The age-herald., 1901-03-04
A LENTEN SERMON
 BY MIR. MURRAY Difference Between a True and DiSsembIing Fact TOLD BY PROPHET ISAIAH Not the Fast of the Formalist and the Hypocrlte, But Such a Fast as
 is Truly AeceotabIe
 to God.
TOLD BY PROPHET ISAIAH

At the Church of the Advent yester- day Rev John c. Murray preached an eloquent sermon, his text being, "Is net this the fast that l have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness. to undo pressed go free and that ye break every yolIe?" Isaiah 5S:6.
 The Prophet has been instructed of God to reprove the hyprocisy of the peo- ple," said MT Murray. "The mosct ac- ceptable worshipper of God was supposed to be the one who was most rigid in fasting So Isaiah distinguishes between true and a dssembling fast, and states the nature of the actual fast which God accepteth. He describes the fast of the Journalist and hypocrte. and then asks: Is 1t such fast that I have chosen? a day for man to affiict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Wilt thou call this a fast, and an accept able day to the Lord?
 And, then, contrasting this with the fast truly acceptable to God, he contin- ues Is not this the fast that I have NhpsCi' u lOpSS lnt DdlluSs or WlCKeQ- ness, to undo the heavy burdens. and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hidest not thy self from thine own flesh?
 ifWa ora oil season of fasting and prayer. We are in accord with the custom which, fromstime immemorial, has obtained In the church. both Jewish and Christian. Among all races of men from the beginning, with or without creed there has prevailed the idea that abstlnance, either total or par tial, at certain specified seasons, is not only conducive to health, but also so sub jects the desires of the body to the promptings of the soul as to influence to- ward reverence of disposition and piety of life,
 Affirmative of this fact we have the example of nations, Chaldean Grecian, and Roman; of noted individuals, Deis- tis atheistic, heather and Christian; of the old Jewish church In its observance of the fast of the great day of the Atone ment; of the Apostolic church in its peri
 
 church In the days of the fathers, and of this same church in more modern times in the special observance of the forty day Lenten fast, commemorative of that of Moses and Elijah, incidentally, and that of the Saviour himself, specially.
 And now, let us note that the un- broken expression of this idea, which I have thus scantly outlined. from the be- ginning through all the centuries, with ba mi bac bad of those centuries, has been for the accom- plshment of a special purpose. And that special purpose ever has been. and now Is, the development of the man and the subtection of the brute. The purpose of God and man Is common In this respect. And so 1t Is that the time of our fast Is not to be considered a mere opportune season of physical rest, but q special period of spiritual wrestling. It is a time when the individual heart weary of the tumult and turmoil of life, draw ing itself apart from the world, in private and sacred communion with God, receives revelations concerning it's present wei fare and future destiny that arc impart- ed by it's Creator in this and no other way at this and no other time.
 And one of the first aids to the ac- complishment of this common purpose of God and man Is that man shall be will ing not only to know himself but also that his God shall know him as he does himself Self examination. then, you say. Lay bare the secrets of the heart before God. An, we cannot do that. There are experiences in our lives and desires of our souls that we absolutely fear to con template ourselves. We cannot consider them before our finite fellow man! How then alone with Him who Is the infinite one? How stand naked before and con fess to Him who Is to be our judge and who, from everlasting to everlasting, Is the Eternal One God over all?
 "Thou God, Seest Me-"
 "Ah. my brother. He knoweth and con- sidereth the very deeps of our being with out our consent or confession. The search light of His divine intelligence doth at this very minute, you in your pew and in this pulpit, penetrate the in- most recesses of our souls and our se crets are naked before Him. whether we say yea nay. Thou God seest me. Turn we north, south, east or west, the inscription is emblazoned upon the arch of heavens horizon. Whether by foun- tain of water in the wilderness, or in the tent of an Abram blessed with prosperi- ty, Thou God seeth me.
 Look we back this morning through the seasons to the time when we came from the hands of God, innocent guile less, beautiful and pure, a tiny bit of the Christ-like itself or look we forward into the years, months, weeks, days, hours or minutes, as the case may be- to that instant when we shall return again to Him. alone. as came we from Him, there appears to the awe-stricken eye interwoven with and inseparable from every second of time, this unmistakable, this inescapable this universal declara- tion, Thou God seest n1e'@'seest mel 'Whither shall I go (then) from Thy Spir- it? or whither sha Il l flee from Thy presence? If I ascend into heaven, Thou art there; if l make my bed in hell. be- hold, Thou art there. Whether saint or sinner Thou God seest me.
 And so 1t is that we may refuse to gratify the spontaneous yearnlng of our souls for Knowledge of God and His ways: we may refuse to hold private, personnl conference with Him regarding His pur- pose concerning us; but withal, and in all, and through all He has perfect knowledge of our ways and an absolute irrevocable will relative to our conduct
 And so impact is this condition of our creation and existence in the conscious ness of us all. that there are times in your life and mine when all the love of every affectionate heart at home; when all the kindness of every friend we trust when all the cares and perplexities ot the business we pursue; when all the joys of the social pleasures We indulge; when all the occupation of the intellect ual pursuits that absorb us; when the quiet and seclusion of nature and the clamor and confusion Of the city's surg ing and tumultuous crowd; when even the sacred and hallowed associations of loved ones, once the pride and joy of our lives, once cherished as the boon of our ex- istence, but now no more save in the ,,.A,,,nrv that they onca were and tho