,,the ,,world',s ,,great ,,sermons ,,compiled ,,by ,,grenville ,,kleiser ,formerly of ,yale ,divinity ,school ,faculty2 ,author of ,how to ,speak in ,public1 ,etc4 ,with ,assistance from ,many of the ,foremost ,living ,preachers and ,other ,theologians ,,introduction ,,by ,,lewis ,o4 ,,brastow1 ,d4,d4 ,professor ,emeritus of ,practical ,theology in ,yale ,university ,,in ,,ten ,,volumes ,,volume ,x ,,drummond ,,to ,,jowett ,general ,index #aijh ,,contents ,,volume ,x4 ,,drummond 7#ahea--ahig74 ,the ,greatest ,thing in the ,world ,,wagner 7,born in #ahea74 ,i ,am a ,voice ,,gordon 7,born in #ahec74 ,man in the ,image of ,god ,,dawson 7,born in #ahed74 ,christ ,among the ,common ,things of ,life ,,smith 7,born in #ahef74 ,assurance in ,god ,,gunsaulus 7,born in #ahef74 ,the ,bible vs4 ,infidelity ,,hillis 7,born in #aheh74 ,god the ,unwearied ,guide ,,jefferson 7,born in #ahfj74 ,the ,reconciliation ,,morgan 7,born in #ahfc74 ,the ,perfect ,ideal of ,life ,,cadman 7,born in #ahfd74 ,a ,new ,day for ,missions ,,jowett 7,born in #ahfd74 ,apostolic ,optimism ,index to ,preachers and ,sermons ,index to ,texts ,,drummond ,,the ,,greatest ,,thing ,,in ,,the ,,world ,,biographical ,,note ,henry ,drummond1 author and evangelist1 was born at ,stirling1 ,scotland1 in #ahea4 ,his book1 ,natural ,law in the ,spiritual ,world1 caused much discussion and is still widely read4 ,his ,ascent of ,man is regarded by many as his greatest work4 ,the address reprinted here has appeared in hundreds of editions1 and has been an inspiration to thousands of peoples all over the world4 ,there is an interesting biography of ,drummond by ,professor ,george ,adam ,smith1 his close friend and colaborer4 ,he died in #ahig4 ,,drummond #ahea--ahig ,,the ,,greatest ,,thing ,,in ,,the ,,world#a ,footnote #a3 ,reprinted by permission of ,james ,pott ,co4 ,tho ,i speak with the tongues of men and of angels1 and have not love1 c4--,i ,cor4 xiii4 ,everyone has asked himself the great question of antiquity as of the modern world3 ,what is the summum bonum--the supreme good8 ,you have life before you4 ,once only you can live it4 ,what is the noblest object of desire1 the supreme gift to covet8 ,we have been accustomed to be told that the greatest thing in the religious world is faith4 ,that great word has been the key-note for centuries of the popular religion2 and we have easily learned to look upon it as the greatest thing in the world4 ,well1 we are wrong4 ,if we have been told that1 we may miss the mark4 ,i have taken you1 in the chapter which ,i have just read1 to ,christianity at its source2 and there we have seen1 ,the greatest of these is love4 ,it is not an oversight4 ,paul was speaking of faith just a moment before4 ,he says1 ,if ,i have all faith1 so that ,i can remove mountains1 and have not love1 ,i am nothing4 ,so far from forgetting1 he deliberately contrasts them1 ,now abideth faith1 hope1 love1 and without a moment's hesitation the decision falls1 ,the greatest of these is love4 ,and it is not prejudice4 ,a man is apt to recommend to others his own strong point4 ,love was not ,paul's strong point4 ,the observing student can detect a beautiful tenderness growing and ripening all through his character as ,paul gets old2 but the hand that wrote1 ,the greatest of these is love1 when we meet it first1 is stained with blood4 ,nor is this letter to the ,corinthians peculiar in singling out love as the summum bonum4 ,the masterpieces of ,christianity are agreed about it4 ,peter says1 ,above all things have fervent love among yourselves4 ,above all things4 ,and ,john goes further1 ,god is love4 ,and you remember the profound remark which ,paul makes elsewhere1 ,love is the fulfilling of the law4 ,did you ever think what he meant by that8 ,in those days men were working their passage to heaven by keeping the ten commandments1 and the hundred and ten other commandments which they had manufactured out of them4 ,christ said1 ,i will show you a more simple way4 ,if you do one thing1 you will do these hundred and ten things1 without ever thinking about them4 ,if you love1 you will unconsciously fulfil the whole law4 ,and you can readily see for yourselves how that must be so4 ,take any of the commandments4 ,thou shalt have no other gods before me4 ,if a man love ,god1 you will not require to tell him that4 ,love is the fulfilling of that law4 ,take not his name in vain4 ,would he ever dream of taking ,his name in vain if he loved ,him8 ,remember the ,sabbath day to keep it holy4 ,would he not be too glad to have one day in seven to dedicate more exclusively to the object of his affection8 ,love would fulfil all these laws regarding ,god4 ,and so1 if he loved man1 you would never think of telling him to honor his father and mother4 ,he could not do anything else4 ,it would be preposterous to tell him not to kill4 ,you could only insult him if you suggested that he should not steal--how could he steal from those he loved8 ,it would be superfluous to beg him not to bear false witness against his neighbor4 ,if he loved him it would be the last thing he would do4 ,and you would never dream of urging him not to covet what his neighbors had4 ,he would rather that they possest it than himself4 ,in this way ,love is the fulfilling of the law4 ,it is the rule for fulfilling all rules1 the new commandment for keeping all the old commandments1 ,christ's one secret of the ,christian life4 ,now1 ,paul had learned that2 and in this noble eulogy he has given us the most wonderful and original account extant of the summum bonum4 ,we may divide it into three parts4 ,in the beginning of the short chapter1 we have love contrasted2 in the heart of it1 we have love analyzed2 toward the end1 we have love defended as the supreme gift4 ,paul begins contrasting love with other things that men in those days thought much of4 ,i shall not attempt to go over those things in detail4 ,their inferiority is already obvious4 ,he contrasts it with eloquence4 ,and what a noble gift it is1 the power of playing upon the souls and wills of men1 and rousing them to lofty purposes and holy deeds4 ,paul says1 ,if ,i speak with the tongues of men and of angels1 and have not love1 ,i am become as sounding brass1 or a tinkling cymbal4 ,and we all know why4 ,we have all felt the brazenness of words without emotion1 the hollowness1 the unaccountable unpersuasiveness1 of eloquence behind which lies no love4 ,he contrasts it with prophecy4 ,he contrasts it with mysteries4 ,he contrasts it with faith4 ,he contrasts it with charity4 ,why is love greater than faith8 ,because the end is greater than the means4 ,and why is it greater than charity8 ,because the whole is greater than the part4 ,love is greater than faith1 because the end is greater than the means4 ,what is the use of having faith8 ,it is to connect the soul with ,god4 ,and what is the object of connecting man with ,god8 ,that he may become like ,god4 ,but ,god is love4 ,hence faith1 the means1 is in order to love1 the end4 ,love1 therefore1 obviously is greater than faith4 ,it is greater than charity1 again1 because the whole is greater than a part4 ,charity is only a little bit of love1 one of the innumerable avenues of love1 and there may even be1 and there is1 a great deal of charity without love4 ,it is a very easy thing to toss a copper to a beggar on the street2 it is generally an easier thing than not to do it4 ,yet love is just as often in the withholding4 ,we purchase relief from the sympathetic feelings roused by the spectacle of misery1 at the copper's cost4 ,it is too cheap--too cheap for us1 and often too dear for the beggar4 ,if we really loved him we would either do more for him1 or less4 ,then ,paul contrasts it with sacrifice and martyrdom4 ,and ,i beg the little band of would-be missionaries--and ,i have the honor to call some of you by this name for the first time--to remember that tho you give your bodies to be burned1 and have not love1 it profits nothing--nothing6 ,you can take nothing greater to the heathen world than the impress and reflection of the love of ,god upon your own character4 ,that is the universal language4 ,it will take you years to speak in ,chinese2 or in the dialects of ,india4 ,from the day you land1 that language of love1 understood by all1 will be pouring forth its unconscious eloquence4 ,it is the man who is the missionary1 it is not his words4 ,his character is his message4 ,in the heart of ,africa1 among the great lakes1 ,i have come across black men and women who remembered the only white man they ever saw before--,david ,livingstone2 and as you cross his footsteps in that dark continent1 men's faces light up as they speak of the kind doctor who passed there years ago4 ,they could not understand him2 but they felt the love that beat in his heart4 ,take into your new sphere of labor1 where you also mean to lay down your life1 that simple charm1 and your life-work must succeed4 ,you can take nothing greater1 you need take nothing less4 ,it is not worth while going if you take anything less4 ,you may take every accomplishment2 you may be braced for every sacrifice2 but if you give your body to be burned1 and have not love1 it will profit you and the cause of ,christ nothing4 ,after contrasting love with these things1 ,paul1 in three verses1 very short1 gives us an amazing analysis of what this supreme thing is4 ,i ask you to look at it4 ,it is a compound thing1 he tells us4 ,it is like light4 ,as you have seen a man of science take a beam of light and pass it through a crystal prism1 as you have seen it come out on the other side of the prism broken up into its component colors--red1 and blue1 and yellow1 and violet1 and orange1 and all the colors of the rainbow--so ,paul passes this thing1 love1 through the magnificent prism of his inspired intellect1 and it comes out on the other side broken up into its elements4 ,and in these few words we have what one might call the spectrum of love1 the analysis of love4 ,will you observe what its elements are8 ,will you notice that they have common names2 that they are virtues which we hear about every day1 that they are things which can be practised by every man in every place in life2 and how1 by a multitude of small things and ordinary virtues1 the supreme thing1 the summum bonum1 is made up8 ,the spectrum of love has nine ingredients3 ,patience--,love suffereth long4 ,kindness--,and is kind4 ,generosity--,love envieth not4 ,humility--,love vaunteth not itself1 is not puffed up4 ,courtesy--,doth not behave itself unseemly4 ,unselfishness--,seeketh not her own4 ,good temper--,is not easily provoked4 ,guilelessness--,thinketh no evil4 ,sincerity--,rejoiceth not in iniquity1 but rejoiceth in the truth4 ,patience1 kindness1 generosity1 humility1 courtesy1 unselfishness1 good temper1 guilelessness1 sincerity--these make up the supreme gift1 the stature of the perfect man4 ,you will observe that all are in relation to men1 in relation to life1 in relation to the known to-day and the near to-morrow1 and not to the unknown eternity4 ,we hear much of love to ,god2 ,christ spoke much of love to man4 ,we make a great deal of peace with heaven2 ,christ made much of peace on earth4 ,religion is not a strange or added thing1 but the inspiration of the secular life1 the breathing of an eternal spirit through this temporal world4 ,the supreme thing1 in short1 is not a thing at all1 but the giving of a further finish to the multitudinous words and acts which make up the sum of every common day4 ,there is no time to do more than to make a passing note upon each of these ingredients4 ,love is patience4 ,this is the normal attitude of love2 love passive1 love waiting to begin2 not in a hurry2 calm2 ready to do its work when the summons comes1 but meantime wearing the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit4 ,love suffers long2 beareth all things2 believeth all things2 hopeth all things4 ,for love understands1 and therefore waits4 ,kindness4 ,love active4 ,have you ever noticed how much of ,christ's life was spent in doing kind things--in merely doing kind things8 ,run over it with that in view1 and you will find that ,he spent a great proportion of ,his time simply in making people happy1 in doing good turns to people4 ,there is only one thing greater than happiness in the world1 and that is holiness2 and it is not in our keeping2 but what ,god has put in our power is the happiness of those about us1 and that is largely to be secured by our being kind to them4 ,the greatest thing1 says some one1 a man can do for his ,heavenly ,father is to be kind to some of his other children4 ,i wonder why it is that we are not all kinder than we are8 ,how much the world needs it4 ,how easily it is done4 ,how instantaneously it acts4 ,how infallibly it is remembered4 ,how superabundantly it pays itself back--for there is no debtor in the world so honorable1 so superbly honorable1 as love4 ,love never faileth4 ,love is success1 love is happiness1 love is life4 ,love1 ,i say1 with ,browning1 is energy of life4 ,for life1 with all it yields of joy or wo ,and hope and fear1 ,is just our chance o' the prize of learning love-- ,how love might be1 hath been indeed1 and is4 ,where love is1 ,god is4 ,he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in ,god4 ,god is love4 ,therefore love4 ,without distinction1 without calculation1 without procrastination1 love4 ,lavish it upon the poor1 where it is very easy2 especially upon the rich1 who often need it most2 most of all upon our equals1 where it is very difficult1 and for whom perhaps we each do least of all4 ,there is a difference between trying to please and giving pleasure4 ,give pleasure4 ,lose no chance of giving pleasure4 ,for that is the ceaseless and anonymous triumph of a truly loving spirit4 ,i shall pass through this world but once4 ,any good thing therefore that ,i can do1 or any kindness that ,i can show to any human being1 let me do it now4 ,let me not defer it or neglect it1 for ,i shall not pass this way again4 ,generosity4 ,love envieth not4 ,this is love in competition with others4 ,whenever you attempt a good work you will find other men doing the same kind of work1 and probably doing it better4 ,envy them not4 ,envy is a feeling of ill-will to those who are in the same line as ourselves1 a spirit of covetousness and detraction4 ,how little ,christian work even is a protection against unchristian feeling6 ,that most despicable of all the unworthy moods which cloud a ,christian's soul assuredly waits for us on the threshold of every work1 unless we are fortified with this grace of magnanimity4 ,only one thing truly needs the ,christian envy1 the large1 rich1 generous soul which envieth not4 ,and then1 after having learned all that1 you have to learn this further thing1 humility--to put a seal upon your lips and forget what you have done4 ,after you have been kind1 after love has stolen forth into the world and done its beautiful work1 go back into the shade again and say nothing about it4 ,love hides even from itself4 ,love waives even self-satisfaction4 ,love vaunteth not itself1 is not puffed up4 ,the fifth ingredient is a somewhat strange one to find in this summum bonum3 ,courtesy4 ,this is love in society1 love in relation to etiquette4 ,love doth not behave itself unseemly4 ,politeness has been defined as love in trifles4 ,courtesy is said to be love in little things4 ,and the one secret of politeness is to love4 ,love can not behave itself unseemly4 ,you can put the most untutored persons into the highest society1 and if they have a reservoir of love in their hearts1 they will not behave themselves unseemly4 ,they simply can not do it4 ,carlyle said of ,robert ,burns that there was no truer gentleman in ,europe than the plowman-poet4 ,it was because he loved everything--the mouse1 the daisy1 and all the things1 great and small1 that ,god had made4 ,so with this simple passport he could mingle with any society1 and enter courts and palaces from his little cottage on the banks of the ,ayr4 ,you know the meaning of the word gentleman4 ,it means a gentle man--a man who does things gently with love4 ,and that is the whole art and mystery of it4 ,the gentle man can not in the nature of things do an ungentle and ungentlemanly thing4 ,the ungentle soul1 the inconsiderate1 unsympathetic nature can not do anything else4 ,love doth not behave itself unseemly4 ,unselfishness4 ,love seeketh not her own4 ,observe3 ,seeketh not even that which is her own4 ,in ,britain the ,englishman is devoted1 and rightly1 to his rights4 ,but there come times when a man may exercise even the higher right of giving up his rights4 ,yet ,paul does not summon us to give up our rights4 ,love strikes much deeper4 ,it would have us not seek them at all1 ignore them1 eliminate the personal element altogether from our calculations4 ,it is not hard to give up our rights4 ,they are often external4 ,the difficult thing is to give up ourselves4 ,the more difficult thing still is not to seek things for ourselves at all4 ,after we have sought them1 bought them1 won them1 deserved them1 we have taken the cream off them for ourselves already4 ,little cross then perhaps to give them up4 ,but not to seek them1 to look every man not on his own things1 but on the things of others--id opus est4 ,seekest thou great things for thyself8 said the prophet2 seek them not4 ,why8 ,because there is no greatness in things4 ,things can not be great4 ,the only greatness is unselfish love4 ,even self-denial in itself is nothing1 is almost a mistake4 ,only a great purpose or a mightier love can justify the waste4 ,it is more difficult1 ,i have said1 not to seek our own at all1 than1 having sought it1 to give it up4 ,i must take that back4 ,it is only true of a partly selfish heart4 ,nothing is a hardship to love1 and nothing is hard4 ,i believe that ,christ's yoke is easy4 ,christ's yoke is just ,his way of taking life4 ,and ,i believe it is an easier way than any other4 ,i believe it is a happier way than any other4 ,the most obvious lesson in ,christ's teaching is that there is no happiness in having and getting anything1 but only in giving4 ,i repeat1 there is no happiness in having or in getting1 but only in giving4 ,and half the world is on the wrong scent in the pursuit of happiness4 ,they think it consists in having and getting1 and in being served by others4 ,it consists in giving and serving others4 ,he that would be great among you1 said ,christ1 let him serve4 ,he that would be happy1 let him remember that there is but one way--it is more blest1 it is more happy1 to give than to receive4 ,the next ingredient is a very remarkable one3 good temper4 ,love is not easily provoked4 ,nothing could be more striking than to find this here4 ,we are inclined to look upon bad temper as a very harmless weakness4 ,we speak of it as a mere infirmity of nature1 a family failing1 a matter of temperament1 not a thing to take into very serious account in estimating a man's character4 ,and yet here1 right in the heart of this analysis of love1 it finds a place2 and the ,bible again and again returns to condemn it as one of the most destructive elements in human nature4 ,the peculiarity of ill temper is that it is the vice of the virtuous4 ,it is often the one blot on an otherwise noble character4 ,you know men who are all but perfect1 and women who would be entirely perfect1 but for an easily ruffled1 quick-tempered1 or touchy disposition4 ,this compatibility of ill temper with high moral character is one of the strangest and saddest problems of ethics4 ,the truth is1 there are two great classes of sins--sins of the body1 and sins of the disposition4 ,the ,prodigal ,son may be taken as a type of the first1 the ,elder ,brother of the second4 ,now society has no doubt whatever as to which of these is the worse4 ,its brands fall without a challenge1 upon the ,prodigal4 ,but are we right8 ,we have no balance to weigh one another's sins1 and coarser and finer are but human words2 but faults in the higher nature may be less venial than those in the lower1 and to the eye of ,him who is love1 a sin against love may seem a hundred times more base4 ,no form of vice1 not worldliness1 not greed of gold1 not drunkenness itself1 does more to unchristianize society than evil temper4 ,for embittering life1 for breaking up communities1 for destroying the most sacred relationships1 for devastating homes1 for withering up men and women1 for taking the bloom off childhood1 in short1 for sheer gratuitous misery-producing power1 this influence stands alone4 ,look at the ,elder ,brother1 moral1 hard-working1 patient1 dutiful--let him get all credit for his virtues--look at this man1 this baby1 sulking outside his own father's door4 ,he was angry1 we read1 and would not go in4 ,look at the effect upon the father1 upon the servants1 upon the happiness of the guests4 ,judge of the effect upon the ,prodigal--and how many prodigals are kept out of the kingdom of ,god by the unlovely character of those who profess to be inside8 ,analyze1 as a study in temper1 the thunder-cloud itself as it gathers upon the ,elder ,brother's brow4 ,what is it made of8 ,jealousy1 anger1 pride1 uncharity1 cruelty1 self-righteousness1 touchiness1 doggedness1 sullenness--these are the ingredients of this dark and loveless soul4 ,in varying proportions1 also1 these are the ingredients of all ill temper4 ,judge if such sins of the disposition are not worse to live in1 and for others to live with1 than sins of the body4 ,did ,christ indeed not answer the question ,himself when ,he said1 ,i say unto you1 that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of heaven before you4 ,there is really no place in heaven for a disposition like this4 ,a man with such a mood could only make heaven miserable for all the people in it4 ,except1 therefore1 such a man be born again1 he can not1 he simply can not1 enter the kingdom of heaven4 ,for it is perfectly certain--and you will not misunderstand me--that to enter heaven a man must take it with him4 ,you will see then why temper is significant ,it is not in what it is alone1 but in what it reveals4 ,this is why ,i take the liberty now of speaking of it with such unusual plainness4 ,it is a test for love1 a symptom1 a revelation of an unloving nature at bottom4 ,it is the intermittent fever which bespeaks unintermittent disease within2 the occasional bubble escaping to the surface which betrays some rottenness underneath2 a sample of the most hidden products of the soul dropt involuntarily when off one's guard2 in a word1 the lightning form of a hundred hideous and unchristian sins4 ,for a want of patience1 a want of kindness1 a want of generosity1 a want of courtesy1 a want of unselfishness1 are all instantaneously symbolized in one flash of temper4 ,hence it is not enough to deal with the temper4 ,we must go to the source1 and change the inmost nature1 and the angry humors will die away of themselves4 ,souls are made sweet not by taking the acid fluids out1 but by putting something in--a great love1 a new spirit1 the spirit of ,christ4 ,christ1 the spirit of ,christ1 interpenetrating ours1 sweetens1 purifies1 transforms all4 ,this only can eradicate what is wrong1 work a chemical change1 renovate and regenerate1 and rehabilitate the inner man4 ,will-power does not change men4 ,time does not change men4 ,christ does4 ,therefore1 ,let that mind be in you which was also in ,christ ,jesus4 ,some of us have not much time to lose4 ,remember1 once more1 that this is a matter of life or death4 ,i can not help speaking urgently1 for myself1 for yourselves4 ,whoso shall offend one of these little ones1 which believe in me1 it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck1 and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea4 ,that is to say1 it is the deliberate verdict of the ,lord ,jesus that it is better not to live than not to love4 ,it is better not to live than not to love4 ,guilelessness and sincerity may be dismissed almost without a word4 ,guilelessness is the grace for suspicious people4 ,and the possession of it is the great secret of personal influence4 ,you will find1 if you think for a moment1 that the people who influence you are people who believe in you4 ,in an atmosphere of suspicion men shrivel up2 but in that other atmosphere they expand1 and find encouragement and educative fellowship4 ,it is a wonderful thing that here and there in this hard1 uncharitable world there should still be left a few rare souls who think no evil4 ,this is the great unworldliness4 ,love thinketh no evil1 imputes no bad motive1 sees the bright side1 puts the best construction on every action4 ,what a delightful state of mind to live in6 ,what stimulus and benediction even to meet with it for a day6 ,to be trusted is to be saved4 ,and if we try to influence or elevate others1 we shall soon see that success is in proportion to their belief of our belief in them4 ,for the respect of another is the first restoration of the self-respect a man has lost2 our ideal of what he is becomes to him the hope and pattern of what he may become4 ,love rejoiceth not in iniquity1 but rejoiceth in the truth4 ,i have called this sincerity from the words rendered in the ,authorized ,version by rejoiceth in the truth4 ,and1 certainly1 were this the real translation1 nothing could be more just4 ,for he who loves will love truth not less than men4 ,he will rejoice in the truth--rejoice not in what he has been taught to believe2 not in this ,church's doctrine or in that2 not in this ism or in that ism2 but in the truth4 ,he will accept only what is real2 he will strive to get at facts2 he will search for truth with an humble and unbiased mind1 and cherish whatever he finds at any sacrifice4 ,but the more literal translation of the ,revised ,version calls for just such a sacrifice for truth's sake here4 ,for what ,paul really meant is1 as we there read1 ,rejoiceth not in unrighteousness1 but rejoiceth with the truth1 a quality which probably no one ,english word--and certainly not sincerity--adequately defines4 ,it includes1 perhaps more strictly1 the self-restraint which refuses to make capital out of others' faults2 the charity which delights not in exposing the weakness of others1 but covereth all things2 the sincerity of purpose which endeavors to see things as they are1 and rejoices to find them better than suspicion feared or calumny denounced4 ,so much for the analysis of love4 ,now the business of our lives is to have these things in our characters4 ,that is the supreme work to which we need to address ourselves in this world to learn love4 ,is life not full of opportunities for learning love8 ,every man and woman every day has a thousand of them4 ,the world is not a playground2 it is a schoolroom4 ,life is not a holiday1 but an education4 ,and the one eternal lesson for us all is how better we can love4 ,what makes a man a good cricketer8 ,practise4 ,what makes a man a good artist1 a good sculptor1 a good musician8 ,practise4 ,what makes a man a good linguist1 a good stenographer8 ,practise4 ,what makes a man a good man4 ,practise4 ,nothing else4 ,there is nothing capricious about religion4 ,we do not get the soul in different ways1 under different laws1 from those in which we get the body and the mind4 ,if a man does not exercise his arm he develops no biceps muscle2 and if he does not exercise his soul1 he acquires no muscle in his soul1 no strength of character1 no vigor of moral fiber nor beauty of spiritual growth4 ,love is not a thing of enthusiastic emotion4 ,it is a rich1 strong1 manly1 vigorous expression of the whole round ,christian character--the ,christlike nature in its fullest development4 ,and the constituents of this great character are only to be built up by ceaseless practise4 ,what was ,christ doing in the carpenter's shop8 ,practising4 ,tho perfect1 we read that ,he learned obedience1 and grew in wisdom and in favor with ,god4 ,do not quarrel1 therefore1 with your lot in life4 ,do not complain of its never-ceasing cares1 its petty environment1 the vexations you have to stand1 the small and sordid souls you have to live and work with4 ,above all1 do not resent temptation2 do not be perplexed because it seems to thicken round you more and more1 and ceases neither for effort nor for agony nor prayer4 ,that is your practise4 ,that is the practise which ,god appoints you2 and it is having its work in making you patient1 and humble1 and generous1 and unselfish1 and kind1 and courteous4 ,do not grudge the hand that is molding the still too shapeless image within you4 ,it is growing more beautiful1 tho you see it not1 and every touch of temptation may add to its perfection4 ,therefore keep in the midst of life4 ,do not isolate yourself4 ,be among men1 and among things1 and among troubles1 and difficulties1 and obstacles4 ,you remember ,goethe's words3 ,es bildet ein ,talent sich in der ,stille1 ,doch ein ,character in dem ,strom der ,welt4 ,talent develops itself in solitude2 character in the stream of life4 ,talent develops itself in solitude--the talent of prayer1 of faith1 of meditation1 of seeing the unseen2 character grows in the stream of the world's life4 ,that chiefly is where men are to learn love4 ,how8 ,now how8 ,to make it easier1 ,i have named a few of the elements of love4 ,but these are only elements4 ,love itself can never be defined4 ,light is a something more than the sum of its ingredients--a glowing1 dazzling1 tremulous ether4 ,and love is something more than all its elements--a palpitating1 quivering1 sensitive1 living thing4 ,by synthesis of all the colors1 men can make whiteness1 they can not make light4 ,by synthesis of all the virtues1 men can make virtue1 they can not make love4 ,how then are we to have this transcendent living whole conveyed into our souls8 ,we brace our wills to secure it4 ,we try to copy those who have it4 ,we lay down rules about it4 ,we watch4 ,we pray4 ,but these things alone will not bring love into our nature4 ,love is an effect4 ,and only as we fulfil the right condition can we have the effect produced4 ,shall ,i tell you what the cause is8 ,if you turn to the ,revised ,version of the ,first ,epistle of ,john you will find these words3 ,we love because he first loved us4 ,we love1 not ,we love him4 ,that is the way the old version has it1 and it is quite wrong4 ,we love--because he first loved us4 ,look at that word because4 ,it is the cause of which ,i have spoken4 ,because he first loved us1 the effect follows that we love1 we love ,him1 we love all men4 ,we can not help it4 ,because ,he loved us1 we love1 we love everybody4 ,our heart is slowly changed4 ,contemplate the love of ,christ1 and you will love4 ,stand before that mirror1 reflect ,christ's character1 and you will be changed into the same image from tenderness to tenderness4 ,there is no other way4 ,you can not love to order4 ,you can only look at the lovely object1 and fall in love with it1 and grow into likeness to it4 ,and so look at this perfect character1 this perfect life4 ,look at the great sacrifice as ,he laid down ,himself1 all through life1 and upon the cross of ,calvary2 and you must love ,him4 ,and loving ,him1 you must become like ,him4 ,love begets love4 ,it is a process of induction4 ,put a piece of iron in the presence of an electrified body1 and that piece of iron for a time becomes electrified4 ,it is changed into a temporary magnet in the mere presence of a permanent magnet1 and as long as you leave the two side by side they are both magnets alike4 ,remain side by side with ,him who loved us1 and gave ,himself for us1 and you too will become a permanent magnet1 a permanently attractive force2 and like ,him you will draw all men unto you2 like ,him you will be drawn unto all men4 ,that is the inevitable effect of love4 ,any man who fulfils that cause must have that effect produced in him4 ,try to give up the idea that religion comes to us by chance1 or by mystery1 or by caprice4 ,it comes to us by natural law1 or by spiritual law1 for all law is divine4 ,edward ,irving went to see a dying boy once1 and when he entered the room he just put his hand on the sufferer's head1 and said1 ,my boy1 ,god loves you1 and went away4 ,and the boy started from his bed1 and called out to the people in the house1 ,god loves me6 ,god loves me6 ,it changed that boy4 ,the sense that ,god loved him overpowered him1 melted him down1 and began the creating of a new heart in him4 ,and that is how the love of ,god melts down the unlovely heart in man1 and begets in him the new creature1 who is patient and humble and gentle and unselfish4 ,and there is no other way to get it4 ,there is no mystery about it4 ,we love others1 we love everybody1 we love our enemies1 because ,he first loved us4 ,now ,i have a closing sentence or two to add about ,paul's reason for singling out love as the supreme possession4 ,it is a very remarkable reason4 ,in a single word it is this3 it lasts4 ,love1 urges ,paul1 never faileth4 ,then he begins one of his marvelous lists of the great things of the day1 and exposes them one by one4 ,he runs over the things that men thought were going to last1 and shows that they are all fleeting1 temporary1 passing away4 ,whether there be prophecies1 they shall fail4 ,it was the mother's ambition for her boy in those days that he should become a prophet4 ,for hundreds of years ,god had never spoken by means of any prophet1 and at that time the prophet was greater than the king4 ,men waited wistfully for another messenger to come1 and hung upon his lips when he appeared as upon the very voice of ,god4 ,paul says1 ,whether there be prophecies1 they shall fail4 ,this book is full of prophecies4 ,one by one they have failed2 that is1 having been fulfilled their work is finished2 they have nothing more to do now in the world except to feed a devout man's faith4 ,then ,paul talks about tongues4 ,that was another thing that was greatly coveted4 ,whether there be tongues1 they shall cease4 ,as we all know1 many1 many centuries have passed since tongues have been known in this world4 ,they have ceased4 ,take it in any sense you like4 ,take it1 for illustration merely1 as languages in general--a sense which was not in ,paul's mind at all1 and which tho it can not give us the specific lesson will point the general truth4 ,consider the words in which these chapters were written--,greek4 ,it has gone4 ,take the ,latin--the other great tongue of those days4 ,it ceased long ago4 ,look at the ,indian language4 ,it is ceasing4 ,the language of ,wales1 of ,ireland1 of the ,scottish ,highlands is dying before our eyes4 ,the most popular book in the ,english tongue at the present time1 except the ,bible1 is one of ,dickens' works1 his ,pickwick ,papers4 ,it is largely written in the language of ,london street-life1 and experts assure us that in fifty years it will be unintelligible to the average ,english reader4 ,then ,paul goes further1 and with even greater boldness adds1 ,whether there be knowledge1 it shall vanish away4 ,the wisdom of the ancients1 where is it8 ,it is wholly gone4 ,a schoolboy today knows more than ,sir ,isaac ,newton knew4 ,his knowledge has vanished away4 ,you put yesterday's newspaper in the fire4 ,its knowledge has vanished away4 ,you buy the old editions of the great encyclopedias for a few cents4 ,their knowledge has vanished away4 ,look how the coach has been superseded by the use of steam4 ,look how electricity has superseded that1 and swept a hundred almost new inventions into oblivion4 ,one of the greatest living authorities1 ,sir ,william ,thompson1 said the other day1 ,the steam-engine is passing away4 ,whether there be knowledge1 it shall vanish away4 ,at every workshop you will see1 in the back yard1 a heap of old iron1 a few wheels1 a few levers1 a few cranks1 broken and eaten with rust4 ,twenty years ago that was the pride of the city4 ,men flocked in from the country to see the great invention2 now it is superseded1 its day is done4 ,and all the boasted science and philosophy of this day will soon be old4 ,but yesterday1 in the ,university of ,edinburgh1 the greatest figure in the faculty was ,sir ,james ,simpson1 the discoverer of chloroform4 ,the other day his successor and nephew1 ,professor ,simpson1 was asked by the librarian of the university to go to the library and pick out the books on his subject that were no longer needed4 ,and his reply to the librarian was this3 ,take every textbook that is more than ten years old1 and put it down in the cellar4 ,sir ,james ,simpson was a great authority only a few years ago2 men came from all parts of the earth to consult him2 and almost the whole teaching of that time is consigned by the science of today to oblivion4 ,and in every branch of science it is the same4 ,now we know in part4 ,we see through a glass darkly4 ,can you tell me anything that is going to last8 ,many things ,paul did not condescend to name4 ,he did not mention money1 fortune1 fame2 but he picked out the great things of his time1 the things the best men thought had something in them1 and brushed them peremptorily aside4 ,paul had no charge against these things in themselves4 ,all he said about them was that they would not last4 ,they were great things1 but not supreme things4 ,there were things beyond them4 ,what we are stretches past what we do1 beyond what we possess4 ,many things that men denounce as sins are not sins2 but they are temporary4 ,and that is a favorite argument of the ,new ,testament4 ,john says of the world1 not that it is wrong1 but simply that it passeth away4 ,there is a great deal in the world that is delightful and beautiful2 there is a great deal in it that is great and engrossing2 but it will not last4 ,all that is in the world1 the lust of the eye1 the lust of the flesh1 and the pride of life1 are but for a little while4 ,love not the world therefore4 ,nothing that it contains