The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1905-12-01
THE PULPIT.
Az ELOQUENT SUNDAY SERMON 81
TIE REV. John DOUGLAS ACAn.
Subject; Moral Lamcncss.

Douglas Adam. the pastor OF the Re
Termed Church on the Heights,
| preached Sunday on "Moral Lame
ness" from the text: Acts iii:6: Then
! Peter said. Silver and gold have
none: but such as / have give unto
thee: in the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth rise up and walk lie said:
Our text introduces us TO lame
man who lay day by day at the gate
| of the temple in Jerusalem. begging
for sufficient money 10 keep him i'm
| life. This is very common scene
I'm the New Testament, where we are
constantly meeting the lame, the halt,
the blind and the lepers. and there Is
no wonder, for we must bear i'm mind
those We're the days when there were
no hospitals. no scientific medical
schools. no homes for incurables, nor
any societies of aid. Since that day
| Christianity. without boastfulness, has
had a magnificent share in the crea-
tion of those centres OF relief. We see
no such spectacle on our streets as did
the Syrian OF old upon his. Our Chris
tan sentiment and Christian love have
provided the hospital. and our lame
men are sent there. And not only the
| hospital but we have to-day enlight-
|
! ity and helpfulness on all haMis: and
| because the modern method of dealing
with sickness is not the same rs that
! of the apostles. never think that II Is
not Christian. for the same Christian
/ snirit plays about the treatment or
/ rhysical ills to-day. We have To be
! delivered. il seems 10 me. from the
! idea that God IS only in the eXtraor-
! dirary. That He is only i'm the large.
! 1t seems 10 be hard upon our reason
/ 60 comprehend. God is rs much in
! the ordinary as i'm the miracle. Ii is
the same God. and God is as much
IN the hospital. i'm His spirit and in
the modern methods of curing sick
! ness. God is there Just as truly ms He
was I'm the days OF old. So Christian
/ itv has i'm 4 large measure solved the
question OF the physically lame man.
am not going 10 speak this morn
ING Of him. We have practically dis
posed OF him. | shall talk Of the
morally lame man. and when | speak
OF him let us understand each other.
| The morally lame man may he physl-
cally equipped with the physique OF
n triumphant athlete. He may pay
every debt The morally lame man
Is the man VINO is lame in his will,
and he knows IL. His will does not
work with health toward his duty
He is lame in his conscience; it is de-
fective. He is lame In his affections
His emotions in the higher reaches are
lame. His imagination does not bound
! toward its goal. for the goal or the
! imagination is God and the infinite.
! The morally lame man falls down be-
fore his own self-respect in the develop
ment of his character. He fails in
! his own conception of duty and in his
relations as n son, or husband, OF
friend. and in his relationship to town
and country. He Is not factor III
the moral progress OF those about MIN
or the community. He contributes
nothing. but rather takes away. rms
lame man in the story lay begging.
There are physical and moral beg
cars. but the worst pauperism Is
moral pauperism. The man who lacks
sufficient force to pilot himself through
life and never creates optimism and
moral stamina out Of his own life
would. if the world were to surrender
its moral power, commit suicide. IL
Won notice, the chief contributors TO
I'll = mans sustenance were The people
on the way TO the temple. They gave
TO him sufficient to keep him alive and
then passed on to worship. And l
think they are still the chief contrib
utors to the sustenance of the morally
lame man. This poor fellow may have
laughed in his sleeve at the religious
| devotees as they passed on, and the
| true. earnest men and women are the
people who are supporting, morally
those who sometimes even sneer at
their moral earnestness. 1t Is those
who are maintaining the rest or the
| community Man lives not by bread
| alone but as he II sustained physl-
cally through the industry OF those
who produce bread and the necessities
of physical life, and without which
there would be physical famine, so we
live by moral bread and we are much
more dependent on that in the last
analysis OF life than on the physical.
for n nation like this lives upon Ideas
and love more than on any material
thing. Take these away and all our
boosted material progress falls like n
house OF cards, as did the glorious ma
terial wealth OF Rome because there
was not behind il the manhood 10 sus-
tain IL. Our world lives through the
industry OF the truest men and women
in 10 in the moral sphere. and IL there
| Is no love being generated by unset
fish hearts and 10 faith by pure minds
and no moral inspiration by brave
souls. a nation Is doomed. There are
those who not only do not contribute
moral strength. but there are those
who take away the moral bread baked
by the labor OF good men in the fiery
furnace of trial. and throw II away
| and sneer at every pure and divine
thing. They are the infamous de-
stroyers OF that which is the pillar OF
! power.
our problem to-day is the lame man.
1t is n patriotic, economic and relig-
ious one. than which there Is none
more practical. The problem before
the church Is 10 set the lame man on
his feet so that be can make his own
way In things OF the heart and become
contributor to- the moral health Of
the world. Let us observe how Peter
and John faced the problem. First.