The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-10-16
SUNDAY OBSERVANCE.
CLOSING OF 4 SERIES OF SER MONS BY MR. BEARDSLEK.

Church Yesferday-The Importance
 of Sunday Observance to the Indi-
 viduaI, the Churches and the Nation.
 Rev. MT. Beardsiey of St. Thomas Episcopal church, preached yesterday forenoon, the third and closing sermon of his series of discourses on the Sab bath, the concluding one being upon ''Some Results of the Proper Observ- ance of Sunday" In the first discourse he gave a general history of the Sab bath, the second was upon its observ- anoe, yesterdays being summing up. As will be seen on perusal the sermon is one both timely and admonitory as well as possessing deep interest in its able treatment of this important sub jeet. The sermon in full is as follows:
 Daniel xii, S2-''The people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits"
 If I revert again to the Sunday ques- ton trust that in so doing I shall not overtax your patience nor lead you to think that am so welded to the sub ject that it is difficult for me to get away from it. The fact of the matter is that this sermon is an afterthought. It seemed to me that there was still something to be said, something that wanted to say, to bring right home to you the real significance of the day as it concerns the individual, the church and society. We have traced the his- tory of the Christian Sunday, and we have seen that the two great notes of it's observance are worship and rest, worship coming first as the essential and rest following as the accident, not, however, to be looked upon as some thing which may or may not form a part of our Sunday observance, but as something which ought to form a part of that observance, and, when it does, contributes largely to our physical, mental and spiritual Well-being. And now I feel as if something may and ought to be said upon the results of the proper observance of Sunday, upon the influence of the day in shaping the life of the individual, and, therefore, of the community.
 We have not come to a full under standing of the real significance of the day until we see in it one of the great sforces making for good morals and good religion. It is the day of worship yes, but not simply worship for wor- ships sake. We are to mark this day by extraordinary acts of worship, but that worship has a very distinct pur- pose other than merely to express our faith in God. We may go through the form and to ourselves and to others seem to be giving expression to a viz orous faith, and yet our lives may not experience any real uplift as a conse- quence-may not show forth any great CT power. * -t +~ a..., Now, our text, taken by itself, tells us what is the practical purpose of wor- ship, and what effect it will have upon those who appreciate that purpose. "The people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits" Wor- ship is the great source of knowledge 1Ou, dIIl pL IbA AAlSAASS men strong. We accentuate the value of worship, then, for what 1t is in itself and for what it accomplishes. The ob- servance of this day as day of Wor- shin is not a sentimental thing adyo- cated by certain sentimental people for the sentimental purpose of keeping alive a custom which runs back into the remote past and has claim upon our consideration because of its antiq- uity, But, on the contrary, it is very practicaI thing and ought to be kept up for it's practical value in the devel- op1nent of our individual and social life. If we once grant that the observance of the Lords day has this practical value, then it is easy. to see why the growing neglect of the day is regarded with such seriousness. And let me say right here that this tendency towards the complete seculariZation of the sum- day is not local. It isn't anything peculiar to our country. England and Scotland are experiencing it as much as, If not more than, we are. And 1t isn't anything peculiar to any part1cu- lar section of our country. Conserva- tive New England is little better than the freer west, speaking relatively. We complain that it is the great influx of foreigners into this country which is responsible for this change which has come and is coming to our Sunday. Well, one cannot doubt that the for eigner, coming here i'll such numbers as he does, and bringing with him his cus- toms. has had something to do in mak- ing the Sunday what it is to-day. But my observations have convinced me that the poor foreigner is altogether too generally held responsible for the sins of the native American. He is a handy man to have around, Are we accused of being political corruption- eists? Well, the poor foreigner is at the bottom of it all, we say. Perhaps he is. but it is worth noting in passing that it is your ,sinon-pure American who furnishes the money, to be manip- 11lated, for the most part perhaps, by those who would resent being called anything else, and that elections are pretty apt to be decided in those rural regions where American blood still pre- dominates. Do we lament the desecra- tion of our Sunday? Well, it is the poor foreigner who is at the bottom of 1t all. He comes here with his conti- mental notions-he wants to keep his little shop open, or he wants his beer to drink or his games to amuse him. But