The Portland daily press., 1898-01-10
THE ART OF DOING GOOD.
Rev. Lewis HIalvern's Sermon to the PORT
land Benevolent Society.

the FCftlduO bShO'oAeANS
society. an annual sermon was preached
under its auspices last evening at the
First Parish church.
Rev. Lewis Malvern, pastor OF the
First Free Baptist church, was the
clergyman on whom the society's choice
fell in arranging for this annual service.
His address was concise. well-pointsd
and entirely fitting the occasion.
President James P. Baxter and several
of sthe trustees occupied sitting
In the forward part of the church. Be-
side the speaker of the evening sat Rev.
John Carroll Perkins, pastor of the
church, and Rev. Asa Dalton, rector of
St, Stephens. Special music was
rendered by the church choir.
The preachers text was from Acts,
X:3s, "Who went about doing good.
He briefly explained the context and
told the story Of Peters revelation in
becoming acquainted with the truth that
God is no respeoter of persons, and that
he administered to the Gentiles az well
as to the Jews.
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at which Peter. marvelled is very simple
truth, said the speaker, yet there are
some today who need Peters revelation
to bring them to All understanding that
God cares for others as we'll as for them
selves.
What a lonesome place heaven would
be If only one class Of believers, or one
set in society or the representatives of
but one church were admitted there. 1t
is feared that If this were true many of
us might prefer to go somewhere else.
The knowledge that God loves us all
broadens our philanthropy.
The story that Peter told in the house
of Cornelius was brief but glorious
record of the life OF Jesus Christ. 1t was
simply this, that "Jesus of Nazareth
went about doing good" What sweet
and beautiful life. it must have been.
He did not stop in his own village of
Nazareth. He was not content to do the
good which cost him no effort. He didn't
wait for appeals for aid to come to him.
He travelled the whole length and
breadth Of Palestine, actively seeking op
portunities to do good. Sometimes he
WAS on the hilltops, at other times in the
valleys, then at the seashore, in the
marts of trade, and at times in the syna-
gogue. We find him rescuing fallen wo-
men, healing the sick, feeding crowds of
hungry ones, comforting the widow by
restoring life to her son, and we also
hear of him blessing little children.
His life was one of daily exertion in
doing good. His life should be to us an
example of benevolence. We are too
prone to render to the unfortunate the
aid that costs us exertion. Sometimes we
prefer to do good by proxy.
It.was his habit to do good. We should
strive to cultivate this habit. We should
not, after yielding to impulses, and doing
some benevolent act. be content to rest
there, and congratulate ourselves on what
we have accomplished. A daily habit
Of doing good would make us more near
" resemble the Master.
II We practice the art of doing good
our conscience will trouble us If we
allow single day to pass without ron
dering aid of some kind to some one. We
should pray for the habit of daily doing
good, and refrain from turning aside
whenever an opportunity presents itself.
Jesus administered to the bodies of the
needy, as we'll as to their souls. We often
hear great deal about the saving of
souls, and very little about the saving
TO xxyho ho CT
or the hungry man looks for aid, have
no hesitation about Offering him only
handful of tracts. This is not the way
Jesus Christ did. We cannot all be
preachers or teachers; # we cannot help
the souls of the poor and needy among
us, let's do what we can for the comfort
of their bodies. . .sss
Jesus performed his deeds of benevo-
1ence in quietness and sublime
simplicity; he made no greatsdisplay,
but acted with the greatestSpossible deli
cacy and tenderness. He administered
not only to his own countrymen, but to
strangers; not alone to believers, but also
to unbelievers. Let us initiate this
spirit.
We are very apt to dodge our own con-
viotion, and to play "Bo Peep with
our souls, spirit and life. We should
each ask ourselves the question, Chow
is my life being spentf" Is it being
spent in doing good. or in simply going
about and doing no harm? What
wretohed consolation to be able to say,
that we have done no harm in our lives.
Are we going about doing evil? Max
ing mischief, spreading evil reports, caus
ing suffering? Are we devoting our whole
attention to our own comfort, and to fol-
lowing useless pursuits. What a shameful
abuse of human life. The time is coming
when the activities Of life will be ex
changed for the stiffness Of death. Then
it will not matter much whom we are,
but it will matter whether we have been
doing any good to our fellow.
We cannot all do good on large scale.
but we can certainly render help of some
sort TO the needy. In every human heart
is an Unborn desire to do some good. Do
the first thing that faces you at your
own doorstep; there lies your first duty.