Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-11-30
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.
Kew. +. w. Merrell breaches the
First of His Series.
An Interesting Discourse at Tho e.
AL f. Church Last Eyen,ng-A
special Musical Programme

n large congregation gathered last eve,
ming at the First Metho dist church md
WAS greeted with an interesting and
prohtaoie service. The choral portion of
the service was "as good as a concert >
The choir acquitted itself with great cred.
It, while the male quartette, CONSISTING of
Messrs. Creel and Housed, tenors. Van
Duzen and Perrett, bassos, rel dered two
selections with most excellent effect.
The sermon by the pastor, Rev. F. W
Merrell, was on the First Commando
ment:
Ihon shalt have no other Gods before me.r
The decaiogue, said the psstor, is Coos
grand compendium of moral philosophy.
lis precepts are binding upon all men
and yet are often broken by even those
who have received christian instruc.
tions. Whoever obeys these ten words
In letter and spirit is perfect man.
This commandment touches the prefer
ences and attachments of the heart. 1t
IS not directed agsinsI the worship of
IDOLS OF wood and stone of gold or silver
l. touches the idolstries of the heart.
The Second Commandment is directed
against outward idolsiry. This com
mandment assumes two things without
undertaking 10 prove them: First-thst
man is worshipping being; secondly, that
God is. Considered negatively, this COM
msndment prohibits % Atheism or the
denial of God. (2) Folytheism or the
worship of many Gods (3) Pantheism
or the denial of a personal God.
First. IL is a fact not without signifi,
canoe that the bible nowhere attempts 10
prove the existence of God, or of the soul,
orof spiritual beings between God and
man or the facts of heaven and hell 1t
assumes them al proc eeds to reason up.
on them as though they needed no proof
There is deeper philo sophY in this than
is often understood, l is useless to ar
que with those who deny their own exist
ence and the existence of the natural
universe. They deny the evidence of
their own senses or of consciousness
Words are wasted on IL EN-. 1t would be
strange sight to see mother trying to
convince her 4>year old child by argu-
ment of the existence of the
sun by reasoning rom effect to
cause Take the child out under the skies
and let it look up and drink in the glori-
Gus view of the orb of day. Thus The best
way to remove unbelief is not By argu-
meDt, but by appeal to ones innate belief
OF God. Science demonstrates the exis>
tence of God, but that demonstration does
not add materially to ones convictions
with respect to Gods existence When
ka Al e.
"God is nowhere" the little one read
truly, God is now here" So it is with
men generally. The very things that are
used to den onstrste hat God does not
exist, do to the spiritually minded demon
strste that God is.
Second. The Polytheist is as much
20 be found in christendom as in
heathendom. Idolatry is either overt
or covert. The commandment directs
its force against the preferences and
attachments of the heart. 1t for
bids all heart idolstry. holding a
secret and unconfessed allegiance to other
objects than God. A man serves as his
God that which he permits TO have con-
trolling power in his lie. In this deeper
inner sense, every man is worshiper.
Every man has his God in this clear
sense. Hence the force of the command.
ment. Some men serve Msmmon, they
worship gold. Others are supremely
controlled by pleasure. All questions
even the most serious, are decided by that
motion. Others wors ip fame, ambition
like Napoleon, etc. Such idolstry is
condemned by the tex. What a man
loves he ferves.
Third. There are those who claim to
see God everywhere ard yet who deny
him personality anywhere. These are
Jantheists. Nature is God and God is
lures are exceedingly vivid on this
question. God is called the Lying
God" He loves the good, He hates the
evil. In this regard the scriptures are
consistent, for he who loves the good
must to precisely the same extent hate
the evil. The doctrine of personal
God is vital to the scriptures.
Christ has considered this command,
ment only in positive sense. Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy mind and with all
thy strength" These words are the best
commentary on this commandment
This summary recognizes the fact that
what a man loves supremely will be his
God Real worship involves love.
God wants our supreme affection, our
heart preference, our emotional nature.
Some do not believe il an emotional re-
ligion. the speaker believed in no other.
Conversion meant heart change. God en-
chained within. The form of affection
was illustrated by reference to "Curfew
shall not ring tonight The summary of
Christ touches also the intellect, with all
thy mind" Right conceptions of God
are essential to real attachment to him.
Last of all God wants our supreme
service. with all thy strength" He
wants the whole man.
The discourse closed with an
appeal to give God the first place in
heart and in the mind and
in service, and enforced the thought that
he who does not do this is breaking the