Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1874-09-11

nevertheless feel sure that they all tell the
same precious story-every way Christ is
preached
Alter the same sort, is il not fair to infer
that 1t four or six honest and capable men
look upoH that other book Of God, to read
1.-THE things that are made" and think about
them, their results must have much in CON.
mon, even though their words may differ in
sound or even seem absurd
When men seem to differ widely, Judged
by their words, do they really differ in their
ideas For instance
A good, old-iashioned, orthodox Calvinist
and a modern thinker of tho severely scien.
ti6c school, suppose themselves utterly anl
hopeessy at odds. But are they so 2 The
Calvinist who has at all adequately conceiv.
ed the wisdom, greatness, aud power of God,
necessarily infers mans absolute dependence
upon Gods will. There is no chance about
1t. Stands the eternal decree. Saved and
happy only he who is securely lodged among
the resstess purposes Of God.
What says tho large.minded scientist ?
We are all under inexorable law. We can
not get beyond the pale of force and matter.
Effects follow causes with resistless uniform
ity. Man may humbly conform to his con.
ditions and prosper. The price of happ.
ness and life is obedience. To obey, one
must know. Watch for facts and conform
to them !
Are the men of to-day hopeful as to the
future of science Who is God but tomni)
science 40 man with rounded knowledge
all is possible" To know God Is life eter.
nal.
dare not affirm that the ideas UNDER
lying these modes Of speech are absolutely
identical. But surely they must seem to u
thoughtful man to be very near kin.
Consider the oft-derided aud rejected
doctrine of human inability and mans
dependence upon the "effoctual call" of God
the Spirit Is there not similar doctrine
among men OF science Is not matter Of
itself dead, inert helpless Do not the
lowest forms Of organic life at once suggest
the play among the atoms of forces from
above Without the solicitation aud
"ettectual call" OF the sun, there remains
only the vast original charnel chaos, whose
atoms lie together exceeding dead Natural
inability is no more Calvinistic than u
scientific notion.
Take again minor doctrine Of the Now
Testament-the perdition Of ungody men !;
the unquenchable fire the pit into which
the beast aud the false prophet and other
noisome creatures arc finally to drop, to the
bottom Of the bottomess-in word, the
hell Of our approved creeds. Tho theologian
assuming the existence and sovereignty Of
God, aud thinking out his right to rule to
reward to punish, comes inevitably to these
lucid conclusions. The fires that CLEAN out
from the low places Of perdition through
every crevice OF Scripture, confess newly
surprise me at every reading, because Of
their eminent scientific verify. For OPEN
ing the nearest school. book, under the arti.
Gle combustion, what do | find That we
have slow combustion and swift combustion ;
decays running through centuries aud other
decays accomplished in moment. Every
form Of organic lie, the moment it ceases to
grow, begins to decompose I; or, if its fate
be soHc while averted by dryness, and its
dessicated shape preserved through term
of centuries, yet there is potential combus.
ton. ats end is to be burned" 1t came
up by solicitation, as we just now saw. from
above. 1t throvc so long as it was in SYM
patty with the sunbeam. 1t ceased to
thrive when discord began or when light and
heat failed. At death it began to move
downward And underneath every form of
organized life known to man there is u great
abyss Of unorganized matter and the road
that leads down to it, il short road, is
| glowing with fire il II long road it is still
red hot. All things thai fail to live,
science says, will be burned up. What
says theology Science spells it co0,5us-
tio1. Theology spells it hel-fro.
Salvation by faith. Whatsoever is not
Of faith is sin" "lIe that believeth not is
CONDEMNED already" These words convey
truth to every pious soul. An estate of
faith is spiritual experience. Salvation
means health, aud so, of course, growth
and prosperity, and happiness. We have.
then, as the teaching of the universal church
that health, growth, happiness belong to an
estate or condition Of faith.
Now faith may be considered Il as rclat-
ed to the man exercising il, aud t2) as relat-
ed to the facts or the being toward which it
is exercised. A twining vine must Irvine or
/ hlts ~ Hul NMiut uEOuHu hlIlIk OF
around a pole or a square-cornered edging
from the mill. But to thrive it must Irvine.
So the estate of faith is a condition of health.
So far as man is concerned, 10 be in faith is
practically Of more Importance than to have
the right string or pole or edgiug around
which to Irvine By faith. All WOE and alas I!
when men begin to dispute about the object
Of faith-the definition of their God, whom
no man by searching hath found cut. Oh,
welcome, thrice welcome, the communion
in saints where men have learned that what.
soever is not Of faith is sin aud the poor
Of spirit are comforted in expectation OF
heaven.
Salvation by faith" has its precise equiv
alent in the range of science lie that
would know anything for certain must be
sure that he knows nothing to begin with.
lie must hunger and thirst. and rid his
mind Of all within aud prejudice aud habit.
lie must submit himself aud all his senses
to the endorsements Of nature. When his
conclusions are smitten rudely ami the
fabric Of his thought dashed to the ground
he must be in true scientific humility aud
faith, and welcome the strong hand Of re-
sistless truth, whether she come with re-.
ward and smiles or with rebukes and con-
demnations. lie must be humble, meek
poor IN spirit. So shall he thrive.
know Of no training that seems so well
adapted to prepare the mind for genuine
Christian experience as the training which
an ingenious student win receive in the
laboratory Of truly great investigator Of
nature. A great scientist, left to himself
without provocation Of controversy, is d
marvelously humble and teachabe mau.
When he gathers his disciples around him
he inspires them with humility and hope in
equal measure. He bids them, Watch and