The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1906-06-07
I HE~ PULPIT.
4 SCHOLARLY SUNDAY SERMON 81
OR. CHARLES EDWARD LOCKE.
Subject: Tie Sin of IrreVerenc".

3<OC
Church Sunday, preached ON Popular
Dissertation of Sacred Vessels; or, The
Sin of IrrevTence." The text was
from II Samuel Nt:6-1: "'Uzzah put
forth his hand to the ark Of God and
took hold of it; and God smote him
there for his error" Dr.. Locke said In
the course of his sermon:
There is danger that our greatest
national sin shall be the sin Of frrev-
erence. The ancient story OF Uzzah's
act of desecration in placing his hand
upon the holy ark Of God is full of
serious and important lessons which
apply With solemn significance to our
age. and our country and our lndl-
vilual citizenship.
God had given Commandment TO
Moses to construct sacred chest to
ibe overlaid within and without with
pure gold. 1t was te be surmounted
with two cherubim Of beaten gold.
This casket was to be q receptacle Tor
the Tables of Stone which Moses lad
received on the top of Mount Sinai, and
IS beautiful ark was TO be an altar of
prayer which was to be kept in the
midst Of the people, fer God had said,
There wiz j meet VITA thee" God
explicitly commanded that no hand
should touch the ark save the priests
and rings and poles were provided by
which this sacred vessel was to be
carried.
The PhiIistines came up against
Israel and captured the ark and held 1t
q captive for sixty years, when David
conquered Philistia and ,builded suit
able place for the ark, and, with 30.OO8
warriors. went down to the borders Of
the enemy's country and secured pos
session of the precious treasure. In
the excitement and .joyousness of this
long looked for victory, Uzzah's mortal
Sin of irreverenee was committed,
which cost him Ills life.
In the days Of prosperity, frreverence
grows GaoSt insidiously. When men
feel secure in their own successes they
are prone to forget the commands Of
God. We do not depend so helplessly
ON our Heavenly Father when our
achievements have given us great con-
fdenee in ourselves. National and in
dtxidual prosperity are at oaee our
greatest danger and greatest security.
In the frenzy of victory. as did Uzzah,
SO do we often commit acts Of irrever-
enee.
Sometimes it is fashionable to be ir-
reyerent. The Philistines, in trans
porting the ark. had placed it upon an
OK cart. and when the Israelites cap
tured the ark they followed the error
OF the Phiistines and were returning
with the ark drawn by oxen, instead
of carried by the slaves and rings. as
God had peremptorily commanded.
One act Of irreverence leads to an
other. And when the ark shook as
the cart went over Nachon's threshing
floor, Uzzah heediessly committed his
serious offense. When the church al
lows the world to set its fashions, sac
rileges, disastrous and deplorable,
speedily follow.
Two other fruitful causes Of irrever-
ence are forgetfulness and familiarity.
The ark had been in Uzzah's house
since his boyhood and he dared to take
privileges with the sacred furniture.
Familiarity sometimes breeds con-
tempt. 1t is not discoverable that
Uzzah was either malicious or. willful.
but he was needless, and even so ap-
parently a harmless sin as heedlessness
brought upon him the awful penalty
for his disobedience. The influence of
sacred things depends upon their sa
eredness being preserved. God could
not control Israel without their respect
and obedience, hence the suffering of
UzZah. No sin is more treacherouS
than irreyerence. It decoys its victims.
It is like dry rot in the ships timbers.
1rreverence slyly gains admittance
where grosser evils would be easily re-
pulsed. Satan is constantly busy try
ing to transform the sons OF Levi. who
serve at holy affairs, into the sons OF
Eli. Beware Of the deceptive tenden-
cies Of familiarity; when delicate re-
spect for holy things is lost, then de-
Element and sacrilege easily enter.
When reverence departs character cam
not be retained, for character depends
upon faith and in obedience to sacred
things.
At Belshazzar's feast, in the sup
posed impregnable city Of Babylon. it
was the towering crime Of irreverence
in defiling the sacred vessels Of the
temple worship at Jerusalem that
O3SdStC1 oAu OC0t III W ldC ulS-
solute young monarch. What are some
of the holy things to-day which must
be honored and preserved?
The church is q sacred vessel. Dedi-
Gated to the service of God, it should
not be diverted into secular uses. Jesus
drove the merchants out Of the courts
of the temple, and, as yet, there has
been no permission granted for their
return. The sons of Aaron were de-
voured by the strange fire which they
undertook to offer st the affairs Of the
Lord. And similar results occur to-
day in the consuming of holy instincts
and respectful inclinatioEs. when the
church of God is made 4 place of
amusement and merchandising. In
chapels and parish houses many things
are proper which in the sanctuary lead
to irreyerence.
The Bible is most sacred vessel. |
There is not much danger of bibliola-
try, but We need to be much on our
guard lest the very availability of our
Greek Book shall cause it to be less
appreciated. Things are often valued |
by use in proportion to the sacrifice |
which has been suffered for them. |
A canatlon,an nlare6 q oonv of tho