Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1892-06-30

The College street church was filled Sun
DAY afternoon on the occasion of the bac-
calaureate sermon in connection with the
SSth commencement of the Univorsity OF
Vermont and State Agricultural College.
The music included an organ voluntary,
"Pilgrims Chorus from Tannhausar,
Beethoven's "The Heavens Proclaim
Him, by the college choir and hymn by
male quartette from the choir. President
Buckham took his theme The religious
estimate of lie" D."
THE BACCALAUREA ATE SERMON.
All thy estmations shall he according to the
khekcl of the sanctuary LeViticus, XVII, @5
The centre of the Mosaic system, both as a
worship aud poIity, was the sanctuary that
Is, the divine presence. From the day of the
exodus the Hebrews were "a people grouped
ABOUT a holy place. Forth from this ccntrai
spot, forth from this central idea, radiated all
their activities and all their instituuons'
hence came their morality, their legislation,
their ritual, their domestic and national life.
The test of uprightness was to be
fit to stand in the holy place" the saleEuara
with Us, carry us not up hence;' deiivcrance
in trouble was, the Lord send thee help from
the sanctuary;' in order to be just, not APP
nroximately. but scrupulousy, reiFiously,
exact in all weights and measures, in all val
uations and judgments. let all your estlma-
tions be according 10 the shekel OF the sanct-
Is net this one of those things said by those
OF olden time which our Lord camo not to de-
stroy but to fulhl-not to destroy because the
principle of it is of perpetual validity. but to
fulfil because it has infinite power OF eXpan-
sion and udaptation?ThA the highest standards
are those which have the sanction of religion !:
that the values put upon human life and all
thiugs great and small pertaining thereto,
are most just and most true. when they are
estimated us in the presence of God, this is
truth which can never grow old, which only
becomes more full of meaning as life becomes
broader and deeper and richer. NO longer Is
tile divine presence symbolized in a material
sanctuary, no longer are all but the priest cx-
cludeu from the holy place. Since Christ
came the glory Of God bursts thro' the veil and
floods and halIows the whole earth. and every
place is holy where Christian stands face to
face with God. But still and always the
shekcl Of the sanctuary, The divine vnua
tion, the estimate which God puts
upon mortal thoughts and acts. and
which we put upon thom when we .re con
soiously in his immediate presence and in clos
est SYMPATHY with him, this is for US, and for
all beings in oil the earth and in all the uni
verse, the only safe, the only wise, the most
nearly infalible standard of action, of cAarac.
ter, OF lie. The true man, the Christian man,
weighs and measures life, not according to the
sheSe OF the shop, or OF the exchange or of
the laboratory; not by the standards of class,
or school, or sect not by the prevalent tone Of
literature, or science, or philosophy; not by
the dictates of the tme-spirit or the world
spirit: but in accord dancc with that last and
highest conception OF the human life divine
which he gets when he enters into the holy
place and Sees al thing in tie light ~ God.
IL is not Gained it would be historically
false to matntain, that religions standards.
are, because they are religious. necessarily true
To the eternal and immutable verities. In
all ages men have infused their own passions
into their religious beliefs and practices.
Thov have uncorsctously and indlscrimi-
nately incorporated with their religions, their
lAiosopAias and sciences. their patriotism
and poetry. Nor have any right to as
sumo that these tendencies Of Human n .ture
have ceased to assert themselves. The relig-
ion of ClrstiRnitv. We may fairly claim
cannot be easily perverted to the support OF
pioua frauds, and cruelty. and oppression,
and vet we VOL know that It's holy garl
and its heavenly language nave too often
been borrowed to give sanction to the wors,
wrongs humanity has suffered. Men aud
uLurChcs assuming. to administer morality ac-
cording TO the sAckel of the Christian sane
tury have done more than anything but rcli-
zion could do to degrade the common stan.
dsrds OF life and 10 corrupt morality at it,
HuurCe IIut let luv one sadlened and Lumtl.
iated though he is by u historic survey of
Christian morality. let him in a spirit of fair.
lcss consider this question; what influence
has countcractcd and gradually corrected
these low ahd taise standards oi me- what IN,
surely elevating these standards to what they
are in the best communities, and are
sure in time to be everywhere, anC
would not the answer be that it i.
religion, = purer Christianity, and more of it
individual and corporate life: Or even il
some should claim as they well might tha'
this elevation of the moral stanuard Is due il
part to the finer discernmeut which comes
with tAiutellectual activity. to the superior ang,
and accuracy Of Intelligence and to the gen
Grul PROCESSION Of thought, the question
turns to what is I lis progress itself due but I,
tho inspiration and enlargement which com,
IRON tue religious view of life and man iron
the Christian outlook upon tho inllnitv o
truth and tile capabiities and de,tin,
of man, the heir in Christ OF al
the inhnites: In proportion as mci
appreciate more and more the capabilitie
OF life, and get higher conceptions of ii. D ,sri
bilitles, they come to DEPEND more an,
more on re IgIoUs agencies Tor the realiZatlo
of a. cir ideals. In what direction are men nov
looking for the forces which shall rogcnerat
modern eoriety. in great cities. in pagan lands
through social ctAics:Ns ulcH tulnughoutCAr
tendon are coming to the conviction that hu
Inanity il ripcninE for n great advance in it
moral and social condition. where do they loo
Tor that new standard, that new huuianity
the humanity that is to be, but to religion. I
those hristiau conceptions of character an
lie which alone ill the pirations Of tn
leaders and prophets of our time
!. Tne religions estimation Of life implies
IN the iirst place, that estimate all thing
according TO religious standard, not som
tAinrs, not merely so-callcd sacred things NJ
merely the parts, and PERSONS, and offices
the sanctuary, but tAat all thin % are TO L
brought into the sanctuary for c,tlmatiol