Birmingham age-herald., 1895-09-09
THE WORD OF GOD ExP0UNDED IN BIRMINGHAM PULPlTS Synopses of Sermons Delivered at Some of the Principal Churches on Beautiful
 Autumn Sabbath.

Key. John Barbour, pastor of the South
 Highlands Presbyterian church, preached
 from Psalms Wi, 12: Thy vows are upon
 me, o God: I will render praises unto
 Thee"
 He said: There was never a people or
 an age which did not recognize the beau
 ty and binding force of special engage
 ments or VOWS. and there never will be.
 It is the very law of social continuance.
 This is to human life what cohesion is
 to matter. Business could not go on if
 we were at liberty to disregard the obli-
 gations of contracts and promises
 Friendship would cease and trusting
 hearts would not walk togetheE to the
 marriage altar. The temples of the an
 clients were hung with native offerings
 pledging faithfulness to the gods that
 protected them; and this is the beauti-
 full type of those affairs of the heart and
 the life which binds us as by so many
 hooks of steel
 Everybody is under vows-vows of
 business. vows of friendship and love,
 vows of soldiers, VOWS of membership in
 societies of all kinds.
 Every mans character is at stake in
 the way he treats his VOWS. His own
 conscience will pronounce upon him, and
 any defections will pass into the very
 fiber of his nature.
 Now, I want to speak of a mans re-
 ligious vows. Are they of no binding force? So much is made nowadays or
 personal independence. Men take up and lay down opinions in religious matters so easily that there is a tendency to just disregard the feature of obligation Tn all this class of cases. And whilst men would never think of multiplying busl- ness debts at their own caprice or count ing the vows of honor and friendship
 as nothing, they seem to think they can pick up and lay down religious op- ligationS at pleasure
 Now I lay down this principle: No man can relieve himself from VOWS sol emnly made except by transaction or
 a conviction of equal dignity with the original act.
 No man can just stop church attend ance, neglect official work and abandon the life of devotion and duty to which
 he solemnly pledges himself and not be guiltless. It is a matter of continual astonishment to me how people can dis
 miss those things lightly-people seem ingly so conscientious in other things. What! is man of honor not to be man of honor in religion? Can woman be tender and true in all her circle relations and treat her obligations to Christ as not touching her character at all! Now these vows are made to God, and He will surely enforce them. We have given them a character by our own act, and we are estopped from pleading that they are of no account. They are Just N'SN' special rights in us, which, If He be a God of any character at all lie Will surely require at our hands.
 There is a great outcry these days against pledges in religion, and yet there were never so many pledges taken as to- day. There were never so many societies. with grips and felloWshipS and pledges. I believe it is in part the development in social life of what men miss in the churches. Something that binds and ranks them according to faithfulness. Now, I believe in pledges. If the Cath ollie world has oyerdone them the Protes- tant world has neglected them. They certainly make large part of Bible re- ligion. The covenants of the old and
 new testaments embody the principles Of religion and pledge the faithfulness ot God and man. revival of faith in pledges would work our social regenera- tion To what is due the current laXity in matrmony but to the ideas diSsemina- ted by the abomnable cratic literature of the day that men and women may enter into the marriage state With lb- erty to quit when passing fancy or other attractions dictate? The very sal vation of society is at stake in the doc urine that matrimony gives the parties rights in each other not to be cancelled except according to the law of God. It is not a matter of continued admiration. It is a matter of affection and obligation which one owes to the other because the affection of the other has been invited and vows have been exchanged. Cerain- ly we would have a wonderful revival of religion if we would just go back to where we broke our VOWS of devotion and service and resume them again. It does not need that great and dramatic displays be made in the churches. A re- Vival of simple homely faithfulnesS | to the natural and necessary duties of re- l ligon would work wonders.
 There are some signs of promise. The great EndeaVor movement of the young people is a magnificent testimony to the powers of the pledge. The success of that society depends upon the pledged faithfulness of it's members to little du- ties. If church members and church of fcers would take down and read now and then the vows they took it might work a wonderful change.
 What has become of those promises made by some of you on beds of illness or by the bedside of your dead? Can you set these aside because made to nop body but God? Some day these broken VOWS will rise up to accuse you. Let us go, as did Elijah. upon camel back to the old altar and there amid it's ruins rebuild the altar to the true God and see if God will not send down the | fire of acceptance on our offering and re- freshing rain upon the land.
 First Methodist Church