During the Civil War coins became difficult to obtain, and paper money was furnished in their place, and at one time the lowest denomination was a “five-cent scrip.” The time came when the government minted the three-cent nickel piece. The treasurer of a church, a fine man, who had a brother, a missionary in Siam, said to me, “Pastor, it is very unfortunate that the government should have issued this three-cent piece, because when we had nothing smaller than a five-cent scrip, people put that into the collection, but now, that we have got something so small as a three-cent nickel, our collections will fall off two-fifths!”
During the Civil War coins became difficult to obtain, and paper money was furnished in their place, and at one time the lowest denomination was a “five-cent scrip.” The time came when the government minted the three-cent nickel piece. The treasurer of a church, a fine man, who had a brother, a missionary in Siam, said to me, “Pastor, it is very unfortunate that the government should have issued this three-cent piece, because when we had nothing smaller than a five-cent scrip, people put that into the collection, but now, that we have got something so small as a three-cent nickel, our collections will fall off two-fifths!”
(1224)
GIVING THROUGH LOVE
Queen Tyi was a woman of marked ability, the consort of King Amenhotep III, who ruled in Egypt from 1414 to 1379B.C.Recently Egyptologists discovered her shrine in Thebes. It was cut out of solid rock. Approach to it was by a descent of twenty steps, adjoining that of Rameses I. Around and within were all that material, wealth and skill of Egyptian art could offer. The coffin, itself intact, is a superb example of the jeweler’s craft, the woodwork covered with a frame of gold inlaid with lapsis lazuli, carmelian and green glass. The royal mummy was wrapt from head to foot in sheets of gold, bracelets on the arms, a necklace of gold, beads and ornaments encrusted with precious stones around the neck, and the head encircled by the imperial crown of the queen of ancient Egypt. “Behold how he loved her,” can be said of the king whose consort she was. Nothing is too precious for love to give. (Text.)
Queen Tyi was a woman of marked ability, the consort of King Amenhotep III, who ruled in Egypt from 1414 to 1379B.C.Recently Egyptologists discovered her shrine in Thebes. It was cut out of solid rock. Approach to it was by a descent of twenty steps, adjoining that of Rameses I. Around and within were all that material, wealth and skill of Egyptian art could offer. The coffin, itself intact, is a superb example of the jeweler’s craft, the woodwork covered with a frame of gold inlaid with lapsis lazuli, carmelian and green glass. The royal mummy was wrapt from head to foot in sheets of gold, bracelets on the arms, a necklace of gold, beads and ornaments encrusted with precious stones around the neck, and the head encircled by the imperial crown of the queen of ancient Egypt. “Behold how he loved her,” can be said of the king whose consort she was. Nothing is too precious for love to give. (Text.)
(1225)
Giving, Unostentatious.—SeeBenevolence, Modest.
Giving What We Have—SeeTalents.
GLITTER VERSUS DEPTH
To have an overwhelming flow of words is one thing; to have a large vocabulary is another; and very often Swinburne’s torrent of speech reminds us not so much of a natural fountain whose springs are deep and abundant, as of an artificial fountain, which is always ready to shoot aloft its glittering spray, and always reabsorbs itself for some further service; so that while the fashion of the jet may differ, the water is pretty much the same.—W. J. Dawson, “The Makers of English Poetry.”
To have an overwhelming flow of words is one thing; to have a large vocabulary is another; and very often Swinburne’s torrent of speech reminds us not so much of a natural fountain whose springs are deep and abundant, as of an artificial fountain, which is always ready to shoot aloft its glittering spray, and always reabsorbs itself for some further service; so that while the fashion of the jet may differ, the water is pretty much the same.—W. J. Dawson, “The Makers of English Poetry.”
(1226)
Gloom Dispelled—SeeSunshine, Scattering.
GLORY, FADED
When Charlemagne died, he was buried at Aix la Chapelle, “keeping royal state and semblance still.” The purple robe was around him, the crown glittered on his pallid brow. The sword of state lay near him, and the scepter rested in his hand. Seated on a chair of state, with all these insignia of royalty upon him and around him, he was left in the chamber of death. A century afterward, that silent chamber was opened by the barbarian Otho. And now the purple robe was dust and ashes. The crown was a faded spangle, the sword of state corroded metal, and all that remained of Charles the Great, a ghastly skeleton.
When Charlemagne died, he was buried at Aix la Chapelle, “keeping royal state and semblance still.” The purple robe was around him, the crown glittered on his pallid brow. The sword of state lay near him, and the scepter rested in his hand. Seated on a chair of state, with all these insignia of royalty upon him and around him, he was left in the chamber of death. A century afterward, that silent chamber was opened by the barbarian Otho. And now the purple robe was dust and ashes. The crown was a faded spangle, the sword of state corroded metal, and all that remained of Charles the Great, a ghastly skeleton.
(1227)
Glory in Duty—SeeDuty More Than Glory.
GLORY IN IDEALS
It is glory enough to have shouted the nameOf the living God in the teeth of an army of foes;To have thrown all prudence and forethought awayAnd for once to have followed the call of the soulOut into the danger of darkness, of ruin and death.To have counseled with right, not success, for once,Is glory enough for one day.It is glory enough for one dayTo have dreamed the bright dream of the reign of right;To have fastened your faith like a flag to that immaterial staffAnd have marched away, forgetting your base of supplies.And while the worldly-wise see nothing but shame and ignoble retreat,And tho far ahead the heart may faint and the flesh prove weak—To have dreamed that bold dream is glory enough,Is glory enough for one day.—William Herbert Carruth,The American Magazine.
It is glory enough to have shouted the nameOf the living God in the teeth of an army of foes;To have thrown all prudence and forethought awayAnd for once to have followed the call of the soulOut into the danger of darkness, of ruin and death.To have counseled with right, not success, for once,Is glory enough for one day.It is glory enough for one dayTo have dreamed the bright dream of the reign of right;To have fastened your faith like a flag to that immaterial staffAnd have marched away, forgetting your base of supplies.And while the worldly-wise see nothing but shame and ignoble retreat,And tho far ahead the heart may faint and the flesh prove weak—To have dreamed that bold dream is glory enough,Is glory enough for one day.—William Herbert Carruth,The American Magazine.
It is glory enough to have shouted the nameOf the living God in the teeth of an army of foes;To have thrown all prudence and forethought awayAnd for once to have followed the call of the soulOut into the danger of darkness, of ruin and death.To have counseled with right, not success, for once,Is glory enough for one day.
It is glory enough to have shouted the name
Of the living God in the teeth of an army of foes;
To have thrown all prudence and forethought away
And for once to have followed the call of the soul
Out into the danger of darkness, of ruin and death.
To have counseled with right, not success, for once,
Is glory enough for one day.
It is glory enough for one dayTo have dreamed the bright dream of the reign of right;To have fastened your faith like a flag to that immaterial staffAnd have marched away, forgetting your base of supplies.And while the worldly-wise see nothing but shame and ignoble retreat,And tho far ahead the heart may faint and the flesh prove weak—To have dreamed that bold dream is glory enough,Is glory enough for one day.—William Herbert Carruth,The American Magazine.
