The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1894-10-27

which filed his soul; and in whose
spirit he ed,-the critic has not dis
turbed that; we may hold fast to his
faith in man,-no conclusion of the
critic has shaken the fact that Jesus
loved and trusted in man; che knew
what was in man." he knew his weak
nesses and his needs; he knew his
possibilities, and his aspirations; be-
yond the present struggle he saw the
triumph of the final victory over every
evil; his faith in God the Father gave
him faith in man the child. We may
| hold fast to the facts of his ministry
being one of sympathy and helpful
ness; he carried hope to the despair
ing, and faith to the doubling; he led
the children of men to larger life;
he taught them to resist temptation.
He carried lis message of love and
his ministry of self-sacrifce to the
humblest of earth, to the outcast and
the sinner. OF all the sons of God
who have led men little nearer to
the divine truth, surely he is worthy
to be called "the Son of God" If we
turn from him to whom shall we go?
In the light of our past history,
may we not we'll believe that the Uni
versalist church will ever be ready to
put its theories to the proof, to give
due heed to every we'll grounded
conclusion of the scholar, but while
doing this it will still hold fast to the
work of its Master, and shall go out
to carry to all men the same faith and
hope and love that was in him, using
every method and every truth, that
the poor and wretched may find re-
lief, that the hearts of those in sorrow
or despair shall sing with joy; help
ing men to larger, nobler, better life.
In all our provings, we have found
no new mission for the church. The
same great needs still confront her.
The mind of man has conquered new
realms of thought. He has gained
more and more of control over the
| forces of nature. He has learned the
harinonies of the universe and can
produce the sweetest of music at his
will. He can build palaces and adorn
them with paintings and sculptures
of wondrous beauty. But his nature
remains unchanged. He still yearns
after "God, after the living God"
He still with all these great achieve
ments needs the faith, and love and
righteousness of the Gospel message.
And had the church always been true
to the spirit and thought of Jesus,
the hearts of men would have opened
to her message. Can there be any
hope for the permanency or better
ment of our political or social systems
except through men born anew to the
same high sense of duty that was
Christ's? Where shall we find the
power to conquer the strongholds of
vice and misery, which so appall us,
except through the sacrifices of those
whose hearts are warmed by his love?
We may pursue our Investigations
into every field of human activity and
everywhere we shall find advances,
progress stability and the con-
servation of what we have gained to
be dependent on the forces of the
spirit. The whole fabric of our mod
ern civilization; such perfection of
government as we have attained, and
any further improvement in the same
direction; the whole system of COM
merce; the organization of our indus
tries; the dealing with the great So
cial problems that confront us; the
carrying on of our educational efforts;
the effective dealing with criminal
and pauper all depend upon the spirit
ual forces, far more than upon the
material. They all depend in the
last analysis upon the integrity and
courage and perseverance and self
control of the individual. Organiza-
ton is powerful instrument, but it
is an instrument for evil when con-
trolled by evil men. Nothing stands
out palmer in recent history, than
that organizations soon fall into the
hands of the corrupt and unworthy
when those who at heart desire better
things neglect their duties; and this
while permanently true of political
organizations is true of those larger
organizations which we term States
and nations. Eternal vigilance is
the price of liberty" has long been an
acknowledged maxim in the science
of government. But eternal vigilance
for those things which are pure and
peaceable and of good report will
only be exercised by those whose &C
tions are governed by something
higher than self-interest. 1t is while
We clean that tho apaov coxro Tho