1
une
1 te
ek:
ngs
3ril-
urg,
d a
1am-
the
r, In
Na-
the-
Pet-
ruck
yed.
ying
uffo-
cued
s at
and,
egie
g in
con-
e at
Ice
hich
one
"eck-
was
ark,
toga.
by:
con-
cos-
Jom-
civil
niles
his
ause
veen
hy si-
shot
Mrs.
ivitt
ting
Jom-
the
sta-
oad,
reral
enth
the
nion-
sur-
ition
'epot
5 en-
S se-
the
have
tory,
fire
mar-
was
aster
hief
1 the
aked
5 ex-
1ging
ning,
Apphi-
ctric
> the
have
was
amp-
d, at
bath-
vater
aver
atter-
Bm mtn TE A mre eee
‘the expected
FEATHERED MILLINERY DOOMED.
Success of Movement Against Slaughter-
ing Birds For Fat Trimmings.
Even the most pessimistic observers
of millinery in its relation to bird life
have been forced to admit that the
beneficial influence of the awakened
interest in nature has been marked.
It is rare, in Massachusetts, at any
rate, to see a hat trimmed with the
bedy or feathers of any native song
bird. The threatened attack on gulls
and terns, moreover, two years ago,
resulted in the protection movement
conducted by William Dutcher, with
the Gielp of the Thayer fund. As a re-
sult of the generosity of the contribu-
tors-to this fund and of the activity
of Messrs. Dutcher and Palmer, not
only is our coast patroled as never
before, and the gulls and terns protect-
ed in innumerable quantities on numer-
ous breeding spots, but.an almost un-
broken rampart of protective legisla-
tion has been enacted in the seaboard
States.
There is, however, in spite of these
encouraging features of the contest be-
tween vanity and ignorance on the one
hand, and broader sympathies and en-
lightenment, one stronghold in which
the powers of darkness threaten to
make a desperate stand. It is an-
gounced that the aigret, which has
never ceased to be more or less fash-
ionable, will come into greater demand
than ever during the coming winter.
It is proved extremely difficult to in-
fluence the wearers of these heron’s
plumes, and the consequent slaughter
of the beautiful birds has gone on at
an appalling rate. The egret, once an
abundant bird in Florida, is now one
one of the rarest inhabitants. The
trade is now supplied for the most
part from South America. The number
“Of egrets killed in Venezuela in 1898,
according to the official reports of the
British Consul, was 1,500,000. These
figures will not represent the entire
slaughter, however, since the feathers
are taken from the bodies of the par-
ents when the young are helpless in
the nests, so that the wiping out of a
heronry means the death by starvation
of hundreds of young birds. The deli-
- cate plumes, beautiful as they seem
to any one ignorant of the method by
which they must have been obtained,
rightly stamp the wearer as strangely
ill-informed in these times of many
books and many lectures, or else utter-
ly lacking in sympathy for man’s most
charming and most defenseless fellow
creatures. We must hope that if the
fashion is setting in in the threatened
direction, Massachusetts, at any rate,
will be found strong enough to resist
the demand to return to more heartless
and ignorant conditions.
These statements made by Ralph
Hoffman, of Belmont, with regard to
increased demand for
aigrets, are confirmed by newspaper
items which state that next winter will
see more of them worn than ever be-
fore. It does not seem possible that
after the peculiar cruelty that attaches
to the getting of these beautiful plumes
is known, even the most careless-
minded woman could ever bring hes-
self to wear them again.—Springfield
{(Mass.) Republican.
Dress For Camping.
For a month’s trip, two short skirts
are desirable, so that in case of rain
or accident a change can be made,
writes Katherine A. Chandler, in Good
Housekeeping. A denim or a corduroy
of a shade that will not show soil is
the best for service. Both should be
of the same color, and then one jacket
is sufficient. We have the dressmaker
make two pairs of leggings of the same
material as the skirts, and they prove
very ‘satisfactory. ‘The three or four
. shirt waist should be of cotton crepe or
L— i
A
1, -
= ¥
. -
- Fe
v1
*
. +
sr : 3
5 v
’ »
i 1
El .
’ oy
- yi
s '
«wg ¢
' A
A 4
2 *
- 9
’ es
+ Al
/
seersucker, as these lcok quite well
after the primitive laundering at a
mountain brook, without a flatiron.
