The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1892-04-23


900, was completed and dedicated. In 1891
the new ediice was entirely destroyed by
fire, as was nearly one.half of the city of
The Dalles, many of the members of the
church loosing their homes. Nobly have
these members rallied again to rear church
home even before providing residences for
themselves. Christian friends and fellow
citizens, the first fourteen years of my life,
was under Congregational church training.
My father and mother were members of old
Park st. Church, Boston. My feelings are
therefore, very tender towards this church,
and in its meetings and associations / al
ways feel at home. It's congregational form
of government Is like that of the Baptists.
1t is the only form of church government
that permits man to be Christian and
nothing else. As one has truthfully said:
''The things to be gloried in were not the
institutions of the Congregational church so
much as her ideas and ideals; not so much
what she has achieved as the spirit
of life she has breathed into the life of hu-
manity. The spirit of the past is larger
than any of the institutions she has created.
Puritanlsm, the grandfather. so to speak, of
Congregationalism, was more anxious to
preserve tine past than to win a golden
future. The victories of Congregationalism
were those OF the Pilgrim spirit. Puritan
ism puts iron into the blood; pilgrimism
supplied the magnetism. The Puritan oc.
cupied himself in trying to keep himself
right; the Pilgrim went forth to create a
nation" Touched with the fire of the
Holy Ghost the Pilgrim was filled with the
ambition of conquering the world for I'm
manuel. Out of these ideas have grown
the great missionary enterprises of your
church In foreign lands, among the Freed
men in the south, the Indians in the west,
among the destitute of our own people
throughout the United States, and the great
Northwestern Educational Society's work
in the new states and territories,
which grand work I can bear testi-
mony to as among the greatest
work of all denominations. What our
country needs to-day is to respect in every
man the image of God, help him TO the
highest development of the life God has
given him. Along this line is the guiding
principle to be found in the proper settle.
ment of the relations of labor and capital.
The question between employer and toiler
is not one of dollars and cents merely. The
sacred element of personality enters into it.
The workman is brother man, not ma
chine and to be SO treated. The supreme
value of every soul and the possibility and
duty OF making it perfect in the image of
God, is the master motive In all missionary
and philanthropic effort. To meet the
universal yearning after truer brotherhood
we must in our daily lives present Christ to
men as a loving, divine and human tender
hearted reality-loving as He did the image
of God in the individual man. It behooves
our Congregational church to make more of
its distinctive denominational polity and to
labor for its own institutions. It should as
PiAO W bS ehO pt8OPiOo eoHts Ii tuC pdob IL
has, like all our churches, neglected the
masses. Let us reach down and lift them
up. The strength of the coming church
will lie in its sympathy with the common
people. Any church that is not peoples
church is not Christ's church.
''And the poor you have with you Away"
The ruling motive force of fraternity is love;
it is the nature of Christian loye to help the
most helpless, the deformed in body, the
feeble.minded, the moral refuse of society,
for whom none care. Jesus gathered around
him the weakest. the lowest, the publicans
and harlots, the social .outcasts, tine no.
bodies of His time, according to the pre-.
vailing standards of the world. The whole
ministry of Christ was ministry of love to
all the sinful sorrowing lost sons of men.
He was moved with compassion for the mul.
titude because he saw them in Sin distress,
scattered abroad as haying no shepherd"
living mean, Ignoble, wicked lives. ignorant
of God and the place which they occupy in
His infinite heart, with latent spiritual
powers, capable of development, with
solemn responsibilities of moral agents. with
features of the divine image not yet wholly
efaced and that might be restored. How
strongly did He urge by word and deed, in
life and death, the duty Of self-sacrifcing
love for men, lot merely for the souls of
men, but for men, women and children in
all the relations of life; and how impressive
ly did He emphasize, in the sublime pro.
gramme of the Judgment day, the decisive
Importance of deeds of love and mercy.
'.Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one
Of the least of these my brethren ye have
done it unto me-" Oh brethren! do we not
hear the Lord calling unto US who profess
His name, to work for the uplifting Of our
fellow men, to the saving of their souls.
Let us do it by example in our daily life; by
bur touch with them, by practical sympa-
Thy with them in all our relations. Giving
for those out of Christ to see, to
;ake hold of and to be blessed in.
Ny text is, "If SO be ye have tasted that
'he Lord is gracious to whom coming as
INTO a living stone, disallowed indeed of
men but chosen of God and precious, 'sYe
also, as lively stones, are built up spirit.
lal house, an holy priesthood, acceptable
INTO God by Jesus Christ" ''Behold lay
n Zion chief corner stone-elect, prec.
Gus; and I say unto you that he that be-
ieveth on him shall not be confounded, or
Unto you which believe He is
precious" Oh how preciousl He is the
,hiefest among ten thousand, the one alto.
gether lovely, the bright and morning star.
IS he as precious to you my friends of the
mystic tie" ~ or others who are .present
lere to-day? If not, let us square our lives
~ His teachings, making him our perfect |
in all things, ''the man of our
ounsel." If we can say this friends and |
brethren then will we. be able to sing
love thy kingdom Lord
The house Of thine abode
The Church our blest Redeemer saved
With His own precious blood.
For her my tears shall fall
For her my prayers ascend
For her my cares and tolls be given
Till tolls and cares shall end.
Beyond my highest joy
prize her Heavenly ways
Her sweet communion solemn vows
Rer hymns Of love and praise.
Sure as thy truth shall last,
To Zion shall be given
The brightest glories earth yield
And brightest bliss in Heaven.
Ind also with inspiring faith to say