The Indianapolis journal., 1899-08-06
THE VOICE OF THE PULPIT
PRESUMPTION, THE FIRST TENPTA-
TIoN OF JESUS ALWAYS WITH Us.
by the Rev. Beverley Warner, ID. D.,
Rector OF Trinity Episcopal Church,
New Orleans, La.

ten5fer came 10 Him ne said: II thou be the
Son q God. command that these stones be made
bread But He answered IL is written. man
shall not live by bread alone. but by every word
that proceedeth out of the mouth Of God;
Then the devil taketh Him up into the holy
city and settesh Hin pinnacle OF the tenn
pie and saith unto Him-If thou be the Son OF
shsii give His angels charge concerning Thee.
and IN their hands they shall bear Thee up. lest
Jesus said unto him. II Is written again. thou
shalt not tempt the Lord thy Cod. Matt
~. 81.
The first temptation of our Lord is one
that Is always with us. Shall II be bread or
God? The bread OF daily necessity looms
large before US. We must live. think
we must ever shelter and clothe ourselves.
These are the first prime demands Of nature.
II the question lies. then, between bread or
God we cry bread II is. 1t Is the DEVILS lie
20 put Il that way of course. Man lives by
bread-but net alone-by bread and God.
Therefore devils bread is not for US. If a
man really cannot achieve high success in
life without falsehood and sham then he
must be content TO exist on lower level
OF accomplishment and know that the Lord
God needs him there. II the problem gets
deeper and he has to face risk OF HIS life
IN order 10 do the thing his special duty de-
mands Of him in it's largest sense, why,
there can be question, really.
Life, SNUG, coraplacent. prosperous life,
with bonds rustIing in safe deposit vaults,
factories vomiting up 10 the often insulted
heavens the incense of manufactures into
whose making hath been woven the woes
and expressions Of men and women and
children Life with the glitter Of gold upon
II. Bread, II is good. We should all like 1t.
We Iinger in the market place. But If ii be
ours by compromise with the image of God,
1t-ff - 4 ouf
among us what then? Many man says 1
can't starye even If / have TO steal. But to
starve is only TO die once; to steal is to die
always. to be corrupting above ground in
stead of under It, 1t seems to me to-day
that you and / would rather be fertilizins
that San Juan battle ground of last sum-
mer than to have added some thousands of
dollars to our incomes by packing certain
kind Of food during the same period.
SECOND TEMPTATION.
So the Lord put that temptation aside.
He could die In his own world, but he could
not deny his Fathers right to expect some
thing better of him than an animal cry for
the comforts. even the necessaries OF life.
He remembered that the man who was be-
ing sorely tried was one in whom was a
divine potency as well as a human desire.
Now this second temptation is of another
sort That one was addressed TO the earth
iy, this one 10 the divine: that one TO the
lowest, this to the highest part Of man.
Evil is not confined to the use of fair
Weapons. Evil can fight in the garb OF
truth as well as OF falsehood. Christ had
quoted the old book. He was founding his
action, not on an impression or an emotion
of the moment. but on law which had
been set forth long generations before, the
law of His being as Son OF God. What
ever a beast can do, man cannot live by
bread alone. So Satan shifts his ground
and quotes the old book also: Gods world
is it?'' saith the tempter. True, ! had for
gotten it. You seemed hungry, and God
was not by TO feed you. You are God 5
child, though. He will care for you, you
can get along because he cares for you.
But remember that. although you know it,
You have not proved it and others must
learn. Try IT, Stand on the pinnacle of this
temple: cast thyself down You quoted the
book. Let me quote: He will give His
angels charge concerning you that you
dash not your foot even against a stone:
cast thyself down. This is Gods world. you
are Gods son; how can you be hurt?"
Now look backward and forward through
the story of Christ's life-and see how
subtly this temptation was ever creeping
about His soul. Men were ever asking for
signs and wonders. That Christ We love
tremendous following; might readily have
been popular and great In the sense or hav-
had done what? Only misused His powers
20 the extent OF breaking in upon the order
OF the universe. IL was a temptation tc
men, He yearned over the human, Jew and
Greek bond and free. He longed to make
disciples Here was 2 plan by which He
the power--this Son OF the Highest, whosS
touch was health, whose word was that OF
self down." said the rempter. From what
to what? From order TO disorder. From
Gods Will TO mans whim. From light tc
darkness. From safety to peril. From
And always whispering in His ear was the
tcmpter. This Is your Will, To win men
this power, which you would not use mo
ment ago for yourself, but ought you moi
10 use IL for others?
ANOTHER REJECTION.
Very true says the Christ-but 1t is writ
ten again. Thou shalt rot tempt the Lord
thy God. and He turned away from the
temptation 1t is a grave pity that many
OF His preachers and prophets through the
ages have thought themselves wiser thar
He. and have tempted the Lord God in thi:
fashion. He put himself, as TO the assault:
men. He was no placid God in that sore
trial He was man. tempted In all point:
as we are Ii is by that very awful fac
that you and i get strength as we follow
Him into the desert.
Tempt not the Lord thy God by unreal and
unwholesome views OF Christ. When He
said he was tempted, He meant tempted
when He said reach up TO God youl
Father. He meant that was Gods relation
ship to Us. oh, friends. avoid that imagina
ton OF Christ that puts a nonnatural inter
probation upon all his words and acts. He
was tempted 10 act as though he had no
the limitations OF humanity upon Him. Ht
puts II aside There He stands. the blessed
one SAYING. Thou shalt not tempt the
Lord thy God" Let Us get into the meaning
OF these words.
Taking the "cast thyself down OF Satar
10 represent the violation of Gods orderly
wcrid-we IL is a tempting of God, be
cause II seeks to do Gods work, outside o
the means and instruments OF God. IL 4:
true that the father loves his child, but h,
loves him in relation 10 other responsible
ties OF the fathers heart. 1 cannot starv,
one Of my children. that another may hav,
more than enough to eat The Father shall
give His angels charge concerning them
True But where? Not everywhere, for W,
only belong In one place-in one peculiar
place. The nation cares for the corporal IL
the ranks, throws her arms about him
feeds. clothes protects. rewards him Th
whole nation Is charged with the care O
hilr-but IN his place. II he casts himsel
out of that place and ESSAYS 10 take hi