The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1904-04-01
"A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
~ ELOQUENT DISCOURSE eY THs
REV. 4 s. KlNscLvNc. Q. q.
Subject: Presump;uOus sins-The Conn
monest Sin Among Men is Sacrificing
the Interests OF the Spiritual and Etsr-
nal IA the Carnal and Temporal.

an excellent sermon Sunday morning on
"Fresumptuous SINS The two texts
were from Matthew ": : and 6: Then
the devil taketh hlm into the holy city
and he set Him on the pinnacle Of the
temple. and saith unto Him. II Thou art
the Son OF God cast Thyself down, for II
il written, He shall give His angels charge
concerning Thee; and on their hands they
shall bear Thee up, lest haply Thou dash
Thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto
HIM, Again II Is written. thou shalt not
temp; the Lord thy God" and Psalms
xiX. Is: Keep back Thy servant also
from presumptuous sins; let them not
have dominion over me, then shall | be
upright and innocent from the great trans
gresslon.' DR.. Kinsolying sand
In pursuing our purpose OF trying 10 in
terpTet the unfolding life Of the Lord Je-
sIs ana 10 read IT. lessons for ourselves,
We preached las; Sunday the tempted Je-
sus We found IN the narrative OF the
temntatlon a record OF Just 4 mental and
spiritual struggle as We should have eX.
pected HIM 10 60 through at this stage of
HIS career. Ii Is impossible 10 suppose
that He could have decided instantaneous
" and without long meditation and con-
flct upon the plan of His lie as the sent
81 God Clearly He had a pan and ad-
hered 10 il throughout lie.
We remarked upon the deep interest
gle and victory OF Jesus. and how just IN
proportion az we are led by the Holy
Spirit 70 lofty and noble ideals OF lle we
are conscious Of these subtle earthly lures
which would defect Us from our truest
paths.
We spoke Of the iatalistic non-resistanoe
20 temptation so much IN vogue nowadays
a. something not worth while because IN
world where the frailty of man - cN-
posed 10 such overwhelming aliurements
Of world, flesh and devil. II is certain be
forehand that vast percentage Of men
and women viii iall The Maker of men
and not the victims al sin Is the most re-
sponslble so this school teaches and hy
such doctrines the person as.allod j. m
duCCd 20 yield without struggle Jesus
conflict and victory teach us that this IS
n libel upon God. Through a putting
forth of such strength as we have
through n prayeriul desire 20 be and do
what Is right. our vision u cleared and our
wills grow strong and while God can
never entirely shelter Us from temptation
He can and does defend us IN temptation.
and with every solicitation 10 wIongdolug
show Us the way OF escape.
Then we tired to learn the lesson Of
Chr.sts first temptation. The question
when first confronted Him as our repre-.
sentative was the old and ever-prossnc
question Of daily bread. The tomptcr pro
tCcds upon the assumption that all man
need. ioT has sustenauCe j. food for the
physical life You have a right 20 this
he says. on any terms. and there ls nothing
else 10 be- considered by comparison with
tins. So make provision for yourself and
the bOdys bread first. You are 20 feed
the hungry. feed first yourself III Thou
art the son of God. command that these
stones be made l0aVcs-gnd then lou may
live 10 execute Your Fathers business
The answer of Jesus came from n Man
Paunt and weary bv long fasting and days
of conflict. The physical life j. not man :
only hie, and ! VIII not act as II II were
lie says. by CXcmptng Myself from PR
vatons winch ] have come 10 share with
Nv brethren. II ] am hungry that lies
within the viii Of God for Me, and
choose hunger IN that viii, rather than
satisfaction outside Of and against that
viii. | viii not hurt or kill Ny moral or
surtuai h,e as the iilal dependent and
cbed.ent Child of God by providing on
guilty terms Tor the feeding Of Ny bodily
lie. For IT, through prIvatIOn, the bodily
wrapping Of life should perish there would
still be left Ny essential manhood and
My eternal relationship with the Father.
Therefore | choose the obedient and de
pendent life and Will trust the care and
wisdom Of Ny Father unto the end
Jesus there enunCated a philosophy Of
HE which Is a. sane as II j. lofty and spT-
ltudl Perhaps the COmmonCst SIN among
men Is sacrificing the interests of the spr-
Itua and eternal 10 the Carnal and TEN
poral An about rs they are prone 10 live
as If man did live by bread alone, and
where this j. true they viii have bread on
any terms and getting II becomes the con.
sumluC passion OF life. Bv choosing IN
stead. the hunger that resulted from dwell
ing lu the viii Of God, rather than the
~ d.. gt
dIschcdIeuCe. our Master won for as the
great initial victory over temptation, and
by He spirit and example has been lead
ing millions 20 victory along the same
path ever since.
In the second temptation-I take the
order gwen in St Matthew as the natural
order-the point of attack has changed
The tcmptor had sought TO overthrow the
obedience Of Christ by an assault uuon
HIS physical appetltes and faith IN HIs
Father care. He had overcome the temp
tatiou through the strength OF His trust
IN Cod. So now the attack is made upon
Him through that very trust An un-
svervng loyalty and confidence in the viii
Of God has been discovered. That loving
trust % was which made Him choose 10
suffer the pangs OF hunger. rather than
arbitrarily terminate them by a miracle
wrought for Himself. All then, here is
HIS strength, 20 near by there must luJk
HE Voaknossl Then" we read. "the
devil ;aketh Him into the holy city and
setteth HIM upon that corner oi the wing
Of the temple which oyeTlooks from lts
dizzy height the priests court below.
where the thousands OF Jewish pilgrims
have gathered from all over the world.
II Thou be the Son of God. cast Thysef
down That will be an ideal and perfect
test Of your hlial relation and your
Fathers care for You. Descend heaven
borne. INTO the midst OF priests and people,
win instantly the acclamatlOn and popu-
Jar welcome which Nou will else have 10
conquer by long years Of suffering and fail
ure What worship and honor and homage
viii be Yours How quickly You will stand
at the mead Of believing Israel. Surely,
there - nothing 10 fear. for 10 - written,
He shall gIve His angels charge concern.
ing Thee. and on their hands they shaIl
bear Thee up, lest, haply, Thou dash Thy
foot against a stone
The very choice of the location Of the
temptation attests the subtlety OF the
temyter.. He Is taken 20 the Holy City
and TO "a pinnacle. or wing Of the temple.
Think what must have been Jesus sacred
love for Jerusalem and how naturally and
deeply His mind would have been lnau-
onced by the surroundings. All the pas
sIouato religious patriotism Of HIS nature.
all H. deepe-t springs Of feeling would be
to.cntd 10y the sacred associations Of the
Hoy City. Beautiful for elevation, the
jCy Cl the VI hole earth. the city OF The
great king. WHITTIER the tribes a The Lord
60 up year b. year for worship How
precious were lts sights. ~ the noun
taIls 10 around about Jerusalem. 20 en-
Caurfth the Lord about them that love
HIM If / forget thee. q. Jerusa-
lem. .ct nv right hand forget .ts cunning"
II frr a devon. lew fhr-l was a grOf On