The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-07-04
MR. BENEDICf'S ADDRESS
DELIVERED AT THE FIRST
 METHODIST CHURCH

htrth CT John' Wesiey-SuD9ec'i sThree Things Which John Wesley Pre-eminentIy Saw"
 The address delivered by Henry H. Benedict at the notable services held at the First M. E. church Sunday, June 30, in commemoration of the bi-centennial anniversary of the birth of John Wesley --an address of rare power and bril- liancy-is given herewith in full:
 A study of the intellectual mountain peaks of the country is always interest ing and profitable. When these peaks are luminous with reflection from the Sun of Righteousness, interest in them becomes intensified and helpfulness to humanity augmented,
 During the month of May all America admired, revered the towering nine tsenth century intellectual peak of Con- cord-its radiant slopes-its glittering summit
 In the month of June every Metho- dist, if not every Christian, gratefully looks backward to the rugged Epworth intellectual and spiritual mountain peak of the worldly eighteenth century.
 In the Concord retrospect sextette of admirable and beautiful graces demand recognition. and thereby moral excel- lence secures adora ton simplicity un- selfshness, genuineness, benignity, in genuousness, innocence. These all Ralph Waldo Emerson possessed.
 In this retrospect. genius and persis- tency were the dominant factors in the mental equipment of the Concord genius which intensified and made operative his moral excellence.
 Pardon a Aggression. Is it not la mentable that the lovable Concord poet. who wrote, q quote from Emerson's s Threnody:)
 What is excellent
 As God lives is permanent:
 Hearts are dust, hearts loves remain;
 Hearts love will meet thee again. was so infatuated with the conscious ness of his mission as teacher so ab- sorbingly busy in the preparation and perfecting of his love messages to hu- manity that he failed to penetrate the sublimity of Christianity; failed to fully comprehend the most splendid person- ality in history-even the Divine Man of Nazareth, s
 Tn the Epworth retrospect, spiritual graceslove of both soul and body continuous labor that the helpfulness of the Divine Burden Bearer should be felt and seen, demand acknowledg edgnaent and compel love. and reverence.
 quote from the Methodist hynnal, and read from the filth hymn, John Wesley's own composition:
 70 Sun of Righteousness arise
 With healing in Thy wing
 To my diseased, my fainting soul,
 Life and salvation bring"
 And I do not wait for the eternal rev. citations, as believe MT. Emerson did, to measure the divinest personality in history, but now, even now, I exclaim the Sun of Righteousness has brought to me the incomparable boon of salya- ton.
 And in John Wesley's own phraseolo- gy I cry:
 Father, Thy long lost son receive;
 Savior, Thy purchase own;
 Blest comforter with peace and joy
 Thy new made creature crown. But my critics inquire, What, sir, is the pertinency of your comparison? Just this: I recall no more beautiful exponent of moral excellence than Ralph Waldo Emerson. I desire to show that splendid as was the Concord genius, that the subject of this address sawsthree things. To wit, sin-its anti doteand the church--which MT Em- erson failed to discover, and that these three things made John Wesley an ir1l- mense contributor to the earthly and celestial happiness of those who came after him not simply a solace, help and stimulus to humanity.
 have not the. inclination, do not possess the ability to make a Wesleyan analytical address. An orator of high grade in this historic church, in ryth- mimic utterance the cadence of whose voice as it springs from my memory cells ds often a solace in the hour of commercial penplexity or personal dis tress, a beautiful reminder that excel- lence is indestructible, recently sang a remarkable and delightful Emersonian song; but that song even in his major notes had not, could not have the vigor- < JUS " CSiCy ctil fIliiS zI5O VI zStuIulilC5o, VI he1pfulness, and why?
 Because whilst Ralph Waldo Elmer son, in his own pl1raseology, may have been magnificent illustration of mo- rality on fire with emotion, John Wes- ley was splendid example of Christ likeness on fire with the Holy Ghost--a fundamental difference.
 This Wesleyan fire has spread with the rapidity of a forest confagration until to-day six millions of Methodists ifilAmerica alone are reverenfly, grate- fully celebrating the 2o0th ar1- niversary of the birth of the God touched religious leader and organizer of the eighteenth century.
 briefly quote from my own address on Progress:
 His energy was unparalleled-his en- thusiasm llnequalled-his endurance unrlatcheds The great thinker, worker and organizer guided by an unseen hand, unable to accurately forecast the future or to understand the measure of his call, fearlessly consistently, pa tiently, prayerfully proceeded to tell thessinple story of salvation, from how ,el to hamlet, from hamlet to village, from village to town, from town to cfty..a
 Wes1ey's notes were clear. His de- clarations positive. His dominant t1oIlyht #concerY, Il laln to 8the indiyid-