The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-11-24
THE MAN OF THE HOUR
"CHERUBIM AND SERAPHIM" THE
SUBJECT OF A SERMON.
Rev. j. Cumming smith at the Taber-
nacle Touches on Live Topics
Other Church Services.

pUllu. he S3lu. lie NOTQ Noh ~
traced back to root meaning. to plow; the
word seraph to a root meaning, to burn OF
glow, and the Jews conceived hierarchy
in the unseen world, with grades of mind
and classification of spirits according to
worth The Jewish system of angels has
died out almost and to our unspeakable
poverty. To the old seers this was vivid
and populous universe. AS up from the
lowly marshes mists rise into pure, snowy
forms to grace the sky, so up from our
earth life spirits ascend to humanize
heaven, as it were, and help to carry on its
infinite enterprises. The Bible teens with
a noble spiritualism of originals and con-
tinuous power over our world, but without
any trickery or trimmings or magical
Vaccinations.
1.-THE cherub represents the practical tall
ent of service and powers and adaptability.
The seraph represents the pure enthusiasm
and glowing ardor for holiness, the
dreaming quality that sees the essential
right in itself and follows the beauty OF
perfection for it's own sake. The cherub is
practical, the seraph is poetic. These two
elementary characteristics are humanized
In the person of our God. He has two
whistle one of ideal intention, the other
of effective execution. The one will aims
TO realize the loftiest standards and pushes
the world onward through sorrow and
struggle and tumult to the final perfection.
The other will recognizes the world as it is
and man as he is and the forces now at
work as they are, and, therefore, adjusts
the policy to the actual facts. God blends
both functions and many difficulties in the
realm of theology would have melted away
ike morning cloud or troubling dream
or the pillow if the two phases of God s
one life had been kept in view. He is un-
compromising for rectitude, infexible in
the fundamental, rigorous standards of
holiness, but He is also able sympathetical-
ly to calculate the infirmities of mankind
and shape policy in accordance. 1t is
the genius of evolution, and evolution is not
atheism; 1t demands first cause infinitely
more than any theory of creation.
GENIUS REQUIRED.
1.-THE rows of separate watches in the
jewelers. front window certainly require
matchmaking genius to account for them;
but suppose a watch was constructed with
such marvellous autonomy as to carry it
self on without any winding up, and to
repair its breaks wounds instantly out
of its own resources, and to multiply it.
! self into new watches and different sorts
of watches-then the argument for con-
| structive mind is infinitely and irresistibly
| increased. Evolution means power to un-
| wind and unfold and this power demands
| infinite intelligence.
Now while the pure devotion of the
seraph for ideals burns in the mind of
| God, the practical insight and manage
constitution; while therefore He proclaims
| the answering principles of heavens own
unclouded holiness as the ultimate goal
| of progress He also considers human souls
| as they are and human heritages from sire
| to son and human environment with their
wider play of subtle yet despotic infiu-
| ences. God has holiness and God also has
| mercy
In the best men and women the cherub
and the seraph mingle. A mother of purest
and loveliest temperament finds herself
presiding over nursery of very mixed
| and incongruous little pieces of human
nature to school into propriety and tame
into obedience. AT first her purest dreams
| are disappointed. The mystery of unfath-
| enable heredity battles her. Their bursts
| of original human nature vex her. She
| Is too ideal. Time trains her to the cour-
| age IF facing the facts of life as they are.
| She accommodates herself to the situa-
| ton and slowly and artfully she softens
her standards and gloves her rebukes, and
ings toward refinement. This is discipline
| as much for her as for them.
Take another example Here are men
| or ethereal and advanced conceptions of
| society, who believe that all humans are
| brothers and competition is of the devil
| and who urge the classes now at war to
| merge and constitute vast industrial part
| nership. Such men are winged seraphim
| Theoretically they are correct in their idea
of human brotherhood. They are prema-
ture as If they told a little todding four.
| year-old to wear his fathers overcoat We
| want the cherubim, and they are plenti
full: While equally capable of alurns
visions Of what the world is workinf
eey aays aeen rSeS f fr
necessity of accommodation; that every
progress In history is a compromise anc
that compromise involves no criminality
Yea 1T is often the manifest courage II
Is simply doing the best in the circum
stances. There would be fewer divorces
If two people were sensible enough L
compromise. There would be fewer church
feuds if parties were Christlike enough Il
compromise There is an infinite amour
of downright bigotry and obstinacy tina
calls itself by the dignified name of con
scientiousness. ungentle. harsh. unsympa
thetic, conceited conscience!
| I'VE dislike labor unions so far as the,
are tyranical and rob men of the right t
work or not work with them as they wish
| We note, however, that Mitchell stoo,
game under hot fire.. He seems to enter
tain certain ideals for the workingman t
raise him in the scale, and yet ne has
poise and self-rectifying instinct that warn
his union not to go too far and irritate tn
public beyond the point of endurance An,
there are commendable public men il
| America with plenty of elasticity in thei
temperament and who for that very reason
are abused for lack of conscience. Fa
| from IT. iHty are the salt Oh the eartf
They are the sheet anchor of government
| They don't have a signboard of their con
| science over their front door, but they ar
forever 10 be distinguished from tn
!. | currish politicians who have sold out thei
| manhood for a chess game and pawne
| away their character for place or prefer
menr. From these oegenerates we mus
sharply distinguish the practical idealist
| who waste no time in legislating for angels
/. | but in fitting into the actual world tn
. forces that will impel human nature t
ascend to higher and higher levels.
POLITICAL GENIUS.
This is true political genius. 1t adultel
ates no virtue that deserves the name
: The cloistral Imagination that theorize
in the air with impossible schemes ha
no business in politics. Nothing is easie
than to reconstruct society on paper. Par
wakes up every morning with a score
? new theories swimming in the BRAIN
! suspect the sincere Prohibitionists ERE
| sometimes in not taking what they coul
! get because it was not the whole thin
: ! they wanted And there are citizens
\ ! straightlaced and dainty in their NOR;
! | sensitiveness that they refuse TO touC
: | politics just because ii is offensive to the
| Puritans of absurd loftiness that di
qualities them for a mixed miscellaneol
: | world; vertical men who verge on phar
Z | saism: so perpendicular that they can nev'
: | fall-except up, These never know Il
, | luxury of a tumble once and a while 1t is
| misfortune to be too squeamish in such
(, promiseuous world as ours is; to star