The Portland daily press., 1875-07-26
BY TELEGRAPH,
MATTERS IN MAINE.
Colby Commencement.
Anniversary of the BOardman
Missionary Society.

Missionary society,"
VAUDEVILLE, July 25.-The exercises of
Commencement week began this evening by
the sermon of Rev. E. a. Haynes of White
hall, N. Y, delivered to the Boardman Mission
airy Society. The services were held in the
Congregational church which wass full. The
subject of Mr.. Haynes sermon was: 1.-THE
manifestations of the Invisible God,'' based or
John /, IS. ''No man has seen God at any
time; the only begotten son which is in the
bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. u
Christ can do what no man can do, and hence
must be what no man is. No mortal being
hath or can see God and live. He must, there
fore, be more than man.. The text il
not, strictly speaking, one on PROPOSE
tions, nor is it an argument; is is the comment
of truth. Still the atfirmations of Scripture
may be considered as arguments Reason may
be applied to them for the purpose of inquiry
and calculation.
In the text are two positive and apparently
unsupported statements. The question is not
"Are they true?" but. 'How can they be YER
efed?' The train Of modern thought the
tendency of much philosophical inquiry in
their somewhat forced relations to religious
jects, furnish ample grounds for the considera
ton of such text:
/. God absolute, in his essence and spirit, is
invincible. This then IS the answer to the
yearning love of adoring hearts for vision OF
the Fathers face. ''No man has seen God at
any time But God is all around us-in dark.
ness and in surlight-in the gentle winds that
ripple fields of grass as an emerald sea; in the
storm which tears aloft the mighty plumes of
the forest. He is in every movement of
nature and is cognizant of every act of man.
Fancy paints his anger in the storms of life,
and clothes his form in robes of clouds and di.
adems of stars. But he is slight inaccessible
and full of glory" God shows himself to no
one not even the most favored. Why God re-
mains invisible is question susceptible of
many possible answers. His nature and es-
sence, the titles by which He is designated to
the understanding, the imperfections and limit
of human knowledge-all show cognizance OF
the Infinite by the senses.
OF the evident in divine things, as in all APP.
proaches to knowledge, there are two degrees,
viz, the apparent and the manifest. Manifest
alton is the stronger of the two terms. 1t
strikes on the understanding and forces con-
victions. Things are passively evident; they
are actively manifest. There are many mani
festations of God. 1.-THE he vens declareth the
glory of God, and the armament His handi-
work. Day unto day uttereth speech, and
night unto night showeth knowledge" Ma
ture manifests God and whatever may be the
fault of our reason and the Improbabilities of
our conjectures, the mind never remands the
universe to a mindless creator, nor yields its
faculties to the dominion of blind chance. At
ter the arguments of Herbert Spencer and
John Stuart Mill there remains manifestations
of Supreme Being. Spencer" it has been
said, never has demonstrated, and never can
demonstrate, the non-existence of God" As
a hypohthesls that always keeps the peace
sscisnee tends to deny this but never disprove:
it. He who devo1tly studies the history and
the vital forces of nature, and finally reaches
the main purpose of these important records, is
ccmfOrted with the evidences OF a God who has
published himself in every orb whose myster-
ious path he traces, and on every rock covered
page of the earth, whose hieroglyphics he at
attempts to read. Science, metaphysics, all
knowledge, pauses before the gated sky and re-
coils srom the grave, and until the great truths
of Deity, apart from the universe, is brought
home to the intellect and the heart of man in
some tangible expression, he cannot realize
the relations of fellowship and love. Hence
the personality of God is the essential feature
of Divine Revelation. and in that realized fact
differs from and is raised infinitely above all
other Divine manifestations.
IL. Passing DOW to another phase of the
subject, possibly the word declare does not ex-
press the full meaning of its Greek original
but the common Scriptural use of the word will
justify this translation. In the New Testa-
ment it usually signifies "to explain fully and
accuratey-to expand" Hence Christ Is the
expander of God. There are three ways in
which to contemplate the manifestations of
God: Firstly, 1t is in this personality that he
reveals the Father; Secondly, In the moral
beauty of the life and character of Jesus;
Thirdly, The Christ spirit in the world and
Christianity.
Each OF these three points were dwelt upon
with great force and power. In regard to sci
ence, he said that he did not discourage diligent
inquiry; let it be profound and earnest. No
Christian scholar will raise his voice against
true science, for it has given more to religion
than it has taken from it. The most striking
feature of our best literature is its involved
problems; and the most prominent feature in
society is its failure to apply throughout its
daily life the principles we have learned. Give
the world the truth as it is in Jesus. Let there
be thinking which is responsive to Divine Au-
thority. Give US active Christian work and
lives that deeply question themselves for the
good of their followers. This capability fol-
presenting God in Christ involves sound doc
trine, a true discipline of mind and a heart at
just the point where the Master says, ''Come
unto me-" We will not fear all the battering
rams of criticism if you fill the occasional
breeches made in your faith " it'll the testimony
of Him who spake as never man spake.
Fire in Waidoboro'-LOss $40, 900.
WALDoBoRo', July 25-Last evening, a few
minutes before 10 o'clock, fire broke out in a
store occupied by A. Isaacson, dry goods deal.
er, Sprouts block, supposed to have originated
from explosion of lamp. The Triumph en-
CINE company was promptly on the spot and
succeeded in entirely extinguishing it in about
two hours Estimated total loss is about $10,-
600, as follows: On block $4,000, insured fol
$2O00;S A. Isaacson, stock $25O0, insured
$1700; Mrs. L. W. Kimball, stock $1,000, in
sured 800; Mrs. Geo. Sproul, $1,000, household
goods, no insurance; w. f. Levensaler $500,
insured $500; with some small losses to other
tenants in the block. The able efforts of the
fire company recently organized here alone
saved us from an extensive and disastrous con-
fagration as we suffered in 1854.
Postal.
WAsHINGToN.July 25.--Postal changes for the
week: Offices stablished-Eastbrook, Han
cock county, B. w. Dyer, postmaster. Post.
masters appointed-Chas. HI. Clement, Long
Pond, Hancock county; P. f. Gilgore, North
Newry, Oxford county; Alonzo H. Kicker,
Marlborough, York county.