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Primal Object of Education
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fail to soften, purify, and ennoble the heart, and at the same time to
inspire the mind with new strength and vigor.
Those who regard it as brave and manly to treat the claims of God
with indifference and contempt are thereby betraying their own folly
and ignorance. While they boast their freedom and independence,
they are really in bondage to sin and Satan.
A clear conception of what God is and what He requires us to be
will lead to wholesome humility. He who studies aright the Sacred
Word will learn that human intellect is not omnipotent. He will learn
that without the help which none but God can give, human strength
and wisdom are but weakness and ignorance.
He who is following the divine guidance has found the only true
source of saving grace and real happiness, and has gained the power
of imparting happiness to all around him. No man can really enjoy
life without religion. Love to God purifies and ennobles every taste
and desire, intensifies every affection, and brightens every worthy
pleasure. It enables men to appreciate and enjoy all that is true, and
good, and beautiful.
But that which above all other considerations should lead us to
prize the Bible is that in it is revealed to men the will of God. Here
we learn the object of our creation and the means by which that
object may be attained. We learn how to improve wisely the present
life and how to secure the future life. No other book can satisfy the
questionings of the mind or the cravings of the heart. By obtaining
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a knowledge of God’s word and giving heed thereto, men may rise
from the lowest depths of degradation to become the sons of God,
the associates of sinless angels.
Lessons From Nature
In the varied scenes of nature also are lessons of divine wisdom
for all who have learned to commune with God. The pages that
opened in undimmed brightness to the gaze of the first pair in Eden
bear now a shadow. A blight has fallen upon the fair creation. And
yet, wherever we turn, we see traces of the primal loveliness; wher-
ever we turn, we hear the voice of God and behold His handiwork.
From the solemn roll of the deep-toned thunder and old ocean’s
ceaseless roar, to the glad songs that make the forests vocal with