Daily Honolulu press. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1886, 1886-04-13
Mr.. oggel's Sermon.


Bethel Union Church. Rev. E. c.
Oggel, the pastor, preached, taking for
his text Romans 7:24, "Who shall de-
liver me3" The following is an out
line of the sermon:
Though man holds high and noble
rank among created beings, yet he, Of
allcreatures, seemsto be mostdependent.
For, while the brute creation begin to
provide for themselves shortly after
they receive their being, man, gifted
with reason and intelligence, only be-
gins to care for himself years after
his birth. Through the season of
childhood, youth and education, he is
carried by parental help; and after
wards, for the supply Of his temporal
wants and as member of society he
needs the good will and assistance of
others. AS creature of mortality he
is subject to ills which art, science, love
and friendship combined cannot cure.
And, as an immortal being, his highest
needs, the supply of which the spirit
most earnestly Graves, are farthest be-
yond his reach and control Hence
the cry of man: "Who shall deliver
me?"
While the. condition of the race is
one of helplessness through transgres-
sion, God maintains His claims on
man to obedience and service. The
authorities of a nation cannot surrender
their claim to the loyalty of the citizen;
nor the parent disregard his right to the
obedience and love of the child. Thus
it is with mans relations to God. If
all mankind should stand arrayed
against the King of the universe, it
would not annul the divine right to
maintain law and order. No plot of
resistance can ever cause the pillars, on
which the throne of the ages rest, to
tremble. Here the Latin phrase ap-
plies: Fiat Instifia, Pereat mandus-
the right must be maintained though
the world perish.
There is cry of the race for help.
This 2 cry ascends from heathendom.
What mean those hecatombs of sacri-
fees of which the voumed smoke OBJ
scures the light of sun and stars 7
What leads those desperate mothers to
fling their children into the burning
arms of Moloch What makes those
wild fanatics throw themselves under
the wheels of the Juggernaut Why
are those profound philosophers ever
digging for hidden wisdom2 All this
is but the cry of the soul, "Who shall
deliver me?"
Again; Whence came among the
Jewish people that condition of heart
which unbosomed itself repeatedly in
offerings for sin? Why the effort on
their part thus to furnish, as far as
practicable, an equivalent for the evil
committed7 Why amid the undeni-
able and abundant blessings of their
day that constant looking forward to a
new and better dispensation, when
there would be opened a fountain for
the remission of sin2 My friends, the
cry of every generation has been Who
shall deliver?
Men have stood amid sweet and
beautiful wealth, yet in bondage, a
prey to the most painful anxiety say
ing All this avails me nothing as long
as my heart is destitute of God. You
may have an abundance and yet not
have enough. Though all the world
were yours it will not profit, if the zone
thing needfu" is lacking, And if you
will hold your ear near to the heart of
mankind and listen, you will hear a
voice, crying to God for reconciliation
and communion, cry of human
ity's innermost heart: Who shall de-
liver?
But why should not man be his own
deliverer7 Seeing what human wisdom
and ingenuity have discovered and de-
yised, why should not man likewise be
able to discover a healing medicine for
the souls maladies Human virtue has
been lauded to the skies why should
it forever remain wanting in the bal
ance of God2 Why should not human
power, which has done so much for
man, lift him up out of the abyss from
which he crieth2
My friends, help could only come
from on high What the soarings of
genius could not reach and the minds
of angels could not conceive and
human lips cannot adequately express,
the love of God has brought down to
us in the person of His Son. His
omnipotent hand created world and
his loving heart sent Jesus Christ to
redeem and save it.