The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-09-08
DEEP CALLETH UNTO DEEP
4 STRIKING AND NOTABLE DIS-
 COURSE BY REV. MR, LYNUn.

Delivered Recently at the United Com gregational Churoh-The Genius of Christianity and Its Methods.
 A most interesting discourse was preached in the United church, August 80, by Frederick Lynch, assistant pas tor. The topic was Deep Calleth Deep" At the desire of many the dis course is herewith printed in full, as follows:
 It is only at the touch of something high and noble that the heart responds at it's highest and best, Only great motives call out great actions, only high ideals call into being our noblest qualities. Noble and righteous causes call out the highest patriotism and awaken the heroic in our nature. This has been true from the beginning and is witnessed in our own experience, The heart responds at it's best only at the touch of something worthy of its best effort. Low motives and common ideals call forth only it's lowest and weakest efforts but at the touch of some high ideal, some urgent cause, or better still some great personality, there is awakened and called into ac- tivity the beautiful and divine qualities of it's being, which qualities lie, at least germinant, in every human heart
 In this truth lies the genius of Chris tianity and here is its method. It is the touching of the heart of man by the divine within, for like answers unto like.
 Here is where worship has had its power through all the ages. Worship involves the opening of the heart to the touch of something higher and larger than itself. The soul prostrates itself before a power above and beyond the resources of it's own being and awaits the entering in of that breath of the spirit which shall quicken it into like ness with itself So men have usually grown in the direction of that which they have worshipped.
 This is the power of our worship to- day. This is perhaps it's greatest meaning. It is the effect it has upon man rather than the glory it awards to God, I sometimes think; we come into the presence of Him Who Is divine and open our as yet unawakened souls to the holy influences of his presence, and as the spirit of God enters into it there spring forth to meet it that which must lie dormant until touched by the divine that which would not respond until spoken to in a language it might un- derstand. We come into the presence of that which is high and holy, pure and noble, as we give ourselves up to these things and that which cores ponds in our own lives Is awakened and leaps to clasp it's own. We open the windows of the soul to the light, and the light which Is within is kindled at the touch of its kindred element from above.
 think that in this truth also lies the secret of hero worship. It is not al- ways that we admire great men so much for what they have done as that in the presence of those who are brave, heroic and true, the courage and hero ism and sincerity of our own nature Is awakened and for the time being as- serts itself above all baser things And this that we call hero worship is a good thing in spite of the sentimentality which sometimes accompanies it. We like to see it in a young man or woman and suspect a lack of responsive power if it is not there. Many young man has had all that was noblest in him called forth by the presence or even the written record of some great man he has voiced and admired. For mean ness does not thrive in the presence of generosity, or selfishness in the pres ence of love; cowardice is ashamed in the presence of brave hearts and tn- purity falls away in the searching light of a true pure soul And the other and nobler qualities come forth to meet their own. We have all felt this power in the deep, rich noble lives we may have ourselves known face to face, or we have known almost as we'll through books and story. This power to inspire us to our best efforts and to awaken the nobler side of our mature: and we do well to bring ourselves in contact as often as we may with the heroic men and women of the world. Can young man know the author of "The Idyls of the King or William Mcclure of "A Doctor of the Old school,' without be- ing ever after a nobler man? No.
 Here, too, is one of the highest mean srgs of a great friendship I know of no greater awakening and quickening power in the0life of a young man or woman than the coming into it of true, deep friendship, a friendship with one who has those high qualities of character which call forth the best in those they meet. A wise person will be very careful to choose such an one for q, friend-one who will awaken the best there is within him. If I could have the choosing of the friends of the boy or girl just entering school or college, and I could place them in the way of making a friend of some deep, rich na- ture I might know, I should never af- ter feel but that they would have the truest there was in them brought to the light and that they would grow into all beauty of character. I can think or several of the men I know best who have become what they are largely through having rich true life touch theirs through a great friendship. And many of us can remember in our own exnerience how we were led to cherish what high ideals we may have, what aspira tions unto higher things, what ideas of manhood, what conception of the beauty of life, by the coming into our early lives as we stood on the threshold of our larger world of thought and action, of a rich, noble, in- spring friend.