The Portland daily press., 1898-08-01
THE LORD REVEALED IN NATURE.
Rev. Clinton Hay at the New Jerusalem
Temple.

a
Sunday morning Rev. 81. Clinton Hay OF
Brookton, Mass, Portland boy,
preached on "The Lord Revealed in
Nature" In part he said:
There are now two revelations of the
Lord in the world; one written, appeal
ing to the intellect; the other lived, ap-
pealing to the heart. One Is the Bible,
or a collection of sacred books written
urder Divine inspiration, and so by the
finger of God; the other is nature, in
Guiding man, the works of Gods hands.
1t has often been questioned whether
nature could reveal God without the
Bible. The answer is that nature did re-
veal Him before the Bible or any other
book was written. But this was when
man was in a primitive state OF inno-
cence, before sin had closed his heart to
the inflowing of the Divine love which
gave him perception of the Lord as
the source of life, the Creator of the beau
tiful world in which life was made man
ifest. The closing Of the door to this in
ward stream of love made written reve-
lation necessary, stream of Divine wis
dom as an interpreter of nature. And
yet how eloque the screated universe
becomes when SO interpreted. The Bible
| is like O letter telling us OF an absent
| friend; but nature speaks to us with the
living voice Of the friend himself. Like
Moses, we are then prompted to put off
the shoes from the feet on holy ground.
Every bush and tree and mountain
glows with the Lords love; every cloud
and sea, and fountain, shines with His
wisdom; and even experience in the use
of what He has created, fills us with a
sense of His presence and power. "The
heavens declare the glory of God, and
the armament sheweth His handiwork.
But in turning thus to the Lord in ma
ture we are warned against the dangers
of pantheism and idolatory. Beautiful
as was the mythology of the Greeks. 1t
was humanity, not divinity that was ex-
alted in it; and in the idulatries lying in
the darkened valleys of that Olympus,
the terror of superstition. or the frenzy
of lust found expression, not the crying
out of the heart and the flesh for the liv-
ing God. The trouble as in a neglect OF
written revelation; the remedy is in
| bringing sacred fire and a holy light to
natures altar from the Bible applied to
daily life.
The Lord epitomizes the revelation of
Himself in nature in His words about
the lilies and the birds, ana the summing
| up of the whole message is found in the
declaration, "God SO loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him should
not perish, but have everlasting life. =
That there might be no doubt about His
presence, that the whole realm of nature
might be glori1ed with it, and forever
reveal Him to the believing heart, God
became ,ncarnate-the Invisible dwelt
yisibly in the hills and mountains, and
| by the sea of Galilee. Birds flew over
His divine head and flowers bloomed in
His blessed pathway; the winds obeyed
His command of peace, and the waves
buoyed up His footsteps as He walked
over their tremulous bosoms; the earth
ouaked at the horror of His crucifxi0n,
and the vale of an empty temple was rent
asunder; the grave claimed no victory
over Him; and now He ie forever with us
revealed in the power of an infinite and
universal resurrection from death unto
life. AS Cowper says:
One Spirit-His
who wore tho plated thorns with bleed
ing brOws,
Rules universal nature. Not flower
But shows some touch in, freckle, streak,
or stain
OF His unrivaled pencil. He inspires ?
| Their balmy odors, and imparts their
hues, are
And bathes their eyss with nectar. Hap
py he
Who walks with Him.