The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-05-21
DIR. wTTHROw,s SERMON.
ImpassiOned Appeal for More Charity
Among the Commissioners.

Among the Commissioners.
Dr. Withrow's sermon was listened to
with great interest. His text was taken
from / Peter iv, 8: "And above all things
have fervent charity among yourselves.
The subject deduced from the text by DIR.
NVithrow was 1.-The chiefest grace of Chris
tianity." He considered. first. the nature
of this grace; second, the greatness of the
need of this grace. The following are some
Of the choice extracts from the sermon:
"How a creature made in the image of
God and dwelling in the supernal bliss of
heaven or in the unsullied beauties of para
disc could have turned to be rebel angel
or dsobedient man is more than. mortal
minds can ever nationally explain. Both
angel and Adam must have had more than
heart could wish for in their first estate.
The picture of paradise is not overdrawn
by poets, however much their excessive col
oring contrasts with the scriptural SIM
plicity of portraiture. Sweet indeed must
have been that primal estate of charity
and peace. Even the black arch felon HIM
self showed signs of pity for creatures
whose innocence and concord his craft set
out to violate. Said Satan:
What do mine eyes with grief behold?
Creatures of other mold, earth born per-
haps,
Not spirits. vet to heavenly spirits bright
Little inferior; whom my thoughts pursue
With wonder, and could love, so lively
81 them divine resemblance, and such
grace.
Your change approaches, when all these de-
lights
VIII vanish and deliver We to Woe
And thus the fall came about and
"'Brought death into the world and all
our Woe
And of this woe, which was worse than
abe malevolent feeling engendered between
man and man. The hate which Milton
found TO be the very atmosphere of hadeS
seems to have spread throughout the eartn
and along every age; and to have pene-
trated the realms OF sentient life, shooting
them through with selhshness and strife.
For why else is it that in higher and lower
ranks Of life alike there is a spirit of vio-
1ence which is ever ready, with least or lit
tie provocation to fly at and fight a fellow
creature? And worse still, we lind 1t more
developed in the human than the brute
practiced by men on men so refined and
fierce as to surpass the worst ever done by
animals to each other.
Mans inhumanity TO man
Makes countless thousands mourn
down to this year of grace. Love as a
word stands for so many emotions in man.
We call that love which infatuates the eye,
1iirts with feelings and sometimes enSnares
the soul to it's undoing. And we call that
love also which burns with purer flame
and YIELDS worthy hearts whose devotion is
due to their Inherent affinties. Still nobler
is love i'm the parental bosom that abides
as heat does in the depths of the earth AS
we'll there is patriotic love inspired possibly
by pride courage and care for ones own.
There is racial love which draws together
descendants and sires of the same country,
color or creed.
A HIGHER TYPE OF LOVE
s.But it was none of these in particular
that the apostle had in mind when he
wrote: Above ali things have fervent char
ity,' or intense love among yourselves. 1t
Isl not love as defined on the rambling
pages of a Topper S philosophy, nor as de-
soribed in the loftiest vein of Tenayson's
graceful verse 1t is not such that holy
Scripture here extols, and calls on us to
have among ourselves. We must drop the
line of definition many a fathom lower to
touch the bottom sense of this divinest
term. And when we do take soundings in
the depths of Scripture what riches are
found reposing IN that one little word, loye,
For it, and it alone of the words of the
language, Is ample enough TO comprehend
complete and crown our conception of God,
There is no self-exafnination of ones
state, TO determine whether one has the
mind that was in Christ Jesus which is
more likely to prove depressing than an
examination of our love towards others.
With the first stroke of his pen, to show
what IL is that charity requires. Paul said:
Charity sufereth long and is kind or as
we should phrase it. charity is tolerant to-
ward the offenses and failings of others,
and not quick TO catch up those who in
word or deed may not agree with us.
And thus the question of ones tolerance
toward others OF opposite opinion, practice
or principles is made a criterion of Chris
tian character. Do we. alarmed, cry out:
Spare US. good Lord, spare thy people of
meeting such a test as this, of tolerance
Az awakened memories run back 70 con-
flicts where bad blood has boiled and other
precious blood has been shed, more TO sat
isfy an Intoxicating spirit than TO serve
the cause Of truth. IL were not strange II
we should ask whether the contestants had
Paul's tolerance in their principles OF re-
ligion and whether we had If our hearts
and hands ever took part in such an un-
friendly fray. Much is 1t TO be feared that
far from being indulgent of differences In
Others II has been the disposition 10 be-
have so that the sharp satire of Hudibras
describes contentious spirit.
He'd rather on a gibbet dangle
Than miss his dear delight to wrangle.'
Paul never preached nor imposed on
others a stricter rule OF Christian living
than he practiced 1t could never be said
OF him that on Sunday he discoursed sweet
IS OF bFotherly love, and then went down
frona the pulpit TO pursue an erring one
ssath = stick made seven times sharn. OF