Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1889-01-19
Sunday Rfaatas,
EDITED BY REV. f. Il. LEEPER,
Peace on Earth. I"

practical, everyday rule of life.
Christian people have never doubted
it; and yet, who among us will dare
to say that he ever half believed it?
1t has been very generally admit
ted thatdthe whole sermon is filled
with a lofty and beautiful spirit, far
above the ordinary plane of thought
and life on which good people have
been contented to think and act. An
argument for its divine origin, and
hence, for the divine nature of Christ,
has been drawn from the fact of its
superhuman purity and spiritual
beauty. Daniel Webster, for instance,
said: 81 know literature, and | tell
you that the Sermon on the Mount is
no mere human production" The
equivalent of this has been said thou
sands of times. Even the enemies of
Christianity, or of supernatural re-
ligion, have said: 81 am not Chris
tian. The Sermon on the Mount is
good enough for me. 1make no 9TH
er pretentions." Believers and nm
believers have exhausted FERNS of
speech in the praise of this sermon;
and if it had been work of art by
one of the sold masters" it could
scarcely have had different form Of
praise from many, at least, of those
who have spoken of its beauty.
Evidently this is not satisfactory
treatment of it. Christ stands in
no need of praise or patronizing
treatment, as a thinker or as an artist.
He simply wants attention and low
ing obedience. He was not pleased
to have his sermons thought of as
very lovely songs of Zone that hath a
pleasant voice" "Why call we me
Lord, Lord, and do not the things l
say,?" The thing that struck the peo-
pie was not so much the beauty Of the
sentiment as the "authority'b of the
preacher. He evidently left the
impression upon his hearers that he
meant something by what he had
said. AS the Sermon on the Mount
is largely in the imperative mood,
he undoubtedly meant to be obeyed.
And when this is expected, the only
alternative is disobedience. as the
sermon done already?" inquired a
passer-by, as the congregation was
comingou of village church. No."
was the answer, "the sermons nae
dune yet; its only preached" We
are to be not only hearers, but doors
of the word.
And what a world this would be il
we only made that sermon the law Of
our everyday life! To be sure, those
who do so attempt to live are COLI
sidered to he dreamers or fanatics
but that should make no sort of diff
ference with any one who strives tt
be child of God. We are given di
rections by the Great Teacher. We
are to obey him. And what purity
and patience and peacefulness would
pervade our hearts, our homes, ou
land, our world, if we took Jesus
Christ at his word. What simplicity
would characterize us; what absolute
honesty and integrity and truthful
ness in all our words and dealing
with one another; what gentlenes
and inoffensiveness and tenderness
and patience in all our treatment o
those around us; how our whole lif
would be transformed and beautified
The objections that people usual!
make to obeying the Savior's teach
ings are that they are impractical
for imperfect creatures as we are
But the ready answer Is that he spok
these things to us, not to saints o
angels. They are meant for his chill
dren here on earth, and there is n
intimation on the part of Christ tina
he was not in the deepest earnest
We are too apt to let ourselves OF
from this true gospel spirit by saying
"Oh, well; we have not attained S
lofty spirit yet" but we might eX
cuse ourselves from any duty in tn
same way. We grieve the Spirit c
God. We know not what spirit W
are of. The world-code of reveng
and Impotence and harshness an
anxiety is not the heritage of the chi
dren of peace.
Nothing stands today so greatly i
the way Of the Church Of Christ a
our failure to live in accordance wit
this sermon, Nothing would $
nightly give impetous to the az
tivitieS of the Church as for all Chri,
tians in theireown lives, in thei
homes, in their churches, to live firm