is worth the life and consecration of an immortal soul4 ,the immortal soul must give itself to something that is immortal4 ,and the immortal things are3 ,now abideth faith1 hope1 love1 but the greatest of these is love4 ,some think the time may come when two of these three things will also pass away--faith into sight1 hope into fruition4 ,paul does not say so4 ,we know but little now about the conditions of the life that is to come4 ,but what is certain is that love must last4 ,god1 the eternal ,god1 is love4 ,covet therefore that everlasting gift1 that one thing which it is certain is going to stand1 that one coinage which will be current in the universe when all the other coinages of all the nations of the world shall be useless and unhonored4 ,you will give yourselves to many things1 give yourselves first to love4 ,hold things in their proportion4 ,hold things in their proportion4 ,let at least the first great object of our lives be to achieve the character defended in these words1 the character--and it is the character of ,christ--which is built round love4 ,i have said this thing is eternal4 ,did you ever notice how continually ,john associates love and faith with eternal life8 ,i was not told when ,i was a boy that ,god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son1 that whosoever believeth in him should have everlasting life4 ,what ,i was told1 ,i remember1 was1 that ,god so loved the world that1 if ,i trusted in ,him1 ,i was to have a thing called peace1 or ,i was to have rest1 or ,i was to have joy1 or ,i was to have safety4 ,but ,i had to find out for myself that whosoever trusteth in ,him--that is1 whosoever loveth ,him1 for trust is only the avenue to love--hath everlasting life4 ,the gospel offers a man life4 ,never offer men a thimbleful of gospel4 ,do not offer them merely joy1 or merely peace1 or merely rest1 or merely safety2 tell them how ,christ came to give men a more abundant life than they have1 a life abundant in love1 and therefore abundant in salvation for themselves1 and large in enterprise for the alleviation and redemption of the world4 ,then only can the gospel take hold of the whole of a man1 body1 soul1 and spirit1 and give to each part of his nature its exercise and reward4 ,many of the current gospels are addrest only to a part of man's nature4 ,they offer peace1 not life2 faith1 not love2 justification1 not regeneration4 ,and men slip back again from such religion because it has never really held them4 ,their nature was not all in it4 ,it offered no deeper and gladder life-current than the life that was lived before4 ,surely it stands to reason that only a fuller love can compete with the love of the world4 ,to love abundantly is to live abundantly1 and to love forever is to live forever4 ,hence1 eternal life is inextricably bound up with love4 ,we want to live forever for the same reason that we want to live tomorrow4 ,why do we want to live tomorrow8 ,it is because there is some one who loves you1 and whom you want to see tomorrow1 and be with1 and love back4 ,there is no other reason why we should live on than that we love and are beloved4 ,it is when a man has no one to love him that he commits suicide4 ,so long as he has friends1 those who love him and whom he loves1 he will live2 because to live is to love4 ,be it but the love of a dog1 it will keep him in life2 but let that go and he has no contact with life1 no reason to live4 ,he dies by his own hand4 ,eternal life is to know ,god1 and ,god is love4 ,this is ,christ's own definition4 ,ponder it4 ,this is life eternal1 that they might know thee the only true ,god1 and ,jesus ,christ whom thou hast sent4 ,love must be eternal4 ,it is what ,god is4 ,on the last analysis1 then1 love is life4 ,love never faileth1 and life never faileth1 so long as there is love4 ,that is the philosophy of what ,paul is showing us2 the reason why in the nature of things love should be the supreme thing--because it is going to last2 because in the nature of things it is an eternal life4 ,it is a thing that we are living now1 not that we get when we die2 that we shall have a poor chance of getting when we die unless we are living now4 ,no worse fate can befall a man in this world than to live and grow old all alone1 unloving and unloved4 ,to be lost is to live in an unregenerate condition1 loveless and unloved2 and to be saved is to love2 and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth already in ,god2 for ,god is love4 ,now ,i have all but finished4 ,how many of you will join me in reading this chapter once a week for the next three months8 ,a man did that once and it changed his whole life4 ,you might begin by reading it every day1 especially the verses which describe the perfect character4 ,love suffereth long1 and is kind2 love envieth not2 love vaunteth not itself4 ,get these ingredients into your life4 ,then everything that you do is eternal4 ,it is worth doing4 ,it is worth giving time to4 ,no man can become a saint in his sleep2 and to fulfil the condition required demands a certain amount of prayer and meditation and time1 just as improvement in any direction1 bodily or mental1 requires preparation and care4 ,address yourselves to that one thing2 at any cost have this transcendent character exchanged for yours4 ,you will find as you look back upon your life that the moments that stand out1 the moments when you have really lived1 are the moments when you have done things in a spirit of love4 ,as memory scans the past1 above and beyond all the transitory pleasures of life1 there leap forward those supreme hours when you have been enabled to do unnoticed kindnesses to those around about you1 things too trifling to speak about1 but which you feel have entered into your eternal life4 ,i have seen almost all the beautiful things ,god has made2 ,i have enjoyed almost every pleasure that ,he has planned for man2 and yet as ,i look back ,i see standing out above all the life that has gone four or five short experiences when the love of ,god reflected itself in some poor imitation1 some small act of love of mine1 and these seem to be the things which alone of all one's life abide4 ,everything else in all our lives is transitory4 ,every other good is visionary4 ,but the acts of love which no man knows about1 or can ever know about1 they never fail4 ,in the ,book of ,matthew1 where the judgment day is depicted for us in the imagery of ,one seated upon a throne and dividing the sheep from the goats1 the test of a man then is not1 ,how have ,i believed8 but ,how have ,i loved8 ,the test of religion1 the final test of religion1 is not religiousness1 but love4 ,i say the final test of religion at that great day is not religiousness1 but love2 not what ,i have done1 not what ,i have believed2 not what ,i have achieved1 but how ,i have discharged the common charities of life4 ,sins of commission in that awful indictment are not even referred to4 ,by what we have not done1 by sins of omission1 we are judged4 ,it could not be otherwise4 ,for the withholding of love is the negation of the spirit of ,christ1 the proof that we never knew ,him1 that for us ,he lived in vain4 ,it means that ,he suggested nothing in all our thoughts1 that ,he inspired nothing in all our lives1 that we were not once near enough to ,him to be seized with the spell of ,his compassion for the world4 ,it means that ,i lived for myself1 ,i thought for myself1 ,for myself1 and none beside-- ,just as if ,jesus had never lived1 ,as if ,he had never died4 ,it is the ,son of ,man before whom the nations of the world shall be gathered4 ,it is in the presence of humanity that we shall be charged4 ,and the spectacle itself1 the mere sight of it1 will silently judge each one4 ,those will be there whom we have met and helped2 or there1 the unpitied multitude whom we neglected or despised4 ,no other witness need be summoned4 ,no other charge than lovelessness shall be preferred4 ,be not deceived4 ,the words which all of us shall one day hear sound not of theology but of life1 not of churches and saints but of the hungry and the poor1 not of creeds and doctrines but of shelter and clothing1 not of ,bibles and prayer-books but of cups of cold water in the name of ,christ4 ,thank ,god the ,christianity of today is coming nearer the world's need4 ,live to help that on4 ,thank ,god men know better1 by a hairbreadth1 what religion is1 what ,god is1 who ,christ is1 where ,christ is4 ,who is ,christ8 ,he who fed the hungry1 clothed the naked1 visited the sick4 ,and where is ,christ8 ,where8--,whoso shall receive a little child in ,my name receiveth ,me4 ,and who are ,christ's8 ,every one that loveth is born of ,god4 ,,wagner ,i ,,am ,a ,,voice ,,biographical ,,note ,charles ,wagner1 ,french ,protestant pastor and moral essayist1 was born in #ahea in ,alsace4 ,he is at present rector of the ,reformed ,church in ,fontenay-,lous-,bois1 in the ,department of ,seine4 ,he received a comprehensive education at the universities of ,paris1 ,strasburg and ,goettingen1 and after undertaking many cures in the provinces he went to ,paris in #ahhb1 where he occupied himself in a crusade against the degrading tendency of life1 art and literature in certain of their ,parisian phases4 ,he has been a founder of several popular universities under the auspices of the ,society for the ,promotion of ,morality4 ,he has published many books1 and ,la ,vie ,simple 7,the ,simple ,life7 was crowned by the ,french ,academy and has been translated into many ,european languages1 as well as into ,japanese4 ,wagner has been styled the ,french ,tolstoy1 but he is less visionary and much more popular and practical in his views than the ,russian mystic4 ,the author of ,the ,simple ,life was greeted with many expressions of warm appreciation on his visit to the ,united ,states a few years ago4 ,he was a guest at the ,presidential mansion by invitation of ,president ,roosevelt1 who has highly commended ,the ,simple ,life4 ,,wagner ,born in #ahea ,i ,,am ,a ,,voice#a ,footnote #a3 ,from ,the ,gospel of ,life1 by ,charles ,wagner1 by permission of the ,mc,clure ,company1 publishers4 ,copyright1 #aije1 by ,mc,clure1 ,phillips ,co4 ,i am the voice#b of one crying in the wilderness1 ,make straight the way of the ,lord4--,john i41 #bc4 ,footnote #b3 ,in the ,french version of the ,scriptures it is a voice1 and it is necessary to retain this reading in order to render precisely ,pastor ,wagner's thought4--,translator4 ,nothing is rarer than a personality4 ,so many causes1 both interior and exterior1 hinder the normal development of human beings1 so many hostile forces crush them1 so many illusions lead them astray1 that there is required a concurrence of extraordinary circumstances to render possible the existence of an independent character4 ,but when1 ,god alone knows at the cost of what efforts and of what happy accidents1 a vigorous and original personality has been able to unfold1 nothing is rarer than not to see it degenerate into a mere personage4 ,history teaches us that men exceptional in will and energy almost always become obstructive and mischievous4 ,they commence by serving a cause and end by taking possession of it so completely that1 from being its servants1 they become its masters4 ,instead of being men of a cause1 they make the cause that of a man1 and they degrade the most sacred realities to the paltry level of their ambitious egoism4 ,thus1 when we meet with strong natures1 endowed with the secret of leadership and command1 yet able to resist the subtle temptation to which so many of the finer spirits have succumbed1 it behooves us to bow and to salute in them a greatness before which all that it is customary to call by that name fades into nothingness4 ,if ever soul encompassed this greatness1 it was that of ,john the ,baptist4 ,john is little known4 ,of him there remain only a few traits of physiognomy and a few snatches of discourse4 ,but these snatches are full of character1 these traits possess a sculptural relief2 just as with broken trunks of columns1 with fragments of stones1 all that is left of temples that were once the marvels of ancient art1 they enable us to conceive of the grandeur of the whole edifice to which they once belonged4 ,john was at once strong and humble1 energetic and self-detached4 ,never has an individuality so well-tempered been less personal4 ,identifying himself completely with his rle as precursor1 he found perfect happiness in effacing himself in the glory of ,christ1 just as the dawn disappears in the splendors of the morning4 ,history is full of precursors who impede and withstand those whom they had first announced4 ,when the time comes to retire and to give way to those for whom they have prepared the way1 they do not have the courage to sacrifice themselves4 ,they go on forever1 and often become the worst enemies of the cause they have defended4 ,john knew nothing of these failings which are the perpetual scandal in the development of the kingdom of ,god4 ,not only did he say1 speaking of ,jesus3 ,he must increase1 but ,i must decrease1 but he made all his acts conform to these words4 ,this my joy is therefore fulfilled1 he said1 as he dwelt upon the first advances of the gospel1 and he exprest thus a sweetness of sacrifice forever unknown to personal souls that remain vulgar in spite of their genius4 ,finally1 ,john described himself metaphorically in that inimitable prophetic speech which explains in full the idea that he formed for himself of his ministry4 ,under the sway of a morbid curiosity1 the crowd1 more perplexed by the appearance of the worker than attentive to the work1 prest him with questions4 ,who then art thou1 mysterious preacher8 ,art thou one of the old prophets of ,israel1 escaped from his rocky tomb8 ,or art thou perchance ,he whom we await8 ,no1 answered ,john1 ,i am neither one of the prophets nor the ,messiah himself1 ,i am no one3 ,i am a voice6 ,i am a voice6 ,this is not a formula that sums up the vocation of the prophets solely1 or of all those who1 in the pulpit or in the tribune1 by the pen or by the public discourse1 exert an influence upon their contemporaries4 ,these words are addrest to every one4 ,they define for every man1 the humble yet great duty of truth that he is called to fulfil in his sphere and according to the measure of his ability4 ,at the epoch in which we live1 such a device is so applicable to the time being1 so pressing1 so needful for us to hear1 that it is wise to engrave it in the very foreground of our consciousness4 ,to become a voice we must begin by keeping still4 ,we must listen4 ,the whole world is a tongue of which the spirit is the meaning4 ,god engraved its fiery capitals in the immensity of the heavens1 and traced its delicate smaller letters on the flower1 on the grass1 on the human soul1 as rich1 as incommensurable as the abysses of space4 ,whosoever you are1 brother1 before letting yourself utter one word1 lend your ear to that voice that seeks you1 ,i might almost add1 that implores you4 ,listen6--,listen to the confused murmur that arises from the human depths1 and that1 comprising in it all tears1 all torments1 as well as all joys1 becomes the sigh of creation4 ,listen in your heart to remorse1 the sad and poignant echo that sin1 traversing life1 leaves everywhere upon its passage4 ,shut your ear to no sound1 however unobtrusive1 however sad1 it may be4 ,there are voices that issue from the tombs1 others that call to you from out the abyss of past ages2 repel them not1 listen6 ,one and all1 they have something to say to you4 ,but do not be content with listening to man4 ,pierce nature1 and1 in visible creation as in the invisible sanctuary of souls1 watch attentively for the revelation of ,him whose eternal thought every living thing1 humble or sublime1 translates after its own fashion4 ,he speaks to you in the dark nights and in the bright light of dawn1 in the infinite radiance of the worlds beyond all reckoning1 and in the humble stalk that awaits1 in the valley bottom1 its ray of light and its drop of dew4 ,listen6--,if there is anguish in the voice of poor humanity1 there are in great nature profound words of soothing1 of hope4 ,look at the flower in the fields1 listen to the birds in the skies6 ,after the distrest voices that perturb you1 you shall know the voices that relieve and console4 ,there shall befall you that which befell the nun whose memory is preserved for us in the old legends4 ,listening to the forest voices she had gone1 following them always1 as far as the thick solitudes where nothing any longer comes to trouble the collected soul4 ,there1 in the shade of a tree where she had seated herself1 she heard a song till then unknown to her ears4 ,it was the song of the mystic bird4 ,this song said1 in marvelous modulations1 all that man thinks and feels1 all that he suffers1 all that he seeks1 all that falls short of fulfilment for him4 ,it summed up in harmonies the destinies of living beings and the immense pity that is at the root of things4 ,softly1 on light1 strong wings1 it lifted the soul to the heights where it looks upon reality4 ,and the nun1 her hands clasped1 listened1 listened without end1 forgetting earth1 sky1 time1 forgetting herself4 ,she listened for centuries without ever growing tired1 finding in the song that charmed her a sweetness forever new4 ,dear and truthful image of what the soul experiences when1 mute1 as respectful as a child and as ready of belief1 it listens in the universal silence to the voices that translate for it the things that are eternal6 ,all those who have become voices have traveled this way4 ,at ,patmos or in the desert1 on ,horeb or on ,sinai1 they have trembled with fright or started with joy4 ,but everything has its time4 ,there comes a day when all voices1 soft or terrible1 that man has heard1 grow still1 to let henceforth only one be heard1 which cries to him3 ,go6 go now and be a witness of the things you have heard6 ,go6 ,i send you forth as lambs among wolves6 ,go6 ,i send you toward men whose brow is harsh1 whose heart is wicked1 but fear nothing1 ,i shall embolden your face1 ,i shall give you a heart of brass and a forehead of diamond4 ,when that moment has come1 one must1 in order to remain faithful to his mission1 remember that after all he is only a voice4 ,truth does not belong to us1 it is we who belong to truth6 ,wo to him who possesses it and treats it as something that belongs to himself4 ,happy is he who is possest by it6 ,no preference1 no kinship1 no sympathy counts here4 ,alas6 it is not thus that men understand it4 ,it is for this reason that they degrade truth and that it becomes without power in their hands4 ,instead of winging its way heavenward in vigorous flight1 it crawls along the earth1 like an eagle whose wings have been broken4 ,nothing is sadder than to see how those who ought to lend their voice to truth1 turn it to their own uses and play with it4 ,the voice1 human speech1 that sacred organ1 whose whole worth lies in sincerity1 has in all ages been the victim of odious profanations4 ,but in this age it is more than ever attainted4 ,the evil from which it suffers is defilement4 ,at certain epochs a word was as good as a man4 ,it was an act total1 supreme1 guaranteed by the whole of life4 ,there was no need to sign1 to stamp1 to legalize4 ,speech was held between friends and enemies alike1 more sacred than any sanctuary1 and man maintained it1 with the obscure but just sentiment that it is at the base of society1 and that if words lose their value1 there is no longer any society possible4 ,later the written word was considered sacred4 ,and coming nearer to our own day1 we have been able to see the masses1 guided ever by that quite legitimate sentiment of the holiness of speech1 regard everything printed as gospel truth4 ,those times are no more4 ,we have lied too much1 by the living word1 the pen1 and the press4 ,we have said and printed too much that is light1 false1 wittingly disfigured4 ,armed with an instrumentality that multiplies thought and spreads it broadcast to the four corners of the earth with a rapidity unknown to our fathers1 we have made use of it1 for the most part1 to extend slander more widely and to cause a greater amount of doubtful intelligence to swarm upon the earth4 ,so well have we spun speech out in all our mouths1 so thoroughly have we deprived it of its proper nature and caused it to become sophisticated1 that it is no longer of the least value4 ,the confidence of the masses in authority1 which is one of the slowest and most difficult conquests of humanity1 we have lost like a thing of no worth4 ,they no longer say to any one who now lifts up his voice3 ,who are you8 ,but3 ,what end have you in view8 ,what party do you serve8 ,by what interest are you led8 ,by whom have you been bought8 ,that there may be a sacred truth1 loved1 respected1 adored2 a truth that is worth more than life1 to which one may give himself wholly and with happiness--this idea diverts the cynics and makes those whom the cruel experiences of life have rendered distrustful1 shake their heads4 ,if ever an epoch has needed to rehabilitate human speech1 it is our own4 ,what good are we if it is good for nothing1 since it is at the root of all our institutions8 ,who will give it back its potency8--,they who will know how to resign themselves to being but a voice6 ,permit me to bring home to you1 by means of a very modest example1 what man may gain in force by being but a voice4 ,look at that clock4 ,when the hour has come1 it marks it4 ,whether it be the hour of birth or of death1 the hour of joy or of sorrow1 the hour of longed-for meetings1 or of heart-breaking farewells1 the clock strikes that hour4 ,it is only a mechanism1 but it is scrupulously exact1 it measures that time which descends to us drop by drop from the bosom of eternity1 and when the hammer falls on the brazen bell1 the entire universe confirms what it announces4 ,the suns and the worlds mark at this very moment1 in the immortal light1 the same point of time that is indicated below on earth1 some starless night1 by the humblest village clock4 ,we must imitate the clock4 ,in full consciousness1 through absolute submission1 man should make himself the humble instrument of truth1 and go through supreme servitude to supreme power4 ,when he does not do this1 he is only an imperfect timepiece4 ,but when1 bound by his word1 chained to the truth that he serves1 he has become its slave1 and when1 without hate1 without preference1 without human fear1 without other desire than that of being faithful1 he proclaims what is just1 true1 right1 good1 the rocks are less firm on their base than this man3 for he is a voice6 ,a voice is1 if you like1 a slight thing4 ,stilled as soon as it awakened1 it is heard only by a few and for a little while4 ,it is said that singers are greatly to be pitied1 since posterity can not hear them4 ,nothing of them remains4 ,and yet how many marvelous forces underlie this apparent fragility6 ,the thunder has its roar1 the breeze has its tenderness1 but their power is transitory2 they are sounds and not voices4 ,a voice is a living sound1 it is the vibrant echo of a soul4 ,it is doubtless that most fragile thing1 a breath1 but joined to that which is most durable1 spirit4 ,and it is for this reason that1 if the instant when it is born sees it die1 centuries of centuries can not destroy its effect4 ,the truth which is in it confers immortality upon it1 and when this voice escapes from a human breast1 he who speaks1 sings or weeps1 feels indeed that eternity has concluded an alliance with him4 ,peeling his fragile testimony confirmed by all that endures and can not die1 he says with ,christ3 ,heaven and earth shall pass away1 but my words shall not pass away6 ,the holy labors entrusted to the voice can never be counted4 ,because of the very fact that it lives and that it contains a soul1 it is the great awakener1 the incomparable evoker4 ,when1 obscure still and unknown1 a thought distracts us and slumbers at the bottom of our being1 a voice is all that is needed to make it emerge into the light4 ,with maternal tenderness1 the voice borrows all the energies of incubation1 to infuse with warmth1 to fortify1 the nascent germs of spiritual life4 ,in it lives and breaks forth what1 in the evolving soul1 tends feebly and furtively toward the flowering4 ,in short1 the voice1 speech1 the tongue1 condenses in a single focus incalculable quantities of rays4 ,only think of the efforts that human thought must have made to reach that clearness that enables it to become speech4 ,every word that you utter without giving it a thought is a monument toward which centuries and multitudes of minds have wrought4 ,a world is contained in it4 ,poor words6 one man decks himself out in them1 another wraps himself up in them1 but how few know of the warmth of life and love that has put them into the world that they may be forever the witnesses of the past for posterity6 ,no matter1 for when they have been made sufficiently to resound like an inanimate cymbal1 there comes an hour when they revive under the breath of a true and living being1 and they depart to spread life4 ,then they fulfil their rle as educators4 ,to educate is to explain a being to itself4 ,and this is the benign service that the voice performs4 ,it tells us what we think better than we can ourselves4 ,it unbinds the chains of the captive soul and permits it to take its flight4 ,happy the child1 happy the young man who meets with a voice to decipher him to himself6 ,this is what ,christ did in those blest hours when ,he reunited the children of ,his people1 as a bird reunites its brood under its wings6 ,what the voice does in detail1 it continues to accomplish on the larger scale4 ,at certain moments societies seem a prey to a sort of chaos4 ,a number of contrary forces clash and perturb them1 as they perturb and rend individual souls4 ,men seek1 feeling their way1 a road that seems to elude them4 ,a crowd of spirits1 by the very fact of their contemporaneity1 feel themselves distracted and agitated all in the same way4 ,confusedly and provoked by the same sufferings they elaborate the same ideal and formulate the same desires4 ,but they all wander along twilit paths on the side of the night where the light seems to be breaking through1 without1 however1 being able to pierce the darkness4 ,these are the preliminary agonies of the great historical epochs4 ,then let a being more powerful1 more vital1 an elect soul that has passed through this phase and conquered these shadows1 become incarnate in a voice6 ,that is enough4 ,the personal word which expresses the soul of that epoch and responds to its needs1 is found4 ,it sounds through the world like a new fiat lux6 ,everywhere1 in those who listen to it and feel secret affinities with it in themselves1 it constitutes a magnificent revelation of light and life4 ,all these hearts vibrate in unison with one2 and1 gathering up all these scattered notes into a single harmony1 he who expresses the sentiments of all1 renders an account of the wonderful power of which he is the instrument4 ,no1 it is no longer a man that speaks3 what sounds upon his lips1 is the whole soul of a people1 is a whole epoch1 is a new world4 ,a voice is also that inimitable sigh1 that pure sob which tells of grief because it issues from a suffering heart4 ,it is pity and compassion1 it is the angel of ,god arriving among us on the caressing breath1 a messenger of mercy1 and pouring into the tortured depths of our poor heart its healing dew4 ,it is ,jesus saying to ,mary1 and1 in her1 to all those whom grief afflicts3 ,why weepest thou8 ,it is ,david singing3 ,why art thou cast down1 ,o my soul8 ,it is ,isaiah crying3 ,comfort ye1 comfort ye1 my people2 speak ye comfortably to ,jerusalem6 ,a voice is1 on the solitary path where our will strays1 the faithful shepherd calling his sheep2 it is every sign1 even tho it be made by the hand of a child1 which in the days of forgetfulness and unrestraint1 suddenly wakes us and warns us that our feet skirt the abysses4 ,then1 after the work of education1 of creation1 of pity1 comes the work of severity1 of punishment1 of destruction4 ,the voice has been compared to a sword4 ,like it1 it flames and punishes4 ,a voice is ,nathan rising up before the criminal king and calling down upon his head the avenging lightning of this word3 ,thou art the man6 ,the sword attacks1 destroys1 but it defends1 also1 and this is its fairest work4 ,never is the voice more touching than when it is lifted in favor of the weak1 and1 when1 suddenly1 in the midst of the iniquities of brute force that it denounces1 marks with its stigma1 it causes justice to shine forth and the truth to be felt1 in the holy soul-traversing thrill1 that ,god ,himself is there and that ,his hour has come6 ,a voice has its echo4 ,when this echo is sympathetic1 it is endowed with the sweetest recompense and obliterates the memory of many sorrows4 ,but this echo is often hostile4 ,it arises from wrath and is increased by hatred4 ,then it is resistance1 riot1 that rumbles4 ,it is the passions and the scourged vices that twist and bellow like deer under the lash of the trainer4 ,how many times1 ,o1 faithful voices1 souls of peace and truth1 has the spirit that animates you driven you to these fearful encounters--you who have heard in the silence of your hearts the holy verities and who know their worth1 you are obliged to go bearing them in the face of menace1 of mockery1 of trembling rage where they seem to us like ,daniel in the lion's den6 ,a terrible ordeal6 but one before which the testifying voices have never recoiled4 ,luther1 who knew the emotions of the great battles of the spirit where one man is alone in the face of a thousand1 where tinder the growing clamors and the cries of death 444 a voice struggles like a torch in a tempest1 has given to the servants of truth a counsel that is the alpha and omega of their austere mission4 ,when they have said all1 done all1 essayed all1 put all their being and all their love into the proclamation of what they have to announce1 then1 he says1 let them be ready to be hooted at and spat upon6 ,and not only should they be ready but they should accept this lot with happiness4 ,christ says to them3 ,happy are they that are outraged and persecuted for the sake of justice6 ,alas1 the rudest proof for him who speaks the truth is not to arouse indignation4 ,that1 at least1 is a result1 and however sad it may be1 it bears witness to him who has spoken4 ,certain protests1 despite their fury1 are a sort of involuntary homage4 ,the supreme trial for a voice is indifference4 ,when ,john called himself a voice in the wilderness1 he alluded to that external solitude where his voice was raised4 ,but this solitude1 on certain days was full of life and the gospel cites for our benefit certain facts which prove that the words with which it resounded were not lost in the empty spaces4 ,they moved and struck home from the humblest regions of society to the exalted spheres1 to the royal throne itself4 ,john garnered love and hate1 blessing and curse1 the desirable fruits of all energetic action4 ,since that time and before1 more than one voice has been able1 applying them to itself1 to give to those prophetic words1 voices in the wilderness1 another very melancholy significance4 ,the supreme image of despair is a voice that is lost in the silence1 as is lost1 in the bosom of dead solitudes1 the call that no one hears1 for succor that will never come4 ,after having spoken of the different voices1 of their power1 of their effects1 let us bestow a compassionate remembrance upon the lost voices1 on those who were or who are still1 in the most lamentable sense of that word1 voices in the wilderness4--,to be a man1 a soul1 to have felt the lighting of a holy flame within oneself2 to love truth and justice2 to feel the pain of contact with a life ruled over by falsehood and violence2 at the heart of this poignant contrast between a divine ideal and a heart-rending reality1 to receive from his conscience1 from ,god himself1 the command to speak2 to put his life into this work1 to renounce everything to be only a voice 444 and after all this to see himself forsaken1 neglected1 despised6 ,to wear oneself out slowly in a strife obscure and without issue2 to perish without having aroused either sympathy or opposition1 to disappear into oblivion before disappearing in the tomb 444 ah6 all the furies1 all the bloody reprisals1 the dungeons1 the gibbets1 the massacres1 all the martyrdoms by which human wickedness strove to stifle the voice of the just1 are less horrible than this extermination by apathy4 ,and yet1 not to press things to this cruel extremity1 but remembering the parable of the sower1 where so many seeds are lost for the few that take root and flourish1 ought we not be willing to be1 in the greatest number of cases1 voices in the wilderness1 only too happy if our thankless labors are recompensed elsewhere by an encouraging echo8 ,have we not here1 on the contrary1 the image of human life8 we are always aspiring toward an ideal more elevated than that which we realize4 ,we are always precursors1 and it becomes us to accept humbly what that destiny holds both of pain and of beauty4 ,besides1 do we know whether voices that seem to be lost1 are so in reality8 ,are the stones that are hidden in the foundations of a beautiful edifice1 and thanks to which the whole fabric is supported1 lost because no one sees them8 ,in the same way it must be that many voices are forgotten apparently1 until such time as1 added together and finding in each other mutual support1 they end by emerging into the full light of day4 ,to wait and to work2 to do his duty1 and leave the rest to ,god2 to journey through life1 gathering truth into his heart1 and then into the family1 the ,church1 the city2 to be its faithful voice2 this is the best use a man can make of his mortal days4 ,and should it be your lot to be voices in the wilderness2 among your children deaf to your cries2 among your compatriots insensible to your warnings1 console yourselves4 ,greater than you have suffered the same fate4 ,unite yourself in spirit to their company and be happy to suffer with them4 ,at least as you come to understand more and more from day to day that truth can not perish1 and that it is potent even on feeble lips2 you will establish in your hearts faith in the world that endures1 and you will be less astonished and less disconcerted when you see the face of this world pass away4 ,you will live by the sacred fire cherished in your souls4 ,let your furrow close1 your hope will not perish6 ,like ,moses on ,nebo1 you will enter into the silence1 having filled your dying eyes with the spectacle of the promised land6 ,,gordon ,,man ,,in ,,the ,,image ,,of ,,god ,,biographical ,,note ,george ,angier ,gordon1 ,congregational divine1 was born in ,scotland1 #ahec4 ,he was educated at ,harvard1 and has been minister of ,old ,south ,church1 ,boston1 ,massachusetts1 since #ahhd4 ,his pulpit style is conspicuous for its directness and forcefulness1 and he is considered in a high sense the successor of ,philip ,brooks4 ,he was lecturer in the ,lowell ,institute ,course1 #aijj2 ,lyman ,beecher ,lecturer1 ,yale1 #aija2 university preacher to ,harvard1 #ahhf-ahij2 to ,yale1 #ahhh-aija2 ,harvard overseer4 ,he is the author of ,the ,witness to ,immortality 7#ahig71 and many other works4 ,,gordon ,born in #ahec ,,man ,,in ,,the ,,image ,,of ,,god#a ,footnote #a3 ,printed here by kind permission of ,dr4 ,gordon4 ,and ,god created man in his own image1 in the image of ,god created he him4--,genesis i41 #bg4 ,it must never be forgotten that all truth lies in the order of life itself4 ,there is a natural environment1 and in it have been1 real and mighty from the beginning1 the laws and forces which science has but recently discovered4 ,copernicus discovered the true order of the solar system2 but the order itself has been there from the morning of time4 ,newton discovered the force of gravity1 but that force has been in the natural situation since creation4 ,chemists have been able to make out sixty-five or sixty-six irreducible elements2 but while chemistry is young1 the elements are everlasting4 ,electricity is the discovery of yesterday1 and yet it has been at play in man's environment from the foundation of the world4 ,the continuity of life1 from the lowest forms of it up to man1 has been a fact from the first2 but not until this century has the fact meant anything4 ,few things impress the imagination more powerfully than the sense of the forces that have surrounded man from his first appearance on the earth1 and that have been noted and utilized only in recent times4 ,there stands the immemorial force1 and men have had no eyes for it till yesterday4 ,thoughtful men begin to look upon the environment in a new spirit4 ,they begin to walk within it in amazement and hope4 ,all the forces of the material universe are here1 and only a few things about them have been discovered4 ,the natural environment is rich beyond all calculation or dream2 it is exhaustless4 ,here in the field of man's life is the alluring object of science4 ,here in the natural situation are the everlasting and benign energies that wait to be discovered and prest into human service4 ,there is a human environment1 and all the fundamental truth about man has been present in it from the start4 ,moses gave his nomadic brethren the ten words2 but they were written in the human heart ages before they were inscribed upon stone4 ,the great ,hebrew prophets gave to the world the vision of one ,god1 ,his righteous government of the world1 and ,his election of a single race for the service of all the races2 but ,god and ,his government and ,his method in the education of man were real and mighty before ,amos1 and ,hosea1 and ,isaiah1 and ,jeremiah beheld them4 ,christ revealed the ,father through ,his own divine ,sonhood2 but the ,fatherhood of ,god is an eternal truth4 ,nowhere is the divineness of ,christ more obvious than in the ease and adequacy with which ,he1 and ,he alone1 is able to read the meaning of the human situation4 ,christ as ,prophet1 as ,seer and ,discoverer1 is most amazing to the most gifted4 ,his eye for fact is divine4 ,he notes the falling sparrow1 and at once reaches the universal fatherly foresight and control of ,god4 ,his consuming vision goes everywhere1 turning the hidden truth of life into light and joy in ,his parables4 ,his teaching is revelation1 the unveiling of the aboriginal divine order4 ,he makes nothing2 ,he reveals what ,god made4 ,and when ,he increases life it is by showing the path to that increase ordained of ,god1 insight and obedience4 ,the will of ,god is the final law for heaven and earth2 the vision of it and surrender to it are the path of life4 ,here we touch the depth of the old faith4 ,god the ,father creates1 and the ,son reveals4 ,the order of the ,spirit is eternal2 the revelation of it is in time and for sense-bound men4 ,here we see in a mirror and dimly2 there they behold face to face4 ,and ,christ drew forth into light the divine significance of man's life1 as ,god originally made it2 and that divine meaning of existence thus drawn out is the gospel of ,christ4 ,in the text we are carried by a true seer back of all traditions1 behind all conventions1 beyond all beliefs about life to life itself as it lies in its own freshness and fulness4 ,we are led to look upon human life newly made1 still warm with the touch of the creative hand1 and yet containing in it that very hour all that the ,lord eventually drew out of it4 ,if the first man had understood himself he would have been essentially a ,christian4 ,and therefore ,i propose to evolve from the original human situation1 as described in the text1 the outline of what ,i take to be a great faith4 ,i4 ,if the first man had understood himself1 he would have seen in himself the interpreter of nature4 ,from the first command1 ,let there be light1 to the final1 ,let us make man in our image1 there are two things to be noted4 ,there is continuity in the creative process1 and there is an ascension from the lower to the higher4 ,the first duty of our self-comprehending ,adam will be to look backward4 ,he will look across the wide field whose farther limit lies in cloud and whose hither border touches his feet4 ,he will survey the creative process that has led up to and that has come to its climax in him4 ,and as he thinks of himself as the product of nature1 must he not conclude that as reason is the result1 reason must have preceded the process and governed it8 ,humanity is the issue2 therefore humanity must have planned the issue and secured it4 ,back of this march of life1 behind this developing and ascending order1 out in the darkness1 before the light was created1 there was the ,mind that accounts for man4 ,thus the last becomes the first1 the man that ends the creative process sees that a human ,god must have preceded the process4 ,this truth is one of the greater insights of the time4 ,the continuity of life1 from the lowest forms to the highest1 has received during the last fifty years an unparalleled recognition4 ,so1 too1 with the fact of the steady ascent of life4 ,not indeed in a literal and yet in a true way1 the modern scientific conception is a wonderful parallel to the sublime hymn with which the ,bible opens4 ,in the beginning was the fire-mist4 ,in that fire-mist began the process of development4 ,it became worlds1 systems innumerable1 a stellar universe1 and within this whole a solar order1 an earth beating forward in preparation for the advent of life4 ,life when it came flowed into countless forms4 ,from the shapeless mass it pushed on upward into successively higher and finer structures1 ever aspiring toward man4 ,ages preceded the advent of man4 ,there were upon the part of life ages of preparation1 ages of climbing4 ,before life rose the mountain of the ,lord2 it must be scaled and its summit reached before man could put in an appearance4 ,but the hour for which the whole cosmos had been travailing in pain could not be indefinitely delayed4 ,in the fulness of time1 as the tree bursts into bloom1 as the tide rolls to the flood1 as the light breaks in through the gates of morning1 nature came to her supreme expression in man4 ,man is not here on his own strength4 ,he is not in the bosom of things unaccounted for4 ,he is the child of nature2 her last act1 her highest product1 the best that is in her power to bring forth1 the son in whose wondrous being her own motherhood is to undergo total transformation4 ,that is the modern scientific conception2 look for a moment at its greatness4 ,man as final issue of nature must turn round and look backward4 ,he must look down the long line of life to the far-off first beginning4 ,he must pass beyond the earliest forms in which the vital movement began to the mysterious1 formless1 eternal power behind all4 ,and it is here that nature is lifted into a new character by her human product4 ,in that eternal power there must be a reason to account for man's reason1 conscience to account for his conscience1 love to account for his love1 spirit to explain his spirit4 ,nature as mother must become spirit to account for the soul of her son4 ,the flower shows what was in the seed1 the oak is the revelation of what was in the heart of the acorn2 and man as the last and best outcome of nature is the authoritative expression of the power that is behind nature4 ,thus the mind that is the final product of nature discovers the mind that is the source of nature4 ,man seeking the origin of his being finds it on the farther side of nature in ,one like unto a son of man4 ,he learns later to distinguish between the reality and the image1 between ,god and godlike man4 ,and then a wireless telegraphy is established between them across the vast untraveled distances of nature4 ,the life near to ,god can not send the tokens of ,his inmost character upward to man2 the brute life near to man can not carry downward to ,god man's thoughts and hopes4 ,the animal life that stretches in an expanse so wide between the ,creator and ,his best work can not connect the human and the divine4 ,but when the spirit to which nature comes in man has once seen the ,spirit in which nature must begin1 then the wireless telegraphy comes into play4 ,the heart1 that is the last product of life1 sends out its mysterious currents1 its aspirations1 its gladness1 its grief1 and its hope2 and these repeat themselves in the great heart of ,god4 ,and forth from the ,spirit behind nature issue the messages of recognition1 of sympathy1 of intimated ideals and endless incentive1 that register themselves in the soul of man4 ,nature is a solid1 sympathetic1 and now and then glorified1 and yet dumb1 highway between ,god and man4 ,her beauty belongs to the ,spirit that she does not know1 and it speaks to the ,spirit that is older than her child4 ,she is a mute1 unconscious sacrament between the infinite reason and the finite1 a path for the lightning that plays backward and forward between the soul of man and the soul of ,god4 ,the great primal fact in the human environment is that man is the interpreter of nature4 ,in this character of interpreter of nature he receives his first message from ,god1 and makes his first response4 ,,ii4 ,the second fact in the human situation is that religion is the interpreter of man4 ,as man looks backward he beholds beyond nature a face like his own1 only diviner2 and ever afterward the noblest aspiration of his soul is to win the smile of that face and to escape its frown4 ,our self-comprehending ,adam would confess that he knew himself only when he noted within him the lover of the infinite4 ,and here history leads the way4 ,you look into ,the ,book of the ,dead1 and you see what high and serious things religion meant for the early ,egyptian4 ,the pyramids are monuments to religion4 ,the art of the ancient races was chiefly homage to the divine4 ,the ,athenian ,parthenon would never have been but for faith in the goddess that shielded the city4 ,greek art1 the greatest art in the world1 is primarily a tribute to faith4 ,those marvelous statues were likenesses of the gods2 those incomparable temples were dwelling-places for the gods4 ,religion is in the warp and woof of the world's love and sorrow1 its art and literature1 its patriotism and history4 ,the life of man is the cathedral window1 and religion is the colored figure that stands in it4 ,the two are inseparable4 ,you can not abolish the figure without breaking the window2 you can not banish religion without destroying humanity4 ,try to explain ,homer's world without ,olympus2 account for ,mohammedanism and make no reference to faith2 write the history of the ,middle ,ages and take no note of the ,divine ,comedy2 sum up the meaning of ,persian and ,indian civilization and pay no heed to religion2 show what ,hebraism is and leave unnoticed its consciousness of ,god1 and you will create a parallel to the philosopher who should endeavor to trace the significance of human life apart from man's passion for the infinite4 ,here then is the key to manhood4 ,he is a being over whom the unseen wields an endless fascination4 ,there is in him a thirst that nothing can quench save the living ,god4 ,his chief attribute is an attribute of wo1 an incapacity for content within the limits of the visible and temporal4 ,his differentiation from the brute is at this point absolute4 ,between man and the lower orders of life there is a line of likeness2 there is also from the beginning a line of unlikeness4 ,in physical structure man is both similar and dissimilar to the animal4 ,as bread-winner and economist he is kindred and he is in contrast to the creatures below him4 ,in the home1 in society1 and in the state in which both home and society are set and protected1 the line of likeness grows less and less distinct1 while the line of unlikeness becomes bolder and plainer4 ,it is impossible to deny observation to the dog and impossible to grant to it science4 ,the instinct for beauty belongs to the bird1 but art in the full sense of the word1 as the self-conscious expression of beautiful ideas1 is no part of its life4 ,one can not decline to note method in the existence of the brute1 and one is compelled to withold from it philosophy4 ,in these higher activities the line of likeness between man and the animal is of the faintest description2 while the line of contrast becomes more and more pronounced and significant4 ,when we come to the summit of man the likeness vanishes utterly4 ,among the lower life of the world there is no ,magnificat1 there is no ,nunc ,dimittis2 the beginning and the end do not link themselves to the ,eternal4 ,the brute has no religion1 no temple1 no priest1 no ,bible1 no sacrament of love between itself and the invisible4 ,the tower of this church tells at once1 and from afar1 that it is a church4 ,near at hand1 much besides the tower tells the same story4 ,there is the cruciform foundation2 there is the structure of its walls4 ,there is the outside with distinct note2 there is the inside with its joyous beauty4 ,look at the church closely and you need no tower to proclaim what it is4 ,and yet the tower is its most conspicuous witness3 at a distance it is the sole witness4 ,religion is similarly the eminent token that man belongs to a divine order4 ,the basis of his being in sacrifice should repeat the same tale4 ,civilization as a struggle after social righteousness should announce the same fact4 ,man's thoughts and feelings1 and their manifold and marvelous expression in art1 in institutions1 and in systems of opinion1 utter the same testimony4 ,and yet the tower of his being1 high soaring and far seen1 is his feeling for the invisible4 ,you do not know man until you behold him worshiping4 ,,iii4 ,the third fact in our human situation is that ,christianity is the interpretation of religion4 ,you see the devout old ,jew1 ,simeon1 who met ,jesus as ,his mother brought ,him for the first time into the temple2 and there you behold the old faith interpreted by the new4 ,all that was best in the ,hebrew religion is conserved and carried higher in the ,christian religion4 ,everywhere the devoutest ,jews were conscious of wants which the national faith did not meet4 ,they waited for the consolation of ,israel1 and when ,christ came he supplied satisfactions which ,hebraism could not supply4 ,christianity commended itself to the disciples of ,christ because it seemed to be their own faith at its best4 ,they were carried over into it by the logic of their previous belief and their deep human need4 ,paul sought righteousness as a ,jew2 when he became a ,christian1 righteousness was still his great quest4 ,and ,christianity commended itself to him because the national ideal of righteousness was set before him in a sublimer form1 and because a new inspiration came to him in his pursuit of it4 ,the old immemorial goal of human endeavor was exalted1 and the everlasting incentives were filled with the freshness of a divine life4 ,thus the religious ,jew1 when ,christ came1 was like a convalescent patient4 ,the process of recovery was going on1 but in a way that was discouragingly slow4 ,the longing was for the higher altitudes of the spirit1 for the pure and bracing atmosphere of some exalted leader1 for an environment richer in healing ministry and in restoring power4 ,that longing ,christ met4 ,he carried ,his believing countrymen on to the heights4 ,he surrounded them with the freshness of ,his own spirit4 ,he put over them a new sky4 ,he took them into a new environment1 rich with ,his truth and grace1 tender with infinite sympathy1 stored with the forces that work for spiritual vigor1 filled with the love of ,his ,father4 ,ask ,peter or ,james or ,john or ,paul1 ask any believing ,jew and he will tell you that ,christianity is simply the consummation of his faith as a ,jew4 ,the gospel moves along the same line of self-verification with reference to all the great religions4 ,the ,persian believes in eternal light1 and he hates the contending darkness4 ,christianity says that ,god is light1 and that in ,him is no darkness at all2 that ,jesus is the ,light of the world1 and that whosoever followeth ,him shall not walk in darkness1 but shall have the light of life4 ,the ,greek was full of humanity1 and he could not help making his gods and goddesses simply larger and more beautiful men and women4 ,what is the soul of that amazingly beautiful and seemingly fantastic mythology of the ,greeks8 ,why do they worship ,apollo and ,aphrodite1 ,hermes and ,athene8 ,because they can think of nothing higher than ideal humanity4 ,and ,christ comes1 the ideal man4 ,the beauty of the ,lord is upon ,him4 ,his thoughts and feelings and purpose and character are the most perfect things in the world4 ,he identifies ,himself with man1 and ,he identifies ,himself with ,god4 ,he is the ,son of man1 and as such ,he is the ,son of ,god4 ,and thus a human4 ,god1 a human universe1 a human religion is offered to the ,greek1 and in place of the wonderful mythology the clear1 warm1 divine fact4 ,the ,mohammedan believes in will2 and the gospel puts before him that ultimate irresistible ,will as a ,will to all good1 eternally burdened with love1 and nothing but love1 for man4 ,the ,hindu is smitten with an endless craving after rest1 and he thinks the path to peace lies in the diminution and final extinction of being4 ,christ goes to the ,hindu and says3 ,come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden1 and ,i will give you rest4 ,take my yoke upon you and learn of me2 for ,i am meek and lowly of heart1 and ye shall find rest unto your souls4 ,for my yoke is easy and my burden is light4 ,he sets before the ,hindu an infinite social peace2 he calls into play the moral will that for ages has been allowed to slumber4 ,the goal is high social harmony2 the path to it is the intelligent will in faithful1 inspired1 victorious obedience4 ,the need of the ,hindu is not less but more and better existence4 ,the way out of his despair is through fulness of life4 ,his misery is but the dumb prayer for eternal life1 that is1 for existence supreme in its character and in its volume4 ,thus ,christianity is everywhere the interpreter of religion4 ,everywhere it carries the world's faith to its best4 ,it is the consummation both of the human need and the divine answer4 ,and to-day1 in our own world1 it goes on the same high errand4 ,the intuitions of righteousness1 the sympathies with goodness1 the wish for the more abundant life1 the ideals and the struggles1 the hope and the fear1 without which man would not be man1 find their interpreter in ,christianity4 ,it is the soul carried to the utmost depth of its need and the loftiest height of its desire1 and then made conscious that below its profoundest weakness and above its highest dream is the infinite ,love that is educating its life4 ,it is the best wisdom of history speaking to the highest interests of man4 ,as mothers brought their children to ,jesus that ,he might reveal the inmost meaning of childhood1 open its treasure to the hearts that loved it1 and by ,his consecrating touch assure it of perpetual increase2 so are the nations bringing their religions to ,him1 and the noble among men their uncomprehended longing and hope4 ,he walks among us still as the ,revealer1 the ,conserver1 and the ,consummator of life4 ,,iv4 ,lastly1 ,christianity finds it own interpretation in ,god4 ,we have seen man looking backward and finding the origin of his soul in the ,soul that is behind nature4 ,we have seen his religion telling him that he can not live by bread alone1 that he can rest only under the shelter of the unseen1 that he is infinitely more akin to the invisible than to the visible1 that he has a spirit and must therefore hunger for the fellowship of the eternal ,spirit4 ,we see ,christianity lifting this religious capacity to its highest1 and bringing in the divine appeal in its sublimest form4 ,we behold the earth transfigured in this ,christian dream1 the ladder set that reaches from the dreamer to heaven1 and upon it1 going up and coming down1 the great prayers of the soul and the tender responses of the ,most ,high4 ,to what shall we refer this sublime1 transfiguring dream8 ,is it the delusion of the sleeper1 or the whisper of ,god8 ,is the ladder set up from the earth1 or is it let down from above8 ,did man shape it out of his abysmal desire1 or did ,god make and establish it out of ,his love4 ,what can we say of that which is the highest wisdom1 the widest sympathy1 the divinest love1 and the mightiest power in human history8 ,what can we do with that which is the true life of man8 ,can the trees of the field1 as they clap their hands and sing in the freshening breeze1 do other than refer it to heaven8 ,and man1 as he sees the light of ,christ upon the ,spirit behind nature1 beholds in the gospel that which interprets his highest dreams1 feels in ,christianity the power to understand and to become his own best self--can he do other than say that his ,christian faith is the gift of ,god8 ,the star in the brook refers you for the explanation of its being to the star in the sky2 and the glory of the gospel living in the depths of man's soul has no other origin than the love of ,god4 ,the hope of science lies in exploring the natural environment4 ,all material reality is here1 and here science has found all her truth1 and every season reminds her that inexpressible wonders still wait her search4 ,in the heavens above1 and in the earth beneath1 and in the waters under the earth are hidden the treasure for which she is to toil4 ,earth and sea and sky2 the waveless depths and the windless heights1 and the wide expanse between1 now sunlit and again stormswept1 are the field of her enterprise and hope4 ,and in the same way the human environment is the region that the spirit must explore4 ,the meaning of humanity must be found in and through humanity4 ,say not in thy heart1 ,who shall ascend into heaven8 that is1 to bring ,christ down2 or who shall descend into the abyss8 that is1 to bring ,christ up from the dead4 ,the word is nigh thee1 in thy mouth and in thy heart4 ,the divine reality offers itself to faith in and through the scope and sweep of life4 ,the order of ,god is in the life of society4 ,the ideal for man1 the method by which it is realized1 and the power1 are set in the spiritual tissues of the race4 ,if you see no ,god1 no soul1 no genuine religion1 believe rather that you are blind than that your human environment does not contain them4 ,you are the product of nature4 ,it follows that nature must be great enough to account for you and your race and the ,christ who is your race at its best4 ,back of the nature that gave birth to you1 that bore your kind1 and brought forth ,christ1 there must be the sufficient ,spirit4 ,you are sure that you can not live by bread alone4 ,you have thoughts that wander through eternity4 ,you can not rest until you rest in ,god4 ,you are a being made for religion1 and again here is the gospel that meets your intelligence with its wisdom1 your heart with its love1 your will with its moral authority4 ,nothing puts your being in tune1 and nothing rings out the best music that is in you1 as the gospel does4 ,it is omnipresent in our civilization1 working everywhere to crush the beast and to free the man4 ,it is in a mother's love1 the soul of its tenderness2 it is in a father's heart as ideal and incentive4 ,the history and the experience and the hope of our homes are transfigured in its light1 as if the earth should repose in an everlasting evening glow4 ,patriotism is alive with its fire1 and the new and growing passion for humanity is the great token of its quickening spirit4 ,it is the box of ointment1 very precious1 which has been broken in society and all ,christendom is filled with its perfume4 ,birth and death1 love and sorrow1 achievement and failure1 human life and its immemorial content1 the old room and the dear and dreary things in it1 take on new dignity and grace4 ,to detect the new spirit in the old dwelling is the best and most rewarding of all intuitions4 ,to live in the human homestead consecrated by the diffusion of ,christ's gospel is to undergo an unconscious conformation to exalted ideals4 ,because of our ,christian civilization1 behind every morning is the ,father1 who makes ,his sun to shine upon the evil and the good1 and who sends ,his rain upon the just and the unjust4 ,nature has been lifted into a servant of the divine beneficence4 ,and man's wild but imperishable passion for the unseen has been brought to see its last and best self in the love of ,christ4 ,wherever we look1 this gospel is the master light of all our seeing2 and once more1 is it not light from heaven8 ,we know where to look for the belt of ,orion1 and clear and grand as the stars that constitute it are the great saving truths which are set in the human sky4 ,there is nothing arbitrary in this sublime faith1 nothing that does not rise out of the human order1 nothing that is a mere import from the world of fancy or wild belief4 ,the faith is the translation of fact into thought and speech4 ,the eyes of ,christ pass over and through the order of the universe1 and ,his vision is our faith4 ,man is the interpreter of nature2 religion is the interpreter of man2 ,christianity is the interpreter of religion2 and ,god the ,father is the interpreter of ,christianity4 ,,dawson ,,christ ,,among ,,the ,,common ,,things ,,of ,,life ,,biographical ,,note ,william ,james ,dawson1 ,congregational preacher and evangelist1 was born in ,towcester1 ,northamptonshire1 in #ahed4 ,he was educated at ,kingswood ,school1 ,bath1 and ,didsbury ,college1 ,manchester4 ,he has long been known as an author of originality and pure literary style4 ,in #aijf he received the pastorate of ,highbury ,quadrant ,congregational ,church1 ,london1 and accepted an invitation to do general evangelistic work under the auspices of the ,national ,council of the ,congregational churches of the ,united ,states4 ,he now resides in this country4 ,,dawson ,born in #ahed3 ,,christ ,,among ,,the ,,common ,,things ,,of ,,life#a ,footnote #a3 ,reprinted by kind permission of ,messrs4 ,fleming ,h4 ,revell ,co41 ,new ,york4 ,as soon then as they were come to land they saw a fire of coals there1 and fish laid thereon1 and bread4 ,jesus saith unto them1 ,come and dine4--,john xxi41 #i1 #ab4 ,i can not read these words without indulging for a moment in a reminiscence4 ,not long ago1 in the early morning1 while all the world slept1 ,i stood beside the ,sea of ,tiberias1 just as the morning mist lifted1 and watched a single brown-sailed fishing-boat making for the shore1 and the tired fishermen dragging their net to land4 ,in that moment it seemed to me as if more than the morning mist lifted--twenty centuries seemed to melt like mist1 and the last chapter of ,st4 ,john's gospel seemed to enact itself before my eyes4 ,for so vivid was the sense of something familiar in the scene1 so mystic was the hour1 that ,i should scarce have been surprized had ,i seen a fire of coals burning on the shore1 and heard the voice of ,jesus inviting these tired fishermen to come and dine4 ,now if ,i felt that1 if ,i was sensible of the haunting presence of ,christ by that ,galilean shore1 how much more these disciples1 in whose minds every aspect of the ,galilean lake was connected with some intimate and thrilling memory of the ministry of ,jesus4 ,christ once more stands among the common things of life2 the fire1 the fish1 the bread--all common things2 a group of tired1 hungry fishers--all common men2 and ,he is there to affirm that in ,his resurrection ,he had not broken ,his bond with men1 but strengthened it--wherever common life goes on there is ,jesus still4 ,i4 ,notice the words with which the story opens1 and you will see at once that this is the real clue to its interpretation4 ,when morning had now come1 ,jesus stood on the shore1 but the disciples knew not that it was ,jesus4 ,a strange thing that6 ,why did they not know ,him8 ,because they were not looking for ,him in such a scene4 ,it had seemed a natural thing1 if ,jesus should appear at all1 that ,he should appear in the garden1 a vision of life at the very altar of death4 ,it seemed yet more probable and appropriate that ,he should appear in the upper room1 that room made sacred by holiest love and memory4 ,if any words of ,christ yet lingered in the mind and had power to thrill them1 they were surely these words1 ,ye shall see the ,son of man coming in the clouds of heaven1 glorified1 triumphant1 lifted far above the earth and its humble life4 ,and so1 if they were looking for ,christ at all that morning1 ,i think they watched the morning clouds1 expecting ,him to come down the resplendent staircase of the sunbeams to call the nations together and vindicate ,himself in acts of universal judgment4 ,and behold6 ,jesus comes as a fisherman standing on the lakeside1 busy over a little fire1 where the morning meal is cooking2 and behold6 ,jesus speaks1 and it is not of the eternal mysteries of ,god1 not of the solemn secrets of the grave1 but of nets and fishing and how to cast the nets--the simple concerns of simple men engaged in humble tasks4 ,no wonder they did not recognize ,him4 ,once more the ,son of ,man comes eating and drinking1 and even the eyes that knew ,him best can not see in this human figure by the lakeside the only begotten ,son of the ,father1 full of grace and truth4 ,they looked and saw but a fellow fisherman1 cooking his meal upon the shore1 and they knew not that it was ,jesus4 ,,ii4 ,think for a moment of the earthly life of ,christ1 and you will see that it was designedly linked with all the common and even the commonest things of life4 ,if you or ,i could have conceived the great thought of some human creature that should be the very incarnation of ,god1 what would have been the shape of our imaginings8 ,surely we should have chosen for this earthly temple of the ,highest some human form perfected in grace and beauty by the long refinements of exalted ancestry2 the child of kings or scholars2 the delicate flower of life1 in whom the elements were so subtly mixed that we should recognize them as special and miraculous--so we might think of ,god manifest in man4 ,but ,god chooses for the habitation of ,his ,spirit a peasant woman of ,nazareth1 humble1 poor1 unconsidered4 ,if we could have forecast the training of such a life1 how should we have pictured it8 ,surely as sheltered from the coarseness of the world1 delicately nourished1 sedulously cultured2 but ,god orders that this life should manifest itself in the house of the village carpenter1 out of reach of schools1 in a little wicked town1 under the commonest conditions of poverty1 obscurity1 and toil4 ,if you and ,i could have imagined the introduction of this life of lives to the world1 how should we picture that8 ,surely we should have pictured it coming with pomp and display that would at once have attracted all eyes2 but ,god orders that it shall come without observation1 unfolding its quiet beauty like the wayside flower1 which there are few to see and very few to love4 ,commonness3 that is the great note of the incarnation and the purposed feature of ,christ's earthly life4 ,he reaffirms ,his fraternity in common life4 ,the disciples could not imagine that as possible2 nor can we4 ,and why not8 ,for two reasons1 one of which is that we have forgotten the dignity of common life4 #a4 ,dignity is for us almost synonymous with some kind of separation from common life2 it dwells in palaces1 not in cottages2 it inheres in culture1 but is inconceivable in narrow knowledge2 and to the great mass of men it is1 alas6 the attribute of wealth1 of fine raiment1 of social isolation4 ,but we have not learned even the alphabet of ,christ's gospel unless we have come to see that the only true indignity in human life is sin1 meanness1 malevolence1 and small-heartedness2 and that all life is dignified where there are love1 purity1 and piety in it1 whatever be its social category4 ,i read the other day that it is probable that the very mire of the ,london streets contains that mysterious substance known as radium1 the most tremendous agent of light and heat ever yet discovered by man2 so in man himself1 however low his state1 there is the spark of ,god1 an ember lit at the altar fires of the ,eternal1 and it is because we forget this that we forget the dignity of common life4 ,for we do forget it4 ,we may make our boast that a single human soul is of more value than all the splendors and immensities of matter2 but in our actions we treat the boast as a mere rhetorical expression4 ,there is nothing so cheap as men and women--let the lords of commerce answer if it be not so4 ,but ,christ acted as tho the boast were true4 ,he deliberately inwove ,his life into all that is commonest in life4 ,he has made it impossible for us1 if indeed we have ,his spirit1 to think of any salient aspect of human life without thinking of ,him4 ,where childhood is1 there is ,bethlehem2 where sorrow is1 there is ,gethsemane2 where death is1 there is ,calvary2 where the toiler is1 there is the poor man of ,nazareth2 and where the beggar is1 there is ,he who had no place where to lay ,his head4 ,there is not a drop of blood of ,christ1 nor a throb of thought in our brains that is not thrilling with the impact of this divine life of lives4 ,and so the true dignity of life is this1 that ,christ is in all men1 faintly outlined it may be1 defaced1 half-obliterated1 but there1 and the ,church that forgets this has neither impulse nor mandate for ,christ's work among men4 #b4 ,and then1 again1 there is a second reason3 we have not learned to look for ,christ among the common things of life4 ,let us build three tabernacles1 said the wondering disciples on the ,mount of ,transfiguration1 and the speech betrayed a tendency of thought which was in time to prove fatal to the ,church4 ,the ,christ without a tabernacle1 the free1 familiar ,christ of the lake or the wayside was everybody's ,christ2 but the moment ,christ is shut up in a church or a tabernacle ,he becomes the priest's ,christ1 the thinker's ,christ1 the devotee's ,christ1 but ,he ceases to be the people's ,christ4 ,i remember five years ago standing in the great church of ,assisi1 which has been erected over and encloses the little humble chapel where ,francis first received his call4 ,you will scarcely be surprized if ,i confess that ,i turned with a sense of heart-sick indignation from the pomp of that splendid service in the gorgeous church to the thought of ,francis1 in his worn robe1 going up and down these neighboring roads1 touching the lepers1 calling them ,god's patients1 pouring out his life for the poor2 and ,i knew ,christ nearer to me on the roads that ,francis trod than in that church1 which is his mausoleum rather than his monument4 ,and as ,i felt that day in far-off ,umbria1 so ,i have felt to-day in ,england2 my heart goes out to ,catherine ,booth2 to ,father ,dolling1 to these ,christs of the wayside1 and it turns more and more from the kind of ,christ who lives in churches and nowhere else4 ,my brethren1 you will let me say that we do but make the church ,christ's prison when we forget that all the realm of life is ,his4 ,oh1 you good people1 you do love your church1 but often think and act as tho the presence of ,christ can be found nowhere else4 ,lift up your eyes and see this risen ,christ1 a fisherman upon the shore1 busy in no loftier task than to have a meal prepared for hungry fishermen4 ,unlock your church doors1 let ,christ go out among common people2 nay1 go yourselves1 for it is here that ,he would have you be4 ,remember that wherever there is toil1 there is the ,christ who toiled2 and there you should be1 with the kind glance1 the warm hand-grasp1 and the loving warmth of brotherhood4 ,christ stands amid the common things of life2 where the fire is lit1 there is ,he2 where the bread is broken1 there is ,he2 where the net of business gain is drawn1 there is ,he2 and only as we learn to see ,him everywhere shall we understand the dignity and the divinity of human life4 ,,iii4 ,and ,jesus said unto them1 ,cast the net on the right side of the ship1 and ye shall find4 ,they cast1 and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes4 ,here is another strange thing4 ,christ knows more about the management of their own business than they do4 ,they had toiled all night and caught nothing2 is not that a significant description of many human lives8 ,children1 have ye any meat8 asks that quiet ,voice from the shore1 and they answer ,no4 ,is not that yet more pathetically significant8 ,all the heartbreak and disappointment of the world cry aloud in that confession4 ,oh1 ,i could fill an hour with the mere recital of the names of great and famous people who have toiled through a long life1 and as the last gray hour came over their dim sea of life1 brackish with the salt of human tears1 have acknowledged with infinite bitterness that they have caught nothing4 ,listen to the voice of ,goethe1 ,in all my seventy-five years ,i have not had four weeks of genuine well-being2 to the confession of our own famous poet1 ,my life is in the yellow leaf1 ,the flowers1 the fruits of love are gone2 ,the worm1 the canker1 and the grief ,are mine alone4 to the ambitious and successful statesman who says1 ,youth is folly1 manhood is struggle1 old age regret2 to one of our most brilliant women of genius in our own generation1 wife of a still more brilliant husband1 who cries1 ,i married for ambition1 and ,i am miserable4 ,surely there is some tragic mismanagement of the great business of living here4 ,oh1 brother1 is it true of you1 that after all the painful years happiness is not yours8 ,you have no meat1 no food on which the heart feeds1 no green pasture in the soul1 no table in the wilderness1 and the last gray day draws near and will find you still hungering for what life ,has never given you4 ,learn1 then1 that ,christ knows more about the proper management of your life than you do4 ,cast your net on the right side of the ship1 speaks that quiet ,voice from the shore4 ,and you know what happened4 ,and it is so still4 ,just because ,christ stands among the common things of life1 ,he knows most about life1 and1 above all1 ,he knows where the golden fruit of happiness is found and where the secret wells of peace4 ,and to some of us whom ,god has called to be fishers of men the issue is yet more solemn4 ,we have the boat and the nets1 all this elaborate organization of the ,church1 but have we caught anything this year8 ,where is the draft of fishes8 ,where are the men and women saved by our triumphant effort8 ,i will make my humble confession this morning1 that for five-and-twenty years ,i have cast the net1 but only lately have ,i found the right side of the ship2 only lately have ,i discovered how easy it is to get the great draft of fishes by simply going to work in ,christ's way4 ,i do not believe in the indifference of the masses in religion2 the indifference is not in the masses1 but in the churches4 ,you will never catch many fish if you stand upon the shore of cold respectability and wait for them to come2 launch out into the deep and you will find them4 ,go for them--that is ,christ's method4 ,compel them to come in1 for remember ,christ's ideal was1 as ,bishop ,lightfoot so nobly put it1 the universal compulsion of the souls of men4 ,and if your experience is like mine1 you will find that there is strangely little compulsion needed to bring men and women to ,christ4 ,i stood but