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Glorious Heritage, June 20
Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the
firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: ...Let every
thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.
Psalm
150:1-6
.
Yesterday at ten o’clock we reached this place—East Portland, Oregon.
On our way from Walla Walla Tuesday morning the cars stopped, as they
generally do, twenty minutes at Multnomah Falls. Nearly all left the cars
to climb the high ascent to obtain a clear view of this wondrously beautiful,
grand sight....
There were steps built in the embankment, then a narrow zigzag path,
then more wooden steps. This was repeated many times until we reached
and passed onto a rustic bridge which spanned a chasm above the first fall.
The grand fall is above this and called the Bridal Veil. The point from which
the water flows is about 900 feet high. As the water descends it breaks upon
the jutting rocks, scattering off in widespread, beautiful sprays. It is a lovely
sight.
I would have been pleased could I have spent an entire day in this place
surrounded with lovely scenery. But we were grateful for these few moments
to gaze upon nature’s lovely, grand scenery, even if we had to do severe
climbing to view it—standing on the bridge made for this purpose....
I called to mind the words of the psalmist when he calls upon everything
that hath breath to praise the Lord, upon animate and inanimate creation to
join in one chorus of praise and thanksgiving to God. His thus calling upon
senseless, unreasoning things is the most powerful rebuke to those blessed
with intelligence, if their souls do not glow and their lips do not proclaim the
majesty and glory of God.
“Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.... Praise
the Lord from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps: fire, and hail; snow, and
vapours; stormy wind fulfilling his word” (
Psalm 148:3-8
). All these agencies
of God in nature are summoned to bring their tribute of praise to the Most
High. And who among God’s creatures will be silent when every star as it
traverses its course, every breeze as it sweeps the earth, and every cloud that
darkens the firmament, every shower of rain and every ray of sunshine—all are
showing forth the praise of God who reigneth in the heavens?—
Manuscript
9, June 20, 1884
, “Visit to Multnomah Falls.”
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