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THE PULPIT.
*N ELOQUENT SUNDAY SERMON BY
THE REV. J. E. ADAMS.
Subject: Man's Tart in God's Plan.
Brooklyn, N. Y.—In the Ro3s
Street Presbyterian Church, corner
of Wilson street, the pastor, the
Rev. John Ersklne Adams, preached
Sunday morning on “Man’s Part in
God's Plan.” The text was from Ro¬
mans S:2S: “And we know that to
them that love God all things work
together for good.” Mr. Adams
said:
The Apostle Paul has berni called
K fatalist. Perhans, in late years,
be has been the object of more' dis¬
cussion and criticism than any other
New Testament writer. Preacher
and pew alike have striven to under¬
mine his system of theology. They
have sought to avoid many of the
fundamentals of his faith. They
have told us that It is high time we
should come into a larger concep¬
tion of the ethics of Christ’s life,
and a lessening sense of the im¬
portance of His death. They say
that much of His writings was for
the Jew and couched In such figurative
language that the Jew alone could
understand and appreciate, and ac¬
cordingly, He dwelt at length upon the
typical and sacrificial rather than
upon the practical and ethical. And
in the chapter from which our text
Is taken we seem to have presented
the horrible doctrine of predestina¬
tion, a doctrine which by many is ac¬
cepted as synonymous with a fatalis¬
tic creed which eliminates man’s
free agency and subjects all things
to an incontrovertible and change¬
less law of necessity. I wish to show
yon, if possible, to-day, how different
was Paul’s conception of our rela¬
tion to God and God’s relation to us.
Let not doubt that Paul had
absolute convictions that in all
things God’s will would be accom¬
plished. But let us not doubt, also,
that he had absolute convictions that
men must become co-workers with
God in the out-workings of the di¬
vine plan. There was one occasion
when he fully illustrates these
truths. It is when, as a prisoner,
he is being brought to Rome to stand
before Caesar. This is the message
of revelation to him. Tn this he
sees the will of God. With this pur¬
pose he has nothing to do. He may
not modify it nor change it. He
resigns himself to it. Nothing
can prevent, its accomplishment. It
is God’s will that he should come to
Rome. But shipwreck threatens.
The ship on which he is captive i3
overtaken with disaster. Fog, storm,
darkness, danger, all seem to indi¬
cate the defeat of the divine plan.
It seems as If all on board must be
destroyed. And again, the divine
will is manifest. Paul is assured of
safety for himself and all on board
that ship. But what does he do?
Does he, in view of this assurance,
make no effort to avoid the dangers
and overcome the difficulties? Does
he meekly resign himself and his
shipmates to the inevitable? By no
means. He becomes a co-operator
with God in the fulfillment of Plis
purpose. He heartens all on board
that ship. He feeds them. He as¬
sures them of safety; but of safety
only as they use every precaution,
as they overcome treachery; as they
strive with all courage and persis¬
tence to save themselves and their
ship. He says to the Centurion and
the soldiers who had him in convey,
when the fear-stricken seamen
would have sought escape in a small
boat: “Except these abide in the
ship, ye cannot he saved.” In other
words, he couples human endeavor,
courage and skill with divine prom¬
ise and protection. And so, deliver¬
ance Is wrought. All things were
to work together for good; but in
that result one of the essential fac¬
tors must be human courage and
fidelity. The sun shines to-day for
me. for all the world. That is cer¬
tain. Nought we can do may pre¬
vent its shining. But it only shines
for me as I open my eyes to receive
its light. It is in mv power to keep
my eyes shut, if I will.
Paul declares in this chanter that
nothing can separate us from the
love of Christ; neither tribulation,
distress, persecution, famine, naked¬
ness, peril, sword, princioalities,
powers, things present, things to
come; terfere none of these things shall in- | i
with the keeping, saving
power of God’s love, in Christ. And
Vet, we hear him on another occasion
fearing, lest, having preached to
ethers as a minister of God’s grace,
he himself might be a castaway. He
lives again, he says; yet not he, but
Christ in him; and still he is using
all the powers of determination and
t*!1 to keep his body under, to re¬
strain it; to make it perfectly re- I
sponsive to the control and ordering I
.
of God. To Paul, this life is a con-j
SL U, h a1lties r r H S " 1S: ailt a * Warfare P<>Y e fE. agai with ? f l t ! j
m which, if he would ne £ win. iS n he a must raR ? i i
strain every nerve and stretch every i
muscle and and lav aside every weight, j j
the sin which so easily besets;
he must run with patience, with ner- |
sistence, looking to .Tesus. That
Rives us the idea exactly. Use all
your own power, looking to .Tesus,
as your example, inspiration, stimu
letter ns and strength. the Hebrews, If he wrote whether the j
to and j
ne die, or another of the saints is
immaterial, the principle is the
same; he made out a .list there of
men and of women who were in
God’s keeping, and yet wrought,
achieved, through suffered, triumphed,
the exercise of dauntless
courage and of splendid faith. And
we are led to say that Paul’s
conception Haace of life was that of al
with, God. He was destined
of divinity for high achievement.
