The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1899-12-16
CECIL RED Men.
Continued from Page L.

have family prayer and organize charities,
then you may believe in evolution as q
means of salvation; and not till then!
II. The idea Of the fatherhood of God
carries with it the necessity of true theistic
faith, or proper conception of the nature
and character Of God, and of our relation
to him: as,
(1) Atheism destroys all belief in ulti--
mate causes and objects, and renders every.
thing uncertain, here and hereafter Be-
lief in the fatherhood finds a reason for all
things as they are in the love of God, and
carries with it the doctrine of divine au-
thority, and that authority is natural and
inherent.
(2) Infidelity destroys the bond of SYM
patty between God and humanity. Blot
out the life of Christ, take away his gospel
from us, and only the justice of God is left.
He is the light of the world The same
God was our father in the long past, but
man did not know him as such until Christ
came and taught us to say "Our Father"
etc The truth of the fatherhood carries
with it the gospel of divine providence,
loving oversight-He sees ALLIE never
forgets!
(3) Pantheism destroys his personality,
and renders God only a principle; but the
gospel Of the fatherhood carries with it the
fact of his spiritual visitation. There is
l;,,;,, h,,t oil ;p;t
with him. There is no moral nature that
may not find him and love him. admit
that prayer is a mystery, but we know it
is available; it is mighty The cultured
skeptic may sneer if he will, but still we
pray, and more, we receive the things we
ask for Prayer is mightier than intellect;
it is truer than logic.
III. This truth carries with it the broth--
erhood of man, and this implies:
o. Equality before God-equality Of
right to all God provides for his children
The selishness of man that tries to absorb
more of this earth than is right is in q
human, it is devilish and wicked be-,
lieve there are some people who, if they
could, would make a corner in sunlight
and air. These sunlight and air, are only
representative OF the mercy of God in the
provision he has made for our good in
all things. 1t implies equality among men;
not social, nor mental, nor moral-there
are some equasions you cannot make-some
that ought not to be made; but equality in
merciful consideration as homeopathy
among equals. Christianity has to do with
earth as we'll as heaven. l think some
times there is too much other worldliness
in our relation, and not enough OF this
world. Whatever wrongs man, dishonors
God. No amount Of religious profession
can excuse mean act, or pay an honest
debt.
The very foundation of all philanthropic
and fraternal organizations is laid in this
belief in the fatherhood of God and the
brotherhood OF man, and any society that
helps in promoting these is good
society and deserves to live, any
that is lacking in these deserve to
ule, ouShe eo ule, anu Will uics
Whenever the Christian church shall stand
for less than this, neither God nor man has
any use for it; and this is true of all frater-
nal and philanthropic societies.
The judgment of the last great day will
show that this is true. Read Matt. %
'Inasmuoh as ye have done it unto one Of
the least of these We have done it unto
Me-"
The supreme lesson of this subject is:
Get on right relations with God the father
of US all. Get on right relations with your
brother. II you have been unjust, Il you
have ever done a mean thing, you had bet
ter make it right, and that right away