The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1905-04-21
The PULPIT.
4 SCHOLARLY SUNDAY SERMON ei
The REV. 3. 3. SHANNON.
.ubJeci. The Thousandioia Man.

Brooklyn. y. Y.-Sunday morning. In
Grace NJ. +. Church. the pastor. The
Rev. Frederick r. shannon. had for
his subject The ThousandfOid Man.
The text was from Joshua Xxiii:l0'
One man OF you shall chase a thou
sand: for the Lord your God, He IL is
that tighteth for you. as He spake unto
you" Mr.. shannon said:
World building is not so interesting
rs man building. Some philosophers
held that tasks are interesting In pro.
portion as they are difficult 10 perform
IL this be good logic. then swinging
worlds into space must take secondary
rank 10 building man in time. We
have 10 intimation that God had any
trouble strirglng planets along the
path OF His power. Yet the centuries
unite in the verdict that God has had
much trouble in producing the divine
style Of manhood. Therefore. it is
safe 10 conclude that God never un,
dertook vaster plan than 10 build q
man. Worlds play out His purpose
in the harmony OF gravitation. They
spell out His plans in the law Of ODE.
dience. But man ofttimes thwarts
those purposes and destroys those
plans by setting his own will over
against the will of God. Thus he
wanders. a kind of lost human plelad
through the space called time always
and ever coming 10 himself, but never
wholly arrived
Yet man is Gods human world
greater than any star-world twinkling
in space. because he thinks, loves
feels and wills. Now, some men ex-
ercise these functions more largely
than their fellows. Then we label
them with that ancient degree called
greatness. After comforting the de.
gree, We spend the rest OF our lives
musing over what such men did when
they got together. They may have
been great thinkers. great fighters
great takers. great writer's. or great
friends. But in the last analysis. the
greatness men adore is the alteration
great men have given 10 God. This is
why we never tire OF studying the
friendship Of Moses and Joshua. They
are two links in the golden chain
which moors this old world TO the
throne Of God. Napoleon said that his
tory is a fable about which men are
agreed. Rather say history is stream
flowing out from the Eternal Heart
Sitting along it's shores, like deathless
sentinelS. are the men God raised VI
for handing His name and truth down
the ages.
Our text asks for a consideration OF
the thousandfold man, and the reason
FOR his multiplied power "One man OF
you shall chase thousandw More
startling words could hardly knock Al
the door Of the human intellect. They
are too vast in their outranging mean.
ing to be easily comprehended. Nat.
urally enough. the mind asks for n
second consideration of them. But
\ second reading fails TO rob them of
their significance. Really big things
don't grow less on second sight. Like
1t. Peters. their bigness only helps
the mind expand TO n more capable
appreciation of their true dimensions
lt is so with men. and il is so with
the great objects in nature. Just SO
a great sentence like this. pregnant
with large thought. is not stripped OF
IFS treasure by second or third read
ing. 1t is thought centre round
which the mind may revolve with in.
2reasing profit
Strictly speaking. then. what is
meant by one man chasing a thousand
Does il mean that one man. by his
physical prowess. can drive a thou
sand men before him? You wonder
1t the folly of such a question. Still
some people re so fond OF measuring
life and men by the yardstick of physi
cal bulk that its absurdity' may mock
them into a better view. Physical
things never did run smoothly on q
spiritual track; and they never will
because il is impossible The thou
sandfold man, according 10 Joshua. is
the man IN league with God. housing
Gods purposes and cooperating with
Gods plans. awaiting Gods signals
md answering Gods voices. watching
Gods strides in history AMI hearing
Gods truth, dropped in golden mum
bers. from the harp Of Gods eterna
years" He is the man with his feet
IN he earth. his head among the stars
and his heart located in heaven. be
cause heaven is located in his heart
He Is the son OF yesterday. the mar
)f to-day. the heif of o-morrow-grate
ful for yesterdays goodness. inspired
oy tO-day's blessings, and rejoicing in
to-moTrow's hopes. And he is all this
because be is in league with God and
knows il: because he is in love with
God. and feels il; because he is living
In obedience TO God. and wills il.
Moreover the thousandfold man is
the man God waits for. 1t has ever
been "one man Of you" who has opened
the largest doors Of opportunity and
achievement in the history Of tho
world One man and God-they are
absolutely uncOnquerable. Grasplne
the tangled threads Of history. they
have tied them into one solid knot OF
divine purpose. And that purpose foi
ever stands the pledge Of q better
world and a nobler race. Do you
wonder that even God can afford Il
wait for such n man? Then let your
wonder give away before this mighty
fact: God has TO wait. so long as the
world remains constituted as IL is. fol
man 90 come forward and say. Here
am I-use me" God answers back
Il have 10 use you. because ! haven
anything else 10 use" When n MAJ
comes out like that from the littleness
OF self into the largeness OF God. thai
moment he stands forth in Gods uni
verse thousandfold man, Chasing
a thousand becomes the business oi
his life. Chasing a thousand tempta
tions. chasing a thousand sins. chasing
thousand civic wrongs. chasing q
thousand social evils, But does hC
stop theret Never! Chasing a thou
sand lost men toward God. chasing
them into fellowship with Jesus Christ
chasing them up from their haunts OF
sin toward the splendor touched peak.
of a pure and radiant manhood That
IS the mission Of the thousandfolC
man. And in these days the mission
IL ffvu 90 81