This is not pride, it is not egotism,
save of the right sort. All great men
have lived and achieved under this
conception and in this thought. The
men who have done things have
done them because they have known
themselves called of God for achieve¬
ment. They are in the divine plan;
they are also agents in its carrying
on and out. Under this impulse,
David went forth from the sheep
fold to the sceptre. With the an
iointing oil of the prophet upon him,
'Jbe waged his battles against the
Pbiiistin?«i and conquered. Under
this impulse, Savonarola rchleved.
Under this impulse John Knox
wrought, defying throngs and dev¬
ils. Lincoln and Washington were
the men they were, and did the
things they did because they were
allied with God, and through their
personality expressed the divine pur¬
pose and power. It was because of
their certainty that God was above
them and in them, and that right
would triumph, that thev went stead¬
ily forward to accomplish the high
mission of th°ir lives. We are told
bv Plutarch that Julius Caesar, on a
night of storm, crossing a channel
In a light, open boat, quieted the
alarm of the oarsmen who were with
him by telling them: “Pluck up your
courage: you carry Caesar." This
great Roman believed in his des¬
tiny. A secret nresent.iment bade
him believe that be was born for a
notable career. He had power, he
bad resource, but above all. a pro¬
found belief in bis star. The man
who has not such a faith is to be
pitied.
We all need such a vision. With¬
out it we perish. Aspiration is in¬
spiration. Let us not be deterred
from building our castles, though
they are in the air. Perchance God
will help us lay the foundations
nnd°r them and make them real and
strong and permanent. The man
who says: I must and, God helping
me. I can, is the man who has con¬
fidence in himself to do something
that no one else can do. and that
otherwise will remain undone.
How wonderfully God holds ter¬
rific energies in leash and under con¬
trol subject t.o the gradual outwork¬
ing of His perfect idea for the chil¬
dren of men. In the realm of nature
all things work together for good.
The sun, which has in it heat suffi¬
cient to consume our little world in
a fragment of time, nurses to a ful¬
ler life by its gentle caress the ten¬
der lily and the modest violet. It
touches them and evokes their deli¬
cate aroma, it puts the roses into
the cheek of the child and ^he song
into the throat, of the nightlifrale as
it soars and sings to the clouds. It
is true that so well do we understand
the constructive forces of nature,
that it furnishes hut a trite subject
for our consideration. But under¬
neath all physical manifestations
and phenomena, let us believe there
is moral purpose. Nature is God’s
great temple in which His voice is
heard. It was through nature’s sub¬
limity that David realized man’s dig¬
nity. Above all nature, next to God,
stands man. And for him all phy¬
sical forces are in harmony and
work together for his good, And
as with nature, so in history. As
in the roaring of the seas and the
clash of the elements the atmos¬
phere we breathe is cleansed and we
enter into more vigorous life. So
the wars, which seemingly spell
ruin: the crumbling of nations,
which spells corruption: through all
storm and revolution, through shock
and tempest, God is leading the sons
of men out into larger life, and
bringing on the brighter and better
day.
And, finally, human experience
testifies to the game truth. We are
told that, on one occasion Napoleon
was shut up in an island of the
Danube, hemmed in by the Arch
du?:e Charles. He was able to main¬
tain himself there, but he sent word
to Italv and Spain and France, and
he ordered bis marshal with such
minuteness that every day’s march
was perfect. All over the north of
France, and from the extreme south
of Spain and Portugal, the corps
were, all of them, advancing, and
day bv day coming nearer and near
pr. Not one of them, on the march,
had any idea what was the final pur¬
pose. and why thev were being or¬
dered to the central point. But on
the day the master appointed the
head of the columns appeared in
every direction, Then it was that
he was able to break forth from his
bondaeo and roll back the tide of
war. How like our life, as it moves
on. to the command of the Master.
