Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-03-03

hilltops and reject the magnetic wire, which
| is tie tongue of nations, as to ignore all the
exegetes and the philologists and the theo,
logians of the last 326 wears and put your head
under the sleeve of the gown of q sixteenth
century doctor. l could call the names OF
90 living Presbyterian ministers OF rellgion
who could make better creed than John
Calvin. The nineteenth century ought not
to be called to sit at the feet of the sixteenth.
"But, you say, "it is the same OLD bloie,
and John Calvin had that as well as the
present student of the Scriptures. Yes; so
it is the same old sun in the heavens, but In
our time it has gone to making daguerreo,
types and photographs. 1t is the same OLD
water, but in our century it has gone 10
running steam engines. 1t is the same olo
electricity, but in our time it has become a
lightning footed errand boy. so 1t Is the
old Bible, but new applications, new uses,
new interpretations. You must remember
that during the last 800 years words have
changed their meaning and some OF them
now mean more and some less. 90 not
think that John Calvin believed, as some
saw he did, in the damnation of infants, al
though some OF the recent not dlsputes
would seem to imply that there is such
thing as the damnation of infants.
AN AWFUL POSSIBILITY.
man who believes in the damnation of
infants himself deserves to lose heaven. I
do not think any good man could admit
such a possibility. What Christ will do
with all the babies in the next world con-
clude from what he did with the babies
in Palestine when he hugged them and
kissed them. When some of you grown
people go out of this world your doubtful
destiny will be an embarrassment to minis
of,o 81 of oh ho xuil
have to be cautious SO as not to hurt surviv-
ing friends. But when the darling children
90 there are no ''ifs' or "buts" or guesses.
We must remember that good John Calvin
was a logician and a metaphysician and by
the proclivitles of his nature put some things
in an unfortunate way. Logic has its use
and metaphysics has its use, but they are
not good at making creeds. A gardener
hands you a blooming rose, dewy fresh, but
a severe botanist comes to you with a rose
and says: "I will show you the structure
of this rose" And he proceeds to take it
apart and pulls off the leaves and he says:
"There are the petals" and he takes out the
anthers and he says: "Just look at the
wonderful structure of these floral pillars,
and then he cuts the stem to show you the
juices of the plant
So logic or metaphysics takes the aromatic
will just show you how this rose OF religion
was fashioned;" aud it pulls off of it a piece
and says: THAT is the human will. and
another piece and says: "This is Gods
will, !" and another and says: 'This is SOW
ereignty," and another piece and says:
This is free agency" this is this and that
is that. And while L stand looking at the
fragments of the rose pulled apart, one
whom the Marys took for gardener comes
in and presents me with a crimson rose, red
as blood, and saws: "Inhsle the sweetness of
this, wear it on your heart and wear it for
ever" must confess that prefer the rose
in full bloom to the rose pulled apart.
What a time we have had with the dog
matics, the apologerics and the hermeneutics.
The defect in some of the creeds is that they
try to tell us all about the DEGREES of God
Now the only human being that was ever
and he would not have been competent had
he not been inspired. 1 believe in the
sovereignty of God and believe in mans
free agency, but no one can harmonize the
two. 1t is not necessary that he harmonic
them.
A NEW COURSE OF LIFE.
A man who was once called Saul, but
afterwards Paul, declared: "This is a faith
that Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners, of whom 1 am chiet." Mark
that-''of whom 1 am chief" "Put down
your overcoats and hats, and will take care
of them while you kill Stephen"-so Saul
said to the stoners of the first martvr-"I do
not care to exert myself much, but L will
guard your surplus apparel while you do the
murder" The New Testament account
SAYS: 'The witnesses laid down their
clothes at young mans feet whose name
was Saul" No wonder he said: "Sinners,
of whom am the chief
Christ is used to climbing. He climbed to
the top of the temple. He climbed to the
top of Mount Olivet. He climbed to the
top of the cliffs about Nazareth. He
climbed to the top of Golgotha. And to the
top of the hills and the mountains of your
transgression He is ready to climb with
pardon for every one of you. The groan of
Calvary is mightier than the thunder of
Sinai. Full receipt is offered for all your
Indebtedness. If one throw a stone at mid
night into a bush where the hedgebird
roosts it Immediately begins to sing; and
into the midnight hedges of your despond-
ency these words I hurl, hoping to awaken
you to anthem.
Drop the tunes in the minor kew and take
the major. Do you think it pleases the
Lord for you to be carrying around with
you the debris and carcasses of old trans
gressions? You make me think of some
ship that has had a tempestuous time at
sea. and now that it proposes another voy-
age, keeps on its davits the damaged life
boats, and the splinters of a shivered mast,
and the broken glass of smashed skvlight.
My advice is: clear the decks. overheard
with all the damaged rigging, brighten up
the salted smokestacks, open a new log
book, haul in the planks, lay out a new
course and set sail for heaven. You have
had the spiritual dumps long enough.
You will please the Lord more
by being happy than by being miserable.
Have YOU not sometimes started out in the
rain with your umbrella and you were busy
and you did not notice that the
rain had stopped, and though it had cleared
off you still had your umbrella up, and when
you discovered what you were doing YOU
felt silly enough? That is what some of you
are doing in religious things. You have
got SO used to sadness that though the rain
has stopped you still have your umbrella
up. Come out of the shadow. Ascend the
stairs of your sepulchre. Step out into the
broad light of MONDAY. We come around
you to help remove your grave clothes, and
a voice from the heavens, tremulous but om-
nipotent, commands: "Loose him, and let
him 60"
How foolish for us to think that ours
is the only world fit for us to stay in. L |
think that all the stars are inhabited, and |
by beings like the human race in feelings /!
and sentiments, and the difference is in lung
respiration and heart beat and physical con-
formation, their physical conformation fit |
for the climate OF their world and our physi- |
cal conformation fit for the climate of our |
world. So we shall feel at home in any of |
the stellar neighborhoods, our physical linn |
itatIons having ceased. One OF our first |
realizations in getting out of this world, 1 |
think, will be that in this world We were |
very much nent un and had cramped anart |