, 1874-02-23

l.
charm Of hia own oloquonce, that cagy natural,
noas, TINT absence Of all oIort, OF nl physical
strniuinE after oIrcrt, which ID tue Rccrot Of hss
power Oh tho platform.
.raea A"a the st *"'ns more 'A'aS tfay may q a IL
grcnt preachors because they. moro frequently
add Lilo element OF personal character to force
OF intellect. I. I'M 70 known ministers whose
highest attainment in rroaching was only the
,fatut shadow Of tIoir ncLnal polvcs. We rcad
over tfoir sermons now. perhaps. and wo1lt'or at
Tho elToct thoy produced. 1t WAS the personality
of tho nla1l-his charactor behind lis produc-
tion-tl,at lnalo Ills coalnonplaces seoml pcnrlh
Of wisdom, mud Ills simplest worls fraught With
Illo requirement Of . character thon,
9lp,lll be tho ideal object OF lilo. Aias NO
I've 10 outwarl1y, 30 artiilcially, aro 30 iinbucd
nth
"-tllo rcs.lcss will
That l.l.rrlcs to aud fro.
Eeslng for snHae great thing to do.
Or secret thing to KNOW"
TINT no aro promo to ignore tho Importance OF
i,us from all hypocrislos and vain ambitions lit
.us co,no back again to our truo solyoa.
''Do substantially ,grcat i'll, thysclf," gays
an old English writer, aud moro than
thou appcarest INTO otherh. Lot tho , world
Of hcayen."
Character is, indeed, tho onlyIposscssion whicl,
/, absolutely and etornally your own. What you
have you must leave behind you; what you know
others may know alFo, bnt what yo1! arc-your
moral pcrsonality-in intimately and sncredly
your own, and can Mother b. taLon away nor
forfeited.
Your future destiny, too, ia no loss basod upon
your present being. At the divine judgment tho
Sss ss%s"I is I w Ss BE po sa wii NOT e Sn numSsr SSs
or the nature OF yolr works, but the measure Of
your moral life. Tho lcyol OF yirtuo to which
YOU hare attained muHt determine the character
OF your future destiny. Perhaps, in TINT sitting
Of being from doug,-of character from works;
tile supposed sinner shall turn out d saint, md
tho reputed saint bc Ionla1dcd to Tho lover
n.ost placo of all. And herein lies much
s5.as % tho ue 0y Sods o. of ts tao noPps Pspn'off of
11cnrun and tho fenr Ut hell as motives to lives
of charity, temperance honesty, and good will.
For deeds done thus on speculation, as mcans
to u selfish end, arn nj morally Taluclcss as
ccclcsiast!cal ponanco md practices. Tho Protest.
mt who aalyes ovcr his conscientious HcruplcH
fur sius Of omission or commission by purchasing
q few dimes worth Of tracts, aul loaying.thcm at
moral lilo with tie Catholic who measures lis
piuty by the number Of his paternostcrs.
Summing up, therefore, what has been aaid
about tho Comparative yaluo'ot bons and doing,
= would nsk:
Which IL beat? to mike your works bottor than
yourself. or to mako yourself 60 good thnt no
works ca,, adequately repreacnt you2 For still
it renl,ns trno that you navar can put tho hlgh-
est into words OF deads. Speech il limited deeds
Insufficient to express tho Richest lullost life
of tho soul. Speech is human. Tho soul is divine.
Finite works eau mover justly represent tho
infinite spirit from which tlloy sprung. Is not
this tlo lcason.of tho lfo OF Jesus? What lie
did was little. 1Io mover wrote line IIe never
Ho lived Oh tho cllarity OF frienda without anu
bltiun, llo laid 10 plans for spiritual empire.
And yet BY tho force Of pure being ne ltas rovo-
lutionize1 tho world. Tho secret Of His enor.
Ink
lilo wuH. Behind this much. priced, yet trag-
ul.tary, record Of Ills life, there looms up iig
patchwork creation al the Evangelists. Un-
to this TRUTH and put tho Christ into the Gospel,
whom tho Gospel itBe1r could mover adequately
reveal. Let US forgive thom it they hnVo gone
astrny in tlcr portraiture, confused the tinito
thu Fathor in Hcayen with Him WHO was only,
though omiuontly, !" tho cxpress imago md liko-
1t vas Tue instructive homage whicl, tho soul Of
man uayH to trarsconlont moral groatncaH +; it
was o dedication Of tho divine possibilities latent
i'll human nature. III jesus we 1nay behold anoW
how infinitely higher is being than doing.
Or, would you point mo to 4is n,iracloa? But
aclo that Ho was? II tho toaclor was greater
than his tcachiugs, do you not belioyo that tho
workman WIS creator than Ills work z Faith i'll
Christ must roHt on something higher than Hlm-
plo awe ct His wondor~working powor: Inc ioo M
tie ,o external tern fact the condition q their lolIoi
and psofosring tho Illusion OF tho sonsea to tile
certitlldo Of spiritual appreciation. 1t is curious
meanwhile, aH we'll as instructive. to Boe how tho
rolatlye Importance Of tho character OF JosuH
and Of Ills works has changed in tho minds OF
plcn. Theso very miracles which tho Church Of
Tie pus: accounted tho chief oyidenca for historic
ClriHtiauity, layo now become tito principal
1frtY- hhr1; n "a
they arc accepted at aI it is usually because Of
at, urtocodcnt belief III Christ Hilnsolf as the
lurgor fact Bays DR.. Chnpin: ~ do not bo-
1iovo in Christ beca',ao Of the miracles, but ]!
accupt tho miracles because believe in Christ. "
Tile reliability Of tho supernatural narrative
in tho New Tcstamont really resolves itself into
question Of evidence which eyory mind must
decide for itBolf, but "tho aim to convert man
by miracles is, aH Emerson truly says, q pro-
fauution Of tho aoul."
It is IL hopeful h'g1,, meanwhile, that mon lay
far ieps emphasis on tho oxtornals Of tito life of
Jes,tH and fur moro oil tho fullncBH aud bennty
anxious to iuitato lis cycry not aud word, aud
fur moro desirolh to onulato Ills pure aud
beautiful spirit. For to mo 1t HoeMs clcAr
tat, III niost 1espeetH, Josl1b was greaty
in ADVANCE Of l1iH recorded teachitlgH,
aud that Whit was highest and diyinest In Hin,
cali only bocumo ours u inward sympathy and
Increased spiritual experience Oh OUR pnrt.
What tho ngo neotls IL 'thls CONSTANT, al1lrma-
tion of the spirit against the llaterlallzlnE IN
ilnoucca Of or common, daily lilo, aud t!o
thought. 1.-The norl, saia one OF tho oAt PM,
losuphors, .H tho iroas,lro Of I'LL things"
Spirit alono can gdolulte!y Interpret to ua tho
prohens of tho world Of 1nnslor, or tho 1lniYcraa
OF nature aH disclosing noral traits. But II sucl.
revelation Of bonefconce c0mos to us, it ii be-
cauAo we have iirst placcd 1t there. For Nature
in lersolf ia neither moral nor immoral, but
All, nt.n unfn hmm