world. The great richness of nature, the great richness of life, comes
when we understand that behind every specific action of man there is
some one of the more elemental and primary forces of the universe that
are always trying to express themselves. There is nothing that man does
that finds its beginning within itself, but everything, every work of
every trade, of every occupation, is simply the utterance of some one of
those great forces which lie behind all life, and in the various ways of
the different generations and of the different men are always trying to
make their mark upon the world. Behind the power that the man exercises
there always lies the great power of life, the continual struggle of
nature to write herself in the life and work of man, the power of beauty
struggling to manifest itself, the harmony that is always desiring to
make itself known. To the merchant there are the great laws of trade, of
which his works are but the immediate expression. To the mechanic there
are the continual forces of nature, gravitation uttering itself in all
its majesty, made no less majestic because it simply takes its
expression for the moment in some particular exercise of his art. To the
ship that sails upon the sea there are the everlasting winds that come
out of the treasuries of God and fulfil His purpose in carrying His
children to their destination. There is no perfection of the universe
and of the special life of man in the universe until it comes to this.
The greatest of all forces are ready without condescension, are ready as
the true expression of their life, to manifest themselves in the
particular activities which we find everywhere, and which are going on
everywhere. The little child digs his well in the sea-shore sand, and
the great Atlantic, miles deep, miles wide, is stirred all through and
through to fill it for him. Shall it not be so then here to-day, and
shall it not be the truth, upon which we let our minds especially dwell,
and which we keep in our souls all the time that I am speaking and you
are listening, that however He may be hidden from our sight God is the