The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-04-27

evident 10 you .na' mos
the world would never suspect him
| TO be philosopher It is such men as
| these that scout the idea OF self sacrifice
| as redeeming power, and that think the
church Is visionary III Is by men like
| how brain cells work will make men
| saints. that science H. disgraced, and hu-
| man thought brutalized. The spectacle of
man hunting for type OF higher man
| hood in mental philosophy, while the
| glorious life of Christ, never touched in
| human experience, Is projected across the
| heavens-such q spectacle is the climax
| up to date of the wise caught in his own
| craftiness. And are physicians all holy
| then? Does the knowledge OF the body
| eradicate sins of the body? DO students
| OF mind lose their prize and passion and
| covetousness? | thank God that the sal
vation OF the world does not depend on
] chemical tests and electrical experiments
on the brain, and the 'science of
thought" What child does not know
how to be better? What man does not see
in Christ glory full of grace and truth?
Above the college and its Investigations
hear a voice declaring that those who
love Him shall know the truth and the
truth shall make them free; l see multi
tude of unlovely men become lovable be-
cause trusting in no systems, nor insti-
tutions. nor laws OF thought, nor cell
affinities, nor dynamos, they
HAVE ASKED FORGIVENESS FOR SIN,
and learned the love of Christ which pas
seth knowledge, and been filed with all
the fullness OF God.
People complain at the failure Of Christ
ianity. Ii never failed where 1t was tried.
II is the lack of IL that fails. In spite OF
oil the patent plans to make man better
nothing but admiration OF Christine
power of God unto salvotion-bas wrought
the miracles of change in bad men, and
God is the only remedy for sin.
There Is no such thing as legislating a
man into peace. Governments furnish
surroundings, they cannot furnish n
character. Institutions need to stop at
the point where they begin to weaken
self-reliance. Governments should exist
TO. make men storing not weak. They can
only help US by casting back upon us the
burden OF our own characters; they can
only do something for men by making
them do something themselves.
BY what right do we call this worship
a service? This Is place for stirring up
our minds TO good works, which works
cannot follow until afterwards. The
movement OF the institution is not a test
OF the movement OF the spirit. i know
right well that many times as many good
works are done by the people OF the
church than appear on any records. Re-
cords are no gauge of spiritual activities.
The sacrifices that are not counted by us.
the lives of blossoi1ing sweetness and the
temptations lived down, and the charac-
ters that go up--we have very little know
ledge of these.
believe In the institutional church, but
i testify unto you this day that one of
the most outwardly successful institu-
tional churches OF the country seems al
most without spiritual power. Take
away its brass bands and its gymnasium
classes and its reading room and it's
science lectures and what there would be
left OF 1t you could put In a tblmble.
These are all good things; but so are
nigh schools and night schools ana tech
| nical schools But what are these? They
are the empty temple with the rended
veil. They are an attempt ut warmth
without a central fire. Not one of these
things is peculiar to Christianity, nor a
necessity to 1t.
They belong or may belong exclusively
to the things that pass away. tod forbid
that we should neglect to all mems
| stomachs when they cannot I'LL them
| without our help. But the Salavtion army
does not think man Is provided for
when his appetite is sufficed They call
him lost still. Meats for the belly and
the belly for meats, but God shall
bring to naught both it and them. What
sort Of country would be ours II every
where there was fullness of bread. IL
| is true that beast will not rage while 1t
Is asleep digesting good dinner; but the
world Is old enough, and has had enough
| experience 10 lose all faith in the re-
demptive power Of charity. Redemption
through committees and boards and COM
| missions, and councils and books is an
utter failure. What Is this city asking
fort What is her only salvation? The
| spirit of Calvary enthroned In her city
hall. the glorified manhood that gives
in the world he has NADER Selfishness
Is not practical; II is practical ruin. The
world does not believe in God as under
standing 1t.
said and said truly believe in an in
stitutional church. But there was day
| together, when there was no. organ and
| no book; no seats and no roof; no officers
| aud no committees-very little institu-
| tion, but oh there was power. There
was Jesus OF Nazareth, by the right hand
aoS Goe Gss and ngb pouring ", iGfh the
| place Christ not on the pinnacle of the
| temple, but bring him into the pews and
open the soul that he may flood 1t with
| his glory.
] plead for the prominence of inci-
vidual manhood. You can bury
and lose a soul in an institution Just as
you previously preserve papers in the
| pigeon hole OF desk, where you never
can find them; and the bigger the desk
the worse for the papers. You are one,
and perhaps you think small one-.a
poor stick" But stick on fire with
Gods love is mighty. Let the man be
fearless OF all things, and victorious over
all in God.
The measure of tire degree OF Gods
worship In the world Is the prominence
OF individual manhood. Evolution Ia
the scientific name for the rise of the
God-given spirit OF man above the thral-
dom OF institutions. IL Is the deliver
ance OF character from mold.
The growth OF man toward God Is n
succession OF passages through the rent
curtains OF old institutions, on and on,
TO another and another holier place.
There is no reason TO set fire to the cur
tains as we pass, por need we cast down
the ladders by which we have risen.
Somebody follows. What we now make
light OF was once very essential TO us;
and the simplicity OF a childhood faith
was needtul for the harder growth to
follow.
But, II we mistake not, the ages OF
complscent trust IL institutions were de-
based and 'tbssrhg ages. The middle
age church vas ara armor which became