The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1874-07-07
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COLLEGE.
THE HAcoALArEEArr.

THE BACNALAUEEA1E.
The seveniieth annual commencement of
the University OF Vermont and state agli-
cultural college commenced ON Sunday
with the baccalaUcaic sermon, preached
by Rev. Matthew II. Buckham, president,
on Sunday, July 9Th, ut the College street
church The Free Press reports the church
as filled with a large audience
The opening exercises consisted of an
anthem, "Jubilate in Eb, (Bc joyful in
God)' by Willard, sung by the choir; read
ing of the Scriptures by Rev. Prof. Torrey :
anthem Deus hIseratur, in d, % be mer-
citu unto u.s. Willard, by the choir
prayer by Prof. Torrey; hymn, % Come
Kingdom Of our God, by quartettc.
We are indebted to the Burlington Fi.ee
Frcsg and Times for the following abstract
of
PRESIDENT RUCKnAMs DISCOURSE
PHILIPPIANS, H., 13-Forgettlng those things
which are behind ana reaching forth unto
those things which are before.
The spirit of Christ, said the preacher. is
the spirit of youth 1t Is aspiring rather
thar, retrospective TIP to a certain period
mans life is piv0ted ON the future. When
this period has passed, and the chief salts
faction lies in remembrance, decay has al
ready set in. Christianity allies itself to
the first rather than to the latter period.
II aims not so much to restore a lost con-
dition to man, as to Introduce him to Il
state he has never realized or conceived
The watchword and ralNing cry of Chris
tianity is the hereafter # we were to
symbolic the attitude of the Christian we
should represent him as standing on tiptoe
on the mountain top III the early morning
reaching forth to and haiin@ the new day
To lack hope in our Christian life is to lack
vitality
1t can be said of ourage, and it is grand
thing to be said of any age that it is look
inc towards and yearning after truer type
of Christianity. There are now, as always
two parties. I'VE must get back" SAYS
one, "to the old doctrines and to the stern
virtues OF our fathers. NO." says the
other, 'the past has begoten degeneracy.
Grant the grandeur Of the old faiths, it
shows something lacking in them that they
were not able TO perpetuate themselves.
The true faith is not that of our ancestors,
but that which shall be the faith of our
posterty." The best Christian thought and
| spirit of our time, though not adopting
either Of these views, sympashizes most
with the latter.
But must we not lool, back to the old
standard, and above all to the perfect
model given to us in Jesus Christ? Ger
tainly we must But that is to look for
ward. Christ as historic parsonage is in
the past, but Christ as realized to the chris
tan soul, is the growth of years to come.
For the ability to look on him is based on
| christian attainment-the christian cannot
have conception of him Much beyond his
own attainment. So the new year of the
growing christian, year by year, is to ring
in the Christ that is to be. :"
While setting forth this spirit of CHS
tan progress, the preacher declared him
self as far as possible from sympathizng
with the skepticism which pronounccs OBJ
soletc the old truths, and put negations in
their place. He proceeded to consider
some of the indications of this hopeful at
titude of christian thought in our day.
First. The best christian spirit is look
Ing earnestly to see christianity make room
for larger freer christian life within the
sphere Of faith. The signs of the times in
dictate that there is before us one Of the
great outbursts of intellectual power. like
those of the time Of Luther or the Eliza
bethan age. While some, foresecing this,
are erecting barriers against it, the most
enlightened spirit of our age welcomes it.
1t says "we know that such a period of
intellectual activity will be marked by eX-
travagancies;" but it nevertheless says to
science and philosophy, without YOU
help the work of the gospel would not be
done Get beyond guessing, and when you
announce established certanlies we will
accept them we will give to reason the
things that are reasons, and YOU shall give
to faith the things that are faiths.
Second. There isa widespread longing,
at present, for q christianity which will
more fully employ mems active powers.
Christianity should yield to no earth-bound
pursuit, in attractiveness to the great minds
which now seek employment in great mill
tary and civil and scientific achievements.
1t will yet find enterprises full enough OF
interest, of adventure, of peril, even to
charm the most heroic Not that christian
ty now offers no opportunity for heroism,
but its heroism is oftener that of endur-
ance than of enterprise Except to the
clergy it offers in our day few fields OF
high enterprise. We must more than ex-
cuse, we must honor the young man who
urged to christian life replies ac
| knowledge the force of these considerations
but give me something grandcr, more in
spring than the narrow and lustreless life
Of most christians. Is not the rebuke de
served was not christianity designed to
satisfy every noble aspiration? The mis-
take of such young man is not in aspir-
ing but in expecting some one else to lead
HIM up to the heights. What the world
now wants is that one such, or a thousand
such, should discover fresh opportunities
for Christian enterprises, as grand as that
of Christian missions. There are moral
forces as potent rs steam or electricity,
waiting to be utilized. There should be
now man preparing to take up the work
Agassiz left unfinished, and find for us the
undiscovered link in the chain between
God and nature.
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