Its forces seem confused to us, with
and cohesion, oft-times antagonistic.
Joy and sorrow, health and sickness,
prosperity and adversity—all march
in their appointed paths and to their
appointed ends. But at last we shall
see behind them all the one will and
the one power, and we shall be able
to say on the clay of final emancipa
tion and victory, as said Joseph of
,, „ , meant it unto good, to
.
So let us go forth, renewing our
rourage as WP renew our confidence
that, LU to ” them that love God all things
, ^ g „.. n j
wor
WORLD’S lOO-YARD RECORD.
Halker, ... .. South „ African Athlete, Makes „
New Time of 0.09 2-5.
Abergavenny, England. — R. E.
Walker, the South African sprinter,
Tv . ho won the filial of the 100 meters
dash at the recent Olympic games,
at the games here broke the world’s
record for 100 yards, his time being
9 2-5 seconds one-flfth of a second
less than the record made by Dan J.
Kelly at_Spekane, W^luastcn, June
23, 1906.
If a man were never tempted he’d
never fall.
3Tit
Sc unbatj-Scfioo?
INTERNATIONAL COM¬
MENTS FOR AUGUST 1(1.
Subject: Rani Tries to Kill David, t
Samuel 18:0-1 (>— Golden Text,
l*s. 84:1.1-—Read Chapters 18.
19—Commentary.
TIME.—1063 B. C. PLACE.-—
Glbeah.
EXPOSITION.—I. Saul’s Envy of
David, 0-11. David’s great achieve
ment raised him at once to a high po¬
sition in the estimation of Saul, and
in the army. But it did not turn
David’s hea£* He acted with remark¬
able modesty. A He was perfectly obe¬
dient to all Saul's orders, though he
knew that he had been himself di¬
vinely appointed to the chief leader¬
ship in Israel (cf. vs. IS, 23). He con¬
ducted himself with great wisdom.
He patiently awaited God's time.
Saul himself was at first, disposed to
put David forward (v. 5). He was
commander in chief over the rude and
undisciplined army which Saul had
gathered together (cf. ch. 14:52). In
our day in times of war, men rise rap¬
idly from obscurity to a place of great
prominence by some act of great cour¬
age and prowess. Much more would
this be true in atimeofsuch primitive
warfare. His deed was so splendid in
the eyes of all that none dreamed of
disputing his superiority. It was the
custom of the women of Israel to
greet their conquering armies with
dances and songs of victory and
praise as they returned from the bat¬
tle (Ex. 15:20, Ju. 11:34; Ps.68:25 ).
Nothing is dearer to the average sol¬
dier's heart than the admiration and
praise cf the fair women of the land.
David was naturally the idol of the
hour. He was the nation’s saviour.
Moreover, he had performed a deed
of unparalleled bravery'. It is no
wonder that the women wont wild
with enthusiasm. Their comparison
was just enough, but not wise. Saul
was king and it was natural he should
be stung to the quick by having one
who had just come to the front thus
highly exalted above himself. Fur¬
thermore, it was only a short time
since Saul himself had been the idol
of the people (ch. 11:11, 12). It is
hard to give up a place like that to
another without a pang of jealousy.
The song of praise to David was taken
up far and wide and became known
even among other peoples (cf. ch.
21:11; 2S:5). It was the popular air
of the day. Probably Saul heard
it wherever he went. David was not
to blame. Doubtless he would rather
that the women had not thus sung.
But greatness, no matter how humble
it is, is very maddening to mediocrity.
The small man can not forgive the
great man for being great. Saul
whimpered like a spoiled child. In
the story of Saul we see the tragedy
of a soul. The same story in all its
essential features has been repeated
again and again. From that day on
there was no more peace nor joy for
Saul. David was the ghost of his ex¬
istence. “The evil spirit” was a
demon (cf. Acts 16:16-18; Mark
1:23-26). It was said this evil spirit
was “from God. He was a messen
ger of Satan, but permitted by God
for Saul’s discipline (cf. 2 Cor. 12:7).
As far as God’s permission was con¬
cerned he was intended to torment
Saul and thus to bring him to re
pentance. In this aspect of mercy he
was “an evil spirit from God.” Even
the evil spirits and the devil himself
do God’s work (cf.Matt. 4:1), though
unwittingly to themselves. The fur¬
ther truth is hinted at here that if
men will not have the truth and the
good Spirit, then God gives them over
to error and evil spirits (2 Thess.
