Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1890-05-16
ADVANCED STAND.
SERMON OF MODERATOR ROBERTS IN THE
PRESBYTERIAN ASSEMBLY.
A Great Meeting Of Churchmen at Saratoga-Rey
Roberts Sermon a Product Of Remark
able Power Southern Presbyterians.
Methodist Conference

preceded the usual routine business con-
Sequent upon organization, the sermon
being preached by the retiring Moder-
atOr, Rev. DIR. William Charles Roberts.
| Deep interest was manifested in the re-
firing MOderator'S sermon, especially
those portions bearing on the revision
question. DIR. Roberts took for his sub
/ iect The Privileges and Consequent
obligations of.the Presbyterian Church. =
Referring to the question of revision,
he said;
The second special privilege of the
Presbyterian Church is a clear-cut,
strong and Scriptural creed. NOtwith-
standing the few Objectionable passages,
the alleged incorrect interpretations OF
Scripture. and the questionable philoS-
ophy Of two or three paragraphs in our
Standards, they are Il marvel Of skill
aud dialectic acumen. The have also
been Justly claSSed among the best spcci-
mems eXtant Of clear thought and cogent
reasoning They were prepared in
troublouS times for the purpose Of unit
ing in one church all the Christians OF
Great Britain and Ireland. Every para
graph was heated in the fires Of cOntro-
verSy and forged into bars Of gold, not
only by the best theOlOgianS OF the
Church. but by the ableSt statesmen,
also OF both Houses Of Parliament. The
shorter CatechiSm has been pronounced
by many who have had no sympathy
with its doctrines. the best compend Of
Scriptural truths the world has ever
seen.
CLEAR CUT AND STRONG.
The Standards are not only clear-cut,
but exceedingly strong. They are based
| largely on Gods sovereignty. 1t is no
such sovereignty. however, as implies
arbitrarneSS or injustice, but such as
aliases the proud and encourages the
Ilowly. God is represented in every part
/ of them as disclosing TO them His eternal
purpose and Summoning them 10 be CO.
workers with Him in its execution. BY
/ this means He causes the weakest TO
know what Il mightier energy than any
/ they possess is breathing its potency
through all their efforts He makes
them feel that they are girded with
strength which no other system
OF doctrine can furnish. When
the shadows OF danger fill
forded I'm this Greed that no evil can be-
fall them without their Fathers per-
mission. When they bewail the fruit
leSSneSS of their toll, they are told that
every sincere effort, however destitute
of visible results. is a predeStinated step
or necessary anteccdent to some
blessed end. When they march 10 the
subiugation Of the world to Christ they
know that they are shielded by pano-
plv more invulnerable and nerved by an
energy more invincible than that furn-
liShed by any other confession Of faith.
When they are forced 10 face the fires Of
Smithfield. or to mingle in the massacre
OF st. Bartholomew, they have the sat
iSfaction of knowing that they are i'm
mortal until their work ON earth l.
ended.
Itis loudly proclaimed in these days
that the doctrines of our Standards are
destitute OF the breathingS of Gods love.
This is largely true. The tender phase
Of the Divine character i not so clearly
set forth as il ought to be in this Johan-
mean age But il must not be forgotten
that the Church, like the KoSmoS, has
been undergoing process OF evolution
from her infantile days to the present
time. Every period Of her history has
had its special development. As in the
earlier formations of the earth we find
more Of the iron frmneSS and deSola-
tions of the rocks than of the tenderness
and beauty of.organic life, so in the eS-
ItabliShment of the Protestant faith we
find more Of the sovereignty of God and
OF the struggles after freedom of con-
science than of the Divine love and the
beauty of fraternal feelings.
DELICATE CARVINGS OF TIE LILY
may be put ON top of the pillar, but the
pedeStal that is to bear the heavy weight
must be firm and massive. Grace and
truth came by Jesus Christ, but those
lovely qualities could have come only
after the way had been prepared for
them by the Sterner qualities OF the
law which came by Moses. The sweet
Droclamation of Gods fatherhood and
love for the race has been made poSSi-
bile only by the Sterner doctrines Of
His sovereignty which gained for
the nations the civil and re-
ligiouS liberty they now enjoy. The
strong truths of our CalviniStic creed
are not 10 De loohtN upul. NhNA''NA'f -
monstrositieS, but as necessary anteced-
ents TO milder and more loveable doe
.trines. The bark of some of them,
rs another has said, lis acknowledged
10 be rough, the stem gnarled, and the
Iboughs twisted here and there into
Iknottv shapes Of ungraceful strength,
But il must be remembered that they
are not willow wand OF yesterday.
These boughs though they bear the
name of Calvin, have wreStled with the
storms of nearly 1000 years; their stem
has been wreathed by the red lightning
and Scared By the thunder0olt' ana al
over their rough rind are the marks oil
the battle-aXe and the bullet. Ihcy
have not the plant grace and silky Soit-
ness of green house plant, but they
have majesty above grace ana q
grandeur beyond beauty. Their roots
are strangely contorted, but some oil
them are clasped around the stakes oi
the martyrs: many Of them are hidden
i'm solitary cells and lonely libraries
where deep thinkers have mused ana
praved as i'm some apOcalyptic PatmoS;
and their great tap-root runs oack not
10 the divine OF Geneva, but TO the Man
OF Sorrows until it twineS in living loN-
ing embrace around the Cross OF CalVa-
~.
No ESSENTIAL CHANGE.