Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1906-06-07
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SUNDAY SERMON
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q Scholarly Di9cOUrse DJ
Dr.. G, Edward Locke.


blOOhly ii, 4s-4Ils SAaAASS A"~.~
Locke, in the Hanson Place M. Il.
Church Sunday, preached on Popular
Dissertation of Sacred Vessels; or, The
Sin of Irreverence." The text was
from III Samuel vi:6-7: "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 irrev-
erence. The ancient story Of Uzzah's
act of Dissertation in placing his hand
upon the holy ark Of God Is full or
serious and important lessons which
apply with solemn significance to our
age, and our country and our indi-
vidual citizenship.
God had given Commandment to
Moses to construct a sacred chest to
be overaid within and without with
pure gold. 1t was to be surmounted
with two cherubim of beaten gold.
This casket was to be a receptacle for
the Tables of Stone which Moses had
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, for God had said,
There will l meet with 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 PhiliStines came up against
Israel and captured the ark and held 1t
a captive for sixty years, when David
conquered Philistia and builded suit.
able place for the ark, and, with 10000
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 irreverence was committed,
which cost him his life.
In the days of prosperity, irreverence
grows most insidiously. When men
feel secure in their own successes they
are prone to forget the commands OF
God. We do not depend so helplessly
OH our Heavenly Father when our
achievements have given us great con-
tidence III ourselves. National and in
dividual prosperity are at once ouI
greatest danger and greatest security.
In the frenzy of victory, as did Uzzah,
so do we often commit acts of irrever.
ence.
Sometimes it is fashionable to be ir.
reverent. 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 Philistines and We're 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 heedlessly committed his
serious otfense. 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 discoverabe 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-
credness being preserved. God could
not control Israel without their respect
md obedience, hence the suffering of
IZZah. No sin is more treacherouS
than irreverence 1t decoys its victims.
1t is like dry rot in the ships timbers.
lrreverence 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 sacrllege easily enter.
When reverence departs character cam
not be retained. for character depends
upon faith and in obedience to sacred
things.
At BelshaZzars feast. in the sup
posed impregnable city of Babylon, it
was the towering crime of irreverence
in dcfling the sacred vessels of the
temple worship at Jerusalem that
brought disaster and death to the dis
solute young monarch. What are some
of the holy things to-day which must
be honored and preserved?
The church is a 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
hnnn nnpp1i c ginn ntal fpr thair
return. The sons of Aaron We're de-
voured by the strange fire which they
undertook to offer at the affairs of the
Lord. And similar results occur to-
day in the consuming of holy instincts
and respectful inclinations, when the
church Of God is made place of
amusement and merchandising. In
chapels and parish houses many things
are proper which in the sanctuary lead
Enthusiastically to irreverence.
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 gentleman placed copy of the
Gospel of st. John on my desk the
other day, and said it cost only two
cents 1t was in excellent type and
neatly bound. During the days Of
the persecution of Diocletian, many
Christians surrendered their Bibles
and the sacred utensils of worship,
and in consequence lost their faith.
When the Bible goes out of our lives,
our Christian character loses its chief
support. A man once, in the presence
of his family, picked up Bible,
turned its pages carelessly for a few
moments, and petulantly threw II
down upon the table, saying. "Pshawl
give me Shakespeare" Perhaps he
never knew that the Bible was the
acknowledged inspiration of the mar
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