The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-03-11
"THE ElRIH IS IHE LORD'S." !"


tsrdRy Afternoon.
ESPECIAL REPORT FOR THE EVENING TELEGRAPH J
Notwithstanding the very incement weather
Of yesterday afternoon, the congregation of the
Rev. DR.. Chambers church was well repre-
sented. The pastor had inrended TO preach on
the subject of "Crime and its Remedy but
desiring to have the attention Of all the mem
bers, it was deferred fortnight. sermon, of
which the following IS an abstract, was de-
Hvered. The 21st Psalm was taken as a text
as foows:- ....
The earth is the Lords and the ulness thereof the
world and al that dwell therein for He hath
founded il upon and csJablis 1t upon the
and Who shall stand in Ills holy place? l''''
He that hath clean hands and pure heart; who hath
fully. lie shall receive the blessing from the Lord
p Pq and and be e ssySSa np e
everlasting doors, aud the King OF Glory shall come
in. Who is this King OF Glory? The Lord stronS
and mighty, the Lord mighty in batte.-Pdrt az he
THIS Psalm seems naturally divided into three
distinct parts:-Flrst. Gods lordship in the
world. Secondly. The citizens of Gods king
dom ana their character Third. direct and
practical exhOrtaton to all men that thew sbouId
receive Him. The statement of the Psalmist
directed by the Holy Ghost, IS that "The earth
is the Lords, and the fulness thereof. and nj
that dwell therein. For he hath founded il
upon the seas and established 1t upon the
floods" Here Is Gods lordshIp, HIS proprietor.
ship of the world wherein we live And vet
beloved brethren, men talk continually as
though the heavens and the earth, the air and
me seas me rivers aud the lakes, we're all theirs;
that they are the rightiul owners of this vast
universe which our Heavenly Father hath
formed; ana act as though they belonged
10 the mass OF mankind. II seems natural to
them that they should owe no gratitude to any-
body, but rejoice in themselves Fortune
wealth, possessions, lands, life, and death-it
matters not What-they consider that, by IN
;. n;eLltanGe, an tnose things belong to them of
proper owners, ana attributng nothing TO the
nhnlte mercy ami unDounded goodness of God
NOW, II any man Will study the Scriptures,
ana read carefully the records of Gods reyela.
nons to the people of old, he will lind that he
Is Out tenant at best-a tenant at will His
fortune TO-DAY may be gone tomorrow; his pos
sessions may take wings before the dawn of
another day; his home may not be his abiding
place on the morrow, and even if all these
things remain as at present. he is removed and
no more loreVer.n
This fact, however, ought not to sadden man,
or depress him, nor retard his efforts in procur.
ing the comforts and blessings of lie.
ADMIT the fact that he is a tenant at will and
the infinite God the proprietor, the owner of
your mlnd, your possessions, the lands and the
seas, tne vast pralries and sparkling rivulets
tpe hliIS ana the valleys, and that God has an
absolute right to them all, but IN His kindness
and INFINITE goodness has allowed you to live on
this earth, to cultivate the soil, to delve down
INTO the depths of this earth, and bring up
ts rlchest treasures to increase your fortunes
and make your homes happy and comfortable,
tnereOy increasing your JOY. And what does
GOD ask In return for all these manifold mercies
cast upon us Does he demand u heavy, gross,
and cruel taxation? Not at all.
de is the great and molly author of the uni
verse, granting you the privilege and use of
every thing He has-Hts atmosphere, His rain
and sun TO water and warm the earth, so that it
snail produce for your comfort. And the
Heavenly Father simply asks that you shall be
pure in mind, honest true, and a God-tea1ing
man; that you shall be just, loving mercy, and
doing to others as you would wish they should
do to you; and that gratitude to the Great
GiVer of all these things will mark your char
acter, distinguishing you from all others, and
IRON those truly unfortunate creatures who
know no God. While the bird may sing the
lion roar the river roll, the tides ebb and flow,
all that is desired of man is that he should be
grateful and rejoice in the goodness of God;
that his heart should be centred upon the
Divine Being, and live to receive His supreme
love- SO no man has right to boast nor feel
his independence of God, and act as though he
were not responsible. s'Trhe earth is the Lords,
and the tulness thereof"
The Psalmist, In one place, points out what
should be the character OF the inhabitants of
this earth, expecting to enter into an in
fnitely higher and holier word-a world lnf-
nitely and eternally free from all the evils com
mon to this sphere of action, and the immense
variety OF sinful influences which are surround
ing us. who shall ascend into the hill of the
Lord"-that is, into the dwelling-place, the
presence, and having full fellowship with the
infinite Jehovah the Lord of the Universe
"Who shall stand in His holy place"-haVe in
heritance in that world which Is ncorruptble,
undefled, and which tadeth not away.
We are all tenants at will-we own not those
spots OF ground whereon we live and subsst;
tney are not ours, for we have not the power to
treasure them up or bear them away. We are
here tor an uncertain tune. No man has lease
upon his life or health.
The Psalmist answers himself the two uUes-
tlons above propOunded. In the first place he
speeches that any person who desires fellowship
with the Lord Jesus "tO have clean hands,h
that 49, that he be pure and free from all inn
proprletles, from the corruptlons and outrages
OF llle-that he be penttent for his past wicked
career, and that he rely on the only Saviour for
salvation
Andin connection with that character, he shall
be pure, sincere, and honest in heart. Not to
make one protestation and perform something
IN exact contradictions but 10 be man in the
nlghest and grandest sense of the word Not to
illt up his soul to vanity-not to attach an undue
importance and love to any earthly thing
Whetherlt be pleasure, wealth, or poWer-whlch
Will outweigh the Importance of his eternal and
everlasting condition. Such man. who serves
and fears the Lord God, "He shall receive the
blessing from the Lord, aud righteousness from
the God Of his salvation
This is what constitutes mans happ1ness and
Dllss-to have the favor and love Of his Maker.
VINO does not bestow upon the liceutious and
Dlasphemous, and drunken His gracious bless
ing because they disregard His authority The
man who grows in the grace and knowledge of
our saviour, is the man who adheres to and
STUDIES the great ana glorious truths of the
Gospel. He will shun the appearance of evil,
ana keep himself unspOtted from the sin of the
world resting IN glorious and holy commu-
mon or fellowship with God.
'Ile fool. saws thp paalunief hoe