Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1893-06-19
BACCALAURATE SERMON.
Rev. c. S. Cummings breaches to
Glass Of '93 Cony High School. 1
First d tAs kiad it naay ysars- -esaaita
ChsscA Crowded.

large congregation Sunday night when
Rev. c. s. Cummings of the Methods,
church preached the bxccalaurate sermon
to the elass of vs. Of the Cony High
School. This WAS the first of its kind for
many years and naturally attracted many
people.
The front of the pulpit was banked with
field daisies and ferns, and on each side
was a large vase, one containing snow balls
and the other scarlet peonies.
The members Of the graduating class and
the principal occupied the front seats in the
center and behind them came the three
lower classes and the other teachers.
The Congregational choir was presented,
singing, Us usual, to the delight of all. The
admirable musical programme included. j..
Bsrnaby's opening anthem, Awake Up, My
Glory, the response, Cast Thy Burdens
Upon the Lord,' duet by Messrs. Hawes
and Smiley and the hymn, Thy Way,
Not Mine, o Lord" and "Arm These, Thy
Soldiers, Mighty Lord"
Rev. j. S. Williamson, the pastor of the
church was present, and led i'll the opening
prayer.
The following is synopsis of Mr.. Cum
rning's sermon;
Text. Acts 9:6; Lord What Wilt Thou
Have Me to boz:
II is taken for granted that these grad
yates did not arrange for this service sim
ply because they wished to hear the already
wcllknown truths of the gospel reatiirmed.
For that purpose no special service need
have been held. But it is desired that
something be said that is adapted especially
to the age and condition of these young
men and young women just entering upon
the responsibilities of real life. The fact
that such service was thought of reminds
us that there are some needs of the mental
and spiritual nature that are not supplied
| in the class room as at present constituted.
A little thought makes this all the more ap
parent. There are problems not wrought
out upon the blackboard the solution of
which is as essential as the solution of pro-
blems in geometry. There are relations
that we have to God, to one another, and to
environment that it is as necessary for US
to understand AS it is to know the place of
different species and manifestations of life
in the long chain of creation. The imms-
terial nature has hungerings not satisfied
| by knowing the age of empires nor the
movements of heavenly bodies. Now if
this service shall assist these young hearts
along these or any kindred lines il will
have accomplished its object.
| There have been those, not a few, who
have argued that the one thing needful, the
great essential TO success, was that one be
a devout Christian. The trouble with such
statements is that Christianity is spoken of
in its most limited sense. They may be
true in the main provided we have "A just
definition of Christianity. But in real life
we often see the seemingly devout who are
evidently failures and the irrel'gious who
are conspicuousIy successful. Religion is
word of large meaning II is more than
the homage paid at stated hours to super
| ior Being. Once mems cOnscienccs were
satisfied by assembling in certain places,
by feasts and fasts held at the regular
changes of the moon, by keeping segment
of the time sacred, etc. Thus all things
were divided into sacred and secular. But
Christ led US to the reality of which this
was distorted shadow. lie turned On u
| light from heaven and hcnceforth the king.
dom of God is among men. lie taught us
that religion was not an act performed at an
appointed time. 1t was life itself. God
was everywhere. All days. not one only,
are His. All deeds are to be done as in His
service. The incarnation was not only
mysterious union of the human and the
Divine, but now there is to be an intimate
union of all heavenly and earthly things.
| Heaven is not to secularized so much as
earth is to be spiritualized. Let us keep
these thoughts of Christs mission in mind
as we go ON this evening,
You are at the threshold of life with
desire to succeed The condition of sue .ess
so important that it overshadows all other
conditions is suggested by the question of
the text, Lord, what wilt thou have ME to
do?" Answer this correctly and all other
questions have comparatively easy solu-
ton. But an error here will make every
step in life increasingly difficult. 1t 'uay
be said by way of parcnthssis that it is
agreed we have a legitimate idea of what
success is. OF course if life is to eat so
many times day, sleep so many hours of
the twenty four, and breath so many cubic
feet of air, then this service can have no
meaning Neither is success to amass
fortune, nor to attain throne, unless these
be in the predestined lot of those who reach
| them.
Let us turn aside from the main subject
u moment or two to consider one or two
subsidiary facts. The conditions of your
success are entirely unlike those that have
confronted the young Of many general ioDs.
You will see thi. if you refresh your mem
ories little. The Egyptian youth was
seldom called upon to solve the problem of
shat should be his occupation. That was
settled by his ancestry. The King was born
a King. The priest was born priest. The
husbandman, the artisan, and the shepherd
were such because they were born in that
particular class. There was no choice.
| The occupation was never problem. The
| same is true of the hereditary castles of
Asia. In Iudea, even, the priest was the
son of Levi, and the high priest was tie son
of Aaron. The feudal system brought from
Asia to Europe held many of the people
there in these iron chains for centuries
Ars'ocracy and many of the prevailing
customs of European countries at the pres
ent time are the offshoots of that old sys-
tom now dead. Fitness and adaptsbility
were not facts to be considered. But in
this age and especially in America all this
i. changed. The son of the President has
no rights nor privileges in society that are
not open to the son Of day laborer. There
fore you are confronted with questions
and laden v iih responsibilities not dreamed
of by the young of past generations.
Again, your sphere of activity is entirely
nnlike that OF other ages. The Roman
sought fame and fortune in the army. The
sons of patricians l,alped thus to lay the
foundations of that great empire. The
wealth of Rome was not the result Of her
civilization so nuch as il was the spoil of
war. To sabsiue armies, to conquer men,
was the path. almost the only path, to
greatness and to fame. The history of the
world as it is written is history Of such
Feeds. The military spirit ruled Europe
for thousand years. But this is past.
The man of peace now rules. The words
spoken so many centuries ago, "Subdue
the earth" are listened to now and ali
things are becoming new. Your sphere is
to conquer the forces of nature, to awaken
the sleeping giants lying on every hillside,
to make the energies Of the natural world
the servants of men rather than men tbeii
I slaves You are not 10 discover new worlds
across the sea. but to reveal new and
strange worlds within your own land.
| so the Rfeatest aeeHs are DOH accom-
p,i.bed on battlefishs. Arkwright did
more for mankind than Napoleon. Watt
Stephenson and Fulton are among the grea
ones Of earth. The splendor of mere con
querors will grow less and less while the
glory of these men and others like Howe
and Morse and Edison will become increas
ingly great
, With these conditions confronting yoy
the question of the text is q vital one
. eIord. What Wilt Thou Have Me To Do 2