A soft canvas hat is the best head
protection, although a sunbonnet is
often preferred by those who can bear
them over their ears. A sweater is a
great comfort, but whether it be taken
or not, a large shawl or golf cape is
necessary for ithe hours of resting in
the twilight, Comfortable shees are
the greatest essential to a pleasant
trip, and these should be tried tor some
days before leaving home. - There are
fine boots now made just for tramp-
ing, but we like the lighter one that
our feet have grown used to. Just
before starting we have a heavy sole
put on and Hungarian nails fixed on
both soles and heels. Unless they are
nearly new, two pairs of tramping
shoes should be taken, as the stitches
in old shoes are soon loosened by mois-
ture. A lighter pair for resting in
camp is necessary to keep the feet in
good condition. In long tramping the
feet can be saved by wearing two pairs
of stockings, a cotton pair next the
feet, and a woolen pair on the outside.
These rub on each other and the foot
escapes blisters. Two sets of under-
wear are all that are needed, and they
should be of a material that will stand
laundering in the passing sirdam or
lake. A large quantity of hairpins
and safety pins and a mending bag
will be found indispensable to a tidy
appearanee throughout the trip.
Waists For Country Wear.
There is a decided liking for country
hats to match the blouses, and a very
pretty fashion it is, for the more har-
mony displayed in costume the greater
its success. It Is always a mistake to
adorn oneself with a variety of colors.
All the great stylists in dress love the
mixing of colors, but they blend them
to form a harmonious whole. It is
foolish to attempt to mix cheap fabrics,
flowers or what you will for the simple
reason that everything of cheap man-
ufacture takes crude, hard dyes, and
the glorious tones found in such fabries
as crepe de chine can never be matched
in inferior materials. The only thing
that proves the exception to the rule
is the liberty velveteen, which is ex-
tremely inexpensive and is produced in
every possible art shade.
Velveteen corded blouses in brown
and gray are perfectly charming for
cool days in the country with a cloth
skirt of the same color. This fabric
also makes admirable little sack coats
to wear over flannel or delaine blouses.
Delaine; by the way, is one of the
most useful and charming fabrics for
warm shirts. It washes without
shrinking and is made in a variety of
dainty colors and pretty patterns. It
is also surprisingly cheap, and makes
an excellent substitute for flannel.
The Season’s Ostrich Plume,
Never were ostrich feathers more
fashionable, but they must be of the
fines¢ quality and quite immense as
to size; picked specimens of these
feathers measure twenty to twenty-
five inches in length, and are so treated
that they seem to fluff out in the pret-
tiest way at the tips. It is fashionable
to mix black and white feathers to-
gether, and a new way of arranging
them is to bring them round from the
back of the hat, with the tips meeting
in front. The ribs are laid back against
the crown, causing the feathers to
stand out like a ruche all around. but
this method does away with the nat-
ural drooping grace which is the great
charm of an ostrich plume. One of
the prettiest hats seen this season con-
sists of the marquise shape in white
tulle, entirely covered with rows of
slightly fulled Valenciennes lace, all
over the crown and brim, with no trim-
ming but a knotted bow of black vel-
vet catching up the back, held by a
buckle of old gold filigree work. These
tricorne hats in soft white tulle, or
covered with pompon roses, seem to
possess ever fresh allurements, not ane
of the least being that they do not
become common.—New York Commer-
cial Advertiser.
The Tell-Tale Eyebrows.
The latest fad in character reading
is the interpretation of the eyebrows.
Here are the chief points, given by an
experienced observer:
Eyebrows that are arched show the
possessor to be haughty and high-spir-
ited, with a large idea of his own abil-
ities and merits.
If the eyebrows are thick and well
defined, without any bushiness, the
man has many virtues and good intel-
ligence, but not great originality or
ambition.
Short and thick eyebrows denote a
pleasant disposition, and excellent
memory. Short, light brows show the
person to be timid and easily imposed
upon.
If a man’s eyebrows are thin and
black he is naturally cautious but per-
severing and able to carry out his un-
dertakings.—American Queen.
Soft effects
are best style in neck-
wear. ~
An emerald green haze hangs over
the fashion world.
