Omaha daily bee., 1888-06-25
A TALK TO TIE GRADUATES,
Dean Gardner Delivers tho Annual
Sermon to the Glass.
Thy LIGHT AND THY TRUTH.
The knowledge of Christ and the
Practice OF Morality and Spirit
uaIity Should he interviewer
with Education.
The Annual Ctnss Sermon.

Yesterday morning at the II o'clock SER
vices in I'T;nitv cathedral Dean Gardner, by
special invitation, delivered the annual SER
mon before the graduating class OF the high
school. The auditorium was filed with
people and the graduates occupied seats in
the vestry. The dean had been sick during
the week and it was the occasion alone
which impelled him to disregard the advice
of his physician TO keep his promise with the
class. The effort was almost mastorly. 1t
was delivered without manuscript and with
out notes. 1t was based upon the text,
"Send out Thy light and Thy truth let them
lead me and let them bring me to Thy holy
hill"
The speaker described the condition, the
misery, the anguish of the Jews as, in cap
tivity, they yearned ardently for their homes
and the worship in which, before they had
fallen INTO the slavery of the Chaldeans,
they had been accustomed to take part.
They never ceased TO supplicate God TO send
them light, and truth and power, some super
natural means by which they might be res
torcd to their old condition of freedom and
worship. Their prayer was a prayer for an
christians to use, a petition for, a
TRANSFORMING all human power and wisd ON,
because it was the power and wisdom of
heaven. Christians should look for this
light, this divine feeling, and realize its inn
p%ortunce in their lives, because it was really
the light and knowledge of Jesus Christ
himself. Deity applying the text to the oc-
casion the dean said that this light, this
knowledge of Christ, the practice of morality
and spirituality, should be interviewer with
education. If there was anything to be SAID
against secular education it was that ii dil,
not educate the heart and did not
touch the soul. 1t was not
possible, perhaps, in view of the system OF
nh hliR niIIentlAn now in nnnrntlnn in this
country, to have il otherwise, but, while he
favored and was deeply in love with the in
situations of the country, he felt that cduca-
ton would be more thorough if it could in
some manner comprehend morality in youth.
Young people were frequently engrossed in
physical and mental development, with little
attention to spiritual matters, and the
speaker knew of men who were learned in
their .callings and should have been steadfast
in their religion claim that they were drift
ing away from ali duties to the soul and
even n belief IN God himself. There
was a great responsibility resting upon
educators of the young and upon them the
speaker would call to in some way endeavor
10 attend 20 the moral and spiritual welfare
of those under their care The value of such
could not be computed in human dollars.
The dean thanked the class for the honor
they had conferred upon him in asking him
to preach before them, because he con-
siGeT5d ia privilege TO stand before them
on such an occasion. He suggested 10 oa2m!
to pray to God for the light spoken of in the
text, and, as that light came from God, why
was it that they could not stand in all their
| emergencies in this world, because Jesus
Christ would be their leader and saviour.
He suggested to the graduates that each
of them should take a copy of the
text he had preached upon and preserve it as
the rule of conduct in his or her life. He
hoped that the light of God and truth would
be in all they did, whether as members of
higher educational establishments, in mer-
camille pursuits or in the practices of their
several professions, so that literally the IN
telligence of the Lord would shine in all they
should do, write and speak.