The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-07-05
THE PULPIT.
BRILLIANT SUNDAY SERMON BY
DR.. M. W. STRIKER. PRESIDENT
OF HAMILTON COLLEGE
Subject: Service.

FL ~. l.-bi. W. MAJ
PRESIDENT OF Hamilton College. Clinton,
s. Y, occupied the pulpit Of the Han
bn Place NJ. Z. Church in the absence
|f DR.. Locke, the pastor. He preached
be following sermon on "Servlce:"
j NV text is that verse in the twelfth
Hbapter of the epistle to the Romans i'll
Which the apostle says that there are
&bme things. hard to be understood
"A hich the u%nlearned and the unstable
rest to their own destruction. 1t is
tue that Satan often hides in The dark
kssase of Gods word. 1t is also true
bat the hardest things to understand
Re not those that the intellect has to
lhravel and explain, but the things
lat oncern the deeds. For my part,
Whoever else may have found it hard,
a4bhaye not found the ninth chapter OF
II omans as hard as the twelfth. Even
did not do it very we'll it was easier
think straight than it is to be good.
is a wonderful thing that, after all
hese mighty, reverberatirS words, that
earch the very heights and depths OF
he plan of God that make this letter
= compact up to this point, 1t all broad
hs out in the most natural fashion
Ito administrative matters. 1 notice
lat the thing about the twelfth chap
Ii is that it does not say anything
! bout what We must not do. 1t is
ways true that il you get light in
hrkness will go out. The way to keep
lr hearts empty Of evil is to fill them
to the brim with good. We do not
SO the darkness out of this with
broom, but with a match or q spark.
+. Thomas Chalmers used to speak
bout the ''expulsive power Of the new
4fection." To many a man who Y
mounted to anything the honest, pure
- I've Of q true woman has been an in
bntive to him TO make something OF
#mself for her sake; and whenever the
I've of God comes into the human
Bart it drives out evil and seeks to
lothe itself with living and loyal &C
<ba; and if there is any one who thinks
4 deed is easy and the doctrine hard,
at is not my experience.
I want to speak tonight upon this
becial admonition to service which
Sul says is reasonable. God does
bt ask anything that is not rational.
christianity and Christian living can
We account of themselves. There is
bkhing so silly as to be a sinner. 1t
4kes angels weep and devils laugh
"a {see a man trying to serve God and
j hself. That man is walking north
bid south; it is q straddle. Now Paul
Tvs it is a reasonable service. He
id, Try it, put it to the proof, and he
44s an expert who had tried it for
&irty years. I I'm going to take one
secial line of analogy. You have
Hen heard it said of q man Of intense
ftivity that he was a perfect steam
bgine," and that would be said more
ten if there were mtre men who
ere what they ought to be, "a perfect
1eam engine" Ithink there is a SER
on in that, and : am going to try
get at it. You will help. You will
sink a great many things which 1
pn't and preach a sermon to your
lives about being perfect steam en-
mes. For U present purposes we
III talk about that particular style Of
cam engine, the railway locomotive.
america is doing a great business in
hking these, and wherever they are
ht-Africa or South America or Asia,
cry one of them is g kind of mission
force, a living testimony of that
rec and skill which are resident in
E mankind. The call now is loud
ID clear for Americans who shall be
bre committed to teach the world
hnhood. The tide of time is rising
Id sinew and muscle are called into
e service of God. This is no time for
hping or lettering.
Look out upon this world and see
W God is COMPRISING and packing
together. If WI won't take our
bspel in the missionary ship, it shall
in the warship. Somehow men are
ing to be brought together. we are
conceited lot, we Americans, but we
not like to be told so. We have q
Rod thing, and like to keep it. We
- of the Chinese, "shut them out;
{ them aside" And perhaps of some
hers, also, Don't let those good-for-
thing Russians, Poles and Italians
ne." Bless your heart! Your great
bndfather or grandmother was moth
but an emigrant-mine was a
ltchman, at that. We are all the
fldren Of immigrants; we are all in
bders on this continent. The only
nericans are not now citizens, but
e on pensions. We have stolen ev-
Ething they had that was in sight.
u had better not talk about that.
IDS plan is to keep the races Of this
Brld marching and moving. Yet,
mellow, some cannot get it through
eir thick heads, their gold-plated
bids, their noodles, hard with cruel
bitions and paltry pride, that when
= Scripture says, HE made of one
kod all nations" it means what it
rs. If you won't learn it by peace
b will learn it by war; if you won't
IN it in Bibles. you will learn it by
lets; if you won't learn it in packed
rope and Asia and go there. God will
ng those people here. Let them
fne. I laugh at all this talk about
ecking immigration. King Canute
Eht just as well have tried to throw
fk the waves with his mandate. In
ertain sense it is proper to say that
is a mighty unitarian. 1t is q
at time for service; We need to wake
it was nearly daylight, it is dawn,
lat things are coming. Therefore, l
blk that u churches, colleges,
ools and homes ought to engage in
manufacture of locomotives.
hat wonderful, intricate engine
10 made it? Did a baby locomotive
W up into that great machine? You
il is evolution. Evolution de-
Fbes the way a thing is made, but
Fer made anything. The process of
king is evolution. If you ask me
believe God made this world by
cess, I say yes. That is the way He
$kes everything. When He makes
thing that can grow He gives it
nance to grow. His plans are made