The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1903-08-14
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE BY TIE
REV. DONALD .. haclAUSiN.
Subject: The Greatest Thing in ,he World
The Distinguished Divine Delivers
Sermon which l. as Scholarly and
Readable as ANY of Recent Ncars.

Readable rs ANY OF Recent Years.
NEW York CITY.-Dr. Donald ID. Mac
Laurin, OF Rochester. preached Sunday
morning in 81. Johns NJ. i. Church 10
large audience. His sermon was the hrs;
N a series on The Greatest Thing IN the
World" DR.. Mael-aurin said:
i have most earnestly sought 20 bring
you on successive Sundays the best min
istry i have yet been able TO give you,
that your lives may he broadened and
deepened and lifted up into higher realms
OF spiritual achievement; and L could find
no theme OF greater value, as l saw n, than
that which is suggested by the chapter
which / read TO YOU. the thirteenth chap
ter of Pauis first epistle OF the church az
Corinth. Aud so for eight weeks, we shall
have our texts from this chapter; and this
morning YOU will lind our text IN the frs:
verse OF the first chapter OF First CORN.
thians: 1T 1 speak with the tongues OF
men and angels but have not love, | am
become sounding brass or Changing
eymhal."
Nor must we not think that we shall be.
come tired Of this wonderful theme. Did
you ever know any one 10 become weary of
n diamondy Among the gems OF the Lord
God is found this chapter. and though /
do not profess 10 be skilliul lapidary &c
bring ont its flashing facets, ! think, with
the aid OF the divine spirit, We shall lind
IN each service something fresh and helpful
and new.
This chapter has been in all ages Of the
church especially admired; would that II
bad received IN all the ages of Christian
history that more practical and valuable
appreciation which would have been ex.
perienced by 4 practice of IT'S principes
and an acceptance Of its precepts. Ter
tullian said: 1t is uttered with all the
force of the spirit" and the great thinker
is right As | have pondered it for several
,pf /
come 10 feel that. indeed, mortal faculty
could never have written it. 1t never
could have sprung from the brain or heart
of even so great man as Paul. unless hea-
ven had given him the inspiration. IL Is,
dear friends, an utterance OF heaven.
Ii is = glorious hymn or pean in honor
OF Christian love, sung, as we have lnti-
mated, by the Apostle Paul when soaring
up on the wings of inspiration into the
very heights OF Christian eoqucnce. Like
the Forty-ffth Psalm, II may be tittingly
called the Psalm OF Love- and not IN
frequently your speaker will so designate
it in these Sunday morning services. IL
has the form OF poetry; IT has the inspira-
ton of poetry; II has the coloring OF the
finest poetry. And if you could read IL in
the Greek you would catch the fullness OF
its imagery. as II is impossible for You TO
do IN the best English version. IL seems
PROCLAMATION 10 attempt its expo sltion.
Il
ing a nightingale 10 take these principles
apart one from another for the necessary
analysis in the progress of our work. But
II is so full OF the very heart of the gospel
message that we would he cowardly were
we not to attempt the exposition.
The position OF the psalm in the book
in which 4 is found helghtens its effect
You find il in the midst of lengthy argu.
ment. 1t reminds us very much OF an
oasis OF towering palm trees and spring
ing flowers and running brooks in the
midst of desert OF sand. On either side
is argument, Is tumult: and right in the
midst Of all bursts forth his sublime song
1t is very much like the song OF the sweet,
voiced school children in the midst OF
their hard work and the babel of their
games. Or. better, like the very sound OF
the song of heavens choir in the pit OF
Wall Street on a panicky day. We can
easily imaoine the deepening hush that
must have fallen on the Corinthan church
as they read-NAhis chapter, and We can
imagine. too, the CONSERVATION produced
IN the minos oi those Christians as they
discovered one after another their favorite
gifts or tavorlte possessions swept away
by the great teacher. For Paul here
shows that love Is the one essential of
Christian life. Love did Won say? Love-
that soft sentiment that hard.hcaded men
say belongs TO women and children Do
you mean TO say that this is the spirit Of
his language? That is precisely what the
apostle formulated. He af'irms most ey.
phcltly the absolute worthlessncss of life
without love. Love at the beginning of II {:
love at the end OF II: love filing the whole
space between. Love at the end is not
the same as love at the beginning. II u
richer, grander. nober. divincr. Bot
without the first love the other could never
be. The blossom and the frultage he.
speak the rootage. and the seed ard the
flower and the tree. And unless you have
the first love-lcve for God-in yocr heart,
the love that shall engage our attention on
Sunday MORNINGS will bc a stranger 10 your
experience. IF j speak with the tongues
OF men and angels, but have not love. ]
am become sounding brass or n changing
cvmbal" IL would seem as IL nll the
Corinthian church were eloquent speakers
or at least were eloquent hearers and let
me say that eloquent hearers are as cssen.
tial as eloquent speech. The Corinthian
Christians were distinguished for their gifts
IN this direction; and so the apostle, know.
ing II. knowing them night well, for ne
was their father in the gospel. he supposes
them capable Of speaking in every tongue
that rose from the lips Of men or angels
That were they 20 have all and were des
titute OF love they were nothing hut sound.
ing brass or Changing cymbals How hard
this must have been on those people who
cherished e.oqUerce as more easy TO i'm
aPine than TO describe. for they placed
great store by their gift Of tongues and
their eloquence Of speech. And do you
know we are often placing the emphasis
at Their wrong place. We are often 2ui,ty
OF that characteristic folly. These Corin-
thians were often putting tho emphasis
where the emphais should not be. What
Paul affirms and what the Gospel afrms
over and over again rs that ~ is not speech.
that 1t Is not doing but being, that God re-
CARDS. Being is finer than doing; finer
than saying; finer than any expression
which II - possible for II 10 make OF itself.
Now, let US consider, " you please. IN
the first place, wherein love is superior 20
the most eloquent speech. III | speak
with the tongues OF men and angels. but
have not love, j am become sounding brass
or a changing cymbal." What - Chris
tian love? u IL more easily described than
defined. That is precisely what the
apostle has done in this great psalm OF
love. He nowhere defines II. He simply
describes 1t. giving some fifteen character
istics OF IL. Indeed. do not know where
love is defined in the entire Bible, nor d.
] know a definition for it, You have heard
the story Of the teacher Of psychology. who
upon receivlng new class at the begin
ming Of the term. instead OF giving them a
lecture, he asked one Of the members OF
the class 20 define the human soul; and
the young man rose and said. The human
soul IS that faculty that thinks and feels
and determine:" another member Of tho
class added that the soul is immatefal
And then he said will you tell me what
the soul Is not; and the young man had
the sense 90 say. II do not know" and
the great professor, whose familiarity with
the subject u felt throughout the contin.
mt. replied. Nor more do /" And !
fancy that the first thco' 9gian in the world
were he asked To- define love, and II ie wa.
honest and candid a. the teacher Of p.y