Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1903-07-02

fact that SIR Isaac Newton could noe APP
preciate Paradise Lost" and equally sin
In "The Principal" Obviously this was not
to the discredit of either paradise, Lost"
or "The Principal" nor was it reflection
upon the learning of either man. 1t sim.
ply indicates that IN order to apprehend
truth in any quarter man must be sym
pathetically disposed toward 1T. Milton
had no mind for mathematics, nor Newton
for poetry. So the wisest of men, as The
world holds wisdom, may come to the
Scriptures and find nothing there; as the
soldiers of Titus, at the taking of Jerusa.
lem threw open the ark Of the covenant
and found it empty. 1t is proverb that
none are so blind as those who. will not
see; wherefore a man who would hear God
speaking through the Scriptures must d.
vest himself OF prejudice and be willing to
hear Him.
And at this point, again, we discover why
Christ is SO often rejected as the incar
nate word" There arc multitudes who
regard Him as chiefest among ten thousand
and altogether lovely, but there are many
others who see in Him nothing but "a root
out of dry ground, who hath no form nor
comelness that they should receive Him..
Why this wide difference OF view! ~ IS
due to the same difference in receptivity.
There are some who profoundly. feel the
need of Christ; the sense of sin lies heav'
ily upon them, and they would fain be de-
livered from it. They wait, like aged Sim.
con in the temple, for the coming of the
mighty One, and, beholding Him, they in
stantly receive Him as the God-sent Word,
saying, "Now lettest Thou Thy servant de-
part In peace, for mine eyes have seen Thy
salvation!" They welcome the message be-
cause they were waiting for it. Others,
like Nathaniel cry, Can any good thing
come out of Nazareth And prejudice
must be overcome before they can receive
Him. Thus it is written, " He came unto
His own, and His own received Him not;
but to as many as received Him to them
gave He power to become the sons of God"
Prejudice is grounded in pride of worldly
wisdom, and this is the great obstacle be.
tween the soul and Christ as the "word'
or message from God
Thus it has come to pass that some who
have been distinguished for their attain.
ments in certain provinces OF knowledge
have been wholly blind on the godward
side. One cannot forget, how Charles Oar
win, after spending his life in experiment.
ing along the lines of physical science, died
lamenting that his spiritual nature had
been starved. In his childhood he had
been deeply re'iglcus, as he said, but he
had dwelt so long amid an environment of
purely material things that God and i'm
mortality had become empty dreams to
him. He called it "atrophy is, a
wasting away for want of nourishment.
All through his life he had fostercd tho
natural man, or. as Paul calls it, psuchl'
kos, the psychical man. He could reason
indefinitely in The REALM of material things,
but the supernatural was wholly ruled out.
And the principle referred to will ac'
count, also, for the fact that the Holy
Ghost is nothing 20 many men. And there
is more skepicism at this point, | believe,
than anywhere else in these days. We arc
living under the dispensation of the Holy
Ghost. He is now the executive of Coda
kingdom on earth and those who are in
the kingdom have to do officially with Him.
Yet there are many who characterize tho
third person of the godhead by neuter
prono,in and regard Him merely as an atiiu'
cncc or clliuencc, bearing no vital or per-
sonal relation to them.
There is obviously great difference Of
opinion here. Is the Holy Spirit the per
sonal director of our life and service. or is
lie not He at all, but merely 'it:' II
He sustains the former relation to us. 1t
is because our souls are in harmony with
His great purposes concerning us and adj
justcd to receive communications from
Him. In this ease we stand as Elijah did
on lIorcb, his face wrapped in his mantle,
"Illc nc UlIhtIpu 10 lIlc sun Slldll
Voice" And living thus we follow His
guidance, as did Abraham on his journey
from Ur OF the Chadees along the wind
jngs of the Great River. ever needing the
direction of the Voice pitching his tent or
moving on as the Spirit babe him. Other
wise we are like the multitudcs at Pentc'
cost, who, despite the manifestations of dl'
vine power in the sound of the rushing
mighty wind and the miracle of tongues,
lnnl-ol IN lDplt and hp,r lnrunnpt
ing: These men are full of new wine.
In a recent book on religious experience
the manifestations of pagan frenzy are col.
lated with the feelings and convictions OF
Christian believers. and all alike are sub.
jG;ted to analysis by the so-called "scien.
the method Thus judged, there is moth
ing in regeneration, nothing in sanctitica'
ton, nothing but infatuation in the up.
lifting and transporting influence of the
Spirit of God.
In view of such considerations is it not
apparent that the soul is blind and deaf to
heavenly visions and revelations unless It
is attuned to them? And what solemn sig.
nifcance there is in the words of Jesus:
He that hath cars to hear let him hear.
There are; indeed, so many voices and
none of them without signifcati9n," but
eth" o for the hearing ear and the un.
Outstanding heart! What avails it to call
commission of blind men to pass judg.
ment on the art of Titan or Raphael?
What avails it to bid a jury OF deaf men
sit in judgment on the oratorio of the
Creation" Thus when the philosophers
of Athens heard Paul preaching on Mars
Hill some Knocked and others said; We
will hear thee again concerning this mat.
ter" The gospel is "foolishness to the
Greek, and to the Jews a stumbling block,
but to them that are saved it is the wis
dom and power OF God" Men sit like
blind Bartimaeus in the Valley of Palms;
and its beauty is unknown TO them until
ceive thy sight" The five physical sepses
are as five gates open to physical truth,
but faith is the sixth gate, at. which alone
spiritual verities can enter. Wherefore it
is written: He. that cometh to God must