The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-02-08
THE wICKEDNEss OF MAN.
Rev. w. w. Coe breaches at the Second
Presbyterian Church.

Rev. w. w. Coe breaches at the Second
Presbyterian Church.
At the Second Methodist Protestant
| church yesterday morning Rev. w. w.
| Coe, the pastor, preached upon the wicked
| ness of men and the necessity for the de-
velopment of a true Christian spirit His
congregation was large and the singing
was unusually good. He took his sermon
| from:
Jeremiah kill Because no man layeth il to
heart.
jeremiah, he said, was no pessimist.
Yet he saw continually the inevitable re-
suit of his peoples wickedness, and with
pathetic tenderness sought to warn and
save them. The Jews, however, were in
different. ''They have trodden under foot
my portion" says the prophet; "they
have made my pleasant portion desoIate
wilderness. They have made it desolate,
and being desolate it mourneth unto ME,
the whole land is desolate because no man
layeth it TO heart" Mr.. Coe applied
these words to some of the problems of
the times, as follows:
!. To the indifference OF the unoonverted to
the plan OF salvation as it Is revealed in the
gospel.
. TO the indifference of professei Christians
toward the joys and duties of Christian disci-
pleshiP
3. TO the inability of the gospel ministry to
reach the uuconverted and 10 lead the converted
into the fullness of the Christian life.
The indifference of the uneonverted is not
caused by reason of ignorance save in heather
lands aud the dark plague spots of Christian
lands the gospel appeals to all We deal not
with those who have never heard the gospel.
God 10 Just, and will care for them according to
his loving kindness and tender mercy. But
here in this city, in our congregations today, are
men and women who are listening as they have
listened many times before, impressed perhaps,
but not quickcned 10 action. Eyes have they
but they do not see; ears yet they do not hear.
"W no hath believed our report Is the wall of
Isaiah aud il finds an echo in the heart Of every
one who In tho full conviction OF the truth of
the GOSPEL proelaims it, and then, alas! sees his
message utterly disregarded because no man
layeth ii to heart
1.-THE heart is deceitful above all things, aud
desperately wicked" This explains why men
will recognize the necessity OF right living aud
M the same time refuse 10 practice It, Their
hears will not accept the convictions OF their
iutellccts They would lay tho truth 10 heart,
but the heart will not have it. Like Paul,
"Wheu We would DO good evil is present in us"
Now We conclude that the same cause that him
ders men from answering the call to a higher
plane of morality hluders them also from sc-
Ceptiug the gospel o. Christ They assent 20 the
truths of the gospel in a superficial kind OF
wav but they DO not lay them 10 heart. In
everything they see the desraoiiity ana good
effects of religion. but when il comes TO apply
ing 10 TO themselves they viii not do It In
other words, they recognize the truth with their
eyes their ears, their inteleets, but they Go not
lay il 10 heart.
our second problem, viz, the indifference OF
Christians 20 the Joys aud duties OF CHRISTIAN
disciplinship, is answered in our text Many OF
Us do not get into he life and soul OF Christian
ity We fail 70 tind its riches aud its pleasures
after we have started in the expectaut search Tor
them. And 80 the church and Christianity has
become 10 many uniuviting. The church ought
TO be So attractive taai men will ty to II as the
doves fy TO the windows The church Is mol
pure enough. IL j. not loving enough, u IS NOT
uuseldsh enough 10 attract humanity WITHIN lIs
portals. And the reason is that we who are Ia
the church are not sufficiently beyond those
who are outside in real happiness or IN the I'M
selfish Performance OF our duties = make the
difference between them and US plain These
are truths we must lay to heart, We must trust
Christ TO perform what We in our ignorance
have been trying 70 10 No efforts OF our own.
except the giving up OF ourselves 10 Him, VIII
bring Us a step nearer the ideal lie
(Which OF you, Says he, by taxing thought,
can add one cuoit foot to his stature After
the surrender 20 Christ. there must tie fun
conservation 20 His service. TeunySon says.
"onr wills are ours to make them Thine II
is possible then, by an act OF the will 20 eonse-
crate ourselves TO Christ's service. surrender
and conservation bear the fruit of iaithfglness.
These are truths we must lay 70 heart
our text selves our third problem. We who