The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-12-30
sE.EVoLeNT ASSOCIATION.
Annual Sermon Preached by Rev. pr.
N. T. Whitaker.

The Portland Benevolent Association met
last evening, as is customary at this season
of the season, at the First Parish church to
listen to the annual address delivered by
Rev. N. I. Whitaker, ID. D., pastor Of the
Chestnut street church. DIR. Whitaker's
text was taken from Cor. viv.. 13. And
now abideth faith, hope and charity, these
three; but the greatest Of these Is charity"
Faith in anything, gis manifested by ones
acting asif he believed that thing TO be true,
without seeing 1t. The story Of the little
child who jumped down a dark cellar-way
into her fathers arms, without seeing him,
Is sublime example Of faith. We have
faith in our cooks when we eat our food
without having il tasted beforehand to see IL
1t contains poison. In many ways we show
our faith, perhaps unconsciously, In what
we do. Christian faith includes knowledge
Of the truth Of Gods existence as recorded
In our Bible: peace Of heart because he Is
aud he Is the rewarder Of all who diligently
seek him, and consequently trust him. What
cannot faith do? Look about you. Read
history Decipher the handwriting of the
future. By its mighty energies in the soul,
the captive becomes more than a eonqueror.
The second diamond in the necklace Of
truth that we are examining tonight is truth.
It's relation to faith is so vital and intimate
that men call it the daughter of faith. 1t is
as impossible for man to hope for that In
which he has no faith as 1t is for an artist to
paint picture In the air. Hope Is moR
than wishing Faith sees what is to be done;
hope gives alacity TO doing it. Faith deals
with things good and bad hope with the
good alone. Faith deals with the past, the
present and the future; hope with the future
alone. Hope Is like a sun which as we
journey cast all life's shadows behind US.
Who can over estimate the value Of q Christ
lan's hope? 1t survives the flight Of riches,
the wreck OF reputation, the loss OF health
and friends. The wOrldling may say DUN
spieo sperO but the Christian sings dun er-
diro sper0. Christian hope born OF faith
lays hold Of things eternal and brightens
every step in life. And now abideth faith,
hope and charity, but the greatest OF these Is
charity, or Christian love. What is this
Christian love greater than all-conquering
faith or heavenly inspiring hoDeP What Is
charity?
Charity is Christian love not in its essence,
but In its manifestations and as such is emil
nently practical To violate this God-given
and God-manifested principle Of love In
dealing with our fellow men would do them
and ourselves terrible injustice. To assail
the fundamentals on which Christian faith
and hope. depend, and make the greater
| Christian love In Its best sense impossible.
| Here Is tue fatal mistake OF Count TolstOi
| He maintains that civil tribunals are direct
violations OF divine commands. To con-
denim dem criminals Is a violation Of Judge not"
| He gives wider latitude to the word good
| than God himself gave. Justice Is an essen
tial principle of love. They forfeit the
rights Of liberty, who, when free, do not re-
spect the rights Of others. The law only ex.
| ecutes the sentence that the criminal passes
| uyon himself. 1t was mercy that Isolated
the leper In olden times; that ls0lates the
| infected vessel now and that isolates the
| criminal In both Old and New Testaments
kindly minlstration to those In need Is en-
| joined. The opportunities for such work
| were never greater than they are today You
know what the calls are and that they are in
ereasing. The causes Of this increase are
many. Among them are the general DRIFT
ing Of the country TO the city, the over
| erowding OF the mechanical trades, the in
/ ereasing competition with narrow margins
/ OF profit, and many others. Last, but not
least, Is the indiscriminate alms-giying. The
| law OF Limitation comes m here as II does
elsewhere. Experience In all cities
shows that applications for aid
come not from those who are deserving Of 1t.
We must cOncede the distinction between
| the worthy and the unworthy poor. There
Is poverty that has come In spite Of most
persistent Efforts to avoid II. II Is the work
Of this society and that only to relieve such
poverty. Those whom you aid are entitled
TO all the aid that loving hearts and liberal
hands can offer. All who contribute to your
funds. therefore, will win the "well DONE Of
men and angels. But there is another kind
| of poverty, resulting from self-chosen idle
ness and vice. de who can work and does
not deserves 10 starve. A large part Of the
money spent IN charity in this city goes 10
| those whose wages are sufficient TO support
them II they were only devoted to that pur-
| pose, Instead 0f to the purchase Of intoxicat-
| Ing drinks. DR.. Nautilus has revealed the
truth that the causes Of extreme poverty are
| generally moral. Charity today. besides re-
lievlng the needy, Is doing what it can to
/ destroy the causes OF poverty,
| The citizens Of Portland are charitable.
Many thousand dollars are spent each year
| by the AZ charitable societies. Your society,
| organized Sc years ago, Is second to none IN
| the wisdom Of its management, the discrimi-
nation Of its gifts and the good 1t has accom-
| plished Avoiding the mistakes Of others, II
has aimed to bestOw its aims In the spirit Of
4 Christian love upon the worthy poor its
history proves it worthy Of the utmost conf
/ dence of all.