The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-01-04
Rev. u. D. Mooney breaches on
Untitled Promises
CASE OF LIE PHARlSEES
The causative Principle Behind the
Deafness of Their Religion Was
"They Say, and Do Not"
Concerning Resolutions.


service yesterday. His theme was ''Un-
filled Purposes" Mr. Mooney dwelt upon
christ's arraignment of the Pharisees. He
said in parts
But do not We after their works. for
they say and do not
This was the railing accusation brought
by Jesus Christ against the Pharisees of
his time An accusation which when true
of any man. is fatal to that mans life
and character. That 1t was true is as
sured us by the fact that Christ has ever
been able to read the hearts of men. and
he has never been mistaken in his esti-
mate of a soul.
The truth of these words gives us album
dant reason of the absolute barrenness of
the Pharisees' life, and for the utter dead
ness of his religion and of his service.
It was because the church of the living
God was lead and governed by men OF
this character that 1t reached the lowest
ebb it has ever reached in the history of
the world.
1t was this spirit in the minds of the
leaders, then to large extent in the
minds of the people. which made possible
the intense opposition to Jesus Christ
and the attempt to sweep Him out of
their sphere of life.
Causative Principle.
We are thus brought face to face with
the truth that behind the hypocrisy of the
Pharisee, behind the deafness Of his relig-
ion and the poverty of his life, there was
causative principle. and that principle
was in the words of Jesus Christ They
say, and do not" This principle had full
sway in their lives, and it brought forth
its legitimate fruit.
Transplant this principle into any life
today, and the result will be the same.
Let it live in your soul and mine, and it
will ring forth similar fruit. The fruit OF
false religious pride, of religious display
and of utter deafness of character. and
life
This is the first Sabbath in the new
year. a time when the old year falls from
our shoulders and a new period of life is
welcomed with outstretched hands. Now
1t is customary to look into each new
year with force of optimism. Mankind
is a creature of hope. Somehow or other
without scarcely knowing why we are
ever hoping for better things. Out of
/ this optimism born of the new year it
has become our habit to make new reso-
lutions We say what we are going to
do, what we are going to accomplish
We are going to give up this habit, and
take up another. We are going to be
kinder, more unselhsh, more generous,
more helpful, more temperate, more holy
Now, is it not true that after few days
or weeks, or months this righteous dis
position disappears, and we fall back into
the old pathos again. In other words
1--WE say, and do not" and in doing this
are we not in danger of being possessed
by the old spirit of the Pharisee. and If
possessed by the spirit shall not our lives
produce the same fruit?
What a Man Does.
The idea of the Son of God in this in
atance is this: That it is not what
man says, not what he hopes to be, that
affects his life, but what he really does.
And beyond that to be constantly saying
what we are going to do, and to fail to
put forth the corresponding energy to ac-
complish our desire is to injure the deep
est life of the soul. Understand, the idea
Is not one of pessimism. No good reso-
luton is to be discouraged, no desire for
better living no high born purpose is to
be disccuntenanced. The very fact that
man wants to be better is harbinger of
hope.
New Years Resolutions.
But hope often fails, and l do believe
that this habit we have formed of making
fresh resolutions year after year, without
seriously considering the cost, and with
out protracting the energy which is neces-
sary to make them flesh and blood, cam
not but be injurious to the very sensi-
tive life of the same.
We must for the sake of our own spir-
itual welfare wake up to this truth, that
it is dangerous thing to look often upon
the high and the holy, to which often for
deeper experience, to gaze often at the
souls possibilities and then let the vision
vanish without actien. Look at our pur-
poses formed In the dawn of the past
year. Where are the majority of them?
They are like tombstones-strewn along
the path we have come. In which are
sepulchered the energy that might have
lived. The saddest thing about the fall
ure of a resolution is not the failure of
the purpose itself, but the loss that the
untitled purpose has entailed on the life
itself. And it is because we have failed
to live our purposes that our lives are
poorer, emptier more meagre than they
should be today.
Word of Comfort.
And now word to those who have
worked earnestly. patiently and with
great fidelity during the past year, and
yet who feel discouraged with the results;
for you there is a word of comfort and
of cheer, and I can best illustrate this
word of hope by very pleasing legend.
gardener was training some very rare
climbing vines. Every night while the
vines were asleep he removed the old
trellis and placed the tendris on
trellis that was higher. In the morn
ing the vines awoke with feeling of
encouragement. They said to one another.
I'VE seem to grow backward rather than
forward; yesterday we were near the
top of the trellis, today we are farther
off than ever
And so when child of God reaches
certain standard. God removes the old
and places one that is new and higher