The Portland daily press., 1894-08-20
CHESTNUT STREET CHURCH.
Rev. DR.. Bashford Addresses His Old
Practitioners.

Yesterday afternoon a large and attentive
audience gathered at the Chestnut street
Methodist church to listen to Rev. Dr., j.
W. Bashford. former pastor of the church.
and now the president of the Ohio Wesleyan
University. Rev. ]. Luce read from the
nneeenth Psalm and offered prayer He
then remarked that DIR. Bashford was too
we'll known to need any Introduction, and
the Doctor, after few pleasant words,
gave as his text from the fourth and fifth
verses of the eighth Psalm. what is man
that thou art mindful of him. and the son
OF man that thou visitest him? For thou
hast made him little lower than he angels,
and hast crowned him with glory and
HONOR
The speaker showed by illustrations that
every species of animal life makes war
against those of another species. as if it was
theiI belief that they were the centre of
the universe. Man. poor, insignificant be-
ing, seems to think that he is the centre of
all things. Up to few years ago men be-
lieved that this earth was the centre of the
universe, but astronomers discovered other
planets,and as he science of astronomy adj
vanced, and the instruments were i'm
proved, fresh bodies were discovered, some
thousand of times larger than this planet,
and ii was then that it seemed as if the
whole theory of theology was going to fall,
but in time it only strengthened our love
for God t. think that he could find time TO
look after us on this poor little planet, for
it is admitted by all astronomers that these
other planets must be inha bited, for God
certainly could not have made them simply
for practice, for the sake of making this
one so much smaller than the others. and
placing it SO far from all others, for astro-
nomy teaches us that this world is on the
outskirts of the settlement, or the sparsely
settled district, for as the instruments of
man have been able to penetrate into
space the thicker become the heavenly
bodies.
Think how rany more much larger
planets are that are only short distance
from the earth, that is short distance
measured in the creation of the universe,
and to think that God should have CON
sidered us worthy of notice. Men are daily
trying to prove that manssat some .tilne far
distant was originated from some greater
or lesser matter. but we are taught that
man was made in the image of the Saviour,
and is it not strange that there should be
this human aristocracy when men were all
created equal, and that when after the
pUSSlplo lOuI ScOfo ana ten years that is
allotted, men will once more meet as
equals. This human pride is probably the
greatest sin that we have to overcome.
Why is it that God should recognize you
and me in this great universe?
There are over two dollars spent by every
man and woman in the world for the sup
port of the armies of the world for the kill
ing of men, and only about forty cents per
individual for the schools, and yet if any
one was to come along and tell us that we
are not civilized, We should treat him as a
crank and fanatic. God pity us, that is if
We are not too small and mean for pity. Mr..
Lincoln said that he was always ANXIOUS to
present the side of his opponent as strongly
as he would present it himself, and would
then proceed to overthrow it The knowledge
that there is an unattainable serves to keep
man in his place. As Parker we'll said, every
finite matter runs into the infinite. Dr..
Bashford spoke of the word duty" which
may extend to the degree of giving every
thing UP to God, and for God. He then took
up the word love- and spoke of its finite
and infinite meaning. 1t may mean even
death ON the cross for God. Reason, inf
nitelysused means the acceptance of belief
in God.