The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-10-06

eiNh OL JdllJ WHICH the EnQGaNOr SO- | clety was formed to promote. Any so- | ciety is recreant to it's birthright, it would be called by the author of the Hebrews, "a profane society,"" that does not promote a doule portion of this spirit of intense devotion to it's own church and denomination and country. But birthright of loyalty can also | co-exist with the birthright of fellow ship. We may have a double portion of | one as we'll as the other, and one will not drive out or exclude the other. In | these better times the Christian world is coming to see that in order to be loy- | al to ones own church one does not | need to hedge himself about with a growth of prickly cactus, or surround himself with high fence with barbs on all the wires, but that fellowship and | hdel1ty can go hand in hand, and that | fraternity may be married to loyalty. A recent editorial writer looking as- kance at the Christian Endeavor move ment fears that it will promote "exces- sive fraternity" a most unfortunate phrase, it seems to me for that editor to use, as though there could be such a thing among Christian people as exces- l of too immaculate purity, of over-much | honesty, of surplus of righteousness | In the church as of excessive fraternity. No, we will not give up this part of our birthright. It is inherent in the Chris tian Endeavor movement It is part of our birthright, God-given and inaliena- ble except by our own weakness and apostasy.
 But one other element in our birth right can I mention, but that is the most important of all. True Christian Endeavor means a double portion of Gods spirit Without this birthright 1t is indeed failure. We have realized something of this, perhaps, but how much more remains to be realized, how much more we might have if we would! Not simply may we have the double portion of the average Christian, not little more than most of the church members whom we know, but we may have all of God if we will. Look at the ocean dashing up on the Atlantic shore What resistless might it contains. How the pillows surge in, wave on wave, with inexhaustible energy! How yet that mighty ocean is but symbol faint and poor, of the ocean of divine might which the Christian may have who will use it.
 | Look at the river flowing on in majes- tic grandeur to the sea- A thousand years ago the water rolled bank-full as it does to-day A thousand years from now it will know no diminution. As you stand at the bank, looking at it for a few moments a billion gallons flow by, and yet the river is not exhausted, for it draws it's supplies from Gods eternal hills, from the ever-mounttng clouds that bear in their bosoms the rivers from the sea,
 Such is Gods might and power! Double, quintuple, tenfold, a million fold, the might which we have been willing to use for him. This, Christian | Fndeavorers, is the secret of youl birthright. In God you will find your power, in Gods strength you will be able to perform your double portion of service, to show forth double portion of loyalty and to enjoy a double DOT tion of fellowship with all those who love the Lord.
 Think for a moment of the sin of los ing the birthright! Esau sold his, yor know, for a little soup, for the red, red pottage, which gratified the hungry hunters appetite. We sell ours fol even less and with a smaller provoca- tion when, to gratify whim or tt nurse a little indisposition, or for some triiing self-indulgence, we forget oul pledge or neglect to perform the ser vice which our Endeavor vows have put upon us.
 -;,a1x FA,. nf,t nf hnnnr n the birthright! No Jew willingly gave it up, or if he did, he was held up like ours enjoined obligations, duties, ser vice. but it was a shameful thing if ht grew tired of it and renounced it. I was a most honorable and gracious
 thing to keep his birthright untar
 nished.
 Our birthright is our chief honor
 God has shown us his favor by giving us service to perform, in giving us { larger portion than in former days fel
 to the young people, in calling upon u
 for renewed activity and consecration
 and every day that we do our dut.
 faithfully, fulfill our vows, and serv
 the church through our society, we ar
 honoring God, and receiving a doubl
 portion of honor as well as of servic
 for ourselves.
 How shall we keep our birthright
 There is but one way As Elisha ob
 tained and received his birthright b.
 looking upon Elijah as he was trans
 planted into the heavens, so may W
 by looking unto Jesus. Let a doubl
 portion of thy spirit fall upon me" h
 said to his master, Elijah. That wa
 the birthright he desired, a double DOT
 tion of Elijah's grand, heroic, stalwar
 spirit of uncompromising devotion t
 God It is hard thing to grant, sai Elijah, but if you see me as I am car
 ried up into heaven, the blessing of tn double portion will be yours
 : Our Elijah, too, has passed into heav , en, but his spirit abides, and it may b ours if we will have 1t. Looking unt
 Jesus, the Author and Finisher of ou faith" keeping our eyes fixed upo Him, asking at every hourly crisis o l our life, What would Jesus do? l Following his steps, we shall receiv } and retain this double portion, thi Christian Endeavor birthright. W will never barter it away for any mis erable mess of pottage, but double ser
 vice, double loyalty double fellowshi [ will be ours because we have doubl portion of the spirit of Christ. t Rev. MT. Clark was followed by Rev . John c. Wilson, pastor of the Purita