lately in a house where fifty fallen women lived2 ,i went there to rescue three of its unhappy inmates4 ,when the moment came to take these three women from their life of sin1 their comrades lined the passage to shake my hand2 there were tears and prayers1 and messages like these1 ,be good4 ,you'll be a good woman1 ,we wish we had your chance2 and these poor souls in their inferno wished me a happy ,new-year4 ,compulsion6 ,there was small need for compulsion there6 ,i believe ,i could have rescued all of these fifty women at one stroke had ,i known where to take them4 ,but to the shame of the ,free ,churches in ,london ,i confess that1 with the exception of the ,wesleyans and the ,salvation ,army1 ,i do not know a single ,free ,church ,rescue ,home in ,london4 ,and ,i put it to you this morning whether you can any longer tolerate that omission8 ,i ask you whether you really want a great draft of fishes1 for you can have them if you want them4 ,christ knows the business better than you do2 and if you will come out of the cloister of the church and seek the people in ,his spirit1 ,i promise you that very soon you will not be able to drag the net for the multitude of fishes4 ,,iv4 ,and ,jesus said unto them1 ,come and dine4 ,dine on what8 ,not the fish which they had caught4 ,they had caught one hundred and fifty-three great fishes2 but notice ,christ's fire was kindled before they came4 ,christ's fish was already laid thereon1 and all they had to do was to come and dine4 ,it is all you have to do1 all the churches have to do4 ,did not ,christ so put it in the parable of the ,great ,supper8--,come1 for all things are ready4 ,is not the last word of ,scripture the great invitation8--,the ,spirit and the ,bride say1 ,come1 and whosoever will1 let him come1 and take of the water of life freely4 ,many a church can not say to a hungry world1 ,come and dine1 because it will not let ,christ prepare the meal4 ,it will not live in ,his spirit1 it has no real faith in ,his gospel1 it does not understand that its true strength is not in elaborate organization or worship1 but in simple reliance on ,his grace4 ,and so there is the table covered with elaborate confections1 which are not bread1 and when it says1 ,come and dine1 men will not come1 for they know that there is nothing there for them4 ,let ,christ prepare the meal and all is different then4 ,when ,he says1 ,come and dine1 there is enough for each1 enough for all1 enough for evermore4 ,and as ,jesus spoke1 ,i think there flashed upon the memory of these men the scene when ,jesus fed the five thousand1 and by that memory they knew their ,jesus4 ,no one else ever spoke like that1 with such certainty and such authority4 ,and the same ,voice speaks even now to your hunger-bitten soul1 to your famished heart1 ,come and dine4 ,v4 ,then ,jesus taketh bread and giveth them1 and fish likewise4 ,there is no mistaking the act2 it was a sacramental act4 ,here1 upon the lake shore1 without a church1 without an altar1 the true feast of the ,lord was observed4 ,for what does the ,holy ,supper1 which is the bond and seal of the ,church's fellowship1 stand for1 if it is not for this1 the sanctification of the common life8 ,bread and wine1 the commonest of all foods to an ,oriental1 are elements indeed1 because they are necessary to the most elementary form of physical life1 things used daily in the humblest home4 ,by linking ,himself imperishably with these commonest elements of life1 ,christ makes it impossible to forget ,him4 ,once more the thought shines clear1 ,jesus among the common things of life4 ,and then there comes one last touch in the beautiful story4 ,while these things happened1 the day was breaking4 ,is there one of us long tossed on sunless seas of doubt1 long conscious of failure and disappointment in life8 ,are there those of us whose sorrow lies deeper than that which is personal--sorrow over our failure in ,christ's work1 pain over a life's ministry for ,christ that has known no victorious evangel8 ,turn your eyes from that barren sea to ,him who stands upon the shore2 ,he shall yet make you a fisher of men4 ,turn your eyes from that bleak1 dark sea of wasted effort where you have fared so ill2 it is always dark till ,jesus comes1 it is always light when ,he has come4 ,there is a new day breaking for the churches--a day of widespread evangelistic triumphs that shall eclipse all the greatest triumphs of the past1 if we will but go back to ,christ's school and learn of ,him how to save the people4 ,and to each of us ,he says to-day3 ,i am the living bread2 ,i am the bread of life come down from heaven4 ,if any man eat of this bread1 he shall live forever4 ,come and dine4 ,will you come8 ,,smith ,,assurance ,,in ,,god ,,biographical ,,note ,,george ,,adam ,,smith1 divine1 educator and author1 was born at ,calcutta in #ahef1 and educated at ,new ,college1 ,edinburgh1 ,scotland4 ,he is at present professor of ,old ,testament ,language1 ,literature and ,theology in the ,united ,free ,church ,college1 ,glasgow4 ,he is author of ,the ,historical ,geography of the ,holy ,land1 ,jerusalem1 the ,topography1 ,economics and ,history from the ,earliest ,time to ,a4,d4 #gj 7#aijh74 ,he is generally regarded as one of the most gifted preachers of ,scotland4 ,,smith ,born in #ahef ,,assurance ,,in ,,god ,preserve me1 ,o ,god4--,psalm xvi41 #af4 ,the psalmist lived in a period when belief in the reality of many gods was still strong1 and when a man who would follow the one true ,god had to prefer to do so against the attractions of other deities and against the convictions of a great number of his fellow countrymen that these deities were living and powerful4 ,that stage of religion is so distant from ourselves that we may imagine the psalmist's example to be of no practical value for our faith1 yet in such an imagination we should be very much mistaken indeed1 for1 to begin with1 consider how much you and ,i to-day owe to those believers who so many centuries ago rejected all the gods that offered themselves to the hearts of men except the true ,god1 and who chose to cleave to ,him alone with all that passionate loyalty which breathes through these verses4 ,but for them you and ,i could not be standing where we are in religion to-day4 ,as the eleventh of ,hebrews reminds us1 we are the spiritual heir of such believers4 ,it is to their struggles and their faith and their victories that we greatly owe it that we have been born into an atmosphere in which no religious belief is possible to us save in one ,god who is ,spirit and ,righteousness and all ,truth4 ,that1 then1 was the great choice that the psalmist's faith was turning to--a choice that was no mere assent to a creed that had been fought for and established by previous generations of believers4 ,it was the man's own proving of things unseen and his own preference of those against the crowd and a system of things seen1 palpable1 and very powerful in their attraction for the senses of humanity4 ,but we are not to suppose that the rival deities1 from which this man turned to the unseen ,god1 were to his mind or to the mind of his day the heap of dead and ugly idols which we know them to be4 ,they were not dead things that he could kick away with his feet that these believers had to reject when they sought the living ,god1 but things which he and his contemporaries felt to be alive and powerful2 powerful alike in their seduction and in their vengeance4 ,they were believed to be identical1 as you know1 with the forces of nature2 they were supposed to be indispensable to the welfare of the individual and of society1 and they were fanatically supported at the time by the mass of this man's own countrymen2 so that to break from them in those days meant to abandon ancient opinions and habits1 to resist many pleasant and natural temptations and to incur the hostility1 as was believed1 of the powers of nature1 to break with customs and with rites that had fortified and consoled the individual heart for generations and been the support and sanction of society and of the state as well4 ,yet this man did it4 ,from all that living crowd and system1 from all those visible temptations and terrors he turned to the unseen1 fully conscious of his danger1 for he opens his ,psalm with a great cry1 ,preserve me1 preserve me1 ,o ,god6 but yet deliberately1 and with all his heart3 ,i have said unto the ,lord1 ,thou art my ,lord4 ,i have no goodness1 no happiness1 that is outside ,thee or outside the saints that are in the land1 the excellent in whom is all my delight4 ,here we touch another great characteristic of all true faith which is full of example to ourselves4 ,it is remarkable how1 when a man really turns to ,god1 he turns to ,god's people as well1 and how he includes them in the loyalty and in the devotion which he feels toward his ,redeemer4 ,his confidence and the sensitiveness of his faith in and toward ,god become almost an equal confidence and an equal sensitiveness toward his fellow believers4 ,so it is throughout ,scripture2 you remember that other psalmist who tells us how he had been tempted to doubt ,god's providence and ,god's power to help the good man--does ,god know and is there knowledge in the ,most ,high8 ,verily ,i have cleansed my heart in vain and washed my hands in innocency4 ,the psalmist immediately adds3 ,if ,i had spoken thus1 behold ,i had dealt treacherously with the generation of ,god's children4 ,if ,i had spoken thus1 denying ,god1 ,i had dealt treacherously with the generation of ,god's children4 ,unbelief toward ,god meant to him treason toward ,god's people2 and the author of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews affirms the same double character of true faith when he emphasizes just these two points in the faith of ,moses3 choosing to suffer affliction with the people of ,god1 and enduring as seeing ,him who is invisible1 and ,god ,himself through ,jesus ,christ has accepted this partnership of ,his people in our loyalty--,inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto me4 ,i do not believe in the full faith of any man who does not extend the loyalty he professes to ,god to ,god's people as well1 who does not feel as sensitive to his brethren on earth as he does to his ,father in heaven1 who does not practise piety toward the ,church as he does toward her ,head1 or find in her fellowship and her service a joy and a gladness which is one with his deep joy in ,god1 his ,redeemer4 ,nay1 is it not just in loving people who are still imperfect1 often disappointing1 and far from their ideal it may be1 that in our relations to them we are to find the greater proof and test of our religious faith8 ,in these days such a duty is unfortunately more complicated than with the psalmist4 ,the lines between ,god's ,church and the world is not so clear as it was to him1 and the ,church is divided into many and often hostile factions4 ,all the more it becomes the test of our religion if our hearts feel and rejoice in the fellowship of ,god's simpler and more needy and more devoted believers1 however unattractive they may otherwise be4 ,consider the way in which the psalmist reached this pure faith in ,god and in ,his people4 ,a factor in the process was distaste for the ugly rites of idolatry--,their drink-offerings of blood will ,i not offer4 ,idolatry always develops a loathsome ritual4 ,sometimes it is cruel and sometimes it is horribly unclean1 but it always debases the worshiper's mind1 confuses his conscience1 and hampers his freedom and energy by the burdensome ceremonies it imposes upon them4 ,standing afar off from them as we do1 and knowing that there is no heathen religion but has something good in it1 we are apt to think that it does not in the least matter how crude or how material a nation's faith be if only it be faith in something more powerful than themselves1 if it satisfy their consciences and have some influence in disciplining society and helping the individual to control himself4 ,but you have only to see idolatry at work1 and at work with the habits of ages upon it1 to recognize how terrible it can be in its identification of sheer filth and cruelty with the interests of religion1 and how it at once demoralizes and paralyzes its adherents4 ,to see it thus is to understand the passionate horror of these words3 ,their drink-offering of blood will ,i not offer4 ,it is1 however1 no mere recoil from the immoral which started the spring of this psalmists's faith in ,god4 ,that faith was formed on personal experience of ,god ,himself4 ,in simple but pregnant phrases the psalmist tells us how sure he has become1 first1 of ,god's providence in his life2 secondly1 of ,god's intimate communion with his soul4 ,god1 he says1 had been everything in his life4 ,one does not know whether the psalmist was a prosperous man or a poor one2 the inference that he was prosperous and rich has sometimes been drawn1 but wrongly drawn1 from one of the verses of the ,psalm4 ,his indifference to that is clear1 but what he did have he knew he had from ,god4 ,god1 he says1 is all his happiness and all his strength--,the ,lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup2 thou maintainest my lot4 ,whether poor or prosperous he could say3 ,the lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places2 yea1 ,i have a goodly heritage4 ,now that assurance of divine leading is not analyzable1 but we know that it does grow up solid and sure in the experience of simple men who have put their trust in ,god1 who have felt life to be a commission from ,him and who have done their duty obeying ,his call4 ,with such men all things work together for good4 ,tho life about them shake and darken1 they feel their own solidity and have light enough to read the future4 ,tho stript and stark1 they feel the ,lord ,himself to be the portion of their inheritance and of their cup4 ,the portion of my inheritance the ,lord is1 i4e41 the little bit of land that fell to each ,israelite as his share in the promised inheritance of the nation4 ,the ,lord is the portion of mine inheritance1 as we might say in our ,scotch language1 ,the ,lord is my croft and my cup1 so they find in ,him all the ground and the freedom they need to do their work1 fulfil their relationships1 and develop their manhood4 ,it is1 however1 with the psalmist's second reason for his faith we have most to do4 ,i will bless the ,lord1 who hath given me counsel3 my reins also instruct me in the night seasons4 ,this man held close communion with ,god4 ,is it not great to find the testimony of a brother man coming down all through those ages1 from that dim and distant past1 clear and sure as to this1 that he had ,god's counsel and that ,god kept communion with him8 ,god had spoken to this man and shown him ,his will4 ,yes1 he had received what we call inspiration and revelation1 and had proved the truth of these in his life4 ,they had led and they had lifted him4 ,nor had they come to him as many men falsely suppose revelation and inspiration exclusively have come to mankind1 by means1 namely1 that were extraordinary and miraculous4 ,the psalmist tells us of no vision of angels1 of no voice from heaven4 ,the ,lord had not appeared to him in dreams nor by any marvelous signs2 on the other hand1 he tells us simply that the divine counsel of which he was so sure1 and which he passes on to us1 came to him through the workings of his inner spiritual life4 ,that is what he means by the emphatic statement yea1 my reins instruct me in the night seasons1 which he adds parallel with the thought1 ,i will bless the ,lord1 who hath given me counsel4 ,according to the primitive physiology of this man's nation and times1 the reins of a man fulfil the same intellectual function which we1 with our larger knowledge1 know are discharged by the brain4 ,this was how ,god's revelation came to this brother of ours1 through the working of his mind and conscience1 but it was in the night seasons that they worked1 not in the day and in the sunshine1 but in the night when a man is left to himself with only this advantage to his thought3 that like the blind he is yet undistracted by the influences which are seen4 ,when he lies down he thinks soberly and quietly about himself and about life and about ,god1 and about the great hidden future that is waiting for him4 ,he was communing with ,god1 who had made his brain and used it as an instrument of revelation4 ,in these thoughts ,god was communing with man through his reason and through his conscience4 ,you and ,i are always contrasting ,god's providence and ,his grace4 ,we are always attempting to oppose reason and revelation2 to this man they were one4 ,god's great grace had come to him through ,god's own providence1 and ,god's revelation was ministered to him through the reason with which he had endowed the creature ,he had made in ,his own image4 ,this psalmist's chief and practical help to us men and women today is that he became sure of ,god not because of any miracle or supernatural sign1 on his report of which we might be content indolently to rest our faith1 but in ,god's own providence in his life and in ,god's quiet communion with him through the organs ,god ,himself has created in every one of us4 ,for all time1 whether before or after ,christ1 these are the chief grounds and foundations of faith in ,god4 ,so it was in the ,old ,testament--stand in awe and sin not1 commune with your own heart upon your bed and be still1 be still and know that ,i am ,god4 ,so with ,christ1 for the kingdom of heaven cometh not with observation1 but the kingdom of heaven is within you1 and so with ,paul1 the ,spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit1 that we are the children of ,god1 and if children then heirs1 heirs of ,god and joint heirs with ,christ4 ,for this cause ,i bow my knees unto the ,father of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 444 that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man2 that ,christ may dwell in your hearts by faith1 to the end that ye being rooted and grounded in love may come to apprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height and to know the love of ,christ4 ,god's guidance of his life1 first of all1 produces in a man a great sense of stability4 ,i have set the ,lord always before me3 because he is at my right hand ,i shall not be moved4 ,he who has found ,god so careful of him1 he whom ,god hath regarded as worth speaking to and counseling and disciplining1 will be certain that he shall endure1 provided he is sure of his own loyalty4 ,the life so loved of ,god1 so provided for1 and in such close communion with the ,eternal is not1 can not be the creature of the day1 and this assurance stands firm in face of even death and the horrible corruption of the body4 ,the psalmist refuses to believe that he is to dwell in the horrible under-world forever--either himself or any of ,god's believers4 ,thou must not1 thou wilt not leave my soul in sheol1 thou must not1 thou wilt not suffer thy loved ones to see the pit4 ,to this man it is incredible1 and our hearts bear witness to the truth if we have had any experience of ,god's blessing and guidance4 ,to this man it is incredible that the life ,god has cared for and guided and spoken to and brought into such intimate communion with himself can find its end in death4 ,those whom ,god has loyally loved and who have loyally loved ,god--for this word badly translated holy in the psalms really has that actual significance--those whom ,god has loyally loved and who have loyally loved ,god shall never die4 ,as ,he lives so shall they2 they shall never be absent from ,his presence4 ,be the future unknown and unknowable1 be we ourselves incapable of conceiving the processes by which this mortal shall put on immortality1 or where heaven is1 or what eternity can possibly be to those who have never lived outside time1 yet that future is secure and its immortal character is indubitable--where ,god is there shall ,his servants be1 and because ,he is there their life shall be peace and joy1 and because ,he is eternal it shall last forevermore4 ,that thought is the whole of the hope and argument4 ,we are assured of the future life because we have known ,god1 and as we have found ,him to be true to us and proved ourselves true to ,him4 ,,gunsaulus ,,the ,,bible ,,vs4 ,,infidelity ,,biographical ,,note ,frank ,wakely ,gunsaulus was born at ,chesterville1 ,ohio1 in #ahef4 ,he graduated from ,ohio ,wesleyan ,university in #ahge4 ,for some years he was pastor of ,plymouth ,church1 ,chicago1 and since #ahii pastor of ,central ,church1 ,chicago4 ,he is also president of the ,armour ,institute of ,technology4 ,he is a fascinating speaker1 having a clear1 resonant voice1 and a dignified presence4 ,his mind is a storehouse of the best literature1 and his ,english style is noteworthy for its purity and richness4 ,he is the author of several books and is in popular demand as a lecturer4 ,,gunsaulus ,born in #ahef ,,the ,,bible ,,vs4 ,,infidelity#a ,footnote #a3 ,preached as an impromptu reply to ,r4,g4 ,ingersoll4 ,printed from an unrevised stenographic report4 ,there are1 it may be1 so many kinds of voices in the world1 and none of them is without signification4--,i ,cor4 xiv41 #aj4 ,ours is a voiceful era4 ,perhaps1 as the ages come and go and man's life grows richer1 its questions more restless for answer1 its moral supports called upon to bear heavier interests of faith1 its enterprises more often and searchingly compelled to defend themselves1 the voices of time will be increasingly potent and worthy of his attention4 ,a singularly suggestive collection of messages fills the air today1 and all of these voices speak of one theme--the ,bible4 ,anarchy1 which is always atheistic1 holds its converse in the places of evil which this book's message would close forever2 the foes of that civilization builded on its laws and stimulated by its hopes asks us to condemn it as worthy only of caricature1 vituperation1 and hate4 ,let us find a path of duty today1 not refusing to listen to any of these voices1 but asking that other voices also may help us to the truth4 ,the preacher's message is a book called the ,bible4 ,that is only the literary form of his message--telling its history4 ,even that form1 which is much less divine as paper and ink are less lofty in the scale than humanity1 has worked wonders4 ,to-day1 the ,bible offers the nineteenth-century infidel as testimony of the influence it has4 ,it has force enough to make infidelity preach tearfully and well about man1 woman1 and child4 ,skepticism did not do so well until the ,bible came4 ,the ,bible has furnished the eloquence of infidelity with such a man as ,shakespeare to talk about2 no student of literature could imagine ,shakespeare without the ,bible and the ,bible's influence upon him as he created his dreams4 ,it furnished an ,abraham ,lincoln for an orator to compare favorably with incomplete ideas of ,almighty ,god2 but it seems to have been unable to show the critic that ,christian ideas of ,almighty ,god made ,lincoln so love the ,lord's ,prayer that he wanted a church builded with this as its creed4 ,it would seem that any general denunciation or humorous caricature of a book which has worked such an amazing effect in literature as has the ,bible would be tempered by some recognition of the fact that these other minds--poets1 orators1 sages1 and scientists--have found illumination and help in its pages4 ,liberal ,christianity will be intellectually broad4 ,certainly the greatest of modern pagans1 ,goethe1 will not be accused of favoritism toward the ,bible1 yet he said3 ,i esteem the gospels to be thoroughly genuine1 for there shines forth from them the reflected splendor of a sublimity1 proceeding from the person of ,jesus ,christ1 of so divine a kind as only the divine could ever have manifested upon earth4 ,the ,earl of ,rochester saw that the only liberalism which objects to the ,bible1 in its true uses1 is the liberalism of licentiousness2 and he left this saying3 ,a bad heart is the great argument against this holy book4 ,and ,faraday1 weeping1 said3 ,why will people go astray when they have this blest book to guide them8 ,if we turn to literature we encounter many such liberal thinkers as ,theodore ,parker1 who calmly informs us3 ,this collection of books has taken such a hold upon the world as has no other4 ,the literature of ,greece1 which goes up like incense from that land of temples and heroic deeds1 has not half the influence of this book4 ,it goes equally to the cottage of the plain man and the palace of the king4 ,it is woven into the literature of the scholar and colors the talk of the street4 ,that is the voice of the liberalism which includes rather than excludes4 ,these were men not of the band of evangelical ,christian preachers1 who are roughly classed as a set of persons unable to tell the truth about the ,bible1 for fear they may lose their means of subsistence2 these are men who know the true mission of the ,bible4 ,it is not to furnish a picture of life in the time of ,moses such as life ought to be1 a portrait of a ,david for the imitation of men1 a statue of a warrior in a time of barbarism who shall command my obedience to his commands now1 an idea of ,god wrought out in ignorance and darkness1 which has no self-development within it4 ,the mission of the ,bible is to furnish a humanly written account of a people1 just as human as we1 in whom1 by divine inspiration1 the soul of truth so lived and worked as to develop1 in gradual course1 by laws1 by hopes1 by loves1 by life1 a living1 and1 at last1 perfectly authoritative ideal of righteousness1 but more than all a gradual growth of such moral power as would be commanding in the redeeming self-sacrifice and love of ,jesus ,christ4 ,every page of the ,old ,testament was only preparatory1 as the thorny bush is preparatory for the rose4 ,christ is the end of the long1 weary human history that leads to ,him4 ,if the laws of ,sinai had been enough1 there never would have been a ,calvary4 ,no one for a moment dreams that the ,god of nature could have brought forth such a fruit as the life and ideas of ,jesus without a tree of such a history1 a tree rooted in the ground1 storm-twisted1 gnarled1 and valuable only for its fruit4 ,we are not asked to eat the roots and bark and branches2 only the fruit has an appeal to us4 ,its appeal is to our hunger1 its authority lies in the fact that it satisfies our hunger4 ,it has satisfied the hunger of men whose liberalism came from their being made liberally4 ,large and capacious souls of mighty yearnings are they4 ,they stand in contrast with the puny critics who assert that the ,bible fails to feed them1 because they have never tasted its nourishment4 ,liberal ,christianity1 separating itself from the dogmatism which would make ,christianity a book religion1 worshiping a literary idol rather than loving a human revelation of the divine1 knows it is not an ignorant lot of men and women who have received most from the ,bible and spoken most gratefully of its message4 ,when we think of sending the ,bible to barbarism1 with the hope of creating in its stead civilization1 we can look into the face of ,john ,selden1 one of the most illustrious of ,english lawyers1 when he says3 ,i have surveyed most of the learning that is among the sons of men1 yet at this moment ,i can recall nothing in them on which to rest my soul1 save one from the sacred ,scriptures1 which rises much on my mind4 ,it is this3 ',the grace of ,god1 which bringeth salvation1 hath appeared unto all men1 teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts1 we should live soberly1 righteously1 and godly in this present world1 looking for that blest hope and the glorious appearing of the great ,god and our ,savior ,jesus ,christ1 who gave himself for us that he might redeem us unto himself1 a peculiar people zealous of good works4' ,liberal religion must include ,selden4 ,we will not be deterred from giving the ,bible to heathenism of any kind when we remember that ,sir ,william ,jones has left these words3 ,the ,scriptures contain more true sublimity1 more exquisite beauty1 and finer strains of poetry and eloquence than could be collected from all other books that were ever composed in any age or in any idiom4 ,liberal religion must be as broad as ,sir ,william ,jones4 ,this is a very needy world1 and many are the institutions of evil that need to be changed for institutions of goodness4 ,if we are to believe the eloquence of hopeless unbelief1 we ourselves will only be the slaves of a fatalism which says that man is but a result of forces2 that what we call crime is but a part of the necessary course of things1 and that there is no such thing as moral responsibility4 ,this makes all reform or efforts at staying the tide of evil useless4 ,oftentimes the heart of the man who has ceased to read his ,bible gets the victory over this dreadful philosophy1 and it is not remarkable that the skeptic becomes the exponent of freedom1 charging like a host of war upon all institutions of slavery4 ,liberal theology puts its one hand on the dogmatist who tells him to accept literal infallibility1 and its other on the sincere lover of men who has lost his ,bible entirely4 ,and liberalism says3 ,it is in just such moments that we trust our ,bible the most1 and we remember that ,william ,wilberforce1 who lifted the chains from the bondmen1 has said3 ,i never knew happiness until ,i found ,christ as a ,savior4 ,read the ,bible6 ,bead the ,bible6 ,through all my perplexities and distresses ,i never read any other book1 ,i never knew the want of any other4 ,we are certainly not despising the science which is worthy of a name1 nor are we forgetting any proposition which has found a place in the world's thought1 if we look into the face of ,sir ,john ,herschel1 who tells us that all human discoveries seem to be made only for the purpose of confirming more and more strongly the truths contained in the holy ,scriptures4 ,it is truly no part of wisdom for us to conclude that for scientific reasons we ought to forsake our ,bible when ,professor ,dana avers3 ,the grand old book of ,god still stands2 and this old earth1 the more its leaves are turned and pondered1 the more will it sustain and illustrate the sacred ,word4 ,surely it is not the hour dogmatically to withdraw this book1 which has proved the basis of civilization4 ,professor ,lyell1 the great ,english geologist1 tells us3 ,in the year #ahjf the ,french ,institute enumerated no less than eighty geological theories which were hostile to the ,scriptures1 but not one of these theories is held today4 ,bacon's remark is still true3 ,there never was found in any age of the world either religion or law that did so highly exalt the public good as the ,bible4 ,and ,john ,marshall and ,prince ,bismarck agree with ,daniel ,webster when he says3 ,if we abide by the principles taught in the ,bible our country will go on prospering and to prosper2 but if we and our posterity neglect its instructions and authority no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory in profound obscurity4 ,there is not an anarchist in ,america who does not clap his hands when he hears a ,bible with the ,ten ,commandments and the ,sermon on the ,mount denounced4 ,indeed1 the civilization in which we stand1 as compared with the barbarism out of which we have been led by the ,bible1 would make ,william ,henry ,seward's assertion only a mild statement of the truth when he says3 ,the whole hope of human progress is suspended on the ever-growing influence of the ,bible4 ,i prefer lawyers like these to lead ,american public opinion4 ,part of the service of these men has been that they have shown theology that the ,bible is not a set of texts on a dead level of authority and equal value1 but the revealing1 slow and sure1 of an inspiration obeyed by a certain people in the realm of morals like that inspiration obeyed by another people in the realm of art1 and its test is3 ,does the ,bible's ultimate message1 its crowning commandment of ,christ's life and love1 produce goodness in morals8 just as the test of the long revelation of beauty in his ancestors and the ,greek is1 does its ultimate commandment produce goodness in art4 ,christianity does not ask3 ,what think ye of the ,bible8 ,it asks3 ,what think ye of ,christ8 ,there the throne is set1 and so majestic is ,his glory that the moment we come into ,his presence we are judged4 ,the ,judge of the earth has taken ,his place in thought1 history and hope4 ,he is not on trial1 and ,he asks no question as to what man thinks of the book which has enthroned ,him in literature4 ,the test is placed in my conduct and yours2 each may say with ,michael ,bruce1 who left these words on the fly-leaf of his ,bible3 ',tis very vain of me to boast ,how small a price this ,bible cost2 ,the day of judgment will make clear ',twas very cheap or very dear4 ,shall we go forward with our ,bible or backward without it8 ,infidelity has always forgotten that1 so far as it has an eye for liberty and humanity1 the ,christianity not of sects but of the ,bible has furnished it and trained it4 ,the liberalism which puts its ,bible aside will acknowledge that a ,christless humanity culminated in ,rome4 ,skepticism is often eloquent when it tries to show how much fragments of ,roman art had to do with the making of modern civilization4 ,now1 as ,rome marks the height to which humanity without a ,bible ascended1 it would seem that this would be just the point where free and untrammeled thought and the fullest intellectual liberty would be found4 ,right there1 where a ,christless race was supreme1 ought to be the place where the liberty abounded which the religion of ,christ is said to destroy4 ,whose program for the production of intellectual and spiritual liberty can liberals accept8 ,hoarse is the cry3 ,the ,bible is to be cast out4 ,we look and behold men who have these opinions sitting on the throne of the ,caesars4 ,now1 one would suppose the intellect of that whole realm would have fair play4 ,there was no ,bible there to fetter or to annoy4 ,this ought to be the halcyon age for the liberty of man1 woman and child4 ,these rulers have the same dignified abhorrence for all kinds of religion4 ,the skeptic ,lucretius says3 ,the fear of the lower world must be sent headlong forth4 ,it poisons life to its lowest depths2 it spreads over all things the blackness of death2 it leaves no pleasure unalloyed4 ,i match the ,roman with the phrase of a recent orator of this school who spoke of the soldiers dead1 as now sleeping beneath the shadows of the clouds1 careless alike of sunshine or of storm1 each in the windowless palace of rest4 ,there was no window in the grave when more illustrious and original skeptics talked about it4 ,modern infidelity has many expressions on the future after death which sound like the old ,roman distich1 ,i was not1 and became2 ,i was1 and am no more4 ,its orator1 bending over the body of his dear brother1 said nothing more touching than did ,tacitus over the grave of ,agricola1 as he wrote3 ,if there is a place for the spirits of the pious2 if1 as the wise suppose1 great souls do not become extinct with their bodies2 if--oh1 that age of if ought to have been an age when every brain was free and no thought or sentiment were a chain4 ,the ,bible of ,christianity was not powerful enough to throttle anybody4 ,its pages were not all written2 its authors were hunted and outcast4 ,morals1 too1 ought to have been all right1 for we are told that they are independent of ,god and ,christ4 ,but what is the fact8 ,strangely enough1 in that age1 when nearly every monarch1 or poet1 or philosopher was a humorous skeptic and they had no ,christian religion to bind their hands1 in an age when nothing but this sort of infidelity was supreme1 ,seneca1 to whom connoisseurs in ethics blandly turn when they grow weary of the strenuous ,paul or the pensive ,john1 ,seneca1 while he wrote a book on poverty1 has a fortune of #ae1jjj1jjj1 with a house full of citrus tables made of veined wood brought from ,mount ,atlas4 ,while he framed moral precepts which we are besought to substitute for the ,sermon on the ,mount1 he was openly accused of constant and shameless iniquity1 and was leading his distinguished and tender pupil1 ,nero1 into those practises and preparing him for those atrocities which ,seneca himself had upon his own soul while he wrote his book on clemency4 ,at that hour the ,bible ,christianity offered to the world's heart and aspiration1 not a book1 not a theorist of morals1 but a man for the leadership of humanity1 and1 of that ,man the literary and calm ,french skeptic says3 ,jesus will never be surpassed4 ,in the age of ,rome1 when people were not burdened by churches or ,bibles1 ,lucian says3 ,if any one loves wealth and is dazed by gold2 if any one measures happiness by purple and power2 if any one brought up among flatterers and slaves has never had a conception of liberty1 frankness and truth2 if any one has wholly surrendered himself to pleasure1 full tables1 carousals1 lewdness1 sorcery1 and deceit1 let him go to ,rome4 ,there was no ,bible either to preach against it or to interfere with it4 ,these things were the product then1 as they are now1 of infidelity4 ,whenever the world wishes a civilization so barbarous as that1 the reviler of the ,bible must create it1 for they have the applause of evil and the good-will of crime4 ,in the age of ,rome1 when this skepticism was the creed of the ,state1 ,nero got tired of the goddess ,astarte1 and murdered his own brother1 his wife1 and his mother1 and the senate was so affected with the same opinion that they heard his justification and proceeded to heap new honors upon him4 ,he threw the preacher ,paul into jail1 but there ,paul wrought out the impulse of ,europe4 ,in the age when the great ,livy