The Indianapolis journal., 1901-12-09
STABILITY OF The TRUTH
SUBJECT OF SERMON BY THE REV.
VIRGIL w. TEVTS.
Heaven and Earth VIII Pass Away,
and Planets Have Died, but HI-
man Nature Is Same.

At the Fletcher-place Church yesterday
morning the Rev. Virgil w. Tevis, the pas
tor, preached from Matthew, xiv. 80;
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but
my words shall not pass away" Mr. Tevis
said in part:
Apparently the world was made to stand
forever. Its hills look eternal. Its founda-
tOn is OF granite The cords Of gravity
which hang IL are as powerful as when God
flung IL out in the spaces The sun IS just
as lavish in scattering light as when 1t
smiled upon the Garden of Eden. But the
seeds of dissolution are in everything.
Some planets are even now dead The
moon is but a planetary corpse, whose pale
face merely reflects the light of the King
of day. The dissolution goes on. Old things
pass away, and the new comes upon the
stage of action Flowers bloom but TO fade
Heaven and earth will pass away. Time Is
a wonderful magician, who transforms eV-
erything he touches.
Christ says that amid the changeable
His words are enduring. word is but the
expression of an idea-a thought, truth.
His words have the immortality of truth.
Truth is eternal. A fact is always a fact.
ages. Men are constituted now precisely
as they were in the beginning. 1t is pa
thetic to study the rOmances of years ago
and reflect that nothing is left of the actors
but ashes. Hearts were wooed and won
yesterday, as to-day. The comedy and
tragedy of life were as real yesterday as
tuning were different, but the actors had
the same play. The same underlying laws
govern men to-day as when the Saviour
was upon earth. Money cursed men when
the young men of great possessions went
away sorrowful. The red hand of murder
has smeared the pages of the history of
every age since the days of Cain. The
sighs OF the human heart for better life
have swelled into sounds like the breathing
of the ocean in the years gone by. The
soul in all ages has had its divine original
%
sin has not wholly obliterated it. Now,
the words of our Saviour dealt with human
character. Regarding this the truthfuness
of Christs words stands unchallenged. He
taught men how TO reach an ideal tfe 1t
is one thing to make a visionary pattern
for life and quite another to live Ii your
self and to teach men how to obtain it.
Christ lived the ideal life and taught men
how TO obtain the same heights. The put
ting into practice the precepts he taught
made st. Paul out of Saul of Tarsus. Saul
was only man like other men, but with
his silent partner he became Paul, unlike
the most Of men. These same precepts
have lost none OF their efficacy to-day. He
taught men how to die an ideal death. He
robbed 1t of Its sting and snatched victory
from the jaws of the tomb. The boast of
the founder of our church was, Thank
God, our people die we'll. 1t is true that
since that day conditions have changed,
but man is still man. A modern organ
has been evolved from the old melodian,
but it has the same keyboard and the same
combination of sounds.
Christ spoke with authority. His style
of oratory was unlike that of any man.
He spake as one having authority His
messages were from beyond the stars.
They were the Fathers loving. tender
words to a lost world which he loved.
His words were of infinite depth Some
words convey all their meaning in one com
prehensive glance; His were profound. Men
have grown since those days-wondrously
grown. To-day we touch the stars. We
have brushed aside the sable garments of
mystery, and, like Jupiter we hold the
lightnings in our hands. Still all His words
are deeper than our knowledge.
LAS long the world has its sorrows
that long will IL need the balm of Gilead
AS long the troubled mariner on life $
high seas seeks the harbor that long will
his eyes seek the star of Bethlehem As
long death seeks victims among men
that long will the hungry eye seek the pres
ence of Him who said: L am the resurrec-
ton and the life"