The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1885-08-03
PULPIT AND PLATFORM.
NEW JERusALEM CHURCH.

NEW JIbhOo2AlshM CHUhCH.
Yesterday forenoon at the New Jerusalem
church on High street, the Rev. Julian K
Smyth, formerly the pastor of the church and
now of Boston Highlands, preached on the
subject of Peter and the Sword or Resisting
Providence, taking his text from St. John
xviii, q: "Then said Jesus unto Peter, put
up thy sword into the sheath; the cup which
my Father hath given me, shall | not drink
itP" He prefaeed his sermon with some re-
marks ON his former relations with the par
ish The following is an abstract of the SER
mon
The life of Simon Peter, more than that of any
other disciple is rich wi tn NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. too
which seem to fit right into our scriptural expert
ence. In the incident before us we get good
view OF the natural heroiSm OF the man. Peter
was sincere but not profound when he declared
his readiness to die for his Master. He evidently
was not lacking in moral courage in the garden of
Gethsemane When Malchus advanced to bind
the Divine prisoner Peter, unable to restrain him
self struck with his sword blow with deadly in
tent at the head of the slave. But the mans hero
Ism was of the wrong sort. He knew little as yet
of the invisible kingdom of righteousness which is
not won by bloodshed. So the Lord commanded
him to put up his sword and healed the servants
ear.
Peter evidently failed to understand the action
OF his Master and this fact aids us in understand
ing his after denial of his Lord. He had not I'M
derstood him and there was something of truth in
his n1lnlally answer II know not the man.. Peter
did not knowsHim then as he knew Him after
wards. lie had always maintained His divinity,
but still he did not know Him as the King. His
action Illustrates the difference between natur-
al and spiritual faith and should be studied by
menand churches as showing the difference be
tween mere memoriZng of the faith and the
opening of the heart to it,
Another lesson to be derived from Peters action
in the garden, coming as it did after his Lord had
explained the necessity for His death and cruci-
1iXion, is perfect submission to Providence.
1t seems but an instinct of our nature to shield
our children, to stand before them sword in hand,
not realizing that we are eontending with Proy-
dence but saying out of the very blindness of our
love, This shall not be unto you! You shall not
know life as have known it! You shall not suffer
the pain that my heart has suffered! You shall
not be poor and carewom?' Must we, too, bring
down the rebuke, "Get thee behind me, Satan.n
Must we too, be commanded, "Put up thy sword
into the sheath!i The life of any one whom you
dearly love will always have something in it which
to you is pathetic-Some sorrow, some wrong
meekly borne; some prize striven for but never
attained; some evil overcome and put away at
last We should only be Drawing Providence were
we to cast our children upon the world not pre-
pairing them for what they should meet; doing lit
tie or nothing for their temporal welfare; not fol
lowing them in their various states, encouraging
and Strengthening them as we can. Doing this
we not only do our duty; we actually help the
Lord, But if after we have done what seemed to
be within our power to do, the conditions which we
feared refuse to be removed-if, for example, they
are poor; if life takes on the hard, frowning look
so much dreaded for them, then know of but one
thing to do: to heed the command sPut up thy
sword" Do not contend further with Proyi-
uence.
Is there much harder lesson to learn than this
perfect submission to Providence? The submits
sion we are to try for is submission of the will.
We none of us know, whether for ourselves or for
others what needs to be permitted. And what
has been said of resistance to Providence in the
experience Of others is just as true when applied
to ourselves individually
We all have cup to drink We all have
necessary amount Of temptation, of anxiety and
even of suffering to undergo. Believing the end
to be a merciful one, and the means provided or
permitted by infinite wisdom, let us in the day
when we find any part Of us making its resistance
employ this command 1.-THE Savior: "Put up thy
sword in the sheath, the cup which my father
hath given me, shall not drink it?''
NOTES.
AT the Chestnut street Methodist Episco-
pal church yesterday afternoon, Rev. R. L.
Green, who will supply the pulpit for the
next three Sundays, preached an interesting
sermon on Mark l, 81, 'And they all seek for
Thee"