said that neglect of gods had come1 ,caligula let loose his imperial frenzy1 and every stream of blood that could be sent toward the sea carried its red tide4 ,in that age when1 like later eloquent critics1 ,ennius said that he did not believe that the gods thought of human beings1 for if the gods concerned themselves about the human race the good would prosper and the bad suffer1 the courtesan was kept for pleasure and the wife for domestic slavery4 ,in that happy age of unbelief1 when ,menander sung the gods do not care for men1 the homes were1 according to ,juvenal1 broken up before the nuptial garland faded2 and according to ,tertullian1 they married only to be divorced4 ,friends exchanged wives2 infanticide and other hellish crimes were common4 ,this is what that spirit1 in its purity1 did for the home1 when there was no ,bible to read at its hearthstone and no ,new ,testament to put into the hands of young lovers departing to make a new rooftree4 ,labor will some day be too liberal to give up its ,bible4 ,in that age1 when ,god was dead2 in that age1 when the gods had abdicated2 they said1 the mechanic's occupation is degrading4 ,a workshop is incompatible with anything noble4 ,the curse of slavery had blotted the name of labor1 and they agreed that a purchased laborer is better than a hired one1 and thousands of prison-like dwellings rose to conceal the myriads of slaves4 ,in that age ,nero1 who had the same opinion about ,god which the vaunting spirit which calls itself liberal has today1 had a golden house as large as a city1 with colonnades a mile long1 and within it a statue of ,nero #abj feet high4 ,that is what the theory of infidelity did for labor and the working man when it was on the throne4 ,do you wonder that from that day to this the carpenter's son of the ,bible has been scoffed at by this infidelity8 ,in that age1 when the theories of infidelity ruled1 the gladiators made wet with their blood the great enclosure of the arena4 ,the women and timid girls of ,rome gave lightly the sign of death4 ,the crowd shook the building with applause as the palpitating body was dragged by a hook into the death-chamber1 and slaves turned up the bloody soil and covered the blood-dabbled earth with sand that the awful amusement might go on4 ,all this was allowed by infidelity in its purity1 before it had been influenced by the ,christian's ,bible into believing that such things are atrocious4 ,oh1 when ,i hear infidelity prate of the horrors of slavery and defend a ,godless theory of the ,state1 ,i remember that those who had it in its purity did not regard the slave as a man4 ,when ,i read the story of slavery and hear an exponent of free thought say1 ,the doctrine that woman is a slave or serf of man--whether it comes from hell or heaven1 from ,god or demon1 from the golden streets of the ,new ,jerusalem1 or the very ,sodom of perdition--is savagery pure and simple1 ,i say1 ,that is so1 but just that was the ruling idea when infidelity was on the throne of ,rome4 ,and only where the ,bible has gone and triumphed has woman the privileges which are thus praised4 ,when ,i hear it said3 ,slavery includes all other crimes4 ,it is the joint product of the kidnaper1 pirate1 thief1 murderer1 and hypocrite4 ,it degrades labor and corrupts leisure4 ,to lacerate the naked back1 to sell wives1 to steal babes1 to debauch your soul--this is slavery1 ,i answer3 ,that is so1 and ,i add that all these and a thousand other damnable features of slavery were seen in ,rome when the whole ,roman people felt and spoke about the message of the ,bible just as your type of liberalism does today4 ,to all this wretched state of man what offers came from ,seneca1 whom skepticism quotes as a moralist8 ,why1 he said3 ,admire only thyself2 and when he saw that a man must get out of himself1 he said3 ,give thyself to philosophy4 ,not philosophy1 but the power of the ,bible's ,christ has lifted man upward to his highest life4 ,if ever anti-,christianity had a chance to show its beauty1 it was when it was at its supreme strength1 and when ,christianity was a babe in the manger2 and these are only suggestions of the hell it dug for man at ,rome4 ,you say that it was not what skepticism is at the present day1 and ,i acknowledge that it is so4 ,why8 ,because nineteen centuries have rolled like waves of light between1 and ,christ has improved it in spite of itself4 ,never had the world so good a chance to see what almost absolute skepticism and unbelief could and would do for the liberty of the human soul as then4 ,but when the thrones of ,rome were occupied with men who held the same opinion of the ,bible as he does today1 what was the freedom of the race8 ,the scene all comes back4 ,here is a little1 obscure set of poor people who follow the words and life of the son of a carpenter4 ,they are powerful in nothing that ,rome calls power4 ,but ,rome says that they shall not think that way4 ,celsus1 from whom our less scholarly skepticism is ready to borrow arguments1 was not enough for the new thought in the arena of debate1 and they cried for another arena4 ,let us remember that unbelief1 in its purity at that date1 was so offended at nothing as at the fact that the ,church said3 ,christian justice makes all equal who bear the name of man1 and that ,paul said3 ,there is neither bond nor free1 but ye are all one in ,christ ,jesus4 ,nothing so offended the representative of free thought in that period as the fact that a rich ,roman1 in the time of ,trajan1 having become a ,christian1 presented freedom to his #a1bej slaves on an ,easter day4 ,and1 in all that time1 when poor ,christians with the funds of the ,church were privately buying the freedom of slaves1 ,i do not find that a base liberalism believed in liberty4 ,neither did it believe in freedom of thought4 ,it is the blossom of egotism2 it has nothing to which it bows2 it beholds no majesty to which it can look up4 ,it is sublime self-conceit1 and it has no hesitancy in telling the whole human race that at its grandest moments it has been wrong4 ,this egotism dared to become active in ,rome1 and it asked the ,christians1 in the person of the ,emperor1 to worship him1 and to strew incense about him4 ,i will honor the ,emperor1 said ,theophilus1 not by worshiping him1 but by praying for him4 ,such men as that infidelity kindly put to death4 ,around their quivering limbs the infidelity of that day made the fagots to flame1 and it taught the red tongues of cruel death to creep about their smoking bodies4 ,men who believed that the ,bible's influence was what infidelity says it is1 made the funeral pyre for ,polycarp1 the populace bringing fuel for the fire1 and while the flames made a glory of their lambent glare1 he cried out3 ,six and eighty years have ,i served him and he has done me nothing but good1 and how could ,i curse him1 my ,lord and ,savior4 ,if you would know what ,i am1 ,i tell you frankly1 ,i am a ,christian4 ,he did his own thinking1 and was brave enough to avow his opinion1 for which hate of ,christianity duly burned him4 ,this was the way infidelity treated free speech4 ,in that way it unchained the soul of ,polycarp4 ,infidelity's idea of ,christianity sent the martyrs of ,numidia and ,paulus out of the world while they were praying for their murderers4 ,who believed in freedom then8 ,infidelity's idea of the message of the ,bible followed the ,christian like a wild beast1 and in the catacomb of ,calixtus drew from the pursued soul the pathetic exclamation3 ,oh1 sorrowful times1 when we can not even in caves escape our foes6 ,and all this was true1 because they said1 ,recompense to no man evil for evil2 ,pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you4 ,this spirit of hate has had at least one holiday at the expense of ,christian faith4 ,on the night of the #ahth of ,july1 #fd1 ,rome was swept with fire4 ,six days and nights it raged4 ,ruined was the world's metropolis and excited were the wo-stricken people4 ,nero1 whose opinions of ,christianity1 by the way1 were wonderfully like the orator's1 was king1 and the people suspected that this royal monster did it4 ,men told of how he exulted over the sea of flame as he watched it from the tower of ,maecenas2 and whatever the truth of this may be1 it is certain that for the rage of the people ,nero must have a victim1 and ,tacitus tells us that he charged the ,christians with the crime4 ,then opened in ,rome the awful carnival of bloodshed that the orator never mentions1 in which horrible modes of torture and excruciating methods of producing pain vied with each other in satisfying the demands of death4 ,women bound to raging bulls and dragged to death were not without the companionship of others who1 in the evening1 in ,nero's garden1 were coated with pitch1 covered with tar1 bound to stakes of pine1 lighted with fire1 and sent to run aflame with the hatred of ,christianity4 ,through the crowd of sufferers a gentleman1 who was ultra-liberal as the orator1 drove about1 fantastically attired as a charioteer1 and the people were wild with delight4 ,domitian had the same ideas1 and severe were his persecutions of the new heresy4 ,this was the day on which infidelity was so full of the love of freedom that it cried3 ,the ,christians to the lions6 ,and so ,i might recount to you how for hundreds of years the ,church found out how early and unchristianized infidelity loved freedom of thought4 ,to a type of liberals1 it has for years seemed a joy to go to the places in the old world and note how intolerant the ,church has been4 ,now ,i suggest to any one that he go and visit some of the places where men who thought of ,christianity as negativism thinks showed their faith and its fruits4 ,let him go to the ,colosseum and ask the winds that moan over its ruins what they know of the history of infidelity4 ,the winds will hush in that wreck of stupendous magnificence1 and with an eloquence gathered from seventeen centuries they will tell him a story that will cause a flow of tears1 for much of infidelity is of noble heart4 ,they will tell him how the marble seats were crowded with thousands2 again will sweep upward the shout of the excited throng2 before him there will lie a half-dead ,christian martyr1 and near that pool of blood will stand a lion who has satiated his horrid thirst4 ,they will tell him how infidelity made that splendid place a temple of the furies1 how it laughed and yelled and applauded1 as it amused itself with that spectacle of horror4 ,they will tell him how the underground passages served to keep and cage wild beasts1 and how those who then hated ,christianity starved the fierce lion until his eyes rolled in hot hunger and his teeth were sharpened with its agony4 ,they will tell him how the infidelity of that day put balls of fire on the backs of the lions1 and how the madness of their passion was increased by scattering hated colors about1 tearing the beasts with iron hooks and beating them with cruel whips4 ,they will tell how the ,christian was made to fight these infuriated beasts without weapons1 while infidelity was frantic with applause4 ,it said no to the torn body yonder1 that was mangled and supplicating in blood for life4 ,i would have him stand there until1 in after years1 in a nobler strain than that of ,byron1 he could say3 ,and thou didst shine1 thou rolling moon1 upon ,all this1 and cast a wide and tender light1 ,which softened down the hoar austerity ,of rugged desolation4 99 99 99 99 99 ,till the place ,became religion1 and the heart ran o'er ,with silent worship of the great of old6 ,the dead but sceptered sovereigns who still rule ,our spirits from their urns4 ,so long as ,i know what this book has been and done1 so long as man's history will not allow me to risk the interests of society with the infidelity which has so often demoralized it1 so long will ,i yearn to get the ,bible and its message to all men4 ,it has been our world's best book4 ,with this book as inspiration and resource1 ,william ,tyndale and ,miles ,coverdale were so to continue and complete the task of ,the ,venerable ,bede and ,john ,wyclif as to make an epoch in the history of that language to be used by ,shakespeare and ,burke--an era as distinct as that which ,luther's ,bible so soon should mark in the history of a language to be such a potent instrument in the hands of ,goethe and ,hegel4 ,for this very act of heresy1 ,tyndale was to be called a full-grown ,wyclif1 and ,luther the redeemer of his mother-tongue4 ,with the ,bible1 ,calvin was to conceive republics at ,geneva1 and ,holbein to paint1 in spite of the iconoclasm of the ,reformation1 the faces of ,holy ,mother and ,saint1 and in spite of the cruelty of the ,church1 scripturally conceived satires illustrating the sale of indulgences4 ,with that book ,gustavus ,vasa was to protect and nurture the freedom of the land of flowing splendors1 while ,angelo was transcribing sacred scenes upon the ,sistine vault or fixing them in stone4 ,reading this book1 ,more was to die with a smile2 ,latimer1 ,cranmer1 and ,ridley to perish while illuminating with living torches1 and the ,anabaptist to arouse the sympathies of ,christendom by his agonies4 ,with this book in hand1 ,shakespeare was to write his plays2 ,raleigh was to die1 knight1 discoverer1 thinker1 statesman1 martyr2 ,bacon to lay the foundation of modern scientific research--three stars in the majestic constellation about ,henry's daughter4 ,with this ,bible open before them the ,english nation would behold the ,spanish ,armada dashed to pieces upon the rocks1 while ,edmund ,spenser mingled his delicious notes with the tumult of that awful wreck4 ,this book was to produce the edict of ,nantes1 while ,john of ,barneveld would give new life to the command of ,william the ,silent--,level the dikes2 give ,holland back to the ocean1 if need be1 thus making preparation for the visit of the ,mayflower pilgrims to ,leyden or ,delfthaven4 ,their eyes resting upon its pages1 ,selden and ,pym were to go to prison1 while ,grotius dreamed of the rights of man in peace and war1 and ,guido and ,rubens were painting the joys of the manger or the sorrows of ,calvary4 ,his hand resting upon this book1 ,oliver ,cromwell would consolidate the hopes and convictions of ,puritanism into a sword which should conquer at ,nasby1 ,marston ,moor and ,dunbar1 leave to the throne of ,charles ,i1 a headless corpse1 and create1 if only for an hour's prophecy1 a commonwealth of unbending righteousness4 ,with that volume in their homes1 the ,swede and the ,huguenot1 the ,scotch-,irishman and the ,quaker1 the ,dutchman and the freedom-loving cavalier1 were to plan pilgrimages to the ,west1 and establish new homes in ,america4 ,with that book in the cabin of the ,mayflower1 venerated and obeyed by sea-tossed exiles1 was to be born a compact from which should spring a constitution and a government for the life of which all these nationalities should willingly bleed and struggle1 under a conqueror who should rise from the soil of the cavaliers1 and unsheath his sword in the colony of the ,puritans4 ,out of that ,bible were to come the ,petition of ,right1 the national anthem of #afbh1 the ,grand ,remonstrance1 and ,paradise ,lost4 ,with it1 ,blake and ,pascal should voyage heroically in diverse seas4 ,in its influence ,jeremy ,taylor should write his ,liberty of ,prophesying1 ,sir ,matthew ,hale his fearless replies1 while ,rembrandt was placing on canvas little ,dutch children1 with wooden shoes1 crowding to the feet of a ,jewish ,messiah4 ,its lines1 breathing life1 order1 and freedom1 would inspire ,john ,bunyan's dream1 ,algernon ,sidney's fatal republicanism1 and ,puffendorf's judicature4 ,with them1 ,william ,penn would meet the ,indian of the forest1 and ,fnelon1 the philosopher1 in his meditative solitude4 ,locke and ,newton and ,leibnitz would carry it with them in pathless fields of speculation1 while ,peter the ,great was smiting an arrogant priest in ,russia1 and ,william was ascending the ,english throne4 ,from its poetry ,cowper1 ,wordsworth1 ,tennyson1 and ,browning would catch the divine afflatus2 from its statesmanship ,burke1 ,romilly1 and ,bright would learn how to create and redeem institutions2 from its melodies ,handel1 ,bach1 ,mendelssohn1 and ,beethoven would write oratorios1 masses1 and symphonies2 from its declaration of divine sympathy ,wilberforce1 ,howard1 and ,florence ,nightingale were to emancipate slaves1 reform prisons1 and mitigate the cruelties of war2 from its prophecies ,dante's hope of a united ,italy was to be realized by ,cavour1 ,garibaldi1 and ,victor ,emmanuel4 ,looking upon the family ,bible as he was dying1 ,andrew ,jackson said3 ,that book1 sir1 is the rock on which the ,republic rests2 and with her hand upon that book1 ,victoria1 ,england's queen1 was to sum up her history as a power amid the nations of the earth1 when1 replying to the question of an ambassador3 ,what is the secret of ,england's superiority among the nations8 she would say3 ,go tell your prince that this is the secret of ,england's political greatness1 ,beloved friends1 when spurious liberalism1 with all her literature1 produces such a roll-call as this2 when out of her pages ,i may see coming a nobler set of forces for the making of manhood1 then1 and only then1 will ,i give up my ,bible2 then1 and only then1 will ,i cease to pray and labor that it may be given to all the world4 ,,hillis ,,god ,,the ,,unwearied ,,guide ,,biographical ,,note ,newell ,dwight ,hillis was born at ,magnolia1 ,iowa1 in #aheh4 ,he first became known as a preacher of the first rank during his pastorate over the large ,presbyterian church in ,evanston1 ,illinois4 ,this reputation led to his being called to the ,central ,church1 ,chicago1 in which he succeeded ,dr4 ,david ,swing1 and where from the first he attracted audiences completely filling one of the largest auditoriums in ,chicago4 ,in #ahii he was called to ,plymouth ,church1 ,brooklyn1 to succeed ,dr4 ,lyman ,abbott in the pulpit made famous by the ministry of ,henry ,ward ,beecher4 ,by his strong personality and mental gifts he draws to his church a large and eager following4 ,his best known books are ,a ,man's ,value to ,society1 and ,the ,investment of ,influence4 ,,hillis ,born in #aheh ,,god ,,the ,,unwearied ,,guide#a ,footnote #a3 ,by permission of the ,brooklyn ,daily ,eagle4 ,copyright1 #aije4 ,comfort ye1 comfort ye1 my people1 saith your ,god1 c4--,isaiah xl41 #a-ca4 ,he shall not fail1 nor be discouraged4--xliv41 #d4 ,this is an epic of the unwearied ,god1 and the fainting strength of man4 ,for splendor of imagery1 for majesty and elevation1 it is one of the supreme things in literature4 ,perhaps no other ,scripture has exerted so profound an influence upon the world's leaders4 ,luther read it in the fortress of ,salzburg1 ,john ,brown read it in the prison at ,harper's ,ferry4 ,webster made it the model of his eloquence1 ,wordsworth1 ,carlyle and a score of others refer to its influence upon their literary style1 their thought and life4 ,like all the supreme things in eloquence1 this chapter is a spark struck out of the fires of war and persecution4 ,its author was not simply an exile--he was a slave who had known the dungeon and the fetter4 ,bondage is hard1 even for savages1 naked1 ignorant1 and newly drawn from the jungle1 but slavery is doubly hard for scholars and prophets1 for ,hebrew merchants and rulers4 ,this outburst of eloquence took its rise in a war of invasion4 ,when the northern host swept southward1 and overwhelmed ,jerusalem1 the onrushing wave was fretted with fire2 later1 when the wave of war retreated1 it carried back the detritus of a ruined civilization4 ,the story of the siege of ,jerusalem1 the assault upon its gates1 the fall of the walls1 all the horrors of famine and of pestilence1 are given in the earlier chapters of this wonderful book4 ,the homeward march of the ,persian army was a kind of triumphal procession in which the ,hebrew princes and leaders walked as captives4 ,the king marched in the guise of a slave1 with his eyes put out1 followed by sullen princes1 with bound hands1 and unsubdued hearts4 ,as slaves the ,hebrews crossed the ,euphrates at the very point where ,xenophon crossed with his immortal ten thousand4 ,in the land of bondage the exiles were planted1 not in military prisons1 but in gangs1 working now in the fields1 now in the streets of the city1 and always under the scourge of soldiers4 ,when thirty years had passed the forty thousand captives were scattered among the people1 one brother in the palace1 and another a slave in the fields4 ,soon their religion became only a memory1 their language was all but forgotten1 their old customs and manner of life were utterly gone4 ,but ,god raised up two gifted souls for just such an emergency as this4 ,one youth1 through sheer force of genius1 climbed to the position of prime minister1 while a young girl through her loveliness came to the king's palace4 ,one day an emancipation proclamation went forth1 from a king who had come to believe in the unseen ,god who loved justice1 and would overwhelm oppression and wrong4 ,the good news went forth on wings of the wind4 ,making ready for their return to their homeland1 all the captives gathered on the outskirts of the desert4 ,it was a piteous spectacle4 ,the people were broken in health1 their beauty marred1 their weapon a staff1 their garments the leather coat1 their provisions pieces of moldy bread1 and their path fifteen hundred miles of sands1 across the desert4 ,to such an end had come a disobedient and sinful generation6 ,in that hour1 beholding these exiles and captives1 a flood of emotions rushed over the poet2 he saw those bound who should conquer2 he saw that men were slaves who should be kings4 ,then1 with a rush1 an immeasurable longing shivers through him like a trumpet call4 ,oh1 to save them6 ,to perish for their saving6 ,to die for their life1 to be offered for them all6 ,in an abandon of grief and sympathy1 he began to speak to them in words of comfort and hope4 ,at first these exiles1 dumb with pain and grief1 listened1 but listened with no light quivering in the eye1 and no hope flitting like sunshine across the face4 ,their yesterdays held bondage1 blows and degradation2 their tomorrow held only the desert and the return to a ruined land4 ,then the word of the ,lord came upon the poet4 ,what if the night winds did go mourning through the deserted streets of their capital6 ,what if their language had decayed and their institutions had perished8 ,what if the farmer's field was only a waste of thorns and thickets1 and the towns become heaps and ruins6 ,what if the king of ,babylon and his army has trampled them under foot1 as slaves trample the shellfish1 crushing out the purple dye that lends rich color to a royal robe8 ,comfort ye1 comfort ye1 my people4 ,is the way long and through a desert8 ,every valley shall be exalted1 every mountain and hill shall be made low4 ,has slavery worn man's strength to nothingness until he is as weak as the broken reed and the withered grass8 ,the spirit of the ,lord will revive the grass1 trampled down by the hoofs of war horses4 ,soon the bruised root shall redden into the rose and the fluted stem climb into the tree4 ,and think you if ,god's winds can transform a spray and twig into a trunk fit for foundation of house or mast of ship1 that eternal arms can not equip with strength the hand of patriot8 ,is the ,shepherd and ,leader of ,his little flock unequal to their guidance across the desert8 ,behold the ,lord will come with a strong arm2 he shall feed his flock like a shepherd and he shall gather the lambs in his arms and carry them in his bosom4 ,what6 ,man's hand unequal to the task of rebuilding ,jerusalem8 ,hath not ,god pledged ,his strength to the worker1 that ,god whose arm strikes out worlds as the smith strikes out sparks upon the anvil8 ,is not man's helper that ,god who dippeth up the seas in the hollow of ,his hand8 ,who weighs the mountains with scales and the hills in the balance8 ,what6 ,thine enemies too strong for thee8 ,why1 ,god looketh upon all the nations and enemies of the earth as but a drop in the bucket4 ,he sendeth forth ,his breath1 and the tribes disappear as dust is blown from the balance4 ,then the trumpet call shivered through these exiles4 ,hast thou not known8 ,have the sons of the fathers never heard of the everlasting ,god1 the ,lord1 ,creator of the ends of the earth8 ,fainteth not1 neither is weary6 ,heavy is the task1 but the ,eternal giveth power and strength4 ,even tho young patriots and heroes faint and fall1 they that wait upon the ,lord shall renew their strength4 ,while fulfilling their task of rebuilding they shall mount up with wings as eagles1 they shall run and not be weary1 they shall walk and not faint4 ,oh1 what a word is this6 ,what page in literature is comparable to it for comfort6 ,wonderful the strength of the warrior6 ,mighty the influence of the statesman6 ,all powerful seems the inventor1 but greater still the poet who dwells above the clang and dust of time1 with the world's secret trembling on his lips4 ,he needs no converse nor companionship1 ,in cold starlight1 whence thou can not come1 ,the undelivered tidings in his breast1 ,will not let him rest4 ,he who looks down upon the immemorable throng1 ,and binds the ages with a song4 ,and through the accents of our time1 ,there throbs the message of eternity4 ,and so the unwearied ,god comforted the fainting strength of man4 ,primarily1 this glorious outburst was addrest to the exiles as heads of families4 ,the father's strength was broken and his children had been crusht and ground to earth4 ,the ancient patrimony was gone2 he had gathered his little ones in from the huts where slaves dwelt4 ,he was leading his little band of pilgrims into a desert4 ,but the prophet spoke to the exiles as to men who believed that the family was the great national institution4 ,with us1 the family is important1 but with these ,hebrew exiles the family was everything4 ,for them the home was the spring from whence the mighty river rolled forth4 ,the family was the headwaters of national1 industrial1 social and religious life4 ,every father was revered as the architect of the family fortune4 ,the first ambition of every young ,hebrew was to found a family4 ,just as abroad1 a patrician gentleman builds a baronial mansion1 fills it with art treasures1 hangs the shields and portraits of his ancestors upon the walls1 hoping to hand the mansion forward to generations yet unborn1 so every worthy ,hebrew longed to found a noble family4 ,how keen the anguish1 therefore1 of this exile in the desert6 ,what a scene is that of the exiles upon the edge of the desert4 ,darkness is upon the land and the fire burns low into coals4 ,worn and exhausted1 children are sleeping beside the mother4 ,here is an old man1 lying apart1 broken and bitter in spirit--one son stands forth a dim figure--looking down upon his aged parents1 upon the wife of his bosom and upon his little children4 ,standing under the stars1 he meditates his plans4 ,how shall he care for these1 when he returns to his ruined estate8 ,in the event of death1 what arm shall lift a shield above these little ones8 ,what if sickness or death pounce upon a home as an eagle upon a dove1 as wolves upon lambs1 or as brigands descend from the mountains upon sleeping herdsmen6 ,every founder of a family knows the agony of such an hour6 ,we are in a world where men are never more than a few weeks from1 possible poverty and want2 little wonder then that all men seek to provide for the future of the home and the children4 ,but to the exile standing in the darkness1 with love that broods above his babes1 there comes this word of comfort3 ,god's solicitude for you and yours will not let ,him slumber or sleep6 ,god will lift up a highway for the feet of the little band of pilgrims4 ,the eternal ,god shall be thy guide in the march through the desert4 ,his pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night shall stand in the sky2 ,he shall lead the flock like a shepherd2 ,he shall gather the little ones in ,his arms1 and carry the children in ,his bosom4 ,and if the father fall on the march1 the wings of the ,eternal shall brood the babes that are left4 ,his right arm shall be a sword and ,his left arm a shield4 ,the eternal ,god fainteth not1 neither is weary4 ,having time to care for the stars1 and to lead them forth by name1 ,he hath time and thought also for ,his children4 ,what a word is this for the home6 ,what comfort for all whose hearts turn toward their children6 ,what a pledge to fathers for generations yet unborn6 ,this truth arms every parent for any emergency4 ,for ,god is round about every home as the mountains are round about ,jerusalem1 for bounty and protection4 ,but the sage was also thinking of men whose hopes were broken1 and whose lives were baffled and beaten4 ,these exiles1 crossing the desert1 might have claimed for themselves the poet's phrase1 ,lo1 henceforth ,i am a prisoner of hope4 ,like ,dante1 they might have cried1 ,for years my pillow by night has been wet with tears1 and all day long have ,i held heartbreak at bay4 ,for these whose glorious youth had been exhausted by bondage1 life had run to its very dregs4 ,gone the days of glorious strength6 ,gone all the opportunities that belong to the era when the heart is young1 the limitations of life had become severe6 ,environment often is a cage against whose iron bars the soul beats bloody wings in vain6 ,how many men are held back by one weak nerve1 or organ6 ,how many are shut in1 and limited1 and just fall short of supreme success because of an hereditary weakness1 handed on by the fathers6 ,how many made one mistake in youth in choosing the occupation and discovered the error when it was too late6 ,how many erred in judgment in their youth1 through one critical blunder1 that has been irretrievable1 and whose burden is henceforth lasht to the back6 ,in such an hour of depression1 ,isaiah assembles the exiles1 and exclaims1 ,comfort ye1 comfort ye1 my people4 ,tho your young men faint and be weary1 tho the strong utterly fail1 yet ,god is the unwearied one2 with his help thou shalt take thy burden1 and mount up with wings as eagles2 with his unwearied strength thou shalt run with thy load and not be weary1 and walk and not faint4 ,for this is the experience of persecution and the reward of sorrow1 bravely borne that the fainting strength of man is supplemented by the sure help of the unwearied ,god4 ,therefore1 in retrospect1 exiles1 prisoners1 martyrs1 who have believed in ,god seem fortunate4 ,the endungeoned heroes often seem the children of careful good fortune and happiness4 ,the saints1 walking through the fire1 stand forth as those who are dear unto ,god4 ,how the point of view changes events4 ,kitto was deaf1 and in his youth his deafness broke his heart1 but because his ears were closed to the din of life1 he became the great scholar of his time1 and swept the treasures of the world into a single volume1 an armory of intellectual weapons4 ,fawcett was blind1 but through that blindness became a great analytic student1 a master of organization1 and served all ,england in her commerce4 ,john ,bright was broken-hearted1 standing above the bier1 but ,richard ,cobden called him from his sorrow to become a voice for the poor1 to plead the cause of the opprest1 and bring about the ,corn ,laws for the hungry workers in the factories and shops4 ,comfort ye1 comfort ye1 my people4 ,let the exile say unto himself3 ,your warfare is accomplished2 your iniquity is pardoned2 the ,lord's hand will give unto thee double for all thy sins that are forgiven4 ,the great faiths and convictions of the prophets and law-givers1 your language and your laws and your liberties1 have not been destroyed by captivity2 rather slavery has saved them4 ,at last you know their value2 in contrast with the idolatry of the ,euphrates1 the jargon of tongues1 the inequality of rights1 the organization of justice and oppression1 how wonderful the equity of the laws of ,moses6 ,how beautiful the faith of the fathers6 ,how surely founded the laws of ,god4 ,henceforth idolatry1 injustice and sin became as monstrous in their ugliness as they were wicked in their essence4 ,everything else might go1 but not the faith of the fathers4 ,persecution was like fire on the vase2 it burned the colors in4 ,little wonder that the tradition tells us that for the next hundred years1 at stated periods1 all the people in the land came together1 while a reader repeated this chapter on the unwearied ,god and the fainting strength of man that had recovered unto hope1 men whose hopes had been baffled and beaten4 ,the thought of an unwearied ,god is also the true antidote to despondency4 ,the ground of optimism is in ,god4 ,when that great thinker described certain people as without ,god and without hope1 there was sure logic in his phrase1 for the ,godless man is always the hopeless man4 ,between no ,god anywhere and the one ,god who is everywhere1 there is no middle ground4 ,either we are children1 buffeted about by fate and circumstances1 with events tossing souls about in an eternal game of battledore and shuttlecock1 or else the world is our ,father's house1 and ,god standeth within the shadow1 keeping watch above ,his own4 ,for the man who believes in ,god1 who allies himself to nature1 who makes the universe his partner1 there is no defeat1 and no death1 and no interruption of his prosperity4 ,concede that there is a ,god1 and it follows as a logical necessity that ,he will not permit any enemy to ruin your life and ,his plans4 ,for a man who holds this faith it follows that there can be no defeat1 or failure4 ,indeed1 the essential difference between men is the difference in their relation toward ,god4 ,here are the biographies of two great men4 ,both are men of genius1 both are marvelously equipped1 but their end was1 oh1 how different4 ,one is ,martin ,luther1 who stood forth alone1 affirming his religious freedom1 in the face of enemies and devils thick as the tiles on the roofs of the houses4 ,the few friends ,luther had shut him up in a fortress to save his life1 but ,luther mightily believed in ,god4 ,with the full consent of his marvelous gifts1 he surrendered his life to the will of ,god4 ,knowing that his days were as brief as the withering grass1 he allied himself with the ,eternal4 ,in his discouragement he read these words1 ,the ,everlasting ,god fainteth not1 neither is weary4 ,in that hour ,martin ,luther shouted for joy4 ,the beetling walls of the fortress were as tho they were not4 ,victorious he went forth1 in thought1 ranging throughout all ,germany4 ,and going out1 he went up and down the land telling the people that ,god would protect him1 and soon ,germany was free4 ,goethe tells us that ,luther was the architect of modern ,german language and literature1 and stamped himself into the whole national life4 ,the ,germany of the ,kaiser is simply ,martin ,luther written large in fifty millions of men4 ,but what made ,luther8 ,there was some hidden energy and spirit within him6 ,what was this spirit in him8 ,the spirit of beauty turned a lump of mud into that ,grecian face about which ,keats wrote his poem4 ,the spirit of truth changes a little ink into a beautiful song4 ,the spirit of strength and beauty in an architect changes a pile of bricks into a house or cathedral or gallery4 ,and the thought of our unwearied ,god changed the collier's son into the great ,german emancipator4 ,but over against this man1 who never knew despondency1 after his vision hour1 stands another ,german4 ,he1 too1 was a philosopher1 clothed with ample power1 and blest with opportunity4 ,but he did evil in his life1 and then the heart lost its faith1 and hope utterly perished4 ,the more he loved pleasure and pursued self1 the more cynical and bitter he became4 ,pessimism set a cold1 hard stamp upon his face1 and marred his beauty4 ,cynicism lies like a black mark across his pages4 ,at last1 in his bitterness1 the philosopher tells us the whole universe is a mirage1 and that yonder summer-making sun is a bubble that repeats its iridescent tints in the colors of the rainbow4 ,despair ate out his heart4 ,he became the most miserable of men1 and knew no freedom from sorrow and pain4 ,and lo1 now the man's philosophy has perished like a bubble1 his influence has utterly disappeared1 for his books are unread1 while only an occasional scholar chances upon his name1 tho the great summer-making sun still shines on and ,luther's eternal ,god fainteth not1 neither is weary4 ,are you weak1 oh1 patriot8 ,remember ,god is strong4 ,do your days of service seem short1 until your life is scarcely longer than the flower that blooms to-day and is gone tomorrow8 ,god is eternal1 and ,he will take care of your work4 ,are you sick with hope long deferred8 ,hope thou in ,god2 ,he shall yet send succor4 ,have troubles driven happiness from thee1 as the hawk drives the young lark or nightingale from its nest8 ,return unto thy rest1 troubled heart1 for the ,lord will deal bountifully with thee4 ,are you anxious for your children8 ,god will bring the child back from the far country4 ,for the child hath wandered far1 the golden thread spun in a mother's heart is an unbroken thread that will draw him home6 ,for things that distress you to-day1 you shall thank ,god to-morrow4 ,nothing shall break the golden chain that binds you to ,god's throne4 ,are you hopeless and despondent because of your fainting strength8 ,remember that the antidote for despondency is the thought of the unwearied ,god who is doing the best ,he can for you1 and whose ceaseless care neither slumbers nor sleeps4 ,little wonder therefore that ,god became all and in all to this feeble band of captives1 journeying across the desert back to their ruined life and land4 ,god