The New York herald., 1879-01-06
"REPENT YE :"
The Voices of City Pastors in the
Wilderness of Sin.
FIRST SERMONS OF THE YEAR
Time and the Formation O
Character.
CHURCH OF THE DISCIPLES.

CHURCH OF THE DISCIPLES.
TINE AND THE FORMATION OF CHARACTER
SERMON BY REV. GEORGE H. HEpwoRTH.
have sometimes stood on the beach. looked over
its face and given free to my Imagination, said
Mr.. Hepworth yesterday morning in commencing
sermon from text in the Psalms. which read fol-
Iows:-"But thou art the and the years shall
have no end" He continued:-I have watched the
sand the shingle and the debris of geologic ages.
now thrown tar forward, now thrown far
backward. always in commotion and at
every step coming into collision with
substance so hard that it itself
partially destroyed. have wondered what those ten
thousand pebbles would think they should be told
about the headland rock that knows any
change whatsoever; they being ground into
powder but IL stands unharmed and untouched. For
the pebbles there is hour of rest peace, but
for the rock all days days of careless thoughtess
ness utter calm and of quiet endurance. 1t to
that in that picture we have the sceptics
theology. The human the broken bodies.
overpressed further and further by the tide of time,
dragging each other to pieces and far all is that
Being who is eternal with eternal consciousness of
carelessness ana selfishness. There is change
to Him. and there is rest for humanity Our
end is litteness and death and oblivion He
sits throne of endurance. never caring to put
ture OF God painted by the life and lips Of
our Lord Jesus Christ We told in Holy Writ
that He who is our Lord watches over by His love
and that He is constantly sending messages to us in
answer to our prayers. No petition goes up1from the
earth that the Fathers smile does not come back to
us. We may be ground, but we never ground to
pieces; may find great deal of fiction in life
come in contact with trial disappointment and death
itself, but these things under the control of Him
whose hand is mighty, whose wisdom is great and
whose love is boundless. In the scheme of Christi
anity this world is great school house. in which
n
discipline of the most rigid character the object is
that we may learn more and more to become like
Him. 1t is natural that We should think of these
things gather around the milestone of another
year. Curious and instructive thoughts come into
minds at this of the year. 1t is well for
to ourselves and to ask certain serious ques
tions of conscience and to demand Of that monitor
to interrogatories 1t is well for to
reckon up the number of our opportunities to dis
cover what is in minds and hearts that is pro-
ductve of character ana to add up the things that
have yet to accomplish. When the day goes away it
is beyond our recall Whatever our position in
ciety, whatever our wealth may be. we cannot buy
moment of time Queen Elizabeth of England once
said millions of money for inch of time;" but
it OF avail. There things which neither
queen nor emperor can purchase. and time is of
them.
WATCHING THE HOUR GLASS.
This rapid passage of time is very fruitful sub
ject. have and watched the sands of the hour
glass until have become so nervous to be
PEELED to leave the room The sand will whether
am joyful or sad, whether am the highest saint
the lowest sinner. Time is our capital; it is the
golden coin with which buying character.
Bone or Spendtnrlfts or fortune, there
are others that are niggardy. These minutes and
hours of the day are to coins stamped in the
image of the Almighty. and every one should have
inscribed upon it, our own coin, the words,
elm God we trust 1t is very curious
fact that note the passage of time by
the changes that occur. If there changes we
should not recognize such thing time. This is
indicated to by the There is the season
when we plant our seed and that when we reap our
harvest; time when the falls and another
when pluck the flowers. We have the period of
buoyancy and happiness. and we call that childhood
audi hon ia n rhapf fba
dreams not yet realized, when life is the most
joyous and evanescent and when difficulties the
most easily overcome and when all things pos
sible. But by slow degrees just spring changes
into summer, changes come over human life
The boy is not boy always and when the shoulders
become broad enough we hnd that some one has put
o heavy burden there The castles in the air have
grown little dim and by and by will vanish alto
gether. The man has become more manly; he Is
weighted with responsibilities and surrounded by
family. This is the time when blossoms change to
fruit. Just imperceptibly gives way
to autumn there comes time in every mans lite
when he feels old age coming on; his memory is
not quite as Trustworthy as it was, his responsible
ties weigh upon him with exceeding heaviness and
he comes to think that he must yield up all that he
has done to younger arms and younger hands,
There is something sad about this period of life
just there is something sad about the
autumn time. Then old age; and this
call the span of human existence-a span that
Mt end cradle and at the other grave These
changes very impressive to have been look
ing the great events that have occurred during
the last year. am impressed with this fact, that
God does not stand in need of any one of You
and l may die; but the world will 20 just
though we were living. The world misses no man,
for it very easily supplies his place 1t is never safe
10 lay the attering JUNCTION to soul that after
are gone We shall have an extensive remembrance.
The longer / live the more l feel that
1t is character and character alone, that
lives. We depend upon nothing else but
future but character. Begin this year with the
thought impressed upon your mind that nothing i'll
heaven counts but character, formed by faith. in
famed by earnestness and inspired by confidence in
our Lord Jesus Christ.