The Penn's Grove record., 1904-06-17
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE ENTITLED
DOES GOD CARER"

The Rev. Robert Macdonald Declares
That the Greatest Discovery of the
Twentieth Century Will Be the Dis
coxery of God.
BROOKLYN, N. Y.-"Does God Care?"
was the subject Of the sermon Sunday
morning by the Rev. Robert Macdonald,
pastor of the Washington Avenue Baptist
Church. He took his text from |. Peter
vi: Casting all your care upon Him, for
He careth for you" Mr.. Macdonald said:
'"The greatest discovery of the TWEEN
tieth century will be the discovery of God,
and then it will be seen that God does not
care" Such is the latest assumption of
science, if a certain learned professor of
one of our largest universities is deemed a
trustworthy interpreter. He wisely drew
the line between Christianity and in6del-
ity as between believing that God cared
for US and that He did not care. and
stated that the leading scientists were in
fdels.
Lest such statements upset or weaken
the faith of some of us, let US see what the
weight of probability is for the realizing
of these ~presumptive prophecies. Let it at
the very start be remembered that any
more definite scientific discovery of God
OIluAA We " hdf 10 uAlAAnCA1s anu lhAo
is said, not because we now possess so
much, but that We are possessed of so lit
tie. Science will doubtless discover more
about God. Shame upon our developing
intelligence if it does not. Every discov-
cry is that. But that is a very different
thing from discovery of God. His handi-
work will be more clearly traced, the
working of His purposes more definitely
realized; but | think we can trust the In
finite (1nn RI az SI10rncsfuIv Oufurff tho
scientific inquisitiveness of the twentieth
century as of any that has soul. l am
confident that 1900 years hence the excla-
nation of the human mind will be about
as it is now-"Who can by searching out
find Cod" One of infinite retreats is not
going to be taken by surprise. The secret
of His presence will ever elude the discov-
cries Of man. The mystery of His person
shall still remain inviolate.
Why do l speak as though God were an
tagonistic to human discovery? Because,
friends, this learned prophet whose state
ments we are considering sees the only
lack to the discovery of God to be the
present incompleteness of human knowl-
edge and the present paueity of scientific
means, both of which will be remedied, he
is sure, before the present century closes.
| speak as | do because l do not like to
have Him whom we honor as Creator and
Father stripped of His mystery and robbed
of His volitional power and referred to as
you would to an impersonal, objective fact
of creation. We discover stars and CONT
nents and seas and laws and a good many
other things, but it does seem to me that
God Himself will have something to say
about the discovery of Himself. More
over, / have no right to believe that God
will ever be discovered by any man save
by Him whom God has discovered. He
nnlr finds God uhon Odd hos found I
am striving to maintain tine integrity of
the divine revelation as over against that
of human investigation. We must take
God on His own terms, rather than on
ours. Therefore, he only discovers God to
whom God has revealed Himself, to whom
God permits such discovery. We need not
fear that any future discovery of God will
negative the revelation we now have
through Jesus Christ. Science is mighty,
but not almighty. Not more mighty than
God. We welcome it in the realm of well
defined data, in the realm of demonstra-
ton and proof. But its advocates need to
learn that the Eternal transcends its scru-
tiny and the Supernatural bends not to its
demands. Reassure your heart that if you
are so fortunate as to be a habitant of the
realm bounded by the Christian religion
the essence of your faith cannot be
harmed. Faiths form, as also the form of
T6NeIdClOn, VIII De SCleDIllCdlIy QUESTIONED
and repaired. Faiths content examined
and modified perchance, but its essence,
that spiritual thing we call the divine
grace, that precious consciousness of His
care for you, and that you are living in the
light of His face is too sacred to ever bend
to scientific formula, and too mystical to
be expressed in the cold accuracy of scien-
tific terms.
We are told that when this improb-
able, to our thinking impossible, dis
covery occurs it will be found that God
does not care. All present evidences of
His care are ignored. Facts, upon which
are stamped indelibly Gods kindly i'm
print, are swept aside, facts as stubborn
as the Immortality of the mountains, and
the existence of the ocean AID the shining
of the sun.
There is, for instance, that stubborn
thing called conscience to be dealt with.
That stands out as a very Gibraltar of
protest against the assertion that God does
not care. In all the history of mortals
conscience has been regarded as Gods
handwriting on the wall, telling man he
must do the right and must not do the
wrong. True, it does not tell him what is
right and what is wrong. That is a thing
of fuctuating standard. Always differ
ence of opinion about that. because de-
pendent upon the mans intelligence that
owns the conscience. And any certain
type of intelligence depends upon the age
and civilization in which he lives, circum-
stances, moral and religious ideals. Thus
it is that the truest standard for the en-
lightenment of conscience is Christianity.
Christian ethics, ~springing from the Ser
mon on the Mount, is universally recog-
nized mans truest and highest standard
of enlightenment.
But on what higher authority rests this
sense of "oughtness' as to the doing OF
right and wrong? God demands it, we
say. The Creator has a right to impose
terms upon His creation. We recognize
our obligation to Him. Yes, but because
the moral sense rests upon an intuition OF
Gods perfect morality. We could not feel
any obligation to God unless we felt Him
worthy of that obligation. We believe
Him to embody the ideal and perfect NOR
atty. His sense of obligation to us, then,
is the sanction of our sense of obligation to
Him. 1t is precious to read that we love
Him because He first loved us" 1t is as
true that we are under obligation to Him
because He is under obligation to us. We
never speak of it that way. We seldom, If
ever, think of it that way. The more ex-
pressive side of the divine nature occupies
our thought. God is so pleased to do for
US, His blessings are so much more truly
the manifestation of His love than Of any
other characteristic. But the divine ra-
~tionality expresses itself in justice and
morality as truly as in love. We are con-
scious ever of our demerit, insignifcance,
dependence, see all divine favor to be an
emanation of His love. The Creator must
make provision for His created. The ne
cessity of His own nature demands it. The
divine Father, as well as the human father,
must support His child. Conscience in us
is evidence Of Gods care. And it is evil
dence that can never be explained away.
So long as humanity endures conscience
will advocate right and denounee wrong,
and just so long must man believe in Gods
care. Does God care? Our very e~onstitu.
ton thunders Yes. No valid discovery OF
God in the future can be expected tolover-
throw the overwhelming weight of this ev-
idenee. Verify, God hath not left Himself
without a witness. We need not fear any
future discovery, however supposedly scien-
tiic, to offset this constitutional evidence.
Whatever the evidence that God does not
care we viii match and outweigh it by this
nearer, dearer, stronger evidence that He
IT, .ar, w 49, D-4o-1 r. ~.