The herald., 1893-07-24
,SOMEOF YESTERDAYS SERMONS,
|aev. A. s. Clark Talks of Christ
and John the Baptist.
The Discussion and Sermon at the
Church Of the New Era.
M Bowman Gives Discourse ON the
Immortality of the Soul-Mr.
strsd7ey Breaches from
Hebrews.

pal church, corner OF Flower and Pico
streets, preached before large congrega-
tions at both OF yesterdays services. A
feature OF this church is its splendid
choir. 1t is fun vested and has donble
Quartette. The music rendered is of q
qigh order and is given with full ez-
preston and perfect harmony. Mr..
Clark took his text from part OF the
nineteenth verse OF the eleventh chap
ter of st. Mathew, Wisdom Is Justified
Of Her Children.
His talk was contrast of the life OF
John the Baptist and that OF Jesus
Christ. First as regarded by the Jews
and then by the Lord himself. John
the Baptist, the faster and abstainer,
living in the desert on the outskirts OF
civilization, was impressed with the
sublimity OF his message and was de-
clared to have devil. Our blessed
Lord go social and kindly, in touch
with humanity, was declared to be q
pfuttonish man and wine bibber, the
friend OF publicans and sinners The
cautious criticism of the Jews denounced
both of these characters.
Our Lords procedure ie to declare
that these objections were groundless
and there ia no need to choose. Our
E0rd and His forerupner did exactly
right. The austere garb of the Baptist
and the attractive manner OF the mas
ter justified by wisdom another want OF
true religion, and why? Characteus-
tics, circumstances, words, taste, lie,
partially determine under God the COM
plexion Of ones religious life.
John the Baptist's mission was to be
the herald of the Messiah, Of the king re-
former of the times, and his cry of re-
pentance necessitated that he should
come from his seclusion and deliver his
solemn message.
Our Lords mission was to make God
known, to bring in reign OF peace, to
establish the kingdom, to reconcile the
world to the Father. As His influence
was to regenerate the world by the
touch OF His life In contact with other
lives, publicity. and general intercourse
were needful.
The vindication OF both appears in
their different messages and surround
ings. Our Lords rule OF justification is
generally recognized and followed.
Scientists do not always attempt to rec.
oncile laws OF nature. They are satis-
fed il nature owns and makes use OF
them. OF opposing and apparently dis
cordant forces we have the centrifugal
and oentripetal notions bouyaney and
gyavitation, destruction and gravi-
tation; of forces, wastetulness and
husbandry, wearing and upbuilding-
seemingly antagonistic, they are all re-
solved back to the one law of regularity
and uniformity in nature. Just as the
seven prfsmatic colors which seem to
have no affinity for each other when TO-
cussed combine the one ray Of pure
white light. 1t is so with expounders
OF the law. When jurors are at loas to
reconcile apparent discrepancies and
contradictions between decisions, solu-
tioIfs are found in their harmony with
the constitution Of country, the fret
precedence. Religion pursues the same
plan. Wisdom is but another name of
God and His truth. To Him we look
and turn and bring our difficulties. All
hard questions, all knotty points and
all difficulties are justified by His
word.
In God and in Him alone do we find
the solution of the problems of divine
justice and mercy, foreknowledge, free
will and predestination, and the agency
of Christ in heaven and in the sacra-
ment and the various schools OF Chris
tian thought. Above all, the various
types of Christian character find their
justification in the life of Jesus Christ,
himself. For there is bat the one
Christ, whoee life reproduced in human
hearts is but reflex after ell of His own
supernal character. No one life can
bold the Christ in the fullness OF His
being, nor can the mass of humanity
but initiate a portion of His perfec-
tions. There is bat the spirit, and yet
there are differences of administration
So that John is called the apostle of
love and Paul the heroic missionary of
the cross. True it is that wisdom's
ways are ways OF pleasantness and all
her paths are pence, and however ap-
parently contradictory itfs, mercy and
truth are met together and righteous
ness and peace have kissed each other.
The congregation Of Trinity Methodist
church are keeping up very we'll this
season, yesterdays attendance being
the largest of any ever seen to any reg
ular service which did not include any
special feature. The pastor, the Rev.
w. b. Stradley, occupied the pulpit.
His text was taken from the first verse
OF the sixth chapter. OF Hebrews ::
Therefore leaving the principals OF the
doctrine OF Christ let US go on into per-
fectlon." Mr.. Stradley divided his SER
mon into two parte. discussion OF
what We we're to leave. and secondly,
what we we're to pursue. We were to
leave old blessings as we'll as old eins.
A success is sometimes greater calam-
ity than failure in that successes be-
get selfconfidence while failures fill us
with self-distrust and humility.
A christian man ought to have some
thing other to tell of than the
blessings of long ago. The triumphs OF
today ought to be brighter and better
snsn those OF yesterday. We ought to
be miners delving deeper and bringing
pp more precious treasures every year,
rather than goldsmithe beating eingle
nugget into plates go thin and broad az
to veneer whole life.
In speaking OF what we were to pur-
sue he said that Gods purpose was that
there should be found in us the image
and likeness of Christ. and after this we
ehould continually aspire and try to
attain unto it by communion with Him
and by meditation upon Him.
We ought TO have our still hours az
well as our active hours when we >sit at
His fest looking to His eyes and listen
ing to Hrs truth until coming forth ou,
garments shall smell of myrrh, alloes