St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-12-07
ADVENT MISSIONS CLOSED.
Services at Christ Church and thu
Church of the Good Shepherd.

Church of the Good Shepherd.
The mission services held in Christ church
during the past week were brought to a sat-
isfactory conclusion Saturday evening after
a weeks successful work.
Last night a large congregation was pres
ent TO listen to the sermon delivered by the
Rev. w. II. Knowlton of Galena, Ill. The
reverend gentleman selected his text from
the third and fourth chapters of Jonah,
taking the utterances of that prophet in
which he predicted the overthrow of Nine
yah.
He called attention to the vanity. conceit
and presumption of Jonah, and said that at
first thought one would imagine him after
his humiliating experience in his first strug
gle with God as necessarily becoming for
the future very pattern for modesty and
humility and a man exceedingly charitable
in their faults. Continuing, he said:
Now, upon second thought, as
we have utilized the results
of our experimental observation of human
nature, whether in ourselves or in others,
are we surprised at the sequence? We are
simply made to face the fact that the res
cued man is not yet the saved man, and
that Satan has his snares for the convert as
well as for the willful sinner, only the pit
fall is better concealed. Hence it follows
that the spiritual stage reached after recov-
cry from great personal humiliation for
sin is very apt to be one, the extreme con-
trary Of that for which the humiliation was
sent From the very fact that God has
done SO much for him, the rescued mans
strong temptation is to imagine himself as
one held in Gods sight as important above
his fellows. He yields, and henceforth
until he is fortunate enough to pass in
safety the trials of a second humiliation he
becomes the victim of the most deadly of
all sins, spiritual pride. In his own esti-
nation he is no longer one of the
common herd but one of the
elect and chosen of God not
because of any former repentance and con-
fessiOn, but because of Gods estimate of
his superior capacity to assist in the divine
counsel. He remembers his humiliation to
be sure, but because he now considers him
self
MORE SINNED AGAINST
than shining III the circumstances leading
thereto, he regards it the proper subject for
eXultant narrative rather than for shameful
silence. How bad he was in the days of
his degradation he will tell with pride, but
if others are saved, he will find fault with
God. unless they have been compelled to
experience.
This was hard picture to draw, but it
was unfortunately true one Whenever
man had successfully passed his first
humiliation in the way of righteousness, he
finds himself confronted with the new
temptation to overestimate his own import
ance in the sight of God. temptation he
may overcome or not, as he suffers himself
to be led by the spirit of God
or by the vagareS of his own wilfulness
But before he does overcome it. the proba-
bilitieS are that he will have need of some
strong lesson. teaching him the way thereto,
but that God has such lesson to be taught
first in mildness, is the reason that he has
given place in His holy Word to the picture
of the second experience of the prophet
Jonah.
Delivered from his first experience Jonah
is undoubtedly sincere in his intention for
the future to obey Gods command, but the
first command which comes to him in his
new mind. is the same that he has dis
obeyed before,
Then it Is that he begins to think that an
important commission has been delayed be-
cause OF Gods special need of him to per-
form it. The experience of his former trial
therefore were sent, not for the purpose of
degradation, but out of Gods necessity,
hence they are matters for self con-
graduation rather than regret
But these experienc es were bitter
and full of pain. and their cause was the
wickedness of the people of Ninevah, not
his own; hence he deemed it proper that
they be held accountable, and if possible
brought to punishment. He is ready to
preach to them in accordance with the COM
mand, but God must not save them, or he
Will hold the act one of unkindness and in
justice to himself. 1.-THE people of Ninevah
were to be saved at all. and rightly Jonah
held that it should only be after they had
first acknowledged their transgressiops
against him, and afterwards those against
God. This, however, they did not do. but
needed the words of their threatened de-
struction, not as coming from the prophet,
but from God Himself, hence Jonahs dis
may and
COMPLAINT AGAINST GOD
The blow was direct one at his spiritual
pride. Spiritual pride has had its day of
worship paid to pleasurable conceits; the
night comes and it takes account for the
morrow, but only to find that one by one
its idols have been broken. The means of
fattery have departed and the man stands
face to face with what he really is, not of
what he thought he was. He is really but
one of myriad and all equally dependent
upon the divine favor. 1t is no marvel
that he is startled at the revelation of the
truth, nor that in the first moments of his
chagrin he should pray for death as earn
eStly as in his former humiliation he PRAYED
for life
But death did not come to his relief, and
he was compelled to live and profit by the
lesson God haI 10 hui, ~
himself once more. Whether he did profit
by the lesson or not the record does not say,
but from the fact that it does not,
we must conclude that it did.
Vanity. conceit, presumption, all gone, he
writes his own history, in which he speaks
OF himself as sinner, despised. The last
impress he leaves of his own character is
forolddlng and repulsive, and hence the
conclusion we arrive at of the profit he re-
eeived from the lesson God taught him.
In practical matters the man we trust is not
the one who rises in experience meetings
and tells what God has done for him. how
good he now is and how bad he formerly
was, but rather the one who, while repent
ant, still sees himself comprised about
with the bands of his infirmities-a man
still liable to temptation and error-such
man viii finally accept Gods salvation. not
as a reward of merit. but as gift of
mercy.
CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD.
The mission which has been held at the
Church OF the Good Shepherd for the past
eight days closed last night The subject
for last evening was What Doth Hinder Me.
Mr.. Graves gave eight OF the most common
reasons why people excuse themselves from
becoming Christians, and showed the fulfil
ity of them. They are: Too busy: no time;
they have doubts about the Bible and Chris
tianity; there are mysteries that they can't
understand; it will restrain enjoyment; they
are not good enough; they pray to be good,
but don't feel change Of heart; others in
church are not good; they fear they will