The age-herald., 1901-09-23
WHEREFORE IS GOD 50 GRACIOUS ID ME Able Sermon Yesterday by Or.
 A. J. Dickinson AT FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH The Goodness of God Leadeth Us to epertance-Men Never Stop
 to Think Why They Are
 So Blessed.
AT FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH

The Rev. Dr. A. J. Dickinson, pastor of the First Baptist Church. preached an eloquent sermon yesterday morning, his text being from Romans, PA: Not knowing that the goodness of God lead eth thee unto repentance"
 He illustrated how the world Is the product of not only divine mind in con ceiving its manifold design and of di- vine will in upholding and maintaining it in its interrelated parts and functions but a,so of a gracious heart in being re- plete with goodness. Cod he said, pro nounced it very good when it came from His hand ere He gave 1t in keeping to man. T.-e world is an expression of Lods grace as well as his power and wisdom. So the work of Gods hand presses on us the goodness of it's Creator.
 But God was not good simply to sat isfy His own appetence for giving. He is no. prodigal or profigate in the bestow- ment of His grace. But that goodness has moral purpose. It is means to an end. It displays, it is true, the glory of His grace but it did this for the special purpose of leading His children to re- pentance. This display of Gods goodness makes us see how wanton Is our sin, how heinous is our requital c. His love with indifference and despite. Thus He brings us in the light of His own gracious deal ing with us to see the sinfulness of our dealings with Him, and by moving us unto Himself He leads us to repent. This Is the design of His goodness. This is its appeal to a right thinking man. We ourselves in our gifts and graces are ex- pressioAs of His goodness, and all the success in life as He has nourished and prospered us in His providence, is but the continuance of His goodness. It all converges to the end of producing repent ance in heart and life and return to the favor and fellowship of God.
 Although the world is replete with Gods goodness and the purpose of Gou in it's bestowmen for our repentance is so plain, yet men have universally ig nored this truth. Ihey have never stop ped to think to ask why this gracious goodness of God Is so persistent all through life. This ignoring of Gods love manifested in His gracious deeds of good ness Is the essence of all sinfulness of heart anu life before Him. If the world would only awaKe to a full realization of it, how it would bring peace and purity to all Gods children If we only could rightly weight the power of Gods grace and appreciate its wooing and winsome pleadings we would each of us be drawn into the fellowship and service of God.
 Purpose of Gods Goodness. ho y.i, the moral purpose of Gods goodness we "despise the richness of his goodness and long-suffering and forbearance of God" How much God has suffered for us and from us, how much and with what spirit he has borne with us In our sin and perverseness; how much He has given us in spite of our unworthiness we do not appreciate, but despise and requite with contempt, ignoring the fact that His pur- pose in it all Is to lead us to repent ance
 Tn this great city with it's thousands of people, all living in and on the good ness of God, how few of them stop to think or ask wherefore Is God so gra- cious to me" But the answer Is Ito lead them to repentance. Hence the great number who are treating a gracious God today with contempt and ignoring and | despite"
 The sermon closed with an appeal to men to repent out of appreciation of 1 Gods goodness and grace manifested in every event of life. There was a large and attentive audience present and the music was specially fine and effectively 1 devotional.