Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1884-03-24
West Haven.

Sermon by Rev. b. f. Kidder-WOrds TO
Young Men-SubJect, 'sThe Man for the
Tfmes"-An Interesting Talk.
Rev. B. f. Kidder, pastor of the Metho-
dist Episcopal church, West Haven, who con-
cludes his labors there next Sunday, preached
an eloquent sermon last evening addressed to
young men. A good sized congregation were
present despite the lowery weather. The
subject IVES ssThe Man for the Times" and the
text was:
Psalm 49, OH: ssThe judgments of the Lord
true and righteous altogether and in keeping of than
there is great reward"
I speak as young man to young men. 1t
is solemn thing to live in any age. The
nineteenth century is especially full of grand
opportunities and great responsibilities. 1t
is an age of change, progress, intense activity.
A man is put to the test on all sides. To fail
at one point may be to lose everything
1. Be sincere, be honest. :'The heart is
deceitful above all things." The world is on
the lookout for people that can be trusted.
Business, society, the church, the State have
exalted positions for honest men. Shoddy
and dash and trickery sometimes gain tempo
rary advantage, but honesty wins in the long
run.
Deal honestly with all men. That old say
ing, "When you are among the Romans you
must do as the Romans do" is one of the
devils lies. No true man was ever yet ruled
by circumstances. His conscience is
dearer to him than gold, stronger
than fear or favor In society
''be what you seem to be-" There
is world wide difference between a pure
hra q liz int hraa
by cloves. Never trife with any ladys
affections. Only a fend can deliberately
blight human life f.just for pastime." And
stbe sure your sin will find you out :" Let
your vote represent neither the feer nor
the favor of men, but honest conviction.
If you start out to be Christian, be genu-
Inc. ga double minded man. is above all
others most contemplate. There is no re-
deeming feature about him, he sis unstable
in all his ways" Be sincere, be honest.
| 2. Aim to be symmetrical. This does not
mean simply to have good physique, but to
be man after Gods own heart" Life is
many sided, yet every life is a unit
Symmetry does not necessarily mean perfec-
ton. It means for each faculty to be reason
ably developed and exercised. Unless we
consider the laws of physical health we are
liable to fill premature graves and leave be-
hind us generation of imbeciles. If we me-
glect the cultivation of our minds or attempt
to feed them ON dime novels and six cent
story papers we shall become dwarfs in intel
Iect and be capable of filling only third or
fourth rate positions in life. Every human
being has alse q religious nature Whoever
ignores this shuts his eyes to one of the most
important truths connected with life in this
present world. There can be no true SYM
| metry whereRthe culture of the soul is left
out. Religion is not one of the incidentals of
| life. It is one of the fundamentals In it
is laid the chief cornerstone of character,
and of all true success There are many re-
| ligionS but the truth is not hid TalloW
candles are better than nothing in dark
night; but the gun is the king of the day.
Heather teachers, both in distant lands and
| in our own land, have found out little truth,
which is better than nothing; but Christ is
| ''the light of the world" Whoever opens
| the eyes of his soul will see Jesus Whoever
clears away the distractions and yields to the
necessities of his religious nature will turn
| to Jesus just as inevitably as the needle will
| turn to the north, when obstrueting inhu
| ences are sufficiently removed. God knows
the laws of our being, and he sent his son
into the world that men might be saved
| both in this world and the world to come.
We need strength of body, we need brains,
but first of all we need faith in God in order
| to meet the demands, and Withstand the
| enemies of life. The waves of reform both
| true and false beat furiously against our Gus
| toms, social, political, religious. Whatever
else, may De washed away, the 'Rock OF
Ages will remain. Upon it build your
| characters. Be earnest. Earnestness must
come fromlWithin. It cannot be manufactured
| much better than you can produce heat by
rubbing a dead mans hands together. It
depends upon several conditions. You must
be interested in what you are doing. It is
well always to have some definite
object in view. Be determined to accom-
plish. something for yourself and for
humanity and then go ahead and do it.
| Earnestness must be backed mp by will and
pluck. BE sure you are right and then go
ahead" Whatsoever thy hand indeth to do,
| do it with thy might" 1.-THE times make
many demands upon us, but none more
binding than honesty, earnestness and true
| symmetry of character-in short, well
rounded Christian manhood.