The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1900-04-27

that subiec, was Paul, and he would not
/ have been competent had he not been in-
/ spired. believe in the Sovereignty OF God,
aud believe ia mans free agency, but no
one can harmonize the two. IL is not
necessary that We harmonize them.
Every sermon that / have ever heard
that attempted such harm oniZatioa was 10
me as clear a u London fog, as clear IS
mud. My brother Of the nineteenth Gen.
tury, my brother OF the sixteenth century
give US Pauls statement and leave out
| your own.
Better one chapter OF Paul on that SUBJ
iect than all OF Calylns institutes, able
and honest and mighty as they are. Do
not try 10 measure either the throne OF God
or the thunderbolts OF God with your li,tle
steel pen.
What do YOU know about the DEGREES?
You cannot pry open tue door OF Goi's
eternal counsels. You cannot explain the
mysteries OF Gods government now, much
less the mysteries OF His government i've
hundred quintillion years ago.
move for "A creed for all our lenomlna-
lions made out Scripture quotations pure
aud simple. That would take the earth for
God; that would be impregnable against
inddeity and Apollyonic assault: that
would be beyond human criticism. The de-
nomination, whatever It's name may be,
that can rise up to that will be the church
OF tue millennium will swallow up all other
the bride when the bridegroom cometh.
Let Us make II simp aud palmer for peo-
pie 10 get into the kingdom Of God. Do lot
hinder people by the idea that they may
not have been elected. Do not tag on 10
tue one essential OF faith In Christ any Of
the innumerable nonessentials. man
who heartily accepts Christ is a Christian,
and the man who does not accept Him is
not Christian. and that is all there ia OF
IT, He need not believe In election or rep
rotation. He need not believe In the eter-
nal generation OF the Son. He need not be-
lteye In everlasting punishment. He need
not believe in infant baptism. He need
not believe Ia plenary Inspiration. Faith
IN Christ Is tue criterion, Is the best, is
the pivot, Is the Indispensable.
But there are those who would add unto
tho tests rather than subtract from them
There are thousands who would not accept
persons into church membership IL they
drink wine or II they smoke cigars or il
they attend the theatre or IL they play cards
or II they drive a fast horse. But do not
substitute tests which the Bible does not
establish. There Is ons passage OF Scrip
ture wide enough 10 let all in who ought
10 enter and to keep out all who ought to
be kept out, "Believe In the Lord Jesus
Christ and thou shalt be saved" Get n
mans heart right, aud his life will be right
But now that the Old creeds have been
put under public scrutiny something radi-
cal must be done. Some would split them,
some would carve them some would olon.
gate them, some would abbreviate them.
At the present moment in the present
shape they are hindrance. Lazarus is
alive, but hampered with the old grave
clothes. IL you want one glorious church.
free and unincumbered, take OF the cere-
ments OF old eccleslastical vocabulary.
Loose her, and let her gol
Again, my toxt has good advice concern
Ing any Christian hampered and bothered
aud bound by fear OF his own dissolution.
To such the book refers when IL speaks OF
those who through fear Of death were all
their lifetime subject 10 bondags. The
most Of us, even II we have the Christian
hope. are towards about death.
Backed up by the teachings OF your Bible,
just look through the telescope some bright
night and see how many worlds there are
and reflect that all you have seen, COM
pared with the number OF worlds In exist
ence, are less than the tlngers Of your right
hand as compared with all the fingers OF
the human race. How foolish, then, for Us
TO think that ours Is the only world 1T for
Us to stay in.
One Of our FIRST reallzations In getting
out OF this world, think. will be that In
this world we were very much pent up and
had cramped apartments aud were kept on
tho limits. The most. even OF our small
world, is water. aud tho water says to tho
human race, Don't come here or you will
drown" A few thousand feet up tho at
mosphere Is unnhabitable, and the at
mosphere says TO the human race, Don't
come up here or you cannot breathe" A
few miles down the earth Is n furnace OF
fire, and tue fire says, ID Don't come here or
you will burn" The caverns otthe mount
aims are full OF poisonous gases, and the
gases say, Don't come here or you will be
asphyxlated"
And pneumonias ana pleurlsles ana con-
sumptions and apoplexies go across this
earth In fiocks, In droves, in herds, and IL
Is world OF equinoxcs and cyclones and
graves. Yet wo ars under the deluson
that IL is the only place fit 10 stay in. We
want to stick 10 the wet plank in midocean
while the great ship, the City OF God, OF
the Celestial line, goes sailing past ami
would gladly take us up Ga a liteboat. Ny
Christian friends, let me tear of yous de-
spondencies and flights about dissolution.
Ny Lord commands me regarding you,
saying. loose him, and let him CO."
Heaven IL ninety-nve por cent. better
than this world, thousand per cent. bet-
ter, million per cent. better. Take the
gladdest, brightest. most jubilant days
you ever had on earth and compress them
all into ono hour. aud that hour would be
requiem, a fast day, a gloom, horror,
as compared with tho poorest hour they
have had Ia heaven since the first tower
was built or its first gates swung or its
lrst song caroled.
"Oh," YOU say, Chat may be true, but
am so afraid OF crossing over from tuis
world to the next, and fear the swapping
OF the cord between soul and body" Well,
all tue surgeons and physicians and sci-
entists declare that there Il no pang at the
parting OF the body and soul, and all the
restlessness az the closing hour OF life Is
involuntary and no distress at all.
But" you say, "l fear to 90 because
the future is 80 full OF mystery" Well, l
will tell you hoY TO treat the mysteries.
The mysteries have ceased both-ring me,
for do as the judges o. your courts often
do. They hear all the arguments In the
case, and they say, II will take these
papers and give you my decision next
week. SO | have heard all the arguments
In regard to tue Eext world, and sCme
things are uncertain and full OF mystery,
and so / fold up the papers and reserve
until the next world my decision about
them. / can there study all the mysteries
to better advantage, for the light will be
better and my faculties stronger, and
will ask the Christian philosophers, who
have had all the advantages OF heaven for
centuries, 20 help me, and / may be per-
mitted myself humblyto ask the Lord, aud
l think thsre will be only one mystery left;
that will be how one 80 unworthy az myself
got into such an enraptured place.
The only part OF the journey I made
years ago TO Palestine that / really dread
ed was the landing at Jopps. That Is the
port OF entrance for tue Holy Land, and
there are many rocks. and ia rough wealth
or people cannot land AZ all. The boats
taking the people ffbm the steamer 20 the
docks must run between reefs that looked
to me to be about fity feet apart, and one
misstroke OF an Oarsman or an unexpected
wave has sometimes been fatal, and
hundreds have perished along those
reefs. Besides that, as We left Port
Said the evening before, an old. tray-
eler said: The wind is Just risht 10