The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-05-21
A YOUNG woMANs REcREArroNs.
Rev. Arthur j. Smiths Sermon at the
First Presbyterian Church.

Rev. Arthur j. Smith preached at the
First Presbyterian Church last night on
"a Young woman's Recreations." His
text was: 'She that hveth in pleasure
is dead while she liveth." l Timothy 5:6.
From the text" Rev. Mr.. Smith said.
I'VE would infer that there were women
in the apostolic days who were given TO
pleasure as well as in our day. We do
not believe st. Paul inferred that we
should have no pleasures or amusements,
but that we should not live in them or
live for them alone, making them the OBJ
ject and goal Of our lives.
Some cynics condemn all kinds of
amusements as evil and harmful. Some
say that Jesus never smiled. but where
they get their proof we do not know. IL
is true He was the man of sorrows he
carried the burden of the sins of the
world on his shoulders but wherever He
went. He scattered sunshine and
gladnees, making the dumb sing
His praises and The lame leap and
shout for joy. Though His outer life was
full of sadness His heart was full of joy.
Holiness and laughter are not antagonistc
to each other, neither is Ii sin TO smile
Mirth is not irreverent and pure fun is not
opposed to true purity.
Young women need recreation. The in
cessant strain of intense lives demand re-
laxation9f A young woman who studies
hard a school is under a great strain, 50
with the busy woman at home, in the Of
fee, store, or school room. The duties OF
consecrated Christian young woman in cur
churches are a heavy strain some lmss.
There must be letting down, an unbend-
ing, a relaxation, or there may he collapse,
sickness, and, perhaps. death.
Amusement affords an opportunity
for this relaxation. In the process
of unbending renew our ex-
hausted physical energies and
nerve forces. The word recreate could be
accented differently, and bring out the
full work of any innocent amusement re-
create There is recreation actually go
Ing on where we relax and rest and en-
toy ourselves
Mr. Smith spoke Of the three fold ma
ture of each young woman that needed re-
creation, the physical, the intellectual and
the spiritual.
Physical recreation" he said, when
not carried to an extreme, is a great
blessing. 1t should consist of outdoor
games of all sorts, and also indoor exer-
else. The intellectual nature finds recrea-
ton in concerts, lectures and reading The
spiritual nature finds recreation in pray
er, Bible study singing and waiting on
God in His house. There are three tests
that should be put to all our amuse-
nents. The first is the test of purity. Are
they absolutely pure? A celebrated painter
once said that he could not look upon
disgusting sight without unconscioualy
reproducing it on his canvas. So in our
lives we reproduce those things that We
read and think about. We should there
fore avoid all that is impure or that
savors of impurity. A second test is
"Will the particular pleasure build up
our characters" Amusements and char
acter-building are very intimately asso-
clated. Last of all we should put the test
of the spirit of Christ What would Jesus
do? We know what He did under many
circumstances. We know what He taught
others to do. We should be guided in
our decisions by Him.
The singing of Ambrose's zone Sweetly
Solemn Thought by a quartette of ladies,
consisting of Mrs Mize, first soprano;
Miss Kline, second soprano; Mrs. Rowe,
first alto and Mrs. Bishop, second, was
greatly enjoyed.
Mr.. Ryrns solo on Character Build
ing was also very much. enjoyed.
Next Sunday evening Mr.. Smith will
preach on The Young Woman in Busi-
ness"
\ At the weekly prayer meeting of the
church Wednesday evening the pastor
will lead the third synthetic study of the
Epistle to the Ephesians.