The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1892-09-05

| THE SPIRIT IN COMMON LIFE.
1t Is the Spirit that dwells within this
visible temple that leads man into the
sublime mysteries of nature. Think you
that 1t was not the Spirit that led the
physician to lay his life down on the
altar of science as he went in and Of
fered himself up as q sacrifice to stay the
plague, and with the body of the dead
and his scalpel sought the secrets of ma
ture, found them and translated them
to the world?
1t is this Spirit Of truth that leads the
true artist to grasp the divine and trans
late it to the world. translate it into
matter until his production throbs with
| divine power. We understand that tho
descent from the Cross" may be an in
spiration, but we must remember that
all true art is thus of tho Spirit. / saw
in the art gallery in Philadelphia the
other day new picture. II was a very
simple subject-the parting from the cid
country homestead of the boy who had
reached the age of aspiration. He was
leaving the old home and going to the
city to seek his fortune. The driver
stood at the door motioning with his
hand, his whip by his side. The father
was carrying the boys valise to tho
wagon. In the foreground, before the
dining table, from which they had Just
arisen, the mother had come forward
and laid her hands on the shoulders of
the boy, and with mothers infinite
love she looked into his face and was
giving him the last messages OF loving
counsel and advice. 1t is wonderful
picture. There is in it a divine power.
There is gathered in it the history of
thousands of human souls, memories
most divine. 1t will preach to thou
sands of upturned faces. 1t will preach
God, Think you that the Spirit did not
lead as this magician's hand, with his
brush, imprisoned the light and the
shadows and produced this masterpiece
of aTt2
GOD IN LITERATURE.
The Spirit of truth leads the thinker
in the field of literature into the sub
lime expressions Of truth. read book
last week that throbbed with divine
power. As read it l said this man has
been with God. He had been. No man
could have written it who had not heard
the beating of tho heart of God. No
man could havo written it whose hand
was not guided by the Spirit Of the
living God.
So in every movement within the
realm of human society-the advance
ment Of the race-we see the guiding Of
the Spirit Of truth. When our fore
p,k - Al.A r..N a,
and sent their Declaration Of Indepen-
dence ringing around the world, as
they closed that sublime document with
a prayer to Almighty God for the guild
ance of his providence we recognize in
this sublime poem Of freedom in the
history of the world the touch of the
| Spirit OF truth.
So is the mind led in the field of in
vention and exploration. So was Co
lumbus led across trackless sea. He
endured as seeing that which was in
visible, led by divine power. So was
Stanley led-Stanley, who has passed
through the dark forests of Africa,
climbed its mysterious mountains
when he comes through fen and moor
pld over crag and wild-at last, when
through years he reaches civilization,
he sends flashing round the world his
message of thanksgiving to the Spirit
of God, who led him through the dark
ness and through the wilds. "He shall
lead into all truth"
THE EVER PRESENT SPIRIT.
Third-This work, then, being living
work. the Spirit doing a continuous liv-
ing work Of revelation, revelation must
be of necessity progressive. 1t must
grow from stage to stage, until the full
ness of light shall be given to the world.
This was the work Of the Spirit after
Christ left. There were errors in the
minds of the apostles that had to he cor
rected. This was the work of the Spirit.
There were poor, weak conceptions of q
material kingdom; poor, weak concep-
tions of the divine principles given by
Christ. lsess were corrected and more
truth unfolded. This work must be con-
tinued, until the whole truth of Gods
| highest and divinest nature possible in
Its development in man is unfolded.
See how we have progressed for in
stance. In the days of Christ hear this
sentence: Servants, obey your masters" :"
Did Jesus mean to support the institu-
tion of slavery We cannot believe it,
No man believes it now. lie stood in a
world bound by q triple tyranny. Tho
great mass of the world were slaves.
With sad heart he looked upon all it's
misery, bnt he knew that the hour had
not come, and so he said, Servants,
obey your masters" II have many
things TO say unto you yet, but We cannot
bear them now. Howbeit when he, the
Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guido
you into all tho truth" And so he has.
Slavery has been blotted from tho his
tory of civilization.
The bishop Of New Orleans, in his re-
cent searches in the records of church
in New Jersey, made during the first
part of the Nineteenth century, discov-
cred an entry of five dollars for a lottery
ticket; no return was ever entered. We
turn to New Orleans now and see the
church of Jesus Christ standing in solid
phalan1 and graphing with the lninious
of hell in that terrific fight. We know
that in conference of tho south a reso-
luton was introduced some fifty years
"bo " lio ehtSt thab Ho HllnisteF WHlle
engaged in the work Of the ministry
should at the same time sell ardent
spirits. We see that church now in
solid phalanx moving to the destruction
of the saloon and to the rescue of the
world from the curse of intemperance.
So, Divine Spirit, lead thou on from
height to height, until we shall know
the whole TRUTH