Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1873-10-16
GRAND RAPIDS WIS., THURSDAY OCT rs 1873
Passages From Recent Sermons.
from the Interior.l

VI 81. LOliiS, returned 10 his people,
and preached to them on The Aim o
Life. The following paragraph, OF
Prosperity, occurred in his sermon:
There is life of sense, and there j:
a life immortal There is a sp:ritua
history peculiar to each one OF US, anc
ii it could be written out IN characters
legible unto us, it would fill Us with ar
interest passing all power Of language
to describe That which is mcnta
must have mental good that which
is moral must have moral eohd. In
a word; there is a temporal and a spir-
itual prosperity. However vast may
be our temporal prosperity, unless it is
sanctifed by the grace of God, it is tt
our inevitable and our unspeakable det
riment. There is that ma:keth himself
poor, and yet hath great riches: there
is that maketh himself rich, and YET
hath nothing. The true idea and fe-
licity Of life is to have the favor of God
which we obtain through The merits OF
His crucitied Sen, our Savior and to
become prepared for q higher and q
holier existence. IF we have not gain
ed this, we have failed in our aim, and
our time, labor and anxiety have been
for naught; and, so far as our portion
in eternity is concerned. we night Just
as we'll not have lived at ALL But the
expression of the text is that our tenn
poral prosperity shall be in proportion
to our spiritual prosperity that the
welfare Of our souls shall be the stand
ard Of our temporal well-being The
man who has prospered in temporal
things, if his success has been sancti-
fed by the grace of God, is {. blessing
to al with whom he may come in con-
tact. But When this grace Of God is
not enjoyed, when the sanctifying in
fuence Of the Holy Spirit is wanting,
he maintained from the evidence OF
Scripture and the testimony of all hu-
man experience that it was not good
for us to be prospered in temporal
things, and that such prosperity was
detrimental to the interests of OUT i'm
mortal spirits. lie would take the
case Of the wealthy members Of his
congregation assembled there, blessed
with all the abundance and the luxur-
les of life, and believed they would ties
tify to finding themselves in daily peril
from these outward cares, which were
pecpetually intrenching on their relig-
ious duties
DR. Edward Beechcr Of the same
city, thus spoke on the
PRESENCE OF GOD.
Is it not reasonable to suppose that
there is a state Of mind in which one
shah feel surrounded by God? In
which we shall be conscious Of God
wherever we &C, and joyfully con-
scious so that we snail have sweet.
communion, with Him, resting OF
the spirit on him; so that He shall be
the atmosphere OF our lives and We
feel sustained, comtorted, cheered and
blest. When thus sustained and blest
we are in the dwelling place Of which
Moses spoke. There is, therefore, a
dwelling place, house, an abode
which every one may possess and enter
Let Us ask ourselves then, have we en-
tered the house? Is it ours? That house
we shall never lose, which Is eternal;
the all-surrouding presence and love Of
our God. Some one may say, L al, con
sclous OF the elements Of this state of
mind, but the scale described is above,
my attainment. But this very state of
mind is included IN the prayer Of the
apostle for the Ephcsians, and Paul
did not pray for what was impossible
or unattainable. Ne. 1t is attainable. 1t
is privilege and blessing offered to
all. If You have not attrined to this
state, you have standard before you,
and | hold it up to you. Press toward
the mark. Seek that knowledge com
munion and presence OF God that shall
surround you with his love. Are there
any here who have not entered this
house at all: Once | was lost at night
In the midst OF a tempest, and as |
wandered ABOUT in the darkness [ saw
at last light, and persevered till |
reached Il house, and found shelter
from the storm. If you are out OF
Christ in the cold world there IS no
house to shelter you. The clements
rage around you, and there is no house.
Bat here is light and you may enter
Within Is Christ, purify, life, joy and
blessedness. Why not enter now,
when you may dwell in the secret place
of the Most High and abide in the shell
ter Of the Almighty: Think of the
sympathy of Christ for you. He loved
you and died for you He would gath
er you beneath His wings and shelter
you. Will you not enter and couse-
crate yourselves to Him! Enter while
the light shines, while the door is open,
while God waits. Wait not till the
storm comes, till the whirlwind breaks
and the floods shall carry you away.
We give one other extract from last
| Sabbath's sermons, in which cur reader.
will recognize the teryid style OF ous
late pastor, DIR. Talmase.
THOU HAST GIVEN Me A SOUTH LAND.
Thou hast given me a south land
give he also springs Of water. And
lie gave her the upper springs and TIE
neither springs" The fact is, said the
preacher, that as Caleb the father gave
Achsah the daughter south land, so