The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1889-11-18
JOSEPH COOKS sermon
AT the Second Presbyterian
Church Yesterday,
"a FoRcIBLE DISSERTATION
BY the Famous lecturer, A.tentiyeIy
Heard by Large Audience
His Lecture on the Seven
Modern Wonders Saturday,

Mr., Joseph Cook, Of Boston, as the IA
nous writer and lecturer chooses to
style himself, although he is a graduate
Of Yale college, and a licenciate In the
ology, preached a very forClble and en-
tertaining sermon in the Second PFesby-
terrain church, yesterday morning, Mr.,
Cook took his text from John III, 81
eRxcept man be born again, he cannot
see the Kingdom Of God" in eoniuuc-
ton with a number OF other texts as,
"How can two walk together except
they be agreed" aye cannot serve
God and mamuou," His them was,
'gThe cans and canpots Of scripture, or
the certaintles In religion"
To illustrate the certainhes OF rellg'
ion, he cited the oertainties OF human
existence and the ending Of that exist.
ence in death. 'These Certainties Of
human existence and death are not
matters OF speCulstionj they are abso'
lutte, They are US positive In their com,
ings IS other temporal occurrences and
are ruled and guided by Interchangeable
laws"
THE Arst certainty is that We are 60
ing henOa soon, and never TO return. We
may think to stay and enjoy the future,
but we are in a procession journeylng
toward the cemetery gates, Our years oil
work at the longest are forty.Hye; Sam
mel Johnson made them forty, There
is thoughtful thirty, solid forty, totclble
| fifty, serious sixty, sacred seventy, eighty
-shortening breath, the sod and God"
The impresslyeness Of the delivery, and
tho thought Of the personal application
OF these remarks sent q thrill through
The second thought Of the discourse
was on the line; GAS II Is appointed
man once to die and after that the judg-
ment,' 1t is a matter Of vital importance
to every man that he enter upon the ll-
ture with q certainty oil peace with God.
We cannot escape from ourselYesi II is
We that 90 hence"
To illustrate the thought, he described
a part Of the contest between the Moni.:
tor and Merrimac.. lnthat famous naval
battle the ship Cumberland, which was
also engaged, went down, and with II
her chief officer. This officer could see
CLEAN OF light through the hatchway,
aud following the CLEAN, got out oil the
ship, and rising TO the surface, was res
cued. Two are the Cumberland. The
Cumberland could not escape from It's
environments, even though one man
did. AS we sink, 80 We are. we 20
down into eternity as we are when the
death blow that sinks US is dealt, Our
peace with God consists In liking what
God likes and hating what God hates.
In this liking and dlsliking lies the pos
sibility OF happiness here aud hereafter.
We cannot escape from God. AS the
sunlight shoots through and through
the air, Illuminating all things, 80 Is the
presence OF God TO the human soul. In
this inevitable presence Of God to like
what He likes and hate what He hates Is
HEAVIER, while TO like what He hates and
hate what he likes Is hell. To attain
to this peace there must be atonement
for sins, and regeneration unto holt-
ness.n
The remainder Of his sermon was an
exposition Of the doctrine Of the salts
faction Christ made on the cross for the
sins Of the world, and the work Of the
Holy Spirit In the new birth OF the soul,
Thpse doctrinal statements are not new,
aud are the foundation oil all Protestant
churches. Mr.. Cooke, however, put
them so iorcibly and with such vivid
aud Crystalizing illustrations, as to make
them seem new and beautiful to those
who have heard them time and again.
In closing blr. Cook took occasion TO
state clearly and forcibly his opposition
to the doctrine Of probation alter death.
Hero and there throughout the address,
Mr.. Cook made points, many OF them In
single sentences, which showed the
wonderful depth Of his thoughts and
conceptions OF spiritual things. One
beautiful passage was his comparison Of
Nations to trees. "Tbe national i9bric
Is the trse, but the people are only
leaves; they wither aud die, and new
crops Of leaves take their places. The
tree lives on throughout generations in
Vulnerable, but the leaves die, and pass
away and IRE forgotten. Some fall be.
fore the buds are more than swelling
pods, Others ara blown away by the
gusts that strike them In their prime,
while others pass through all the storms,
aud growiugaear and yellow, cling 70 the
supporting 6ranCh till the killing frost
coiles. But the tree still lives, and
bourgeons again with each recurring
season."
Mir. Cooks talk was listened to very
attentiyely by the large audience that
filed the house in spite Of the very dis
agreeable weather.