The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-03-16
Morning Sermon by Rev.
Wallace Nutting.
Wearing the Garments of
Christ Every Day.
The Fountain of the Worlds Best
Thoughts.

Bregatlonal Church yesterday ana a large
congregation listened TO it.
The text was from John: 10: %, "a.
"The soldiers, therefore, when they had
crucited Jesus, took His garment ana
made four parts, to every soldier part;
and also the coat: Now the coat was
without seam, woven from the top
throughout. They said, therefore, one to
another, LET us not rend ii, out cast lots
for 1t, whose il shall be.
The sermon follows:
The event here described made a vivid
impression upon the Disciples who beheld
IT,, for IL Is one of the few facts narrated
by all four of the evangelists. 1t seemed
significant to them, as to US, that m
engaged in crucifying a convict should
be willing to wear His garment. This In
dicates several things: That the garments
of our Lord were good and intrinsically
worth saving; that lie who had worn
them was such person that even those
who executed Him felt no shame in wear
ing His clothing; that they were willing
To gain advantages from Him without
proper respect for His character; that
they were at first careless of His suffering,
and could gamble under cross; that they
valued externals more than character;
that they had eyes for the clothes rather
than the man.
1t is pleasant that those who followed
Jesus, ministerlng to Him from their
property, had provided thus honorably
for Him. Loving hands, pure eyes, pray
ing lips had been engaged over this inner
garment-the tunic of too great price
10 be given to any one as his part of the
spoil Josephus says that the garments
of the priests were thus woven, and
though our Lord was not priest some
one had felt His priestly qualities so
strongly as to wish to send Him out
oil han tNrfA
ticipfee that soldier whose mission was
to take life should be clothed in the gar
ment OF the Savior of Life.
Wearing the garments that is deriving
advantage from what the Lord left Us,
without discerning their origin; their
WORTH the significance, without gratitude
is no uncommon thing at the present day.
Measures of charity, OF reform, OF gov
ernment, aspects of faith and duty, Telig-
ious ideas which we call innate, hopes
which we think we have reasoned out and
originated in Ourselves, social advantages,
humane feelings, educational stimulus
and many other modern developments
which we trace to some lower spring
really flow from that fountain of the
WORLD BEST THOUGHT
and action which overlooked the city gate
of Jerusalem and which has been the in
spiration of the best elements of civiliza-
makes the difference between the Frank
and the Turk. /. To strengthen a bad
cause by an appeal to the holy name of
Jesus is To gamble at the foot of the cross.
When the editor of a religious newspa-
per advertises some speculation, lending
Il the dignity of his name and titles--one
or more-that is gambling over Gods
name. Often, also, L take up newspaper
and find some patent nostrum advertised
alongside of some notable clergyman's
portrait and an autograph letter from
the original, who thus wears cheaply the
garments of Jesus. The faith in our Lord
Jesus was given US to keep sacred as the
apple of our eye. TIC call God to witness,
at every little incident that we speak
truly, is like using an old Bible for wrap
ping paper. 1t is useful purpose; 1t was
useful to the soldiers to obtain a gar
ment, but 1t was rash irreverence.
III. But il this were all how glad we
should be. Unfortunately we meet ii in
the hands of agents with weakly religious
books, which some publisher is working
off on the public, taking advantage of
their devout spirit to make money. They
have called "sacred concerts, " taking
to themselves some Christian names or
pretensio ms rs to cover for making some
poor
PEOPLE WHO SING FOR LIVING
work seven days in the week. This inter-
the giving of pills to children in sense
Intended to disguise the taste. 1t reminds
of the ignorant Wall street broker,
who, in ordering library, could not say
what he wanted, but told the dealer to
sprinkle in some Bibles and Testaments
TO give the thing a neral tone.
III. The ostentation of wealth along
with religIon-the elegance of religious
equipments, ungodly music, that chants
the glories of a Savior in which IL does
not believe, the dissipation of the Easter
period, under the cover of religious fes-
tivals, these are manners of wearing the
garments of JESUS, garments stolen,
utilized and therefore blasphemed, To
talk Christianity in any way and not TO
live ii Is ''stealing
THE LIVING OF HEAVEN"
We shall see some who understand but
little of the words, "Godliness is profit
s6le, for the life that now is" How
profitable? The people who seek to make
money by means of Godliuess have very
little of IL. Suppose a necklace of pearls,
placed on form, proud, prayerless un-
thankful. Such woman would doubt
less be shocked at such transaction of
the soldiers under the cross, but does she
not wear the property of the Lord? What
is casting pearls before swine? A string OF
pearls about the fourfooted creatures
neck could not be respected because the
beast is made OF the earth and lives III
the earth; but the human creature. car
able of the aspirations oil Elijah, OF look
ing up into the face OF God, is doubly
bsstial without the recognition of the
hand that decks the lily and hides the
gems and pearls in his world. There Is a
precious humanity that takes no lustre
from q comparison with n quadruped.
SO surely as any sentiment has come TO
me from the life OF Jesus so surely must
I direct that sentiment toward the pur-
poses OF Jesus. The world which thinks
has almost risen to an universal approba.
tion of the splendid doctrines OF our
Lord. 1t is, however, the part of weak
human nature to set forth these doctrines
as if they originated with itself. But all
things around us declare that we were
mace for God. As the highest use of
jewel Is to rest upon human 1gure--to
CLEAN from the nobility OF forehead,
and as the jewel is cut FOR that very pur-
pose, so tho human creature Is TO find his
glory in setting forth the beauty, the
majesty of our creator. IL, therefore, we
are made for the Lord it is every mans