Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1904-08-18
A DISCOURSE FOR SUNDAY
An Eloquent Sermon Entitled "Ksvafd
Of Righteousness
n Won Would Attain Earthly Prosperity
Christ Must Be Your Teacher.

a little more than two years he has had
marked success. The debt of the church,
$40, 900, was Cancelled in January, 1903, the
mortgage burned and the church is now
free from incumbrance, Sunday morning
DR.. Adams preached on Gan Advance Or
dered" The text was from Exodus xiv:
Is: Speak unto the children of Israel,
that they go forward" DR.. Adams said:
When this advance was ordered, the Is.
raelites were encamped on the coast OF
the Red Sea. Before them was the sea
spread out for miles and leagues, and they
had neither bridge nor boat nor pontoon
by which to cross it. Behind them was
the army of Pharaoh, with horses and
chariots, with trained warriors and skilled
commanders, intent on their capture OF
destruction. On either side, it would scer,
were formidable structons-mountans
or fortresses, or something that could not
be passed-for the lsraelites saw no way
of escape and cried out for fear. In this
perilous and apparently hopeless situation
the pcople reproachcd Moses for the dread
full extremity to which they had becl re.
duced; whereupon that holy man appealed
to God for help, and then came, probably
in tones of thunder that sounded in the
ears of all the people full and clear above
the roar of the sea, this strange order:
"Wherefore criest thou unto Nc! SpcaR
unto Une CulluleH VI isidSi tnde t.iNs ~
forward
Leaving now the literal narrative, ex-
cent as we may have occasion to rccur to
it incidentally, let us attend to the moral
meanings and uses of the text The ca &c
before us is exceptional in nothing but the
physical facts; the moral truths ard un-
deriving principles of this case are always
and everywhere present among the pCopc
of Cod. Indeed, the principles her" in:
volved are so general and the ana'oylcs OF
universal history are SO wide and compete
that | think we are justified il regarding
this text as the law of the universe ~.
Of this text, in all of its essential features.
finds its duplicate in the moral OCCASION
pf this service. We are the children of
Israel ourselves. l can prove it by st.
Paul: "lf yc be Car st's, thea Al. sc
Abraham's seed. and heirs according to
the promise" The Red Sea is before US
Not that Red Sea that washes TIC sands of
Arabia and floats the commerce of the
East, but the Red Sea of moral hindrcnc"
"a sea that is deeper than the Atlantic
Ocean and wider than the Pacific. Phar.
aoh's army Is pursuing us. Not the an
tiquated Egyptian division. now extinct,
but the internal brigade itself. still in the
field and strictly up to date in every par.
ticular-and these enemies from the netl'
ermost pit inspired with inconcclvabc ha.
tired and, in the words of Milton. armed
with hell flames and fury" and following
us in overwhelming numbers and with IN,
appeasablc tierceneSs. Such is our situa,
ton this very hour, and as we stand to-day
amid these threatening environments, the
captain of our salvation calls to us from
heaven, go forward and in obedience
to this order lies our duty, our safety and
our happiness.
Let us approach our subject step by
step. God is the author n the universe.
The universe existed in the Divine Mind
as an ideal before it existed ii itself as
a substance. The ideal was complete and
perfect as well as beautiful aud good; but
the first states of the actual Verse did
not realize that perfect ideal OF the Di-
vine Mind. What then? Did God fail?
Did His active energy provc unequal to
His bcneticent intentions? BY no means.
God gave the universe tins imperfect form
at first. not because He could not do other
wise and had to abandon His ideal but be.
cause He saw it better to realize His ideal
gradually through the law of progress than
to realize it suddenly by an act of crea-
tive powc:. Deliberately al d of His own
volltlon God made the universe a crude
mass of unorganlzed matter and force;
and then, intrIstlng His sublime work to
the law of progress operated by rcspon.
sible inteligences, lie directed that in due
time all should be reduced to order, har-
nony and beauty. This is he story of the
universe in its entirety and i'll its parts.
This is the story OF the worlds and of their
productions. This is the story of minerals,
vegetables and animals; of general species
and individuals; of angels, women and
men. This is the story of matter in all its
combinations, of life in all its forms, and
OF mind III all its phenomena. This, in
brief, so far as we have yet learned is the
story of all creation, and OF all propaga.
ton.
Let me illustrate what I mean by the
oak. Gods ideal for the oak is a majestic
tree, six feet in diameter and ten feet in
height, with mighty roots taking deep
bold of the rocks and mighty branches
sweeping the clouds-a very giant that can
wrestle with the storms and play with the
tghtnings. But in its beginning, as it
sprouts from the acorn, the oak is tiny
shoot which the foot OF a little child could
effectually crush. God makes it thus and
says to it, $50 forward" and then the lit.
tie plant, obedient to the Divine com
mand, through cloud and sunshine and
changing season, soon goes on and out and
up, until at last, by means of the law of
progress In the form OF growth, it has
fulfilled the word of God, and stands be.
tore the eyes of men IN all the imposing
grandeur OF its towering and solid matur-
ty.
Take the eagle as another illustration.
God S ideal for the eagle is an imperial
bird OF great size and strength, with
amazing keenness of vision and with pin
Ions Tor majestic flight, the mountain crag
Its castle, and it's pleasure ground the sky.
Such Is the Divine ideal for this noble
bird. But the young Gag let emerges from
the shell feeble little creature, and if
you could see it during the first week or
two of its existence, and could stroke with
your hand its soft yellowsh down and
look into its pale blush eyes, its feeble
ness would probably excite your pity. But
as the little thing feeds and exercises, it
grows and strengthens, until at last, un-
der the operation of this law of progress,
it can soar from the nest, launch into the
air, gaze directly into the MONDAY sun,
beat down the storm clouds under its
seven foot spread of wings, and sail from
continent to continent, through the oceans
OF azure above. over the oceans that roll
below
But in this discussion we must rise out
OF life into mind, and then still ascend
from the intellectual to the spiritual. We
will, therefore, consider man as an illus
VI VIC lIulu we pursuing
Gods ideal for man is a most exalted and
sublime being, with mental and moral en-
dowments of tremendous scope, SO i'm
measurably superior in parts and powers
TO all else we know, that it seems the whole
creation must eliminate in him. God de-
signed man in His own image, intended
him for communion and companionship
with Himself, determined to make him His
vice-regent here on the earth, and pro.
posed at last to share the government of
the universe with Him forever. The
thought Of such dignity is an astonishing
and overwhelming conception, but nothing
less than this is Gods ideal for man, if l
read the Scriptures Alright.
But the distance between inception and
sompletion is greater here than elsewhere.
ncr only because man is destined to rise
higher than other creatures, but also be-
cause he begins lower. 1t is a well-known
fact that the young of the human species