St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1899-07-26

the manly integrity ana WOmanly
sweetness, the child-like obedience
and the prayerfnl earnestness and
the willing sacrihce and pious devo-
ton, as are becoming so high a
calling?
These are questions which the
world of facts around us demon
strates only too well. The home
which ought to and easily could be
our earthly paradise, too often is
turned into nursery wherein are
born, brought up and educated the
candidate for the house of correc-
ton, the penitentiary, and the
gallows; the place of broken prom
Uses, cunning receptions and broken
hearts, the battle ground for angry
tempers, vile passions and fiendish
cruelty. The government, which
ought to and is bound to provide for
the protection, the prosperity and
happiness of the people, too frequent
ly ignores public interest simply
furthering the interests OF self until
it degenerates into regular canker-
worm, eating away the very vitals
of our inward strength and common
safety; while the church of Jesus
Christ, that institution standing
head and shoulder above all others
has within her pales both men and
women who are not only no orna-
mant and no help to her, but on the
other hand, not only by their secret
but even by their public lives and
characte standing in the way of her
onward march and progress and
polluting her hallowed precincts.
These are among the open and public
shortcomings characteristic of our
times. They very often are such
that the mere knowledge of them
would have shocked the scribes and
Pharisees and much less ever would
have thought of being guilty of such
negligence and crime themselves.
Were the people of our day observ-
ing the civil and ecclesiastical law as
did the scribes and pharisees, the
world certainly would have far less
misery, sorrow and suffering than it
has. We would need no policemen
and penitentiaries, no need of eccles-
iastical crusades in order to protect
the Sabbath, no houses of correction
and Florence Missions.
In the church not only would all
the people be members of her, instead
of the few, but the church would
mean something to them. They
would serve her both regularly and
faithfully, and their time and means
would be bestowed upon her freely.
They would stand up for her and if
it need be, fight and even die for her.
Such was the obedience, the faith and
the devotion on the part of the
scribes and Pharisees, both toward
their country and their religion. In.
finitely indeed, did they surpass hun.
dreds and even thousands of profess
ing Christians living in this enlighten.
ed age, in their strict observances Of
the law in their outward every day
lives. And in the face of all this
Christ says: Except your right
eousness shall exceed the righteous
ness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye
shall in no case enter into the king
dom of heaven" If therefore the
Christian of today is even doing less
than did the scribes and Pharisees
and Christ says Except your
Righteousness shall exceed theirs, ye
shall in no case enter into the king
dom of heaven" meaning to say, un'
less you do more, are better chris
tians than they were, there will be
no hope for you, ought not these
f words signal a serious alarm tc
hearts almost innumerable. Why
was Christ not satisfied with the
righteousness of the scribes and
Pharisees Not because they did not
observe the outward law, since they
kept it even to the very letter, but
because they failed to grasp the spirit
of the law, because their motives
were utterly false, because theil
hearts were not right with God
Their Righteousness was an assumed
{ a false righteousness and therefore
no Righteousness at all. Christ coulC
! see their inward hearts as well a:
their outward deeds and Therefore
q had to condemn them because they
. were unrighteous, and therefore IL
q the words of the text warns thu
, people. not against obeying the law
! Just as faithfully and obediently as i
q was done by the scribes and Phari
/ sees, but much rather against decep
!. ton, against shamming christianity
i. and against shamming righteous
9 ness, in order to deceive the worlc
y and for some selfish gain. He wants
1 to teach both you and me that TIT
;. obedience of the spirit as well as tn
f letter of the law, the motive as wei
$ as the deed, are positively necessar,
fer salvation.
q You have been Christian, at leas
+ many of you, all these years. Hav
+ YOU observed the law so that boil
4 your reputation, as well as you
r body, have remained spotlessly pure
q To this the scribe and Pharisee coul'
say, yes. Can you also say yes, wit
= conscience void of offense? Blu
q even more than this will be required
:, of Won since YOUR righteousness mus