The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-05-17
THE VOICE OF THE PULPIT.
Rev. J. Hyatt Smiths Discourse Last
Evening on Faith in Christianity.
A Sermon by Rev. Il. A. Edison on That Chi
cagO Bomb as Blessing-The Free Press
as an Arsenal for Civilization.
The Sermon of Rev. j. Hyatt Smith at First
Baptist Church Last Evening.


The Sermon of Rev. j. Hyatt Smith at First
Baptist Church Last Evening.
Rev j. Hyatt Smith, D. D., of Brooklyn n.
Y, preached at the First Baptist Church yester-
day. morning and evening. The text for HE
evening discourse was First Corinthians, fiji
feenth chapter, forty first verse: "For one star
differeth from another star in glory
The speaker said that Martin Luther was said
to have declared it worth journey on his knees
from his home in Germany to Jerusalem to be-
come the possessor of the One-hundred- and-nine-
teenth Psalm. Surely it is worth twice that
journey to gain the inheritance of the fifteenth
chapter of the First Corinthians. For grandeur
of diction and glory Of revelation 1t is unsur-
passed even in the volume recording the inspired
declarations and raptures of the prophets and
the songs of the sweet singer Of Israel In the
armament of revelation, where lone star differ
eth from another star in glory" this chapter
alone giveth the mighty apostle to the gentiles
claim to star of the first magnitude. A man
speaks best on his favorite theme. The doctrine
of the resurrection to the preaching of which
Paul had given up his life. called forth all the
tremendous power of his giant mind. Here we
behold polished mirror of vast proportions
turned toward the full orbed sun of revelation,
trumpet-tongue, speaking as the Holy Ghost
gave it utterance He boldly and unequvocally
declares the doctrine of the resurrection, proves
it by the fact that Christ had risen summons
five hundred witnesses in proof of the declara-
ton. and then shows the entire superstructure
of faith to rest on this foundation. In the light
Of this fact all shadows of human doubt are
In 6nrIy Of Y1iOh tCQ
before the rising of the sun. We find the inter
rogation of the man of w. the Mserere of the
Centuries. IF man die shall he live again"
answered
gradations existing among the saints on earth
shall be perpetuated in heaven-"as one star
differeth from another in glory" Language is
exhausted TO describe the glory Sod hath in
reserve for the righteous. Yet what know we
of heavenl The words of revelation are but
nursery talk to spirits in the infancy of their
being and the material may not tell of the glory
spiritual. By the necessity of his being, every
man builds and peoples his own heaven. He
piles the throne and makes, and robes, and seats
his own God. 1t Is the conviction OF my soul
that the population of heaven is infinitely
beyond the census of the theologies of men.
May it not be that In the horoscope OF Infinite
grace there myriads of stars unknown in
the astronomical charts of human theology?
Who may fathom the soundless depths of the
ocean of Gods love2 Who may climb the Alpine
heights of infinite gracea There is the redemp-
ton of untold millions in that saying OF the
Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep:
"Other sheep have that are not of this fold.
They, too, shall hear my voice"
Heaven must be state of progress. God is
the study of the SOUL and this study is eternal
ever flying upward the finite flying up into the
infinite. There are different degrees of glory
arising from different capacities. This Is a de-
duction of reason confirmed by revelation and
as in this world. so in Heaven there will be an
0flhI tv- lint Will anda IND oil
unspeakable. We are different by creation.
There are men of mighty intellect and minds of
number powers-Newton. who climbed the
skies; Paul. who stands with his torch lighted at
the fires of revelation, and an Uncle Tom in his
cabin. We different by cultivation in the
ordering of Gods providence. for Gods sover-
eighty gives both soil and plant what would
Luther have been without the Popel What
would John Bunyan have been without Bedford
jal Yet the refining fire is kind to the gold; it
takes the unworthy dross away.
Thou great Refiner! Sit Thou by,
Thy purpose to fulfill.
Moved by that hand, beneath Thine eye,
And melted at Thy will.
may Thy work forever shine,
Rejecting beauty, pure as Thine.
Grace works on what it finds. 1t is not the
prerogative Of the gospel to turn pigmy into
giant A dewdrop fills a blossom cup. 1t is but
adrop, but, like the ocean, the cups full Contrast
the consultations of lngersosm and Christian
ity. You once held the fiction of Christianity.
You have brushed it away, and risen 10 the sub
lime plane of humiliation. You are dying.
Console yourself with the thought that in a
brief moment you will be nowhere. How much
better that philosophy is than the comforting
faith of your father and mother-the faith in
which they died. Suppose you are on shipboard,
and great reformer appears and tells you that
the life-preservers in the state-rooms all
worthless He proposes to thrown them into
the sea- The captain says they are good-they
have saved many lives. But the passengers ap-
nm dack dv RI nd
worthless. It occurs to some one to ask this
great reformer what he has to offer in their
place. Nothing. Then we will keep our life-pre
servers