The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1893-07-20
DR.. MOORE'S ABLE SERMON
Delivered at the First iGSDytGrian
Church Sunday Morning.
THE WHOLE MAN. HIS SUBJECT.
Let us Hear the Conclusion of the
Whole Matter: Fear God and Keep
His Command; mentE. for This is the
Whole Man''-Fcclesiastes 12;13-
An Abstract Of His Discourse.

sydney. Va. preached Sunday al
the First Presbyterian church mere
one of the finest sermons ever heafc
in tn. Twin-City. Following is ar
abstract Of his discourse:
EcclesiastcS 12:I3: Let us hear the
conclusion of the whole matter; feal
God and keep his commandments, 1ol
this Is tile Whole man.
The possessions of Solomon were as
great and his experience was as va
Tied as those Of any man that ever
lived He had all those things thai
arc commonly regarded as capable OF
nferring hapT mess upon their posS-
tSSOr He had genius and learning
He had position and power. lie nad
riches in uni mited abundance. lie
commanded all the sources OF WoFIuly
pleasure. Nor was is enjoyment re-
stricted by conscientious scruples-
morally, as well as otherwise, he play
ed the whole gamut. He made ac-
tual trial of every phase OF human
conduct He tried righteousness ana
he tried iniquity. He served COD
and he served satan. He built the
temple, and he debauched the people.
Here are lights and shadows indeed,
such as are found in no other single
life.
Now suppose we had the testimony
of such man as that, after such an
experience as his, in regard to the
real ends of human life, in regard 10
what pursuits and possessions can
give true happiness to man, would IL
not he of priceless value to any young
man whose life still lies before him?
with all its splendid possibilities
Suppose we had all the wisdom and
experience of Solomon packed into
81 clio statement,
manhood, what a rule of conduct that
would be for any person to lnscrIbe
upon his memory in letters of light.
ssSuppose we had it" did / say We
have Here it is: Fear God ana
keep his commandments, for this IS
the whole man." Not wealth, not
power, not learning is the true end or
life the attainment OF which can
round out to perfection your charac-
ter and happiness, but to fear GOD
and keep his commandments" This
is the utmost output of the observa-
tiOn and experience of Solomon. This
is the supreme exploit of his wisdom.
Have you observed that / leave out
a word as l read that familiar text
The English version reads thus.
Fear God and keep his command
mentS. for this is the whole duty OF
man" But if you examine your BIZ
s.duty'' is printed in italics, indicat-
ing that it is not in the original but
has been interpolated in the transla-
tfon, and like some other insertions in
the English version, it is enfeebl'ng.
What our version says is true, but it
falls far short of the sublime state
ment of the original: tFear God and
keep his commandments, for this is
the whole man" This inward prin
st I, I'll hi ItyxTn F6
tice of obedience make up the whole
man, the ideal man, man in his en-
tirety, man as he was when lie came
from the hand of his Maker, bearing
the image of his Creator. And no
living creature is a whole man unless
he does fear God and keep his COM
mandments. This is only another
way Of saying that religion is essen
tiaI to manhood. Without it no hui
of the word. He may have genius and
learning and ositiOn and power and
possessions, but unless he has relig-
ion he is not whole man.
The reXt witness to this truth,
whose testimony we cite, is the Eng
lish language itself. The word
whole" is radically the same as the
word ''hUly'' The words heal, health,
hale, whole, wholesome, and holy are
whole man then is the holy man, and |
no man is whole who is not holy. |
Here we have the testimony of the |
English race to the great truth that |
in order to perfect manhood the spir- |
itual nature must be sound. The |
very choice of the word ''holy" to ex-
press the highest spirituality proves |
it.
But how hard it is to realize an alb
ctr hcf
structions, man needs model to
work to, pattern to go by, an en-
bOdiment of his ideal. Can any such |
model be found? Is there anywhere |
an incarnation of ideal manhood? Yes, |
there is. In that young Gallilean |
whose fear of God and whose Obedi- |
ence to his commandments were per-
feet, and who is therefore the holy |
man, the whole man, the perfect man, |
as he was when he left his Creators |
hands, and who is therefore called the |
S ecOnd Adam.
But notice. The very fact that he |
is unique-the very fact that in the |
whole history Of the human race
there has been but one perfect man
but one who filed to completeness the
outline OF Gods ideal-proves that
there is something radically wrong
That desperate and universal malady
W hich puts US beyond the healing
power of any mere truth whether alb
stract or embodied. And so we come
the next great truth. Christ is
more than perfect example. He is
an almighty Saviour. To fear God
and keep his commandments we must
have "a spiritual power within u.s.
That power Christ supplies. Here
oh hn+
Christ, through the power of Christ,
by faith in Christ. Ghus and thus
only can we fear God and keep his
commandments. Thus and thus only
can we become whole men.
YoIr personal relation to Christ
then becomes matter of tremendous
moment. VIII you not thoughtfully
consider that relation today?
Whole men are solely needed at
such a time as this, men who are fully
resolved to obey God at any hazard;
men who will not lie; who will not
steal; who cannot Gbe bought; who
will not sacrifice every interest, pub
lie and private, to their own interest;
men who, when elevated to positions
of authority, will not betray the trust
reposed in them by the people and
turn loose upon 1aw-abiding citizens
red-handed anarchists Justly con-
QculuCu W III pt ioOilIlCHt IOI Lie ulcu,
who. when entrusted with the local di-
rection of Worlds Fair, will not de-
liberately violate a solemn contract
With the United States Government
and break the eighth commandment
as well as the fourth in opening the
gates on the Lords day; men who,
when business disasters are thicken-
ing around them and one house after
another goes down with a crash and
their own property is in imminent
peril, are fully determined to lose
everything else rather than their