The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1890-12-01
THREE SERMONS.
Rev. Dr., Gushing Touches up
the Local Government Again.
THE MAYOR IS ARRAIGNED
As n Drunkard and n Visitor at I'm.
moral lIouscs..Dr. Cunningham
breaches on "Cho0sc You This
Day Whom Yc win Serve"

UNy W nom 1g VIII Serve.
Rev. DR.. d. A. Cunningham, OF I'll
First Presbyterian church, preached tw
sCrnon1 on the came general subject
sucking aud serving God, and maxim
tho service OF God tho supreme ellort {
lie.
In the morning he took his text iror
Joshua 24:l5, Choose you this da
whom ye will serve" For scriptur
Lesson he read Matthew, 1890.
Concerning his subject he said:
must ask you TO read the last two chan
terH OF this Book OF Joshua, to recall /,
your minds the circumstances unde
which these.words were spoken. Joskn
was an old man; his life as chieitail
and statesman was about to end. Ii,
WIS giving his last words to the people
| He did not carry them through the dc
tails Of the life which they were to live
he did not give them commandment
arranged in systematic order; he brouyh
them rather 10 enc point where they
were to stand, Gnd, standing there, ol
moving from that point towards God
they were 10 make up their life. HI
did not mean that they were TO choost
between one God aud another, although
the form OF his words might suggest
that.
1t Is evident that this mode OF pre-,
sentlug the claim which God makes
upon us, is somewhat different from
that in which it is usually presented
This iorm Of words has very much paas.
ed out OF use, and the thought which
lies within the words has been in q
measure superseded. We are not sar.
Ing today, Choose you whom ye will
serSei' We are sayinp. Choose you
whom ye will trust We have passed
over lrvm this idea OF life which is to
be lived for God, to 4 life in which God
Is to take mp and carry lis oil, promising
us Heaven, alluring us with pleasures
al the way, and INDUCING our wishes
at every point, II so be, in our con.
descension, We will consent to be saved.
GOD Is SEEKING SERVANTS.
While the thought of trusting Christ,
and TIE oilers OF Ills grace appear 60
much in the New Testament, this thought
Of serving God is the underlying princi-
pie throughout. Our Lord never, in NIL
HIS offer OF rest and peace and mercy,
lost sight Of this. What was His most
common idea OF that life into which He
called men? 1t WAS life in Kingdom.
The Kingdom OF Goi,' The Kingdom
OF Heaven were His common phrases.
Men are 10 live under the eye OF King,
and to obey Him unto the end. So,
when He presented the Kingdom oil
Heaven with all its delights under the
image OF marriage feast, it was not @
feaat spread by the wayside where men
were working; it was not table laid in
the thickets where they might be re
clining; it was a feast within the gates
OF the Kings house. II any man ate o.
the least, he came up out Of the high
ways, passed through the door, entered
into the place where the table was
spread, and there took his place. Christ
knew nothing OF any Joy for man out
SIDE Of the Kings house. So it waD With
the parable OF tho prodigai son, in
which our Lord did not promise certain
joys 10 be had by remaining in the 'ial
country He did not teach that there
were for this wretch a robe, and ring,
and kiss, and a-iatted cali, and all the
blessings Of life, while was by his OWE
act an exile and t. wauderer, or thai
there waG one OF them anywhere, but
where his father was.
you MUST CONE BACK.
II We view this life, rs we sometime:
do, as q road, men have stepped of the
road and wandered away from it. Wher
Gol comes to them He does not point
to new path, or make new highwa,
ior them; Hc brings them back TO th,
old road, that, walking thereon, they
may 90 to the end to which they wou!t
have gone il they had never turne,
away. This truth of obedience, is il
entire harmony with the tender thought
applied to God. II we spsak OF God al
love, We have asserted the strongest o
all reasons that we should serve Him. Il
ne call God our father, we have declared
at once the very reason why we ough
10 obey Him and seek His pleasure in
all things. II we speak OF the love W,
have for God, we have declared the vaS.
principle which will make US do Hi!
will. The soul Of obedience is love, ant
tho body OF love is obedience.
preEume it is not true OF anyone her
to-day, that he has chosen deliberatel ly
to serve anyone except God. He ma.
be serving someone else; but, that eve
be has said to anyone else in heaven 0
earth, Thou art my God and ! vii
serve thce,' is not to be believed. Yc
it may come to pass practically that
man does serye another. We are not L
consider here the relative value oi thi
or that which ne serves. My only inter
est to-day, brethren, is to beg you tt
choose God and to serve Him.
PERIODICAL PROFESSORS.
The choice OF principle and metho,
OF lie, may be made by natural an
simple process. may consult eimpl.
my own pleasure. I may say, i will dt
those things which l wish to do ! an
very likely to do this carelessly, Eoa!in!
on from day to day, planning to.da!
what want to do to-day, waking 10
morrow morning and planning agail
| WuaL NNEL " w Ill that uhys III ail
stand up as the object OF my own though
and care. | may vary these methods
or unite them into one, go that | cal
hardly tel! whether am living for MY
sell or for humanity. There are man.
varieties OF this idolatry. Against all o
them stands ont the one who alone i
God, and the cxhortation OF the gran,
old preacher is, Choose the Lord Co
and serve Him.
There is no class Of professors tina
God has 30 little respect for, ss thos
who serve him periodically. We are Il
daily take up our cros5 and follow Hin
Choose God always to be served
whereve. He leads, whatever He forbids
whatever He requires. The man VIII
shall do this, stands with his face tc
wards God, and with his life toward
God; he stands in the way in which L
. shall be blessed.
believe that the great reason VIII
men do not find God, is because the
are not looking for Him. They say,
will find His mercy I will find blessin
; ut His hands, aud after time I wi
determine to serve Him There is bt
one thing first in any right life; thel
ia but one thing first in any Christis
career; and that is to choose God m
pledge the life to Him. Then &c
| nop 90 n holm and rava tha man