Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-28

Christless counterfeit. The signing, sour
fanatic, ever ranting against all who will
not leave the wholesome pleasures in this
world of Gods, is a parody of the crucified.
He died that our Joy might be full He
died that we might live Henry Drum
mond was right. The kingdom of heaven
is not subtraction, but addition, He based
this Jesus word all these things will
true life grows ever swifter and broader in
its onward flow. will run the way Of
Thy commandments when Thou shalt en-
large my heart. a."
and the life broadened'' by love, suffering,
association with the great in nature and
great men and women. and by the grace
of God, he continued as follows:
you expect some personal word today?
Ny first sermon as pastor was on the text
I determined not to know anything among
you save Jesus Christ and Him crucif1ed.'
No minister do faithful work in any
church long without realizing new, deeper,
fuller, richer meaning in such an ambition.
For all the devotion and consideration
have received from my loyal, faithful
friends l thank you beyond words. God
has enlarged our church with steady
growth from the first. 1 looked over the
statistics yesterday of this last year In our
presbytery. 1t Is the fourth year of our
church, the age of infancy and novelty was
passed. God hath done great things for
U.S. whereof we are glad.
My last earnest request to every de-
voted member is that you stand by the
new pastor God will send you as Loyalty
and lovingly as you have by myself. And
in ten or twelve years, with the same
ratio of increase as at present. the mem
bership will be over 1900 Then l shall
receive from you a unanimous call and
shall return and spend the last ten years
of my pastoral life as your minister, and
I shall hope to be welcomed by every one
of you, the earnest founders of this little
church.
application of the text: The first verse Of
this section begins, My soul cleaveth
unto the dust'-the dust of traditions
Traditions may inspire or enslave. When
they push the living God off the throne of
mans heart they make his soul cleave to
the dust. If our Presbyterian traditions
enslave they are no whit better than the
traditions of Rome in the dark ages, or
the traditions of the Greek Church, which
make the Christian world today blush for
Christian Russia in sorry contrast with
half-heathen Japan. Our Presbyterian
traditions ought to inspire US to have
that independent fearless attitude to-
ward the institutions and questions Of
today which the present age demands. 1t
Is fitting the application of my last ser
mon should be personal, as well as gen
eral, since every addition to this church
has been the result of personal work.
Here Miss Marie Smith was called to
the desk, and MIR. Hunt said:
Won a Bible.
1.-TWO years ago you won Bible for
learning the catechism, and that in the
short space of one month. l told you
then from this pulpit what displeased
some, that as you had been baptized in
the Roman Catholic Church, your moth
ers church, / hoped you would, in due
time. be confirmed in that church. 1 am
glad to know you have been and that
you are now faithful in your attendance
there. You have also been most regular
at our Sunday school and our midWeek
prayer meeting, always at the latter
with a verse of Gods word to speak from
the heart. l hope that the same may be
said one year hence of all the members,
at least of all the officers of the congre-
cation.
81 told you the word of God is better
than our catechism, and that when you
go the Gospel of St John by heart |
would give you cross ike the one 1
wear on my watch chain
Though you have not yet completed 1t,
you have done so well, | am sure 1t VIII
not be long until you will have It all,
come to Washington But as this is my
las. Sabbath here, l am glad to give you
this cross today. And now l know you
will be gloriously joyful at what / am
going to tell you, but / fear / may startle
some who think that only Presbyterians
or only Protestants will so to heaven. Yet
1 cannot -startle them as much as Jesus
angered some elders in His day
Blessed by Cardinal.
II saw Cardinal Gibbons last week, and
told him all the facts in this matter, and
his eminence graciously promised that II
/ would send him the cross. he would
bless It. l did So This will have an added
sacredness and value to you, as a faithful
child of that church. because It has a car
dinals blessing. In my own judgment, too,
as a Protestant minister his blessing means
very much to you, personally. From my
point of view, IL means that a great, good
man is interested in you, and has prayed
fo- you. / believe 1t will help you. beyond
words, to strive by the grace of Jesus, to
reach our ideal for you; 10 bless your home,
and the circles you move In.
But Cardinal Gibbons blessing of this
cross has a wider significance. 1t is of in
terest to all. The church of God is the
hope of the world To save the world she
must be one. Keep the unity of the spirit
In the bonds of peace" as Jesus, in His
last prayer, asked the Father, that they all