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VOL 111. RICHMC
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Scripture Lesson?Rev. 21:1-7, 10-17, 21-27.
Text, Rev. 21:16. "The City Lieth Foursquare
We are apt to think of life as a single mass,
good or bad, happy or miserable. We think of
the rich man as ever busy with his wealth and
the learned as ever poring over his books, the
musician as always playing, the laborer as unceasing
at his toil. We think of life as a unit,
either a ball of lead or a sphere of gold.
But human life is complex. It has many objects
in view from day today and from hour
to hour, and the elforts employed to attain these
objects change with the passing scenes. A school
is not taught in a single class from A, B, C, to
Algebra; if large it is divided even into separated
erodes A ureot mercantile estiihliuliment line
many departments i'or the handling of its wares,
while not even the smallest roadside store would
heap together plows, calieo, potatoes and writing
paper. Life will be the best lived if there ean be
la proper arrangement of its necessary parts
and a convenient system developed for an
orderly and efficient performance of its varied
duties. i
It is not wrong for us to be engaged in dif- J
ferent pursuits at dilferent times, but most jfl
needful and benetieial; we have duties to God, jfl
to our neighbors and to ourselves; we have fl
bodies to be fed, minds to be taught and II
spirits to be purified. Time is given to us II
in large coins of whole days, but like a twenty M
dollar gold piece fresh from the mint, we may W
spend each one for various worthy purposes? n
food, clothing, books and recreation. The y
well spent life at different times must have
different incentives aud motives.
Shall we each one for himself make the
departments best suited for his individual life,
or are they already demanded of certain kind
and number by the laws of nature and of spirit ?
Our constitution and our environment require
definite objects and labors; it should be our
pleasure to lind out what these are and to develop
in harmony with the will of God and in
?s. / eon form i t v with the nnwpfs of TTie imivor?o hv
which we are surrounded. In doing this we
must have recourse to His priceless word of
truth and promise, the inspired Scriptures of the
\>r|/9o Holy Bible.
To be rightly built, our lives must be founded
' ' on the mountain of God's eternal grace, on the
ft ft. 3^ salvation of His love and on the strength of His
protecting and upholding providence. We must
be built on the foundations of the prophets and
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comer-stone. We are building for judgment;
let us prepare to meet our God. We are building
for eternity; what we construct shall endure
forever or be consumed with the end of time;
let us build, not with wood and hay and stubble,
but with gold and silver and precious gems,
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IEV. EUGENE P. MICKEL, I
To instruct us in the building of our lives,
there have been given us many divine commands
and precepts, all most necessary, and many
parables and symbols all highly helpful. From
these we would now consider the lessons taught
by finding a picture of the perfect and ideal
life in the perfect and ideal city, the New
Jerusalem. As an earthly city gathers together
the wealth, inventions, skill, culture and power
of a people, so should our lives gather all that is
good and true and beautiful. An earthly city
with its sin and care and sorrow would be a
Hie uleal I'iirisi.an hie, hut the
lieavenly city is a most fitting emblem.
THREE GENERATIONS
Rev. E. W. BED1NGER, D.D. Rev. B. F. BEDINGER,
Anchorage, K>. Brookneal, Va.
Rev. ROBT. D. BEDINGER,
Ordained by East Hanover Presbytery July 30th in the
Ginter Park Church as a missionary to'Africa, the
representative of this church.
The well-developed Christian life, built as the
plan of God demands, becomes a great life, broad
and high. We speak of the great cities of earth,
New York and London: we sneak of +v?n
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lives of earth, great in wealth or power or knowledge.
But the New Jerusalem which John saw
was fifteen hundred miles in breadth, as far as
from the orange groves of Florida to the wooded
hills of Maine. "And the length is as large as
the breadth," a vast square containing more
than twice the territory of all the States lying
East of the Mississippi River. "The length and
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1 AUG 9 1911
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UST 9. 1911. NO. 32.
.T LIFE."
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the breadth and the height of it are equal," not
an unsightly eube, though that might be the emblem
of perfection, but a graceful, foursquare
pyramid, rising in golden terraces to the lofty
summit from which beams the eternal light of the
throne of God. Around this city is the wall of
transparent jasper, over two hundred feet in
height, symbolic of the holy principles that
should guard our thoughts and words and deeds.
"The city lieth foursquare." In the Scriptures,
numbers often have symbolic meanings.
Seven is the sacred number of worship, the sign
of the Holy Spirit, twelve is the signature of the
covenant people, among whom God dwells. As
three is the symbol of God so is four the number
which is the symbol of the world. The number
lour rightly represents human energy, plans and
accomplishment, because human activity always
divides into four departments of development,
among which we lind the smaller sub-divisions.
Among all races direction is spoken of as
north, east, south and west; movement is forward,
backward, right or left; duration of
time is past, present, future and eternity.
\ Standing 011 eartldy plains or mountains, we
ft measure length, breadth, lieighth and depth.
H Like his earthly activity, so is the religious
ft life and energy of man fourfold. Thus he roll
ceivesthe love of Christ, and thus he must manliest
the ideal Christian growth;"able to comIj
prehend with all saints, what is the length
W and depth and height, and to know the love
'/ of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye
might be filled with all the fulness of God."
(Eph. 3:18 and 131. The n?w iii'<?
seuted as having source in the breath of the
four winds; "Come from the four winds, (J
breath, and breathe upon these slain that they
may live." (Ezek. 37:9.) No one earthly
symbol ean represent the life of God's people,
and the Holy Spirit employs four living creatures
to show forth its perfection, the lion, the
ox, the face of a man and the Hying eagle. The
lion represents strength and bravery; the ox
patience and endurance; the human face love
and intelligence; the soaring eagle, faith and
hope. See Ezek. 1:5 and Rev. 4:7. In the new
Jerusalem, the four sides of the city represent
the four great departments of the fully developed
Christian character and activity.
TilE EAST.
"The city lieth foursquare;" "on the east
three gates;" (vs. 13), "each one of the several
gates was of one pearl," (vs. 21, revised version).
The East is the side of the dawning
light, the side of the coming day; the sun rises in
the east. Knowledge, civilization, culture, improvement,
all have swept around the earth
from east to west. So also have the beauties,
the powers and the blessings of religion. The
fh*st part of your life to build is religion. Many