Fibre cloth outing hats are novelties
and delightfully light and cool.
Oriental embroidery embellishes
many of the finer shirt waists of
pongee or Japanese silk.
Pretty black and white shepherdess
checks in silk are very much favored
by smartly-gowned women.
Artificial flowers made of silk.are
very swagger for trimming the pom-
padour gowns so modish this summer.
All the new summer gowns show a
distinct feminine touch. The stiff,
mannish styles are decidedly in abey-
ance. :
A line of fleur-de-lis in some bright
color, set in a deep hemstitched edge, is
an attractive border on imported white
linen handkerchiefs.
A Swiss gown of white with a tiny
black dot, heavily trimmed with fine
black "lace, is stylish and serviceable
for summer wear. .
Most charming effects are shown in
the new open-throat collars, intended
for wear with a gown, just the very
tiniest bit turned in at the neck.
Fichus are made of filet lace. Fichus
of muslin and batiste are edged with
double frillg of the same material and
these frills finished by hemstitching.
The prevalence of the shawl collar
as a garniture for summer gowns is
taken as an indication of a leaning
toward cape-trimmed jackets for, fall.
A pretty “shoulder ruffle” is made of
accordion pleated flounces of black
net with white spots, edged with white
lace beading and having long ribbon
ends. The lower iflounce is ten inches
deep and the upper is eight inches.
Both are mounted on an inch wide
black ribbon.
The all-white petticoat is no longer
a much befrilled affair. Flat embroid-
ery is used instead of lace insertions
and rufiles on the best skirts. The
deep flounce is fimished with an em-
broidered scalloped edge, and either
embroidery oe flat applicatiens of lace
fill in the space given over to decoma:
tiom.
\ried running, and exclaimed that his
Lost in the Desert.
HE family of Mr. Godfrey
Hughes, a member of the
firm of assayers owning the
customs assay office, recently
went to spend the summer months vis-
iting friends who own a large ranch
about seventeen miles above Albu-
querque. The family consists of the
mother, two sons and a daughter. Last
Saturday the children asked permis-
sion of their mother to go to a corral
some 300 yards away from the house
and on the other side of a knoll that
obscured the corral from view to play.
Permission was granted and the
youngsters bounded away for their
afternoon frolic. Soon the little sister
wearied and the elder brother proposed
that they take her to the house. To
this the younger brother, Emerson,
who was only six years old, demurred,
as he wished to play more. So the
older brother took his sister to the
house. Upon arrival there the mother
asked, “Where is brother?’ “We left
him playing at the corral,” said the
boy.
The mother then sent him back for
the little truant. Shortly the messén-
ger came back, panting from his hur-
brother was nowhere to be found; that
he was not at the corral. The fright-
ened mother hurried over to the corral
and there found the report of her boy
to be true. She searched and searched
but could find no trace of the missing
child. At last she came upon some
little footprints, showing that the child
had taken a direction the opposite to
what he should have taken, and the
harassed mother became more and
more alarmed as the fact that her
child had strayed and was in all prob-
ability lost became apparent. She
followed the footprints for three miles
and only ceased because darkness was
approaching and she was powerless
and had to call for aid. As rapidly as
her nervous and exhausted state would
permit she retraced her steps’ to the
house and alarmed the household. Im-
mediately a search party was organ-
ized and despite the oncoming of night
started out in quest of the helpless
child.
Through that disheartening night the
weary search continued. And the next
day the trained services of seventy-
five Indians were impressed, and all
that long and trying day the search
went on, and yet no clue to the wan-
derer. The grief and agony of the
poor afflicted mother were beyond con-
solation. The continued discouraging
reports that were from time to time
brought her only added to accenutate
her suffering. The tracks could be
followed for a distance of twelve miles
and then seenfed to double upon them-
selves and finally became lost. With-
out rest the searchers continued in
what seemed their hopeless quest.
The thought of the poor little tot being
out upon the dreary plains alone, with-
out shelter or food, wandering on with
the helplessness of the lost, crying pos-
sibly with fright, tormented by the
pangs of hunger and thirst, was sim-
ply maddening to the poor mother and
friends seeming so helpless to termi-
nate the trying situation.