had taken away earthly things from them1 that ,he might be their all and in all4 ,when the earth is made poor for us1 sometimes the heavens become rich4 ,god closed the eyes of ,milton to the beauty in land and sea and sky1 that he might see the companies of angels marching and countermarching on the hills of ,god4 ,he closed the ears of ,beethoven1 that he might hear the music of ,st4 ,cecilia falling over heaven's battlements4 ,he gave ,isaiah a slave's hut1 that he might ponder the house not made with hands1 eternal in the heavens4 ,how is it that this prophet and poet has become companion of the great ones of the earth8 ,at the time ,isaiah rebelled against his bondage1 but when it was all over1 and the fitful fever had passed1 and the fleshly fetters had fallen1 he smiled at the things that once alarmed him1 as he recalled his fainting strength and the unwearied ,god4 ,gone--that ancient capital4 ,babylon is a heap4 ,jerusalem a ruin6 ,but this epic of the unwearied ,guide still lives6 ,isaiah1 can never die6 ,can a chapter die that has cheered the exile in his loneliness1 that has comforted the soldier upon his bivouac1 that has braced the martyr for his execution1 that has given songs at midnight to the prisoners in the dungeon8 ,out of suffering and captivity came this song of rest and hope4 ,at last the poet praised the eternal ,god for his bonds and his imprisonment4 ,oh1 it is darkness that makes the morning light so welcome to the weary watcher4 ,it is hunger that makes bread sweet4 ,it is pain and sickness that gives value to the physician and his medicine4 ,it is business trouble that makes you honor your lawyer and counselor1 and it is the sense of need that makes ,god near4 ,are there any merchants here who are despondent8 ,remember the eternal ,god and make your appeal to the future4 ,are there any parents whose children have wandered far8 ,when they are old1 the children will return to the path of faith and obedience4 ,are there any in whom the immortal hope burns low8 ,the smoking flax ,he will not quench1 but will fan the flame into victory4 ,look up to-day2 be comforted once more4 ,work henceforth in hope4 ,live like a prince4 ,scatter sunshine4 ,let your atmosphere be happiness4 ,if troubles come1 let them be the dark background that shall throw your hope and faith into bolder relief4 ,god hath set ,his heart upon you to deliver you4 ,tho your hand faint1 and the tool fall1 the eternal ,god fainteth not1 neither is weary4 ,he will bring thy judgment unto victory1 immortalize thy good deeds1 and crown thy career with everlasting renown4 ,,jefferson ,,the ,,reconciliation ,,biographical ,,note ,charles ,edward ,jefferson was born at ,cambridge1 ,ohio1 in #ahfj4 ,he came to public attention by the effectiveness of his preaching during a most successful pastorate in ,chelsea1 ,mass41 from which he was called to the ,broadway ,tabernacle1 ,new ,york1 in #ahig4 ,during his ,new ,york pastorate the ,tabernacle at #cdth ,street has been sold and a unique structure1 including an apartment tower ten stories high1 has been built farther up-town4 ,dr4 ,jefferson has published several successful books4 ,he has a mellow1 sympathetic voice1 of considerable range and flexibility1 and he speaks in an easy1 conversational style4 ,,jefferson ,born in #ahfj ,,the ,,reconciliation#a ,footnote #a3 ,reprinted by permission from ,doctrine and ,deed1 ,copyright1 #aija1 by ,thomas ,y4 ,crowell ,co4 ,christ died for our sins4--#a ,cor4 xv41 #c4 ,i want to think with you this morning about the doctrine of the ,atonement4 ,having used that word atonement once1 ,i now wish to drop it4 ,it is not a ,new ,testament word1 and is apt to lead one into confusion4 ,you will not find it in your ,new ,testament at all1 providing you use the ,revised ,version4 ,it is found in the ,king ,james ,version only once1 and that is in the fifth chapter of ,paul's letter to the ,romans2 but a few years ago1 when the revisers went to work1 they rubbed out the word and would allow it no place whatever in the entire ,new ,testament4 ,they substituted for it a better word--reconciliation--and that is the word that will probably be used in the future theology of the ,church4 ,it is my purpose1 then1 this morning1 to think with you about the doctrine of the reconciliation1 or1 to put it in a way that will be intelligible to all the boys and girls1 ,i want to think with you about the making up between ,god and man4 ,christianity is distinctly a religion of redemption4 ,its fundamental purpose is to recover men from the guilt and power of sin4 ,all of its history and its teachings must be studied in the light of that dominating purpose4 ,we are told sometimes that ,jesus was a great teacher1 and so ,he was1 but the apostles never gloried in that fact4 ,we are constantly reminded that ,he was a great reformer1 and so ,he was1 but ,peter and ,john and ,paul seemed to be altogether unconscious of that fact4 ,it is asserted that ,he was a great philanthropist1 a man intensely interested in the bodies and the homes of men1 and so of course ,he was1 but the ,new ,testament does not seem to care for that4 ,it has often been declared that ,he was a great martyr1 a man who laid down ,his life in devotion to the truth1 and so ,he was and so ,he did1 but the ,bible never looks at ,him from that standpoint or regards ,him in that light4 ,it refuses to enroll ,him among the teachers or reformers or philanthropists or the martyrs of our race4 ,according to the apostolic writers1 ,jesus is the world's ,redeemer1 ,he was manifested to take away sin4 ,he is the ,lamb of ,god that taketh away the sin of the world4 ,the vast and awful fact that broke the apostles' hearts and sent them out into the world to baptize the nations into ,his name1 was the fact which ,paul was all the time asserting1 ,he died for our sins4 ,no one can read the ,new ,testament without seeing that its central and most conspicuous fact is the death of ,jesus4 ,take1 for instance1 the gospels1 and you will find that over one-quarter of their pages are devoted to the story of ,his death4 ,very strange is this indeed1 if ,jesus was nothing but an illustrious teacher4 ,a thousand interesting events of ,his career are passed over1 a thousand discourses are never mentioned1 in order that there may be abundant room for the telling of ,his death4 ,or take the letters which make up the last half of the ,new ,testament2 in these letters there is scarcely a quotation from the lips of ,jesus4 ,strange indeed is this if ,jesus is only the world's greatest teacher4 ,the letters seem to ignore that ,he was a teacher or reformer1 but every letter is soaked in the pathos of ,his death4 ,there must be a deep and providential reason for all this4 ,the character of the gospels and the letters must have been due to something that ,jesus said or that the ,holy ,spirit inbreathed4 ,a study of the ,new ,testament will convince us that ,jesus had trained ,his disciples to see in ,his sufferings and death the climax of ,god's crowning revelation to the world4 ,the key-note of the whole gospel story is struck by ,john the ,baptist in his bold declaration1 ,behold the ,lamb of ,god which taketh away the sin of the world4 ,in that declaration there was a reference to ,his death1 for the lamb in ,palestine lived only to be slain4 ,as soon as ,jesus began ,his public career ,he began to refer in enigmatic phrases to ,his death4 ,he did not declare ,his death openly1 but the thought of it was wrapt up inside of all ,he said4 ,nicodemus comes to ,him at night to have a talk with ,him about ,his work1 and among other things1 ,jesus says1 ,as ,moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so shall the ,son of man be lifted up4 ,nicodemus did not know what ,he meant--we know4 ,he goes into the temple and drives out the men who have made it a den of thieves1 and when an angry mob surrounds ,him ,he calmly says1 ,destroy this temple1 and in three days ,i will raise it up4 ,they did not know what ,he meant--we know4 ,he goes into the city of ,capernaum1 and is surrounded by a great crowd who seem to be eager to know the way of life4 ,he begins to talk to them about the bread that comes down from heaven1 and among other things ,he says1 ,the bread which ,i will give is my flesh1 which ,i will give for the life of the world4 ,they did not understand what ,he said--we understand it now4 ,one day in the city of ,jerusalem ,he utters a great discourse upon the good shepherd4 ,i am the good shepherd1 ,he says2 the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep4 ,they did not understand ,him--we do4 ,in the last week of ,his earthly life it was reported that a company of ,greeks had come to see ,him4 ,he falls at once into a thoughtful mood1 and when at last ,he speaks it is to say that ,i1 if ,i be lifted up1 will draw all men unto me4 ,the men standing by did not understand what ,he said--we understand4 ,all along ,his journey1 from the ,jordan to the cross1 ,he dropt such expressions as this3 ,i have a baptism to be baptized with2 and how am ,i straitened till it be accomplished4 ,men did not know what ,he was saying--it is all clear now4 ,but while ,he did not talk openly to the world about ,his death1 ,he did not hesitate to speak about it to ,his nearest friends4 ,as soon as ,he found a man willing to confess that ,he was indeed the world's ,messiah1 the ,son of the living ,god1 ,he began to initiate ,his disciples into the deeper mysteries of ,his mission4 ,from that time1 ,matthew says1 he began to show1 to unfold1 to set forth the fact that he must suffer many things and be killed4 ,peter tried to check ,him in this disclosure1 but ,jesus could not be checked4 ,it is surprising how many times it is stated in the gospels that ,jesus told ,his disciples ,he must be killed4 ,matthew says that while they were traveling in ,galilee1 on a certain day when the disciples were much elated over the marvelous things which ,he was doing1 ,he took them aside and said ,let these words sink into your ears3 ,i am going to ,jerusalem to be killed4 ,later on1 when they were going through ,perea1 ,jesus took them aside and said1 ,the ,son of man must suffer many things1 and at last be put to death4 ,on nearing ,jerusalem ,his disciples became impatient for a disclosure of ,his power and glory4 ,he began to tell them about the grace of humility4 ,the ,son of man1 ,he said1 is come1 not to be ministered unto1 but to minister1 and to give his life a ransom for many4 ,on the last ,tuesday of ,his earthly life ,he sat with ,his disciples on the slope of the ,mount of ,olives1 and in the midst of ,his high and solemn teaching ,he said1 ,it is only two days now until ,i shall be crucified4 ,and on the last ,thursday of ,his life1 on the evening of ,his betrayal1 ,he took ,his disciples into an upper room1 and taking the bread and blessing it1 ,he gave it to these men1 saying1 ,this is my body which is given for you4 ,likewise after supper ,he took the cup1 and when ,he had blest it gave it to them1 saying1 ,this is my blood of the covenant which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins4 ,do this in remembrance of me4 ,it would seem from this that the one thing which ,jesus was desirous that all ,his followers should remember was the fact that ,he had laid down ,his life for them4 ,one can not read the gospels without feeling that he is being borne steadily and irresistibly toward the cross4 ,when we get out of the gospels into the epistles we find ourselves face to face with the same tragic and glorious fact4 ,peter's first letter is not a theological treatise4 ,he is not writing a dissertation on the person of ,christ1 or attempting to give any interpretation of the death of ,jesus2 he is dealing with very practical matters4 ,he exhorts the ,christians who are discouraged and downhearted to hold up their heads and to be brave4 ,it is interesting to see how again and again he puts the cross behind them in order to keep them from slipping back4 ,endure1 he says1 because ,christ suffered for us4 ,who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree4 ,the ,christians of that day had been overtaken by furious persecution4 ,they were suffering all sorts of hardships and disappointments4 ,but suffer1 he says1 because ,christ has once suffered for sins1 the just for the unjust1 that he might bring us to ,god4 ,certainly the gospel1 according to ,st4 ,peter1 was3 ,christ died for our sins4 ,read the first letter of ,st4 ,john1 and everywhere it breathes the same spirit which we have found in the gospels and in ,st4 ,peter4 ,john punctuates almost every paragraph with some reference to the cross4 ,in the first chapter he is talking about sin4 ,the blood of ,jesus ,christ1 he says1 cleanses us from all sins4 ,in the second chapter he is talking about forgiveness1 and this leads him to think at once of ,jesus ,christ1 the righteous1 who is the propitiation for our sins1 and not for ours only but for the sins of the whole world4 ,in the third chapter he is talking about brotherly love4 ,he is urging the members of the ,church to lay down their lives1 one for another1 ,hereby perceive we the love of ,god1 because he laid down his life for us4 ,in the fourth chapter he tells of the great mystery of ,christ's love3 ,herein is love1 not that we loved ,god1 but that he loved us1 and sent his ,son to be the propitiation for our sins4 ,to the beloved disciple evidently the great fact of the ,christian revelation is that ,christ died for our sins4 ,but it is in the letters of ,paul that we find the fullest and most emphatic assertion of this transcendent fact4 ,it will not be possible for me to quote to you even a half of what he said on the subject4 ,if you should cut out of his letters all the references to the cross1 you would leave his letters in tatters4 ,listen to him as he talks to his converts in ,corinth3 ,first of all ,i delivered unto you that which ,i also received1 how that ,christ died for our sins4 ,that was the foremost fact1 to be stated in every letter and to be unfolded in every sermon4 ,to ,saul of ,tarsus1 ,jesus is not an illustrious ,rabbi whose sentences are to be treasured up and repeated to listening congregations2 ,he is everywhere and always the world's ,redeemer4 ,and throughout all of ,paul's epistles one hears the same jubilant1 triumphant declaration1 ,i live by the faith of the ,son of ,god1 who loved me and gave himself for me4 ,let us now turn to the last book of the ,new ,testament1 the ,book of the ,revelation4 ,what does this prophet on the ,isle of ,patmos see and hear1 as he looks out into future ages and coming worlds8 ,the book begins with a doxology3 ,unto him that loved us1 and washed us from our sins in his own blood1 to him be glory and dominion forever and ever4 ,john looks1 and beholds a great company of the redeemed4 ,he asks who these are1 and the reply comes back1 ,these are they who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the ,lamb4 ,he listens1 and the song that goes up from the throats of the redeemed is1 ,worthy art thou to take the book1 and to open the seals thereof2 for thou wast slain and didst purchase us for ,god with thy blood4 ,at the center of the great vision which bursts upon the soul of the exiled apostle1 there is a ,lamb that was slain4 ,whatever we may think of ,jesus of ,nazareth1 there is no question concerning what the men who wrote the ,new ,testament thought4 ,to the men who wrote the book1 ,jesus was not a ,socrates or a ,seneca1 a ,martin ,luther or an ,abraham ,lincoln4 ,his life was not an incident in the process of evolution1 ,his death was not an episode in the dark and dreadful tragedy of human history4 ,his life is ,god's4 greatest gift to men1 ,his death is the climax and the crowning revelation of the heart of the eternal4 ,you can not open the ,new ,testament anywhere without the idea flying into your face1 ,christ died for our sins4 ,how different all this is from the atmosphere of the modern ,church4 ,when you go into the average church to-day1 what great idea meets you8 ,do you find yourselves face to face with the fact that ,christ died for our sins8 ,i do not think you will often hear that great truth preached4 ,in all probability you will hear a sermon dealing with the domestic graces1 or with business obligations1 or with political duties and complications4 ,you may hear a sermon on city missions1 or on foreign missions2 you may hear a man dealing with some great evil1 or pointing out some alarming danger1 or discussing some interesting social problem1 or urging upon men's consciences the performance of some duty4 ,it is not often in these modern days that you will hear a sermon dealing with the thought that set the apostles blazing and turned the world upside down4 ,and right there1 ,i think1 lies one of the causes of the weaknesses of the modern ,church4 ,we have been so busy attending to the things that ought to be done1 we have had no time to feed the springs that keep alive these mighty hopes which make us ,christian men4 ,what is the secret of the strength of the ,roman ,catholic ,church8 ,how is it that she pursues her conquering way1 in spite of stupidities and blunders that would have killed any other institution8 ,i know the explanations that are usually offered1 but it seems to me they are far from adequate4 ,somebody says1 ,but the ,roman ,catholic ,church does not hold any but the ignorant4 ,that is not true4 ,it may be true of certain localities in ,america1 but it is not true of the nations across the sea4 ,in ,europe she holds entire nations in the hollow of her hand2 not only the ignorant1 but the learned2 not only the low1 but the high2 not only the rude1 but the cultured1 the noble1 and the mighty4 ,it will not do to say that the ,roman ,catholic ,church holds nobody but the ignorant4 ,but even if it were true1 it would still be interesting to ascertain how she exercises such an influence over the minds and hearts of ignorant people--for ignorant people are the hardest of all to hold4 ,when you say that the ,church can hold ignorant men1 you are giving her the very highest compliment1 for you are acknowledging that she is in the possession of a power which demands an explanation4 ,the very fact that she is able to bring out such hosts of wage-earning men and women in the early hours of ,sunday morning1 men and women who have worked hard through the week1 and many of them far into the night1 but who are willing on the ,lord's ,day to wend their way to the house of ,god and engage in religious worship1 is a phenomenon which is worth thinking about4 ,how does the ,roman ,catholic ,church do it8 ,somebody says she does it all by appealing to men's fears1 she scares men into penitence and devotion4 ,do you think that that is a fair explanation8 ,i do not think so4 ,i can conceive how she might frighten people for one generation1 or for two1 but ,i can not conceive how she could frighten a dozen generations4 ,one would suppose that the spell would wear off by and by4 ,there is a deeper explanation than that ,the explanation is to be found in the spiritual nature of man4 ,the ,roman ,catholic leaders1 notwithstanding their blunders and their awful sins1 have always seen that the central fact of the ,christian revelation is the death of ,jesus1 and around that fact they have organized all their worship4 ,roman ,catholics go to mass2 what is the mass8 ,it is the celebration of the ,lord's ,supper4 ,what is the ,lord's ,supper8 ,it is the ceremony that proclaims our ,lord's death until ,he comes4 ,the hosts of worshipers that fill our streets in the early ,sunday morning hours are not going to church to hear some man discuss an interesting problem1 nor are they going to listen to a few singers sing2 they are going to celebrate once more the death of the ,savior of the world4 ,in all her cathedrals ,catholicism places the stations of the cross1 that they may tell to the eye the story of the stages of ,his dying4 ,on all her altars she keeps the crucifix4 ,before the eyes of every faithful ,catholic that crucifix is held until his eyes close in death4 ,a ,catholic goes out of the world thinking of ,jesus crucified4 ,so long as a ,church holds on to that great fact1 she will have a grip on human minds and hearts that can not be broken4 ,the cross1 as ,st4 ,paul said1 a stumbling-block to the ,jews and foolishness to the ,greeks1 is the power of ,god unto salvation to every one that believes4 ,the ,catholic ,church has picked up the fact of ,jesus' death and held it aloft like a burning torch4 ,around the torch she has thrown all sorts of dark philosophies1 but through the philosophies the light has streamed into the hearts and homes of millions of ,god's children4 ,protestantism has prospered just in proportion as she has kept the cross at the forefront of all her preaching4 ,the missionaries bring back the same report from every field1 that it is the story of ,jesus' death that opens the hearts of the pagan world4 ,every now and then a denomination has started1 determined to get rid of the cross of ,jesus1 or at least to pay scant attention to it1 and in every case these denominations have been at the end of the third or fourth generation either decaying or dead4 ,there is no interpretation of the ,christian religion that has in it redeeming power which ignores or belittles the death of ,christ4 ,if ,protestantism to-day is not doing what it ought to do1 and is manifesting symptoms which are alarming to ,christian leaders1 it is because she has in these recent years been engaged so largely in practical duties as to forget to drink inspiration from the great doctrines which must forever furnish life and strength and hope4 ,if you will allow me to prophesy this morning1 ,i predict that the preaching of the next fifty years will be far more doctrinal than the preaching of the last fifty years has been4 ,i imagine some of you will shudder at that4 ,you say you do not like doctrinal preaching1 you want preaching that is practical4 ,well1 pray1 what is practical preaching8 ,practical preaching is preaching that accomplishes the object for which preaching is done1 and the primary object of all ,christian preaching is to reconcile men to ,god4 ,the experience of #aijj years proves that it is only doctrinal preaching that reconciles the heart to ,god4 ,if1 then1 you really want practical preaching1 the only preaching that is deserving the name is preaching that deals with the great ,christian doctrines4 ,but somebody says1 ,i do not like doctrinal preaching4 ,a great many people have said that within recent years4 ,i do not believe they mean what they say4 ,they are not expressing with accuracy what is in their mind4 ,they do like doctrinal preaching if they are intelligent1 faithful ,christians1 for doctrinal preaching is bread to hearts that have been born again4 ,when people say they do not like doctrinal preaching1 they often mean that they do not like preaching which belongs to the eighteenth or seventeenth or sixteenth centuries4 ,they are not to be blamed for this4 ,there is nothing that gets stale so soon as preaching4 ,we can not live upon the preaching of a bygone age4 ,if preachers bring out the interpretations and phraseology which were current a hundred years ago1 people must of necessity say1 ,oh1 please do not give us that1 we do not like such doctrinal preaching4 ,but doctrinal preaching need not be antiquated or belated1 it may be fresh1 it may be couched in the language in which men were born1 it may use for its illustrations the images and figures and analogies which are uppermost in men's imagination4 ,and whenever it does this there is no preaching which is so thrilling and uplifting and mighty as the preaching which deals with the great fundamental doctrines4 ,in one sense1 the ,christian religion never changes1 in another sense it is changing all the time4 ,the facts of ,christianity never change1 the interpretations of those facts alter from age to age4 ,it is with religion as it is with1 the stars1 the stars never change4 ,they move in their orbits in our night sky as they moved in the night sky of ,abraham when he left his old ,chaldean home4 ,the constellations were the same at the opening of our century as they were when ,david watched his flocks on the old ,judean hills4 ,but the interpretations of the stars have always changed1 must always change4 ,pick up the old charts which the astrologers made and compare them with the charts of astronomers of our day4 ,how vast the difference6 ,listen to our astronomers talk about the magnitudes and disunites and composition of the stars1 and compare with their story that which was written in the astronomy of a few centuries ago4 ,the stellar universe has not changed1 but men's conceptions have changed amazingly4 ,the facts of the human body do not change4 ,our heart beats as the heart of ,homer beat1 our blood flows as the blood of ,julius ,caesar flowed1 our muscles and nerves live and die as the nerves and muscles have lived and died in the bodies of men in all the generations--and yet1 how the theories of medicine have been altered from time to time4 ,a doctor does not want to hear a medical lecturer speak who persists in using the phraseology and conceptions which were accepted by the medical science of fifty years ago4 ,conceptions become too narrow to fit the growing mind of the world1 and when once outgrown they must be thrown aside4 ,as it is in science1 so it is in religion4 ,the facts of ,christianity never change1 they are fixt stars in the firmament of moral truth4 ,forever and forever it will be true that ,christ died for our sins1 but the interpretations of this fact must be determined by the intelligence of the age4 ,men will never be content with simple facts1 they must go behind them to find out an explanation of them4 ,man is a rational being1 he must think1 he will not sit down calmly in front of a fact and be content with looking it in the face1 he will go behind it and ask how came it to be and what are its relations to other facts4 ,that is what man has always been doing with the facts of the ,christian revelation1 he has been going behind them and bringing out interpretations which will account for them4 ,the interpretations are good for a little while1 and then they are outgrown and cast aside4 ,a good illustration of the progressive nature of theology is found in the doctrine of the atonement4 ,all of the apostles taught distinctly that ,christ died for our sins4 ,the early ,christians did not attempt to go behind that fact1 but by and by men began to attempt explanations4 ,in the second century a man by the name of ,irenaeus seized upon the word ransom in the sentence1 ,the ,son of man is come to give his life a ransom for many1 and found in that word ransom the key-word of the whole problem4 ,the explanation of ,irenaeus was taken up in the third century by a distinguished preacher1 ,origen4 ,and in the fourth century the teaching of ,origen was elaborated by ,gregory of ,nyssa4 ,according to the interpretation of these men1 ,jesus was the price paid for the redemption of men4 ,paul frequently used the word redemption1 and the word had definite meanings to people who lived in the first four centuries of the ,christian era4 ,if ,christ was indeed a ransom1 the question naturally arose1 who paid the price8 ,the answer was1 ,god4 ,a ransom must be paid to somebody--to whom was this ransom paid8 ,the answer was1 the devil4 ,according to ,origen and to ,gregory1 ,god paid the devil the life of ,jesus in order that the devil might let humanity go free4 ,the devil1 by deceit1 had tricked man1 and man had become his slave--,god now plays a trick upon the devil1 and by offering him the life of ,jesus1 secures the release of man4 ,that was the interpretation held by many theologians for almost a thousand years1 but in the eleventh century there arose a man who was not satisfied with the old interpretation4 ,the world had outgrown it4 ,to many it seemed ridiculous1 to some it seemed blasphemous4 ,there was an ,italian by the name of ,anselm who was an earnest student of the ,scriptures1 and he seized upon the word debt as the key-word of the problem4 ,he wrote a book1 one of the epoch-making books of ,christendom1 which he called ,cur ,deus ,homo4 ,in this book ,anselm elaborated his interpretation of the reconciliation4 ,sin1 he said1 is debt1 and sin against an infinite being is an infinite debt4 ,a finite being can not pay an infinite debt1 hence an infinite being must become man in order that the debt may be paid4 ,the ,son of ,god1 therefore1 assumes the form of man1 and by his sufferings on the cross pays the debt which allows humanity to go free4 ,the interpretation was an advance upon that of ,origen and ,gregory1 but it was not final4 ,it was repudiated by men of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries1 and finally1 in the day of the ,reformation1 it was either modified or cast away altogether4 ,martin ,luther1 ,calvin1 and the other reformers seized upon the word propitiation1 and made that the starting-point of their interpretation4 ,according to these men1 ,god is a great governor and man has broken the divine law--transgressors must be punished--if the man who breaks the law is not punished1 somebody else must be punished in his stead4 ,the ,son of ,god1 therefore1 comes to earth to suffer in ,his person the punishment that rightly belongs to sinners4 ,he is not guilty1 but the sins of humanity are imputed to ,him1 and ,god wreaks upon ,him the penalty which rightfully should have fallen on the heads of sinners4 ,that is known as the penal substitution theory4 ,it was not altogether satisfactory1 many men revolted from it1 and in the seventeenth century a ,dutchman1 ,hugo ,grotius1 a lawyer1 brought forth another interpretation1 which is known in theology as the governmental theory4 ,he would not admit that ,christ was punished4 ,his sufferings were not penal1 but illustrative4 ,god is the moral governor1 said ,grotius1 his government must be maintained1 law can not be broken with impunity4 ,unless sin is punished the dignity of ,god's government would be destroyed4 ,therefore1 that man may see how hot is ,god's displeasure against sin1 ,christ comes into the world and suffers the consequences of the transgressions of the race4 ,the cross is an exhibition of what ,god thinks of sin4 ,that governmental theory was carried into ,england and became the established doctrine of the ,english ,church for almost three hundred years4 ,it was carried across the ocean and became the dominant theory in the ,new ,haven school of theologians1 as represented by ,jonathan ,edwards1 ,dwight1 and ,taylor4 ,the ,princeton school of theology still clung to the penal substitution theory1 and it was the clashing of the ,new ,haven school and the ,princeton school which caused such a commotion in the ,presbyterian ,church of sixty years ago4 ,they are antiquated4 ,they are too little4 ,they seem mechanical1 artificial1 trivial4 ,we can say of the governmental theory what ,dr4 ,hodge said1 ,it degrades the work of ,christ to the level of a governmental contrivance4 ,if ,i should attempt to preach to you the governmental theory as it was preached by theologians fifty years ago1 you would not be interested in it ,there is nothing in you that would respond to it4 ,you would simply say1 ,i do not like doctrinal preaching4 ,or if ,i should go back and take up the penal substitution theory in all its nakedness and hideousness1 and attempt to give it to you as the correct interpretation of the gospel1 you would rise up in open rebellion and say1 ,we will not listen to such preaching4 ,if ,i should go back and take up the ,anselmic theory and attempt to show how an infinite debt must be paid by infinite suffering1 you would say3 ,stop1 you are converting ,god into a ,shylock1 who is demanding ,his pound of flesh4 ,we prefer to think of ,him as our heavenly ,father4 ,if ,i should go further back and take up the old ransom theory of ,origen and ,gregory1 ,i suspect that some of you would want to laugh4 ,you could not accept an interpretation which represents ,god as playing a trick upon ,satan in order to get humanity out of his grasp4 ,no1 those theories have all been outgrown4 ,we have come out into larger and grander times4 ,we have higher conceptions of the ,almighty than the ancients ever had4 ,we see far deeper into the ,christian revelation than ,martin ,luther or ,john ,calvin ever saw4 ,these old interpretations are simply husks1 and men and women will not listen to the preaching of them4 ,if1 now and then1 a belated preacher attempts to preach them1 the people say1 ,if that is doctrinal preaching1 please give us something practical4 ,and so the ,church is to-day slowly working out a new interpretation of the great fact that ,christ died for our sins4 ,the interpretation has not yet been completed1 and will not be for many years4 ,i should like this morning simply to outline in a general way some of the more prominent features of the new interpretation4 ,the ,holy ,ghost is at work4 ,he is taking the things of ,christ and showing them unto us4 ,the interpretation of the reconciliation of the future will be superior in every point to any of the interpretations of the past4 ,the new interpretation is going to be simple1 straightforward1 and natural4 ,the death of ,christ is not going to be made something artificial1 mechanical1 or theatrical4 ,it is going to be the natural conception of the outflowing life of ,god4 ,the new interpretation is going to start from the ,fatherhood of ,god4 ,the old theories were all born in the counting-room1 or the court-house4 ,jesus went into the house to find ,his illustrations for the conduct of the heavenly ,father4 ,he never went into the court-house1 nor can we go there for analogies with which to image forth ,his dealings with our race4 ,it was ,his custom to say1 ,if you1 being evil1 know how to give good gifts unto your children1 how much more shall your ,father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him4 ,the new interpretation is going to be comprehensive4 ,it is going to be built1 not on a single metaphor1 but on everything that ,jesus and the apostles said4 ,right there is where the old interpretations went astray4 ,they seized upon one figure of speech and made that the determining factor in the entire interpretation4 ,jesus said many things1 and so did ,his apostles1 and all of them must contribute to the final interpretation4 ,two things are to be hereafter made very clear3 ,the first is that ,god reveals ,himself in ,jesus ,christ4 ,the old views were always losing sight of that great fact4 ,there was always a dualism between ,god and ,christ4 ,i remember what my conception was when ,i was a boy4 ,i thought that ,god was a strict and solemn and awful king1 who was very angry because men had broken ,his law4 ,he was just1 and ,his justice had no mercy in it4 ,christ1 ,his ,son1 was much better-natured and more compassionate1 and ,he came forth into our world to suffer upon the cross that ,god's justice might relax a little1 and ,his heart be opened to forgive our race4 ,i supposed that that was the teaching of the ,new ,testament1 it certainly was the teaching of the hymns in the hymn-book1 if not of the preachers4 ,and when ,i became a young man1 ,i supposed that that was the teaching of the ,christian religion4 ,my heart rebelled against it4 ,i would not accept it4 ,i became an infidel4 ,a man can not accept an interpretation of ,god that does not appeal to the best that is in him4 ,no man can accept a doctrine that darkens his moral sense1 or that confuses the distinction between right and wrong4 ,i would not accept the old interpretation because my soul rose in revolt against it4 ,i shall never forget how1 one evening in his study1 a minister1 who had outgrown the old traditions1 explained to me the meaning of the reconciliation4 ,he assured me that ,god is love1 invisible1 eternal4 ,christ1 ,his ,son1 is also love4 ,in becoming at one with the ,son we become at one with the ,father4 ,this is the at-one-ment4 ,and when that truth broke upon me my heart began to sing3 ,just as ,i am--,thy love unknown ,hath broken every barrier down2 ,now1 to be ,thine1 yea1 ,thine alone1 ,o ,lamb of ,god1 ,i come6 ,i wonder in telling this if ,i have not spoken the experience of many of you this morning4 ,it is impossible to love ,god if we feel that ,he is stern and despotic1 and must be appeased by the sufferings of an innocent man4 ,the ,new ,testament nowhere lends any support to that idea4 ,everywhere the ,new ,testament assures us that ,god is the lover of men1 that ,he initiates the movement for man's redemption4 ,god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten ,son4444 ,herein is love3 not that we loved ,god1 but that he loved us4 ,god commendeth his love toward us1 in that1 while we were yet sinners1 ,christ died for us4 ,the ,father spared not his own ,son1 but delivered him up for us all4 ,he that hath seen me hath seen the ,father4 ,i and my ,father are one4 ,these are only a few of the passages in which we are told that ,god is our ,savior4 ,when an old ,scotchman once heard the text announced1 ,god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten ,son1 he exclaimed1 ,oh1 that was love indeed6 ,i could have given myself1 but ,i never could have given my boy4 ,this1 then1 is the very highest love of which it is possible for the human mind to think3 the love of a father that surrenders his son to sufferings and death4 ,and this brings us to the second great truth which is outgrowing increasingly clear in the consciousness of the ,church4 ,the death of ,jesus is the revelation of an experience in the heart of ,god4 ,god is the sin-bearer of the world4 ,he bears our sins on ,his mind and heart4 ,there are three conceptions of ,god3 the