Old Testament
How grandly the evangelical prophet
Isaiah tells of Its being possible for
lives crimson stained by sin, to be
come whiter than snow; of the un
righteous and wicked man receiving
from God abundant pardon. How con
soling to hear God declare: "I have
blotted out as a thick cloud thy trans
gressions, and as a cloud thy sins."
And yet again to hear Him say: "I am
He that blotteth out thy transgres
sions for my own sake, and will not
remember thy sins." Ah, friends, how
little we understand these beautiful
words, how meaningless to the ma
jority they still remain. "Blotted
out!" Removed. Clean, gone forever!
In writing the letter wc wrongly
express ourselves. We draw the pen
through the false record again and
again. Still, with keen scrutinizing,
the words may yet be seen. But then
with more care we erase the record
I altogether, so that it is blotted out.
Even thus has God dealt with thy
sin. And as though to make assur
ance doubly sure it is added, "I will
not remember thy sin."
Sea's Depths Drown Sin.
We have only time in this connection
to notice one other sentence of He
brew writing, the declaration of the
prophet Micah that God will "Cast
all our sins into the depths of the
sea." The depths of the sea. On a
clear, calm day a maiden stands on
the steamer's deck in mid-ocean. Her
thoughts are far away.
What those thoughts are we may
dimly guess, as we notice the mild
light brightening her countenance,
while she musingly toys with a ring
encircling her finger. In an unguard
ed moment the tiny gem escapes her
grasp, and down 'neath the sparkling
waves it sinks, far from human eye
or possible recovery. For not by stay
ing the steamer, or carefully dragging
the deep, can that ring be regained. It
is drowned in the sea. And we know
that it is certain and sure that never
again will the ring and finger touch.
And God says my sins have gone
down far from sight forevermore, and
have been cast into the depths of the
sea. Oh. the Joy of this assurance,
the peace of thus realizing it, and the
pity we don't realize it more. I no
ticed the other day as you sang that
line
"Mv Kins, mv sins, my Saviour,'
that you mentioned sin twice, and
Christ once. As Christians we are
making Just that mistake. We should
say, "My Saviour" twice, where we
say' sin once. We should learn to
know our sins are buried behind the
cross; cast into the sea; blotted out
as a cloud. For it is our privilege
to pass out of the shadow of silts com
mitted long years ago, and bless the
sunshine that accompanies realized
pardon. But still we go on living in
the sinful past; and all the time God
bids us look at the bright-eyed pres
ent, and yet grander and sunnier fu
ture. Our sins are blotted out, drowned, de
stroyed, forgotten by God. Christian
brother, lot this assurance Influence
thee day by day. God has given thee
absolution: has in mercy blotted out
thy guilt; has brought thee to the
cross, where the light of forgiving love
is a radiant delight. Do not turn to
the past; do not when In Canaan for
get present liberty by mourning o'er
Egypt's slavery. Thou art in port, for
get the storm: thou art Christ's free
man, let not the gloom of the past serf
dom cloud thy sky.
1 once heard of a Christian so wed
ded to his dolorouaness that he thought
in heaven ne wouia sun remmmi
,ina anrf r-nrrv the shadow with him
as he walked by the glassy sea. My
sin will trouble me then no more than
last year's snow chills me now; and I
3hall suffer no more from recollec
ting my guilt there than from remem
bering my rheumatism.
What a heaven some people would
have! What a God soma folks believe
it a hn like a big hospital, with
prodigal display of "wounds and
bruises and putrifying sores." Where
we entertain the angels by giving the
diagnosis of our spiritual maladies.
Where we hang our heads and beat our
breasts, and say to each other. "What
an awful sinner I was." "Yes, brother,
but I was a great deal worse." And
that's their heaven! I'd sooner go to
Good Samaritan Hospital! And God
the kind, loving, long-suffering, sin
pardoning God how such folks belittle
him He must "have It against ua."
Must feel revengeful, be suspicious of
us as we should say of an earthly
friend, "hold spite."
Forsrlveness Is Complete.
When the parent ha; forgiven the
,ii.ri rinoa he wish the child to be con
stantly craving pardon, and expressing
fear lest the forgiveness were not genu
ine, or hinting t1 at after all the par
don may only be fictitious? "And if
ye, being evil. Know iiuvv w luisoc
your children." ye should understand
how God's forgiveness eclipses yours,
as does the sun a firefly. As far as
. i , i. frnm thA wst so far hath
lue caofc ' .w... - .. ,
he removed our transgressions from us.
And so we reacn ine iniru compari
son. "Like as a father pitieth his chil
dren, so the Lord pitieth them that
fear Him."
Here we are on sure ground. For
most of us by experience know of the
father's pity. Whoso had a good fath
er in the old glad days of childhood
has learned the great lesson in the
best of all schools, and where the
learning is sweetest and surest, of
lifting up his life Into tha blessed
consciousness of a heavenly Father's
presence. And whoso Is a good father
to his children, tell me, what lessons
may he not learn concerning the good
ness of God? For does the earthly
father provide for the needs of hie
child all Its needs those that con
cern the physical, the Intellectual, and
the religious life of the child?
Then la God under compulsion, even
the constraint of Hie own natura and
love, to do the same In a perfected
degree for His children. Does tha
father desire communion with his
child; does he establish relationship
Intimate and loving with that child;
then will God the Great Father glva
unto man the privilege of prayer, and
communicate His will to His child. If
David, the father, albeit Imperfect,
loved his erring son Absalom and
walled o'er hla untimely death In lan
guage the world haa never forgotten,
then am I unsurprised to hear Ood la
menting o'er His wandering child, as
He cries, "How can- I give thee up: O
that thou hadat harkened unto ma.
then had thy peace been as a river, and
thy righteousness as the wavaa of tha
sea: why will ye die?"
But the greatest exposition of this
third text of our present mediation la
given to us by Jesus, In his wonderful
parable of the Prodigal Son. How
the father In that story loved, and
longed for the boy's return, with such
an ardent desire that he was ever
watchful for soma sign of the coming
of his boy. And so, said Jeaua, when
the prodigal waa afar off the father
saw him. Aye. the father saw tha
boy long ere the boy saw the father!
And so yearningly the father's heart
went out to the lad, that he ran and
fell on his neck, and welcomed him
with the kiss of reconciliation. And
lavish were the blessings poured forth
by the father's loving fingers.
So there must be tha robing, and
tho feasting, and even the adorning
of the returned wanderer; while the
father's Joy Is at full tide because ha
has found the son that had been lost,
and received as from death his beloved
boy. Ah. let us go home to tha Father,
my friends! And let us go along the
prodigal's trial, and let us sustain
ourselves with David's affirmation
that: "Like as a father pitieth his
children, so the Lord pitieth them that
fear Him."
I must go home, although t am not fit to ge,
1 must go home with all my sin and woe;
My father knows how sorrowful I am. and he
Is sure to help me in my misery.
I long to feel hla arm around me pressed;
1 want tu He down In his arms and rest
I've wasted all I had.
Yet I will rise, and to my father ge
And tell aim 1 have sinned.