It is glory enough for one day
To have dreamed the bright dream of the reign of right;
To have fastened your faith like a flag to that immaterial staff
And have marched away, forgetting your base of supplies.
And while the worldly-wise see nothing but shame and ignoble retreat,
And tho far ahead the heart may faint and the flesh prove weak—
To have dreamed that bold dream is glory enough,
Is glory enough for one day.
—William Herbert Carruth,The American Magazine.
(1228)
GLORY OF CHRIST
Emery Pottle is the author of this sentiment appropriate to Advent season:
Strange, we so toil to fashion for our unseen endsThe splendors that the tarnish of this world doth mar—Such palaces that crumble to a ruined age,Such garbled memories upon Fame’s fragile page—When all the lasting glory of our life dependsUpon a little Child, a stable, and a star. (Text.)
Strange, we so toil to fashion for our unseen endsThe splendors that the tarnish of this world doth mar—Such palaces that crumble to a ruined age,Such garbled memories upon Fame’s fragile page—When all the lasting glory of our life dependsUpon a little Child, a stable, and a star. (Text.)
Strange, we so toil to fashion for our unseen endsThe splendors that the tarnish of this world doth mar—Such palaces that crumble to a ruined age,Such garbled memories upon Fame’s fragile page—When all the lasting glory of our life dependsUpon a little Child, a stable, and a star. (Text.)
Strange, we so toil to fashion for our unseen ends
The splendors that the tarnish of this world doth mar—
Such palaces that crumble to a ruined age,
Such garbled memories upon Fame’s fragile page—
When all the lasting glory of our life depends
Upon a little Child, a stable, and a star. (Text.)
(1229)
GLORY OF NATURE
A teacher in Alaska went out one day with one of her pupils to do some sketching. The little girl she took with her was about ten years of age and quite skilful with her brush. When the day was nearly over the teacher looked at the sky where the sun was setting. “Try to make a picture of that sunset,” said the teacher to the pupil. The little girl looked at the beautiful sight in the heavens and then turned to her teacher and said, “I can’t draw glory.” It was a bright answer made by that little Alaska girl. It is God who has painted the sunset sky, and there is no human skill that can draw the glory which He has created.—W. M. Vines.
A teacher in Alaska went out one day with one of her pupils to do some sketching. The little girl she took with her was about ten years of age and quite skilful with her brush. When the day was nearly over the teacher looked at the sky where the sun was setting. “Try to make a picture of that sunset,” said the teacher to the pupil. The little girl looked at the beautiful sight in the heavens and then turned to her teacher and said, “I can’t draw glory.” It was a bright answer made by that little Alaska girl. It is God who has painted the sunset sky, and there is no human skill that can draw the glory which He has created.—W. M. Vines.
(1230)
GOD
God! Thou art Love! I build my faith on that!I know Thee, Thou hast kept my path and madeLight for me in the darkness—tempering sorrow,So that it reached me like a solemn joy;It were too strange that I should doubt Thy love.—Browning.
God! Thou art Love! I build my faith on that!I know Thee, Thou hast kept my path and madeLight for me in the darkness—tempering sorrow,So that it reached me like a solemn joy;It were too strange that I should doubt Thy love.—Browning.
God! Thou art Love! I build my faith on that!I know Thee, Thou hast kept my path and madeLight for me in the darkness—tempering sorrow,So that it reached me like a solemn joy;It were too strange that I should doubt Thy love.—Browning.
God! Thou art Love! I build my faith on that!
I know Thee, Thou hast kept my path and made
Light for me in the darkness—tempering sorrow,
So that it reached me like a solemn joy;
It were too strange that I should doubt Thy love.
—Browning.
(1231)
God, A Coworker with—SeeChildren’s Religious Ideas.
God a Protector—SeeFaith, A Child’s.
“God and We”—SeeGratitude.
God Cares—SeeExtremity, God in.
“God Claims Me”—SeeClaim, God’s.
GOD FIRST
Here is a lesson on pronouns in Christian grammar according to the Bishop of Cambridge:
We have learned to say, “First person, I; second, thou; third, he.” But to put it right, we must turn it upside down: “First person,He; second, thou; third, I.” “He,” means God, the first person in the first place; “thou,” my fellow man; and “I,” myself, comes last.
We have learned to say, “First person, I; second, thou; third, he.” But to put it right, we must turn it upside down: “First person,He; second, thou; third, I.” “He,” means God, the first person in the first place; “thou,” my fellow man; and “I,” myself, comes last.
(1232)
GOD, FULNESS OF
The Scandinavian mythology tells of a mortal who attempted to drain a goblet of the gods. The more he drank, however, the more there was to drink. His amazement grew, until he found that the goblet was invisibly connected with the sea, and that to empty it he must drink the ocean dry.
The Scandinavian mythology tells of a mortal who attempted to drain a goblet of the gods. The more he drank, however, the more there was to drink. His amazement grew, until he found that the goblet was invisibly connected with the sea, and that to empty it he must drink the ocean dry.
So the soul may drink of God’s life forever without exhausting or diminishing the supply.
(1233)
GOD, GREATNESS AND SMALLNESS OF
Collins, the infidel, met a plain countryman going to church. He asked him where he was going. “To church, sir.” “What to do there?” “To worship God.” “Pray, is your God a great or a little God?” “He is both, sir.” “How can He be both?” “He is so great, sir, that the heaven of heavens can not contain Him, and so little that he can dwell in my heart.”Collins declared that this simple answer of the countryman had more effect upon his mind than all the volumes the learned doctors had written against him. (Text.)
Collins, the infidel, met a plain countryman going to church. He asked him where he was going. “To church, sir.” “What to do there?” “To worship God.” “Pray, is your God a great or a little God?” “He is both, sir.” “How can He be both?” “He is so great, sir, that the heaven of heavens can not contain Him, and so little that he can dwell in my heart.”
Collins declared that this simple answer of the countryman had more effect upon his mind than all the volumes the learned doctors had written against him. (Text.)
(1234)
God Help Us All—SeeForbearance.
GOD, IDEAS OF
The Indian’s god falls in his estimation as he himself declines. When confronted by a people greater than themselves, the Indians were easily convinced that their deity also must be greater. We find similar ideas among all uncivilized and semi-civilized peoples; when the people show great power it is evidence that their god is a powerful one. Thus Israel felt assured that Jehovah, or Yahveh, was greater than the gods of other people, because His people had conquered others under His banner.
The Indian’s god falls in his estimation as he himself declines. When confronted by a people greater than themselves, the Indians were easily convinced that their deity also must be greater. We find similar ideas among all uncivilized and semi-civilized peoples; when the people show great power it is evidence that their god is a powerful one. Thus Israel felt assured that Jehovah, or Yahveh, was greater than the gods of other people, because His people had conquered others under His banner.
