The record-union., 1898-03-14

most attractive of her characters we
felt the lack of something in those
characters as portrayed by her. some
thing that might occasionally be in
strumental in freeing them from the
thralldom of their infrmities, and
clothing them with moral as we'll as
with intellectual and physical graoes.
The mystery of the workings OF the
spirit of God was not sufficiently ac-
lnowiedged by this writer, with her
this is world Of fixed moral de-
termination for its human Inhabitants,
OF irretrievable and irreparable fate
Religion on the other hand also
frequently errs in presenting the pos
sibility of sudden change. of change
that if it We're real would throw our
minds into utter and inextricable con-
fusion. because of its violation of all
ascertained laws governing the devel-
opment of human character. 1t is
the suddenness of so called conversion,
the ecstacies with which il is attended,
the vulgar noises that accompany it,
the Shrek of fife, the blare CT trump
ct, and the roll of drum, that make
many Of us who really believe in some
perSuading presence in the world
which we may call the spirit of God.
! sileptcal as to results obtained by the
reputed access of a divine spirit ont
of which all mystery has departed.
leaving bare the tawdiness of the spec
tacle. And / would not believe that
any true conversions were ever possible
under conditions illustrated here if
did not also believe that some of the
sweeet-faced English women. possessed
of q feeling of conservation from which
the publicity they crave must take
something of spiritual beauty and
bloom. did not sometimes come nearer
to being the vehicle by which Gods
mysterious presence is revealed. as
in inconspicuous places. but where hu-
man succor is required, they minister
in ways in which only woman can min
lister, and where for themselves as we'll
as for the sufferer, the mystery of
Gods spirit comes. bringing the new
birth to the soul
And amorg the mysteries attending
upon the working of this spirit is the
snare which good women have in being
us interpreter. We quote familiarly
from the poet but with full measure
OF reverence, nevertheless, and say
Ever the womanly leadeth us on
bUt we do not often enough perhaps
stop TO consider the mystery involved
IN that leadership. We feel that the
spirit of God is illustrated to the world
IN this human vessel but the processes
by which woman came to be so large4v
the divine Interpreter we can never
know; her influence we can only feel.
For some of US woman has incarnated
the divine, thus giving illustration to
the doctrine of the incarnation tha-
nothing drawn from the pages of even
/ sacred history could have ever ade-
quately furnished. OF DR.. Charming.
pure himself beyond any suspicion of
moral delinquency, it is recorded that.
standing sometimes in the presence of
pure and exalted womanhood. he al
most trembled in his contemplation of
the divine majesty of which that wo-
manhood seemed to be the familiar ex-
preston. There is a mystery. indeed.
attending upon the workings of Gods
spirit, but the mystery consists most.
perhaps, in the familiar things that
spirit uses as its instruments our very
households becoming instinct with its
presence, our hearthfires flaming as the
very shel1inah beneath our roofs.
But the quality of mans new birth
is frequently misunderstood. as well as
the method of it's accomplishment.
What this new birth really is. is moth
ing more than the larger vision. the
gradual springing within us of the
eternal life. And now let us enlarg..
our comparison between the wind and
the spirit. to include the Universally
of both, the wind everywhere CARRYING
blessing Gods spirit everywhere bring
ing spiritual health and life It is the
dignity. the majesty of our common
human existence, the nobility of its re-
lationships that I would insist upon on
this occasion. The common every
I day experiences of life are the most
potent influences. if we will have them
SO, of bringing the divine instruction
TO our souls. The doubt expressed by
our lips is turned to faith treasured in
our hearts, to faith lived in our daily
vacations. if the life is one of duty. of
/ virtue. Of faithfulness of affection in
our most intimate associations To
souls attempered thus. what an access
of Gods spirit there is with every new
life that comes into our households.
The birth of q child was to Mrs.
Browning a very apocalypse God-pres-
ent in His most stupendous majesty.
/ And what parent has not seen the Wis
/ ion. has not felt the drawing influence
of that little undeveloped life. has not
! because of it been conscious of the
springing within OF something that is
estimated as of eternal quality.
7 But alas. we do not live always upon
f the mount. and there are some of us
/ perhaps to whom this transcendent
vision, seen in lifes common things, is
never fully vouchsafed. But We are
/ at least moral men, men faithful to
+ duty, obedient to the laws. clean in
the personal life, not given TO excess,
( and kindly sympathetic in our com
mon intercourse with the world. And
the mission of the religious teacher is
not SO much to call men to repentance.
as to endeavor to have them,buiId upon
F.. the foundation of natural morality A.
/ ready laid. a temple OF the soul in
/ which Gods spirit shall come and
dwell With a knowledge of so much
that is potential within US. many of US
are continually conscious of what a
small segment our lives express of the
tull circle Of our being We see the
broader contrasts between vice and viz
tue. between duty and its neglect. but
there are overlooking nights to which
we do not habitually ascend. nights
from which can be discerned the broad
ef landscape Of moral and spiritua
beauty And the first requisite for the
/ attainment to this higher life. this new
birth of the soul. is the feeling Of
! larger relationship. the consciousness
that each Of us is an essential part Of