Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1888-11-15

of Gods love and the Eternity of the
souls need. This fact of the identity of
the Christian life in man, and in the
! Church of Christ demands reinforce
ment. We are told on every hand, OF
4 progress AZ well as change, progress in
education, knowledge, art, and that this
! law of change makes void the religion
of the fathers. We have progressed be-
/ yond the need of a Saviour in which
/ they trusted. and the church to which
they gave their love and means.
| summon this brothers life and eX-
perienee. whose age and generation links
ours with half century ago, TO dis
prove this "A sumption. The Christ he
/ found there is the Christ he serves to-
| day. The Joy which that service gave in
/ his boyhood remains in his manhood.
| The life he lived in Christ at seventeen
he lives over again at seventy-two, ard
will continue to live until the seven
ties of Gods Eternity are unfolded.
| Bird. There is another identity which
these musings over the past bring to
view, of the strange and blessed ways
i'm which God unites his people. There
| is heredity OF faith, an inheritance of
| kindred spirit which gives the Christian
of half a century ago a place in the
heart and home of the Church of today.
| All of us have seen men who have out
/ lived their generation. who have no kim
ship with the life of the day to which
their years have been unfortunately
prolonged. They are always signing
4 for the good sold times, are always
quarreling with the present. Like Noah 5
dove, they find no place for the soles of
their feet. They seem to have attained
the height of desolation contained IN
the old refrain the fathers used to sing.
''As on some lonely building top,
The sparrow tells her moan,
Far from the haunts of Joy and peace,
! sit and sing alone.
I They feel an isolation from the world,
they never like where they are, and the
/ things where they are never like them.
There are old people who are desolate
enough in their surroundings ard with
out fault of theirs. They inhabit homes
| built by their own hands, where they
are not welcome. They are crowded out
of rights which they alone have earned.
and which ought to be their Inheritance.
There are others who are made discon-
tented by the Withholding of them
selves and their hearts and sympathy
from the age and place in which they
live. How different this from the life
the Christian feels, who has kept his
love fresh and warm in the activity of
his service He Identifies himself with
the Church Of Christ wherever he Is. and
soon finds himself at home with: il years
pass, old friends 90. new ones come, still
his associations keep him useful and
happy in the midst of the changing sea-
sous.
"a In, ~ nj.
was first enrolled as member of this
church so long ago, finds himself as re-
ally at home with the church as il is to-
day as in those first years of privilege
and acquaintance. He has the same in
terest in its welfare, watches with the
same anxious care over its members.
suffers witha keena suffering ia their
sorrows How can this be. since both
minister and church are both strangers
to him. and the larger half has come in
TO its fellowship within the last ten
years. ] have answered the question
at the outset ia the reference to the iden-
/ tity with Gods people which every
child of the kingdom feels.
There is another identity between the
past and the present of the religious
life which finds an illustration in this
mans religious experience. | have
been hearing all my life long of hard
doctrines that the fathers used to preach
of severe and ugly statements with
which they tortured the consciences
and hearts of men. OF GOODNESS and for
mality and stiffness. Many of the pref
udices of the present time against the
original churches of New England have
grown out of these reputed teachings
Much Of the ammunition which scepti-
cism is shooting into the air to-day is
aimed at these misrepresentation of
truth.
How true these criticisms are in fact
NAV be known among us from the Christ
ian life that had its birth in that very
period of hard theology and rigid
preaching, and has come down to US in
the genial fervor and winning grace and
Overlooking sympathy of our brother.
While his conviction of truth and
duty were strong enough TO give force
and dignity to his character, whose
heart was more warm and tender, whose
life more free from formality and cold
ness, whose hand-grasp aud look betok-
ened greater degree of charity and
kindness than hisy
And of the methods of Gospel work
in these two extremes of time there is
not so much variance as at first may
seem. Ii may be a surprise 10 some of
YOU to know that our respected Brother /
Thayer was the Sankey of Mr.. Kellogg |
more than forty years ago. The two 1
went up and down the state, the one to
preach and the other TO sing the Gospel |
of Christ. do not know when the or
der of approaching began in this state.
know that Mr.. Moody was not the
first. for our brother here spent fifteen
wears of his life in this work before his
name came into prominence as an Evan
gelist. We see that the old times were
not so old after all, and that our old
Christians are as young in spirit and in
method as any of us.
4th. Another fact that gains enforce
ment from the history we are now CON
sidering Is, that the Christian life can be
lived happily in Christ. Do you wonder 4,
at this statement and say that the only !
happy life is the one that is lived in |
Cbristg True and vet the Church and I