The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-11-11

small invested fund.
Mrs. T. e. Lowell represented the La
dies Circle, which was first ORGANIZED
to secure the parsonage. ON October
1875 the society was founded as the La
dies Aid Society. In four years $249
resulted from the society's work. Be
tween 1887 and 1891 the last payment wa
made on the parsonage. since 1913
S1232 has been raised, and $4,000 are tn,
net earnings of the society since its or
ganization.
closed, the church had reason 10 DO proul
of it's hundred years.
The meeting closed with hymn No. 76S
Chestnut street church was crowded tx
the doors at the morning service yester
day for it was known that Rev. Edwin
Fl. Hughes of Newton Centre, Mass, the
brilliant brother of Rev. Matt S. Hughes
"a former pastor-would preach the ser
mon in the place Of his brother, detained
at homo by illness in the family.
| After beautiful organ voluntary by
DR.. C. o. lilies, the fine chorus sang
with marked effect the anthem "Jerusa'
lem My Glorious Home;" followed by
the singing of hymn and prayer by
| ll0Vs LIZ. W. LIZ OloIh VI 4NON VIII OOAUlc,
Mass The Scripture lesson, hymn and
collection followed, after which Rev. Mr..
Hughes delivered the sermon. Mr..
Hughes took for his text Psalms
CX%XVII, 4. Chow SHALL we sing the
Lords song in strange land?' His
theme was
CIRCUMSTANCES AND EMOTION.
The Psalm from which this text is
taken contains a deep and harsh contrast.
1t begins with tender melancholy, but
ends with fierce passion. Its first words
are heavy with sorrow; its middle words
warm with patriotism; it's final words
black with revenge. 10 understand the
sorrow is easy, to admire the patriotism
natural, to approve the revenge i'm
possible. Yot out of this strange and in
consistent medley of feelings, We may
gather principles which apply to every
country and every century. One of these
| speaks to US from the question OF the to 1t
and suggests the strong bearing which
mere oircumStanc have upon the
emotional life. The sentiment Of Zion's
song was true in Babylon. The Jewish
hearts were just as loyal by the
| Euphrates as by the Jordan; singers and
music were the some as OF yore But the
circumstances were changed. The land
and the city were not i'll harmony with
the peoples says and spirits. The
| captives desired to return to worshlpful
| surroundings, and SO in the midst OF I'M
| sympathetic babylon while the sacred
meters were stopped in their throats they
said to each other with sorrow - How
shall we sing the Lords song in strange
landY'
! ohurchly reunion and congratulation.
They recount history; SAT- history 1T is
true. but the history of the ancient
church The edict Of Cyrus has been
published. The people weary of Baby Ion S
monotonoas plains and slow rivers
journey until their eager eyes behold
their native hills and their ears catch
again the music of Jordan's stream. One
| the first of these returned exiles now
beholds the old scenes. When he left he
was youth; now he is and old man. He
beholds a great and horrid waste. He re-
members the WEAKNESS OF captivity. He
takes his harp and runs unsteady hands
over it's strings and brings out the tunes
of grief but moves on to a wilder spirit
until at last the notes are stormy and
thlob with vengeance. He recalls how
dreary Babylon made worship. The sad
willows served to hold unused harps. The
heather gathered round and m ocked say
ipg-"Sing Us Zion's Song" No
wonder that they could not sing! No
wonder that they asked each other the
despairing question:" How shall we
sing the Lords song in strange landT'
Ali this suggests in principle and by
way Of con trast, that which makes this
occasion SO memorable. Circumstances
helm or hinder emotion. Surroundings
aid or impede worship. The spirit of
man needs the help of special places and
times. The hard and emotional person
NAV object to your reyerent thought of
this building and may ask why the one
hundredth rather than the 99th ami
versary of this body should be observed.
me answer would be the same as that
suggested by the Isrealites' question.
Conditions effect souls. Things move
hearts Dates are inspirerS of memorial
gratitude. This principle therefore un-
derlies the purpose of this anniversary.
For there is nothing palmer than that
surroundings influence natures. We may
rebel at the idea that plains and rivers
Influence feelings; or Oh the other hand
we NAV be grateful that God has made
circumstances to aid selves. But the fact
is fixed. Things and times push their
mower into the highest regions of our be-
ing.
Tt is of course, possible to take extreme
views. The strong and rugged in spirit
NAV insist that now should conquer any
condition. He will maintain that adj
vanees has come as men have freed their
emotional life from hindering surround
ings Abraham rose above Chaldea,
Moses above Egypt, Paul above narrow
Judaism. The missioner es sang mid
night songs in the Phillippian jail, and
neither police, lash, stocks nor dungeon
could check their sails emotion. Men
have shouted amid martyr fires. Why not
then may men sing zion's songs in
BabyIon? And this extreme view leads
not only to the resistance of adverse, but
also to the surrender OF helpful surround
ings 1t may sock to pull down Jeru-
saiem's temple. and to tear away the
ritual. Years ago it banished Christmas,
Easter and Good Friday. 1t insists that
the religious spirit walk without crutches.
It is an heroic ideal; and it is always
folly to quarrel with an ideal Perhaps
II will some day be met, but not until we
all finally enter that city which the rapt
seer be held in it's descent from Heaven
whose inhabitants had grown to such
spirituality that they needed no house of
God and so chad no temple.
But there is another extreme which
nuts too much stress upon mere things