Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1880-05-21

tlhth NtIc tlOhtu ~ pi"J'i iNAh ANN'' NA''
Whitney. Tasteful presents in gold and 9th
err valuables to the amount Of over $50, from
friends far and near were received. Mr..
Holding, who was born in North Sunderland,
Mass, in 1908, has been a resident OF Brat
tloboro since 1925 Mrs. Holding was Lucy
Elvira Pike, daughter Of Mr.. Houghton Pike,
a well.known citizen Of olden times, who re-
moved TO Brattleboro from Newfane about
1914. The marriage ceremony was perform
by Parson McGee, May 10, 1880. OF three
sons born to them only one-Frank II.
Holding, with whom they resides now liv-
ing.
THE KINGDOM OF GoD'-REv. WASHINGTON
GLADDEN's SERMON LAST SUNDAY EVENING.
Rev Washington GLADDEN. occupied the
pulpit Of the Centre Congregational church
last Sunday in exchange with the pastor,
Rev. Geo. Z. Martin. Large cougrc cations
listened to Mr. GLADDEN. morning and even
ing-that in the evening being notable for
the large number Of people it contained from
all the different religious societies in town.
The subject of the evening discourse WAS
''The Kingdom of God, " based on the words
of the Lords Prayer, Thy Kingdom Come. -
In answering the question, what is the king
dom of God for which we are taught to pray
Mr.. GLADDEN. said the phrase is used in its
largest sense. 1t is not, as the Jews thought
and expected, political institution, it is n OF
some outward thing it is not meat or drink
it is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy
Ghost according to Paul and, according to
his Lord and ours, it cometh not with obser-
walton. although the effect of its coming may
be observed. Jesus tells us where ii is, Paul
what it is 1t is within you--it is righteous
ness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost
1t is in it's essence spiritual The seat Of
Gods kingdom is in the thoughts and aifec-
tons of men the tokens of its sway are
deepening purity aud growing love among
the children of meu When we inteligently
offer the petition, Thy kingdom come
then we are asking for nothing less than this
that the light and love and power Of God
may increase aud abound everywhere in the
world. We have no right to give the words
a narrower meaning than this, though mar
rover one is often given to them.
Mr.. Ruskin, said Mr. GLADDEN., Seems
to me nearly right in his comments on this
clause I believe very few of the most earn
est, using that petition, realize it is the Faith
er's-not the Son's-kingdom that they pray
may come, though the whole prayer is foun-
dational oil that fact. For thine is the king
DOM the power and the glory And fancy
that the minds of the most faithful Christians
is quite led away from its proper hope by
dwelling on the reign or the coming again Of
Christ which indeed they are to look for and
to watch for, but not to pray for. Their
prayer is to be for the greater kingdom to
which He risen and having all enemies under
His feet, is to surrender His, that God may
be all and in all -"
II is true that, in a measure Gods king
dom is here already The world has never
been wholly destitute of righteousness. God
has never been without a witness on the
earth Purity, truth and love have always
had home on this planet. But it is not
amiss or unreasonable, even in these beaut-
full early summer days, to wish or pray for
the fuller coming Of the summer with its
flowers and its fruits. Nor is it irrational or
uniting to pray for the coming Of Gods
kingdom, although in a certain sense it is
here already This is the most comprehen-
siye petition that Il man can utter. 1t is a
prayer that has been answered, too, how many
times and how abundantly.
We quote verbatim the closing passages of
the discourse:
Thy kingdom come, the disciples prayed;
and presently a bloody persecution fell upon
them in Jerusalem and drove them forth
from the holy city, and made them homeless
wanderers. That was strange way of an
swering the prayer. But they that were
scattered abroad went everywhere preaching
the word" Up and down the rugged roads
of Palestine they went proclaiming the glad
tidings of great joy. 1t was not long before
the messengers found their way over the
heights of Mount Taurus, and here and there
centre of light was kndled in the dark
provinces of Asia Minor; then the voice came
TO Paul summoning him to Macedonia, and
Europe was invaded by the intrepid apostle,
who planted the standard of the gospel on
the classic field of Phillippi aud on the
heights of the Areopagus. From these small
beginnings the leayen of Christianity has
spread until now nearly third part Of the
human race acknowledge Jesus Christ as
Lord.
This is simply putting into three sentences
the story of the outward progress in the
world of that specialized and organized man
Hesitation of God which We call the Christian
religion. And while we freely admit that
these people that are now called Christian are
far from compromising Christianity IN its
highest excellence and beauty, We may safe
ly say that there is not one among them to
which Christianity has not proved a blessing
not one whose darkness it has not enlighten
ed, whose life it has not lifted up not one
in which there is not more of righteousness.
and peace, and heavenly hope and Joy, than
there would have been if the people had not
heard of the coming of the Son of Man.
But the progress of Gods kingdom in the
world has not been confined to Christian
lands, nor even to the Christian era. 1t is a
prayer that deyout men have always been Of
fering and that God has always been answer
ing. When Gautama Siddhartha, in the In
dian city of Kapilavastu, four or five hundred
years before the coming of our Lord learned
and taught the great remuneration, the king
dom of God drew near to all those Eastern |
lands. For though the doctrines of Buddhism |
are but a partial revelation of Gods truth |
and love, and though the rays of light that
were mingled with its darkness have been |
greatly blurred by the perversions and cor. |
ruptions of later days, yet there was truth in |
it, and the truth in it was Gods truth and |
there was love in it, and il was Gods love |
shed abroad in the heart of Gautama and it |
lifted millions of people up to higher and |
purer life, and thSre was more of righteous. |
ness, and more of peace, and more of ioy in |
their hearts and in their homes because OF it
and therefore We know that it was not Who'll. |
ly the kingdom of the Evil One, but the |
kingdom of God that Gautama Sddhartha.
in some blind and imperfect way, was build |
ing God had some better thing for us than |
he had for either Jews or Buddhists but he |
had some good thing for them too and the |
light that they saw, though it shone through |
many mists of superstition, was beam from |
the eternal sun of righteousness.
And SO in other lands, Christian aud pagan |
God has been preparing the ways by which |
His kingdom may come into the world, by |
which it may enter and take possession of |
the lives of men. and work from within nnt |