(1235)
GOD, IMMANENCE OF
The works of God, above, below,Within us and around,Are pages in that Book to showHow God Himself is found.*****Thou who hast given me eyes to seeAnd love this sight so fair,Give me a heart to find out TheeAnd read Thee everywhere.—Keble.(Text.)
The works of God, above, below,Within us and around,Are pages in that Book to showHow God Himself is found.*****Thou who hast given me eyes to seeAnd love this sight so fair,Give me a heart to find out TheeAnd read Thee everywhere.—Keble.(Text.)
The works of God, above, below,Within us and around,Are pages in that Book to showHow God Himself is found.
The works of God, above, below,
Within us and around,
Are pages in that Book to show
How God Himself is found.
*****
*****
Thou who hast given me eyes to seeAnd love this sight so fair,Give me a heart to find out TheeAnd read Thee everywhere.—Keble.(Text.)
Thou who hast given me eyes to see
And love this sight so fair,
Give me a heart to find out Thee
And read Thee everywhere.
—Keble.(Text.)
(1236)
GOD IN A HUMAN LIFE
Mrs. Burnett has written a sweet and powerful story that turns around an old woman in a London slum. She had not lived a good life, and, in her wicked old age, lying on a hospital cot, some visitor had told her the gospel story. She simply believed it; no more than that. One who saw her afterward, at a time of dire need, says: “Her poor little misspent life has changed itself into a shining thing, tho it shines and glows only in this hideous place. She believes that her Deity is in Apple Blossom Court—in the dire holes its people live in, on the broken stairway, in every nook and cranny of it—a great glory we would not see—only waiting to be called and to answer.” —James M. Stifler, “The Fighting Saint.”
Mrs. Burnett has written a sweet and powerful story that turns around an old woman in a London slum. She had not lived a good life, and, in her wicked old age, lying on a hospital cot, some visitor had told her the gospel story. She simply believed it; no more than that. One who saw her afterward, at a time of dire need, says: “Her poor little misspent life has changed itself into a shining thing, tho it shines and glows only in this hideous place. She believes that her Deity is in Apple Blossom Court—in the dire holes its people live in, on the broken stairway, in every nook and cranny of it—a great glory we would not see—only waiting to be called and to answer.” —James M. Stifler, “The Fighting Saint.”
(1237)
GOD IN ALL CHANGES
I went back to the little town where I was born. I saw the friends of my childhood, and later I went out to God’s acre. There stood the little schoolhouse, and the old academy. The great oak-trees swayed above the house where I was born. The little brook still rippled over the stones; once more the fruit was ripe in the orchard and the nuts brown in the forest trees; again the shouts of the old companions were heard on the hillside and the laughter of the skaters filled the air; and yet all was changed. Gone the old minister, who baptized me! Gone the old professors and teachers who taught us. In the little graveyard slept the fathers. The stars shone over the mounds, the graves were silent, but God was over all. And all is well. For our times have been in God’s hands.—N. D. Hillis.
I went back to the little town where I was born. I saw the friends of my childhood, and later I went out to God’s acre. There stood the little schoolhouse, and the old academy. The great oak-trees swayed above the house where I was born. The little brook still rippled over the stones; once more the fruit was ripe in the orchard and the nuts brown in the forest trees; again the shouts of the old companions were heard on the hillside and the laughter of the skaters filled the air; and yet all was changed. Gone the old minister, who baptized me! Gone the old professors and teachers who taught us. In the little graveyard slept the fathers. The stars shone over the mounds, the graves were silent, but God was over all. And all is well. For our times have been in God’s hands.—N. D. Hillis.
(1238)
God in Creation—SeeCreation, Joy in.
GOD INDWELLING
The late Maltbie D. Babcock is the author of these verses:
No distant Lord have I,Loving afar to be;Made flesh for me, He can not restUntil He rests in me.Brother in joy and pain,Bone of my bone was He,Now—intimacy closer still,He dwells Himself in me.I need not journey farThis dearest friend to see,Companionship is always mine,He makes His home with me.
No distant Lord have I,Loving afar to be;Made flesh for me, He can not restUntil He rests in me.Brother in joy and pain,Bone of my bone was He,Now—intimacy closer still,He dwells Himself in me.I need not journey farThis dearest friend to see,Companionship is always mine,He makes His home with me.
No distant Lord have I,Loving afar to be;Made flesh for me, He can not restUntil He rests in me.
No distant Lord have I,
Loving afar to be;
Made flesh for me, He can not rest
Until He rests in me.
Brother in joy and pain,Bone of my bone was He,Now—intimacy closer still,He dwells Himself in me.
Brother in joy and pain,
Bone of my bone was He,
Now—intimacy closer still,
He dwells Himself in me.
I need not journey farThis dearest friend to see,Companionship is always mine,He makes His home with me.
I need not journey far
This dearest friend to see,
Companionship is always mine,
He makes His home with me.
(1239)
God in Human Instinct—SeeReligious Instruction Denied.
GOD IN INDIAN BELIEF
Of all the different kinds of people among whom I have lived the Indians of northern California carry the memory of their dead the longest, and, I had almost written, feel their loss the most. I have seen old women, bent with age, rocking their bodies to and fro with grief in some dry, grass-covered ditch, moaning as if their hearts were breaking, and upon inquiry have been told that they were mourning for a husband or children dead perhaps for years. But from amid the moans of Rachel sorrowing for her dead children the whisper of hope beyond the grave has always been present. For underneath the driftwood of their dim traditions and wild fables handed from father to son from time immemorial, around the camp-fires at night, with addition here, subtraction there, and darkness all around, I have always found among all the tribes that grand conception of a divine being who created all and who in the hereafter will reward the good and punish the bad. Everywhere my footsteps have wandered—on the Klamath and on the Trinity, from the Golden Gate to the Oregon line—I have encountered the Man-maker, who lives among the stars and loves his red children—A. G. Tassin,Overland.
Of all the different kinds of people among whom I have lived the Indians of northern California carry the memory of their dead the longest, and, I had almost written, feel their loss the most. I have seen old women, bent with age, rocking their bodies to and fro with grief in some dry, grass-covered ditch, moaning as if their hearts were breaking, and upon inquiry have been told that they were mourning for a husband or children dead perhaps for years. But from amid the moans of Rachel sorrowing for her dead children the whisper of hope beyond the grave has always been present. For underneath the driftwood of their dim traditions and wild fables handed from father to son from time immemorial, around the camp-fires at night, with addition here, subtraction there, and darkness all around, I have always found among all the tribes that grand conception of a divine being who created all and who in the hereafter will reward the good and punish the bad. Everywhere my footsteps have wandered—on the Klamath and on the Trinity, from the Golden Gate to the Oregon line—I have encountered the Man-maker, who lives among the stars and loves his red children—A. G. Tassin,Overland.