savage1 the pagan1 and the ,christian4 ,god1 according to the savage conception1 is vengeful1 and capricious1 and vindictive4 ,he is a great savage hidden in the sky4 ,we have all outgrown that4 ,according to the pagan idea1 ,he is indifferent to the wants and woes of men4 ,he does not care for men4 ,he is not interested in them4 ,he does not sympathize with them4 ,he does not suffer over their griefs4 ,he does not feel pain or sorrow4 ,i am afraid that many of us have never gotten beyond the pagan conception of the ,almighty4 ,but according to the ,christian conception1 ,god suffers4 ,he feels1 and because ,he feels1 ,he sympathizes1 and because ,he sympathizes1 ,he suffers4 ,he feels both pain and grief4 ,he carries a wound in ,his heart4 ,we men and women sometimes feel burdened because of the sin we see around us2 shall not the heavenly ,father be as sensitive and responsive as we men8 ,but somebody says that ,god can not be happy then4 ,of course he can not be happy4 ,happiness is not an adjective to apply to ,god4 ,happy is a word that belongs to children4 ,children are happy1 grown people never are4 ,one can be happy when the birds are singing and the dew is on the grass1 and there is no cloud in all the sky1 and the crape has not yet hung at the door4 ,but after we have passed over the days of childhood1 there is happiness no longer4 ,some of us have lived too long and borne too much ever to be happy any more4 ,but it is possible for us to be blest4 ,we may pass into the very blessedness of ,god4 ,the highest form of blessedness is suffering for those we love1 and shall not the ,father of all men have in ,his own eternal heart that experience which we confess to be the highest form of blessedness8 ,this is the truth which is dawning like a new revelation on the ,church3 the humanity of ,god4 ,it is revealed in the ,new ,testament1 but as yet we have only begun to take it in4 ,god is like us men4 ,we are like ,him4 ,we are made in ,his image4 ,we are ,his children1 and ,he is our ,father4 ,if we are ,his children1 then we are ,his heirs1 and joint heirs with ,christ4 ,not only our joys1 but our sorrows also1 are intimations and suggestions of experiences in the infinite heart of the ,eternal4 ,,morgan ,,the ,,perfect ,,ideal ,,of ,,life ,,biographical ,,note ,george ,campbell ,morgan1 ,congregational divine and preacher1 was born in ,tetbury1 ,gloucestershire1 ,england1 in #ahfc1 and was educated at the ,douglas ,school1 ,cheltenham4 ,he worked as a lay-mission preacher for the two years ending #ahhh1 and was ordained to the ministry in the following year1 when he took charge of the ,congregational ,church at ,stones1 ,staffordshire4 ,after occupying the pulpit in several pastorates1 in #aijd he became pastor of the ,westminster ,congregational ,chapel1 ,buckingham ,gate1 ,london1 a position which he still occupies4 ,besides being highly successful as a pulpit orator1 ,dr4 ,morgan has published many works of a religious character1 among which may be enumerated3 ,discipleship2 ,the ,hidden ,years of ,nazareth2 ,life's ,problems2 ,the ,ten ,commandments4 ,his last work1 ,the ,christ of ,to-day1 has passed through several editions4 ,,morgan ,born in #ahfc ,,the ,,perfect ,,ideal ,,of ,,life ,jesus therefore said1 ,when ye have lifted up the son of man1 then shall ye know that ,i am he1 and that ,i do nothing of myself1 but as the ,father taught me1 ,i speak these things4 ,and he that sent me is with me2 he hath not left me alone2 for ,i do always the things that are pleasing to him4 ,as he spake these things1 many believed on him4--,john viii41 #bh-cj4 ,the ,master1 you will see1 in this verse lays before us three things4 ,first of all1 ,he gives us the perfect ideal of human life in a short phrase1 and that comes at the end1 the things that please him4 ,those are the things that create perfect human life1 living in the realm of which man realizes perfectly all the possibilities of his wondrous being--the things that please him4 ,so ,i say1 in this phrase1 the ,master reveals to us the perfect ideal of our lives4 ,then1 in the second place1 the ,master lays claim--one of the most stupendous claims that ,he ever made--that ,he utterly1 absolutely1 realizes that ideal4 ,he says1 ,i do always the things that please him4 ,and then1 thirdly1 we have the revelation of the secret by which ,he has been able to realize the ideal1 to make the abstract concrete1 to bring down the fair vision of divine purpose to the level of actual human life and experience1 and the secret is declared in the opening words3 ,he that sent me is with me2 my ,father hath not left me alone4 ,the perfect ideal for my life1 then1 is that ,i live always in the realm of the things that please ,god2 and the secret by which ,i may do so is here unfolded--by living in perpetual1 unbroken communion with ,god3 communion with which ,i do not permit anything to interfere4 ,then it shall be possible for me to pass into this high realm of actual realization4 ,it is important that we should remind ourselves in a few sentences that the ,lord has indeed stated the highest possible ideal for human life in these words3 ,the things that please him4 ,oh1 the godlessness of men6 ,the godlessness that is to be found on every hand6 ,the godlessness of the men and women that are called by the name of ,god6 ,how tragic1 how sad1 how awful it is6 because godlessness is always not merely an act of rebellion against ,god1 but a falling-short in our own lives of their highest and most glorious possibilities4 ,here is my life4 ,now1 the highest realm for me is the realm where all my thoughts1 and all my deeds1 and all my methods1 and everything in my life please ,god4 ,that is the highest realm1 because ,god only knows what ,i am2 only perfectly understands the possibilities of my nature1 and all the great reaches of my being4 ,you remember those lines that ,tennyson sang--very beautifully1 ,i always think3 ,flower in the crannied wall1 ,i pluck you out of the crannies2-- ,hold you here1 root and all1 in my hand1 ,little ,flower--but if ,i could understand ,what you art1 root and all1 and all in all1 ,i should know what ,god and man is4 ,beautiful confession6 ,absolutely true4 ,i hold that flower in my hand1 and ,i look at it1 flower and leaves and stem and root4 ,i can botanize it1 and then ,i tear it to pieces--that is what the botanist mostly does--and you put some part of it there1 and some part of it there1 and some part of it there4 ,there is the root1 there the stem1 and there are the leaves1 and there is everything2 but where is the flower8 ,gone4 ,how did it go8 ,when did it go8 ,why1 when you ruthlessly tore it to bits4 ,but how did you destroy it8 ,you interfered with the principle that made it what it was--you interfered with the principle of life4 ,what is life8 ,no man can tell you4 ,if ,i could but know what you are1 little flower1 root and all1 and all in all1 ,i would know what life is1 what ,god is1 what man is4 ,i can not4 ,now1 if you lift that little parable of the flower into the highest realm of animal life1 and speak of yourself--we don't know ourselves2 down in my nature there are reaches that ,i have not fathomed yet4 ,they are coming up every day4 ,what a blest thing it is to have the ,master at hand1 to hand them over to ,him as they come up1 and say1 ,lord1 here is another piece of ,thy territory2 govern it2 ,i don't know anything about it4 ,but there is the business4 ,i don't know myself1 but ,god knows me1 understands all the complex relationships of my life1 knows how matter affects mind1 and physical and mental and spiritual are blended in one in the high ideal of humanity4 ,oh1 remember1 man is the crowning and most glorious work of ,god of which we know anything as yet4 ,and ,god only knows man4 ,but here is a ,man that stands amid ,his enemies1 and ,he looks out upon ,his enemies1 and ,he says1 ,i do the things that please him--not ,i teach them1 not ,i dream them1 not ,i have seen them in a fair vision1 but ,i do them4 ,there never was a bigger claim from the lips of the ,master than that3 ,i do always the things that please him4 ,you would not thank me to insult your ,christian experience1 upon whatever level you live it1 by attempting to define that statement of ,christ4 ,history has vindicated it4 ,we believe it with all our hearts--that ,he always did the things that pleased ,god4 ,but ,i have got on to a level that ,i can touch now4 ,the great ideal has come from the air to the earth4 ,the fair vision has become concrete in a ,man4 ,now1 ,i want to see that ,man2 and if ,i see that ,man ,i shall see in ,him a revelation of what ,god's purpose is for men1 and ,i shall see1 therefore1 a revelation of what the highest possibility of life is4 ,now this is a tempting theme4 ,it is a temptation to begin to contrast ,him with popular ideals of life4 ,i want to see ,him2 ,i want1 if ,i can1 to catch the notes of the music that make up the perfect harmony which was the dropping of a song out of ,god's heaven upon man's earth1 that man might catch the key-note of it and make music in his own life4 ,what are the things in this ,man's life8 ,he says3 ,i have realized the ideal--,i do4 ,there are four things that ,i want to say about ,him1 four notes in the music of ,his life4 ,first1 spirituality4 ,that is one of the words that needs redeeming from abuse4 ,he was the embodiment of the spiritual ideal in life4 ,he was spiritual in the high1 true1 full1 broad1 blest sense of that word4 ,it may be well for a moment to note what spirituality did not mean in the life of ,jesus ,christ4 ,it did not mean asceticism4 ,during all the years of ,his ministry1 during all the years of ,his teaching1 you never find a single instance in which ,jesus ,christ made a whip of cords to scourge ,himself4 ,and all that business of scourging oneself--an attempt to elevate the spirit by the ruin of the actual flesh--is absolutely opposed to ,his view of life4 ,jesus ,christ did not deny ,himself4 ,the fact of ,his life was this--that ,he touched everything familiarly4 ,he went into all the relationship of life4 ,he went to the widow4 ,he took up the children and held them in ,his arms1 and looked into their eyes till heaven was poured in as ,he looked4 ,he didn't go and get behind walls somewhere4 ,he didn't get away and say3 ,now1 if ,i am going to get pure ,i shall do it by shutting men out4 ,you remember what the ,pharisees said of ,him once4 ,they said3 ,this man receiveth sinners4 ,you know how they said it4 ,they meant to say3 ,we did hope that we should make something out of this new man1 but we are quite disappointed4 ,he receives sinners4 ,and what did they mean8 ,they meant what you have so often said3 ,you can't touch pitch without being defiled4 ,but this ,man sat down with the publican and ,he didn't take on any defilement from the publican4 ,on the other hand1 ,he gave the publican ,his purity in the life of ,jesus ,christ4 ,things worked the other way4 ,he was the great negative of ,god to the very law of evil that you have--evil contaminates good4 ,if you will put on a plate one apple that is getting bad among twelve others that are pure1 the bad one will influence the others4 ,christ came to drive back every force of disease and every force of evil by this strong purity of ,his own person1 and ,he said3 ,i will go among the bad and make them good4 ,that is what ,he was doing the whole way through4 ,so ,his spirituality was not asceticism4 ,and if you are going to be so spiritual that you see no beauty in the flowers and hear no music in the song of the birds2 if the life which you pass into when you consent to the crucifixion of self does not open to you the very gates of ,god1 and make the singing of the birds and the blossoming of the flowers infinitely more beautiful1 you have never seen ,jesus yet4 ,what was ,his spirituality8 ,the spirituality of ,jesus ,christ was a concrete realization of a great truth which ,he laid down in ,his own beatitudes4 ,what was that8 ,blest are the pure in heart1 for they shall see ,god4 ,now1 the trouble is we have been lifting all the good things of ,god and putting them in heaven4 ,and ,i don't wonder that you sing3 ,my willing soul would stay ,in such a frame as this1 ,and sit and sing itself away ,to everlasting bliss4 ,no wonder you want to sing yourself away to everlasting bliss1 because everything that is worth having you have put up there4 ,but ,jesus said3 ,blest are the pure in heart1 for they shall see ,god4 ,if you are pure you will see ,him everywhere--in the flower that blooms1 in the march of history1 in the sorrows of men1 above the darkness of the darkest cloud2 and you will know that ,god is in the field when ,he is most invisible4 ,second1 subjection4 ,the next note in the music of ,his life is ,his absolute subjection to ,god4 ,you can very often tell the great philosophies which are governing human lives by the little catchwords that slip off men's tongues3 ,well1 ,i thank ,god ,i am my own master4 ,that is your trouble1 man4 ,it is because you are your own master that you are in danger of hell4 ,a man says3 ,can't ,i do as ,i like with my own8 ,you have got no own to do what you like with4 ,it is because men have forgotten the covenant of ,god1 the kingship of ,god1 that we have all the wreckage and ruin that blights this poor earth of ours4 ,here is the ,man who never forgot it4 ,did you notice those wonderful words3 ,i do nothing of myself1 but as my ,father taught me1 ,i speak4 ,he neither did nor spoke anything of ,himself4 ,it was a wonderful life4 ,he stood forevermore between the next moment and heaven4 ,and the ,father's voice said1 ,do this1 and ,he said ,amen1 ,i came to do thy will1 and did it4 ,and the ,father's voice said1 ,speak these words to men1 and ,he1 ,amen1 and ,he spoke4 ,you say3 ,that is just what ,i do not want to do4 ,i know that4 ,we want to be independent2 have our own way4 ,the things that please ,god--this ,man was subject to the divine will4 ,you know the two words--if you can learn to say them1 not like a parrot1 not glibly1 but out of your heart--the two words that will help you ,halleluiah and ,amen4 ,you can say them in ,welsh or any language you like2 they are always the same4 ,when the next dispensation of ,god's dealings faces you look at it and say3 ,halleluiah6 ,praise ,god6 ,amen6 ,that means1 ,i agree4 ,third1 sympathy4 ,now1 you have this ,man turned toward other men4 ,we have seen something of ,him as ,he faced ,god3 ,spirituality1 a sense of ,god2 subjection1 a perpetual amen to the divine volition4 ,now1 ,he faces the crowd4 ,sympathy6 ,why8 ,because ,he is right with ,god1 ,he is right with men2 because ,he feels ,god near1 and knows ,him1 and responds to the divine will2 therefore1 when ,he faces men ,he is right toward men4 ,the settlement of every social problem you have in this country and in my own land1 the settlement of the whole business1 will be found in the return of man to ,god4 ,when man gets back to ,god he gets back to men4 ,what is behind it8 ,sympathy is the power of putting my spirit outside my personality1 into the circumstances of another man1 and feeling as that man feels4 ,i take one picture as an illustration of this4 ,i see the ,master approaching the city of ,nain1 and around ,him ,his disciples4 ,he is coming up4 ,and ,i see outside the city of ,nain1 coming toward the gate a man carried by others1 dead1 and walking by that bier a mother4 ,now1 all ,i want you to look at is that woman's face1 and1 looking into her face1 see all the anguish of those circumstances4 ,she is a widow1 and that is her boy1 her only boy1 and he is dead4 ,man can not talk about this4 ,you have got to be in the house to know what that means4 ,but look at her face--there it is4 ,all the sorrow is on her face4 ,you can see it4 ,now1 turn from her quickly and look into the face of ,christ4 ,why1 ,i look into ,his face--there is her face4 ,he is feeling all she is feeling2 ,he is down in her sorrow with her2 ,he has got underneath the burden1 and ,he is feeling all the agony that that woman feels because her boy is dead4 ,he is moved with compassion whenever human sorrow crosses ,his vision and human need approaches ,him4 ,and now ,i see ,him moving toward the bier4 ,i see ,him as ,he touches it4 ,and ,he takes the boy back and gives him to his mother4 ,do you see in yon mountain a cloud1 so somber and sad1 and suddenly the sun comes from behind the cloud1 and all the mountain-side laughs with gladness8 ,that is that woman's face4 ,the agony is gone4 ,the tear that remains there is gilded with a smile1 and joy is on her face4 ,look at ,him4 ,there it is4 ,he is in her joy now4 ,he is having as good a time as the woman4 ,he has carried her grief and her sorrow4 ,he has given her joy4 ,and it is ,his joy that ,he has given to her4 ,he is with her in her joy4 ,wonderful sympathy6 ,he went about gathering human sorrow into ,his own heart1 scattering ,his joy1 and having fellowship in agony and in deliverance1 in tears and in their wiping away4 ,great1 sympathetic soul6 ,why8 ,because ,he always lived with ,god1 and1 living with ,god1 the divine love moved ,him with compassion4 ,ah1 believe me1 our sorrows are more felt in heaven than on earth4 ,and we had that glimpse of that eternal love in this ,man1 who did the things that pleased ,god1 and manifested such wondrous sympathy4 ,fourth1 strength4 ,the last note is that of strength4 ,you talk about the weakness of ,jesus1 the frailty of ,jesus4 ,i tell you1 there never was any one so strong as ,he4 ,and if you will take the pains of reading ,his life with that in mind you will find it was one tremendous march of triumph against all opposing forces4 ,about ,his dying--how did ,he die8 ,at last1 at last1 says the man in his study that does not know anything about ,jesus2 ,at last ,his enemies became too much for ,him1 and they killed ,him4 ,nothing of the sort4 ,that is a very superficial reading4 ,what is the truth8 ,hear it from ,his own lips3 ,no man taketh my life from me4 ,i lay it down of myself4 ,and if ,i lay it down ,i have authority to take it again4 ,what do you think of that8 ,how does that touch you as a revelation of magnificence in strength8 ,and then1 look at ,him1 when ,he comes back from the tomb1 having fulfilled that which was either an empty boast or a great fact--thank ,god1 we believe it was a great fact6 ,now ,he stands upon the mountain1 with this handful of men around ,him1 ,his disciples1 and ,he is going away from them4 ,all authority1 ,he says1 is given unto me4 ,i am king not merely by an office conferred1 but by a triumph won4 ,i am king1 for ,i have faced the enemies of the race--sin and sorrow and ignorance and death--and my foot is upon the neck of every one4 ,all authority is given to me4 ,oh1 the strength of this ,man6 ,where did ,he get it8 ,my ,father hath not left me alone4 ,i have lived with ,god4 ,i have walked with ,god4 ,i always knew him near4 ,i always responded to his will4 ,and my heart went out in sympathy to others1 and ,i mastered the enemies of those with whom ,i sympathized4 ,and ,i come to the end and ,i say1 ,all authority is given to me4 ,oh1 my brother1 that is the pattern for you and for me6 ,ah1 that is life6 ,that is the ideal6 ,oh1 how can ,i fulfil it8 ,i am not going to talk about that4 ,let me only give you this sentence to finish with1 ,christ in you1 the hope of glory4 ,if ,christ be in me by the power of the ,spirit1 ,he will keep me conscious of ,god's nearness to me4 ,if ,christ be in me by the consciousness of the spirit reigning and governing1 ,he will take my will from day to day1 blend it with ,his1 and take away all that makes it hard to say1 ,god's will be done4 ,,cadman ,a ,,new ,,day ,,for ,,missions ,,biographical ,,note ,s4 ,parkes ,cadman is one of the many immigrant clergymen who have attained to fame in ,american pulpits4 ,he was born in ,shropshire1 ,england1 ,december #ah1 #ahfd1 and graduated from ,richmond ,college1 ,london ,university1 in #ahhi4 ,coming to this country about #ahie he was appointed pastor of the ,methodist ,episcopal ,metropolitan ,tabernacle1 ,new ,york4 ,from this post he was called to ,central ,congregational ,church1 ,brooklyn1 with but one exception the largest ,congregational ,church in the ,united ,states4 ,he has received the degree of ,d4,d4 from ,wesleyan ,university and the ,university of ,syracuse4 ,the sermon here given1 somewhat abridged1 was delivered before the ,national ,council of ,congregational ,churches1 in ,cleveland1 ,ohio1 and is from ,dr4 ,cadman's manuscript4 ,,cadman ,born in #ahfd ,a ,,new ,,day ,,for ,,missions ,god forbid that ,i should glory save in the cross of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ3 by whom the world is crucified unto me1 and ,i unto the world4--,gal4 vi41 #ad4 ,the pivotal conception of missionary enterprise is the conception of ,christ as the eternal priest of humanity4 ,if any need of the world's heart is before us now1 it is the need of the ,cross4 ,there is a deep and anxious desire in men for the saving forces of sacrificial ,christianity4 ,the ideals of the ,new ,testament concerning ,gethsemane and ,calvary are being thrust upon our attention by the upward strugglings of the people4 ,they1 at any rate1 have not forgotten the forsaken ,man in the night of awful silence in the garden1 nor ,his exceeding bitter agony1 nor the perfect ending that made ,his death ,his victory4 ,the wastes of eccentricity1 whether orthodox or heterodox1 and the over curious speculations of theologies remote from the habitations of men1 have had little influence upon the multitudes we seek to serve4 ,and if ,i had to choose a sphere where one could rediscover the central forces of ,christian life and of ,christian practise1 ,i would lean toward the enlightened democracies which to-day are vibrant with the plea that the shepherdless multitudes shall have social ameliorations and new incentives and selfless leaders4 ,we are all very jealous for the honor and success of the propagandism we sustain at home and abroad1 and ,i hold that its honor and success alike depend upon the priesthood and redemptive efficacies of ,jesus4 ,these sovereign forces are correlated with ,his victories for the twenty past centuries1 and they constitute the distinctive genius of the faith4 ,we shall gain nothing for the rule or for the ethics of ,jesus by derogating that peculiar office of the divine ,victim which is1 to me1 at any rate1 the most sublime reason for the ,incarnation and the ineffable height and depth and mystery of all love and all strength blessedly operative in every ruined condition by means of sacrifice4 ,the missionary fields confessedly can not be conquered by the unaided teacher2 he must have more than a system of truth1 more than a program1 more than a reasoned discourse4 ,their vast inert mass demands vitalization2 and the life which is given for the life of men1 the divinest gift of all1 is alone sufficient for this regeneration4 ,moreover1 can we rest the absolutism and finality of ,jesus upon anything less than the last complete outpouring of ,his soul unto voluntary death for men's salvation8 ,i do not think we can1 and it is a requisite that we place larger emphasis upon this holy mystery of our life through ,christ's death1 the substantial soul and secret of all missionary progress in all ages of the ,church4 ,before we can see the miracle of nations entering the kingdom of ,god1 before we can dismiss the black death of apathy which rests on so many professedly ,christian communities1 before we can dominate the social structure in righteousness and justice1 the ,church must be raised nearer to the standards of ,new ,testament efficiency4 ,and ,new ,testament efficiency rested upon the perfect divinity and all-persuasive mediatorship of ,christ and him crucified4 ,the personality of ,christ involves for many of us the entire relation of ,god to ,his universe2 ,he is the central figure in all history1 and ,pie is the central figure of our personal experience1 creative in us1 by ,his inaugural experience1 of all we are in ,him and for our fellows4 ,thus we make great claims for the ,lord of the harvest1 and we make them soberly1 and we know them true for our spiritual consciousness1 and we are prepared to defend them4 ,yet ,i1 for one1 do not hesitate to admit that the theological necessities of missionary work are many1 and that they must be recognized and met before it can fully accomplish its infinite design4 ,indeed1 the rule of ,jesus in all these aspects of ,his mission clarifies and simplifies the gospel4 ,it is plain that such a gospel1 wherein the living personality of the ,christ deals with the living man to whom we minister1 is not to be beset by complications and abstractions4 ,its spiritual topography embraces the height of good1 the depth of love1 the breadth of sympathy1 and the width of catholicity4 ,it was meant for the race and for the far-reaching reciprocities and inexpressible necessities of the race4 ,it is attuned to the cry of the common heart4 ,its interpretations have the sanctions of an authoritative human experience which has never failed in its witness4 ,sometimes ,i have challenged these honored servants of the evangel who have come back to us from quarters where they were busy on the errands of the cross4 ,almost pathetically1 with the painful interest of one inquiring for a long absent friend of whom no news has been received1 ,i have solicited the missionaries4 ,they came from the south of our own dear land1 where they administered to the negro2 from the arctic zone1 from the farther ,east4 ,their wider vision1 their more imperial instinct1 were plain to me1 and my usual question was1 ,what do you teach the impulsive colored man and the stolid ,eskimo and the pensive ,hindu and the inscrutable ,asiatic8 ,and they replied1 ,we teach them1 that ,god is a personal spirit and ,father1 whose character is holiness and whose heart is love2 that ,jesus ,christ is the designed and supreme ,son of ,god1 who lived in sinlessness and died in perfect willing sacrifice for the eternal life of all men1 that by the will of ,god and in the power of ,his spirit men may have everlasting life and1 better still1 everlasting goodness1 if they will accept and trust in ,jesus ,christ for all4 ,and this gospel obtains the day of overcoming for which we plead and pray4 ,for tho an angel from heaven had any other1 men do not respond2 the charisma rests on no other message4 ,possest of it1 and possessing it1 under the covenant of heaven and led by the ,shepherd and ,bishop of souls1 we shall go forth determined to give it place in us and in our presentations as never before4 ,may nothing mar the solemn splendor of such a message from ,god unto men4 ,let us subordinate our undue intellectualism and place our boasted freedom under restraints1 so that the evangel may be preached without reserve and with abandon4 ,for there is one ,god1 and one mediator between ,god and men1 himself man1 ,christ ,jesus1 who gave himself a ransom for all4 ,such in one grand passage is the creed that breathes the very life and spirit of the most significant and overwhelming missionary period in the history of the ,christian ,church4 ,there is a new day due in missions because of the immense superiority in missionary methods4 ,the personnel of our administrations has been superb1 and of nearly all the honored servants of ,god who have labored in domestic and foreign departments it could be said1 ,thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity4 ,but ,i presume these seasoned veterans would be the first to show us how the whole conception of propagandism has been readapted1 and its vehicles of communication multiplied in various directions4 ,the onfall and sally of the earler evangelistic campaigns are now aided by the investment and siege of educational and medical work4 ,the trackways of a policy embedded in the wider interpretation of the gospel are laid and the new era takes shape before our comprehension4 ,travel1 exploration1 and commerce have demanded and obtained the ,lusitania on the sea2 the railroad from the ,cape to ,cairo on the land1 and they have left no spot of earth untrodden1 no map obscure1 no mart unvisited4 ,keeping step with this stately and unprecedented development1 and often anticipating it1 the widening frontiers of our missionary kingdom have demonstrated again and again how the ,church can make a bridal of the earth and sky1 linking the lowliest needs to the loftiest truths4 ,and best of all in respect of methods is the dispersal of our native egotism4 ,we have come to see that the types of ,christianity in ,europe and ,america are perhaps aboriginal for us1 but can not be transplanted to other shores4 ,manifest destiny is a phrase that sits down when ,japan and ,china wake up4 ,not thus can ,jesus be robbed of the fruits of ,his passion in any branch of the human family4 ,we are to plant and water1 labor in faith1 and die in hope1 scattering the seed of the gospel in the hearts of these brothers of regions outside4 ,but ,god will ordain their harvests as it pleaseth ,him4 ,what will be the joy of that harvest8 ,throw your imagination across this new century1 and as it dies and gives place to its successor1 review the race whose devotion has then fastened on the divine ruler and the federal ,man1 ,christ ,jesus4 ,for nearly a hundred years the barriers that segregated us will have been a memory4 ,the ,church will have discovered not only fields of labor1 but forces for her replenishing4 ,then will our posterity rejoice in the larger ,christ who is to be4 ,the virtuous elements of all other faiths will be placed under the purification and control of the priesthood and authority of ,jesus4 ,and tho in these ancient religions that await the ,bridegroom1 the mortal stains the immortal and the human mars the beauty of the divine1 in the light of ,his appearing they will assume new attitudes and receive ,his quickening and thrill with ,his pulse4 ,when ,i conceive of this reward for our ,daysman ,i protest that all other triumphs seem as tinsel and sham4 ,the ,desire of all nations shall then see of the travail of ,his soul and shall be satisfied4 ,the subtle patience of ,china1 the fierce resistance of ,japan1 the brooding soul that haunts the ,ganges valley1 the tumult of emotion of the ,ethiopian breast1 all are for ,his appearing2 they must be saved unto noble ends by ,his sanctification4 ,for that time there will be a ,church whose canonization of the infinite is beyond our dreams1 enriched on every side1 with common allegiance and diversity of gifts1 and every gift the boon of all1 and ,christ's dower in ,his bride increased beyond compare4 ,this is the ideal of the new day2 may it become our personal ideal4 ,then shall we fight with new courage for the right1 and abhor the imperfect1 the unjust1 and the mean4 ,our leaders will care nothing for flattery and praise or odium and abuse4 ,enthusiasm can not be soured1 nor courage diminished4 ,the ,almighty has placed our hand on the greatest of ,his plows1 in whose furrow the nations ,i have named are germinating religiously4 ,and to drive forward the blade if but a little1 and to plant any seed of justice and of joy1 any sense of manliness or moral worth1 to aid in any way the gospel which is the friend of liberty1 the companion of the conscience and the parent of the intellectual enlightenment--is not that enough8 ,is it not a complete justification of our plea8 ,we shall do well to remember that no evangel can prosper without the evangelical temper4 ,the parsing of grammarians is of little avail here1 and to have all critical knowledge of the prophets and apostles of the faith without their fervor and consecration is profitable merely for study1 and useless mainly for the larger life4 ,our culture must be the passion-flower of ,christ ,jesus4 ,to be more anxious about intellectual pre-eminence or ecclesiastical origins than about the trial of the immigrant and the condition of the colored races is not helpful4 ,there is a sort of orthodoxy that revels in the visions of apocalypses and refuses to fight the beast1 says ,dr4 ,nurgan4 ,such barren indulgence is excluded from any glory to follow4 ,technicalities1 niceties1 knowledge remote and knowledge general must be appropriated and made dynamic in this life-and-death conflict2 any that can not be thus used can be sent to the rear for a further debate4 ,diplomacies in church government and adjustments in church creeds can wait on this consecration1 this baptism of unction4 ,i never heard that the statesman who formulated the peace at ,paris in #ahae got in the way of the ,household ,brigades and the ,highlanders at ,waterloo and ,hougomont4 ,they played their commendable game1 but they could not have swept that awful slope of flame in which ,ney and the ,old ,guard staggered on at ,mont ,st4 ,jean4 ,let us redeem our creeds at the front1 and prove the welding of our weapons and their tempered blades upon every evil way and darkness and superstition that afflict humankind4 ,and have you not seen with moistened eyes and beating hearts the pathetic surgings of harassed and broken sons and daughters of ,god toward ,his son ,jesus ,christ8 ,i have watched them until ,i felt constrained to cry aloud and spare not2 and while viewing them here and yonder1 and refusing to be localized in our love toward them1 have not our spirits been rebuked1 have they not known fear for ourselves1 have they not pensively echoed the charge of some that we have no real roots in democracy1 but are as plants in pots1 and not as oaks in the soil of earth8 ,if independency is a barrier to the essence of which it is supposedly a form1 if superiority shuts us off from assimilation with popular movements and delivers us over to cliques1 then these churches of ours#a will end in a record of shame and confusion4 ,while we are busy in trivial things1 our energy and our might will be deflected1 and the living ,god will hand over the crusade to those who have proven worthier and who knew the day when it did come1 even the day of their visitation4 ,footnote #a3 ,the special reference is to the ,congregational churches4 ,we must arise with courage undismayed1 and join in the cry of the ages3 ,when wilt thou save the people1 ,o ,god of mercy1 when8 ,the people6 ,lord1 the people6 ,not crowns1 nor thrones1 but men4 ,flower of thy heart1 ,o ,lord1 are they1 ,their heritage a sunless day4 ,let them like weeds not fade away2 ,lord1 save the people4 ,if our hearts are thus enlarged1 we shall run in the way of ,his commandments2 fatherhood and brotherhood and sonship will not be symbols1 shibboleths of pious intercourse1 but ways of ,god's reaching out through us for the total brotherhood4 ,we shall silence the caviler against missions2 we shall raise the negro in the face of those who say he can not be raised2 we shall see the latter-day miracles1 and the lame man healed and rejoicing at the ,temple gate4 ,thus may the breath of ,god sweep across our pastorates and dismiss timidity1 provincialism1 ease1 and narrowness of outlook4 ,and thus may the power be demonstrated as of heaven because it is the power unto salvation4 ,let us fear not men who shall die1 nor be content to fill our peaceful lot and occupy a respectable grave4 ,the new world needs the renewed baptism1 and the modernism of which medievalists complain is the robe of honor for the ,christ of this epoch4 ,so that there shall come unto the ,church the flame of sacred love1 and1 kindling on every heart and altar1 there shall it burn for the glory of ,christ1 the ,high ,priest1 with inextinguishable blaze4 ,we can rest content1 for1 behold6 the day cometh and in its light4 ,let us go hence4 ,,jowett ,,apostolic ,,optimism ,,biographical ,,note ,john ,henry ,jowett1 ,congregational divine1 was born at ,barnard ,castle1 ,durham1 in #ahfd1 and educated at ,edinburgh and ,oxford universities4 ,in #ahhi he was ordained to ,st4 ,james's ,congregational ,church1 ,newcastle-on-,tyne1 and in #ahie was called to his present pastorate of ,carr's ,lane ,congregational ,church1 ,birmingham1 where he has taken rank among the leading preachers of ,great ,britain4 ,he is the author of several important books4 ,,jowett ,born in #ahfd ,,apostolic ,,optimism#a ,footnote #a3 ,reprinted by permission of ,a4,c4 ,armstrong ,son4 ,rejoicing in hope4--,romans xii41 #ab4 ,that is a characteristic expression of the fine1 genial optimism of the ,apostle ,paul4 ,his eyes are always illumined4 ,the cheery tone is never absent from his speech4 ,the buoyant and springy movement of his life is never changed4 ,the light never dies out of his sky4 ,even the gray firmament reveals more hopeful tints1 and becomes significant of evolving glory4 ,the apostle is an optimist1 rejoicing in hope1 a child of light wearing the armor of light1 walking in the light even as ,christ is in the light4 ,this apostolic optimism was not a thin and fleeting sentiment begotten of a cloudless summer day4 ,it was not the creation of a season2 it was the permanent pose of the spirit4 ,even when beset with circumstances which to the world would spell defeat1 the apostle moved with the mien of a conqueror4 ,he never lost the kingly posture4 ,he was disturbed by no timidity about ultimate issues4 ,he fought and labored in the spirit of certain triumph4 ,we are always confident4 ,we are more than conquerors through ,him that loved us4 ,thanks be unto ,god who giveth us the victory through our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,this apostolic optimism was not born of sluggish thinking1 or of idle and shallow observation4 ,i am very grateful that the counsel of my text lifts its chaste and cheery flame in the twelfth chapter of an epistle of which the first chapter contains as dark and searching an indictment of our nature as the mind of