The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-03-25

The sermon of Rev. w. D. Mabry at
the First Methodist church yesterday
! morning was based on the following
text:
For God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever belieyeth in him shall not
perish, but shall have everlasting
life" John. Sic.
He said the world. even the Christian
world. does not fully appreciate these
words. He did not know who had been
to the congregation. Had they felt
hfe's responsibilities were too heavy
Tor them to bear? Had the heavens
! seemed dark? Had cares seemed to OPP
press them so that they knew not
which way to turn? Had the past
! seemed a failure, the future hopeless?
Had they felt like giving up the strug-
gle in despair? If they had these words
should come unto their hearts like a
ray of bright sunlight striking through
rift in the clouds.
1t is no disparagement of one grand
peak to say there are others of that
range higher and grander yet. So it is
no diSparag cement of the other thoughts
we CLEAN from the scriptures to say
that this is the highest, sweetest
I =.
Christian people have always learned
first and sung oftenest those hymns
which are most beautiful. So Rock
of Ages, cleft for me" and Jesus,
lover of my soul, let me to thy bosom
fly will be sung SO long as there is
sorrow or longing to be expressed by
humanity. AS such hymns have been
picked out. so the disciples selected
this beautiful though and went out
singing it to the nations. They will be
sung forever.
In such words as these there is no
room for sadness. Before them all
gloom will float away like mists be-
fore the rising sun. They are an anti
dote for all sadness, and for all the
sins and crimes of the world. No per-
son ever committed an unworthy act
with those words in his heart. No I'M
kind word was ever uttered by any
human being who had those words in
his or her soul Unkindness and crime
exist because those words are not
ringing in humanitys heart.
No matter what may be his outward
life, deep down in the heart of every
man is a desire to be pure. If they will
hide these words in their hearts the
tempter will flee from them. If these
words will not prevent crime and cru
city, then there is no preventive in the
world. In them is all the practical and
doctrinal and practical theology the
world needs to know. What is there?
There is as much proof of the exist
ence of God as the scriptures ever
teach. The scriptural writers never
condescended to proof of that. They
assumed that any man with brains
would know there was a God. Every
where in these writings that truth is
assumed. Besides this there is the great
fundamental truth of Christianity, the
atonement of Christ. There is the doc
.tr-ir,a 80 oi ~ -icf he f1~11fh
of eternal life and eternal death. What
more does mankind need to know about
religion? True, there is no plan of sal
walton. But we have been given no
plan. No minister was ever sent out
to teach the plan or philosophy of sal
walton. They are sent out to teach sal
vationi We are told in these words
that our personal salvation is to come
through Jesus. That is all we need to
know.
We are told the sweetest, purest per-
fumes come from flowers when they
are placed under the highest pressure.
SO the best and sweetest truth comes
when these words are subjected to the
highest law of emphasis. 1t is doubtful
which gives most pleasure; to find
some new truth or to find some new
phase of an old truth. But both give
pleasure. You may give these words
the greatest pressure of emphasis,
each change some new and deeper
thought will come to you.
Take the five words, God so loved
the world" and place the emphasis on
the first. What world? One in which
all is good and peaceful? MOI This
world, full of bitterness and strife. Place |
the emphasis on the first word. Is it
the devol, who loves hatred and crime, |
that loves the world? No. 1t is God, |
to whom sin is hateful. Place the ac-
cent on the second word. What does it
mean? When man endeavors to utter
the unutterable, to express the mex
pressable, he uses this little word. The
mother, whose heartStrings seem |
broken by the death of a darling child, |
pours out her whole unutterable grief |
in the cry 81 loved him so muchn' No |
language could express the great, the
unutterable love God bears to his chill
dren. /
First Conversational.