The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-02-08
II Must Be Onward and
Upward Forever.
Only by Development of Eter-
nifty Can Man Know God.
Last Sermon in Rev. Mr.. Motifs
Series OH Revival OF Our Faith.

vival of our Fsith," at the Westminster
Unitarian Church yesterday forenoon.
This course Of sermons on themes of
special import to liberal Christians has
been listened to by attentive audiences
with an interest that has increased from
Sunday to Sunday.
The subject of yesterdays discourse
was: "The Progress OF Mankind On
ward and Upward Forever" and the text
tcentb cnspter OF John, "This Is life
eternal, that they should know thee"
Rev. Mr.. Mott preached rs follows:
The work OF Jesus Is nearly over. on the
morrow ne will be a prisoner, condemned,
executed. For the last time he and his
followers are conversing together. II Is
the final opportunity; Jesus must have
felt this with overpowering force. He
must have s,riven To express what seemed
to him the essential, the vital parts OF his
tescbing. The nature of liie-that is
what he speaks of-tha, il what he tries
10 bring home to the little throng OF
silent, eager, listeners--the nature CT the
poor. little, feeble flame Of vitality which
/, to flicker family up and tLen vanish
away. II Is, says jesus, gilt that will
endure without end, that will abide for
ever. IL Is tho gift of life eternal; and
be not only Bfiirms the eternal nature of
human life, but he declares the reason Of
it; ne explains why II must last forever.
II Is In order that we should know God;
in order that rich and poor, wise ana
foolish, ignorant snd learned, good and
bad shouts know God. Consider a me-
ment what this means-wbat is wrapped
up In that little word, "know."
A man, you say, has knowledge of
subject when he is master Of the subject.
tie must have much more than mere
blind, dumb, acquaintance with ii, much
more than the kind OF acquaintance you
have with tie majority OF objects you
pass in the street; you see them in
vague, general way, and that is all. But
to know q thing or subject you must
be able to describe IT, to analyze II, TO
look into its inner nature, to reckon Its
relations with the past and present. You
must haue approached so closely TO II that
you are able to discern It's constituents
and TO see what II really does and is.
And Jesus ailirms that it is our destiny
to attain to an acquaintance with God
not less thorough, not less deep and exact
than this.
Now, what Is the logical outcome and
consequence OF snch position? Why,
simply that every one OF us will have TO
live forever. Under no other conditions
will the fulfiilmcpt II Goh's design lie
possible. Iu no less psrlod than eternity
can you and / accomplish what Christ
says IL Is God's design and intention that
we should accomplish.
How much have we already done
toward fulfilling our destiny? How far
have we travelled in the direction OF the
divine purpose? When we reflect on what
we are and what God Is, 1t becomes evil
dent that we have done very little-that
we nave, as yet, taken no more than the
first step.
How limited Is our knowledge Of Gods
wsys and works in the world close about
us, Even the wisest aud the most ex-
perienced feel the mystery of existence.
Every man of genius feels this mystery,
and every one who thinks at sll feels il.
There is, ss il we're, an impenetrsbls cur
tain dropoed about us-n curtain through
which the shsrpest wits can with difi-
Guilty penetrate. The ablest minds strive
to interpret, TO explain, to understand.
to fathom the complexity Of nature. And
after a life consecrsted to toll and to
diligent research, they leave as a
legacy to their fellowmen some
tiny area OF space, made clearer, some
sipgie speck of truth brought out in
to the light. One reveals a force In the
clouds, the earth, the air, that can be
made to run swiftly along a wire; anot her
that the bark Of certain trees, chemical
ly treated, relieves malaris. But bow
| shallow our informationi What is this
force made Of? Why docs II run along
wire and not along wood? Why does
one kind OF bark affect malaria more than
another Why Is disease permitted?
What Is the reason of It's origin in germs? {?
These are questions that go just little
beneath the external busk, but we cannot
follow even so far.
Our knowledge IL OF the outermost
surface; 1t Is scarcely skin deep.
We feel the sublimity of the mountains
cloud. wrcathed ana clothed with
waving pines. We oxclaim a. the beauty
OF the ocean whose white waves make
obsisspce to the clif. But what do We
know OF the real nature Of subimity and
| OF bsauty9 What is their native quality,
and whence their source?
We touch and weigh ana handle iron.
wood, and stone. We say that they are
composed OF matter, yet we talk in
symbols. Their ultimate snnlysis IL ut.
terly beyond us-their inner constitution
no man can perceive. Why Is the sky
blue, the woodlands grsenf Wherefore IL
the material OF the globe sorted into
solids, liquids, essss9 For what end is
II divided into inorganic and organic, en-
dowed with death and life2