Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1875-11-03


The astronomer may mount his telescope
and sweep the entire vastness of infinite
space IN search for worlds and yet every
motion Of that instrument, every calcula-
ton upon Tvs observations must be founded
upon fixed, unquestionable, immutable laws
Then the more star-gazing, the better
Worlds will shine out in answer to snch
quest. But each part of The work in its
place. The electric currents of the earth
as it moves. may have a great deal to do,
through the nervous system, with our ply
steal life. but what we know undoubtedly
is, that bread and meat, and pure air. and
good exercise. are essential 70 life. And it
is poor physiology, if not poor phisolophy
and religion, to give up the bread and meat
before we find out certainly ABOUT the other.
Certa in theories Of God, of Christ of
Heaven, of He'll, and of the whole economy
of future life may have truth in them, or
tley may not. But what we know-and
here we are safe-is just this; that he who
deals justly. loves mercy and walks humbly
before God working out his life under the
inspiration of "these things" named, will
find out the most satisfactory results touch
ing the life to come. Such truths AS we
quoted at the beginning OF our discourse,
were true, settled unquestioned and un-
questionable, ages and ages before the Bible
was made. True from the foundation of
the very nature of God and the constitu-
,ion of his moral government. Therefore
we know, hat if there be hereafter, who.
soever is right in the life that now is, will
| be right in the life to come.
Now friends, from leaving the certain for
the sake Of the uncertain, comes all the re-
igious trouble in the world This mistake
has divorced religion from morality and
morality from religion. 1t has made enem-
les o. faith aud reason, setting one against
the other. 1t has made piety one thing,
and mans character another. 1t has caused
Christendom to believe that the doctrines of
saIvation are something distinct from the
doctrines of Il true human life 1t has torn
the world with wrangling and bitter strife,
aud has fostered begotry and self-righteous-
ness, pncharitabeness and persecu ton. 1t
las alienated man from man, brother from
brother, church from church, and substitute
ted a theory of salvation hereafter in place
of true lite here in time.
When we come 10 look at it. how singular
it is, that not only the standard doctrines
of men-I mean the doctrines that men
have set forth as standard authority, are
founded upon the questionable, tie debata-
bic, the polemic matters of Christ iaIity
but even the very hymns we try TO sing are
predicated upon the same things. | don't
| wonder there is no more harmony in them;
shouldn't think that fine music could rem
der them because of their moral discords
They re based uponj:the doctrines cata-
logue ID from the disputed class, such as the
fall, total depravity, the nature of God, the
SINGLE, two-fcld, or three-fold. nature of
Christ; upon the history of the prophets,
the ancient usages of tabernacle, temple.
and synagogue; upon anything and every
thing of this unsettled and questionable
side of faith instead Of the unquestionable
keynote of all universal harmony, giving
songful utterance to what neither man nor
angel could ever deny. Why, over this
book we use here, Ispent more than an hour
yesterday, trying to find hymn that should
echo "tbese things Paul named, but had
10 put up with Such as | did find. There
came sounding through my memory hymn
beginning thus:
Breast the wave, Christian, when it is
strongest,
Watch for day, Christian, when night is
longest,
Onward and onward still press thine en-
deavor;
The rest that remaineth, endureth forever.
WANTED such hymn, wanted it as re
J
ye shall not fail. There is not one hymn
in hundred, that is fit to be named true
Christian hymn. They ring with the rattle
of Aristotle's logic, with the polen.ic jargon
of the dark ages. l want hymn, that
shall ring with my WEAKNESS, after have
done duty; with my heart.ache or jubilee,
after repent of::sins that committeeman
my ancestors sins latter l have gotten the
victory on the field that God gave me to
fight. Then if the angels have mind to
come down and join in, all the better
If We 60 back TO the early seed-time
back where he seed-corn of the gospel was
garnered, we shall find that the very senti-
ments and inspirations that supported the
earliest fruit, were exactly "these things"
which the Apostle commands US to think
Of. They were the divine principles, the
divine inspirations, indeed, which flu ng
tho;r Gro dawn into tho tu;ptrv dnDyho If