The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-11-15

work Done by the Various Church
Organizations and the Pastor Paid
Tribute to Them.
Rev. c. l.. Robinson, ID. d., having
rounded out ten years of useful service
as pastor of the Second Presbyterian
church, yesterday preached two ser
mons, in which he referred to his work
in the church during the decade he has
filled its pulpit.
His topic in the morning was Dec
ennial Pastorate," and in the evening
Conviction and Experience of Ten
Years Service in This Field" For
his morning discourse he took the text
from the words What hath God
/ wrought He said:
Balak, king OF Moab, was terrified at
the appriaCh of the enemies of Israel.
/ FOR after forty years in the wilderness
/ OF sloughing off the ganErcnc of Egypt
/ and of burying the towards who had
/ tailed at Kadish Barnea to go up and
/ possess the land" Israel now moved to-
/ ward the land of promise united, fear
/ less, and with a great faith i'm God.
Great nations and mighty kings" fed in
dismay before them.
! They moved on "ConquCring and to con-
! qucr." The tribes of the desert melted
| at its presence The great nation of the
| Amoritcs, with Sihou, their king, and
! the giant King Og of Bashau. the ruins
of whose giant cities are the wonder
| today of the eastern traveller were COM
| pletely overthrOwn. And now, Irresistible
| they had moved on to the plains of Moab
| on east side of Jordan by Jericho. From
| his mountain fortresses Balak looked i'm
alarm down upon the vast army enCampcd
NIh hl an q
blasting devastating simeon from the
desert. He sent his princes into MeSO-
potamia for the celebrated sOothSayer
| Balaam, with the thought akin to that
! of the present oriental notion of the
| "Cvil eye" that Balaam might curse the
| hosts of Israel He knew nothing of mono
| thcism. He simply regarded Jehovah as
| a God of the Hebrews, and hoped that
! Balaam had sCmc occult relations with
| more powerful deities. From the top OF
the rocks" Baak and Balaam looked
down upon the nightly army, abiding IN
his tents, according to his tribes" and
surrounding the mysterious tabernacle of
the congregation with the tribal stand
ards waving in the breeze.
BURST FORTH IN SONG.
We see the cloarcst manifestation of
Gods working all in ALL" in the history
of His church, which is "a living body Cf
men, called by God out of the world, not
W W tHt inventors OF IL new social SyS-
tenn, but to exhibit in the world, by word
and life, and especially by life, what
humanity is, was and will be in the idea
of God The object of it's faith being
the incarnatcd, cruClfied and risen Son
of God, and His word, and its connecting
bond, the indwelling Holy Spirit Some
one has well said that the world has for
feted its life, but that Christ has secured
reprieVe through His atoning sacrifice,
and the church is charged with the great
work of delivering this reprieve into the
condemned worlds hands; work which
the angels desire to look into and to have
some holy share in. 1t is not the church 3
peculiar mission merely to afford men an
opportunity for the employment of thcO-
logical speculation. 1t Is for service not
for liberty. | felt years ago that Thomas
Arnold's idea of a church and its mission
was one of the best "The true and grand
| idea of church IS a society for the p'lr-
pose OF making men like Christ, earth like
heaven, the kingdoms of the world the
| kingdom Of Christ"
That | took for my working definition
OF church, | accepted your call ten
years ago, to carry out that thought SO
far as might through the help of God.
found here a church in great measure
] fashioned after that idea, moved by that
holy impulse; ard a city peculiarly alive
to it, through the fidelity, ability and
spiritual insight of these devoted pastors
various
churches who had helped, under God, tC
give form and power to this city's public
: timent. | use that term advisedly. II
, the fine distinction of Scranton that
with all its Heterogeneous population, its
public sentiment is so largely Christian
l found also here a helpful and inspiring
brotherhood of city pastors, to whOst
warm welcome and frdtcrnal spirit l al
once responded and have been ever
since indebted. / must particularly nan,
tion with gratitude the kindness of the
Rev. DR.. Logan, at that time the pastor
= OF the First Presbyterian church, from
= which this church sprang, ana the graft
flying attention of his beloved wife Of
Sainted memory.
NEVER BEEN BROKEN
1t established friendship between Il,
that has never been broken through al
these ten years during which we have
! sometimes stood ON the different sharply
, defined sides of Presbyterial questions
, And | am happy to believe that our rela
, | tiOns to the present pastor of the FirS
| church ana his people are Of the friend
liest nature. Their delicate thoughtful
ness last summer in Fastening to tele
graph their sympathy with your paStO
: ! ana family in their sharp aiiliCtIon Cal
| never be forgotten. | must also take thi
opportunity to express my sense Of ublga
tion 10 my brC tCICn of the Presbytcry q
: here has been nOlhir g but delight
| while my appreciation Of the power, eff
| cheney, Cignity. intelligence and genuine
spiritu atty Of that body has grown will
the years in which 1t has teen my PRIV
| ilrge TO be a member of il. In the entir
! Presby ytcTian church of America thcr
/ are only tour PrCsbytCriCS larger. Nov
York, Pf iladelphia Pittsburg and chi
Cago; and with these ii stands peer
| We ought TO be proud to be Cunuoct,-
? with such a Presbytcry II takes m
! front, as in other ways, so in its earues
and efficient grappliue with the dItlcul
, problem of what to do for the cNreptlOnd
foreign population that teens by lh
thousands in these coal fields.
1t is led i'm this work by the Rev Dr
| Logan, the father of the movement. an,
: It's present efficient and hunorcd secrc
tary, while ii has for the chairman 60
4 | its Preshytcrial committee our brother
Mr.. Boies, the president of our board o
5 trustees, a I'd for its treasurer, Mr.. \. W
| Dickson, OF the mother church.
In turning now To- this church ana :
the thought of the history Of this decen
nial pastorate which | have been request
ed to present To you, my heart is surre
| with the livcliest emotions of gratitude I
Almighty God. The ten years have role
by so rapidly that they seem like thos
years i'm Jacobs life, which were "uut
him but few days for the love he ha
for Rachel"
THE CALL ACCEPTED.
You called me to De your pastor Octohe
10 following, | accepted the Call on NOV
. and began my labors among you te
a years ago today. The delay of the insta
laton until the following early summo
: grew out of my uncertainty whether IN
then impaired health would prove sun
y cient Tor the arduous work required in
field full of such grand possibilities EOi