loathing, consuming thirst. "For many friends cannot
profit," says Thomas a'Kempis, "nor strong helpers assist, nor prudent
counsellors give a profitable answer, nor the books of the learned afford
comfort, nor any precious substance deliver, nor any place, however
retired and lovely, give shelter, unless thou thyself dost assist, help,
strengthen, console, instruct, and guard us."(91) Such has been the
history of the race, and such is the experience of every individual in the
race that has placed his hope and trust in anything created.

We are confronted, therefore, on the one side by the inherent weakness of
our own nature and the constant needs that arise therefrom; and on the
other side, we are assured by the history of the race, if not by our own
experience, that so long as we strive to satisfy our wants by an appeal to
anything but God we are doomed to disappointment and sorrow. It is
unfortunate that most people must first be crushed by the world and
creatures which they serve before they grasp the fundamental truth that
creatures are not their God. Comparatively few of those who enjoy the
world are ever brought to realize the dignity and divine purpose of their
souls until the world and its allurements, like a false pageant on a false
stage, give way beneath them, and they fall helpless and alone. It is
commonly only after repeated awful experiences, when worn out and
exhausted by years of fruitless quest for peace and happiness and
contentment, that men wake up to the simple fact that the treasures which
they seek are not in the world, nor as the world giveth.

But it is one thing to turn away from the world disappointed, disgusted
and betrayed; and it is quite another thing to turn to God and to
recognize Him as our good Father and Shepherd, patiently waiting to
receive us, ever able and ready to satisfy our wants. There are many
people who find the world a disappointment and a deception, and who turn
from it with loathing and hate, but who fail ever to lift their weary eyes
to the proper object of their trust. Like the Israelites of old, they
succeed at length in escaping from the hands of oppression and tyranny,
but only to wander in a desert land throughout the length of their days.
This is the region where dwell the pessimist, the skeptic and the
cynic--miserable mortals that have wasted on creatures the talents they
should have given to their Creator, or that have otherwise failed in their
conception of