The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1895-01-10

done we have this awful knowledge
that by doing wrong we have gotten our
eye wrong; that by using tool in the
workshop as we ought not to have used
it we have hurt the tool. That is the
awful fact of sin that no rhetoric or OPP
timism can change. SO long as there
abides Richard III crying, "A horse,
q horse, my kingdom for horsep' we
may think he wants only physical seour-
ity. But he is crying more deeply as he
utters his fear of Richard and Gods
voice in conscience, SO long it will take
O good deal of eloquent infidelity to get
away from the fact that sin is some-
thing in the world with which the hu.
man heart and the human mind have to
deal. Iwould entertain no kind of creed,
would have no philosophy of life that
did not meet this fact of sin, andI want
it met just where sin comes with all
that il has of fascinating and fateful
power.
Let it be met, then, with that poor
woman taken in her sin. Can you look
into that woman's face and think Of any
kind Of light worthy Of the name that
does not lead her out of the darkness aft
or that sin? l care not what this world
as planet has been and done until
man comes. Then / see the worlds orea-
tion and history have meaning. When
man has come to such an experience as
this woman has upon her, care not
what kind of light it is; it must not pre-.
tend to be Illuminating if it cannot il
Illuminate precisely that darkness. II
must scatter it, and it must make morn
ing where midnight is. beg you test
your creed this morning, test your reli-
gion, test your philosophy by its ability
to stand there and create melody in the
heart Of that poor woman. / want no
religion for life or death that cannot
meet a problem like this. / could not
worship a God who, because he had
made man and woman free, who, when
they had served in the use of that free
dom, had turned from sin like that
and said 81 have no help for you, no
comfort. You have sinned against right.
eousness and cleanliness, and it is all
done forever. "
Ol N
cannot understand how that dark.
ness can be lighted up without light
Of peculiar kind. There must be love
"a love incarnate in man. Now we get
to that last phrase in our text, "He hath
the light of life. Oh, it must be life.
/ could not take doctrine as cold and
barren and dry as l could conceive only
n doctrine to be and put it against that
woman's burning heart and her failed
life and tell her to lean on that. Mol
No doctrine can warm a human heart.
/ could not take philosophy and ask
her in the midst of her agony and sor-
row to learn with me its vocabulary
Perhaps she cannot understand these
things. The only thing that that woman
can understand now is o heart beat
That is all. The only gospel that can
come to her is the gospel of loving life
that is divine, human life, life lived
with flesh just like our flesh. Now we
are getting to the problem. In her flesh
she has fallen. Humanity must bring a
divinity Of love and pardon to her, such
fieshly humanity, such Davidhke hu.
manity, humanity that can hear man
answer and say, Thou art the son Of
DavidW She must have something that
will answer to the cry Of the human
flesh that needs to be redeemed. That
is the problem.
Must Have Incarnate Love.
Oh, my friends, we must have an in
carnate love. Not love like the at
mosphere, not love like streak OF
glory, not love like the pillows Of the
autumnal sunshine falling down upon
the ground. This is human being We
must have light and life-the light
Of life. That alone can illuminate life
Do not tell me of your theory. Can you
live it? Has it been GvedH No theory
can live for you that you cannot live
No theory can get to me that does not
come to me in flesh and blood. We must
have somebody with flesh and blood to
come here and carry the great fact to
this woman's soul that God did not
abandon the human soul when he gave
it liberty; that God counted ON the aw.
full tragedy Of sin, God gave to human
ity from the first "a lamb slain from
the foundation of the world" Gods
love that created is Gods love that re.
deems. There Christ stands by the side
Of that woman, purity by the side Of
impurity, flesh unstained by the side of
flesh stained, love of Christ by the side
Of human love, triumph by the side Of
failure and he says, i am the light of
the world.
This, then, dear friends, is the gospel
Of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 1t
comes to You and TO me this morning
Over the hills of /, 900 years and across
oil the darkness he has found his way,
and he says TO us today, if we will but
hear his voice, Il am the light of the
world "