The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1902-10-13
The sermon was as follows:
THE SERMON.


Job / g. Doth Job fear God for
nought?"
The most fruitful sayings In the Bible
are the words Of Jesus. He comes 10 US
with sentences pregnant with thought
In themselves they are sermons. This
morning we take our text from words
ascribed to Satan.
We may judge from the text that he
vas az seductive and cunning In Jobs
day as I'm our own. In the language. as
cribed to God, there was no man like
Job In all the earth Perfect and up
right. one that feareth God and eschew-
eth evil"
Job too was q successful man. His
business had greatly prospered.. IL
Seemed to satan that God had put
hedge about him for protection and that
he had increased his goods through con-
tinued favors and guidance.
This in Satar's mind was the reason.
and the only reason why Job feared God.
"Put forth thine hand" says Satan to
God, land touch all that he hath and he
will renounce thee TO thy face"
A touch OF historical insight fs neces-
sary 70 the full appreciation of the
things said and done In the past. great
deal Of praise II bestowed on men unde-
scrvedly who have accomplished great
things because OF our failure TO note the
favorable environment which surrounded
them. But this age with spirit OF criti-
cisni, too often hostile. Is much more
prone to err on the other side. We cri-
ticiee men for their thought and action
IN the past. assuming that then they
were In a position 20 act and think as
We are. This is too often true In reia-
tion to theology.
A CHARITABLE RELIEF.
II 10 certainly more charitable to be-
lieve that Augustine and Calvin. II they
were now living. would believe as we
do than to criticise them for their posi-
Gryman Abbot once said. 1T is not
question OF what our forefathcrs be-
lieved. but what they would believe. II
they were now living"
In the light OF the present the lam
guage Of Satan seems naive and childish.
He does not seem to speak with the ex-
perience we usually ascrfbe 10 him. To
his mind Job is rich because OF his reia-
tionship with God. He is upright and
honest with a purpose. To remain an
touch with the divine assures him tenn
poral blessings.
The facts of today discredit this. The
psalmist may have grown old and gray
without seeing the righteous forced TO
beg bread. II he were living today IN
one of our great cities he would be COM
pelled to modify that statement. IL
could no moro be said that the residents
OF First avenue I'm New York are all
sinners than that the wealthy on Fifth
avenue were all saints. We would al
agree that both statements would be
little strong.
Believe me there are some and many
Door people in this world who are not
sinners and II we are to believe the re-
ports concerning the unveiling OF vice In
st. Louis at present then there are at
least n few bank presidents and owners
Uyh ra
II would certainly be ludicrous state
ment to say that the men who own
this city--yes who virtually own tt
secured it because OF their fear
Of God Yet this is exactly in line witn
the statement of our text. The Hebrew
mind and the American mind move In
entirely different channels
The Hebrew knew nothing about sec
ondary causes. Everything for him was
direct and spontaneous.
GOD SPEAKS DIRECTLY.
God speaks directly with men. lie
comes TO Moses and 20 Elijah and speaks
as a man speaks face 20 face. II a man
prospered II was because OF the direct
blessing OF God II he failed IL is be-
cause of the direct curse OF God. Ma
tural laws had no place In their minds.
Our point of view has utterly changed.
There are people who cling tn the letter
vrftten by the finger of God. Who vio-
late the spirit OF Jewish thought In every
word they utter. II matters not how
honest and sincere they may be In doing
&. yet they fall under the category OF
those who strain at a gnat and swal-
low a camel
II man succeeds today we ascribe his
success TO those secondary and natural
laws that control commerce and busi-
mesa IL Rockefeller, the son OF n poor
farmer, has today an income rated at
many millions: II he has become the
weafthiest man I'm the world, II is due TO
the fact that he saw the possibilities Of
an industry In its infancy. With Her
culeen strength and untiring zeal he 30
managed those possibilities that they be-
came realities. His income In due to In
sight and Industry, not 20 his fear or
God
The Importance Of this In relation 10
our subject of fear Is not far to seek.
When men believed that the fear OF God
brought material prosperity men feared
God, just as Satan says To be sure he
was mistaken I'm Jobs case. but rest as.
sured that these words. ascribed 10
Satan, came from the lips OF some man
who knew why many In Isreai feared
God.
But since men no longer believe that
piety is productive OF wealth, men who
seek wealth as the supreme end OF life
have ceased to be pious and have become
Industrious. The reason for fear I'm this
particular has vanished and with the
reason has gone the fear Itself.
STILL FEAR GOD.
But men stifl fear God. and ~ what we
have said be true then we shall expecs
20 find that men fear God I'm just those
soalms where there IL doubt as TO the ac-