Los Angeles herald., 1905-12-04
LESSON
FROM THE STARS
PREACHER SEES W0NDR0US
CONVERSATIONS
Rev. DR.. Rider breaches Most interest
Ing Sermon on the Dignity Of
Human Nature-Believes
In Cooperation

The sermon Of DR.. Rider I'm the
Westlako Methodist Episcopal church
Yesterday morning was on "The Dig
nltN OF Human Nature" His text was.
What Is Man, In substance the SER
mon was as follows:
rhe question Of the text grew out
OF an ancients contemplation of the
starry heavens and of man. What is
man that the great creator should care
Tor him? If In the time of this writer
ne question was a significant one,
Wheh only about three thousand stars
could be seen by the naked eye. how
much more significant is 1t now when
we have the microscope. telescope and
Spctroscope? Neptune carries us out
from the sun fortY-four thousand mil
mons OF miles. Worlds are weighed,
their compositions determined as
would an assayer tell us of the parts
OF q bit OF ore What is man In such
universe? This II is that sends the
deist reeling into doctrines of tran
scendencc. God Is up yonder some
where, but how can he be here looking
after us little things? The question
dazed Daniel Webster and overcame
the ancient author of this text.
Comforts Provided for All
There are views which dlsparagc
and degradation in man But this was
not the spirit of our author. lie de-
clared that the great God was mind
full of his Children This fact is seen
In the provisions of physical nature
for mans comfort.
THE coal the forests, those marvel
GUS compensationS here and there in
the world FOR what appears TO be his
loss, arid regions for irrigation and the
undulating lands i'm the rain belt
Apart from man these things cannot be
explained. Beside all this, there is the
provision Of grace and love in Jesus
Christ. 'Call God father said he.
THE incarnation. a doctrine when
the world will never give up. is the
highest assurance Of Gods care for his
children The old idea. springing from
the doctrine of the divine right OF
kings, was that the people are for God
The new idea, influenced by better
views of democratic government is that
God lives for his people. This is incar-
nation, God in man. divinely in Christ
identifying himself with us in our
struggles and suffering. Incarnation
means T, your God, your creator, love
and care for you
Cooperation Absolutely Necessary
But what is man to justify Gods
infinite investment? A brute? If So
Gods work Is not a paying investment.
But if a rational, self-conscious, i'm
mortal being, God made no mistake in
making man; that is to say, if man
will cooperate in the divine purpose
for the far off sublime event will be
Gods self realization in the glorifica-
tion of his human child. To be con-
formed to Jesus Christ in some distant
though certain experience, to be god
like, to grow forever i'm knowledge and
love. to be permitted endless and holy
service under the king and the fellow
ship of those in his Kingdom this con-
summation answers the question of
that one who wrote the question, What
is mani and who is akin with us in
the longing of his sou! to know that
God was really mindful of him.
1T must be remembered that CO.
operation in the purpose of the intin-
ite is absolutely necessary to this con-
summation. 1t is the divine in man that
is capable of this expansion. not the
animal Are we dattering the animal
in us and dsparaging the divine? II
We live after the flesh ye shall die.
AS many as are led by the spirit of
God they are the sons of God.