St. Paul daily globe., 1891-04-27
fEHkIkG OF JOHN.
Rev. Vail Tells the Story of
the Worlds Greatest Idol
Breaker.
The Life Of the Boy Outlines
That Of the Future
Man.
Orthodox Theology and It's
Absurd Ideas as to Chill :
dren. .a
Established Wrongs Are En-
titled to No Mercy or Con- ..
Sidepation.


an able and entertaining sermon by
Rev. w. S. Vail at the Grand opera
house yesterday morning. OF course,
the central figure at the beginning was
John, the Baptist, and the orators text
is to be found in Luke ill.,, 4-"The
voice of one crying in the wilderness,
prepare ye the way of the Lord"
DR.. Vail commenced his sermon by
giving sketch of the main features in
the life and character of John, the Bap-
tist. considering his life in connection
with modern ideas. He first considered
the boy. If the drops of blood taken
from a boys arm by some magical
process could be made to picture all
that they embraced, hundreds of people
from several generations, with their
deeds, their thoughts, their lives, would
be shown in the life of the boy. In it
would be the gentleneSs, the prayers,
and tears, the forgiveness of women. In
II would be the bacchanal songs of the
reveleTS. In it would be the sweet
hymns of faith from patient women.
bowed down with grief. SO the boys
life is complex tissue, and to large
degree hereditary. Then besides this,
as soon as he begins to think ideas from
friends, instructors, books, songs and
pictures become influences. All this
may be said Of the modern boy. Before
these tendencies grow to strength the
mind and heart of the little child shows
US the best example of trust and love
that we can find. Theology has called
the child viper. One of the most Gel
ebrated American archbishops has said
that the little one would barely get to
heaven, but never take the high place
to be accorded to the person baptiSed
according to the forms of the church.
Science and cOmmon sense unite in say
ing this is absurd foolishnesS, and lean
on the words of Jesus, "Suffer little
children to come unto me-" Such is
childhood and 6Oyhood in modern life.
Go with me now to byg0ne age and
distant land. Stand with me on the
crest of the hill and we will
People These valleys
and restore the wine press and the vim
yards, we will reclothe the hills with
olive orchards. We will fill the long
road, the white sand of which lies glist-
ening in the sun like Il serpents with
caravans bearing gold and silver from
the interior to the sea. We will enter
the lattice door of this humble home.
We will see the little boy who has in
herited from line of prophets ma
tural tendency to religion and sacrifice.
We will walk with him to the top of
this hill, and as his parents point to the
roof of the white temple, find the teach
er's bias leading him tObelieve in call
from God. The boy, then, foreshadowS
the coming man.
From boyhoOd we pass to manhood.
And here. too, we tind that a study Of
the conditions we know will help us to
a nowledge of the conditions that are
remote. A rugged refOrmer, indiffer-
ent to hardshipS and making the most
of the least promising helps, is for US
the ideal Of man called of God. A
Patrick Henry, coming out from the
backwoods filled with the holy fire of
enthusiasm and moving men to chal-
lenge death in the name of liberty, is a
man called of God. A Joan of Are,
listening to the voice that whispered to
her in the forest of Domremy, and later,
clad in the panoply of war, with rapt.
inspired face, leading the soldiers to
battle, heard the inward call. 1t is
something that comes to us by ways
that are natural. 1t is not peculiar to
any one nation.
God Speaks TO His People
in any age or place. Religions are
born by the attempts of men to answer
his call. Now go we to the ancient
time. Let us look at two pictures.
First, we go to the city by the lake of
Tiberias. We enter the city of Tlberias,
| built in a day, miniature Rome, cor
rupt to the core; standing monument
| of the public morals. On this afternoon
we pass towards the amphitheater. We
| take hasty glance at the armory, the
most celebrated in the province. We
| cast look at the palace built of mot
| tied marble in the midst of its palm
| gardens, where Herod was amused by
animal pets ranging down from the lion
| that pulls at his chain to the squirrels
| that chatter in their cages. Entering
the theater we observe that the pOpu-
lace is composed of all classes, includ-
| ing the soldier in his flashing armor,
| the traveller nut brown from exposure
| On his way to Rome, the tradeSman, the
! artisan, and the Arabian. If we watch
| the wild race of the charioteers
and the attitude of the people, we shall
| find the multitude careless, lazy, de-
| graded. If we watch the ruler we shall
| find him not less degraded and stepped
to the lips in wiekedness. There is no
serious view of life here. Those who
profess religion believe only in re-
| ligion Of form. Those with brutal ten
from the hot sun and the sight of blood
in the battle of the arena. Such was
Palestine at the time of st. Johns COM
ing. Now see in the wilderness rough
| man; unShorn, unshaven. living on the
honey that the bees stored in the trees.
Wild as the sea whose borders he some
times touched. Rugged as the noun
tains where he often found a bed.
Strong as the
Cedars of Lebanon
in the days of their glory. He came
prepared by long vigilS in the wilder
ness. Standing on the brow of the
mountains he looked both to the past
and the future. From the past he saw
the glory of departed days. There to
the south he reconstructed the scene of.
forceful Samson withstanding the force
of the Philistines. Away to the north
ward he discerned the rock on which
the prophecies had stood when she sang
her songs. Looking at the temple he
recalled the days when the queen of the
south came up from her rich domains to,
do honor to the most glorious king of
the world. But the light had failed: the
day of glory was done. Night has COW.
cred our valleys and shadows are roll
ing over the world, and not a star is to
be seen. Still the prophets mind saw
the coming OF the better day, and in the
wilderness he began to preach.
The work of John the Baptist was a
work of an iconoclast. He struck with
g battle axe, and struck home. He did
not plan to develop that which was to
come. His mission was to destroy that
which existed. In our time his mission
has its lesson. Men say / doubt my
creed, l doubt my theology. but l hesi-
tate to strike at an established institu-
ton. The present organization no doubt
needs revising. but we should not tear
down. Is this the voice of Ged? If there
is rattlesnake on my front porch where
desire to have squirrel playing in the
cage, shall | not kill the rattleSnake be-
fore get the squirrel? If there is an
error to knock down why not knock it
down and wait for Providence to