The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-03-25
"WAL KING WITH GOD"
Yesterdays Sermon at the Olney
Street Church.


Yesterdays Sermon at the Oiney
Street Church.
Rev. Cyrus A. Roys of Uxbridge occu'
pied the pulpit at yesterday forenoons
service at the Olney Street Unitarian
Church. His theme was, "Walking with
God" Following is brief abstract oil
the sermon:
"Walking with God means moth
ing of pietism, but 1t involves
conservation, trust, confidence and cour-
age. To walk uprightly one
must feel the sacredness OF the
gift OF life which is his. He is not his
own but belongs to the infinite organism.
In coming into being purpose came with
him, something for him TO do which no
other can do for him, which to
leave undone is to produce discordance
in the world. You have seen households
where this was illustrated where one be-
gins TO hold his or her special duty lightly
and after time neglect it altogether.
1T may be that another takes up the
fallen lines and does the duty
but not without feeling OF
injustice and lurking sense
of resentment that it is another's
duty. Then harmony is gone from that
household. The spontaneous character Of
mirth is there no longer, for one is not
true to oneself, is not true to the others.
He is not consecrated 20 his duty, and, in
other words, does not hold 1t as his sacred
obligation to do his share.
'It is the same in the wider sphere OF
life. Someone begins by neglecting his
duty as a member OF society and then, un-
consciously perhaps, but surely, begins to
make demands on society which are un-
| just, since another or many Others
must do his part. BY and by
he begins to feel that he
has no duties but many privileges, and the
| burden growing heavier and heavier on
| the community it murmurs and is discor-
| dant and full of turmoil. All goes wrong
because portion, at least, do not recog-
nize the sacred character of human duty,
that there are no privileges but what are
earned by toll aud conflict.
"This, then, Is what mean by consecra-
tion. 1t is TO make your life holy by
holding every duty holy, by putting
nothing on to another that belongs to
you. Thus the consecrated life is the
one that holds every power and
every function in trust. The mind
| must be kept healthful, vigorous,
pure IL care and foresight and probity
will do 1t. The body like the~mind must
be an instrument ready for the high hest
uses. Excess, either physical or mental,
is a sin, which cannot be wiped out or
| overcome except through suffering and
Christening. Pay what thou owest is the
| command that is constantly coming up
| before US. and the man who holds his
| life as sacred, his whole Sing as a gift of
| God, knows that he must pay to the
utmost ere he can keep his power of body
and mind to the highest uses. This Is
| consecration like the conservation OF God.
He holds himself to the perfect way and
cannot turn from it. His ways are
s tabished in intregity and no impure or
unholy thing abideth in Him.
"Walking with God also involves trust
1t implies that we trust ourselves to His
| guidance and let Him teach us the things
needful. Confidence and trust are blend
ing qualities and confidence in self is not
complete without the conviction that it
has sure foundation which can not be
be shakon. 1t seems that this implicit
trust should give the courage, and
yet have seen men who have not the
courage to walk manfully with God. They
would keep little back. He can clear
the way-tear down the temples which
human vice has erected. He can do it
and there Is no need, they think,
Of putting themselves to the disagreeable
task and getting a volley of abuse there
by. They forget the calling which is
theirs-children OF God. The child that
Is true partakes not only of the
Fathers nature but enters into his work
also. We must not shrink from the
severest task. God is surely too just, too
gooc, to do our work for us. We must do it
ourselves and only SO comes new life. IL
we shrink because of the lack of courage
we only show that our conservation and
our trust in the Highest and our conf
dence in ourselves is not perfect.