The St. Louis Republic., 1904-12-19
FORM OF GOODNESS
WITHOUT ITS POWER,
Reverend Doctor Williamson says
Proper Spirit Must Enter E"N"-
cions or They Are NaluClcNH.

st the Third Baptist Church yesterday
ne Reverend Doctor " ]. Williamson
preached on the text: Having the c0rm
~ godliness but denying The power
thereof" He said in part:
The form Of goGl;ness consists ~ the
ordinances of the church and The outward
duties of the Christian. The rites and os--
monies which characterize The worship
OF Christian assemblies. Christ IL; tlc
church two ordinances and only tyo. hap
ISM and the Lords supper. and these
set forth in beautiful and impressive SYN
nolism the be.leyeT'S relation to his Lord.
d. 4 baptism he signifies his separation iEum
ne world and its spirit. his death 10 si...
his burial with Christ ana his resurrection
20 the new life OF falih and devotion. Iht
Sible expresses II in these words. There
fore. Te are buried with him by baptism
.nIo death. that like as Christ was raised
from the dead by the glory OF jt.e Rather,
40 We a so should walk IL :lcwTl"sS Of life.
III the Lords supper tne disciple. Of Christ
ramembers his Savior's death. and con-
Iesses his need to feed daily upon Christ.
These forms are important. indeed, they
are commanded by him whom We u1t:gnt
20 serve. He has made obedience TO them
me test of our loye, and fidelity. II any
man love me he Will keep my WORDS lie
mat hath my commandments anu ke.pcth
them. he IL Is that loveth me Christ mas
iever abrogated these forms. and We must
please him.
We need to constantly bear IN mind
the fact that through all the centuries
the task has been TO correctly value form
Ind spirit and give each its proper place.
-ien have Sought to make religion thing
of externals. They have made devotion
10 Christ to consist of q minute obedience
10 rites and penances which in themselves
.re empty and worse than rnocker.es. OF
What avail are long prayers and genu-
iexions of body, unless the soul Is In sub
mission 10 Christ, and bends TO his Lord
ship. The Pharisee In the temple made q
long prayer, but he had better not prayed
at all. 1t was the publican whose heart
was filled with a sense of unwoTthinesS,
whom God heard and who went down 10
his house justified.
We must seek to preserve a proper
balance in our religious thinking. Some
men have seen the danger OF form and
nave sought TO live the Christian life
apart from 1t, while others have allowed
the spirit to be entirely lost Both of
these extremes are harmful to the best
interests of Christianity and 10 the IN
Iiv1duai soul Probably the greater
danger lies in the dominance OF the ez-
ternal Men join in the public assembly
on the Lords day and unite in prayer
ana praise This Is one OF the divinely
ordained channels of blessing A Chris
tan man cannot forsake the stated meet
ings for worship without serious loss L
ms inner life, but worst OF all. he mus,
nsooey Goo. But. after all. how easy il
Father in a cold and formal wav. passin :
through the form of godliaess and .xreri
snclnS nothing of its power. How elf.
aerent such worship from the expressions
OF praise from hearts that know in.
power or a risen life. and conscious nj
tneir great debt to God. come before hin
IN true humility. Praying IS vastly dif,
Ienl from saying prayers. One has tn,
flng or the sounding brass and the ciang
ing cymbaI and does not go beyond IN.
waiis OF the building, while the othe,
ieeches heaven and takes precadencf
mere over the songs of angels
another form OF godliness 10 -ha cr7-,
Ieht speech OF the Kingdom Christfanit,
nas IT'S VOCABULARY. The rich content o.
n, Ia1.n ana love Is expressed in our com
non language. It Is easy to ACQUIRE mi
inode OF expression. and 10 continue r.
use 1t, even though II is not e;;Drssliv. ot
ne real devotion Of the heart. Better the
mild than the empty words that com,
rom cold hearts. Let us cultivate III.
habit habit Of Christian speech. Those wer,
great days when our fathers sat abou
he glowing hesrths and talked nf Coz.
love and goodness. Many a strong char
acter was being nodded 80 children lis
elders. Our homes would be greatly en-
riched II the praises OF God were NOR,
iten sung and conversatlon had about hi
owing kindness. Much IS being said of Mr
desevedly so, and vet this book. timel,
as It's message is. has far too little Il
say OF the presence and power Of Chris
as the true inspiration FOR simple living
\ life Is simple in proportion as 1t realize
the presence Of Jesus. The Sermon on tn
Mount is Gods direction for the sirnpl
life. and Christ alone gives the royycr I,
live II. Now that the old year IS diving !
would be worth while TO read again 'Th
Cotter's Saturday Night and rebuild tn
proken affairs of prayer and praise in on
hearts and homes and thus he free from
he sinful complexities of thought an,
Efe. and live In the beautiful ElmpliCit,
Of Christ and his teprhirre'