(1240)
GOD IN MAN’S WORK
Dr. Henry Van Dyke enforces the lesson that God is in all the common tasks of life, after this fashion:
There was a man who wanted to find Christ, and he imagined he must leave his work. He was a carpenter, builder, perhaps, or a stone-mason. He imagined he could only be a Christian by going to the desert and living a hermit’s life. He never found Christ there. He then thought he must never go outside the cloisters of the church, or walls of the temple. He did not find Christ there. There was something defective about that man’s life. He was heedless of his children and his fellow men. He was seeking Christ for himself and not for others. The voice of the Savior came:“You did not need to go to the desert to find me; lift the stone and thou shalt find me. Do your regular work as a stone-mason and as you do your work you shall find me in your daily labor. Cleave the wood and there am I. As you lift the timbers, sing out the song of praise.” Christ is with you in your daily task.
There was a man who wanted to find Christ, and he imagined he must leave his work. He was a carpenter, builder, perhaps, or a stone-mason. He imagined he could only be a Christian by going to the desert and living a hermit’s life. He never found Christ there. He then thought he must never go outside the cloisters of the church, or walls of the temple. He did not find Christ there. There was something defective about that man’s life. He was heedless of his children and his fellow men. He was seeking Christ for himself and not for others. The voice of the Savior came:
“You did not need to go to the desert to find me; lift the stone and thou shalt find me. Do your regular work as a stone-mason and as you do your work you shall find me in your daily labor. Cleave the wood and there am I. As you lift the timbers, sing out the song of praise.” Christ is with you in your daily task.
(1241)
GOD IN MISSIONS
The captain of theTrident, the ship on which Morrison, the missionary, sailed, and who knew something of the impenetrable conservatism of the Chinese, said: “And so, Mr. Morrison, you really expect that you will make an impression upon the idolatry of the great Chinese Empire?” “No, sir,” returned Mr. Morrison, severely, “I expect God will.”
The captain of theTrident, the ship on which Morrison, the missionary, sailed, and who knew something of the impenetrable conservatism of the Chinese, said: “And so, Mr. Morrison, you really expect that you will make an impression upon the idolatry of the great Chinese Empire?” “No, sir,” returned Mr. Morrison, severely, “I expect God will.”
(1242)God, Instinctive Sense of—SeeReligious Instruction Denied.
GOD IN THE CHILD MIND
I have in mind a four-year-old girl, favored in many things, but especially happy in that she spends her summers on an island in a beautiful lake, mountain-rimmed. She has always been privileged to walk with her father and mother in the fields and woods; to “go a-trudging,” as she called it, has been her chief delight. “Where did the trees get their red and yellow leaves?” she asked. “Who made them red and yellow?” Her question answered, she ran to her mother with her chubby hands filled with her new treasures, saying, “See, mama! I have brought you some of God’s beautiful leaves!”“How came the island here?” she asked. “Who brought the rocks and the trees?” She was told how the island was lifted into its place; how the soil was formed, the trees planted, and the island made ready for the birds, for the trees, for the rabbits, for the squirrels, and for her—just as her father had built the house for her, in which she lived. As the time for her return to her home approached, she sat one evening watching the sunset and the early evening stars, and said, “Don’t you hope that God will be at home when we get there, just as He has been here this summer?” So linked with her love of the beautiful in the world washer reverent thought of Him who had made it beautiful—Sarah Louise Arnold, “Proceedings of the Religious Education Association,” 1905.
I have in mind a four-year-old girl, favored in many things, but especially happy in that she spends her summers on an island in a beautiful lake, mountain-rimmed. She has always been privileged to walk with her father and mother in the fields and woods; to “go a-trudging,” as she called it, has been her chief delight. “Where did the trees get their red and yellow leaves?” she asked. “Who made them red and yellow?” Her question answered, she ran to her mother with her chubby hands filled with her new treasures, saying, “See, mama! I have brought you some of God’s beautiful leaves!”
“How came the island here?” she asked. “Who brought the rocks and the trees?” She was told how the island was lifted into its place; how the soil was formed, the trees planted, and the island made ready for the birds, for the trees, for the rabbits, for the squirrels, and for her—just as her father had built the house for her, in which she lived. As the time for her return to her home approached, she sat one evening watching the sunset and the early evening stars, and said, “Don’t you hope that God will be at home when we get there, just as He has been here this summer?” So linked with her love of the beautiful in the world washer reverent thought of Him who had made it beautiful—Sarah Louise Arnold, “Proceedings of the Religious Education Association,” 1905.
(1243)
GOD IN THE DARKNESS
Robert E. Speer writes the following:
I was awakened the other morning about four o’clock in my room by a little voice just beside my bed in the dark asking for a drink. I got the little lad a drink, and he lay quiet for a moment, and then asked, “Father, may I sing myself asleep?” And I said, “Yes, dear, go ahead.” But soon he got up so much enthusiasm that I told him he would better stop, or none of the rest of us could sleep. Then he was quiet awhile, but soon I heard his little voice again in the perfect stillness of the night, “Father, have you got your face turned toward me?” And I said, “Yes, little boy,” and the darkness was as the light of day to him.
I was awakened the other morning about four o’clock in my room by a little voice just beside my bed in the dark asking for a drink. I got the little lad a drink, and he lay quiet for a moment, and then asked, “Father, may I sing myself asleep?” And I said, “Yes, dear, go ahead.” But soon he got up so much enthusiasm that I told him he would better stop, or none of the rest of us could sleep. Then he was quiet awhile, but soon I heard his little voice again in the perfect stillness of the night, “Father, have you got your face turned toward me?” And I said, “Yes, little boy,” and the darkness was as the light of day to him.
(1244)
GOD IS LIGHT
As there are no darkened rooms for the child when mother is near, so there can be no darkened worlds for the spirit as long as God is in them.—F. F. Shannon.
As there are no darkened rooms for the child when mother is near, so there can be no darkened worlds for the spirit as long as God is in them.—F. F. Shannon.
(1245)
GOD, LIVING FOR
Among the thirty-two “Sacred Songs” by Thomas Moore is the following exquisite lyric:
Since first Thy word awaked my heart,Like new life dawning o’er me,Where’er I turn mine eyes Thou art,All light and love before me;Naught else I feel, or hear, or see—All bonds of earth I sever;Thee, O God! and only TheeI live for now and ever.Like him whose fetters dropt away,When light shone o’er his prison,My spirit, touched by Mercy’s ray,Hath from her chains arisen;And shall a soul Thou bidd’st be free,Return to bondage? Never!Thee, O God! and only TheeI live for, now and ever. (Text.)
Since first Thy word awaked my heart,Like new life dawning o’er me,Where’er I turn mine eyes Thou art,All light and love before me;Naught else I feel, or hear, or see—All bonds of earth I sever;Thee, O God! and only TheeI live for now and ever.Like him whose fetters dropt away,When light shone o’er his prison,My spirit, touched by Mercy’s ray,Hath from her chains arisen;And shall a soul Thou bidd’st be free,Return to bondage? Never!Thee, O God! and only TheeI live for, now and ever. (Text.)
Since first Thy word awaked my heart,Like new life dawning o’er me,Where’er I turn mine eyes Thou art,All light and love before me;Naught else I feel, or hear, or see—All bonds of earth I sever;Thee, O God! and only TheeI live for now and ever.
