The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1885-04-02
PULPIT UTTERANCES.
Rev, John Hall, DID,, on "The True
Worship OF God"
Extracts from q Recent Sermon Preached
In Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church,
New York-Trus Worship IL "in
Spirit and IN Truth"


worship liim,-JOhn tpi 2
II 10 thel last clause that your attention
10 now called "For tho Father seeketh
such 10 worship Him."
In this particular passage, part Of which
makes the text, Jesus Christ Ia speaking
with tho woman OF Samaria. He know
very well tho character and standing Of
tho woman, as she was made soon 10 recog-
nize. II Ia we'll worth considering-th
way In which he approached this woman.
II was not with sensational stories, II was
not with pathetic appeals. 10 was with the
calm, simple statement Of the wolghtleSt
things that belong 10 the kingdom OF
Christ Indeed, II you look at the tive
chapters, the fourth and the third, You will
see that there Ia remarkable similarity
between tho way In which our Lord dis.
courses 10 Nloodemus, q ruler OF the Jews,
and this poor Samaritan woman. say Ii
10 an instructive study. The Gospel Of
Jesus Christ Ia for all, high and low, rich
and poor, educated and Ignorant JOw and
Samaritan, In many instances mistakes are
made In the way OF supposed simplifying
and popularlEing Of the Gospel, IL may be
stated without fear, In la integrity 10 all.
II lifts up tho ignorant and unlearned al Ii
comes In contact with their minds, and II
humblos and brings down the learned as
thoy cit at tho feet OF the Great Teacher.
There 10 q Oenso, OF course, In which we
are, aa ministers, TO accommodate our
teaching 10 tho intelligence Of the people, a
sense In which we are 10 become all things
10 all mon, but mon sometimes carry that
concession little too far, and would learn
with advantage from the method pursued
by our Blessed Lord.
In the second place, want 10 remark 10
you that, In speaking 10 you OF worship
would not wish 10 convey tho idoa that
your religion Ia 10 consist In any exclusive
way In your church connections, your Sab
bath keeping, your worship and service
and your bonovolenoo, II you are truly
religious, you are religious always and
everywhere, and these forms OF service arc
only special and appropriate In which
the religious llfo hndlodSwithin you by
the Spirit Of God openly expresses itself.
II We are religious, wo arc religious
through aud through, and we arc religious
everywhere and In every relation and duty
and type OF our lives, In tho Lord wo
live aud moyo and have our being, and II
we bo His We are His "all the Time" and
In all conditions aud circumstances; and l
do not want you 10 take up the notion for
moment or 10 carry II away with you,
that your roliglon Is 10 bo thing Of the
Sabbath, aud the worship, aud the service,
and the bonoyolonco II Is 10 bc eharac.
tcristio OF you as long as you are horo and
however you may bo placed, until you
como into the kngdom OF your Father
above, whore thero win DO no temptation
TO anything but complete conservation 10
Him.
/. In the 6rSt place, let mo call your at
tcntion In oxpoundng this truth, 10 the
nature Of worship. The very word itself
may help 10 give ua suggestion as 10 its
meaning, II 10 contracted, as somo Of you
know, from tho longer word worth. ship,
and tho idea In tho old Saxon substantive
was that tho word worth.ohlp could bc
applied TO persons In acknowledgment OF
tho good qualities or worth that they were
acknowledged TO possess, and no our Sax.
on forofOthors eamo 10 say "Your Worth
ship" just os lmodornO say "Your Lord.
ship" meaning, "You are In the state
OF a person that has solid worth,n as
"Your LordShlp" means, "You are a
Lord, and entitled TO DO 80 ostocmod and
honorod,p Thcn tho noun camo 10 be In
tho verbal form, and 10 worship was 10
recognize tho worthlof tho person TO whom
the worship IA addressed. To worship God
Is TO recognize In appropriate ways tho
worth that IL In Him.
Worship, thon, Ia tho recognition OF the
qualities and characteristics that belong
70 DOltyi His lovc, His power, His good
moss, His truth, His mercy, His holiness,
His grace Whom wo worship wo rocog-
nizo appropriately these innnito porfoc.
lions. have sometimes heard critics OF
Christians describe thoir impressions OF
that form OF prayer that Ia called ertcm-
pore, and raise this questions "What is
tho use Of these mon telling God what Ho
Ia and what qualities Ho hasW What fs
tho usoS They allUdo, Of course, 10 that
portion ofiprayor that Ia known as adora-
zion, 10 would not bo worth whilo 10 au-
Swor tho criticism, n tho answer did not
throw light upon The topic wo have bo.
foro u.s. Those things may DO said In rola-
zion 10 II,
l. Thore nevor have bocn Christian pray
crs composed anywhere that have not
this element OF alteration In thom, and that
do not tell 10 God tho qualities and char.
aotcristice that bolong 10 Him, notwlth.
standing that Ho knows thom, II mon are
10 toll nothing 20 God but that Ho docs not
know, thcn thoir lips will bo scaled forever,
both In prayer and praise.
2, II this criticism has any foundation,
II lies against the inspired saints, In very
remarkable and striking way. "Tho
heaven Ia Thy throne aud the earth 10 Thy
footstool What house shall we build
Thee, and whore Ia tho place OF Thy rost"
"Thy hand hath made oil things" "Lord,
Thou hast been our dwelling place In oil
generations. Before the mountains were
brought forth, or even Thou hadst formed
the earth and tho world, from everlasting
10 everlasting Thou art God" "Thou art
glorious In holiness, fearful In praises, doc
Ing wonderful"
do not neod 10 repeat toxt after text
In this strain. What are all those, except
inspired saints telling 10 God tho proper
ties that He has revealed In Himself, toll.
Ing Him the things that Ho knows, TELLING
them over and over again, speaking, be.
fore Him. as well AZ they can, the worth
that they believe TO be In HimH Are we 10
criticiso those salntsS That would bc TO
oritioisc the Spirit that inspired them, 10
6nd fault with the Deity.
g. 10 Ia impossible, In the nature OF tho
case, that there should bc communion with
tho Father fellowship with God, without
this element entering into II. We speak OF
communion, for example, or fellowship,
between husband and wife one Of the
most sacred forms OF fellowship. 10 that
fellowship living only when the one tells
Ne other thinus that tho other dooa not