2:10-12). This is a solemn thought,
but It is taught by both Scripture and
experience. Under the influence cf
this evil spirit Saul “prophesied,” i.
e., he went into an ecstatic state when
he was under the control of the
evil spirit (cf. Acts 16:16-18; 1 K.
18:29; 22:12; 20:23). We see the
same thing in some forms of modern
clairvoyance and “inspirationolspeak
ing.” There is but a step from envy
to murder (cf. Matt. 27:18). Saul
took that step. In murderous hate he
hurled his javelin at him. Nowadays
the envious man casts his javelin not
at the body but at the reputation cf
the man he envies. Saul missed his
mark, but he was no less a murderer
at heart. God was taking care of
David, and no Saul can hurt the one
that God protects (Ps. 37:32, o -J D o ; . Isa.
54:17; Lu. 4:30; 10:39).
II. Saul’s Fear of David, 12-10.
Saul’s tormenting hate now becomes
coupled with tormenting fear. David’s
conduct commended him to God and
“the LORD was with David” (cf. ch.
16:18). He had been with Saul in
the past (ch. 10:7), but He was now
“departed from” him. There is no
more miserable man than the one
who once knew the presence and
power of God and has nov; lost it.
The man who hasn’t the presence of
God fear3 the man who has. But
David was still recognized as leader
(Nu. 27:16, 17; 2 Sam. 5:2). David
continued to conduct himself with
great discretion, going on from suc¬
cess to success. Saul read his own
doom in each new triumph of David.
While Saul envied ar.d hated and
feared, the hearts of the people be¬
came more and more 20:19)." completely
David’s (cf. Lu. 19:48;
Our Duty.
Our business in the kingdom is to
see that the ground in God’s vineyard
is most carefully tilled and that we
do all in our power to win men to
God.—The Rev. Bov, ley Gresn, Olney
ville, R. I
Modem Farm Methods
As Applied in the South.
Notes of Interest to Planter,
Fruit Grower and Stockman
A Billion Tons of Fertility.
The soil is our chief natural re¬
source. Yet many goed citizens nev¬
er thought of it in this light till the
fact developed from the recent con¬
ference at the White House, Had
this Convention of the Governors
and foremost men from every State
accomplished nothing else, this turn¬
ing of public attention to the impor¬
tance of the soil would have had
far-reaching results. The final reso¬
lution adopted by the conference In¬
cludes the following: “These natu¬
ral resources include the land on
which we live and which yields our
food—we agree that the land should
be so used that erosion and soil wash
should cease.”
The most casual observer knows
that in nearly all parts of the coun¬
try there has been a steady decline
in the yields of crops from the soil.
It must be equally apparent that un¬
less this steady decrease is, in soma
way, stopped crop production must
cease.
A startling presentation of facts
beari*; on thi3 vital matter was
made to the conference by Mr. J. J.
Hill, President of the Great North¬
ern Railroad. He showed that the
yield of wheat in Kansas had fallen
to an average of fourteen bushels
per acre for the past ten years. He
asserted that this decrease in pro¬
duction was not due solely to the re¬
moval of fertility from the soil in
the crops harvested, but was aug¬
mented by the wash of fertility into
running streams.
The amount of this lost fertility
was asserted to be one billion of
tons annually. This is the material
coloring our rivers and filling up our
harbors.
A very large part of this enormous
waste is due to the denuding of our
forests and to our improvident sys¬
tem of farming, It is, therefore,
largely preventable, and as such de¬
serves thoughtful consideration.
The Mississippi River yearly car¬
rles to the sea 1,441,1 o o t> tons of the
O
most fertile soil of its great valley.
The short Thames River, of England,
yearly carries a burden of 5o7,5 95
tons of soil.
When it is seen that these two
streams take over two millions of
tons of fertility from the soils they
drain, it is apparent that the whole
network of streams traversing our
country may easily carry one billion
tons of fertility from American soils.
Fertility is crop producing power
—plant food. A large part of it
must necessarily consist of available
food most essential in crops because
most easily exhausted from the soil.
It is therefore important to learn
the real nature of the materials
forming the vast quantity of fertility
being yearly washed from the soils
we cultivate.
On the basis of the “average com¬
position of American soils,” given
by Stockbridge in “Rocks and Soils,”
this billion tons of wasted fertility
must contain the following quantities
of the three essentials:
Tons.
