The Penn's Grove record., 1905-07-21

AZ mountain "a ~ 80
whether the w%Orshiper be white or
black, whether he worship on his knees
or on his feet or on his back, so long as
he worship in spirit and in truth.
Christianity so far as it consists Of a
visible performance at all is the most
natural and spontaneous outgO Of the
religious instincts to God. and religious
worship is essentially a personal COM
munion with God, and in such form
and place as is best suited to the wor-
SHIPPER and most in accordance with the
will of God.
Hence, you will see, one of the prime
characteristics of the church triumph
ant is perfect liberty. sect religion"
said Augustine, land do as you please"
By which he meant if you truly get re-
ligion you will always please to do
right. Paul means the same thing
when he says, IF We be in the spirit
We are not under the law" And Jesus
meant the same when He said, Make
the tree good and his fruit will be
good" And hence, the ideal Christian
life is perfectly ~pontaneous. Obe-
dience is not by compulsiOn of law, but
by impulsion of love. "AI the law is
fulfilled in one word, Thou shalt
love-"
We have heard not a little about
'the consent of the governed" and we
are likely to hear more. The state
ment as it stands in that famous docu-
ment will not bear a literal application.
But there is good reason to believe
that our fathers knew what they were
talking about. If they had said, gov
eminent derives its potency from the
consent Of the governed" they would
have been uttering the exact truth.
Statutes are imperative until the sub
jects consent. Perfect society implies
perfect acquiescence il the will OF the
superior or law making power. The
more society progresses toward unity,
the simpler and more equahle VIII gov
eminent become, because the more gen.
eral will be the consent or acquiesence
in the government. Paul says, Il con-
sent unto the law that it is good" and
in the perfect society of Johns vision
each man enjoys perfect liberty be-
cause the will of the governor and the
governed are in perfect correspond
ence. Each individual does as he
pleases and at the same time does as
He pleases.
And consequently there is perfect
community. There is no discord, no
battle for individual or sectional rights.
Each ones right is the others good.
The community is dominated and
guided by a common genius. Some
years ago a famous Hungarian Orches-
ira visited this country. II was a
, musical prodigy. Not only could they
play great quantities of the finest
classical music without notes, but
could improvise from some simple mu-
F steal theme given them, each man ex-
, temporizing his part by a sort of com
mon genius, producing a marvellous
, piece of impromptu orchestration as
perfectly as if they were reading
? it from the printed page. They had
played so long together that they came
, to have q common musical genius.
And yet each man played his own in
strument in his own way.
In some such way the perfect CONF
munity is characterized by perfect
unity without uniformity. Each per-
forms his W duty in his own way
but is all the while in perfect har-
mony with his neighbor. Again, in the
! perfected society there is no distine-
/, ton between the religious and the sec
, ular. Here we have our times and
places of religion. We gather here in
, this house of prayer, believing that
God is present here as He is not in
other places, as, indeed, He has prom
! ised to be. 1t is Gods concession to
+ our limitations and infrmities. But
: it is far from the ideal. We are apt
to identify religion with the means OF
religion, rather than religion itself.
We get grace by Dur religious exercises
to keep Gods commandments in all
our walks of life. and that is religion.
+ The members of the church triumph
ant are equally religious every day OF
the week and every hour Of the day
, and hence, church-going in our sense
of the word, is forever abolished. III
! that society, one does not need TO say
!. to his brother, know the Lord" FOL
7 all shall know Him from the least t
the greatest. There is no more preach
A ing, mo temple therein"
Once more: it is obvious that the
more faithful and devoted we are Il
= the means of religion here the sooner
we shall be fitted to do without them
= Your child, learning to play the piano
finds ii hard labor to spell u note by
note. conforming to the rules and rudi
o ments of practice. BY and by she VII
: go beyond the rules. She will acquire
9 the genius of the skilled performer
\ And the more diligently we observe
!. our religious duties here the soonel
!, we shall get beyond them. The more
faithful we are now to the times anC
! places Of religious worship the soonel
r shall we be ready for that society
n where all life is religious.
4 Zachariah had that vision ages be
q fore John had it, when he saw "Hoh
!, ness to the Lord" inscribed on thu
bells Of the horses and the pots il
the Lords house, as sacred as IN
bowls of the altar; yea, and every po
in Jerusalem as holy as the vessels O
the sanctuary. That was at least
glimpse of the templeless city of God.
And now shall we not keep befor'
= us that ideal? Let Us not be discour
aged by the great disparity between
that far-off perfection and presen
reality. The poet well expresses GU
8 feeling:
" Oh, Land of Promise, from what Pts
5, gah's height
e Can I behold thy stretch of peaceful
e bowers,
Thy golden harvest flowing out o
It The nestled homes and sun-illumineI
:. towers?
o Gazing upon the sunsets high-heape'
:, gold,
Its crags of opal and of chrysolite,
p Its deeps on deeps of glory, that ur
It fold,
Still frightening abysses,
b And blazing precipices,
Whence but a scanty leap it seems
e heaven.
" Sometimes a glimpse is given
r OF thy gorgeous realm, thy more III
J.. Stunted blisses.
I Gazing upon that vision. let us b
= faithful to Il temple duties here tha
! we may be fitted for that city wher
{ there is no temple, for the Lord Go
I Almighty and the Lamb are the tempt
! of it,
=
sons of God.
Phillips Brooks once said: "If yo'
. x,-;l Iok Hin, u-oTt- with ron IN vo,