Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1905-06-22
THE PULPIT,
A BRILLIANT SUNDAY SERMON BY
DR.. NJ. w. STRIKER, PRESIDENT
OF HAMILTON COLLEGE.
Subject: Service.


Brooklyn, N Y.-Dr. M. w. Stryker,
President Of Hamilton College, Clinton,
N. Y, occupied the pulpit of the Han
son Place M. e. Church in the absence
OF DR.. Locke, the pastor. He preached
the following sermon on "Service::"
My text is that verse in the twelfth
chapter of the epistle to the Romans in
which the apostle says that there are
some things hard to be understood
which the unlearned and the unstable
wrest to their own destruction. It is
true that Satan often hides in the dark
passages Of Gods word. 1t is also true
that the hardest things to understand
are not those that the intellect has to
unravel and explain, but the things
that concern the deeds. For my part,
whoever else may have found it hard,
have not found the ninth chapter Of
Romans as hard as the twelfth. Even
if did not do it very we'll it was easier
to think straight than it is to be good.
It is wonderful thing that, after all
these mighty, reverberating words, that
search the very heights and depths of
the plan of God that make this letter
SO compact up to this point, it all broad
ems out in the most natural fashion
into administrative matters. I notice
that the thing about the twelfth chap
ter is that it does not say anything
about what we must not do. It is
always true that if you get light in
darkness will go out. The way to keep
our hearts empty of evil is to fill them
up to the brim with good. We do not
get the darkness out of this room with
a broom, but with a match or a spark.
DR.. Thomas Chalmers used to speak
about the ''eXpulsive power of the new
affection" To many man who never
amounted to anything the honest, pure
love Of a true woman has been an in
centive to him to make something Of
| himself for her sake; and whenever the
| love of God comes into the human
heart it drives out evil and seeks to
clothe itself with living and loyal ac-
| ton; and if 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 to 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 sinner. It
makes angels weep and devils laugh
to see a man trying to serve God and
| himself. That man is walking north
and south; it is a straddle. Now Paul
| says it is a reasonable service. He
said, try it, put it to the proof, and he
was an expert who had tried it for
thirty years. I am going to take one
special line of analogy. You have
often heard it said Of man of intense
activity that he was perfect steam
engine" and that would be said more
often if there were more men whC
were what they ought to be, "a perfect
steam engine" I think there is ser
mon in that, and I am going to try
to get at it. You will help. You will
think a great many things which
won't and preach a sermon to your
selves about being perfect steam en-
gines. For our present purposes we
will talk about that particular style Of
steam engine, the railway locomotive
America is doing a great business il
making these, and wherever they art
sent-Africa or South America or Asia
every one of them is a kind Of mission
ary force, a living testimony Of tha
force and skill which are resident il
free mankind. The call now is lout
and clear for Americans who shall b.
more committed to teach the worlt
manhood. The tide Of time is risin:
and sinew and muscle are called int
the service of God. This is no time TO
limping or lettering.
Look out upon this world and se
how God is compressing and packing
it together. If we won't take ou
Gospel in the missionary ship, it shal
go in the warship. Somehow men ar
going to be brought together. We ar
a conceited lot, we Americans, but w
do not like to be. told so. We have
good thing, and like to keep it. W
say of the Chinese, "shut them out
put them aside" And perhaps Of som
others, also, ''Don't let those good-fol
nothing Russians, Poles and Italian
Gomez Bless your heart! Your grea
grandfather or grandmother was notf
ing but an emigrant-mine was
y Dutchman, at that. We are all tn
children Of immigrants; we are all IL
truders on this continent. The onl
Americans are not now citizens. pu