The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1879-04-28

us, looking unto Jesus the author and
hnisher of our faith"
Macaulay says of the Puritans: "They
thought go intently upon one subject, they
were tranquil on every other" So every
child of God should be go conversant with
eternity, and its grand realities, as to be calm
This present world is the world of shadow,
tnst world is the world of substance. This
snail pass away, that will endure forever. The
unseen world is to be our home forever. IL Is
already peopled with the good and great Of all
ages. In that unseen world we shall presently
penold the King in his beauty. When our
vision is cleared when our spiritual eyes are
opes; we shall see Jesus, whom having not
seen we love, in whom though now we see
him not, yet believing we rejoice with Joy
unspeakable and full of glory.
In the afternoon DR.. McCabe preached .
stirring discourse at Congress St. Church from
Zechariah. ellis kingdom shall extend from
sea to sea-"
REV. DIR. B. K. PIERCE.
Rev. DR.. Pierce, editor of lions Herald, de-
livered two excellent discourses yesterday. one
at State street, and one at Chestnut street
church. In the morning he preached from
Acts v. Is. 'Tnsomuch that they brought forth
the sick into the streets and laid them on beds
and touches that, at the least, the shadow of
them" The text was food for discussion of
the power Of involuntary influence an d our
responsibility.
REV. DR. RUST.
Rev. DR.. Rust, Secretary of the Freedmen's
Aid Society, preached at the India street church
yesterday from the forth chapter Of first epistle
of John and part of the 10Th verse.
The question, What is God? has caused the
philosophers of successive ages much perplex-
ity, they frequently specialized on the subject;
offered numerous solutions of the problem; yet
all was midnight darkness and confusion until
the problem was solved by the gospel Of Christ,
God is Love. 1t is the height of folly for man
with his feeble powers of mind to attempt to
scan the nature of the great Am. With all
his speculatious and metaphy sical abstraction
he plunges bat the deeper in the labyrinth of
ignorance and mysticism.
There are two sources whence we may derive
instruction concerning the character of God
the pages of nature and the volume Of inspirs.
ton. In blended harmony both of these pro.
cl lin, GOD is love. The whole visible universe
reflects the benevolence of its Creator. Love
adds the mellow tint to the flower; imparts
melody to the breeze; gives lustre to the star,
and beauties space with glorious constella-
tions. II we open the volume Of Revelations,
we find written in letters of heavenly light,
God is love, and every page of Inspiration
CLEANS with manifestations of His benevo-
lence.
Love is seen in its effects. As effect fol lows
cause, as streams flow from the fountains, SO
L. H. h. r., al 80.
inspiration of love. If it b. proper to reason
from effect to cause, then is highly appropriate
to infer that the great First Cause is love, from
the infinite number and magnitude of His gifts
to man.
/. The Divine love is exhibited in the works
of creation. Wherever we turn our eyesscrea-
ton welcomes with smile and seems solicit.
Gus to make our temporary home pleasant aud
profitable. The heavens, the earth,-the soul
with its fountains of knowledge, treasured
from the riches of the past, gathering new
strength for higher flight in the future,-all
furnish proofs of Divine love seemingly too
convincing to be resisted, even by the blurred
vision of skepticism ITSELF
III. Gods love is exhibited in the gift Of the
Bible. The more closely we interr0gaie nature,
the more fully we are forced to the inspired
Word, The work of REDEEM ptiOn is not engrav-
en- on the works of Providence; had it been,
Divine revelation had been unnecessary. The
Bible is light to our feet and lamp to our
path. 1t bears the impress of its Divine Au-
thor.
LII. Gods love is exhibited in the gift of His
Son. Man was created holy, but by transgres-
sion fell. Wisdom devses plan Of mercy for
the salvation of the race and Denevolence exc
cutes. Then, when all was lost, from the lofty
heights of eternity, from the very submits of
glory, God looked in compassion on man, sent
his only begOtten Son to save him aud tit him
for usefulness on earth and happiness in
heaven.
Gods love is the source OF boundless mercy
both to the saint and the sinner.
REV. DIR. STEPHEN ALLEN.
Rev. DR.. Stephen Allen, president of the Do
mestic Missionary Society, preached at Piym.
outh church yesterday morning. His subject
was christian Faith" he described chris
tian faith as something spiritual, not an intel
lectual or scientific fact. Science does not
reveal Gods work so thoroughly and directly
as the spiritual revelation of the Almighty.
We may seek for evidences of christian faith
by some outward signs but we fail. Such
signs Can only be obtained from the heart. 1t
is within us. 1t is obtained by our love for
God.
REV MR.. LAPHAM.
At the Casco Street Free Baptist church,
Rev. Mr.. Lapham preached in the morning,
from the text Titus, 2:10-"That they may
adorn the doctrine Of God our Saviour in all
things"
Men have always Sound it difficult to SO ex-
press, in words, abstract truth, as to convey to
others the exact thought that vas in their own
mind. Hence art has been resorted to in order
that the thing itself, about which the truth is
spoken, may be represented to the sight Statu-
airy aud paintings have been employed to pre-.
sent truth to the eye and thus make it intelligi.
BILE, when words might fail to convey the truth
to the mind through the ear In the dark
ages men attempted to employ art, which had
been so serviceable in expressing other truth,
to convey religious truth, the most difficult of
all truth to express. This method was found
to fail in religion, and the truth itself was de-
graded by the attempt. And yet God has es-
tablished clear and sure way of expressing
His truth. This is done through the charac er
and the spirit and life of His own people The
doctrines of the Bible, illustrated in the life of
faith and patience of Gods people, are easily
any Distinct impression of them And this is
what Gods people are to do 10 the world; they
are to trace these doctrines of God which they
themselves have apprehended, upon their own
C08raCt6r dOu Ille, auu G0on nOlQ tHom up De-
fore the world ss true pictures, so that men
may see in them the thing which they have
heretofore SO poorly understood from the words
they have heard. And not only is this illus.
trated gospel needful to better convey the truth
to the world. but il is also needed by the Chris
tian for the full confirmation and development
of his own faith. We canDot gain the best and
most satisfactory knowledge Of the truth until
we see it actually pictured in our own goodly
character and life.
REV, r. s. GREEN.
At the Plymouth Church in the evening Rev
R L. Green of Lewiston preeched before 9
large congregation most able and eloquent
discourse, on "The Power and Spirit of God
Text, LIST Cor. I'd chapter, 9th aud 10th verses
The richest and grandest truths of religion are
| not revealed by the intellect or senses, but BY
the spirit of God itself in the heart. Paul ad
dressed the language of the text to the
! Intellectual and cultured people of Corinth
| who had not been blessed with divine revela
tion The preached applied this idea to the
| Interpretation of the human CHI racter, heaven
punishment regeneration. incarnation.
| GODS spirit in the human is the compass tina
| guides men to the grandest and most glorious
| trutha Urocla jmed nv Ghriat Jasna on6 enluo,