Sorrow and Mourning Begun

The first death in Adam's family must have cast a great shadow. The hope centered in the Divine promise that the Seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head was temporarily snuffed out. Shortly after, Seth was born. His name indicates that his parents hoped that he would be the man promised of the Lord--not seeing that the promised One would be the Messiah, who would come long afterward, and for whose work the world still waits.

Although we speak of this as the first death, we must not forget that from the Divine standpoint Adam and his race were already dead, in that none can regain everlasting life except through the Redeemer's work of Sin-Atonement.

At present the population of the world consists of sixteen hundred millions, ninety thousand dying every day.

It is undoubtedly fortunate for our fallen race that we cannot appreciate deeply the sorrows and difficulties of others. Each individual, each family, has about as large a share of sorrow as it can properly bear. Indeed, the poet, realizing the folly of unrestrained grief, has well sung,

"Go bury thy sorrow,
The world has its share,
Go bury it deeply,
Go hide it with care."