All of Sunday night the search con-
tinued, and early Monday morning the
father, who had been ignorant of the
tragedy, was wired. He arrived that
day and added his untiring efforts to
those of the large party already out.
To think of the dreadful pathos of it
all! The poor child was not found un-
til Wednesday morning. It was then
found by a Mexican, who carried the
exhausted little form to his cabin,
where the child lingered for three
hours and then passed away. The or-
deal had been beyond the little one’s
endurance. The remains were taken
back to the ranch and next day were
interred in the cemetery of the neigh-
boring village.—El Paso (Texas) Times.
Snake Chased Crew.
Captain William I. Jameson and the
crew of the towboat Juniata, of the
American Steel and Wire Company,
related an exciting experience with a
big snake above Lock 4 on the Monon-
gahela River. When the steamer came
to Pittsburg Tuesday afternoon to have
her boilers inspected a number of riv-
ermen, including Captain James Moren,
Captain Isaae B. Willlams and Captain
George W. Atkinson and others, went
aboard ber, and it was in explaining to
them the condition of the vessel aft,
which gave every evidence of having
been subjected to great heat, that the
story was told, ag follows:
The Juniata had been at work all
day towing barges up the river, and
on the return trip the members of the
crew were taking things easy sitting
around on the deck. Some one saw
a strange-looking reptile swimming in
the river near the boat. It is sald
to have been about six feet long and
similar in appearance to a rattlesnake,
except that it did not have rattles.
The men on the towboat commenced
to throw stones and sticks at it, every-
body being attracted by the strange-
looking reptile.
A lump of coalwhichstruck very near
it seem to enrage the snake, and rais-
ing its head two feet out of water, it
made straight for the boat. It seemed
to have a charmed life, for nobody suc-
ceeded in hitting it. The captain says
it climbed the rudder tb the rudder post
Most of the crew beat a hasty retreat,
it is claimed, to the pilot house, when
the snake was seen to be on the boat.
" As soon as the reptile was in the hold
the hatch was closed and a steam jet
was turned into that part of the ves-
sel. For three hours the place was
steamed, to make sure that the snake
would be killed. The heat was so in-
tense that the tar of the oakum in the
floor was melted. When an investiga-
tion of the hold was made there was
no trace of the strange snake. The re-
mains of a few scalded rats were all
that could be found. Where the
strange reptile went is a mystery, for
it was thought by the crew that they
had it a prisoner.
Captain George W. Atkinson says he
thinks the snake was what is known
on the lower Mississippi River as a cot-
ton-mouthed moccasin, a very poison-
ous reptile. They are seldom heard of
in the waters around Pittsburg, al-
though they are known to have been
carried long distances in barges loaded
with fruit. They resemble a rattle.
snake very closely. Théir mouths are
large. and when opened are white.—
Pittsburg Times.
A Thirst That Could Not Be Satisfied.
From the story of Chief Officer Scott,
of the Roraima, in Leslie’s Monthly:
You read about that fellow down in
hades looking up and asking for water,
says Chief Officer Scott, telling of the
loss of the Roraima at Martinique in
Leslie’s Monthly for July, well, that is
ahout as near as I can come to describ-
ing it, but everything that happened
sticks in my mind like a nightmare. I
can see now one of the passengers, a
man, lying on the foc’s'le deck, hid-
eously scarred, crying for ‘water.
When we gave it to him he could not
drink it. It would not pass down his
throat. He was crawling around on
deck on his hands and knees, calling
for water, and at last we were afraid
he would fall overboard, so with the
assistance of another man, I brought
him down to the main deck. As soon
as ever he got there he caught sight of
Thompson with his water can and at
once began to crawl after him for
water like a dog. The man’s tongue
was literally burned out of his head.
His arms were cruelly burned from hig
shoulders to his finger ends. As he
lay there moaning aloud in mortal
agony one of the sailors happened to
put a bucket of salt water near him.
The man plunged his right arm into it
to relieve the scalding pain. At once
his skin broke straight round his shoul-
der and stripped off his arm till it hung
like a lady’s opera glove turned inside
out from the tips of his fingers. * Bui
the worst burns were internal. The
fire did not seem to penetrate clothing,
but burned the exposed flesh merei-
lessly.
Both Men Were Heroes.