Since first Thy word awaked my heart,
Like new life dawning o’er me,
Where’er I turn mine eyes Thou art,
All light and love before me;
Naught else I feel, or hear, or see—
All bonds of earth I sever;
Thee, O God! and only Thee
I live for now and ever.
Like him whose fetters dropt away,When light shone o’er his prison,My spirit, touched by Mercy’s ray,Hath from her chains arisen;And shall a soul Thou bidd’st be free,Return to bondage? Never!Thee, O God! and only TheeI live for, now and ever. (Text.)
Like him whose fetters dropt away,
When light shone o’er his prison,
My spirit, touched by Mercy’s ray,
Hath from her chains arisen;
And shall a soul Thou bidd’st be free,
Return to bondage? Never!
Thee, O God! and only Thee
I live for, now and ever. (Text.)
(1246)
God Maternal—SeeMaternal, God’s Love.
GOD, NOT NATURE
A great teacher of England, passing through a hospital, stopt beside a little wan-faced crippled boy, who was dying. The handsomest man in England stooped to that little stranger, saying, “My boy, God loves you.” An hour later, the little cripple, in a wonder of happiness, called one nurse after another to his side, exclaiming, “He said, ‘God loves me!’” and with smiles wreathing his face, the dying boy repeated the magic word. But to go toward the god of nature is to lie down in a bed of nettles. Nature exhibits God as a purple earthquake. Going toward nature is going toward a sheaf of red-hot swords. Man subdues nature’s fire and wind and water, and makes them serve. Back of these rude physical forces that are to help man’s body stands the infinite Father. Man’s body, on a snowy day, needs a blazing fire on the hearth, and man’s heart needs God’s love, that redeems, guides, and forever saves.—N. D. Hillis.
A great teacher of England, passing through a hospital, stopt beside a little wan-faced crippled boy, who was dying. The handsomest man in England stooped to that little stranger, saying, “My boy, God loves you.” An hour later, the little cripple, in a wonder of happiness, called one nurse after another to his side, exclaiming, “He said, ‘God loves me!’” and with smiles wreathing his face, the dying boy repeated the magic word. But to go toward the god of nature is to lie down in a bed of nettles. Nature exhibits God as a purple earthquake. Going toward nature is going toward a sheaf of red-hot swords. Man subdues nature’s fire and wind and water, and makes them serve. Back of these rude physical forces that are to help man’s body stands the infinite Father. Man’s body, on a snowy day, needs a blazing fire on the hearth, and man’s heart needs God’s love, that redeems, guides, and forever saves.—N. D. Hillis.
(1247)
God Our Guide—SeeGuidance, God’s.
GOD OUR STRENGTH
At one time during the war of the Revolution, Washington sent Lee and Lafayette to meet the British at Englishtown. After a brief skirmish, Lee, without any apparent reason, except that it was for jealousy, ordered a retreat. Soon the American troops were all in disorder and were fleeing before the oncoming foe. Everything was in confusion and chaos.Lafayette saw the condition, but he did not dare disobey. He hastily sent a message to the commander-in-chief, informing him of the state of things and beseeching him to come as soon as possible. In an incredibly short time, Washington appeared with fresh troops. He met the soldiers retreating. Giving Lee a cutting rebuke, he began to retrieve the error of the morning. When the soldiers saw Washington, riding back and forth on his white horse, almost under the banner of the enemy, they faced about as they cried, “Long live Washington.” His presence brought order and determined the victory.In our moral warfare, when the enemy is pressing toward us, when the forces of righteousness within and without seem on the retreat, if we will send a message, lift up a prayer to the Captain of the Lord’s host, He will answer while we are yet speaking, and will get the victory with His own right arm, for He is a God of battles. (Text.)
At one time during the war of the Revolution, Washington sent Lee and Lafayette to meet the British at Englishtown. After a brief skirmish, Lee, without any apparent reason, except that it was for jealousy, ordered a retreat. Soon the American troops were all in disorder and were fleeing before the oncoming foe. Everything was in confusion and chaos.
Lafayette saw the condition, but he did not dare disobey. He hastily sent a message to the commander-in-chief, informing him of the state of things and beseeching him to come as soon as possible. In an incredibly short time, Washington appeared with fresh troops. He met the soldiers retreating. Giving Lee a cutting rebuke, he began to retrieve the error of the morning. When the soldiers saw Washington, riding back and forth on his white horse, almost under the banner of the enemy, they faced about as they cried, “Long live Washington.” His presence brought order and determined the victory.
In our moral warfare, when the enemy is pressing toward us, when the forces of righteousness within and without seem on the retreat, if we will send a message, lift up a prayer to the Captain of the Lord’s host, He will answer while we are yet speaking, and will get the victory with His own right arm, for He is a God of battles. (Text.)
(1248)
God Possesses a Body—SeeChildren’s Religious Ideas.
God, Presence of—SeePresence of God.
God Proved—SeeCorn versus Gold.
GOD, RECOGNIZING
Dwight L. Moody in his sermons used to tell of a mother who had an only child that was an idiot. When it was fourteen years of age a neighbor came in and found the mother weeping in the bitterness of her soul. Asking what was the matter, the mother answered: “For fourteen years I have cared for that child day and night; I have given up society and spent my time with her, and to-day she does not know me from you. If she would only recognize me once it would pay me for all I have ever done for her.”
Dwight L. Moody in his sermons used to tell of a mother who had an only child that was an idiot. When it was fourteen years of age a neighbor came in and found the mother weeping in the bitterness of her soul. Asking what was the matter, the mother answered: “For fourteen years I have cared for that child day and night; I have given up society and spent my time with her, and to-day she does not know me from you. If she would only recognize me once it would pay me for all I have ever done for her.”
Mr. Moody would add: “How many are there over whom the Son of God has watched and cared for and blest, and who have never once recognized Him, have never once looked up into His face and said, “Thank you, Lord Jesus.”
(1249)
GOD REVEALED IN NATURE
The mosses on the rock, as well as the trees that bend stately above them, the birds that fly and sing in heaven, as well as the clouds that gather and dissolve there, the mimosa that closes its sensitive petals if a footfall approaches, and the stars that reign silent on empyreal thrones—each must in turn give witness to the Most High; till the frame of creation shall be all eclaircised, not so much a pillar engraven around with the trophies of omnipotence, as a solid but transparent sphere of crystal, lighted from within by the calm thought of God! (Text.)—Richard S. Storrs.
The mosses on the rock, as well as the trees that bend stately above them, the birds that fly and sing in heaven, as well as the clouds that gather and dissolve there, the mimosa that closes its sensitive petals if a footfall approaches, and the stars that reign silent on empyreal thrones—each must in turn give witness to the Most High; till the frame of creation shall be all eclaircised, not so much a pillar engraven around with the trophies of omnipotence, as a solid but transparent sphere of crystal, lighted from within by the calm thought of God! (Text.)—Richard S. Storrs.
(1250)
SeeAtom, The, A Witness to God.
