Morning journal and courier., 1888-09-24
ArnEnrER oHuRcm.

nx,aued Yesterday After a Season OF
RepaIr-An Eloquent Sermon by Rev.
Dr.Smyth-SsTheThOu 0ftheLord
Are Deep,'-Kemarks Upon Life And
the Power of Gods Thoughts over
Mans.
Center church was opened after its sum-
rner of vacation and general repairing yester-
day morning and the large congregation as
sembled between its newly decorated walls
were highly pleased with the artistic adorn-
ment. X. stIH
Before the pulpit was large bank of beau
tiful flowers, chiefly downy marigold, SUR
rounded by large species of tropical and pot
ted plants. The pastor, Rev. DR.. Newman
Smythe, occupied the pulpit.
DIR. Smythe chose his text from the last
half of Psalms xcii, g. Thy thoughts are very
deep. f'It is characteristic of Gods
thoughts, +" said he, "that they grow deeper
and deeper as our knowledge of them in
cresses. We dwell under deeper skies as we
grow older. Our circle of knowledge and the
universe expands to a mightier creation.
Zone text Of truth is that it grows upon
Ms. bearing conviction loftier. than the stars
and deeper than death. This is character
istic of divine thought not of human imagi-
nation or work We live through mans
ideas and see the end of them; Gods remain
constant. His thoughts become more and
more to us as we know life and death and
each article of Christian belief is profound
er conviction in mans growing sphere of
life.
Can we find no meaning in this, that we
have grown up from innocent childhood,
struggling with every passion, and have
sought to overcome the power of sin within
us9 It means that there is an element of
godliness in everyone.
Sin has been called ignorance by Socrates,
but are there no sinners among university
graduatesq The poet hopes for human saliva
ton by cultivation of good taste. Alas, into
how many ascetic homes has the serpent
creptl Not by dreamers of fair dreams are
the sins of civilization to be purged. The
theater with its drama of evil and tragedy of
blood can never supersede the church with
her Cross OF divine forgiveness.
The devils that have fed and fattened upon
the worlds sin, that have waited the breath
of hell over the cradles of the new born and
betrayed little children to ain and shame
these it is godly task to cast out, but the
souls do not awake without the sun of Gods
pity, yea, the fire of his wrath.
= Another Christian truth is the goodness of
God. Beaten by storms, cut to the root by
fate's hard hand and watered by tears, this
truth of Gods love grows to material con-
viction which nothing can shake from the
human heart. When the world is full of
evil and the judge is at the gate, the un-
searehable face of God lights the far depths
of the human soul with its kindness
The Biblical doctrine of atonement be-
comes deeper truth and arises from the
moral sense of Christ's work The fact of
atonement is a deepening thought in the
heart, and raises it above the level of pass
ing imagination. Such are divine thoughts,
Ixz,hf oh hn iof
The sovereignty of Christ over the soul,
lighted by Gods oountenance, oversways the
day of life and establishes the love of God in
Christ.
Life is process of outgrowing things, of
OUTLYING the world. We at the same time
should grow into something larger, should
enter into eternal life The truth of immor.
tality. the life of eternity, has profounder
significance as the number of earths graves
increases. This blessed Immortality gives
vigor to divine truth, deepens and sums up
life and adds sublime harmony to the many
voices of joy aud sorrow that float upon the
music of eternal being.
Evil pictures of heaven and hell fail to
satisfy. We cannot point to star and say,
That is heaven. There only where love is
fulfilled in Gods presence, where life shall
be rounded and the solitary creation take a
form-there only is heaven, the point and
prime of paradise.
we must De DUMB interpreters of nature,
poor scholars of the human heart, if we come
not back after our vacation with the knowl-
edge that pleasure doesn't satisfy how worldly
we are, and how easy to go astray. It's some
thing, say, to know this, to recognize Gods
wonder in his works and to warm our hearts
into thefesh and enthusiasm of righteousness
Separate voices of individual lives are found
swelling with one hymn of praise, 'fUnto
him are all things in which we glory forever"
The lord has dealt kindly with US. We are
here in bright and beautiful church, ready
to grasp anew the hand of faith and Gods
salvation. Let us then enter into his taber-
nacle with new life and voice and establish
his works and ways among the children of
sin and superstition