The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1905-11-24
THE PULPIT.
AN ELOQUENT SUNDAY SERMON o.
The REV. c. L. PALMER.
Subject; Ancient worship.

Kingston. y Y.--The following cru.
dite and eloquent sermon on Ancient
Worship" was preached sunday in the
Reformed Church OF the Comforter by
the pastor, the Rev. e.. l.. Palmer. Dr.
Palmer said:
History discloses hat the worship
or the New Testament is no the crea-
iion Of the later dispensation. but is
the result of n long and complex pro-
cess Of evolution. All we know re-
specting the time OF its inception is
that IL is us old as the human family,
which confirms the belief THAI religion
and life are inseparable.
Three principal clements constitute
religion, worship. doctrine and life.
Worship il the attitude of the individ-
ual or nation toward its deity. Doc
trine is the abstract formation OF truth
Into definitions and conception. Life
Is the conduct that is presupposed 10
conform 10 ones belief. Which shall
be more prominent is determined by
the spirit Of the age.
Since religion is both natura, and SUI
pernatural we must look beyond the
former for the channels of revelation.
All creation is one harmonious doXol-
ogy 10 the Creator. hut His works do
not give us all the information re-
Quired for the true worship OF God.
Accordingly God has appointed certain
ones 10 communicate His will. The
prophets were class chosen TO in
struct the people in the character and
requirements of God. Their teachings
are called the word Of God. Sages
uttered proverbs. riddles and dialogues
while priests gave instruction In the
form of law. which recognized no dis-
tinction between civic and religious
life.
Notwithstanding forms and habits
have undergone many radical changes,
there are certain features Of worship
that remain essentially the same.
There has always been n certain place
dedicated 10 the service of God. With
us il is the church. but in the early
times il was the temple. synagogue,
tabernacle. altar or grove.
4 certain number of men are dcdl-
Gated To the work of the Christian min
istry. but i'm the earlier days there
We're priests and prophets who laborel
for the elevation of mankind. At a
still earlier time the father of u family
or head one of n tribe or elan conduct
cd the worship.
Sacrincia offerings have been dis.
continued among Christians. because
the Lord Jesus Christ has been sucri.
feed once for ALL II was not so in
the distant past. II was then be-
! licvcd that the fellowship between God
ana His people was fostered 10y sacri.
| flee. The occasion was not unlike
social 4AeAal in which the god OF the
clan or family partook OF the rcpast
with its members. While the original
idea Of communion with the deity was
paramount. sacrifice did not assume
| it's full religious significance until per-
fected in the temple ritual. Other
acts of worship. such rs prayer and
| the VOW, have ever occupied an inn
! portant place. as we'll rs music. and at
times dreams. sorcery and dancing.
Worship presupposes time for the
service of God In the remote past
when the people lived n wandering
life. it was not possible TO have a par
ticular time and place, but when they
settled down To agricultural life three
fcasts were instituted. one In the
spring. another i'm the early summer
spending TO our modern Easter. pentc-
cost and Thanksgiving.
Worship without hymns and songs is
inconcpivable. If we were deprived
Of some of our favortc hymns 4, would
destroy one Of the most potent motives
OF worship. The psalms were just rs
precious 10 the ancients as the modern
hymns are TO US, and eXcrted the same
influence.
The most reliable scholars are Of the
conviction that the legal code Of the
Old Testament was not the result OF
single authorship. but the work Of n
redactor who compiled existing tradj-
tions and documents. This is more In
harmony with the method God en-
ploys TO accomplish His purpose, and
is certainly explanatory OF the way
that our Bible took form.
IT should be borne In mind that IL is
not my purpose TO present the Ideal
worship OF the New Testament, but 10
study the course OF religious develop
ment that eliminated i'm the service OF
the Christian church. In so doing we
shall encounter many things that are
very much below the Christian stand
ard. but We may not on that account
Ignore them, since they are necessary
TO illustrate the progress In which we
have now occasion 10 rejoice.
The evolution Of worship is too vast
theme 10 cover in one discourse,
we shall therefore confinc our atten-
tion to it's rllest phases.
I. The ancient Semitic worship.
This nntedates the religion Of Israel,
and contains practices that would not
be endured by the church OF Christ.
though we must not forget that the
now unchrlstian land OF Arabia was
the mother OF religion. The Semitic
family has given the world the two
earliest known forms Of civilization
Egyptian and BabylOnian and the
three highest faiths. Judaism, Chris
tianlty and MohammedaDism.
In the earliest period belief and life
constituted a very Insignificant part OF
worship. Then the emphasis was upon
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