God Self-revealed—SeeDemonstration.
GOD SENDS GIFTS
A lady physician in one of the mission fields restored to health a beloved child of a native. In gratitude the parents knelt at her feet and not only thanked but worshiped her as a god. She remonstrated, saying that she was a mortal like themselves and worship belonged only to God. They replied that no one but a god could have saved their loved one from death. “Whom would you thank and praise,” the missionary replied, “for a princely gift sent by the hand of a coolie—the servant or his generous master, the giver? I am but God’s coolie by whose hand He has been pleased to send you this great gift of healing.” (Text.)
A lady physician in one of the mission fields restored to health a beloved child of a native. In gratitude the parents knelt at her feet and not only thanked but worshiped her as a god. She remonstrated, saying that she was a mortal like themselves and worship belonged only to God. They replied that no one but a god could have saved their loved one from death. “Whom would you thank and praise,” the missionary replied, “for a princely gift sent by the hand of a coolie—the servant or his generous master, the giver? I am but God’s coolie by whose hand He has been pleased to send you this great gift of healing.” (Text.)
(1251)
GOD, SLEEPLESS CARE OF
This song of nightfall is by the Rev. Archibald Haddon:
The tangled threads, the untilled field,The words unsaid, the tasks half done,Battles unfought, and wounds unhealed,Must wait until another sun.Stars move, the tides and rivers roll,Grass grows, rain falls on vale and hill.And deep in my unconscious soulThe sleepless life of God works still.I rest on thy unwearied mind;Thy planning and thy love go on,Nor dost thou leave me far behind;I’m carried to another dawn.The new day breaks. From earth’s old moldFresh flowers grow along my way.New light is flashed on problems old;On ancient life new forces play.O wondrous, wakeful Warden! WhenThe last great nightfall comes to me,From that deep slumber rouse me then,That I Thy tireless child may be. (Text.)
The tangled threads, the untilled field,The words unsaid, the tasks half done,Battles unfought, and wounds unhealed,Must wait until another sun.Stars move, the tides and rivers roll,Grass grows, rain falls on vale and hill.And deep in my unconscious soulThe sleepless life of God works still.I rest on thy unwearied mind;Thy planning and thy love go on,Nor dost thou leave me far behind;I’m carried to another dawn.The new day breaks. From earth’s old moldFresh flowers grow along my way.New light is flashed on problems old;On ancient life new forces play.O wondrous, wakeful Warden! WhenThe last great nightfall comes to me,From that deep slumber rouse me then,That I Thy tireless child may be. (Text.)
The tangled threads, the untilled field,The words unsaid, the tasks half done,Battles unfought, and wounds unhealed,Must wait until another sun.
The tangled threads, the untilled field,
The words unsaid, the tasks half done,
Battles unfought, and wounds unhealed,
Must wait until another sun.
Stars move, the tides and rivers roll,Grass grows, rain falls on vale and hill.And deep in my unconscious soulThe sleepless life of God works still.
Stars move, the tides and rivers roll,
Grass grows, rain falls on vale and hill.
And deep in my unconscious soul
The sleepless life of God works still.
I rest on thy unwearied mind;Thy planning and thy love go on,Nor dost thou leave me far behind;I’m carried to another dawn.
I rest on thy unwearied mind;
Thy planning and thy love go on,
Nor dost thou leave me far behind;
I’m carried to another dawn.
The new day breaks. From earth’s old moldFresh flowers grow along my way.New light is flashed on problems old;On ancient life new forces play.
The new day breaks. From earth’s old mold
Fresh flowers grow along my way.
New light is flashed on problems old;
On ancient life new forces play.
O wondrous, wakeful Warden! WhenThe last great nightfall comes to me,From that deep slumber rouse me then,That I Thy tireless child may be. (Text.)
O wondrous, wakeful Warden! When
The last great nightfall comes to me,
From that deep slumber rouse me then,
That I Thy tireless child may be. (Text.)
(1252)
GOD SURROUNDING THE SOUL
Constant communion will surround us with an atmosphere through which none of the many influences which threaten our Christian life and our Christian work can penetrate. As the diver in his bell sits dry at the bottom of the sea, and draws a pure air from the free heavens far above him, and is parted from that murderous waste of green death that clings so closely round the translucent crystal walls which keep him safe, so we, enclosed in God, shall repel from ourselves all that would overflow to destroy us and our work, and may by His grace lay deeper than the waters some courses in the great building that shall one day rise, stately and many-mansioned, from out of the conquered waves. (Text.)—Alexander McLaren.
Constant communion will surround us with an atmosphere through which none of the many influences which threaten our Christian life and our Christian work can penetrate. As the diver in his bell sits dry at the bottom of the sea, and draws a pure air from the free heavens far above him, and is parted from that murderous waste of green death that clings so closely round the translucent crystal walls which keep him safe, so we, enclosed in God, shall repel from ourselves all that would overflow to destroy us and our work, and may by His grace lay deeper than the waters some courses in the great building that shall one day rise, stately and many-mansioned, from out of the conquered waves. (Text.)—Alexander McLaren.
(1253)
GOD, THE OVERSEEING
The steamerSamaritan, on the St. Lawrence, was suddenly enveloped in a heavy fog, completely hiding the shore and every object from view. Yet the ship continued in full speed. The passengers became frightened and censured Captain Dutton and complained to the first mate. He replied, smiling, “Don’t be frightened; the fog only extends a certain height, and the captain is up above the fog running the vessel.”
The steamerSamaritan, on the St. Lawrence, was suddenly enveloped in a heavy fog, completely hiding the shore and every object from view. Yet the ship continued in full speed. The passengers became frightened and censured Captain Dutton and complained to the first mate. He replied, smiling, “Don’t be frightened; the fog only extends a certain height, and the captain is up above the fog running the vessel.”
We who fear the dangers of time and the world, often forget that God, the great Captain, is above the fog and knows just where and whither He is steering the life ship.
(1254)
GOD, THE SENSE OF
No wonder you yawn and know not what to do next if you have no God, for ennui is the mark of godlessness.Nothing is worth while but God.The very naming of God gives zest to life.I love to feel God love the world through me, until I am fairly washed away by the current.Of what moment is it whether I live or die so long as that goes on?—Ernest Crosby, “Swords and Plowshares.”
No wonder you yawn and know not what to do next if you have no God, for ennui is the mark of godlessness.
Nothing is worth while but God.
The very naming of God gives zest to life.
I love to feel God love the world through me, until I am fairly washed away by the current.
Of what moment is it whether I live or die so long as that goes on?—Ernest Crosby, “Swords and Plowshares.”
(1255)
God the Source of Goodness—SeeGoodness from God.
GOD, THE UNSLEEPING
The Sleeping Buddha is one of the famous temples of China. A long avenue of large trees, with a stone pavement passageway, leads up to its entrance. Before it is an imposing gateway of colored tiles. But the pride of its interior is the wonderful figure of Buddha. A monster it is! Gross, indeed, must have been the mind which conceived it. There, lying on his side, with calm face, closed eyes, and head resting upon his hand, is a gilded wooden figure thirty feet long. It is well proportioned. His left arm is resting upon his body, and his bare feet are placed one upon the other. This Buddha is sleeping upon a ChineseK’ang. Standing about him are twelve crowned and beautifully drest images, and in front are the symbols of sacrifices for burning incense. But Buddha is asleep!
