The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1902-09-12
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
HELPFUL AND RsAcAsLe DISCOURSE
ENTITLED "AlIre MADE OVER"
The Distinguished Psstor-EvAngeiist.t the
Rev. DIR. J.wnbur Chapman, Has Pre-
pared the Following sermon For the
Pres.-God Has = Plan FOR Every Lite.

/ bur Chapman. the popular pastor-evangel-
l list, who breaches 10 overfiOwlng congrega-
! tions IN this city. has furnished the follow
/ ing eloquent sermon TO the press. Ii was
preached from the text so he made lt
again Jeremiah Is: 4
/ To any one familiar with the prophecy Of
Jeremiah up "a this point IN the Scripture
/ II will be apparent that Israel was rushing
/ on 10 destruction, and jeremiah seems
! poverless 10 stop them IN their mad
| course. One day as he passes along the
/ highway he beholds a potter working m a
1 booth, and as he turns aside he beholds
| HIM with the clay IN his hands and the
/ wheel revolving. toiling away until this
| piece of work Is finished He looks az Il
/ with disappointment, and then crushing II
! into his hands he kneads IL over and over
and finally makes II again as the text de
I clarcS. jeremiah Is interested. and then he
! saw the spiritual significance of II all as
we read IN the fifth and sixth verses of
I this 18th chapter. Then the word of the
/ Lord came 10 me, saying, q, house Of
/ Israel, cannot | DO with YOU as this pot.
! ter Saith the Lord, Behold as the clay
/ Is in the potter's hands, 50 are We IN Mine
| hand q house of Israel The trouble was
not with the potter, he was evidently a
/ good workman. nor with the wheel, for
/ that seemed 10 do its work well. but en-
tlrely with the clay. Sometimes the clay
was coarse and difficult 20 mold. other
times II was full of grts, but there were
| two courses that were opened 20 the pot.
ter. First, he could purify the clay by re-
moving the coarser elements, and second,
| he could make a rude vessel Of the material
/ az hand. This Is familiar figure IN the
| Scriptures, for we read IN Isaiah 6i :,
! But now, q Lord, Thou art our Father;
we are the clay and Thou our potter; and
we all are the work of Thy hand" and
then We read IN the New Testament in
/ Paups Epistle 10 the Romans, the 9th
! chapter and the 2lst and 22d verses.
! Hath not the potter power over the clay,
of the same lump to make one vessel unto
! honor and another unto dishonory What
| il God willing 10 show His wrath, and TO
make His power known, endured with
much long suffering the vessels of wrath
| fitted to destruction
/.
! We are the clay. God is the potter. Clay
! in itself Is most unattractive, but the art
| lst looks upon lt with interest because of
what he sees in 1t IN the way of beauty af-
| ter his hands have touched IL. This makes
the difference in two pieces of canvas, one
! If touched by the master hand and Is a
masterpiece the other is simply canvas in
! its natural state and Is not interesting.
A traveller stood watching potter work
in the factory one day and said 90 him,
! "Why is It in these days when such won
|
! this work Is not done by machinery rather
than by hand and the potter said,
! There are some pieces OF work which can
! only be brought to perfection by the
! touch of a human hand and so It is IN
the formation of character. Whatever
may be ones social position or his financial
wealth he will not be able TO please God
nor TO be prepared for heaven until the
! hand Of God has touched him This is a
! picture OF our regeneration, for regenera-
! tion IL the coming into US OF the life of
! God | stood one day IN Venice watching
! the glassblowers. and while glass IN its
] natural state was most unlnteresting, just
as soon as the workman began TO blow the
! breath of his own life into II IL became a
! thing OF beauty Adam. back In the Old
! Testament becoming a living soul Is the
! Old Testament story OF Gods inbreathing,
! while the child OF God in the New Testa.
ment is the New Testament's story of that
same inbreathing
The day Of our conversion we yielded
! ourselves to God. that was the closing OF
ourselves in the hands OF the potter As
we came into the light with Him God saw
! imperfectlons IN our makeup, things that
| were not pleasing TO Him, and so He put
| His finger upon this or that; some OF these
| things we have not been willing 90 give up,
and 30 our lives have been marred We
! have had a controversy with HIM, and
| wherever there Is a controversy there Is
! no peace. We are Christians, it Is true,
! but we arc frultless and joviess, and many
| OF Us are shOrn OF power. The vessels were
| marred in the making but II IL a comfort
! ing thing 10 know that we are m the hands
! of the potter still, and although we failed
| Yesterday we need not fail tomorrow, for
/ He will fashion Us If we will but permit
! Him 20 do so IN the likeness Of His own
a. Ia lp hll tYa Dra -,
! be pure Of heart we certainly are 20 have
/ fellowship with Christ. we have been IN
! bondage long enough now the question ~
/ shall we yield or not. suppose we do not
! yield are we then lost Certainly not.
/ Paul says. lie Is able 10 keep that which
/ ! have committed unto Him" and in the
eighth chapter OF Romans he seems 20 cX-
/ haust language 20 soar into heaven and TO
/ make his way 10 the very DEPTHS Of the
/ earth and then 20 cry aloud. Nothing
| shall be able 10 separate W from the love
/ of God which u M Christ Jesus our
/ Lord, but we shall bc shorn OF peace and
| OF power and Of blessing. and while certain
kinds OF work will 20 on in our lives an.
other kind OF vessel viii be made RO-
mans Q. u, Hath not the potter power
over the clay, Of the same lump % make
one vessel unto honor and another unto
dishonor.' We might have been a vessel
~ the kings palace. we might have been
in the throne room Of the king, we might
have been used 20 carry life 10 the dying
and God would and YOU would not is d
sad story Of many a life.
Ill
God has a plan for every life jeremiah
did not know what was IN the mind of the
potter. but he knew that he was working
according 10 a plan. but we know what Is
IN God. mind. Romans s %. For whom
He did foreknow, He also did prcde-tinate
% be coniOrmo1 to the image OF HIS Son
that n, might be- the first born among
manv brethren Philippians 3. -, Not
a. though ] had already attained, either
were already perfect, but ] follow after. II
that ] may apprehend that for which also
/ am apprehcnded Of Christ Jesus" God
canuO. be- satisfied with anything less than
this \ workman Iu a factory fashouing
beautiful design saws an impcrfeCtion IN
the plan. 10 carry 10 on meant rum. and
20 he carried ~ back 20 the artist and
found that ~ was an error Of the copyist
and that n the difficulty Of an inconsistent
life ], mI-represeuts Jesus Christ There
arc people in this world who would sc0rn
90 be heterdoy 20 far a. the Scriptures are
concerned, but 80 far az the manifestation
OF the Christ life is concerned they are eY.
ceedInZ.y hcretictl u - not part Of Gods
plan that we should fail
A distinguished preacher has said
There - definite and proper end and
issue for every mans existence. an end
which - the heart Of God is the good IN.
tended for him. Or for which he was IN
tended that which he D. privileged 20 be-
come. called 90 become. ought 90 become.
thrt which God will assist him % become.
and which he cannot mics save by his own
fault Every human soul has n complete