Show SEMINARY ADDRESS OLD TESTAMENT BY idalin FRAZIER our seminary course in old testa neat la is concluded a and lid so ends end our vist it with the men and women of god who led and inspired israel ael from the days of abra abraham ham to malachi il the last n lamod prophet of the old we Y lay our aside and leave the land and which god selected to be the home und and heritage of Us his chosen people it h is to be hoped that we will miry cairy with us a rich experience few F ev e v people comparatively speaking have had a contact so holy it is a great thing to be ablo to say that patriarchs prophets liets judges seers und and kings have been our intimate companions to live with lucli characters and breathe the of their lofty shots and words is a rare experience to feel cel the warm glow of their sublime faith and stand with thorn them as they give utterance to some of the noblest that ver ever fell front from mort mortal lips is an event in our lives that can cal never be forg forgotten ottem no doubt to most moat of us there Is 19 a feeling of regret that our study is ended but really we do not need to part with heroes of the faith nothing Noti hing now can sever the relationship chih they hold to us they may inay still be wr our companions friends friende teachers and guides every one has bas madel mada contribution to our spiritual needa need they all stand ready still to answer when w jhc hen n we call in the days to come if men should hould I 1 seek to lo intimidate us and call in 1 11 question CS on the truth ti which we have been sent to declare we need only summon the courageous courage oud amos to our side an J hear amin again Ms his fearless answer to tho the high priest amaziah who and fOll forbade bade him to prophesy p r in bethel thou die in a polluted land and israel shall surely go into captivity ity who would be afraid with such a champion dham pion as his friend to every honest bonest seeker after truth will come perplexity and doubt concerning the great problems that involve gods dealings dealing with men we cannot always answer the questions that arist in in our minds cut but we need only call to our side do you remember what he be did when he could not understand the righteous were to buffer at the hands of the wicked lie he stood in liia bols watchtower watch tower and waited for the lord to answer his question we ve need only follow his example with it i prayer in our hearty and god will surely have something to say to us its when days are dark and brou trou troubles come upon us thick and fast we must not forgot forget to summon that dear prophet of gladness adne ss ill immediately immedi ate he will sing to us his hia wonderful song rong of hope hoie of better days to come put away your mourning and tasting fasting he said mid to his discouraged ged countrymen try thymen nien if you want a better world baffin by making yourselves batter C certainly erta after listening to him and reading his wonderful visions the sun will shine for us as again then there is hosea that great prop prophet liet of love bearint bea rinar the terrible burden of hh domestic affliction how f fail we ever hate a brother arother or a friend or even an enemy when we reme remember aber the awful tragedy of his arring wife and her shands nh ands forgiveness tiessa what a revelation he gives us f gods love we can nev neam r refue to forgive anyone again it if we remember florea and micah refused 4 to leave our memories lie ile was so intensely in earnest so bitter against those who made religion a cloak to clover their hypocrisy and wickedness ond so friendly to the poor we can never forget his of true religion and what doth the lord require of thee but to to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy god of course we are also going to think of f Oita diah that aliat little lilt tie book so in I 1 n its ita denouncement of the cruelty and wickedness of edom should tilie for p 4 0 of f evil litch us to scorn acorn when WG we stand for god and his truth and from brorn entrenched strongholds strong holds in ill the mountains of edom cry out who ahall bring us down then thea obadiah und his brave brase challenge will come to our support we will hear his thrilling I 1 n words word across the centuries tho thou exalt thyself as the tale eagle and though thou set thy nest nesi among the stars thence will I 1 bring thee down eaith the lord can we eer doubt the hie unal final triumph of ri righteousness with obadiah by our side and even haggai plada common haggai left with us a valuable leason surely he be should come to our aid add every time there is a church to ouila he showed us tile need of a s alry where we might meet with god who can pass up an opportunity to assist in the erection of a house of worship wora hip with his words of reproach ringing iu in our ears Is it a time for you 0 ye to dwell la in your celled houses and this house lie ile waste yes haggai flagga also has left a message for us and who cran can ever forget the areat major prophets words fall us when we recall these immortal heroes we ive merely touched kneir lives s and hurried on but surely something remains with us as a result of this brief contact these heroes of the faith would furni urai ai lii us with lessons for a year or more and we could never hope to ex ila liasse use ane truths they uttered let le t each of us resolve some day to know them better and we must keep in mind all the rest of the men and women we have met mch bach one left with us is some lesson that we mn must t take with us to ponder and cherish as if it camu came from god 0 this book of life what a wealth of precious truths are hid bid within iti it i acred pages what words can possibly tell the story of itis ite priceless worth i whose imagination is vivid enough to conceive the comfort it has brought to sorrows sorrowing in souls and broken hearts it has been the life and light of f the world for five fire and twenty centuries kingdoms have come and gone empires have nourished flourished and fallen to devay decay conquerors rulers mighty men mell of war and peace have played their little part and then passed from the of human activities to be seen no more iut but the word of god endures forever brever or ever men mea have ridiculed it laughed at it claimed to have proved it false condemned it to t oblivion and still it rea reaming mills the greatest force for righteousness in the world not one person in ten thousand knows its matchless worth men may search it ell all their days read it a thousand times limes ind find still find new truth to gladden and refresh h their souls truly it is a comforter in our day of sorrow a companion in our loneliness boneline 7 a source of strength th in our hour of weakness a witness for god when doubts assail us ua the bible 19 w our greatest he heritage rit I 1 a from the past it comes to us laden with a thoms thousand al id blessings sanctified instill ea f by count counties les missions of hultin souls who have read and lovo loved it from the days of ezra until now jesus knew and drew much of his inspiration from its sacred rages pages paul was fa familiar millar with the decas and words of every character we ire have s studied ary any other single thing ming we have in the world I 1 might be dispensed with but what I 1 would the nations do it if i sacred ook were lost nothing mild could take its place the world is full of people who know or nothing of the bible lot each honored young man mail and youns young woman liftin sidling here resolve to know the le as well ns as any other book we should team learn to lovs love it fl s our dearest treasure but this requires study reflection prayer and faith if it I 1 is to become a fountain of life a superficial knowledge of it is not lot clent its depths depoli 1 must be sounded its heights determined and the extent of it measured we must 1 t see in ill at least the land from which it came and the character of tho the people that brought it forth and understand the age in whim which they lived our heerts twist must be in the study and god will be mar to inspire our efforts calsing a g gift 1 f t to ench each one now graduating an 1 invaluable vali table rift gift of apil for the book of life |