The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1879-06-04
THE PROFTTABLENESS. OF
TRUE GOODNESS.

Sermon by Rev. John Hall.
Rev, John Hall, at the Fifth
Avenue Presbyterian Church yester.
day morning, preached from the text
contained IN the First Epistle to
Timothy, embracing the command
ments Of the Lord to the apostle as
to the exercise oftrue godliness bas-
ed on spiritual faith. The reverend
preacher. said in relation to the
asceticism referred to in the epistle
that it was a form of belief known
in heathenism as we'll as in Christian
ity, that it was as much practised in
Buddhism as in modern Europe. The
apostle spoke contemporary OF this
asceticism as ''old wives fables"
and lie said :-"But refuse profane
and old wives fables and exercise
myself rather unto goodness. For
bodily exercise pro6teth little. but
goodness is profitable unto all
things" 1t was much easier to
bring the body under subsection than
the mind. The body was the slave
of the mind, and, as was often the
case, the slave was frequently COM
PEELED to do what the master himself
refused To do. IL was very easy
thing to 60 through the routine of
church services, to become conven-
tional, to ill ones pew regularly,
when the real thing (which was only
meant to be symbolized by all these,
and of which these were only forms
of expression), the real thing, which
was the only one God cared for, was
utterly disregarded. Exercise thy
self in seIf-denial, In sacrifice, in
goodness that was the command.
EXAMPLES DE GOODNESS.
The preacher said that the Old
Testament furnished many brilliant
examples of godliness, and quoted
among others the lives of Enoch,
Abraham, Moses and Joshua, and
showed how they had followed the
Lord and defied the current of
thought prevailing in their own gen.
Grafton. Joseph. in his youth, was
also cody; to him God was living
and loving presence. Samuel was
another example. He was ready
even to oppose the king he had
anointed when that king turned
away from the paths of righteous.
ness. David, though he strayed
away in some respects. still was a
godly man. This goodness was in
Daniel, making him hero 10 the
presence of the heather. When
hey came TO the New Testament
hey found many other Illustrations
If this goodness. It made Paul a
trong and yet a humble man; it
made him bold, self.denying, active,
'igorous and holy man. The veo--
ng'of his soul was = la
nd to go know Jusus
-sulre to His fellowship.
Put a godly man in the midst Of
the ignorant and he win teach them
uut him amid the abandoned and he
will reform them. Goodness was
the very furthest thing from mere
routine performance of
duty; it was real, earnest; it was
character; it was in the soul, with
It's seat there, working from within
Surely men should give
special attention to anything that
Was profitable" That was what
All men hunted after. Men. however,
IN hunting after the profitable, made
The serious mistake of basing all
their calculations upon this present
world and of forgetting that there
we're two worlds, and that the other
vas very different onefrom this.
THE TWO WORLDS.
The appreciation of nations, of
courts and camps did not resound in
the presence of the King of Kings.
When man went into the other world
be was stripped Of all his greatness
be vent there naked, a mere unit in
she mass. Of bumanity. All the things
hat made and secured success in
his life were only adapted to this
estate they did not help us in the