Thosphoric Acid......... 1,200,000
Nitrogen 1,600,000
Potash. . 6,700,000
Here is an aggregate of 9,500,000
tons of actual plant food, worth at
present prices of fertilizing materials
more than three and one-half billions
of dollars. We speak of our Billion
Dollar Congress as an evidence of
national extravagance, Yet more
than three times this enormous ex¬
penditure is yearly washed from our
soils and wasted in the seas.
These figures show one further
Important fact. The amount of pot¬
ash in this enormous wast3 of for- !
tility is more than double the aggre¬
gate of the other two plant foods •
:
combined. The actual proportion of j
the three different materials is chief¬
ly important in connection with any
effort at restoring this needlessly
wasted fertility.
It is self evident that this enor¬
mous drain on the stored up fertility . !
of our 30ils must eventually exhaust
the supply. This is shown in their
gradually diminishing productive¬
ness. No only must the waste be j
prevented if possible, but the actual
loss must be restored. This is the
reason for our constantly increasing \ ^
dGncndcncs on fertilizers 1
With the intelligent and system
atic use of legumes we shall become I
largely independent of artificial sup¬
plies of nitrogen, or, at any rate,
there is little need for alarm, since
the extraction of commerieal nitro
gen from the air has already as¬
sumed a practical form.
Vast deposits of mineral phos¬
phates exist in many parts of the
world. In our own country there
are great stores of this essential
plant food yet untouched.
Exhaustion of the supply of the^u
two materials, however extravagant
their use o t improvident their waste,
is hardly alarming; not so, however,
with potash.
Bear in mind that the exhaustion
of potash is twice a3 fast as with
the other two essentials combined;
then the further fact that there is
but one known source of commercial
potash supply in the world—the pot¬
ash salts of Germany.
The point of this whole matter is
hero: There is no need for the con¬
tinuation of the condition which now
exists. Erosion of soils must always
continue so long a3 water falls on
the earth, but the present enormous
and alarming waste of fertility Is
neeuiess.
The grass coverod virgin prairies
and forest covered hills gave up com¬
paratively little of their stored up
fertility to the waters percolating
through them. Man’s improvidence
is responsible for present conditions.
Reforesting our denuded timber
lands, and the practice of rational
cultural methods will conserve the
national heritage of fertile lauds.—
H. E. Stockbridge.
With Axe mid Saw.
After buying a new axe be careful
to chop the sharp point off the butt
of the handle before using, as shown
in illustration, or you will most like¬
ly imitate the Japs and commit hap¬
py despatch by jabbing it into your
paunch or groin. Of course, if you
are in a lodge, this does not matter,
as, if you die your heirs Will get the
benefit, and if you do not, you can
P. 1. V
I
V / ill :«
'.M. ;
L-15
iH 1
K m
A*
Felling Tree.
hobble round on a stick and your
lodge money, and advise other chop¬
pers to do likewise.
It is a curious thingthat a good aie
in the store nearly always has a bad
grained handle in it. The only way
to do is to use the bad handle till It
breaks and then put in a good one.
You can. of course, take the handle
out and give it away, if extra particu¬
lar. To do this, take a brace and
small centre bit—one that just clears
the wedge in the axe eye; chop the
axe firmly down into a dry stump,
and bore out the wedge clean, then
\
■Imw 1
New Handle.
work the handle about a little and it
will come out. In buying a handle
choose the right grain, and one thin
rather than thick, all one color, and
that white or whitish yellow. If of¬
fered one with dark and light colors
in it oy the storekeeper throw it at
him, as the colors will separate when
worked, taking the different parts of
the handle with them.
In felling a large tree cut on a few
inches with an axe on the side oppo¬
site the saw cut and well below, then
by following the saw with a wedge
the saw will not bind and the tree
will fall in an opposite direction
without much splintering. Start the
axe and saw lower in the trunk than
indicated by the drawing.—R. Kale
ski. in the American Cultivator.
Paint the Barn,
Painting the buildings, both the
home building and barns, and the
churches and sehoolhouses as well—
every farmer should resolve upon
an one * lis tas ^ s al ^ er crops
are laicl by. Consciously or uncon
sciously the neatly painted home will
rna * te every occupant happier and
brighter. Paint pays in money, beau
ty and in good cheer.
i
Real Cotton Bear.
The real cotton bear is the man
who ties himself up so that he has to
sell his crop when somebody else says
do it. Another good specimen of the
genuine cotton bear is the man who
has to sell cotton to ttff'y something
for his family and his work stock t«
eat.—Progressive Farmer. ___________