Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1905-08-24
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: SUNDAY SERMON :
+
= A Scholarly Discourse By +
b tho Rev. A. H. G. Morse. g

SttonS IlHCe DdI)tISt SHuiCH, 'ut pas
tor. the Rev. A. II. c. Morse. had AS
his subject, Powerful Promises The
text was from III Peter ii; "Whpreby
are given unto us exceeding great and
precious promises; that by these we
might be partakers of the divine ma
ture, having escaped the corruption
which is in the world through lust"
Mr.. Morse said:
At any rate the Bible is frank. 1t
says the plainest things about mans
sin. But it also holds before him Il
wonderful hope. To-day lie is mired in
corruption. Tomorrow he may have
escaped from this and become like
God. The whole gospel is found in
these few words.
We have here statement of the fact
of sin and its origin. The fact is "cOr
ruptiOn" and the origin through lust"
know that there are worldly wise
men who sheer at the third chapter of
they are uniformly unable to give us II
simpler solution of the mystery of evil.
Somewhere and ut some time the race
must have sinncd. The stream of life
has been poisoned, and this must have
taken place at its fountain head for
we cannot find any divisions which do
not have the entire characteristics of
the whole. The Bible says the event
took place in the first man, before u
single son was born. and lie lusted af
ter something which was forbidden to
him, and that by his disobedience he
fell from a primal innocency. aud
lurched the race, and entailcd a cOndi
ton of corruption. And that we have
aggravated this calamity by repeating
sin and deepening the ruin.
But am not so much concerned to-
day about the origin of the condition
We can leave that with Il single word
But there are certain facts that cannot
be brushed aside. A man may ques
ton the story as it is written in Scrip
ture, but he cannot deny it, for it does
not come within the region of denial
Neither can he deny the story MS it is
reproduced in life to-day. Have You
never pluckcd forbidden fruit? Have
YOU never lusted for pleasure which
has been distinctly forbidden: And as
Il consequence of transgression. have
YOU never experienced a rcpulsive sick.
ness and an intolerablc lOathing. so
that YOU have known what is the
meaning Of this phrase, "thc corrup-
tiOn which is in the world through
lustE' DO YOU not know anything ut
all Of the lashingS of remorSe?
Let me ask you another question.
How does it happen that the heart is
so constantly running down. Why
must it be repeatedly wound lp and
fn ,,+itl t,l,o - 4
have TO make and renew resolves. and
lash the will to the sticking plurr:'
Why Is it that II man never hackslideS
into holiness? Why cannot We take off
the brakes and find ourselves gliding
into the highest moral living? Every
thing. We are told. tends to move in
the line Of least resistance. DO we
find that we are drifting toward char
ity and holiness and benevolencc and
virtue? Nay. but to all Of us these
graccs are the fruit Of serious toll.
They are magnificent possessions, more
precious than gold and sparkling gems.
but they are gotten only by struggle
and pr,vation and Sclf-dcnial. And
that word "Self-denial" contains foS-
sill history Of primal sin. 1t tells MS of
''' w ~ ''ii 'i''t iilhSt W. NollS'bIlIN ht-
MED, because its desires are wrong.
But whence this evil self and whence
these wrong desires:
But let us come little closer TO this
subject. Let me hint ut the things that
we cannot spread before the public,
our secret thoughts and faults which
are hidden. The thoughts that creep
into the heart and nestle there. Can
you tell me whence they come? Tell
me. for instance. whence come the envy
and jealousy and malice and evil de
sire, and the lust for gold that makes
tho thief, and the thirst for blood
which crimsons the hand of murder?
DO you not think these things arise in
human life as malaria and peStilenCe
from death dealing hog? Do they
not bespeak what this Scripture calls
a corruption which is in the world
through lust?" suppose that the an
gels before the throne Of God would
shirk from having their thoughts pro.
claimed with the trumpet of Gabriel.
| know that Jesus has torn open His
heart and flung out challenge which
10 man can accept. (Which of you
Convinceth Me Of SIM" said He. But
we cannot do that We hide our
thoughts and cover our faults with
crimson blush. and walk among our
nearest friends with a towards step.
But what has befallcn MANI If God
made him innOcent-and nobody queS-
tons thiS-Something must have hap
pened to corrupt his thoughts and
make them SO black that lie stands in
dread Of the day for which all other
days were made when this hidden his.
tory shall be revealed.
There is something pathetic in mans
attempts to assert his worth. We
speak. for instance. of the Majesty OF
conscience ard the Dignity Of hui
man nature" and of the Brotherhood
of Cod and the brotherhood of
man. as if these terms were true and
meaningful. Take the first of these
and see what comfort there is in it,
THE majesty of consciencew But do
you not know that conscience almost
always speaks in judgment? 1t seems
to have lost its authority to command
ii it ever possessed that authority. 1t
cannot insist upon obedience, but can
only raise its voice in circumstances
1t can be easily overruled, and voted
down, and then it can only record n
minority vote, and lapse into silence.
But there is more in this scripture
than a statement of the fact of sin
Here are also these great and pre-
ciOus promises whereby we may be-
come partakers of the divine nature"
That is, men may become as God. And
the warrant for this promise is found
in the fact Of correspondence between
the divine and the human. The nat
ur1 man cannot discern spiritual
things, and 1t is no use to talk to him
about them, for there is no correspond
ence, no basis of affinity, no ground of
fellowship. But man was made in the
image of God, and it was possible for
God to take upon Himself mans ma