The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-12-14
A RED LETTER DAY.
Peoples Church at Auburn Holds
Sunday School Rally.
r v. Wesley c. Haske!ps Address on the
Subject, "Perfect Boyh00d."

| pies Church at Auburn. The occasion was a
| Sabbath school rally. The services began at
| IL o'clock There was singing by the school
! and selections were also rendered by the
| church quartet The secretary called the roll.
| nearly 200 responding. Then followed a short
history Of the school by the superintendent.
The pastor, Rev. Wesley c. Haskell, gave an
| inspiring address, taking for his subject 1.-The
Perfect Boyhood' text, Luke ii, 10: "And
| the child grew and waxed strong, filed with
wisdom and the grace of God wa, upon him"
| Mr.. Haskell SAID in part
| 1t was little child who inspired that re-
markable poem which has been called the
high-water mark Of English composition:
| "Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting;
The soul that rises with us, our life's star.
| That hath elsewhere its setting
And cometh from afar
| Not in entire torgetfulness
| And not in utter nakedncss,
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
From God, who is our home"
And yet this is only poets fancy. We be-
live many things in poetry that we do not
credit in cold pro'e. We would never attempt
in prose TO unravel the mystery of our birth.
One day the child reaches up its hand with
new startled motion ana touches the moth
er's face. She looks down into the eyes of
the child, and for the first time catches the
spirit look OF recognition. That look marks
the birth OF soul. And the spiri. locking
ont through those eyes, whence came it
Wordsworth answers: 1T came from God"
And there we let our question rest. But
there are questions which we cannot relin-
quish until they te answered. For what
purpose was that soul brought into existencef
What is TO be the destiny of that little childf
How shall life be developed in order that
Gods purpose be wrought out? We paint
our pictures, write our books and do our
work according to certain acknowledged
standards of excellence. But men cannot
learn 10 live from books Ony life can teach
life. The commandments on tables OF ,stone
failed to save the world; even failed to save
the Jewish nation. But the commandments
wrought into the life of a man have given us
Christian Germany and England and Ameri-
ca. Our standard of excellence for living,
then, must be a life, and the concensIs Of the
worlds opinion is that that life is Christ.
I'm Him was life, ana the lifJ was the light of
the world" Christ is something more than
the Saviour of nen, something more than
great teacher who reveals 10 us the truths of
6od. He Is the standatd of excellence. He is
Gods idea OF man. And so when repeat
my questions concerning tho little child you
will at once see where the answers are to be
found. The profoundest answer that has ever
been given to those questions is in the words
OF my text-"And the child grew and waxed
strong. filed with wisdom and the grace OF
God was upon him" We are accustomed to
think of Christ as the standard of excellence
for grown peopls. He is also the standard Of
excellence for children. The child is father
TO the man. The perfect manhood Of Christ
presupposes perfect boyhood. "The child
hood" says Milton, 'shows the man, as
morning shows the day" Only few verses
are written in the New Testament concerning
Christ as a boy. But one flash of Tightening
will reveal whole landscape. And this one
verse of the text gives us "A large, clear out
look on the development Of Christ as a boy.
Ths text emphasizes three things-phy sical
development, mental grasp and spiritual
power Physical development lies at the
foundation of all life. The growth of jesus as
a boy was perfectly human and natural. 1t
was in accordance with the divinely arbi-
trary law OF all growth whether in the natu-
raj or spiritual world. He learned by the |
same patient application that other boys have |
TO make. As to the nature and extent of His |
we know but little. The text |
does not say that He was being filed with in |
formation. There may be vast difference |
learning and wisdom. This century |
has been distinguished for ITS wide research, |
its marvellous massing of facts, the startling |
amount of information which has been evolved |
from the world of nature but it has not been
by profound wisdom. / would |
give more for man with good common |
sense who lives near natures heart and fills |
his mind with Shakespeare and the Bible than
Tor all the polished dilettantes Of culture who
have gained learning Mt the expense Of wis
lom. Jesus at a carpenters bench, with no
other text book than the Old Testament Scrip
Inres. became so wise that when He went
iown in the midst of Jewish culture His as
tonished audience said, ''He speaks with au-
.hority and not as the scribes."
The old masters painted above the head OF
Christ a halo Of light. 1t was their beautiful
y imaginative way Of signifying that the
grace of God was upon Him. But to Jesus the
yrace of God was made known in quite an
,ther way. II was the inward voice whisper
ng TO his consciousness Thou art My be-
owed Son, in whom am well pleased" God
peaks through the conscience Of every boy
md girl, bidding them choose the right and
efuse the wrong.
There are two ways-one is attractive and
,opulsr The other looks hard and rough,
up the mountain side. but il IL the
Dad which Jesus climbed for il came TO Him.
ven when n boy, that at the close OF life's day
My the heights would be bathed in sunlight