Leaning over the roof of his house,
lighted by the flames from a burning
building next door, John Walsh, of Chi-
cago, passed to his wife, who clung to
the edge of a window below, two little
children whose lives he had saved
from the fire at the risk of his own.
Another John Walsh, a policeman from
the Chicago dvenue station, was lead-
ing two companions along a narrow
passage under the burning structure
to where he heard what were appar-
ently the cries of a woman, :
The cries came from a fox terrier al-
most suffocated. The three men faced
death and rescued a dog from crema-
tion, while the dog's owner, who is
Walsh, was engaged with his work of
rescue to save his neighbor’s children.
Walsh looked out upon the narrow
court separating the two buiiings and
saw two little frightened faces pressed
against a window pane. He climbed
to the roof of his house. This brought
him on the side furthest from the burn-
ing structure. Between him and the
imperiled children was the peaked roof.
Grasping a ladder he made his way
around the coping to the spot opposite
the window where the children were.
Planting one end of the ladder against
the cornice of his house and the other
on the window opposite he crawled
across and managed to reach the win-
dow. He took a child under each arm
and descended the leaning ladder, with
his back braced against the rungs.
His wife opened the window, stood
upon a chair inside, and, clinging part-
ly to the ladder and partly to the cor-
nice, leaning against the edge of the
roof, one at a time lowered the chil.
dren.—New York Times,
Nearly Overcome by a Bald Eagle.
‘Alfred F. Eastman, of Tacoma, who
hag been living at Skagway during the
past year, came near being killed by an
immense bald seagle near Chilkoot,
where he had ban hunting and fish.
Ing. Fastman was accompanied by D.
C. Stevens. While crossing a mountain
dlvlde they scared up the eagle, which
Eastman shot. The bird fell to earth
and lay motionless as if dead. Xast.
man rushed forward and tried to pick
it up, when it suddenly became active.
It attacked Eastman with beak and tal-
ons, lacerating his head and tearing the
flesh on his breast and upper body.
Kastman was in a fainting condition
when Stevens rushed to his rescue.
The latter caught the eagle by both
wings and pulled it away by main
force. The cagle was then killed, and
was found to measure eight feet from
tip te tip of its wings.—San Francisco
Chronicle.
Had Been Used.
A boy baby arrived at a certain
house and a visitor said to a little girl
in the family: “Do you like the baby?”
The little girl said she did. but would
have preferred a lady baby. “Well,”
the visitor continued, ‘maybe you
could exchange this one.” “No, 1
don’t think we could,” said the little
girl, ‘because we have been using it
and cane on deck, plunging through a
hatch into the hold of the boat aft.
for seven or-eight days.”—Chicag
Chronricle.
DR. CHAPMAN'S SERMON
A SUNDAY DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
PASTOR-EVANGELIST.
Subject: The Nearness of God— Alphabet
of Divine Love — Not Enough of God
in Nature to Satisfy Our Souls — Need
of the Lord’s ‘“Nearness.”’
NEw York Crry.—The Rev J. Wilhur
Chapman’s sermons continue to excite the
greatest interest and to give the greatest
satisfaction to that large body of American
people who demand a striking discourse for
their weekly reading. The distinguished
pastor-evangelist has prepared the follow-
ing sermon for the press. Tt is entitled
“The Nearness nf God,” and is preached
from the text, “Thou art near, O Lord.”
Psalm 119: 151.
This text is taken from one of the long-
est Psalms in the Bible. but it is remarka-
ble not onlv on account of its length, but
becanse of its teaching. Like the celestial
city it lieth four square; the heighth and
the depth and the length and the breadth
of it are the same. There is but one theme
in all the Psalm and that is the word of
God, and reminds one of nothing so much
as a diamond which as vou hold it as the
light touches it from every side it sends
out to all beholders the evidences of its
beauty and of its worth. and this 119th
Psalm is the make-up of the word of God,
for everv verse except two, namely, the
122d and the 132d refer in some way to
God’s word, and it is mentioned either un-
der the figure of law, or testimonies, or
word, or precents.
