Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-16
Christian Endeavor Hour
Conducted BY Grace Livingston Hill-Iutz


l7.-But If l tarry long, that thou may
est know how thou oughtest to behave thy
self In the house of God, which is the
church of the living God. the pillar and
ground of the truth.
16.-And without controversy great is the
mystery of goodness: God was manifest
in the flesh justified in the spirit, seen of
angels. preached unto the Gentiles. be-
lieved on in the world, received up into
glory.
Peter 2:9.-BUt ye are a chosen gener-
alton, royal priesthood, an holy nation.
peculiar people; that ye should shew
forth the praises of him who hath called
you out of darkness into his marvellous
light.
The Lesson.
Do the angels ever weep. think you, over
the various strifes among our churches?
As they look down upon the blood-bougIt
throns, ransomed with the life of the be-
loved Son, whom they delight to praise
both day and night, do they not wonder
that We can so easily and so far forget our
great salvation, and our great mssion-pur-
pose IN this world as 10 go to wrangling
among ourselves as to the best WAYS of
doing this or that
In this scripture 1t seems as II we are
ea!eu pdCh with yearnlng admonition to
realize all this. AS though a tender voice
said to us: Children, remember YOU are
not like others. You are not of the rest of
the world. You are a chosen general ton
others may quarrel and wrangle among
themselves, others may contend for this
form or that, others may go to church to
show their fine garments, or to establish
a certain religio-social standing but YOU
you are royal priesthood. You have no
room for such worldly. petty things You
have a mission to perform. You are a
peculiar people and not for one moment to
count yourselves under the rules that the
world has made. An holy nation you.
and therefore you must have a care that
you do not each take his own pet theory
and make so much of it that you lose sight
utterly of the spirit of Him who hath
called us out of darkness into His mar
velous light"
There is whole confession of faith in
this scripture. The mystery of goodness,
the incarnation, the atonement, the resur-
rection. Christ the center and source of
our life, and the manifestation of all our
hope. What need we more?
Alfred Plummer says with reference to
this passage in Timothy:
THE words that follow look like quo
tation from some primitive hymn or con-
fession. The rhythmical movement and the
parallelism of the six balanced clauses, of
which each triplet forms a climax points
to some such fact this. 1t is possible
that we have here a fragment of one of the
very hymns which, as Pliny the Younger
tells the Emperor Trajan, the Christians
were accustomed to sing antiphonally at
daybreak to Christ as God. Such a passage
as this might we'll be sung from side to
side, line by line or triplet by triplet, as
choirs still chant the psalms IN our churches.
' Who was manifested IN the flesh,
justified IN the spirit.
Seen of angels,
Preached among the nations,
Believed on in the world,
Received up into glory.
At the recent interchurch conference on
federation held in Carnegie Hall. New York,
there was much said on church unity among
denominations, that they all may be one"
was a phrase frequently quoted. The Chris
tan Endeavor World says:
I'VE no longer think it necessary to pro-
tect our own views by dscrediting those of
others" So spoke Bishop McVickar amid
loud applause. The utterance clearly fixed
the point that has been reached by our
modern churches. The old antagonisms
among Christ's disciples have passed away,
let us hope, forever. But that is not enough.
This conference came together because that
is not enough. 1t is not enough to cease
fighting one another. We must fight in
comradeship with one another. The forces
of sin are a solid phalanx; so must be the
forces of God. That Is the next step-to
help one another, to work shoulder to
shoulder and march arm in arm
It rs not alone among denominations that
there is often controversy. Look how muc.l
contention We have inside our denomina-
TONS and inside our churches. How can
we ever succeed individual denomria-
tons and as individual churches so long
as we are striving which shall be the great
est, whose doctrines shall be the accepted
ones? Whose ways shall be followed? What
| can the world think of religion, OF
| church, whose main object Is so often for
| gotten In some petty detail? If Mrs. Brown
and Mrs. Green, who are both members of
the same church. are as swords points
! about a matter In the missionary society,
| how can Mrs White, who lives between
| them both know whose spirit Is right with
| God. or care to follow the religion of
either? A peculiar people must learn to
| forbear, to forgive, to love and to live in
| loving kindness and gentleness with ALL.
YES beyond dispute. the mystery of god
| illness IS a great one. The revelation of the
| Eternal Son, which imposes upon those who
| accept 1t a holiness OF which His sinless-
| ness must be the model. Is something aw-
| full and profound. But He. who along with
| every temptation which He allows makes
| also the way of escape, does not impose
| pattern for imitation without at the same
| time granting the grace necessary for strug
| Cling toward it.''-Alfred Plummer, D. D.
Applied Truth.
Two ships In the darkness bombarded one
| another, but when the morning broke on
| shattered hulls and decks washed with the
blood of the slain. they saw to their dis
may that both ships were flying the same
| flag.
| A little child lost In western field of
| wheat was searched for in vain for days
| At last some one suggested that they take
| hold OF hands and search every inch to-
| gether. They did so and at last stumbled
| over the lifeless form OF the little one
| Many souls go down to death In darkness
| because those who ought to be out search
I ing for them are engaged In arguing about
! some little matter of belief or unbelief The
| one great thing which our evangelical de-
| nominations all stand for Is Jesus Christ
/ and Him crucfied which we are TO preach
1 to the whole world
| How to Help the Leader.-Prepare three
| to five minute mot second longer sketch
OF your denomination. Say when 1t was