The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1904-05-27
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN INTERESTING DISCOURSE 6Y The
R=v. DONALD SAFE NAcNAT.
,uhjec "Tae value of a Day" - We
should Not Waste Effort In Talking
platitudes About the >hortness OF
rime-Lrt IL DE Up sud Doing.

NEW YORK CITY A sermon preached
SUNDAY evening by the Rev Er. Donald
sage MacKay IN Collegiate Church, Eith
avenue and For,y-elgnth street. had for
- subject The Value OF a Day The
text was from John Ni.9. Are there no,
twelve hours IN the day. DR.. Mackay
said.
My text this evening Is Chr.st's defni.
tion OF 4 day Are there not twelve hours
in the days. And what OF ~ yOu ask
This much 40 least The day i a great deal
longer than some people seem % imagine.
Il IS indeed one OF the dreariest. As it l.
one OF the oldest ot moral reflections,
which forever dwells upon the shortness
OF time and the swlttuess OF It's flight.
More mougntu. eloqueuce aui doletul
poetry have been inspired by that one
theme than by any other m the catalogue
OF human thought or course, time Is
short and ITS flight IL swift. hu; are there
not twelve hours in the day To each
man sufficient time has been given 10 do
the task assigned TO h,m. That Is the sol
cmn practical truth emphasized by our
Saviour here, and ~ - one that perhaps
we hardly ever think Of; not the shortness
oi time, but 10 su:hcency Tor the tasks ot
lie. Are there not twelve hours in the
day That Is our subject. the value OF 4
day, abundance Of time 10 do the duties
which must he done, to bear the burdens
which must be borne, to tace the trials
which God sends
At the outset | want % see how these
words OF Christ rebukc two very opposite,
but very common, tcmpers which I0en as
sumo IN regard TO time and It's opportuni
ties On the one hand, Christ rebukes
here that morbid spirit which IN hopeless
impotence Is forever bewllhng the short
ness OF tune, its loss of opportunities IN the
past and ITS smalluess OF opportunities in
the present 20, If had only done so and
50 twenty years ago, how much better OF
had been tO-ulY,' one man eXCialms, and
ne sits down IN a sort OF sentimental fatal
ism, bewalng h.s unhappy lot, making no
real effort 60 better H. To such A man
Christ says IN eject, Never mind the past ;
70 Is gone, YOU cannot recall It; but are
there not twelve hours m the day. Do the
bes; you can with th:s day and its precious
hours Vain regrets for the past are the
worst kind o: dissipation of the present.
Bat, on the other hand, these words not
less strongly rehuke that opposite spirit.
winch, because life seems to stretch through
a long vista OF seventy o. eighty years, Is
prodIgal of ITS time. thinks that the duties
OF the present can well enough be mort
gagged on the opportunities OF the future
What Goes n matter, after all, II young
man squandcrs a few years IN sowing his
Wild oats Nature rs generous You can
bank on her resources. \ few years Of
ms-spent time-weIl, 1t won't matter TWEEN
" years after this So m effect many
men argue. So they stake life and immor-
tahty on the chances of the future. And
TO that temper Christ says Are there not
twelve hours IN the davE' Only twelve
Steal ten OF them for sin to-day and you
cannot give twenty two OF them for God
tomorrow. Only twelve hours Sufficient
10 do lte's duties IN. but not sufficient to
serve God and the devil IN. Twelve hours,
4 .s -,
much, not a second too many.
Are there not twelve hours IN the day."
II was Jesus Christ who asked that ques-
tIon Have you never been strucl, with
what ] must call the frugahty OF Christ,
not only an respect OF time, but OF every
thing else, Christ was prc-emnently a
frugal man. not prOdIgll with His re-
sources, not spondthrlft with His powers.
He had the riches OF tle universe IN His
grasp. No millionaire that ever lived
could command such resources. and yet
when out OF these resources He had fed a
multitude OF 5000 people, what was II He
sand 90 His disciples Gather up the frag-
ments, that nothing be lost lie was anx-
ious for the crumbs. Frugal, not parsImo-
NOUS, He realized the value OF the little
things IN life.
So, too, in this m tier of time. From
everlasting TO everlasting He Is God. Be
fore Abraham was, | am the heir OF all
the ages. And yet He counts life by its
hours, twelve hours IN the day, while We
the frail, helpless children OF a day, pre-
sumo TO measure life by It's years How
old are you? And the young man in the
exuberance OF his vitality counts life by its
years, and replies Twenty, thirty years
old How old art thouE said Pharaoh
10 the aged Jacob. And the patriarch,
though lc was l37 years old at the time,
counted hia life by IT'S days, and Jacob
sand unto Pharaoh. Few and evil have the
days Of tie wears Of any pilgrimage been.
It was by It's days that the old man reck
oned life.
So, too, you remember the prayer OF
Moses: 80 teach us 10 number not our
years, but Our days that we may apply
our hearts unto wisdom
Have YOU ever noticed how much more
keen,y this sense Of the value OF a day Is
forced home upon w the nearer we come
10 eternity IL Is when the soul stands
upon the shore Of bOundless eternity
that II begins 20 thInl, OF how much a day,
an hour, g. moment means. a million OF
money for an inch OF time cried the great
English queen, after six long years on a
throne. a million OF money for an inch Of
time! The nearer .,c get 90 eternity the
more precious the moments become And
Christ, who lived m the atmosphere OF
eternity and who alone hath Immortality,
counted life by its hOgrs, twelve nOurs IN
the day-enough, but not enough and 10
spare.
want, Of course. this evening 10 em.
phlsZc especially the spiritual aspect Of
this subject, and yet 10 .lnuDt be out ot
place altogether 20 remember that this
power OF using the hours OF a day and
gathering up these precious fragments Of
time. irequeltiy called odd moments is
really the secret al -tup az INa ft4et effr.
cessful hives. One OF the striking testim1-
mails OF biography indeed, u this that a
great many enduring rnputa on. IN the
world have been built out Of a.. odd mo
ments' Of life. Men otherwise long since
forgotten are remembered today for what
they achieved M odd moments, IN the
twelve hours OF tac day. One OF the best
Transitions OF Lucretus the great Latin
writer, was the worl; g busy London
doctor while going bis daily round among
hLs patients. A great musician learned
French and Italian while riding from one
musical pupil 20 another Kirke White
learned Greek while walking 20 and from
a lawyers Office, 20 thst hc was enabled to
graduate with hOnOrs m the university
One OF the ablest legal treatises IN the
French language was written by a man IN
the somewhat depressing interval which
preccdes the serving oi the evening meal.
after he had come home from his office
Elhu Burnt taught himself eighteen an.
Gent languages and twenty-five European
languages while waiting Tor the horses 10
be snod IN his blacksmith shop Such ex
amples teach us fJrcibv enough how sbun.
dsnt are the hours Of the dBy for the no.
blest tasks Of life, u we would but seek
grace 20 use them arIght "Radeeminz the
time says the apostle How many of us
ask Gods grace csch dly ~ rise. % use
the twelve hours arIgh' for HIS glory and |