News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1894-09-20

Oni lue Lofu duu has many Ialr ana
beautiful daughters, but the fairest of
them all is she whose ways are pleasant
ness and whose paths are peace. Now,
my brothers and sisters-for / have a
right to call you all SOL know some
people look back ON their ancestral line,
and they see they are descended from
the Puritans or Huguenots. and they re-
joice in that, but l look back ON my
ancestral line, and l see therein such
mingling and mixture of the blood of
all natienalities that / feel akin to all
the world, and by the blood Of the Son
of God, who died for all people, l adj
dress you in the bonds of universal
brotherhood.
l come out as only servant bringing
an invitation to party, and put it in
to your hand saying, Come, for all
things are now ready" and l urge it
upon you and continue to urge it, and
before l get through l hope, by the
blessing of God, to compel you to come
in.
We must take care how we give the
invitation. My Christian friends, !
think sometimes we have just gone OPP
posite to Christ command, and we have
compelled people to stay out. Some
times our elaborated instructions have
been the hindrance. We graduate from
our theological seminaries OH stills, and
it takes five or six years before we can
come down and stand right beside the
great masses of the people, learning
their joys, sorrows, victories, defeats.
We get our heads so brimful of theo-
logical wisdom that we have to stand
very straight lest they spill over. Now,
what do the great masses of the people
care about the technicalities of religion?
! What do they care about the hypostatic
union or the difference between sublap-
sarian and supralapsarian? What do
they care for your profound explana-
! lions, clear as a London fog? When q
man is drowning, he does not want you
to stand by the dock and describe the
nature of the water into which he has
fallen and tell him there are two parts
hydrogen gas and one of oxygen gas,
with a common density of 80 F., turn
ing to steam under common atmospher-
ic pressure of 212. He does not want o
chemical lecture on water. He wants q
rope.
Gone Metaphysics Mad.
Oh, my friends, the curse of God on
the church, it seems to me, in this day
is metaphysics. We speak in an I'M
known tongue in our Sabbath schools,
and i'll our religious assemblages, and
in our pulpits, and how can people be
saved unless they can understand us?
We put Gu our official gowns, and we
think the two silk balloons tapping at
the elbows of a preacher give him great
sanctity. The river Of Gods truth flows
down before us pure and clear as crys
tai, but we take our theological stick
and stir it up and stir it up until you
cannot see the bottom. Oh, for the sim
plicity Of Christ in all our instructions
the simplicity he practiced when
standing among the people he took a
lily and said, '"There is lesson of the
manner I will clothe you, and point
ing to a raven said: "There is q lesson
of the way l will feed you. Consider
the lilies-behold the fowls. "
[ think often in our religious instruc-
tons we compel the people to stay out
by our church architecture. People come
in, and they find things angular and cold
and stiff, and they go away, never again
to come, when the church ought to be a
great home circle, everybody having a
hymnbook, giving half of it to the one
next him; every one who has q hand to
shake hands shaking hands-the church
architecture and the Churchsurroundings
saying to the people, Come in and be
at home" Instead of that, | think all
these surroundings often compel the peo-
pie to stay out. Now, let us all repent
of our sins and begin on the other track
and by our heartiness of affection and
warmth of manner and implication Of
the spirit of God compel the people to
come in. HOW shall we lead sinners to
accept the Lord s invitation? think we
must certainly begin by holy life. We
must be better men, better women before
we can compel the people to come into
the kingdom of Jesus Christ. There
are fine essays being written in this day
about science and religion. | tell you
the best argument in behalf of our holy
Christianity. 1t is good man, good
woman, life all consecrated to Christ.
No infidel can answer it. Oh, let us
by holy example compel the people TO
! come in!
| The Safe Path.
read Of minister Of the gospel who
was very fond of climbing among the
Swiss mountains. One day he was climb
ing among very dangerous places and
thought himself all alone when he heard
a voice beneath him say: Father, look
out for the safe path; am following"
And he looked back, and he saw that he
was climbing not only for himself, but
climbing for his boy. Oh, let us be sure
and take the safe path Our children are
following; our partners in business are
following; our neighbors are following;
a great multitude stepping right on in
our steps. Oh, be sure and take the right
path! Exhibit Christian example and
SO by your godly walk compel the peo-
pie to come in.
think there is work also in the way
of kindly admonition. do not believe
there is person in this house who, if
approached in kindly and brotherly
manner, would refuse to listen. If you
are rebuffed, it is because you lack in
tact and common sense. But. oh. how