The daily gazette., 1878-05-14
Rectitude of Life.

AN ABLE sEhMoN PREACHED AY THE |
PASTOR OF ST. PAUL's NJ. e. CHURCH. /
The following is synopsis of an able |
| sermon delivered by Rev. j. H. Cald- |
well, in st. Paul's NJ. L. Church, OIL Sum
day morning.
The text was Matthew ", 20, on the
| righteousness of the Scfibes and Phari
sees. Who they were and what was
meant by their righteousness, were ex-
planned, and in what respects our right
eousness must exceed the righteousness of
tue Scribes and Phar.ees, were then set
forth, viz; l. Rectitude in our relations
with God, or justification by faith. 2.
Rectitude of heart, or regeneration
8. Rectitude of life, or holy living. The
following are the remarks under this
| head
kEcTITUDE OF LIFE, OR HOLY LIVING.
This stands essentially connected with
and flows out of right state of the
heart. The heart, rectitied by the opera
ton of Divine grace, is the fountain, a
life of true moral reciitude is the stream.
One is the tree, the other the fruit. True
righteousness of life, or uprightness of
department, could not sooner be main
tanned without an inward rectitude OF
heart, than q stream could continue to
flow when the fountain is dried up. "By
their fruits" said Jesus, "ye shall know
them" Men do not gather grapes of
thorns, or figs of thstles.
| A Christians life must be consistent
with his professions. He must produce
the fruits of genuine morality and piety,
or he will be obnoxious to the sentence
pronounced by Jesus In the texts. 1t is
the glaring Inconsistency of some pro-
fessors Of religion that gives to the inf
del his most effective weapon. He is not
content merely to strike at the false and
hypocritical professor, but at Christianity
rs if that were ut fault. AS well might
you charge patriotism with the crimes of
disloyalty and treason, as Christianity
with the sins and follies of false pro.
fessor. A false professor is hypocrite
and it was at the hypocritical class OF
Pharisees that Jesus aimed his terrible
rebukes which he set forth the principles
and practice of true religion. But tn,
intidel in the vileness of his blasphemy
makes Christ the worst of all hypocrite.
| by insinuating that his Sonshp ant
Messiahship were mere pretensions ant
not realities. Among his chosen twely,
the blessed Master had one false hearted
| traitor, and / have seen an intidel person
' | that makes him out a better and more
honest man than his Master, We admi
that hypocrisy is still, as it ever has beef
a shameful vice in the church. Their,
are men who make loud professions ant
say long prayers, who are full of gushing
sentiment and song, that would no
scruple to cheat their neighbor or grint
the face of the poor, or Cypress the hire
, ling in his wages, and maybe, in secre
practice some infamous vice. They art
hypocrites, and will one day meet thei
reward. But are all hypocrites Ar,
all lnsincere and false hearted? Far from
it. If all were base metal it would sool
cease to circulate, it would be too com
mon, and therefore valueless. Th
counterfeit is standing proof that ther,
is a genuine article somewhere, and i
seeks to circulate ON the credit of tn,
good. 1t is the homage that will some
times pay to virtue. What il we fine
hypocrites sometimes in high places, /
is only proof that they pushed thei
pretentions and climbed upward on tn
credit of the good. A Sunday schoo
Z superintendent maintains good stand
, | ing for many years and moves in tn,
best circle of society, but is at last sen
e to the penitentiary for stealing; preach
er after maintaining fair standing for
| long time is detected in the crime O
another after filling the world with hi
fame is gravely charged if not convicte,
of having CHASTITY skeleton in his owl
closet What do they all prove? Tha
Christianity is false? that Christianity /
49, wrong? that there is no true religion? tina
"a all men are alike inslnc-re and bast
hearted? Where then must we look fo
that mot real goodness" of which som'
infidels write and speak as their 6ed,
ideal of perfection? Let professor o
y religion now step aside from the path o
!" recttude and the whole crew of infidels
especially of the baser sort, and NOR
especially OF that sort who are known t.
live in scandalous immortality, who dc
base themselves by their own lower lust
only at the particular culprit, but at tn
Church, at the whole body OF the minis
try and at Christianity itself.
Infdelity in our day is double. fdced
f With one face il looks from the stand
'e point of science toward the upper cult
5. waited classes, bnt is too plausible, ii nc
J too decent, to condeScend to the use {
slang and ribaldry. With the other FAC
it looks down from the rOStruBI towar
the uneducated masses and deals wit
/, other wearons-abaSe, loao aoH, Scarrait,
obscene tests Such low fellows ape til
butfoon because it better BELTS the taste
of the untutored millions. They alway
get hearers, because there are 80 man
e. whose tastes are low and whose passion
are addressed in the language of til
vulgar jester To such crowds 60 til
Ingersols and all the lesser lights of til
same kilh and kin.
They do not NEEDLE much with til
"scientific difficulties" for what do the
or their hearers know of science? 1t
: sad to think that their utterances som,
is times find their way into the newspi
pers, and sadder still that they are NJ
checked and rebuked as they ought
~ be- Their low and vulgar wit; thei
- mendacous charges against the churc
and ministry; their ignorant or wifi
perversion of scripture facts and do
q trnes; their principles, which tend to tl
subversion of law and order, of publ