The times., 1901-05-20


/ a large number Of The university
| alumni Dr. Rankin discoursed on
the subject of Strength in the Lord,
taking his text from Ephesians, vi: 10:
| Finally, my brethren, be strong in the
Lord. and in the power of his might He
said in part:
The display of strength always awak-
ems admiration. Frederick the Great had
his regiment Of giants. 1t helped his pa
rades. A good stature is desirable in mod
| orn policemen. 1t makes the little boys
| trembie.
..Nhen King Saul organized an army it
was on the same basis. He knew the
| value of size and magnitude, but that was
! before firearms. The record Is that wheh
he saw any strong man or any valiant
man he took him into his service. This
was in his war against the Phiiistines.
And when the PhiIistines put forth their
champion. Goliath, that great embodi-
ment of physical power, the children OF
| Israel fed far before him and were sore
! afraid. Because with his stature OF nine
/ and three-fourths feet and his ponderous
arm he appeared so formidable.
"Dayid's victory over him was partly
the victory of skill over strength. For
kuack often overcomes strength. This
supple shepherd boy made his honest
boast that he had plucked the lamb OF
the flock out Of the lions mouth and had
caught the lion by the beard and had
slain him. Feats of strength, indeed, but
of knack as well. He knew just how to
direct that smooth stone Of the brook to
the giants temple, and to strike his
formidable bulk to the earth.
Achilles could be wounded only in the
heel. Goliath in the temple. Besides that
!, n~aII
as himself and the Philistines. David
was thus early recognized as one of God 5
( heroes. though he afterward fell in an
other trial OF strength where great
many mighty men fell
Tales Of strength are always attractive
! especially TO young men. From boyhood
fests of strength are always popular with
them. The Hebrews had their Samson
and the Greeks their Hercules. They had
Samson with the gates of GAIA upon his
shoulders. Samson topping down the
temple Of the god Dagan, and dying amid
the ruins, celebrated by Milton as wen
as in the Bible.
Hercules earned fame by the twelve
Iabors with which he purchased his i'm
mortality. beginning with the strangling
Of the Nemean lion. and ending with
bringing TO the upper world the dog Ger
berus. the guardian of Hades. And Shake
speare introduces a wrestling match into
AS You Like It. in which Orlando over
throws the dukes wrestler and becomes
the admired of all spectators. 1t is still
English 20 encourage such trials Of
strength
THE highest kind of strength is spoken
of in the text Strength in the Lord. Let
this be our subject.
rhroFrcb Cod fb1t some rarca,.c
are bor.. physically strong, inherit a good
constitution, have a commanding physique,
which is unbroken even to great age.
Such a physique is a determining power in
a mans possibilities He can endure more
than mis- competitors. He outlives them
1t is true that sometimes person appears.
Ike Alexand Stephens, of Georgia. with
frailty and even deformity of physique
who has great intellectual power and a
long life
Napoleon was called The Little Cor
poral. and he adopted all sorts Of devices
to make himself lock larger. No one can
doubt that the perfect physique of Wash
ington was a no inconsiderable element in
his great career. His very presence and
dignity awakened awe. And the first king
of the Israelites was chosen for this-that
he was head and shoulders taller than the
people.
Then there is intellectual strength. So
far as this is an inheritance it also comes
from God. The Adamses of Massachu-
setts have been diplomats from generation
to generation. There are men and women
who are scientific students by nature
These read books. they read the world of
nature without effort. There is a second
Agassiz at Cambridge. There has been no
second Washington, no second Webster
There are fruit trees that bear only in al
ternate years, plants that are century
plants.
Phillips Brooks was a great man physi-
Cally. Trinity Church. Boston, that great
temple so vacant without him, was none
too large for him. 1t was the setting he
deserved. He had the best blood OF Bos-
ton, from which had sprung Wendell Phil
lips and Oliver Wendell Holmes. He was
in the line Of benefactors of schools. He
had received the best culture Of Harvard,
and wnen his brief life Of fifty-eight years
was rounded out, his death came like the
falling of a polished column from the sup
port Of temple
THE strength spoken Of in the text is
moral II is the strength OF the hidden
man within US. Man is made in Gods
moral image, and in moral strength we
highest dignity and destiny That is what
the incarnation means-God incarnate-
God in the flesh.
NO one in these days speaks OF Ma
polcOn as a strong man morally, neither
were Lord Byron CT Robert Burns moral
iy strong Great commanders. great
poets. not great men. Jesus Of Nazareth
set up new standard OF manhood. There
Is a single great law that runs through
The material world II Is in the atoms
in the worlds that wheel In space We
call il the law Of gravitation. Gods moral
creatures are under an analogous law
The Saviour said: The sparrow falleth
not to the ground without your Father
The sparrow wings his way from perch
to perch by being obcdient To law
1t Is precisely so in the moral world.
The law of love must be sovereign here
he that walkcth uprightly walketh Sc
cufely.
My dear young friends, you go forth
from these halls in your young strength
and enthusiasm 20 take up your lifes
work. We welcome you, We congratulate
you BE students still Study everything
that will add true manliness to your lives
dignity and grace 70 your manners.
alma mater. Read 'Piutarch's Lives
see how Shakespeare found his tragedies
there Read the Biographies OF All men
and women who have done heroic things
DO such things yourselves
There may be some hidden spring 81
these biographical records, which God
means for you. Remember that AIexan-
der the Great slept with Homers Had
under his pillow There is a better book
for you. Your mothers gave il TO you. DO
licve in them. They are still the stand
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