The Penn's Grove record., 1903-09-04

WlLDOuC.
Every man possesses a conscience, and
you will hear many declare that they can
be just as good, quite as moral as a Chris
tian through the power of that conscience.
But what is conscience apart from religion
In many cases it is a slave IT-teId OF q
master. The power of passion browns it's
voice and weakens it by every deliberate
sin. A mar believing in the existence of
no higher authority will drift upon the
current of his aniI-ial nature, for those lem
denotes which ire strongest viii eventually
enslave him. No, without a living faith IN
God or a personal union with Him the con-
science loses its power to govern and guide,
but religion clothes it with exceeding
strength by revealing to man the source of
those magnificent moral attributes with
which he is endowed. thus giving to that
"still small voice" within the soul an inf
mite worth.
There is not a heart but has some con-
ception of a higher life than Is now feels.
Every young man and woman at the gate
way of responsibility is fired with enthusi-
asm and ambitious with a great purpose
which they long to accomplish; going out
into the world they have to stem mighty
currents. within and without. the tenden-
cies of their lower nature and temptations
to sin clothed with beguiling finery. Crises
will arrive when the future will b, deter
mined. Moments of dire peril fraught
with tremendous responsibility. They will
then feel the need Of a higher power, a
greater strength than their own to thwart
the enemy of rectitude. The ideal Of pure
manhood and w~omanhood shining before
them will appear u~nattalnably beyond
their reach, lost forever How, then, can
they safeguard against this dread exper-
fence which has blighted many promising
young lives, which, unable to stand against
the waves OF adversely have sunk helpless
and despairing? l answer, BY being relIg-
ious. Religion alone can give them that
| victory which crowns a life complete in
Christ. 1t places them into direct eommu-
~nication with God, whose delight is that
they should become worthy to share His
glory. Temptations will surely come, but
religion gives them a new meaning; they
are but reminders of the existence or a
| Father who ever waits to aid and sustain,
and, as blessings IN disguise they carry
messages Of an infinite love for every ind
vidual soul, proclaiming that virtue is the
beginning and the end of holiness, the mar
row road to perfection.
Another wonderful revelation of religion
asserts that you and / sprang from the
bosom of the eternal Father. That as He
is eternal we too shall live through endless
ages, created in His image. sustained by
His spirit, our life shall gather unto itself
magnificent growth. Religion sets before
us a destiny whose divine splendor ~startles
and ~overpowers our weak conception OF Its
glory. The Word of God calls into being
an amazing. sense OF power. 10 think, my
brother and sister, that through aeons Of
time we shall be adding purity to purity,
love to love, knowledge to knowledge,
glory to glory, living forever in the pres
ence of the immortal and infinite God, us
ing to spiritual planes of ineonceivable
grandeur and beauty. scaling heights OF
happiness beyond the dream of angels. The
incomprehensible destiny of a living soul
loyal to God and duty brings our faces to
the dust when we consider that this Is our
heritage; you and /, with all our weakness,
conquering death and the power of moral
evil.
In the midst of the trihing foIlies of the
world. the .conceit of fashion, the DEGREES
of a ~thoughtless society, and che whirl OF
vapid pleasures, let US keep this thought
like a burning fire within the brain-the
thought of God, holiness and heaven:
Brethren. allow the character OF your
heavenly Father as revealed by Jesus
Christ to stand before You as the goal OF
all attainment. Religion gives us an ideal
and an incentive to reach it. By contem-
plating and really loving this excellence is
to be inspired by it. The Christian man Is
always conscious of a divine presence. In
every phase of his life he marks the guid-
ance Of God. He beholds His handlwork
in every flower of the field. The hosts OF
shining stars as they whirl through space
declare His majesty, and in the phenomena
Of nature he discerns q living expression OF
His glory. Thus by contemplating and
adoring His handiwork in the natural
world without and the spiritual world
within, a Christian is given grace to subdue
all things unto the one great end OF moral
growth. True religion is not belief IN q
set of dogmas, or the recitation OF a creed,
or a profession of faith; these are but the
accessories of a particular attitude toward
truth. but it is infinitely more than this.
it is the life giving breath of the spirit OF
God which rules, not certain relations, Dut
all correspondence CT the heart, soul and
BODY with the Creator and with fellow
men.
Religion is something more than worship
and exalted states OF mental happiness
We cannot in the stress OF competitive
life ignore the demands of imperative du-
ties, or sacrifice the claims OF others on
our consideration for a morbid ascetielsm:
Religion teaches the true performance o;
little duties. as well as the cultivation OF
the souls highest properties. 1t was never
intended that we should go into a desert
place and foster our immortal spirits by
meditation and seciusion. The lesson OF
the Christ is one of practical goodpesS
1 DSIlOIlllDk al tAAASct 4
of a glass of cold water to the glory OF goa
Under these conditions alone can we grow
to perfect manhood and ~womanhood.
Il There is no limitation to the exercise OF
the intellect. vet without a moral prlncfpie
to guide and enlighten its research, there
can be no advance in the path OF truth
Many of the greatest thinkers nave dleo
atheists. Religion gives to intellect an
added mower Of ANALYSIS and discrimlna
ton. a medium whereby we discern truth
II nlaces the mentality of man IN commu
MON with infinite knowledge. GIFTED
with the eve of the spirit" the glory o.
lGod streams upon the page OF history, ano
every department of scientihc research tes
titles to His perfection and wondrous love
The mind of the most brilliant ccnolar WI
only see in phenomena natural results
Religion alone has power to permeate ms
work with magnificent me~nlng. Ihere 4
a hidden wisdom only revealed to the caiie
Of a ssnev birth" who has had a specia
and individual revelation of the Father
Religion crowns intellect with a deep IN
sight into the mysteries OF life. The eartn
sea and sky, the complex organism OF SO
ciety, the depths Of human nature, !ns
history of nations, all these things shine
with 4 new luster, and food the mind witt
profound meaning. A blade of grass De
comes worthy of study, for the Supreme
Intellect has imprinted on its fragile stem
divine thought and action: In everything
we see God. Under the benehcent lnnu
ence of His Spirit our faculty OF compre
hension is robed with s~acredness and gran
deur. for He calls it forth to a glorlou:
4 communion and expansion, until one day
it shall fully understand the love VINCE
now passeth knowledge.
True religion above all things forms al
upright mind; it elevates the judgment
above prejudice, and creates a noble pur
nose to receive knowledge through all lie
climate channels. 1t enaows a man witt
Sincerity and a quality of fair deallns
which no university can teach. 1t breaks
down the barriers of set opinions and de
stroys the bitterness between sects ant
parties. 1t opens the heart to convictIor
and a ready candor to confess error. Ihs
intellect was never intended to be bou1t
to set rules or encompassed with man-mad'
regulations. Its destiny is an upward, on
ward march toward truth, and true re!lg
ion fashions all our inquiries and mIsgiv
ings with reverence and ever leads us K
the feet of Him, with whom there Is M
yariableness nor shadow of turning"
Is Tt Wen with the Child?
as it well with the ehild?" was the ques
ton of the prophet Elisha to the sad
hearted mother In Shunem, whose loved
| and only boy lay dead in her upper cham
nor All her earthly 10Y and hOpc were