The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-12-17
THE CHURCHES.
Services Yesterday in
the Different Houses
Of Worship.
Or. UoGE's SERMON AT InE ON
MARKET.
pr. Burton at Old St Johns. Etc.
pr. Burton at old st. Johns. Etc.

The cold, wintry weather Of Friday
was succeeded yesterday by a bright,
spsiuglike Sunday, aud the chnrch.goers
turned ont IN full force. The services
were all interesting, and the instructions
and lessons promulgated by the sermons
preached were listened 10 with attentive
ears
There was no event of special interest
in the church world. and the following
afo the principal features of the day as
gathered by the TINES reporters
DIR. nOGE Is TIE OLD MARKET.
lstenosrsphieaily reported Tor the Daily
IfAEs.l
Last night Rev. Dr. Hoge preached to
another immense audience a. the Old
Market Hall. His text was from Ecclesi.
ss,es. viii. chap, llih verse Because
sentence agains; an evil work Is not exc.
cuied speedily, therefore the heart Of the
sons Of men is fully set in them to do
evil"
A melancholy tone runs through the
whole book of Ecclesiastes it Is the last
of the three books Solomon wrote II +
not musical like his sony, or cheerful Ike
bis Proverbs. II reminds us of the close
of hts own hie--a life which began Ike p
sweet spring morning, but ended like a
cold dreary day In Autumn. Those Of
you who have been out on the ocean will
remember The shfill, sad sound Of the
wind through the rigging of the ship on
@ bleak, dark day. A sad moan Is hecrd
through the whole book Of Ecclesiastes.
ike the dOleful wind Of winter signing
through the leailess trees. or along the
les0late fields in Il night OF cloud
and gloom Here 10 the text
we have q statement of what Was once
SOlOm0n's own abuse Of the Divine good
ness. and what he often saw In the lives
of Others--sin becoming bold because of
The Divine patience. Because sentence
against en- evil work Is not executed
speedily. therefore the heart Of the sons
of men is fully set Ia them 10 do evil
Here YOU see two things quite unlike
each otAeT-the one very delightful the
other very terrible First we are told
that God is very forbeaIing, aud second,
that msn takes advantage Of that for
hearance 80 persist IN sin. The patience
~ God Is one Of the wonderful things In
His natufe-it is something We never
MWMIM ANNE 4WWnNM AWA Az II ANN|tAAe0 n
with sinful men. We have 50 little
patience ourselves with wrong
doers-We are so quick TO resent
injuries done % ourselves-sO
auxi0us 10 protect the innocent and
feeble from outrage, that we can easier
understand how the Great Ruler Of the
world should maintain the honor Of His
government 10y punishing the break
ers OF His law, than that lie should be
gentle, patient and forbeering TO those
who provoke his anger When we come
20 think of It, 1t IS very plain that God
should rejoice ia all g0Odness-that He
should admire Truth, Justice and Mercy
that He should delight I'm Purity, as In
a mirror which reflects His own face,
lust IS the surface Of q smooth lake re-
feels the heavens, which bend above 1t.
But that God should be patient with the
ungraieful, the depraved, the haters Of
good, and the hateTs Of Himself Is one
of the great deeps OF the Divine glory
which no line can fathom
Ii is said that in one Of the great caves
in the West that there is pie the depth
of which has never been measured. Men
have fastened ropes together with
weight at the end but have never been
able In that way TO reach bottom Then
they have stood on the brink of the pit
and dropped stones and listened TO hear
one strike the bottom. But they have
listened in vain They could hear the
stone clink. cllnk, clink as II struck the
rocky sides of the pit-the sound grow
inr fainter ard fainter until at last there
vas nothing but sience-awful silence
such is tie patience Of God II Is
mea ureless. fathOmless
The patience OF God Is not the care
lessness of being who Is ignorant OF sin
and us vileuess, nor Is II the easy good
nature of one who does not care for the
difference between right and wrong, nor
Il 10 the weakness OF one who has not
the mower 10 punish God sees and
knows not only the outward lie OF every
man. but the secret heart Of every sinner
Is open and naked In his sight lie knows
not only the wickedness Of one lie and
heart. but of all the hearts that beat, and
the secret sins of all who live are set 10
An. light o. His c1untenance We do
,of know what IL passing In the mind
"a beari Of fellow mortal, but secret
-orgbf in the depths OF q sinners soul
4. "a audible IN the ear Of Goa Ss Inc
- -, a. M al ArchangeL o what does
cof hear. lour by hour ana Wha' a
sight meets His gsze IS the "oIiu ~
rGiis beneath that cu oftOiaihs eyei ~
,,, and by night, whea lie sees every
..ictsd thought and every gmi'y deeo
,,rtcb il done on earth by every a~elie'
~ evorv land. aud vet, seeing ana hho"
,nr ali This. lie is patient " men one
st,~,.t to commit some act OF shamelui
,,egeduess be seeks some secret piHce'
,Is yould not DO the shamelul de'd even
a.. lt,flg CHILD saw him. lel ne VOil
'at..'if In the siQht OF God, TO whom 'he
darkness and the light are bolh hiIAeW"
whom the night shineth az lhe uaS ~. 80
sin i'm the preseuce Of Jehovah aL a '.as
4im as II He were a blind Oou, ano
worse than that, though they emo" 1e
is not blind, they insult HIui to Ills ace
onenly. ouirageously, repeatedly. ana lS'
Ue ia patient under II all. But Zoo :
to,,,lejoe of all the wickedness IN Iae
World does not tell the whole story. ne
cannot even imagine His intense hstteo
~ Ain Hisinfnite adherence OF al lhi-
ooffv Hc loves what j. good Win an
Election for which we have no name
III bates what is evil with an alb
borrence for which we have no imagina,
tfop Agsin. we must not suppose tha'
lie IS patient because He Is unable 70
napish The guilty. Were the whole world
10 rise up in aims against Him, one
breath of His anger could consume 1t as
easily as a prairie fire burns up the dTy ar,
ersss Of summer One OF the oid
prophets says THE Lord bath us
wey iu The wbirlwind and in the storm,
vet He Is slow 10 anger and Of great
mercy" Now stop a moment and think
of COD beholding all the evil that Is done
with power to punish all, approving The
GOOD with the fergor q infinite love,
hating The evil with in1uile indignation,
besrlng with the sins OF all the men OF
an entire generation, yes, OF thousand
generations, and you see the very picture
of himself. which lie hung up high 10
the heavens. ia answer 10 l1e
x.sHap ha GTif0