Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-12-08
THE TEN COM MAN DMEN
Re v. f. w. Merrell's Sermon SIM
day Night.
The Second of the Inter ting sar,as
raise aud True WOrship-Out.
iiae of the secm,n.

"a' Pieseh'eu SUNDAY evening at the
First Methodist Episcopal church, by the
pastor. F. w. Merren. Despite The
snow bound condition of things an ex.
cellent congregation gathered and
was greeted with full choir
and special musical programme that
showed careful preparation, ard evipced
the musical talent for which the choir is
noted. The discourse was from Elk.
204. 5. 6.
The Second Commaudme ut, said the
speaker. relates to the orr iuances of
worship. worship false and true. Idola-
try is either internal, residing in the af,
fecIions and dispositions, OF gross and
external, consisting in outward visible
worship of any objects intended or not
intended to represent God. The former
is forbidden in the First Commandment
and was presented in the former dis
course, the latter is presented now:
This commandment refers evidently
! only to images and representations de
! signed fer worship. 1t foTlids, first. the
making of images; second, the worship
| of them. This commandment was evil
| IDENTIFY never intended to interfere with
arts OF sculpture, painting and engraving
! except in so far as these arts were made
subseTvient to false worship. But the
Jews have so interpreted this command,
ment, ct least since their Bahylonian cap.
tivity. as TO regard it as forbiddiug the
| practice of the las ic arts A
fair Interpretation will. however,
zee no such conflict. for Moses
was commanded to place he cherubim
4 over the mercy seat and 20 embroider
them On the coverings of the tabernacle
Christianity has hsd Its influence for good
on art. its Rsphaels and An yelos. 1t has
touched art and ennobled and developed
it, especially in music The worship o..
images opens an all Important question.
All would agree that the worship of tue
image itself is absurd and superstitions.
Isaiah ironically pictures the iloiatOr as
warming himself and cooking his food
with one end of piece of wood and
fashioning the other end into an idol and
worshlpping it. Logic would suggest
that divinity would not reside in one end
of stick more than in another. True,
religion is against all such superstitions
and forbiGs consulting of ia nilisr spirits.
wigards and necromsnces. Saul was
disobedient to God and inco usistent with
his own actions in consulting the witch
of EndOr The most superstitious of all
people are those who cannot accept the
mysteries of religion.
But may not thought be fixed and at
tenIion concentrated by the image2 In
answer II is enough to say that God has
drawn no such distinction. The one
leads to the other; such has been the
logic of history. Time was according to
profane history, when heather religions
were without idols, and when they con-
demned them as Muea did in early Rome.
Representatives of God are always his.
so says the bible. God is spirit and ali
representations of God as untrue,
minister to wrong conception of
God and so tend away from God,
Idolstry is inseparably linked with
vice. So says history; 50 said the ex-
perience of Israel. Oar religious wor
ship is to be governed by the power of
faith and not imagination. This com
maudmeDt does not appear in the cate
chisms or books of devotion of the Rom
ist church. and the penalty IS attached to
the first commandment, necessitatiDg a
different enumeration of the command
ments.
The question becomes an ell important
one to every soul that wOnlo please God,
what is the nature of true worshipf 1t is
gratifying to know that this has received
direct answer from Christ in his con-
varsation with the Samaritan woman.
The Samaritans worshipped Jehovah
under the form of the golden calf, which
Jerobam set up at Dan and Bethel for po~
liticsl reasons. From that conversation
we draw two important thou gb's. True
worship must be. first, spiritual, and
| secondly, in truth, sincere. 1t was con-
| demnatory OF the Samsri an worship
which made the idol mere symbol of
God. 1t condems that instr certify which
allows that worship may be separated
from obedience; that morality Is totally
distinct from religion. Hence we find
here q broad distinction between the true
religion and all false religions. The
bible teaches everywhere that, "If re-
gard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will
not hear me-" 1t illustrates these words
with the case of King Saul, whose sscri-
fee of oxen, sheep, ETC., was not accep>
ted because of disobedience. NO soul
can approach God in real worship with
out turning from sin. All genuine wor-
ship involves genuine repentance.
Praying by the yard, or by the piece, is
empty formation. and a moe zery OF God,
instead of worship. The vain repiti'
tions" of the hesthens we ere to avoid
The few words of the Publican, God. be
merciful to me a sinner" meant more
than ell the formal prayers of the Phari'
see. We find here a broa1 distinction
between false and true wors snip.