Morning journal and courier., 1884-03-31
Calvary Baptist Church,

Sermon by Rev. IT. s. SamsOn-The Word
of God Teaches by Example as Well as
PrecePt.
There was large congregation at the CAL
vary Baptist church last evening. The pastor,
Rev. Mr.. Samson, preached an able discourse
from the following text: ''For I know that
in me- that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good
thing" Romans 7-19.
The word of God teaches by example as
well as precept. 1t gives US the lives of god
ly men in the olden time which serve as mir
rors in which one may see his own character
reflected. Perhaps the life of no person
mentioned in the Bible, our Lord alone ex-
cepted, is more fully delineated than that of
the apostle who wrote the text. The mean
ing of the expression sin my fesh'' is clearly
explained by the frequent use of the same
phrase in this epistle. The apostle means to
say that in the corrupt principles of his nat
ural heart there was no good thing. The
meaning of the phrase mo good thing" is
also apparent from the connection. The
apostle says s'For what I would, that do
not; but what hate, that do. Now then
it is not that do it, but him that dwelleth
in me. For know that in me, that is in my
flesh, dweIleth no good thing" That is to
say there is no moral power, no good irclin-
atoms, no holy affections which prompt and
enable US to keep the holy law of God.
We come to the examination of these words
as parties in interest and it is of the highest
Importance that We divest ourselves of all
bias, remembering that any want of candor
will only aggravate our guilt in the sight of
God If we turn to the first pages of hu-
man history we find that sin lowered. at a
stride. to its gigantic maturity. 1t had no
infancy, no childhood, no youth. The very
first born of the first man, himself created
holy, was the murderer of his brother. We
see this same corruption spreading through
the earth, increasing with time, until in the
time of Noah, 600 years later, We read that
''the earth was corrupt and filled with vio-
lence." We turn on the pages of sacred his
tory and come to the time of David, 300
years later. We read his words, ''God looked
down from heaven to see if there were any
that did understand that did seek
God. Every one of them is gone back:
they are all together become filthy And
when the apostle Paul, l, 100 years still later
would describe the universal and entire cor
ruption of human nature at his day he uses
these words of David and declares that they
were applicable to the the Jews, the chosen
people of God as well as the Gentiles This
is the testimony of sacred historians. They
lived in the most favorable conditions and
were among the best of the people of the
world; and if the universal corruption
which they described characterized the peo-
pie blest with the light of revelation, should
we not expect to find the dark places of the
earth filled with the habitations of cruelty /?
What indeed is the history of the world but
history of wars and fghtings,
of brutal lusts and passions, of
men hateful and hating each 9TH
err RUk 'dianorooixny
my race. I am presenting the worst side of
human nature. l would not be forgetful of
all that is redeeming in our human nature, of
the noble and generous actions which are
daily performed out of sight of men, and
which shed lustre upon our humanity. But
1 must judge the race by a sterner test
must study human nature in the light of
Gods word, of profane history, of universal
observation and experience and so il is that
find the 'ural man q spiritual monster
He hates that which he loves, he loves that
which he should hate This is SO true of the
denial; and I think that It may
be made clear even to the most skepticaI
that in exceptional cases it is true that in the
natural heart of those who are the most ex-
emplary in their moral life there are no holy
affections which enable the possessor to keep |
the holy law of God. The majority of men |
are honestly mistaken concerning their moral |
character because they do not soberly look
for the evidence of depravity. But who of
us has ever performed one single act with |
the sole and sincere desire to honor God?
The deeds of benevolence which we have
rendered in behalf of our fellow-men NAV be |
without number. We may have never left
undone a single external act of religious
duty. But what has been the motive In each
particular instance? I am dealing with
motives, with the inner hidden springs of
action. The vital difference between moral
and religious act is difference of motive.
God has represented himself as the source of
all moral purity and he commands MS, say
ing, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart" If you are still in doubt
upon this point consider the utter insult
cheney of our own efforts to change our
moral character. II We resolve to reform our
lives and to conform to the law Of