The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-09-23
SERMON AT CENTER CHURCH
PREACHED BY REF F. A.NOBLF, D.
 D., OF CHICAGO, YEsTERDAY,

|
 Former Pastor of Center Church.
 "Yes" as u Great Constructive Word -
 the Day Which Must be Solved-Th.
 Righteous Man Should be on ths Post
 tive Side.
 At Center church yesterday morning
 Rev. F. A. Noble, D. D., of Chicago,
 formerly pastor of the Union Park Con-
 gregational church, in that city,
 preached. Dr. Noble was also formerly
 pastor of Center church in this city.
 a large congregation of the former
 parishioners were present to hear him
 yesterday. He spoke from the text
 Matthew 9:2S, and when He was
 come unto the house, the blind men
 came to Him; and Jesus saith unto
 them, believe ye that I am able to do 1 this? They said unto Him, yea Lord,
 and the general subject of the sermon
 was Getting Into Positive Relation
 ship With God" He spoke in part as follows:
 Thousands of men go down each year
 in our great cities because they have not the pluck and wisdom to stand up squarely and say "No." Men are to say mo- when plausible schemes of
 one kind or another are presented to
 them. I presume that there is not a day but men of this congregation have
 schemes of making money presented to
 them, inventions, mining schemes, etc.
 In these cases a wise man simply stands and says mo"
 They are to stand and say that when
 bad schemes are proposed in our city councils If 1t were not for men who are constantly rising In their places and saying mo-" we would have more bad laws than we now have on our statutes.
 Yes is a great constructive word. It is the word that advances the inter ests of mankind It is because two stand at the altar and say "Yes" that our homes are founded because some one said "yes" we have the laws which we have. Yale university is where 1t Is because back in the centuries some men said 'yes" when the proposition was presented to found great institution or learning. eS IS the WOTu lndl underlies every great reform. It is in- | carnated in the civilization that we have achieved. First of all it is to be yea to God. No one is right until he is right with God. A man isn't right | if he stands up honest in politics, in | business, in the home, in social life. never until he has looked Into the face of God and has said that the will of God has been revealed to him. There are many men outside the church who are, I think, right with God and there are men in the church who, think, are . not right with God.
 A man might as well attempt to run a race with clogs at his heels as to at tempt to accomplish the best results k possible without being right with God. His will is not of the most wholesome kind, his reasoning is not the most logi- cal. If he is right with God the whole organism of the man will be at har- mony with itself because in harmony l. with God. I have the idea it will hold the business man, the mathematician, the orator, the astronomer, and every man if he first takes the pains to bring every one of his faculties into harmony with God.
 Not only must a man say yes to God but he must say yes to all these great questions which we are bound to be- ieve have the approbation of God No one will ever get rid of having ques- ions that are troublesome until the millennium comes, There have always oeen in the middle ages down through rom the settlement of these colonies 1fl nf nt,I Of ,tate. and of all interest of society pressing on men. Now these questions lave right side and a wrong side and $ we want to be on the positive side so hat our influence may count for right ousness Now what are some of these I questions? I don't mean expansion of ( ur country. This has brought serious [ questions but I speak more immediate K y of these questions at home that must | ave solution if our republic is to ad- q ance from righteousness to righteous ess. One of these questions is munich a al righteousness, the question of the S ome, the question of the schools. n I don't know as it startles you here; h does in the west. Homes there are 5 very once in while broken up by sep d ration. Not in the slums but among D cultivated people there u re these disruptions of homes. d hese things cannot be going on in- a reasing without harm coming to our T ,cial and civil life. You and l have S 1e responsibility of devising plans so S; lat these things will not be so com d on. SC Then there is the question of right r6 1vernment of our cities. We can't of ,rfeit our free press, our free speech, tf lat kind of liberty which generations cf ave been fighting and struggling for. tv 1hatever Is done in securing right of in great cities must be done al ith the right of our elections franchise. of -ith these foreigners that come to us TO is becomes grave question. Think le
 it S2 per cent. of the population of hicago is foreign born. People from W sections of the world are gathered Ire and then there is the free suffrage. arge numbers of politicians are ready
 resort to all manner of chicanery. Cl hat question must be met and solved
 the republic cannot stand. If it Is in e great cities of the land it spreads w $ contagion all around. It becomes ca
 to settle on something and see where Tn e stand on that question. It is easy pc fold our hands and say that we going tn