The writer of this Psalm must have been
inspired with the word of God as he knew
it. T have heard of an old Christian who
meditated his wav through the Bible three
times. Surely this is the secret of a wholly
happy life. Tn 1889 at the time of great
political excitement William Wilberforce
made this note in his diary. “TI have walked
this mornine from Hvde Park corner re-
peating the 119th Psalm. and having great
comfort.” Martin Luther said on com-
menting on this Psalm, “David must have
shaken everv fruit tree in (Fod’s garden
and gathered fruit therefrom.” Tike other
portions of the Serinture this Psalm has
been generally named. It has been called
the alphabet of divine love, perhaps be-
cause of its division. because it is separ-
ated into groups of eight verses. and each
group is under a-letter of the Hebrew al-
phabet until the alphabet is exhausted. Tt
is really the Alpha and Omega of the word
of God. Tn the New Testament the incar-
nate word or Saviour is revresented as the
Alpha and Omega. May it not be hecause
the alphabet has been exhausted in displav-
ing to us His graces. and also because in
the Old Testament, the alphabet has been
axhausted in speaking of His glorious word?
Tt has also been called the paradise of all
doctrines, and I have been amazed to see
how many are hera presented. Pardon.
justification, sanctification, they are all
here. It also has heen revresented as the
storehouse of the Holv Soirit. for really in
no part of the Bible is He more wonder-
fullv presented. and it has been spoken of
as the school of truth, for really nothing is
omitted. We might lose all the rest of the
Rible, but if we had this we would know
God and micht find our way up to Him.
Through 150 verses David has been speak-
ing of all these things and has heen talk-
ing of God, when suddenly as if he were
impressed with the fact that He of whom
he had been speaking was near he bursts
out in the ery of our text, “Thou art near,
0 Tord.” Tt is a nossible thing for one to
preach so ~rofor~dly that he loses sight of
Him of whom he speaks; or a Sundayv-
school teacher to teach her lesson and al-
most. to be unconscious of the presence of
Christ of whom she has been teaching. It
is a good thing for us all to stop again and
again, and say. “Thou art near, O Tord,”
for He is indeed nearer to us than any
earthly friend. y 7
Kindred texts. There are certain texts
in the Scripture which are akin to the one
I have chosen, as, for example, Psalm 121:
5. “The Tord is thy keever; the Lord is
thy shade upon thy right hand.” If the
T.ord is our keeper why need we go astray.
for He neither slumbers or sleeps. Psalm
34: 18. is another text, “The Lord is nigh
unto them that are of a broken heart; and
saveth such as be of “a contrite soirit.” J
am sure I am sveaking for vou#ll when I
say there never has been a heartache if we
have accented our discipline as He intend-
ed, that He has not heen craciously near to
us. Philippians the fourth chanter and the
fifth verse. the last clause. is another illus-
tration, and 1s verv much like the text.
“Tet your moderation be known nnto all
men. The Lord is at hand.” Pawnl has
been speaking of peace and the joy of
Christian fellowship. when suddenly he
speaks ont like David of old. ‘The Tord is
at hand.” and immediatelv he begins with
this sentence, “Be careful for nothine.” Of
course we need be careful for mothing if
the Tord is at hand. for He will bear every
burden with ns and help vs to overcome
every trial. The 23d Psalm is another
beautiful illustration. It has been my
privilege within the past few days to sit by
the death bed of a young man who may
even now be passing out into the eternity.
and when I told him that the end had
come for him he said, “Tt is a long journey
to make alone. is it not?’ My only answer
was this 23d Psalm, “Yea. though T walk
throuch the vallev of the shadow of death.
I will fear no evil. for Thou art with me.”
and he brushed the tears out of his eves
and said. “Then I am not afraid,” nor
need we be at any time, for He is always
with us. We learn by contrast to admire
many things. Those who have studied the
paintings of Sir Noel Paton must have ob-
served that part of their peculiar beauty
lies, by a trick of art, in their partial ugli-
ness. There are flowers and birds.
knights and ladies, gossamer winged fairies
and children of seraphic beauty, but in the
corner of the canvas, or just at their feet,
some uncouth and loathsome form—a toad;
a lizard, a slimy snail—to lend, by con-
trast with its repulsiveness, a lovelier
beauty to the rest. So in ancient sculp-
ture the griffin and the dragon grin among
the angel faces on the cathedral front.
