The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1906-03-02
THE PULPIT.
An ELOQUENT SUNDAY SERMON 81
OR. DONALD SAGE MACksY.
Subject; How to Grow q Soul.


the Collegiate Church. the Rev. DR..
Donald Sage Mackay preached on
How 10 Grow a Soul" The text was
from III Peter iii:lS: Grow in grace
and in the knowledge of our Lord and
| Saviour Jesus Christ" Or. Mackay
said:
In the course of my reading the other
| evening l came across this striking and
suggestive sentence. We can each
| grow a soul il We are willing 10 pay
| the price" These words set me think
] ing. What q tremendous possibility
God has placed in the grasp OF each
, one of us. We have in our power tile
| opportunity of growing an immortal
soul. That opportunity is this life-the
| question is. Are We willing TO pay the
| price?
Do we realize what the growth Of
soul within us means? Do We realize
what life is without a soul? We hear
II sometimes said of one that he is
"SoulleSs man." Usually we under
stand by that description man de-
void of the ordinary feelings Of our
common humanity. lacking in kindli-
ness and sympathy. and incapable of
generous action. True enough. but a
soulleSs man in the real import of the
words means Il great deal more than
that. To he sOulless is 10 be dead AZ
the vital centre of life. IL is 10 be cor
rupt and degenerate at that point in
| character from which the divine and
| immortal springs into power. Soul
| lesSneSS is spiritual degCnCraCy. 1t
| is what Paul calls Dead in treSpasseS
and sins. without hope and without
! God in the world"
Is il worth while, then. paying any
| price if We can start within ourselves
| this growth of an immortal Soult I'VE
| can each grow a soul" said the writer,
''if we are willing 10 pay the price.
ASSuredly it is worth il. for this is
| the one and the only victorious life
| More than that-this is the heart OF
| all true religion. II our religion is not
| developing spiritual life within us our
religion is vain. That is the great
thought of Christ's teaching, and in
that He has emphasized the deepest
thought of all the great teachers OF
the world. You may remember for in
stance. the words Of Socrates in =
| Defense, addressed TO his accuSGrs,
when in describing the greatest work a
man could do he said. For | do moth
ing but go about amongst YOU. persuad-
| ing YOU all alike. young and old, not To
take thought of yoslr persons or your
| properties. but TO care about the great
est Improvement of your soul Than
| that statement of the great Greek
| teacher the Gospel of Christ can add
no stronger emphasis to the tremen-
dOuS significance which belongs 10 the
growth of a soul.
,I I, ;C ;,,ct Of 4hiS pnipt fhaf
for most of u.s. the real tragedy OF
spiritual experience unveils itself.
What is ii that most troubles you in
your religious life, if at any moment
your give yourself to honest self-eXam-
nation? What is the real discourage
ment that haunts us even in our keen
est prayers and most fervent supplica-
! tions? Is ii not just this-our utter
! poverty in soul growth. the dreadful
lack Of any real evidence of progress in
spiritual things? Judged by the or
binary standards Of life our souls do
not grow. At the very best they sim
ply stand still. so that spiritually. even
the best of u.s. are pretty much as we
were fifteen or twenty years ago. with
the same tendencies dominant. the
same temptations present With others
i
of our prayers and aspirations we are
conscious. when we are brave enough
to face the fact. that spiritually we
grow more stunted and dwarfcd Ms the
years pass on. Our faith becomes less
fcrvd, the spirit Of prayer dwindleS.
the sense OF God eVaporateS in the
sitting atmosphere Of selfShness and
wOrdlinesS that wraps itself like q sea
e., appnn1 rlst | rnnp1f iC fnp
spiritual tragedy that plays itself out
fin the secret places Of our lives; spir-
itually We do not grow as we ought:
our souls lack that touch OF life which
reveals itself in ever deepening
strength and power.
Well. now having faced this two-told
fact--on the one hand that each Of us
can grow soul if he is willing TO pay
the price. and on the other hand that
this soul growth is not being realized
within us as il ought--let us soc this
morning what are some Of the condl-
tions i'm obedience 10 which sou; growth
may become a glorious reality for each
one Of us.
!. Let us recognize in the first place
what the soul is. what it represents.
BY the soul. we mean something deep
or than "the machine which ticks in
the brain. that calculates and memOr-
izes. that learns the tricks Of trade,
and practices them In the world That
IS not Your soul. although | dare say
il is the only apology for = soul some
Of us have. The soul is that in YOU
and me which has kinShip with God.
Ii is The chamber IN which the diviu"
and immortal within Us dwellS. The
soul is the holy Of hOlies In mans
life. 1t il rs Paul says. The Temple
of the Holy Ghost" When. for in
stance. you feel at times. as surely at
times we all do. an almost Overpower-
ing yearning after God. 10 know Him.
10 be like Him. II Is your soul that j.
speaking. 1t is the immortal within
you. crying out for its kinshiR with
God. The vitality Of your soul. there
fore. is the pledge OF your immortality.
Destroy the soul and You destroy that
within you without which eternity *
,,u4hi rt-n bla That IL why Christ ont