St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-06-09
President MeCurdy, Of Macal-
ester, Counsels the Grad
uating Class.
An Eloquent Sermon, Full Of
Glowing and Striking ~
Thoughts. sd
Graduates Not to Allow Their
Minds to Run in One az
Groove. Id
Bishop Gilbert Sermonizes the
Misses Of the Baldwin i
Seminary. 81

or Manchester college was 1naugurated
yesterday afternoon at o'clock with
the baccalaureate sermon preached by
President I. A. McCurdy in the Mac
alester Presbyterian church. The lit
tie church was tastefulIy decorated with
wild flowers, and was comfortably filled
by the many friends of the senior class,
The graduating class consists of seven
young men: T. L. Cresswell, M. A.
Clark, j. K. Hall, W. H. Humphrey,
dali, j. l.. Underwood. President
DIR. Christie, of the House of &
Hope. and Rev. R. A. Carnahan, of the
First Presbyterian church of st. Paul,
and Rev. Patterson, of Minneapolis.
The text of the sermon was from John
1924, ''Verily, verily,I say unto you,
except corn of wheat fall into the
ground and die, it abideth alone, but it
it die, 1t bringeth forth much fruit" The
speaker opened his discourse by giving
a brief review of the circumstances
under which the utteranee was made,
and of the aptneSs of the law of in
destructibility. He said: -
''Retrograde action tends to advance
ment among the elements OF earth.
Life is ceaSeteSS vortex. Every death
gives a new birth. Its external and in
ternal aspects are always changing.
Every part of our body is undergoing
a disin tegratlon until once more we
turn into dust. The progress of the
human race shaSsn been in single
groove. Nation has charged upon ma,
ton until a better national nature has
been evolved. 1t is only man that it
has photographed upon the pages of
history, Of his rise and fall, and his,
march has been over bones of natiOnS.;
Civilization is marching upward. Phil
anthEopy is becoming broader, JurlSpru-
dence keener"
He then pictured the history of As
syria and Greece in the highest and
lowest stages of their respective civiliz-
ations. Continuing. -.
1--WE live in the Anglo-SaXon civiliza-
ton. .Itis establishing peace in the
world abroad. 1t is diffuSing intelli-,
gence and love. How long will
it continue? What enemy will
spring up? History Is wont to
repeat itself. Retrogression is
near when progression is rapid.
But God is at the helm, and if we should
fall a nobler one will spring up. The
same. law applies to the mind. Its ere
ated from the lowest world. Thoughts
are reached through the longest pror
ceSSes oftentimeS. But its monuments
are ever. enduring. They are the living
works of the possessor in after years..
III every mind there. is a point beyond
which it cannot co.. Then character is
fixed. The infinite mind IS unchange-
able and we cannot attain to it. The
higher comes down to the lower and
life comes down to death that the world
might have life. '.- "e
The speaker then spoke Of the many
martyrs which the world has produced
as the blessed fruits of.the tree of life,,
In nearly every land the cross is,
erected. Nations, are being born in a
day. Brazil, Japan, China, are exam
pies. When all shall bow to God, death
life and heaven shall be his eternal joys
He added: "Gentlemen of the Gradu-
ating Glass: This is. peculiar epoch
in your history. 1t is your commence
ment. You have come up step by step.
AS you are all followers of Christ, there
is a trinity of thought l will leave as
parting words: Let the word of God
dwell in you richly; let the Christ
of God dwell in you wholly;
let the spirit of God dwell in you fully.
Your lives will then be the sublimity of
eloquence, and your presence in the
world will be as the tongue of God.
Let the trinity of thought enter into
your very soul, continue in full and
complete preparation for your work.
We have all read history and studied
Gods word to no good purpose if we are
not convinced that there is but one
crown which does not crumble at the
touch Our observation is faulty if we
do COO IA hollow hno vta6 low. of
those whose life is not shaped for the
life beyond, and we have lived
to but little good purpose if
we have not learned by expert
ence the utter worthlessness Of the
best the world has to give. Let this
trinity dwell in you and all earth's
treasures will be powerless to tempt.
You will be kept close to the secret of
your power and welcomed by the world
as Gods chosen ones for its good. Such
distinction will be brighter and bet
ter crown than ever rested on the head
of any earthly sovereign. Il will be the
earthly radiance of your heavenly
crown. We have studied together an
interesting parable of our Lord. Look
up TO the evening sky and you will see
some stars prominent in magnitude,
while others are lost. Whether in Bra
Ill VI AHlO1lCtls w HCtiOl eIO
lowly or cultured of earth. BE thou
faithful unto death and 1 will
give thee crown of life.'
Young gentlemen, go, adhering closely
through your life to whatsoever things
are true, just, pure, lovely, of good re-
port, and let the word of God dwell up
on you richly; let the Christ of God
dwell in you wholly, let the spirit of
God dwell in you fully. Glass of 1890,
farewell, farewell"
The exercises for the remainder of
the week are as follows: AT 10 a. m.
to-day, the field day sports will be held
on the college campus; s p. M, Hyper
ion literary entertainment.
Tuesday, at 2:30 p. M, class day ex-.,
ercises; SIP. NJ, senior address by Rev.
DR.. Phelps, of Council Bluffs, 10.
Wednesday, $50 a. M, annual COM
mencement.
TO BALDWIN MISSES.
BaccaIaureate Sermon by Bishop.