St. Paul daily globe., 1885-08-31

propTiate. The gesture which viii be
oftenest noticed, is a rather fOrcible move
ment of the hand directly in front with the
hand elevated except the thumb and fore
finger. His sermons are recognized as able,
and he is sound on dOctTinal points. He is
member of the state board of corrections
and charities, and has also been chaplain of
the house OF representatives. The singing
in this church is led by a choir composed
of Miss Maggie Porter, Mrs. Flora Matthew
and MeSsrs. Charles A. Pettibone and NJ.
l.. Saunders. with Edward Savage as organ
ist. Congregational singing is popular in
the church.
YESTERDAYS SERMON.
DR.. Dana's sermon yesterday was full of
practical thoughts. The discourse was
founded on the incident in the life of the
prophet, who. when discouraged, went out
into the solitude of the forest and. under the
juniper tree, prayed for death. The story
was briefly told. and then a careful analy-
sis of the prophets feelings outlined, the
reverend gentleman drawing lessons from
each and enlivening and emphasizing his
thoughts with here and there a well-turned
illustration. After the story had been told,
DR.. Dana said that the case of this aged
man of God was not unlike many or most
of us at the present day. The old man had
been under severe mental strain. irving
TO reform the people about him, and
when he got out away from work
there came reaction. The prophet was
not well physically, and this affected his
whole being, and the speaker took occasion
to say that "a large proportion of the poor
spirituality that is charged up to some
providence of God, at present, comes from
bad digestion" Elijah was discouraged d.
he was lonesome, and the results of his
work up TO date have been disappointing.
Like too many modern believers. he eX-
pected to see results too soon. and the slow
growth of mis- teaching, and the apparent
failure of his work had led him to despair.
Much of this was, however, due to his
bodily condition. He was hungry, and one
of the prime moving causes of his PRAYER
for death lay in the fact that he lacked
good food and tender nursing. This at
present will lead men to renounce faith in
religion, and to give up the foundation
principles of theology, as often as any
other cause.
AN UNDER-FED SAINT
is not in condition to advance the cause Of
Christianity. So Elijah was first fed and
then sent to preach, and God did not trust
him to prepare his own meal, but sent an
angel to do the cooking. In this connec-
tiOn, DR.. Dana spoke of Florence Nightin-
gale and the good work in hospitals which
she so heroically began. and compared
briefly the young ladies Of to-day who are
training for the noble work of nursing the
poor and sick, with those who are content
To spend their whole lives in the frivolitieS
of society.
Another cause of weak faith at present. as
with the prophet, was lack of work. and
valuable lesson was drawn from the treat
ment of the aged saint under the juniper
tree. After he had fed him, God set
him TO work. The lack OF wholesome
employment and the consequent evils was
here dwelt on. the speaker asserting that
more people died from ennui than over
work This lack of healthy employment
among the wealthy was elaborated some
what, and, among other statements incl
dentally made, was one to the effect that
idle ladies in New York spent more money
Tor pOOdleS than was contributed for the
support of the public schools. The cOnclu-
sion was full of common sense, practical
religion and closed with an eXhOrtatiOn and
prayer that the lessons of the morning
might not be lost on the hearers. The
church was filed TO almost its entire seat
ing capacity, and the discourse of the pas
tor, which was almost a typical one, was
listened to attentively.