heightening the surrounding beauty of
their deformity. Many of the literary sit-
nations of the New Testament powerfully
exhibit this species of contrast. The twelve
disciples—one of them is a devil. Jesus
upon the cross, pure and regal—on either
side a thief. And here, as conspicuously,
in this fifteenth chapter of Luke, the most
exquisite painting in the Bible is touched
off at the foot with the black thunder-
cloud of the elder brother—nerfect as a
mere dramatic situation. And so here we
understand better that the Lord is by our
side when we imagine for a moment all He
is away from us. In Psalm 118: 6, we
read, “The Lord is on my side; I will not
fear; what can man do unto me?” This,
of course, is for the child of God, but in
Proverbs 15: 29, we read, “The Lord is far
from the wicked, but He heareth the pray-
er of the righteous.” God pity us if we
stand.in this position. In Psalm 145: 18,
we read, “The Lord is nigh unto all them
that call upon Him, to all that call upon
Him in truth,” while if we would know the
contrasting statement for those who are
not yet children of God we have the sol-
emn statement in Proverbs 1: 28, “Then
shall they call upon Me, but I will not an-
swer; they shall seek Me early, but they
shall not find Me.”
II.
He is near. There are so many ways in
which He is near to us.’ First: In creation
t is a great mistake, however, to think
that we can find enough of God in nature
to satisfy our souls, for we cannot. There
bE verse written by Browning, if I mis-
ake no ‘hic SAYS Ss othing lik
ake not, in which he says something like
1
11S:
£0, : 1
Earth is erammed with heaven, and
en,
every bush is on fire with God.” But it is
a great mistake to seek to find Him only in
this way. He is near to us in providences,
and as a rule for the Christian God is
never nearer than when we pass through
trial. We sometimes see farther through
our tears than in any other way, for they
are like telescopes. A friend of mine was
showing me a picture the other day taken
with a telescope camera, in which a mount
ain fifteen miles away was brought so near
that wou could study it in minutest detail.
Put He is nearest, of course, in Jesus
Chri_c. oy
First: He is near as a sin-forgiving God.
“There is therefore now no esndemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus, who
walk not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit.” Romans 8: 1. The thought of the
judgment is something awful, but let it be
remembered that the word ‘‘condemna-
tion” is the same in the Greek as “judg:
ment,” and for those who are in Christ
Jesus, whatever their sins, judgment is
forever past. . :
Second: He is near as a promise-keeping
God. “For all the promises of God in
Him are yea, and in Him amen, unto the
alory of God by us.” II Corinthians 1: 20.
There is not in all the exigencies of our
lives a trial that cannot be offset by a
promise of help found in the Bible and
these all centre in Him. :
Third: He is near as a prayer-answering
God. John 16: 23-24, “And in that day ye
shall ask Me nothing. Verily, verily. I
say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the
Father in My name, He will give it you.
Hitherto have ve asked nothing in My
name; ask and ve shall receive, that your
joy may be full.” This is God’s own word,
and if our prayers have not been answered
the difficulty is with ourselves.
Fourth: He is near as a gracious Father.
John 14: 9-10, “Jesus saith unto him,
Have I been so long time with you and
vet hast thou not known Me, Philin? He
that hath seen Me hath seen the Father,
and how sayest thou, then, Show us the
Father? Believest thou not that I am in
the Father and the Father in Me? The
words that I speak unto you I speak not
of Myself. but the Father. that dwelleth
in Me; He doeth the works.” By these
words Jesus wanted Philip to know when
he had seen Him touch the eyes of the
blind and raise thé dead and comfort the
sorrowing he had had a vision of the
Father in His infinite love.
I.
We have lost the sense of His nearness.
First: In Genesis 28: 16, we read, “And
Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said,
Surely the Lord is in this place; and
knew it not.” After Jacob had had his
day of flight and his night of dreams he
awakes to sav, “The Lord was in this place
and I knew it not,” and the reason he did
not know was because he was deceitful
and dishonest. If we give this the right
name we shall say he was sinful. but sep-
arate us from God and hide His face from
us so that He not only will not hear but
He cannot see. “Blessed are the pure in
heart, for they shall see God.”
Second: In Exodus 3: 5. we read, “And
He said, Draw not nigh hither, but off thy
shoes from off thy feet, for the place
whereon thou standest is holy ground.”