The Sleeping Buddha is one of the famous temples of China. A long avenue of large trees, with a stone pavement passageway, leads up to its entrance. Before it is an imposing gateway of colored tiles. But the pride of its interior is the wonderful figure of Buddha. A monster it is! Gross, indeed, must have been the mind which conceived it. There, lying on his side, with calm face, closed eyes, and head resting upon his hand, is a gilded wooden figure thirty feet long. It is well proportioned. His left arm is resting upon his body, and his bare feet are placed one upon the other. This Buddha is sleeping upon a ChineseK’ang. Standing about him are twelve crowned and beautifully drest images, and in front are the symbols of sacrifices for burning incense. But Buddha is asleep!
Contrast this with the conception of the God who never “slumbers nor sleeps.” (Text.)
(1256)
God the Weaver—SeeWeb of Life.
God, Walking with—SeeWalking with God.
GODLIKENESS OF MAN
Leroy T. Weeks somewhat enlarges upon the saying of Kepler in the following verses:
We think Thy thoughts, O mighty God!Thy thoughts, that thrill through space afar,That hold in place each twinkling star,And permeate the teeming sod.We think Thy thoughts, and live thy life;Our souls are fathered by Thine own,And high as is Thy holy throne,So high we mount from sin and strife.We live Thy life, and love Thy love;The tendrils of our souls entwine,Entwines and draws us all above,Our fellow men, as love divine.We think and live and love and growLike Thee, in ever-bright’ning ways;We are God-kind, and all our daysAre in His hands who made us so. (Text.)
We think Thy thoughts, O mighty God!Thy thoughts, that thrill through space afar,That hold in place each twinkling star,And permeate the teeming sod.We think Thy thoughts, and live thy life;Our souls are fathered by Thine own,And high as is Thy holy throne,So high we mount from sin and strife.We live Thy life, and love Thy love;The tendrils of our souls entwine,Entwines and draws us all above,Our fellow men, as love divine.We think and live and love and growLike Thee, in ever-bright’ning ways;We are God-kind, and all our daysAre in His hands who made us so. (Text.)
We think Thy thoughts, O mighty God!Thy thoughts, that thrill through space afar,That hold in place each twinkling star,And permeate the teeming sod.
We think Thy thoughts, O mighty God!
Thy thoughts, that thrill through space afar,
That hold in place each twinkling star,
And permeate the teeming sod.
We think Thy thoughts, and live thy life;Our souls are fathered by Thine own,And high as is Thy holy throne,So high we mount from sin and strife.
We think Thy thoughts, and live thy life;
Our souls are fathered by Thine own,
And high as is Thy holy throne,
So high we mount from sin and strife.
We live Thy life, and love Thy love;The tendrils of our souls entwine,Entwines and draws us all above,Our fellow men, as love divine.
We live Thy life, and love Thy love;
The tendrils of our souls entwine,
Entwines and draws us all above,
Our fellow men, as love divine.
We think and live and love and growLike Thee, in ever-bright’ning ways;We are God-kind, and all our daysAre in His hands who made us so. (Text.)
We think and live and love and grow
Like Thee, in ever-bright’ning ways;
We are God-kind, and all our days
Are in His hands who made us so. (Text.)
(1257)
God’s Bridge—SeeSelf-consciousness.
GOD’S CARE
Mary E. Allbright, in theChristian Advocate, writes in rime the same lesson Jesus taught His disciples when He told them that the very hairs of their heads were numbered, and that Paul exprest when he said “for He (God) careth for you”:
O! strange and wild is the world of menWhich the eyes of the Lord must see—With continents, islands, tribes, and tongues,With multitudes, bond and free!All kings of the earth bow down to him,And yet—He can think of me.For none can measure the mind of GodOr the bounds of eternity.He knows each life that has come from Him,To the tiniest bird and bee;And the love of His heart is so deep and wideThat takes in even me.
O! strange and wild is the world of menWhich the eyes of the Lord must see—With continents, islands, tribes, and tongues,With multitudes, bond and free!All kings of the earth bow down to him,And yet—He can think of me.For none can measure the mind of GodOr the bounds of eternity.He knows each life that has come from Him,To the tiniest bird and bee;And the love of His heart is so deep and wideThat takes in even me.
O! strange and wild is the world of menWhich the eyes of the Lord must see—With continents, islands, tribes, and tongues,With multitudes, bond and free!All kings of the earth bow down to him,And yet—He can think of me.
O! strange and wild is the world of men
Which the eyes of the Lord must see—
With continents, islands, tribes, and tongues,
With multitudes, bond and free!
All kings of the earth bow down to him,
And yet—He can think of me.
For none can measure the mind of GodOr the bounds of eternity.He knows each life that has come from Him,To the tiniest bird and bee;And the love of His heart is so deep and wideThat takes in even me.
For none can measure the mind of God
Or the bounds of eternity.
He knows each life that has come from Him,
To the tiniest bird and bee;
And the love of His heart is so deep and wide
That takes in even me.
(1257a)
What cares the babe for the blackness and the wild storm if only the mother holds it to her bosom and croons the hymn of peace. And in the hour when the world reels beneath his feet, frail man becomes almost omnipotent in the thought that beneath this world are the everlasting arms. (Text.)—N. D. Hillis.
What cares the babe for the blackness and the wild storm if only the mother holds it to her bosom and croons the hymn of peace. And in the hour when the world reels beneath his feet, frail man becomes almost omnipotent in the thought that beneath this world are the everlasting arms. (Text.)—N. D. Hillis.
(1258)
God’s House for All—SeeAmericanism, True.
God’s Image—SeeRestoring God’s Image.
GOD’S INSCRUTABILITY
Incompetent to the making of a single cherry-seed, as Luther remarks, how can we expect to fathom the works and wisdom of an infinite God?
“I am not so much of a farmer as some people claim,” said Hon. W. J. Bryan in his lecture on “The Prince of Peace,” “but I have observed the watermelon-seed. It has the power of drawing from the ground and through itself 200,000 times its weight, and when you can tell me how it takes this material and out of it colors an outside surface beyond the imitation of art, and then forms inside of it a white rind and within again a red heart, thickly inlaid with black seeds, each one of which in turn is capable of drawing through itself 200,000 times its weight—when you can explain to me the mystery of a watermelon, you can ask me to explain the mystery of God.” (Text.)
“I am not so much of a farmer as some people claim,” said Hon. W. J. Bryan in his lecture on “The Prince of Peace,” “but I have observed the watermelon-seed. It has the power of drawing from the ground and through itself 200,000 times its weight, and when you can tell me how it takes this material and out of it colors an outside surface beyond the imitation of art, and then forms inside of it a white rind and within again a red heart, thickly inlaid with black seeds, each one of which in turn is capable of drawing through itself 200,000 times its weight—when you can explain to me the mystery of a watermelon, you can ask me to explain the mystery of God.” (Text.)
