The Newtown bee., 1902-11-28
CIRCULATION
Ten Pages.
TOWN TOPICS.
ThE THINGS WHICH ARE NOT SEEN
FROM THE HARTFORD COURANT.
500 42OO

At the Church of the Good Shep-
 herd, Sunday, Rev George T. Linsley
 spoke from the text found in Cor. 4: 8, "While we look not at the things
 which are seen, but at the things
 which are not seen; for the things
 which are seen are temporal, but the | things which are not seen are eternal" "
 He spoke in part as follows:'
 In these verses the Apostle Paul is declaring the definite end and goal for
 which we are striving. The things
 which are seen, such as the evidences of nature, the color of the leaves, the | flowers, and the grass, are those which pass away, but the eternal things are immortality, life and the crown of life, for which we strive. In the words of the text we see distinct classifica- tion, the visible and invisible are set over against each other. In the Mi cene Creed God is spoken of as the maker of all things seen and unseen visible and invisible, and in other cases we come upon this distinction and separation. Our outlook upon the world takes in things seenand unseen. We have been led in the past to look upon the former as the real, the inn pOrtant and the essential, but the apostle differs from this view and modern science concurs with him in this opinion that we are acquainted with the external and visible through the invisible, for the greater reality lies in the unseen person who sees.. We observe the color of the autumn leaves about us, the growth and life within all these is hidden. The unseen is indeed real. whether in the heavens above, the earth beneath or the water under the earth. The visible is found to be possible only through the invis- ible.
 We are reminded day by day of the visible growth of our land, but we must not forget that figures are not greatness. Numbers are not strength. The republic is still on trial. Univer- sal suffrage has been found to be dan gerouS unless regulated by education, mentally and morally. Greatness is in the education of the mass of the people and in the growth of the public conscience, not in money. It is the unseen that underlies all our industrial power also. How interesting it would be to apply this principle to the city of Hartford. We know it's wealth, it's beauty of situation, the harmony of it's buildings, the signs of prosperity all about us, but do it's rich men show their abounding generosity, is it's edu- cation sturdy and uplifting and it's city government upright, honest and be- nevolent? It is the unseen alone through which we are great in the seen. The application to the church is obvious. It is visible in it's mem bers, it's church buildings. it sacra- ments; but it is the spirit that lends importance to it all. It is the unseen that gives the life and causes the church to grow. That which gives value and efficacy to the visible and outward sign in the sacrament is the unseen spirit within.
 So it is, wheresoever we turn our thoughts, above us, around us, within us, the unseen is as real as the seen. equally if not more important. It is true in nature, true in the church, true in man and true in God, so our goal is the crown of life, the invisible, the eternal.