Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1883-11-17

| that He gave His Son to save them-neither
business pursuits nor rational recreation
neither honest property nor artistic beauty.
Let there be no bubble. We are ut our Mas
i ter's feet, and Him the world crucified. In
| the world itself it is a stupid affectatlon that
pretends not to know what worldliness is in
the life of man or woman. If it tried and
failed to beguile, seculariZe and overcome its
king, it will try here and everywhere TO be-
guile and secuariZe and overcome His church.
Wherever the church is true to Him, the
world will fail still. To be true to Him in the
midst of the world is precisely always, every
where, the church's calling. The world has
| not altered whit. Its temper, tyranny,
meanness, lying, are now Just what they were
then. no matter what changes there have been
in the houses it lives in, the clothes it wears,
or the wines it drinks. Caesar and Herod and
their queens do not make the world; the
world makes them, and 1t makes them over
and over again wherever it eau spread its
seductions or work the charm of its sorcery.
The Demas who becomes bad Christian to-
day. who cares more for his social position
than for heaven, who goes more eagerly to a
frolic or y theater than to sacrament, who
WOrslips the God who made him less heartily
than he does the fortune he has made, and
gives hfty times as much to his amusements
rs To his Saviour, is the same man that for
SOCK st. Paul and departed to Thessalomca
"hafIng loved this present world" Maleri-
alism is of many kinds, gross with gross ma
lures, but keen, calculating, polished, in men
of fine sensibilities and xquisite taste. While
certain loftier attributes of humanity like mag
nauimity, charity, self-sacrtce, wonder, faith,
are dwarfed by it, it is yet splendidly hosp-
table; 1t invites science and wit, kings of COM
merce and captains of industry, to its table,
aud they all sit down to meat together, saying
no grace. 1t is beautiful as the leopard and
AS cruel, and while it remains materialism it
does not change ills spots. The conclusion
follows that if NOWADAYS the church itself
wi ba,
outside of church buildings ure of very much
the same sort Us the worlds people, or if
they bring in very much the same ways of
thinking, feeling, judging. managing,in other
20 church, but takes possession of it, making
the Fathers house q house of merchandise
If the churchs affairs are conducted, its news
held, It's finances controlled on worldly prin-
cIples, with worldly ambitions, by worldly
insn, or If its preaching condeScends from be-
ing message of Gods prophets TO
be pious echo of the worlds opin-
ions or solemn sanction of the worlds
populartles, Then plainly the two kingdoms
are mixed and confounded. The common
eye is puzzled to tell which is which. One of
them is betrayed, and the skeptics will tell
you which one it Is. Plainly the work of dis
enchanting society of its low deusions, of
elevating and spirtualizing it, is to begin as
Let the world come in there by all means to
listen, to learn,tO confess and pray to be bap-
tlzed, converted aud sanctitied, but not TO vul-
gariZe, to desecrate, or to rule. Let ''the
Prince OF this world,' when she cometh,"
find nothing there of his own, as he found
nothing of his own in the heart of Christ
Suffer, dear brethren of the flock the word
of loving cXhortatiOn. Resist without DELAY
or scruple all secular intrusion into the hal
lowed economy of parishes. Forbid shirt
ual stewardship to be administered by god
less stewards. Banish unreality from ali the
holy business of your Lords estate.-,rnre-
ality, the beginning of well-nigh the only sin
which He unsparingly upbraided. the disgust
OF Giear-slghted lockers on, the death of
manly power. Seeing that we are threatened
with decline Of numbers in the ministry, do
what you can to win br ave young men to seek
with self-denia the service of deacons and
evangelisfs, pastors and priests. We urge
you, conscious of the privilege of YOUR adop-
lion, never to wander far from the fountain
head of all our life, the "Fountain- light of all
our seeing," the Fulness in Him who filleth
all in all. Prize equally your heritage of order
and your heritage Of liberty, for both are of
urgy better suited to our composite nationaIi-
ty than our national infancy could pro, ide,
yet gathering into it treasures of devotion Ol-
der than any European voyage westward;
and prove your sense Of that enrichment by
waiting for the steps of law to make it your
right mindful always that the object of
prayers and praises is not the comeliness of a
junction but homage to Him who in Jerusa-
lem or Gerizim or beyond the Rocky Noun
Iains, is to be worshipped in spirit and in
truth. We entreat you to care very honestly
and reverently forHis honor and His only, in
the things of the sanctury, in acts Of ritual, in
changes that may endanger brotherly love.
Tolerate no restriction at the doors,
by pride of TAX, which can bar out any child
Of the father, SO that the very gates may be
named praise. Count all souls precious, be-
cause all souls NAV be saints. Preach peace
10 men that are far off no less than to them
that are nigh, till the Israel of adoption shall
,ry to all the sons of aliens, "Now then We
are no more strangers and foreigners, but
ellow- -citizens with the saints and of the
household of God" "the father Of our Lord
Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in
Heaven and earth is named.'' Now unto
Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly
lbove all that we ask or think, according to
he power that wOrketh in US, unto him be
glory in the church by Christ Jesus, through
'ut all ages, world without end! Amen.
In the common faith of fellow servants,
We are also your loving fathers, the bishops
# the Episcopal House of the Protestant
Episcopal church in the United States of
America, in the year Of our Lord one thous-
nd eight hundred and eighty-three.