Moses had no idea that he would see God
in the burning bush, for he was not ex:
pecting Him, and let it be remembered
that we have failed to see Him because
our minds are not set upon Him. He is on
every side of us, and if we did but look for
Him we should see Him at every turn of
life and every hour of the day. Your posi-
tion may be very unsatisfactory to you,
but it is possible for vou in the most me:
nial place to see Christ just as Paul had
visions of Him constantly, and yet he was.
onlv.a tent maker.
Third: In Amos 3: 3, we read, “Can twa
walk together. except they be agreed?”
and that word “agreed” in the Hebrews ig
betrothal, while in the Greek is “sym-
phony.” The reason we have lost step,
with God is because we have disagreed
with: Him. If we were as indifferent to
that one to whom we were betrothed is
we have been to the. claim of God there:
would have been no marriage, and if we
were as indifferent to the wife of our home
as we have been to Him there would be no
happy home. Oh, that we might agree
with Him to-day and keep step with Him,
we would see Him constantly.
He is near and He will preserve. Psalm
37: 23-25, “The steps of a good man are or-
dered by the Lord: and He delighteth in
his way. Though he fall, he shall not be
utterly cast down; for the Lord upholdeth
him with His hand. I have been young,
and now am old; yet have I not seen the
righteous forsaken, nor his seed beggin
bread.” It is written in the Bible an
God’s word 1s always true. Psalm 121: 3,
“He will not suffer thy foot to be moved;
He that keepeth thee will not slumber.”
We may not be conscious of His nearness,
but He is near, just the same. We have
some time been in a dark room all alone,
nothing about us. We have touched the
electric button, when suddenly we realized
that the furnishings of the room are on
every side of us. We were not conscious
of them, but they were near, and we have
lost consciousness of God, and yet if we
had but time to illumine the place where
we live we would see all about us the evi:
dence of His presence, peace, pardon, love,
joy. Oh, that we might live in the fur-
nished room of God, for He is near pro-
tecting us, defending us, keeping back the
pestilence, and so turning aside the arm of
from us.
but
death
near,
Trouble may come very
it cannot overthrow us. In
Psalm 27: 2. there is a graphic description
of this. “When the wicked, even mine en-
emies and my foes came upon me to eat up
my fHesh, they stumbled and fell.” The
Psalmist has a vision of the enemy coming
fiercely against him, just about to lay his
hand upon him when suddenly he stun?
bles and falls. Then in the 12th chapter
of Acts there is a picture of Peter sleeping
between the two soldiers. Herod is just
about to lay hands upon him to bring him
when suddenly the chain snaps and he is
free. This is just like God. Trouble al-
most breaks our hearts, but not quite; rea-
sop is almost dethroned, but not alto-
gether. He will not suffer us to be cast
down and utterly forsaken.
i
What a help. If we could only get into
the way of saying over and over, “Thou
art near, O L ”’ we should be greatly
strengthened. Tt would keep our
lives pure, for we would not so frequently
be lost to sin if we were conscious of His
nearness.
the
and
wear, O
immediately give us
hour of temptation to sx
over and over, *
Lord.” for He would
the strength to esc
"Third: It will a p us in trial to
Thou art near to me, Q
say, * Lord.”
It would greatly assist in. the transfor-
mation’ of character if we but realized His
nearn Moses saw Him, and his face
shone; Paul had a vision of Him and never
was the same again.
t will greatly help us when the need
comes, for He wiil then be near.
One of my friends in preaching to the
soldiers in the time of the war visited a
hospital, and was asked by a nurse if he
would not when he had finished his service
cross over to an adjoining hospital and
minister to the comfort of a dying boy. He
agreed to come and finished his service
with the soldiers by joining with them in
singing, “Jesus, Saviour, Pilot Me.” When
he reached the second hospital tent the
nurse told him that the young soldier was
dead, and he died, she said as yon
sang
the last hymn. While you were sing ng
it he said it with you, and this was the
hymn:
“When at last 1 near the shore,
An 1e fearful bre:
T me and the pe rest,
Then while leaning on Thy breast,
A ;
F
ay I hear Thee say to me,
fear nat, I will pilot thee!’ *2