man has ever drawn4 ,let me rehearse the appalling catalog that the radiance of the apostle's optimism may appear the more abounding3 ,senseless hearts1 fools1 uncleanness1 vile passions1 reprobate minds1 unrighteousness1 wickedness1 covetousness1 maliciousness2 full of envy1 murder1 strife1 deceit1 malignity1 whisperers1 backbiters1 hateful to ,god1 insolent1 haughty1 boastful1 inventors of evil things1 without understanding1 covenant breakers1 without natural affection1 unmerciful4 ,with fearless severity the apostle leads us through the black realms of midnight and eclipse4 ,and yet in the subsequent reaches of the great argument1 of which these dark regions form the preface1 there emerges the clear1 calm1 steady light of my optimistic text4 ,i say it is not the buoyancy of ignorance4 ,it is not the flippant1 light-hearted expectancy of a man who knows nothing about the secret places of the night4 ,the counselor is a man who has steadily gazed at light at its worst1 who has digged through the outer walls of convention and respectability1 who has pushed his way into the secret chambers and closets of life1 who has dragged out the slimy sins which were lurking in their holes1 and named them after their kind--it is this man who when he has surveyed the dimensions of evil and misery and contempt1 merges his dark indictment in a cheery and expansive dawn1 in an optimistic evangel1 in which he counsels his fellow-disciples to maintain the confident attitude of a rejoicing hope4 ,now1 what are the secrets of this courageous and energetic optimism8 ,perhaps1 if we explore the life of this great apostle1 and seek to discover its springs1 we may find the clue to his abounding hope4 ,roaming then through the entire records of his life and teachings1 do we discover any significant emphasis8 ,preeminent above all other suggestions1 ,i am imprest with his vivid sense of the reality of the redemptive work of ,christ4 ,turn where ,i will1 the redemptive work of the ,christ evidences itself as the base and groundwork of his life4 ,it is not only that here and there are solid statements of doctrine1 wherein some massive argument is constructed for the partial unveiling of redemptive glory4 ,even in those parts of his epistles where formal argument has ceased1 and where solid doctrine is absent1 the doctrine flows as a fluid element into the practical convictions of life1 and determines the shape and quality of the judgments4 ,nay1 one might legitimately use the figure of a finer medium still1 and say that in all the spacious reaches of the apostle's life the redemptive work of his ,master is present as an atmosphere in which all his thoughts and purposes and labors find their sustaining and enriching breath4 ,take this epistle to the ,romans in which my text is found4 ,the earlier stages of the great epistle are devoted to a massive and stately presentation of the doctrines of redemption4 ,but when ,i turn over the pages where the majestic argument is concluded1 ,i find the doctrine persisting in a diffused and rarefied form1 and appearing as the determining factor in the solution of practical problems4 ,if he is dealing with the question of the eating of meats1 the great doctrine reappears and interposes its solemn and yet elevating principle3 destroy not him with thy meat for whom ,christ died4 ,if he is called upon to administer rebuke to the passionate and unclean1 the shadow of the cross rests upon his judgment4 ,ye are not your own2 ye are bought with a price4 ,if he is portraying the ideal relationship of husband and wife1 he sets it in the light of redemptive glory3 ,husbands1 love your wives1 even as ,christ also loved the church1 and gave himself up for it4 ,if he is seeking to cultivate the grace of liberality1 he brings the heavenly air around about the spirit4 ,ye know the grace of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 that tho he was rich1 yet for your sakes he became poor4 ,it interweaves itself with all his salutations4 ,it exhales in all his benedictions like a hallowing fragrance4 ,you can not get away from it4 ,in the light of the glory of redemption all relationships are assorted and arranged4 ,redemption was not degraded into a fine abstract argument1 to which the apostle had appended his own approval1 and then1 with sober satisfaction1 had laid it aside1 as a practical irrelevancy1 in the stout chests of orthodoxy4 ,it became the very spirit of his life4 ,it was1 if ,i may be allowed the violent figure1 the warm blood in all his judgment4 ,it filled the veins of all his thinking4 ,it beat like a pulse in all his purposes4 ,it determined and vitalized his decisions in the crisis1 as well as in the lesser trifles of the common day4 ,his conception of redemption was regulative of all his thought4 ,but it is not only the immediacy of redemption in the apostle's thought by which ,i am imprest4 ,i stand in awed amazement before its vast1 far-stretching reaches into the eternities4 ,said an old villager to me concerning the air of his elevated hamlet1 ,ay1 sir1 it's a fine air is this westerly breeze2 ,i like to think of it as having traveled from the distant fields of the ,atlantic6 ,and here is the ,apostle ,paul1 with the quickening wind of redemption blowing about him in loosening1 vitalizing1 strengthening influence1 and to him1 in all his thinking1 it had its birth in the distant fields of eternity6 ,to the apostle redemption was not a small device1 an afterthought1 a patched-up expedient to meet an unforseen emergency4 ,the redemptive purpose lay back in the abyss of the eternities1 and in a spirit of reverent questioning the apostle sent his trembling thoughts into those lone and silent fields4 ,he emerged with1 whispered secrets such as these3 fore-knew1 fore-ordained1 chosen in him before the foundation of the world1 eternal life promised before times eternal1 the eternal purpose which he purposed in ,christ ,jesus our ,lord4 ,brethren1 does our common thought of redemptive glory reach back into this august and awful presence8 ,does the thought of the modern disciple journey in this distant pilgrimage8 ,or do we now regard it as unpractical and irrelevant8 ,there is no more insidious peril in modern religious life than the debasement of our conception of the practical4 ,if we divorce the practical from the sublime1 the practical will become the superficial1 and will degenerate into a very lean and forceless thing4 ,when ,paul went on this lonely pilgrimage his spirit acquired the posture of a finely sensitive reverence4 ,people who live and move beneath great domes acquire a certain calm and stately dignity4 ,it is in companionship with the sublimities that awkwardness and coarseness are destroyed4 ,we lose our reverence when we desert the august4 ,but has reverence no relationship to the practical8 ,shall we discard it as an irrelevant factor in the purposes of common life8 ,why1 reverence is the very clue to fruitful1 practical living4 ,reverence is creative of hope2 nay1 a more definite emphasis can be given to the assertion2 reverence is a constituent of hope4 ,annihilate reverence1 and life loses its fine sensitiveness1 and when sensitiveness goes out of a life the hope that remains is only a flippant rashness1 a thoughtless impetuosity1 the careless onrush of the kine1 and not a firm1 assured perception of a triumph that is only delayed4 ,a reverent homage before the sublimities of yesterday is the condition of a fine perception of the hidden triumphs of the morrow4 ,and1 therefore1 ,i do not regard it as an accidental conjunction that the psalmist puts them together and proclaims the evangel that the ,lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him1 in them that hope in his mercy4 ,to feel the days before me ,i must revere the purpose which throbs behind me4 ,i must bow in reverence if ,i would anticipate in hope4 ,here1 then1 is the ,apostle ,paul1 with the redemptive purpose interweaving itself with all the entanglements of his common life1 a purpose reaching back into the awful depths of the eternities1 and issuing from those depths in amazing fulness of grace and glory4 ,no one can be five minutes in the companionship of the ,apostle ,paul without discovering how wealthy is his sense of the wealthy1 redeeming ministry of ,god4 ,what a wonderful consciousness he has of the sweep and fulness of the divine grace6 ,you know the variations of the glorious air3 the unsearchable riches of ,christ2 riches in glory in ,christ ,jesus2 all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in ,christ2 the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering4 ,the redemptive purpose of ,god bears upon the life of the apostle and upon the race whose privileges he shares1 not in an uncertain and reluctant shower1 but in a great and marvelous flood4 ,and what to him is the resultant enfranchisement8 ,what are the spacious issues of the glorious work8 ,do you recall those wonderful sentences1 scattered here and there about the apostle's writings1 and beginning with the words but now8 ,each sentence proclaims the end of the dominion of night1 and unveils some glimpse of the new created day4 ,but now6 ,it is a phrase that heralds a great deliverance6 ,but now1 apart from the law the righteousness of ,god hath been manifested1 ,but now1 being made free from sin and become servants to ,god4 ,but now in ,christ ,jesus ye that once were far off are made nigh in the blood of ,christ4 ,but now are ye light in the ,lord4 ,now1 no condemnation to them that are in ,christ ,jesus4 ,these represent no thin abstractions4 ,to ,paul the realities of which they speak were more real than the firm and solid earth4 ,and is it any wonder that a man with such a magnificent sense of the reality of the redemptive works of ,christ1 who felt the eternal purpose throbbing in the dark background and abyss of time1 who conceived it operating upon our race in floods of grace and glory1 and who realized in his own immediate consciousness the varied wealth of the resultant emancipation--is it any wonder that for this man a new day had dawned1 and the birds had begun to sing and the flowers to bloom1 and a sunny optimism had taken possession of his heart1 which found expression in an assured and rejoicing hope8 ,i look abroad again over the record of this man's life and teachings1 if perchance ,i may discover the secrets of his abiding optimism1 and ,i am profoundly imprest by his living sense of the reality and greatness of his present resources4 ,by ,christ redeemed6 ,that is not a grand finale2 it is only a glorious inauguration4 ,by ,christ redeemed2 in ,christ restored2 it is with these dynamics of restoration that his epistles are so wondrously abounding4 ,in almost every other sentence he suggests a dynamic which he can count upon as his friend4 ,paul's mental and spiritual outlook comprehended a great army of positive forces laboring in the interests of the kingdom of ,god4 ,his conception of life was amazingly rich in friendly dynamics6 ,i do not wonder that such a wealthy consciousness was creative of a triumphant optimism4 ,just glance at some of the apostle's auxiliaries3 ,christ liveth in me6 ,christ liveth in me6 ,he breathes through all my aspirations4 ,he thinks through all my thinking4 ,he wills through all my willing4 ,he loves through all my loving4 ,he travails in all my labors4 ,he works within me 'to will and to do of his good pleasure4' ,that is the primary faith of the hopeful life4 ,but see what follows in swift and immediate succession4 ,if ,christ is in you1 the spirit is life4 ,the spirit is life6 ,and therefore you find that in the apostle's thought dispositions are powers4 ,they are not passive entities4 ,they are positive forces vitalizing and energizing the common life of men4 ,my brethren1 ,i am persuaded there is a perilous leakage in this department of our thought4 ,we are not bold enough in our thinking concerning spiritual realities4 ,we do not associate with every mode of the consecrated spirit the mighty energy of ,god4 ,we too often oust from our practical calculations some of the strongest and most aggressive allies of the saintly life4 ,meekness is more than the absence of self-assertion2 it is the manifestation of the mighty power of ,god4 ,to the ,apostle ,paul love exprest more than a relationship4 ,it was an energy productive of abundant labors4 ,faith was more than an attitude4 ,it was an energy creative of mighty endeavor1 ,hope was more than a posture4 ,it was an energy generative of a most enduring patience4 ,all these are dynamics1 to be counted as active allies1 cooperating in the ministry of the kingdom4 ,and so the epistles abound in the recital of mystic ministries at work4 ,the ,holy ,spirit worketh6 ,grace worketh6 ,faith worketh6 ,love worketh6 ,hope worketh6 ,prayer worketh6 ,and there are other allies robed in less attractive garb4 ,tribulation worketh6 ,this light affliction worketh4 ,godly sorrow worketh6 ,on every side of him the apostle conceives cooperative and friendly powers4 ,the mountain is full of horses and chariots of fire round about him4 ,he exults in the consciousness of abounding resources4 ,he discovers the friends of ,god in things which find no place among the scheduled powers of the world4 ,he finds ,god's raw material in the world's discarded waste4 ,weak things1 base things1 things that are despised1 things that are not1 mere nothings2 among these he discovers the operating agents of the mighty ,god4 ,is it any wonder that in this man1 possessed of such a wealthy consciousness of multiplied resources1 the spirit of a cheery optimism should be enthroned8 ,with what stout confidence he goes into the fight6 ,he never mentions the enemy timidly4 ,he never seeks to underestimate his strength4 ,nay1 again and again he catalogs all possible antagonisms in a spirit of buoyant and exuberant triumph4 ,however numerous the enemy1 however subtle and aggressive his devices1 however towering and well-established the iniquity1 however black the gathering clouds1 so sensitive is the apostle to the wealthy resources of ,god that amid it all he remains a sunny optimist1 rejoicing in hope1 laboring in the spirit of a conqueror even when the world was exulting in his supposed discomfiture and defeat4 ,and1 finally1 in searching for the springs of this man's optimism1 ,i place alongside his sense of the reality of redemption and his wealthy consciousness of present resources his impressive sense of the reality of future glory4 ,paul gave himself time to think of heaven1 of the home of ,god1 of his own home when time should be no more4 ,he loved to contemplate the glory that shall be revealed4 ,he mused in wistful expectancy of the day when ,christ who is our life shall be manifested1 and when we also shall be manifested with him in glory4 ,he pondered the thought of death as gain1 as transferring him to conditions in which he would be at home with the ,lord1 with ,christ1 which is far better4 ,he looked for the blest hope and appearing of the glory of our great ,god and ,savior ,jesus ,christ1 and he contemplated that great day as the henceforth1 which would reveal to him the crown of righteousness and glory4 ,is any one prepared to dissociate this contemplation from the apostle's cheery optimism8 ,is not rather the thought of coming glory one of its abiding springs8 ,can we safely exile it from our moral and spiritual culture8 ,i know that this particular contemplation is largely absent from modern religious life1 and ,i know the nature of the recoil in which our present impoverishment began4 ,let us hear less about the mansions of the blest and more about the housing of the poor6 ,men revolted against an effeminate contemplation1 which had run to seed1 in favor of an active philanthropy which sought the enrichment of the common life4 ,but1 my brethren1 pulling a plant up is not the only way of saving it from running to seed4 ,you can accomplish by a wise restriction what is wastefully done by severe destruction4 ,i think we have lost immeasurably by the uprooting1 in so many lives1 of this plant of heavenly contemplation4 ,we have built on the erroneous assumption that the contemplation of future glory inevitably unfits us for the service of man4 ,it is an egregious and destructive mistake4 ,i do not think that ,richard ,baxter's labors were thinned or impoverished by his contemplation of ,the ,saint's ,everlasting ,rest4 ,when ,i consider his mental output1 his abundant labors as father-confessor to a countless host1 his pains and persecutions and imprisonments1 ,i can not but think he received some of the powers of his optimistic endurance from contemplations such as he counsels in his incomparable book4 ,run familiarly through the streets of the heavenly ,jerusalem2 visit the patriarchs and prophets1 salute the apostles1 and admire the armies of martyrs2 lead on the heart from street to street1 bring it into the palace of the great king2 lead it1 as it were1 from chamber to chamber4 ,say to it1 ',here must ,i lodge1 here must ,i die1 here must ,i praise1 here must ,i love and be loved4 ,my tears will then be wiped away1 my groans be turned to another tune1 my cottage of clay be changed to this palace1 my prison rags to these splendid robes'2 'for the former things are passed away4' ,i can not think that ,samuel ,rutherford impoverished his spirit or deadened his affections1 or diminished his labors by mental pilgrimages such as he counsels to ,lady ,cardoness3 ,go up beforehand and see your lodging4 ,look through all your ,father's rooms in heaven4 ,men take a sight of the lands ere they buy them4 ,i know that ,christ hath made the bargain already2 but be kind to the house ye are going to1 and see it often4 ,i can not think that this would imperil the fruitful optimisms of the ,christian life4 ,i often examine1 with peculiar interest1 the hymn-book we use at ,carr's ,lane4 ,it was compiled by ,dr4 ,dale4 ,nowhere else can ,i find the broad perspective of his theology and his primary helpmeets in the devotional life as ,i find them there4 ,and is it altogether unsuggestive that under the heading of ,heaven is to be found one of the largest sections of the book4 ,a greater space is given to ,heaven than is given to ,christian duty4 ,is it not significant of what a great man of affairs found needful for the enkindling and sustenance of a courageous hope8 ,and among the hymns are many which have helped to nourish the sunny endeavors of a countless host4 ,there is a land of pure delight ,where saints immortal reign2 ,infinite day excludes the night1 ,and pleasures banish pain4 ,what are these1 arrayed in white1 ,brighter than the noonday sun8 ,foremost of the suns of light1 ,nearest the eternal throne4 ,hark6 hark1 my soul6 ,angelic songs are swelling ,o'er earth's green fields and ocean's wave-beat shore4 ,angelic songs to sinful men are telling ,of that new life when sin shall be no more4 ,my brethren1 depend upon it1 we are not impoverished by contemplations such as these4 ,they take no strength out of the hand1 and they put much strength and buoyancy into the heart4 ,i proclaim the contemplation of coming glory as one of the secrets of the apostle's optimism which enabled him to labor and endure in the confident spirit of rejoicing hope4 ,these1 then1 are some of the springs of ,christian optimism2 some of the sources in which we may nourish our hope in the newer labors of a larger day3 a sense of the glory of the past in a perfected redemption1 a sense of the glory of the present in our multiplied resources1 a sense of the glory of tomorrow in the fruitful rest of our eternal home4 ,o blest hope6 with this elate ,let not our hearts be desolate2 ,but1 strong in faith and patience1 wait ,until ,he come6 ,,general ,,index ,,index ,,to ,,preachers ,,and ,,sermons ,abbott1 ,lyman1 ,the ,divinity in ,humanity ,abraham's ,imitators2 or ,the ,activity of ,faith4 ,by ,thomas ,hooker ,affection1 ,the ,expulsive ,power of a ,new4 ,by ,thomas ,chalmers ,argument1 ,the1 from ,experience4 ,by ,robert ,william ,dale ,arnold1 ,thomas1 ,alive in ,god ,ascension1 ,the1 of ,christ4 ,by ,girolamo ,savonarola ,assurance in ,god4 ,by ,george ,adam ,smith ,atonement1 ,eternal4 ,by ,roswell ,dwight ,hitchcock ,atonement1 ,the ,prominence of the4 ,by ,edwards ,amasa ,park ,augustine1 ,st41 ,the ,recovery of ,sight by the ,blind ,bacon1 ,leonard ,woolsey1 ,god ,indwelling ,basil ,the ,great1 ,the ,creation of the ,world ,baxter1 ,richard1 ,making ,light of ,christ and ,salvation ,beecher1 ,h4,w41 ,immortality ,beecher1 ,lyman1 ,the ,government of ,god ,desirable ,bible1 ,the1 vs4 ,infidelity4 ,by ,frank ,wakely ,gunsaulus ,blair1 ,hugh1 ,the ,hour and the ,event of ,all ,time ,blind1 ,the ,recovery of ,sight by the4 ,by ,st4 ,augustine ,bones1 ,the ,valley of ,dry4 ,by ,frederick ,denison ,maurice ,bossuet1 ,jacques ,benigne1 ,the ,death of the ,grande ,cond ,bounty1 ,the ,royal4 ,by ,alexander ,mc,kenzie ,bourdaloue1 ,louis1 ,the ,passion of ,christ ,broadus1 ,john ,a41 ,let us ,have ,peace with ,god ,brooks1 ,memorial ,discourse on ,phillips4 ,by ,henry ,codman ,potter ,brooks1 ,phillips1 ,the ,pride of ,life ,bunyan1 ,john1 ,the ,heavenly ,footman ,burrell1 ,david ,james1 ,how to ,become a ,christian ,bushnell1 ,horace1 ,unconscious ,influence ,cadman1 ,s4 ,parkes1 ,a ,new ,day for ,missions ,caird1 ,john1 ,religion in ,common ,life ,calvin1 ,john1 ,enduring ,persecution for ,christ ,campbell1 ,alexander1 ,the ,missionary ,cause ,carlyle1 ,thomas1--,in ,memoriam4 ,by ,arthur ,penrhyn ,stanley ,carpenter1 ,william ,boyd1 ,the ,age of ,progress ,chalmers1 ,thomas1 ,the ,expulsive ,power of a ,new ,affection ,charming1 ,william ,ellery1 ,the ,character of ,christ ,chapin1 ,edwin ,hubbell ,nicodemus3 ,the ,seeker after ,religion ,character1 ,the1 of ,christ4 ,by ,william ,ellery ,charming ,christ and ,salvation1 ,making ,light of4 ,by ,richard ,baxter ,christ ,among the ,common ,things of ,life4 ,by ,william ,james ,dawson ,christ ,before ,pilate--,pilate ,before ,christ4 ,by ,william ,mackergo ,taylor ,christ1 ,enduring ,persecution for4 ,by ,john ,calvin ,christ1 ,the ,ascension of4 ,by ,girolamo ,savonarola ,christ1 ,the ,character of4 ,by ,william ,ellery ,channing ,christ1 ,the ,first ,temptation of4 ,by ,john ,knox ,christ1 ,the ,loneliness of4 ,by ,frederick ,william ,robertson ,christ1 ,the ,passion of4 ,by ,louis ,bourdaloue ,christ--,the ,question of the ,centuries4 ,by ,robert ,stuart ,mac,arthur ,christ1 ,the ,spirit of4 ,by ,charles ,h4 ,fowler ,christ1 ,what ,think ye of4 ,by ,dwight ,lyman ,moody ,christ1 ,zeal in the ,cause of4 ,by ,william ,morley ,punshon ,christ's ,advent to ,judgment4 ,by ,jeremy ,taylor ,christ's ,real ,body not in the ,eucharist4 ,by ,john ,wyclif ,christ's ,resurrection an ,image of our ,new ,life4 ,by ,frederich ,ernst ,schleiermacher ,christian1 ,how to ,become a4 ,by ,david ,james ,burrell ,christian ,victory4 ,by ,christopher ,newman ,hall ,christianity1 ,the ,mysteries of4 ,by ,alexander ,vinet ,christianity1 ,the ,transient and ,permanent in4 ,by ,theodore ,parker ,chrysostom1 ,excessive ,grief at the ,death of ,friends ,church1 ,the ,mother4 ,by ,ernest ,roland ,wilberforce ,church1 ,the ,triumph of the4 ,by ,henry ,edward ,manning ,clifford1 ,john1 ,the ,forgiveness of ,sins ,colonization1 ,the1 of the ,desert4 ,by ,edward ,everett ,hale ,common ,life1 ,religion in4 ,by ,john ,caird ,common ,things of ,life1 ,christ ,among the4 ,by ,william ,james ,dawson ,cond1 ,the ,funeral ,sermon on the ,death of the ,grande4 ,by ,jacques ,benigne ,bossuet ,creation1 ,the1 of the ,world4 ,by ,basil ,creation1 ,work in the ,groaning4 ,by ,frederick ,william ,farrar ,crosby1 ,howard1 ,the ,prepared ,worm ,cuyler1 ,theodore ,ledyard1 ,the ,value of ,life ,dale1 ,robert ,william1 ,the ,argument from ,experience ,day1 ,a1 in the ,life of ,jesus of ,nazareth1 ,by ,francis ,wayland ,dawson1 ,william ,james1 ,christ ,among the ,common ,things of ,life ,death1 ,glorification ,through4 ,by ,francis ,landey ,patton ,desert1 ,the ,colonization of the4 ,by ,edward ,everett ,hale ,divinity1 ,the1 in ,humanity4 ,by ,lyman ,abbott ,drummond1 ,henry1 ,the ,greatest ,thing in the ,world ,dwight1 ,timothy1 ,the ,sovereignty of ,god ,earth1 ,the ,shaking of the ,heavens and the4 ,by ,charles ,kingsley ,education and the ,future of ,religion4 ,by ,john ,lancaster ,spalding ,edwards1 ,jonathan1 ,spiritual light ,elect1 ,the ,small ,number of the4 ,by ,jean ,baptiste ,massillon ,eternal ,atonement4 ,by ,roswell ,dwight ,hitchcock ,eucharist1 ,christ's ,real ,body not in the4 ,by ,john ,wyclif ,evans1 ,christmas1 ,the ,fall and ,recovery of ,man ,event1 ,the ,hour and the1 of all ,time4 ,by ,hugh ,blair ,experience4 ,by ,alexander ,whyte ,experience1 ,the ,argument from4 ,by ,robert ,william ,dale ,expulsive ,power1 ,the1 of a ,new ,affection4 ,by ,thomas ,chalmers ,faith1 ,constructive4 ,by ,charles ,henry ,parkhurst ,faith1 ,the ,activity of2 or1 ,abraham's ,imitators4 ,by ,thomas ,hooker ,faith1 ,the ,story of a ,disciple's4 ,by ,henry ,scott ,holland ,fall1 ,the1 and ,recovery of ,man4 ,by ,christmas ,evans ,farrar1 ,frederick ,william1 ,work in the ,groaning ,creation ,fnelon1 ,francois de ,salignac de la ,mothe1 ,the ,saints ,converse with ,god ,footman1 ,the ,heavenly4 ,by ,john ,bunyan ,forgiveness1 ,the1 of ,sins4 ,by ,john ,clifford4 ,fowler1 ,charles ,h41 ,the ,spirit of ,christ ,funeral ,sermon1 ,the1 on the ,death of the ,grande ,cond1 by ,jacques ,benigne ,bossuet ,gethsemane1 ,the ,rose ,garden of ,god4 ,by ,william ,robertson ,nicoll ,gladden1 ,washington1 ,the ,prince of ,life ,glorification ,through ,death4 ,by ,francis ,landey ,patton ,god1 ,alive in4 ,by ,thomas ,arnold ,god ,calling to ,man4 ,by ,charles ,john ,vaughan ,god ,indwelling4 ,by ,leonard ,woolsey ,bacon4 ,god1 ,marks of ,love to4 ,by ,robert ,hall ,god1 ,preparation for ,consulting the ,oracles of4 ,by ,edward ,irving ,god1 ,the ,government of1 ,desirable4 ,by ,lyman ,beecher ,god1 ,the ,image of1 in ,man4 ,by ,robert ,south ,god1 ,the ,saints ,converse with4 ,by ,francois ,fnelon ,god1 ,the ,sovereignty of4 ,by ,timothy ,dwight ,god the ,unwearied ,guide4 ,by ,newell ,dwight ,hillis ,god's ,love to ,fallen ,man4 ,by ,john ,wesley ,god's ,will the ,end of ,life4 ,by ,john ,henry ,newman ,gordon1 ,george ,angier1 ,man in the ,image of ,god ,government1 ,the1 of ,god ,desirable4 ,by ,lyman ,beecher ,grace1 ,the ,method of4 ,by ,george ,whitefield ,greatest ,thing1 ,the1 in the ,world4 ,by ,henry ,drummond ,grief1 ,excessive1 at the ,death of ,friends4 ,by ,chrysostom ,guide1 ,god the ,unwearied4 ,by ,newell ,dwight ,hillis ,gunsaulus1 ,frank ,wakely1 ,the ,bible vs4 ,infidelity ,guthrie1 ,thomas1 ,the ,new ,heart ,hale1 ,edward ,everett1 ,the ,colonization of the ,desert ,hall1 ,christopher ,newman1 ,christian ,victory ,hall1 ,john1 ,liberty only in ,truth ,hall1 ,robert1 ,marks of ,love to ,god ,heart1 ,the ,new4 ,by ,thomas ,guthrie ,heavens1 ,the ,shaking of the1 and the ,earth4 ,by ,charles ,kingsley ,hillis1 ,newell ,dwight1 ,god the ,unwearied ,guide ,hitchcock1 ,roswell ,dwight1 ,the ,eternal ,atonement ,holland1 ,henry ,scott1 ,the ,story of a ,disciple's ,faith ,holy ,spirit1 ,influence of the4 ,by ,henry ,parry ,liddon ,hooker1 ,thomas1 ,the ,activity of ,faith2 or ,abraham's ,imitators ,hour1 ,the1 and the ,event of all ,time4 ,by ,hugh ,blair ,howe1 ,john1 ,the ,redeemer's ,tears over ,lost ,souls ,humanity1 ,the ,divinity in4 ,by ,lyman ,abbott ,ideal of ,life1 ,the ,perfect4 ,by ,george ,campbell ,morgan ,immortality4 ,by ,h4,w4 ,beecher ,infidelity1 ,the ,bible vs4 ,by ,frank ,wakely ,gunsaulus ,influence1 ,unconscious4 ,by ,horace ,bushnell ,influences of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,by ,henry ,parry ,liddon ,inheritance1 ,the ,heavenly4 ,by ,john ,summerfield ,irving1 ,edward1 ,preparation for ,consulting the ,oracles of ,god ,jefferson1 ,charles ,edward1 ,the ,reconciliation ,jesus of ,nazareth1 ,a ,day in the ,life of4 ,by ,francis ,wayland ,jowett1 ,john ,henry1 ,apostolic ,optimism ,judgment1 ,christ's ,advent to4 ,by ,jeremy ,taylor ,judgment1 ,the ,reversal of ,human4 ,by ,james ,b4 ,mozley ,justification1 ,the ,method and ,fruits of4 ,by ,martin ,luther ,kingsley1 ,charles1 ,the ,shaking of the ,heavens and the ,earth ,knox1 ,john1 ,the ,first ,temptation of ,christ ,knox-,little1 ,william ,john1 ,thirst ,satisfied ,latimer1 ,hugh1 ,christian ,love ,life1 ,christ's ,resurrection an ,image of our ,new ,by ,frederich ,ernst ,schleiermacher ,life1 ,god's ,will the ,end of4 ,by ,john ,henry ,newman ,life1 ,the ,perfect ,ideal of4 ,by ,george ,campbell ,morgan ,life1 ,the ,pride of4 ,by ,phillips ,brooks ,life1 ,the ,prince of4 ,by ,washington ,gladden ,life1 ,the ,value of4 ,by ,theodore ,ledyard ,cuyler ,liberty only in ,truth4 ,by ,john ,hall ,liddon1 ,henry ,parry1 ,influences of the ,holy ,spirit ,light1 ,spiritual4 ,by ,jonathan ,edwards ,loneliness1 ,the1 of ,christ4 ,by ,frederick ,william ,robertson ,lord1 ,the ,resurrection of ,our4 ,by ,matthew ,simpson ,lorimer1 ,george ,c4 ,the ,fall of ,satan ,love1 ,christian4 ,by ,hugh ,latimer ,love1 ,marks of1 to ,god4 ,by ,robert ,hall ,luther1 ,martin1 ,the ,method and ,fruits of ,justification ,mac,arthur1 ,robert ,stuart1 ,christ--,the ,question of the ,centuries ,mc,kenzie1 ,alexander1 ,the ,royal ,bounty ,maclaren1 ,alexander1 ,the ,pattern of ,service ,macleod1 ,norman1 ,the ,true ,christian ,ministry ,magee1 ,william ,connor1 ,the ,miraculous ,stilling of the ,storm ,man1 ,god ,calling to4 ,by ,charles ,john ,vaughan ,man1 ,god's ,love to ,fallen4 ,by ,john ,wesley ,man in the ,image of ,god4 ,by ,george ,angier ,gordon ,man1 ,the ,fall and ,recovery of4 ,by ,christmas ,evans ,man1 ,the ,image of ,god in4 ,by ,robert ,south ,manhood1 ,the ,meaning of4 ,by ,henry ,van ,dyke ,manning1 ,henry ,edward1 ,the ,triumph of the ,church ,martineau1 ,james1 ,parting ,words ,mason1 ,john ,mitchell1 ,messiah's ,throne ,massillon1 ,jean ,baptiste1 ,the ,small ,number of the ,elect ,maurice1 ,frederick ,denison1 ,the ,valley of ,dry ,bones ,melanchthon1 ,philip1 ,the ,safety of the ,virtuous ,memorial ,discourse on ,phillips ,brooks4 ,by ,henry ,codman ,potter ,messiah's ,throne4 ,by ,john ,mitchell ,mason ,ministry1 ,the ,true ,christian4 ,by ,norman ,macleod ,missions1 ,a ,new ,day for4 ,by4 ,s4 ,parkes ,cadman ,missionary ,cause1 ,the4 ,by ,alexander ,campbell ,missionary ,work1 ,the ,permanent ,motive in4 ,by ,richard ,s4 ,storrs ,monster1 ,a ,bloody4 ,by ,thomas ,de,witt ,talmage ,moody1 ,dwight ,lyman1 ,what ,think ye of ,christ8 ,morgan1 ,george ,campbell1 ,the ,perfect ,ideal of ,life ,motive1 ,the ,permanent1 in ,missionary ,work4 ,by ,richard ,s4 ,storrs ,mozley1 ,james ,b41 ,the ,reversal of ,human ,judgment ,mysteries4 ,the1 of ,christianity4 ,by ,alexander ,vinet ,newman1 ,john ,henry1 ,god's ,will the ,end of ,life ,nicodemus3 ,the ,seeker after ,religion4 ,by ,edwin ,hubbell ,chapin ,nicoll1 ,william ,robertson1 ,gethsemane1 ,the ,rose ,garden of ,god ,optimism1 ,apostolic4 ,by ,john ,henry ,jowett ,optimism4 ,by ,john ,watson ,oracles1 ,preparation for ,consulting the1 of ,god4 ,by ,edward ,irving ,park1 ,edwards ,amasa1 ,the ,prominence of the ,atonement ,parker1 ,joseph1 ,a ,word to the ,weary ,parker1 ,theodore1 ,the ,transient and ,permanent in ,christianity ,parkhurst1 ,charles ,henry1 ,constructive ,faith ,passion1 ,the1 of ,christ4 ,by ,louis ,bourdaloue ,patton1 ,francis ,landey1 ,glorification ,through ,death ,paul ,before ,felix and ,drusilla4 ,by ,jacques ,saurin ,peace with ,god1 ,let us ,have4 ,by ,john ,a4 ,broadus ,permanent1 ,the ,transient and the1 in ,christianity4 ,by ,theodore ,parker ,persecution for ,christ1 ,enduring1 ,john ,calvin ,pilate ,before ,christ--,christ ,before ,pilate4 ,by ,william ,mackergo ,taylor ,potter1 ,henry ,codman1 ,memorial ,discourse on ,phillips ,brooks ,pride1 ,the1 of ,life4 ,by ,phillips ,brooks ,prince1 ,the1 of ,life4 ,by ,washington ,gladden ,progress1 ,the ,age of4 ,by ,william ,boyd ,carpenter ,punshon1 ,william ,morley1 ,zeal in the ,cause of ,christ ,reconciliation1 ,the4 ,by ,charles ,e4 ,jefferson ,recovery1 ,the ,fall and1 of ,man4 ,by ,christmas ,evans ,redeemer's ,tears1 ,the1 over ,lost ,souls4 ,by ,john ,howe ,religion1 ,education and the ,future of4 ,by ,john ,lancaster ,spaldin ,religion in ,common ,life4 ,by ,john ,caird ,religion1 ,nicodemus3 ,the ,seeker after4 ,by ,edwin ,hubbell ,chapin ,resurrection1 ,christ's1 an ,image of our ,new-,life4 ,by ,frederick ,ernst ,schleiermacher ,resurrection1 ,the1 of ,our ,lord4 ,by ,matthew ,simpson ,resurrection1 ,the ,reasonableness of a4 ,by ,john ,tillotson ,reversal1 ,the1 of ,human ,judgment4 ,by ,james ,b4 ,mozley ,robertson1 ,frederick ,william1 ,the ,loneliness of ,christ ,royal ,bounty1 the4 ,by ,alexander ,mc,kenzie ,sackcloth1 ,the ,transfigured4 ,by ,william ,l4 ,watkinson ,saints ,converse with ,god1 ,the4 ,by ,francis ,fnelon ,salvation1 ,making ,light of ,christ and4 ,by ,richard ,baxter ,satan1 ,the ,fall of4 ,by ,george ,c4 ,lorimer ,saurin1 ,jacques1 ,paul ,before ,felix and ,drusilla ,savonarola1 ,girolamo1 ,the ,ascension of ,christ ,schleiermacher1 ,frederick ,ernst1 ,christ's ,resurrection an ,image of our ,new ,life ,seiss1 ,joseph ,a41 ,the ,wonderful ,testimonies ,service1 ,the ,pattern of4 ,by ,alexander ,maclaren ,shaking1 ,the1 of the ,heavens and the ,earth4 ,by ,charles ,kingsley ,sight1 ,the ,recovery of1 by the ,blind ,by ,st ,augustine ,simpson1 ,matthew1 ,the ,resurrection of ,our ,lord4 ,sins1 ,the ,forgiveness of ,by ,john ,clifford ,smith1 ,george ,adam ,assurance in ,god ,songs in the ,night ,by ,charles ,haddon ,spurgeon ,souls1 ,the ,redeemer's ,tears ,over ,lost ,by ,john ,howe ,south1 ,robert1 ,the ,image of ,god in ,man ,sovereignty1 ,the of ,god ,by ,timothy ,dwight ,spalding1 ,john ,lancaster1 ,education and the ,future of ,religion ,spiritual ,light ,by ,jonathan ,edwards ,spurgeon1 ,charles ,haddon ,songs in the ,night ,stalker1 ,james ,temptation ,stanley1 ,arthur ,penrhyn1 ,in ,memoriam--,thomas ,carlyle ,stilling of the ,storm1 ,the ,miraculous ,by ,william ,connor ,magee ,storm1 ,the ,miraculous ,stilling of the ,by ,william ,connor ,magee ,storrs1 ,richard ,s4 ,the ,permanent ,motive in ,missionary ,work ,summerfield1 ,john ,the ,heavenly ,inheritance ,talmage1 ,thomas ,de,witt ,a ,bloody ,monster ,taylor1 ,jeremy ,christ's ,advent to ,judgment ,taylor1 ,william ,mackergo ,christ ,before ,pilate--,pilate ,before ,christ ,temptation ,by ,james ,stalker ,temptation1 ,the ,first1 of ,christ ,by ,john ,knox ,testimonies ,the ,wonderful ,by ,joseph ,a ,seiss ,thirst ,satisfied ,by ,william ,john ,knox ,little ,time1 ,the ,hour and the ,event of all ,by ,hugh ,blair ,tillotson1 ,john1 ,the ,reasonableness of a ,resurrection ,transfigured ,sackcloth1 ,the ,by ,william ,l4 ,watkinson ,transient1 ,the1 and ,permanent in ,christianity4 ,by ,theodore ,parker ,triumph1 ,the1 of the ,church4 ,by ,henry ,edward ,manning ,truth1 ,liberty ,only in4 ,by ,john ,hall ,valley1 ,the1 of ,dry ,bones ,by ,frederick ,derrison ,maurice ,van ,dyke1 ,henry1 ,the ,meaning of ,manhood ,vaughan1 ,charles ,john1 ,god ,calling to ,man ,victory1 ,christian ,by ,christopher ,newman ,hall ,vinet1 ,alexander1 ,the ,mysteries of ,christianity ,virtuous1 ,the ,safety of the4 ,by ,philip ,melanchthon ,voice1 ,i am a4 ,by ,charles ,wagner ,wagner1 ,charles1 ,i am a ,voice ,watkinson1 ,william ,l1 ,the ,transfigured ,sackcloth ,watson1 ,john1 ,optimism ,wayland1 ,francis1 ,a ,day in the ,life of ,jesus of ,nazareth ,weary1 ,a ,word to the4 ,by ,joseph ,parker ,wesley1 ,john1 ,god's ,love to ,fallen ,man4 ,whitefield1 ,george1 ,the ,method of ,grace ,whyte1 ,alexander1 ,experience ,wilberforce1 ,ernest ,roland1 ,the ,mother ,church ,words1 ,parting ,by ,james ,martineau ,work in the ,groaning ,creation4 ,by ,frederick ,william ,farrar ,world1 ,the ,greatest ,thing in the4 ,by ,henry ,drummond ,worm1 ,the ,prepared4 ,by ,howard ,crosby ,,index ,,to ,,texts ,,volume ,genesis i41 #b ,i i41 #bg ,,ii i41 #ca ,,vii i41 #ca ,,vii iii41 #i ,,vi xxxvii41 #cc ,,viii ,i ,kings x41 #ac ,,vii x41 #cf ,,ix ,,ii ,kings vi41 #a1b ,,ix ,esther iv41 #b ,,viii ,job xxxiii41 #d ,,ix xxxv41 #aj ,,viii ,psalms xvi41 #af ,x xlii41 #b ,,viii cxix41 #de ,,vii cxix41 #abi ,,vii ,proverbs xi41 #cj ,,iv ,isaiah xl41 #a-ca ,x l1 #d ,,vii lvii41 #ae ,,vii ,jeremiah vi41 #ad ,,iii x41 #bc ,,iii ,ezekiel xxxvi41 #bf ,v xxxvii41 #a-c ,v ,jonah iv41 #g ,,vii ,matthew iv41 #a ,i vi41 #aj ,,iv viii41 #be1 #bf ,,vii xii41 #ab ,,ix xiii41 #bd ,,vi xvi41 #ag ,,iii xvii41 #e ,,iv xix41 #cj ,v xx41 #cj ,i xxii41 #e ,,ii xxii41 #cb ,,iv xxii41 #db ,,viii xxii41 #db ,,ix xxvi41 #bf ,i xxvii41 #bb ,,vii xxviii41 #ai ,,ix ,mark vii41 #cc ,,vii xvi41 #ae ,,vi ,luke iv4 #bg ,,iii ix41 #aj-ag ,,iv x41 #ah ,,viii xix41 #da1 #db ,,ii xxi41 #cc ,v xxiii41 #bg1 #bh ,,ii xxiv41 #ea ,i ,john i41 #bc ,x iii4 #a1 #b ,,vi iii41 #h ,,vii v41 #ci ,,iv v41 #db ,,iii vi41 #ch ,,iv vi41 #fc ,,viii vi41 #fd ,,ix viii41 #bh-cj ,x x41 #bh ,i x41 #cd-cf ,,viii xii41 #bd ,,ix xiv4 #bg ,v xv41 #ab ,i xvi41 #ca1 #cb ,,vi xvii41 #a ,,iii xvii41 #bj1 #ba ,v xx41 #h ,,iv xx41 #h ,,ix xxi41 #i1 #ab ,x ,acts iii41 #ae ,,viii xix41 #bc ,,ix xxiv41 #bd1 #be ,,iii xxvi41 #h ,,ii xxvi41 #h ,,ix ,romans iv41 #ab ,,ii v41 #a ,,ix v41 #d ,,viii v41 #ae ,,iii v41 #ae ,,iii vi41 #d ,,iii viii41 #i ,,viii viii41 #bb ,,vii xii41 #aa ,,vi xii41 #ab ,x ,i ,corinthians ii41 #b ,v ii41 #i ,,iv ix41 #bd ,,ii xiii41 ,x xiv41 #aj ,x xv41 #c ,x xv41 #ai ,,vi xv41 #bj ,v xx41 #ac ,,ix ,,ii ,corinthians ii41 #ad-af ,v v41 #aj ,,ii v41 #ac-ae ,,vi ,galatians iv41 #a-g ,i vi41 #ad ,x ,i ,thessalonians iv41 #ac ,i v41 #ag ,,ii ,hebrews i41 #ah ,,iii xii41 #bf-bi ,,vi xiii41 #ac ,i ,,ii ,peter i41 #aa ,,iv ,i ,john1 ii41 #af ,,viii v41 #ae ,,iv ,revelations ii41 #ag ,,vi xiii41 #h ,,vi xxii41 #c ,,vii ,apostles' ,creed ,,viii