Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1906-06-14
Observation-Disclosures s:S.sS!sSsS:sNsS;
! Sunday Sermon
! A Scholarly Discourse BY
Z Rev. D. MacLaurin.


of the Greene Avenue Baptist Church,
preached on TO Know the Unknow-
able: Prayer" The text was from
Ephesians ill: 1919: ITO the end that
We being rooted and grounded in love,
may be strong to apprehend with all
the saints what Is the breadth and
! length and height and depth, and ID
know the love of Christ which passeth
knowledge" He said in the course Of
bis sermon:
Who can know the unknowable? Is
not this in the nature of a paradox?
Wherein can one be so strengthened
as to become able to apprehend that
which is really beyond the reach of his
apprehension? Has not Paul here
erred in prayer otherwise luminous.
spiritual, profound and possible? Has
he not introduced here something that
ordinary mortals cannot grasp?
Well, | think that it Will be as well
for us to so slowly in our disposition
to criticse him. 1t is :: safe rule to-
assume that these apostolic men know
what they We're about. l am convinced
shat Paul not only knew by expert.
ence the things he said; but that he
was inspired by the Holy Spirit in all
his writing.
What about life? What about the
duration of sentient existence? What
about the continuity of that which we
call ourselves? Tell us, thou biologist?
Perhaps thy science is more exact
than flat of the mathematician or the
man who philosophers about time.
Tell us, If you can, what Is life? Hast
thou ever seen it? NO-never! Hast
thou ever touched it? Only indirectly.
Canst thou tell us what it is? No!
Then space runs into infinity, time
runs into forever and forever, and life
runs into God! And we know some
thing about all Of these: and yet there
is no limit to their vast extent. 1t
has done us good to investigate them
it is noble exercise-it is charging
to the mind and the heart to come
into contact With concepts so sublime
and mighty as these.
So 1t is with this matter which Paul
prays that we shall comprehend. We
shall not be able to master it, and yet
we can by studying it apprehend
something to its Unreasonable depths.
something of its infinite length, some
thing of its all inclusive breadth.
something of its mighty altitude. And
so Paul prays that we shall be so
rooted and grounded in love that we
shall be able to apprehend with all
saints, high and lowly, rich and poor.
ancient and modern, the dimensions
of Christ's love. Now let us for the
sake of clearness of thought define a
few of the terms Of our wealthy text
TO the end that ye, being rooted and
grounded in love. Love here means
love toward our fellow creatures. In
deed. it always means that in the
Bible unless it is otherwise defined.
1t means the affection we should have
for the men and women of earth, the
| people of whom we are and to whom
we belong by race connections. 1t
! is to be a reflection Of Gods love for
the race. Its energy is to be meas
ured only by the energy of the Divine
| love. Its inclusiveness is to be linz
tied and measured only by The inclu-
| siveness of the Divine love.
Out of the heart are the issues of
| life. When love is in the heart every
| thing is love begotten. F0undatiOned,
| like building which has been settled,
as whole. and will never show cracks
or flaws in the future through fail
| ures in the foundation.
Here. then. Is the idea Of the soul
being so placed MS to make 1t strong
| for the noblest life. The two meta
| phors supplement one another-thcy
| belong to each other. The former,
rooted, gives us the idea Of organic
| fhn 1ottnr fnunRo
| toned, gives us the idea of strength
derived from the union of parts. a
| Christianity which is not rooted is
always unstable. A Christian love
that has not penetrated into the depths
is not love of permanent or en-
during character. o that the love of
every one of us may penetrate into
the very being of God. That the ten
drills of our affections may Irvine
themselves about the heart of the
incarnate God! Then shall we be
stable. then shall we grow.
TO the end that We, being rooted and
foundationed in love, may be strong
to apprehend with all the saints.
Strong for what? That You may know
the love of Christ in all its mighty
dimensions! And this is a most nat
ural evolution. To acquire love is to
obtain finer powers Of percepting.
There is nothing like love for sharp
ening the wits. The eyes and ears
of a loving mother are UNNECESSARILY
quicker than the senses of the love.
less. 1t is not true that love is blind;
love is endowed with sight of enor-
nous range. But while he was yet
afar off His ,'ather saw Him.
Do not be surprised. therefore, Ia
find that when we are rooted and
grounded in love we obtain finer pow.
ers of apprehension. But what are
divine love and grace! The holy PIANO.
rama is stupendous. and even with
our sharpened spiritual senses we
cannot take in the infinite glory. And
so the apostle tells us that we are to
apprehend it with all the saints, with
the help of all the saints! 1t takes
all of us to survey the vast estate
One Christian sees one aspect of the
glory and another beholds another
The Matterhorn, seen from Zermatt
is one thing; from the Eggishorn it is
quite another. And so with these
stupendous wonders of divine glory
Each Christian is to behold his OWL
share of the marvellous revelation
Matthew will discern one aspect, and
Mark another. and Luke another, ant
John another. Each individual will
behold some individual glory. The
furrow of one field abounds in won
ders; what then Of the infinite estate
I. Let us notice. how wide is thu
compass of love. To the end that We
being rooted and grounded in love
may be strong to apprehend with al
the saints, what is the breadth? How
broad is its compass? Why, my
friends, the love of Christ is so broat
AS to take in this whole world TIL,
love of Christ comprehends all men
all people, reaching to the utmos
stretch Of human sin. or sorrow, O.
| need-it Is tho nraat nnSnal ,rhaSaarau