The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-12-09
Young Men and Young
Women "Off Duty"
Sunday Evening Address by
Rev. Wallace Nutting.
The Path of Duty and the Demands
Of Citizenship.

The fourth in the series OF Sunday
evening addresses on "Man al Rest and
at Work" was delivered by Rev. Wallace
Nutting to large congregation in Union
Congregational Church, last evening. The
theme was, "Young Men and Women of
Duty-Looking Upward.
The text was from Col. iii:2: "Set your
mind on the things that are above"-
Think upward - The address follows:
our language is not remarkable Tor con-
ciseness. The nine words OF this text are
translated iro n three Greek words. Those
thres words are epigrammatic and arrest
the mind. We may well suppose when
the Colossians received this letter from
Paul that they were reused by this hnal
appeal TO their nature which i translate,
think upward!p The Gre TX pbiioso-
piers have similar idea, Socrates In his
farewell TO bis friends, and Plato In bis
! republic, speaking of he upward direc-
tion Of thought. But they lacked per-
son who should call their thoughts up
ward. They could only advise men 10
high thinking because Il was tor their best
good in the world. They did not under
stand that Lille would be embodied, i'm
self that upward way, whose Inspiration
would set the worlds thought and look
upward
Edward Everett Hale in his famous phrase
LOOK up not down. look out not in,
look forward not backward,' has put in
modern English this ancient advice. But
the motive of it is found in grander form
! where we are told TO look unto Jesus as
the originator and perfector OF our up
ward looking faith. In other words you
cannot geJ people to look up unless you
show them mighty motive, an adequate
ohJect TO view, an end TO attain unto,
rising step into life. And this is right.
For II ycu and are to have a religion
WE WANT A GREAT ONE.
We want a cult more tangible and inspir-
ing thsn set of resolutions written
down in our note book or a we.1-fram
motto on our walls.
SO when Paul wrote 10 a people much
engaged in trace and formerly engaged
in many base practices he says: You are
raised with Chris, from dead apd bad
ra't. ihnk upward, then, look up, set
your mind hign, time your spir I to a
rising scale; Christ ascC nded, therefore
look for HIM where iiC will appear Seek
through glory and honor and interruption
eternal ilfe.
Our citizenship IL celestial. This
means much IN these days when there is
so little that is heavenly about politics.
But true man faith al, loving, belongs
to the Kingdom OF heaven ana his think
governmeut. The aspect Of the man the
oirection OF his look will be 10 the better
wo.ld, and .he better side OF this world,
He will carry the aroma OF his filth into
oil occurai .onJ; the refrain OF noble
and undendmg song unto all recTea-
tions; the light of an inspired gaze into
all studies; an upward trend into al
cogitstion, and an inGomitable lifting
power into all aims, all actions and all
sJCiai relations.
he set OF good man Is in that drec-
ton. When you hear him speak or fel-
iow.hip with him, you ieel the tonic at
mCsphere ard you step more lightly: you
see more, for he shows he world TO you
in its true lie alton to the infinite.
lie not deceived. The devil is not the
only one who shows of the Kingdoms Of
the world and the glories OF them from
an exceeding high mountain. The rea !!
relations OF things appear on the spot Of
| Christs Transportation where our little
! planet is shown to u as one station of a
| chain OF worlds through which the
LIFE OF GOD PULSES,
and on which lie works he wonders Of
| His love.
! The particular point OF The advice 10
! think upward this: 1t is tendency in
! men 10 think downward uellwErd If you
/ p.ease. They live IN ether mems and
/ their own sins. They recrtate in fulfill
! les. Trey look at the under side of life
( is negative and dying ASPECT. They fill
/ u cir eyes with things that will not keep;
! they forget that their world is micro
scopic part o, the world OF God, and al
/ though they were MADE TO spring from
the planet, and TO use this planet as a
/ view point of ths universe OF God, they
! think downward into il, they bury Them
] selves in the b ind thoughts they them
selves have raised like for about them.
80 then, think upward Here is a
! fallible mortal who go,s a.tray. DO not
insinuate your thought into all the parti-
cJlsr vlleness of her sin; do not urn your
/ cights upon it and hot rumintte on its
! dead mess, its Shiny and convoluted
/ leng, h, because he soul was not made to
! think downward.
4 he literature that opens the windows
| into atodes full OF sin ia guilty of break
ing the law OF the upward look 1t is
not necessary for the education OF hu-
/ man soul that nc shoul be soaked i'm mud
to learn il il will adhere TO hin. 1t was
a heather idea. and bad one, to dip a
man in the river Styx TO make him i'm
mortal.
The gist Of Christianity then is in
/ thinking Of the tetter side of every SUBJ
! iect- noting
ITS RELATIONS TO GOD,
not devils. The leisure time is tie time
when most of our moral tendencies are
! given. Therefore. at such times let the
occupation be upward. There are pee
pie who like 10 20 about the world like
| the boy who lifts up boards to find the
! bugs and slugs under them. Don't inves-
tigste the devil. The subject Is exhausted
| and SO are the Investigators Moses " ith
an eye TO the upward said TO the Lord
"Show ne, pray thee. thy glory
! DO not reverse the process and ask Of
the world to exhibit 10 you its dia abolsm
This is not what the world reeds. The
| pictures of distorted faces should not be
irade by the photographer; and no more
should pictures of distorted lives he ex-
ahmed by the investigator. The Kingdom
OF darkness should not he encoura ytd 10
show itself. The kingdom OF hell has al
ways been at hand. Jesus came saying
"lhe kingdom OF heaven Is at hand. IL
Is poor business looking Into the bad as
poets OF things. Let Us not poke our um-
brellas at wild beasts, even when they
are Gagged, to see how raving they can be
| IL they trv. There IL bpSt side ,ven ~ a.