The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1905-06-16
THE PULPIT.
A BRILLIANT SUNDAY SERMON BY
Or. IA. w. STRIKER, PRESIDENT
or haMlTON COLLEGE
Subject: Service.

i Va lfAs ibNAts A4t lAHANAs itt fANANANN
| the following sermon on service:
My text j. that verse in the twelfth
/ chapter of the epstle 10 the Romans in
which the apostle says that There are
I some things hard 10 be understood
which the unlearned and the unstable
/ wrest 10 their own destruction. II is
true that Satan often hides in :he dark
passages of Gods word. II is also true
| that the hardest things 10 understand
1 are not those that the intellect has 10
unravel and explain, but the things
| that concern the deeds. For my part.
| whoever else may have found IL hard.
! have not found the ninth chapter OF
Romans as hard as the twelfth. Even
! If did not 90 il very well il was easier
! 10 think straight than il is 10 be good.
| IL is wonderful thing that, after all
! these mighty. reverberating words. that
search the very heights ard depths Of
! the plan of God that make this letter
SO compact up 10 this point II all broad
ems out in the most natural fashion
! into adm inistrative matters. / notice
that the thing about the twelfth chap
ter is that IL does not say anything
about what we must not do. IL is
always true that il You get light in
darkness will 90 out. The way 10 keep
our hearts empty of evil is 10 Ill them
up 10 the brim with good. We do not
get the darkness out of this room with
a broom, but with match or a spark.
DR.. Thomas Chalmers used 10 speak
about the "eNpulsive power OF the new
affection" To many Il man who never
amounted 20 anything the honest, pure
love % n true woman has been an in
centiVe 10 him 10 make something OF
himself for her sake; and whenever the
love OF God comes into the human
heart il drives out evil and seeks 10
clotEe itself with living and loyal ac-
ton; aud il there is any one who thinks
the deed is easy and the doctrine hard,
that is not my experience.
want TO speak tonight upon THIS
special admonition 10 service which
Paul says is reasonable. God does
not ask anything that is not rational.
Christianity and Christian living can
give account of themselves. There is
nothing so silly as TO be a sinner. 1t
makes angels weep and devils laugh
10 see man trying 10 serve God and
himself. That man is walking north
and SOUTH IL is q straddle. Now Paul
says il is q reasonable service. He
said. try il. put il TO the proof. and lie
was al expert who had tried il for
thirty years. ! am going 10 take one
special line of analogy. You have
often heard ii said Of Il mar of intense
activity that he was perfect steam
engine" and that would be said more
often II there We're mere men who
were what they ought 10 he, "a perfect
steam engine" | think there is Il SER
mon in that, and : am going TO try
to get a ii. You will help. You will
think great many things which l
won't and preach a sermon 10 your
selves about being perfect steam en-
gines. For our present purposes we
VIII talk about that particular style of
steam engine, the railway locomotive.
America is doing n great business in
making these. and wherever they are
sent-Africa or South America or Asia,
every one of them is & kind of mission
airy force, Il living testimony of that
force and skill which are resident in
free mankind. The call now is loud
and clear for Americans who shall be
more committed TO teach the world
manhood. The tide Of time is rising
and sncw and muscle are called into
the service OF God. This is no time for
hmping or lettering.
Look out upon this world and see
how God is compresslng and packing
il together. If we won't take our
Gospel in the missionary ship, il shall
80 in the warship. Somehow men are
going 10 be brought together. We are
q conceited lot. we Americans, but we
do not like To be told so. We have a
good thing, and like to keep II. We
say Of the Chinese. "shut them out;
put them aside" And perhaps OF some
others, also, Don't let those good-for-
nothing Russians, Poles and Italians
come" Bless your heart. Your great
grandfather or grandmother was moth
Ing but an emigrant--mine was
Dutchman, at that We are all the
children of immigrants; we are all in
truders on this continent. The only
Americans are not now citizens, put
live on pensions. We have stolen ev-
erything they had that was in sight.
You had better not talk about that
Gods plan is to keep the races Of this
world marching and moving. Yet,
somehow. some cannot get IL through
their thick heads, their gold-plated
heads, their noddles, hard with cruel
ambitions and paltry pride, that when
the Scripture says. He made Of one
blood all nations" II means what II
says. II you won't learn IL by peace
Won will learn II by war: if you won't
learn il IN Bibles. you will learn IL by
bullets; If you won't learn it in packed
Europe and Asia and 20 there. God will
bring those people here. Let them
come. / laugh at all this talk about
checking immigration. King Canute
might Just as well have tried 10 throw
back the waves with his mandate. IL
n certain sense 1t is proper TO say that
God is 4 mighty utilitarian. 1t is a
great time for service; we need 10 wake
up. it was nearly daylight, it is dawn,
great things are coming. Therefore.
think that our churches, colleges,
schools and homes ought 10 engage in
the manufacture OF locomotives.
That wonderful, intricate engine
who made it? Did a baby locomotive
grow up into that great machinef You
say &, is evolution. Evolution de.
scribes the way a thing IS made. but
never made anything. The process OF
making is evolution. II you ask me
II I believe God made this world by
process, say yes. That Is the way He
makes everything. When He makes
anything that can grow He gives Il
n chance 20 grow. His plans are made
and / don't care where He began, / |
care more for where He ends. You
say il took a long while. Yes, the !
larger the pattern, the larger the plan. |
Our steam engine is n fine instance o. |
evolution. Ii is mans creation and II !
represents his Creators idea and In. |
tention. IL is wonderful epitoine Of |
sfr..T L fearr g. a n