The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1902-10-02
Delight in Gods House.

Tt has gone out of fashion to take. de-
iQht in Gods house. The good old days
If the quiet. sacred Sabbath. whereon all
10 to worship the Lord in the beauty OF
holiness. are gone. We hear tales OF our
raudmothers, whose pure eyes are lit
lervices, where sermon and prayer were
leep and hard to be understood; we lis
zen TO the story of how our grandfathers,
,or love of God, went armed to church
md took turns pacing up and down in
'ront of the primitive building that their
worship might not be interrupted by WIS.,
is from sayages, and we. admire them as
simple folk with no higher social priv
!leges than to gather in log house every
little while and have n dull sermon read
20 them. They were brave, certainly.
and the tenacity with which they held to
heir religious views and left all else in
life for the privilege of serving God in
what seemed to them the right way, was
beautiful. But we Of this more enlight-
sned age-why, we could not take the
time for such long services There is too
much ADDING now. The world has walked
up. We must have our sermons all frills
and furbelows, or we care nothing for
.hem. What would they have thought, in
@the days of the Puritans, Of the efforts OF
the present day to attract an audience?
People went to church then from pure
place where they were always sure of
meeting Him, their Fathers home, their
home. Just as the birds of the air seek
their little nests for comfort and rest and
.efreshment, even so they sought the al
tars Of God their Father, and felt it their
home.
And the Sabbath was their free day in
which thev could all meet as one great
family With the breaking OF the Sab
bath has come the decline in the delight
in Gods house. For how can one delight
in a thing for which one has no time or
thought?
Still stands this solemn, impassioned
psalm, like bit of ancient curio, striking
strange note, scarce heard amid the
work-a-day worlds rushing on. In these
times of buying and selling and getting
gain, of pleasuring and feasting, of study
and research, of building up new theories
sor everything under heaven, even the
lear old Bible, what time have we for
sentiment, and toward house, particu.
lar building? is not God everywhere?
Worship in His house is but form The
DID dispensation is done away with.
All But God established those forms,
and for the purpose Of teaching His own
he way to Him. Alexander MacLaren
says: $50 long as spirit is tied to body
The most spiritual worship will be tied to
FORM"
And it is no more unlikely that we
shall wander from our God than it was
that the thoughtless children of the will
derness should.
! True, we have made Gods house more
and more beautiful as time has passed on.
| 1t is as lovely now as our own homes, and
quite as comfortable, but is not this done
largely from selhshness? Do we beautify
it because we love it, and love our God, or
because it gives us pain to be environed
sven for the short time each week that
we are detained in church by anything
lglv or out of harmony?
But is it then possible for busy man
or woman, filled with life and happiness
and laden with the joyous cares OF this
sarth. to love the church where the ser.
mon is i'll prepared, or poorly delivered,
or monotonouslv commonplace?
Truly, yes Because it is Gods house
God is never i'll prepared to meet you
nor monotonously commonplace. He loves
there to look into His face. "It is He
that hath made you and not Yourself
He knoweth what you need. The way Ia
love Gods house is given in this hun
dredth psalm. ENTER into His courts
with thanksgiving, not with criticism in
your heart Count your blessings while
you sing His praise. Acknowledge His
part in your life, His over-all-ness
Bless His name" Then will His house
.ruly become to you the house of PRAYER
he gate OF heaven, your home. tt
Tou can sing with all your heart:
love Thy church, o God
Beyond my highest joy
prize her heavenly ways,
Her sweet communion, solemn VOWS,
Her hymns of love and praise.