Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1906-07-19
3xSS3s SSyS4B3S 8S833S1 131
+: SUNDAY SERMON /;
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= A Scholarly Discourse BY +
3 Rev. Robert Mao Donald. q
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BROOKLYN. N. Y.--Sunday even.
ing the Rev. Robert Macdonald, pas.
tor of the Washington Avenue Bap-
fist Church, preached to young wo-
men. His subject was Beauty: How
to Keep It," His text was from Pro.
verbs iv., %. keep thy heart with
all diligence, for out of it are the is.
sues of life Mr.. Macdonald said:
What has such text to do With
beauty? Everything. The source is
the heart. Beauty of character de.
ponds on quality of heart. Every
thought. desire, sentiment, ambition,
that enters the heart is sooner or
later expressed in character and con.
duct. All the life issues radiate from
that center And when the writer of
the Proverbs tells us to keep the
heart with all diligence, he speaks
the foundation word of all wisdom and
carries us back to the primary cause
of truth or error. righteousness or
sin. We have already seen in this
series that beauty of character Is a
divine possession. existing only where
truth holds sway. And that we can
never satisfy the claims Of Almighty
God until we give back to Him that
which is possible to us all-beauty
of character, instead of Informed,
homeup, unsymmetrical lives. What
Michael Angelo said once to a young
artist about his statue applies to US
all. do not trouble too much about
the light on your statue. The light
of the public square will test Its val.
ue." So the light of the public square
beyond, which is the light of Gods
countenance, the unerrlng light of
judgment, will be the test Of our char.
acters. All modelling. all building.
should be with the light Of eternity's
public square in mind. We arc all
under obligation, contract based on
and rooted in our very constitution,
to build for eternity, inasmuch as the
Creator has marked out celestial
destiny for us all. and 1t ought to be
our chief business to conform to that
gracious provision which will mean
realization along all infinite lines
throughout the eternal years. Be
careful, then, oh, be careful, what in.
fluences you bring to bear upon the
formation of your characters. No out
ward embellishipg, no exterior mold
ing, will suffice. 1t depends upon
what you receive in your heart wheth.
err your character will be perverted
and deformed, or true, well proper.
toned, beautiful.
Numberless are the precepts that
suggest themselves just here. All the
Christian virtues bound toward us to
offer their assistance to help us keep
that We have striven so hard to &C.
quire. We gladly accept their help,
but instead of packing your memories
with these multitudinous aids to the
retaining of this high possession, let
us fasten our thought on few founda.
tion principles.
The first l would suggest Is self.
control. No beauty of character can
be where there is no self-control.
Daniel Webster was once asked which
he thought the greatest virtue. 1t was
just after one Of his most powerful
speeches, but in which, interrupted
and contradicted by the opposing
counsel, he lost his temper, and also
the case he was pleading. That even
ing, in the course of conversation, he
was asked the question, and answer.
ed "Selfcontrol, and it Is the most
difficult, too" 'Tis true, young wo-
men. 1t is an underlying principle.
including host of greater virtues.
Who has not felt sorely the need Of
greater self control. Patience is rep.
resented in the Scriptures as the very
fruitage of Christianity, but patience
is only constituent part of self-con.
trol--namely, self-control In pain, in
affliction. Very Christ-like it is. En-
durance of wrong treatment. Misun-
Outstanding So easy to complain, and
be disagreeable when the sky Is dull.
and the way drear. l refer not to
that patience that springs from our
natural disposition. which is purely
temneramental. Constitutional hero
ism is good, but it does not stand the
strain. A patience that fails at the
hardest point, Is weak all through.
Nothing short of the Christ type of
patience will suffice.
But not only self-control In pain.
also in pleasure, another name for
which is temperance. Young ladies
reed to be temperate as well as young
liEb. till llDl ltlcI W Tue hQuoE
question, although never more need
tnan to-day for temperance there, but
10 tie whole problem of living. To
lie temperate in thought, In speech,
in desire, III act instead of eXtrava-
CANT. It Is SO easy to let pleasure
run away with us and cause us to
think life has no value beside. Dissi'
patton is only extravaganza In pleas
ure. The cur1 has been thrown off
cur necks. Pleasure was given too
much license. We entertained it too
freely, endowed it with our own per-
s0naiity, ard before we were aware of
It, it took us up in its arms and ran
away with lis. We handed the con-
troll Of the situation over to it. We
became dissipated. We are lost. Self
control III pleasure as well as in pain
is the demand Temperance as well
US patience
But a second requirement Is SELF
command. This may be regarded as
intensified self-control. Self-control
is passive Self command Is active.
Tie other is to force yourself on.
Patience AMI temperance are good, in.
dispcnsable to beauty of character.
For5earance and forgiveness are hard
er still We speak from experience
In saving 50. Controlling your speech,
Withholding tn adverse criticism
when Just dying to speak, to give
your adverse opinion. We often think
we are not saying anything worth
While unless we crlticise. Forbear.
ance OF the senseless gossip and the
~
the disagreeable person.
Then forgiveness OF that which It
is natural for you to resent. We like
to held spite They injured me. /
must get even with them. And we
never thought that the getting even
vita one who has injured us means
to get uneven with ourselves and un-
even with God. Il will never forgive"