The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1902-05-26
PART PLAYED BY
IDEAL IN LIFE
DR. s. Upper breaches Com
menCGment Sermon
The VISIONS OF zACHARIAH
He Was What Moderns Call SUBJ
lime oPtimist-Urees Young
Men to Make the Best
of Things.
DR. S, Topper Peaches Com
The VISIONS OF zACHARIAH

The commencement sermon of Howard
College was preached at the First Meth
odist church at East Lake YESTERDAY by
the Rev. DR.. Kerr Boyce Topper of Phil
adelphla. DR.. Upper Is pastor of the
First Baptist church of Philadelphia, one
of the largest and most influential Bap-
fist congregations in the country, and
is himself a speaker OF force and elo-
quence. He is a Southerner by birth al
though pastor of a Northern congrega-
ton.
The theme of his discourse was the in
f1uence of the ideal upon human life
and the life of nations. The church was
crowded to it's utmost capacity. the stu
dents of the college being present in
their gray uniforms and many came
from the city to hear DR.. Topper.
His text was from Zach. 2:1. 2. II lifted
up my eyes and looked and beheld a
young man with a measuring chain in
his hand and 1 said, Whittier goest thou?
And he said To measure Jerusalem that
thereof"
revelation IN Dream.
Thus Zacharieh In dream, said DR..
Upper, beholds what we moderns would
call a FOOLS errand. Jerusalem had been
destroyed, there was no city there. yet
Zacharlah sees the vision of a young
man going with his measuring chain to
take its measurements This .'oung man
is what may be called a sublime opt-
mist. He had faith In a new Jerusalem
and was demonstrating his faith by ac-
tual work, and that this work was
worthy is shown farther along In the
text where an angel appears unto him
and tells him to lengthen his chain. that
greater Jerusalem is to be built, one
without walls and one which will spread
far into the country.
DR.. Topper then spoke of the ideals ex-
pressed In Plato's Republic, Bacon's New
Atlantis and Moore's Utopia. Where
there are no ideals, he said, men perish.
These very books themselves have liv-
ed on account of the ideals they con-
tain. He illustrated how modern inven-
lions had almost fulfilled the dreams of
Bacon as outlined In his New Atlantis
and said that the world from a golden
age In the past was working onward to
golden dawn. The ideal of Greece was
largely physical beauty and this Is why
her architecture is the most beautiful in
the world. 1t was the work of her ar
lists striving to express the ideal with
in them. The ideal of Rome was virtue,
having manly attributes and obeying the
law. This made of the Roman republic
wonderful people who first knitting the
small Roman states together forged a
sword that conquered the world.
To Be Good Citizen His Ideal.
The Romans ideal was fulfilled when he
achievements of this people could have
been accomplished without a lofty con-
ception. A mans ideal must reach be-
You'd the horison visible to his eye and
Il you fail to reach your ideal do not de-
spair God, unlike man, takes the intent
for the deed. 1t Is what is In your heart.
what you intend and try to do that counts
with God.
breaches in the City.
DR.. Topper spoke of the fact that the
world Is growing better. They talk of
college boys being bad, he said. why
religion is more universal In the colleges
of the country today than it ever was.
In 1905 at Yale University there were not
half dozen christians while many OPEN
ly pronounced themselves atheists. Yet
last year in thc graduating class of Yale
out of about IT'S students LAG were mem
bers of some church.
He advised his hearers to take an opti-
mistic view of life and not to become
prematurely old with the cares of the
world and not to let the ent husiasm of
their youth die out. He spoke of Glad
stones optimism and quoted his remark
made at the time of the Armenian mas
sacres when christianity was shocked and
many thought that God had forgotten his
people, that while such things might be
in some part of the world, the worlS Itself
as a whole was becoming more christian
more charitable and better in every way.
DIR. Topper occupied the pulpit of the
Southside Baptist church last evening. His
subject was the most beautiful portrait
of Christ. based on Acts x. SO, Jesus of
Nazarith went about doing good"
The pen Of inspiration. said DR.. Topper,
has painted no loftier picture of our Lord
than this. 1t presents the secret of the
Saviour's universal attractiveness. 1t
reveals why oil ages and races and zones
and ATTITUDES have been drawn to Him
as by magnet. This epigram of four
words is the most concentrated eulogy
The text presents also q portrait suited
to our day. We live In a day OF practical
benevolenco and beneflcence. 1t Ia not so
much the Christ of creed as deed
that men are now studying. The
attractive Saviour 10 the one that
watches doctrine with doing. creed with
character and sermons with services
Jesus Christ Is the world great phil
and the world is drawn to
Him because of this. Life is so pathetic
that II demands heart more than in
telect, and Christs has a love that never
cooled, a faith that never failed, a hope
that never fiickered. He was the embodi-
ment of all that Is good and great, the
representation of all that Is excellent, the
incarnation of character And as in deed
SO also in creed. Christ was philan-
thropic. Study his teachings and you
find them generally revealed in the three
great doctrines that uplift cheer, console
and stimulate. The first of these Is tho
fatherhood of God To others God might
be Judge. creator avenger of violated
law. but to Jesus. he was above all things
a loving, tender. com passionate father.
He revealed to men the affectionate sido
of Jehovah. He taught the brotherhood
of man. The world of His day was mar
row, bigoted, nnsympathetic. Mems
thoughts were provincial. The ideal man
was the iron man. Christ taught that
was a great. loving brother
hood. Lastly he emphasized as no other
teacher, the innm ortality of the soul. Once
the future life was wish, now 1t is a
conviction. Once 1t was a probability,
now II is a certainty.
With an cloquence not of earth, the
blessed Christ pointed 10 a realm where
no tear will ever course the cheek no