Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1868-12-02
Thanksgiving Sermon.
PREAcnEp BY REV. W. II. LORD. Nov. IS.

PREACHED BY REV. W H. LORD, Nov. IS, 1865.
Honor all men 1 Peter, ii: :.
1t is more difficult to comprehend the gen.
eraT than the specific principles of Christian
itv. The command to 4" Honor the King
will attract more notice and a reader as
sent, than the Injunction, " Honor all men"
The vast field of action which opens before
US in the latter fatigues the thoughts, and even
the Imagination. 1t is like one of the great
historical paintings of Veronese, which are
to be found in the galleries of Europe, which
distract the mind between the effort to mas
ter the whole, and the effort to sympathise
with the action and figures in detail 1t is a
great relief to turn from the vague, I'M
manageable picture, struggling to be both
definite ard comprehensive to a sharp,
clear idea. which is yielded by some single
face or scene, by Denner or Titan. So it is
with this precept. 1t unfolds a vast pano-
rama of possible obligations, and the eye
wanders languidly over it, in its weary eff
fort to compass ut once it's full scope, and its
specific duties. Every body knows what it
is to honor the King. But who shall say at
first sight, what it is to honor all men.
And yet this precept is not SO remote and
vague as to have no meaning. 1t rests upon
a principle and a conviction. 1t docs rot
hang in the air like the sayings of the an
cient sages, while men make remarks upon
their beauty, and drop a sigh over their an
approachable height. 1t grows out of, and
rests upon, fundamental truths of faith,
truths from which all genuine souls draw
their strength and life, day by day, and hour
by hour. L propose, this morning, to bring
it down from the neglected region of moral
proprieties, from the confused realm of popu-
lar ethics, and learn its living and working
power give it a clothing of flesh and blood,
and place it in the light of the great Chris
tan doctrine, of which it is the practical
and concise expression. l trust you will not
find it a theme out of harmony with the day
and the occasion.
I. First, then, what is " honor >? Is it
not a sentiment which prompts us to admit
and do homage to some form of truth ?
Must it not be based upon a fact, a convic-
ton? Must it Tot spring from a sense OF
worth of some kind, in the object which ex-
cites it ? We cannot honor that which is
clearly dishonorable. We cannot honor a
brute, nor a man, in SO far as he makes him
self a brute. Our honor must be given to
a fixed and definite thing; to a man, and not
to the shadow or semblance of a man. The
outward marks of honor are a cruel mockery
to their object when they do not express a
living feeling of respect towards HIN to
whom they are paid. 1t is a genuine move
ment Of the soul towards a real, living. active
humanity. And it is also a substantial ex-
preston of that movement, in the outward
world of sense. We may show it by recep-
tions, and dinners, and speeches, and fire
works, and celebrations. We may embody
it in IA gesture or in an honorary title or de-
gree, or in a gift of money or in a large
salary, or in any way that is at the bottom
an admission of the excellence of the person
who receives it. The Apostle Paul tells
Timothy that the presbyters who preside
over Churches we'll, especially those who
labor in word and in doctrine, (not those
who go from house to house,) are to De
counted worthy of double honor. l suppose
there can be no doubt that he really means
a double income. The mistranslation of the