The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-09-23
A Sermon ON CONTINUITY
Delivered by Rev. DR.. ". n. Pcarcc
ut Elm Park Church.
EARNEST AND THOUGHTFUL
Tells What the Means Arc OF Securing Our
Continual Abiding In the Conscious
Enjoyment Of Gods Love and
How 10 Secure Them.

How TO Secure Them.
A good sermon for Christians to have
heard was that on continuity,
preached in Elm Park church yestcr-
day morning by the pastor. Rev. DIR. w.
II. Pearce His text was from Juhn, xv,
>, Continue Ye In My Love lie said:
"You will readily discover that me
precious truth here set forth Is that ol
unbroken continuity in the How OF that
divine love which falls In Its gentlest
and mig hticst beams only ON the heart
that asplres toward God. The whole
trend of this divine word In It's brilliant
and positive uttciunces goes To show
tla't ;. Is possible for the Christian.
chat It Is one of his high and large privi-
lcges tn make his whole life one long,
sweet, conscious, abiding In the love
OF God; that all through the stretch of
the days and months and years. with
their varied experiences. he may yet
feel himself God enclosed, and the sun
light of divine love shedding infinite
lustre all over his heart.
''BGt what an awful contrast to this
splendid possibility and high privilege
do We often experience in our own lives.
Instead of an unbroken line of light
what do we find? A dot of light. and
then stretch Of blackncss, and then
another little sparkle. scarcely visible,
short lived. followed by another lone
track of murky midnight! buy few of
US have anything but CLEANS of sun
shine, watery. weak. cloudy. brief. and
then the doleful veil is drawn over the
blue and We walk in the valley of
shadows and sigh out the lonliness of
our hearts among the mists of discon-
teyt. Oh, let those of us who have felt
A. 4 Ia. . ,l,t
of Gods face and that our souls were
being summed with His love. see to 1T
that the highest purpose of our re-
deemed life Is to unite there severed
links and turn them into continuous,
unbroken. resplendent line of holy fell
lowships with God. And In this We will
find the true secret of all true blessed
ness. the very threshold of heaven.
lie win Have kindicd u Fire.
"If we walk in the peaceful enjoy
ment and conscious possession of the
infinite love of God. we will have kim
died a fire upon the altar of our hearts
which will keep the whole life i'm a
glow of delight and inspiring hope, even
in the blackest night of time: we will
hav0 extracted the soreness out of ev-
cry wound. the bitterness out of every
sorrow and disappointment: we will
path: we will have made the thunder
and crash of our earthly disturbances
the background on which shall sound
in infinite and glorious combinations
all the majestic strains that eXalt.
purify and thrill We will have brought
all passions and tastes and feelings
and ambitions into such perfect ac-
cord as to make our lives responsive to
any call of duty or sacrifice of love,
and we will have brought ourselves
into rest. wherein we dwell like the
inhabitants of some deep sunken dell
which lis all still. without a breath to
move THE thick fragrant blossoms on
the loaded trees even when the winds
are raving and the waves laundering
on the desolate and rocky coast.
"But the question that pushes itself
to the very front is this. What are the
means of securing our continual abid-
ing in the conscious enjoyment of Gods
love" Faith would very naturally
suggest itself as first. All that men
ever did well or nObly or lovingly in
this world was done by faith. 1t is the
real basis of everything that is great
and worthy; it has revealed and glori-
fed every hero: 1t has sustained every
martyr at the stake as the red-tongued
flame licked up his breath; 1t has
charmed more grief to rest than all
the philosophy Of THE world: ii has re-
manded to their dungeon more felon
thoughts. more black doubts and
wasting anxieties than there are sands
on the seashore 1t has sung courage to
the vast army of the disappointed; it
has poured balm and consola ton into
the heart of captives: 1t has cheered the
mighty host of reformers in the heat
of their perilous conflict, and it has
n int N ha riyh IL, L.,
the moral heavens myriads of names
to the enraptured beholding of men
and angels that would otherwise have
been lost in obscurhy.
Records OF the Triumphs Of Faith.
THAT remarkable eleventh chapter Of
Hebrews, with It's long roll of different
achievements graphically narrated. and
with its splendid list of men and women
of every age and of every quality and
condition. slaves and freemen, leaders
and followers. warriors and statesmen,
saints and heroes. Is the llustrious and
luminous record of the triumphs and
achievements of faith. There are num-
berless forms of energy, but none with
out heat; there are myriad colors of
beauty, but none without light: all is
dark and black till the sun shines. So
universe of possibilities of goodness
may spread out before us and the great
heart of the infinite God may open to
us with its rapturous joys and holy fell
lowships of delight. but not one of
them can be realized unless we have
faith. for without faith 1t Is impossible
to please God. Oh. we never live sub
timely. we never live in the golden
atmosphere and among the divinest
revelations of God to our poor souls,
until we live In the argument the elo-
quence and the poetry of faith. and, I'M
til our faith becomes the music and
victory Of our life,
But we not only need faith to keep
US In the love Of God. but we also need
the spirit of enlargement and growth.
No man under the stars ever reached
the extremity, or the Alpine summit of
goodness by n single leap: IL IL Condi-
toned on continuous growth. If you
are urged to escape from polar winter,
with It's ice and snow and frost and
barrenness, to tropica summer. with it's
warmth and flowers and birds and
fruits, II Is not meant that you shall
accomplish the journey at one stride.
When you require your child to become
perfect as a musician, you do not in
tend that In one day his uncrafty fing-
ers shall lIberate the angel strains that
are imprisoned In the musical instru-
mcnt, but you do intend that he shall
master the gamut and grope his way
along the scales through days and
weeks and months and years TIL at last
the instrument shall tell Its secrets to
him and shake with many voiced de-
lights at the touch Of his friendly hand
SO, when Christ tells US to become per-
feet as our Father In heaven Is perfect.
He admonishes us to grow In race, to
press toward the mark, to work out our
a a lyu lon and moi until we ron r1,
heaven, with the gates of pearl closed
behind us. will we be perfected In every
shade and element of our immortal
oh n rn n ar