Morning journal and courier., 1883-01-15
Rev. Dr. Newman smxth.

Discourse at Center Church Yesterday
 Morning.
 At Center church yesterday morning Rev. Dr. Smyth preached to large congregation a sermon of much beauty on the subject of Christianity as it speaks to the heart and conscience of men. The speaker said in opening
 The emperor Marcus Aurelius used to say that every subject has two handles, right and wrong one and that it is the part of wisdom to lay hold of things by the right handle. When he perseeuted the Christians, however, he certainly laid hold of the great est fact in his empire by the wrong handle. Men seem constantly exposed to the mistake of taking up Christian truth by the wrong end. Everything in religion depends upon our approaching it in the right way. Com mon popular arguments against the Christian belief are apt to be simply so many wrong ways of experimenting the Gospel. Many of our own doubts and difficulties of faith may result from our vain attempts to grasp Christian doctrines by sides which the Lord has not seen fit to turn towards us. Fossil ply the reason why some good men live all their lives in the congregation just outside the church, and die without openly confess ing the Christ ,may be the fact that years ago in their early life they unfortunately looked upon this duty in some wrong way, and they have never been able since to turn aside from the habit which they have formed, and to take up religious duty, as they would be glad to see their children do, by the right handle, through the covenant of the church.
 The best thing any young man can do is to take hold of his life at once by the right handle of religious profession. While thinking, thus, of the supreme importance of approaching the facts of Christianity from the right side, and the manner in which un- belief usually lays hold of the Bible by the wrong end, chanced to light upon an &C., count of railroad meeting which, as report ed in the papers, affords an illustration of this point which I wish to enforce with regard to the conduct of men towards the Gospel.
 I should say that have not the slightest knowledge of the facts in the case, but use the newspaper report simply as an illustra. tion from business life of principle of fool ish conduct towards religion. The account, then, as read it, states that all the stock holders of certain railroad were satisfied with the report of the directors, except one; that men who had the largest pecuniary interest involved and who would naturally, therefore. hold their agents to strict account, had no partic- uJar fault to find but that one stockho1der presented an array of figures to prove that the rest were mistaken in their confidence. I dare say that had that statement with the tables of figures been presented to me, in my lack of previous training for judgment in such matters, I might have regarded it as conclusive proof that the stockholders in that corporation were being deceived; ex- actly as some people who have had them selves no special training in the study of the Bible, and the literature of the Bible are ready to credit the declaimer who heaps to- gether his incontrovertible proofs from the
 difficulties and discrepancies of the Bible to show that man was mistake, and that the great body of Christians have been cruelty deceived in their investment of their hopes in the promises of Gods word. But it would certainly be common sense for me, a layman to the railway business, to assume that the great body of stockholders most in indiferently statements and figures which had any real claim to their consideration, and
 that in some way the objector and disputer must have got hold of the fact by the wrong handle, as possibly the pagan Celsius in the second century, and Voltaire and Paine in the eighteenth, and the defender of the Star route cases in this nineteenth century, may havescome up to the great successful fact of Christianity altogether from the wrong side. A year or two ago Chicago judge published book for the edifcation of free thinkers, in which he attempted to make out @ later and
 very different origin of our gospels from that currently believed among us. I read in Al IL G-m, l time the facts of early Christian history ! were to be set forth in their true relations i; ! and when remembered how for fifty years the best scholarship in three countries has been quietly at work examining under the highest available powers of the historical microscope every atom and thread of evi- dence concerning the events and literature of early Christianity, was not justified, upon sound business principles, in paying not
 much attention to an impeachment of the l Christian securities beginning in such ignor- ant and immense pretension? Is it not a | fair presumption that the great body of | Christians from the martyrs of the first days until now have apprehended Christianity in
 the main correctly. and that infidelity may
 have laid hold of the facts by the wrong end One thing appears evident. Chris tianity through the ages has | on the whole proved such divine piercing. Dr. Smyth having thus laid the foundation 1 for his subsequent remarks proceeded to in dicate one right way of experimenting the gospel, taking for his text the words, Heb. 4-12, ''For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart"
 After having elaborated the above in language and sentiments of much beauty and power the divine closed his discourse as fol- lows:
 It is evidence of divinity which judges human characters. The Lords ob- ject in his word is not to satisfy your under standing, but to discern the thoughts of your
 hearts. Gods word is 8 principle of life to
 be laid hold of by the will, and with will.
 It convicts of sin. When we begin to realize what sin is-when our own hearts condemn | us in the sight of God, then the word of God
 is living word to us, sharper than any two
 edged sword. Then in our need we begin to
 know God and Jesus Christ. Surely some- thing is saving men from the sin of the world. Something is coloring Christian life with unearthly joy. Something divine has
 come into our human history, and come to
 stay, until it shall make all things new. We
 have personally to do with 1t here and now We put it off at our peril. Behold the Lamb
 of God which taketh away the sin of the world. Be reconciled in the deepest will of your life to God in Christ. The only way to
 be Christian is to begin at once to be Christian.
 Entertainments.
 MINISTRIES
 Thatcher, Primrose and Vests troupe gave one of the best minstrel shows of the season at Peck's Grand Opera House Saturday even- ing. Despite the sleet, rain and slippery walking there was large audience.