(1259)
GOD’S PRESENCE
It is said that on the doors of Linnæus’ home at Hammarby, near Upsala, these words were written, “Innocue vivito; numen adest”—“Live blameless; Deity is here.” “This,” said Linnæus, “is the wisdom of my life.” “Thou God seest me.”
It is said that on the doors of Linnæus’ home at Hammarby, near Upsala, these words were written, “Innocue vivito; numen adest”—“Live blameless; Deity is here.” “This,” said Linnæus, “is the wisdom of my life.” “Thou God seest me.”
(1260)
GOD’S WAYS
God’s ways seem dark, but, soon or late,They touch the shining hills of day;The sinner can not brook delay—The good can well afford to wait.—Whittier.
God’s ways seem dark, but, soon or late,They touch the shining hills of day;The sinner can not brook delay—The good can well afford to wait.—Whittier.
God’s ways seem dark, but, soon or late,They touch the shining hills of day;The sinner can not brook delay—The good can well afford to wait.—Whittier.
God’s ways seem dark, but, soon or late,
They touch the shining hills of day;
The sinner can not brook delay—
The good can well afford to wait.
—Whittier.
(1261)
GOLD, TAINT OF
The ancient fable of King Midas and his gift of turning everything he laid his hands upon into gold has been exactly reversed in these modern days. This good king was delighted with the gift the gods gave him until one day he turned his daughter into a golden image by a careless use of his power, and the counterfeit presentment was so utterly worthless compared with his child of flesh and blood that henceforth his charm was a horrible curse. Now it is our brightest and best which come under the spell of gold itself, and how it does harden and fossilize them! Our artists paint, our literary men write, our business men take hazardous and doubtful ventures, our young men and maidens marry, all for gold. How bright was the promise of Bret Harte until he began to command high prices for his stories? Howells, James and Stockton all delighted us, but presently we found ourselves wading through such stories as “April Hopes” and the “Hundredth Man.” As soon as one begins to preach good sermons in the pulpit he immediately attracts the attention of some rich congregation and becomes a high-priced man. Everywhere the test of excellence is price, and all the choicest spirits are sought out and put into the livery of our sovereign gold.—ProvidenceJournal.
The ancient fable of King Midas and his gift of turning everything he laid his hands upon into gold has been exactly reversed in these modern days. This good king was delighted with the gift the gods gave him until one day he turned his daughter into a golden image by a careless use of his power, and the counterfeit presentment was so utterly worthless compared with his child of flesh and blood that henceforth his charm was a horrible curse. Now it is our brightest and best which come under the spell of gold itself, and how it does harden and fossilize them! Our artists paint, our literary men write, our business men take hazardous and doubtful ventures, our young men and maidens marry, all for gold. How bright was the promise of Bret Harte until he began to command high prices for his stories? Howells, James and Stockton all delighted us, but presently we found ourselves wading through such stories as “April Hopes” and the “Hundredth Man.” As soon as one begins to preach good sermons in the pulpit he immediately attracts the attention of some rich congregation and becomes a high-priced man. Everywhere the test of excellence is price, and all the choicest spirits are sought out and put into the livery of our sovereign gold.—ProvidenceJournal.
(1262)
GOLD USELESS
It is true the California gold will last forever unchanged, if its owner chooses; but, while it so lasts, it is of no use; no, not as much as its value in pig iron, which makes the best of ballast; whereas gold, while it is gold, is good for little or nothing. You can neither eat it, nor drink it, nor smoke it. You can neither wear it, nor burn it as fuel, nor build a house with it; it is really useless till you exchange it for consumable, perishable goods; and the more plentiful it is the less its exchangeable value—Edward Everett.
It is true the California gold will last forever unchanged, if its owner chooses; but, while it so lasts, it is of no use; no, not as much as its value in pig iron, which makes the best of ballast; whereas gold, while it is gold, is good for little or nothing. You can neither eat it, nor drink it, nor smoke it. You can neither wear it, nor burn it as fuel, nor build a house with it; it is really useless till you exchange it for consumable, perishable goods; and the more plentiful it is the less its exchangeable value—Edward Everett.
(1263)
GOLDEN AGE, THE
That the golden age is not in the past nor in the future, but now, is the refrain of these verses:
There are no days for me in long ago,No days in which to work and love and pray,No richly freighted hours where sweet winds blow.There is no treasure for me but to-day.There is no field where I may sow my seedBeyond the reach of evening’s setting sun.If to this soil to-day I pay no heed,The future’s fertile fields may ne’er be sown.The age of iron, of bronze, they are not now,The bright-gemmed present is my golden age,In which I think and live and love and doWhat deeds are worth life’s brave and noble wage.And finding in to-day my age of goldTo-morrow glows with promise and delight,As if the happy isles oft dreamed of oldWere dawning now upon my blissful sight. (Text.)
There are no days for me in long ago,No days in which to work and love and pray,No richly freighted hours where sweet winds blow.There is no treasure for me but to-day.There is no field where I may sow my seedBeyond the reach of evening’s setting sun.If to this soil to-day I pay no heed,The future’s fertile fields may ne’er be sown.The age of iron, of bronze, they are not now,The bright-gemmed present is my golden age,In which I think and live and love and doWhat deeds are worth life’s brave and noble wage.And finding in to-day my age of goldTo-morrow glows with promise and delight,As if the happy isles oft dreamed of oldWere dawning now upon my blissful sight. (Text.)
There are no days for me in long ago,No days in which to work and love and pray,No richly freighted hours where sweet winds blow.There is no treasure for me but to-day.
There are no days for me in long ago,
No days in which to work and love and pray,
No richly freighted hours where sweet winds blow.
There is no treasure for me but to-day.
There is no field where I may sow my seedBeyond the reach of evening’s setting sun.If to this soil to-day I pay no heed,The future’s fertile fields may ne’er be sown.
There is no field where I may sow my seed
Beyond the reach of evening’s setting sun.
If to this soil to-day I pay no heed,
The future’s fertile fields may ne’er be sown.
The age of iron, of bronze, they are not now,The bright-gemmed present is my golden age,In which I think and live and love and doWhat deeds are worth life’s brave and noble wage.
The age of iron, of bronze, they are not now,
The bright-gemmed present is my golden age,
In which I think and live and love and do
What deeds are worth life’s brave and noble wage.
And finding in to-day my age of goldTo-morrow glows with promise and delight,As if the happy isles oft dreamed of oldWere dawning now upon my blissful sight. (Text.)
And finding in to-day my age of gold
To-morrow glows with promise and delight,
As if the happy isles oft dreamed of old
Were dawning now upon my blissful sight. (Text.)
(1264)
Golden Rule, The—SeeCircumstances, Taking Advantage of;Considerateness.
Good and Evil—SeeNature, Dual, in Man.
GOOD DISPLACING EVIL