The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-11-01
THE BISHOP OF PETERSBURG
HIS SERMON AT TRINITY EPISCOPAL
 CHURCH SUNDAY.

Regarding Life-The First of a Series of
 Sermons Given to Yale Men Under the
 Auspices of Berkeley Association Last
 Evening.
 The pulpit at Trinity Episcopal church, yesterday morning." was occu- pied by the Right Rev. Cortlandt Whitehead, D. D., bishop of Pittsburg. Special music was rendered by the vested choir. The entire service was full of interest and instruction.
 Last evening the bishop preached the first of a series of sermons to be given under the auspices of the Berkeley association of the university. It was one especially designed for Yale men and there was a large attend ance.
 The bishop yesterday forenoon took his text from St. Johns gospel, fifth And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.'
 He said, in part: Did you ever no- tice how much St. John had to say about life? It is the central word of his life. Jesus said I am the bread of life The most wonderful thing about life is that it is Gods secret. He keeps it.
 No telescope, no matter how pow erful, will ever be able to penetrate into this secret and reveal it. No phil osopher will ever be able to explain it.. It seems to be a barrier and proves Gods supremacy. He Is the author and giver of life. The law of life is from God. He has put his secret where no one but Himself will ever be able to find and know it.
 No prophet has dared to use such language regarding life as has Jesus of Nazareth. No man or woman in all the world in which He preached could speak in the way He did. He dared to stand and say I am the resurrection and the life That is, the Father has given Him the life; He is the life. This secret of God, the Son of God desires to disclose. He does not mean the physi- cal or intellectual life because we have it. St. Paul says the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life That is the life of which I want to speak It is full of lessons for us all. Let us notice. All life begins in germ. The plants and animals and men all be- gin in germ.
 Spiritual life begin in childhood, in creases through and makes itself mani fest in full manhood. This life begins gently unconsciously takes new powers and reveals itself in the fruit of ripeness. Spiritual life is not from Christ. It is not to be understood, but to be depended upon for certainty. The New Testament is full of exam ples where life is spoken of. Christ is in us, he strives, moves and acts in us. He realizes our weakness. His thoughts are our thoughts, His acts our acts. God draws all to Him, for He is the head o that the world | might know that salvation is not far away, but very near. To be like Him even little is salvation. He simply holds out him arms and beckons all men to His breast, yearning with infin- ite desire to show them the life which He brings. He has not carried that life away to keep, but has it only to re- store it. He that seeks for it shall find it.
 We are not to look back nineteen centuries, but up to a conqueror. He | will lift us up, put us on our feet, and bid us go on and not despair. The true life is the Christian life, of which only a shadow has come down from | God and reached our humanity in the incarnation of Jesus You can only find
 this life in Jesus Christ, who brings it from God Himself
 The pastor, Rev Dr. Douglas, took occasion to thank all those who co-op- erated in making the centenary services and consecration of the bishop coad- tutor so successful.