Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1908-09-24
THE PULPIT.

AN ELOQUENT SUNDAY SERMON BY
PROFESSOR HUGH BLACK.
Theme: Shame Of Detecr1on.
Brooklyn, N Y.-The baccalaureate |
sermon of the Packer Collegiate In.
stitute was delivered by Professor |
Hugh Black, M. A., of Union Theo.
logical Seminary. The service was
held in the chapel of the institute,
and was presided over by Professor
Black. Mr.. Black, as the Scripture
lesson. read the fiftieth Psalm. Pro-
fessor Black spoke on "The Shame OF
Detection" selecting as his theme
Jeremiah 2:26: "As the thief is
ashamed when he is found out, so is
the house of Israel ashamed" In
the course of his sermon, Professor
Black said:
The prophet is accusing the nation
OF apOstasy, of unfaithfulness to her
true spouse. To awaken repentance
he points to the base ingratitude
| their history when God espoused
| them, in love and favor brought them
up out of the land of Egypt, led them
through the wilderness and brought
them into a plentiful country. He
points next to the willful and wicked
obstinacy which made, them forsake
God and choose the lower worship
/ and the lower moral practice OF
| heathenism. And here he points to
the folly of 1t. Besides it's ingrati-
tude and it's wickedness, it is also un-
speakably foolish, ar insensate stu
pidity at which the heavens might
we'll be astonished, not only that a
nation should change it's God who had
taken them by the arms and in end
less love and pity taught them to
walk, but that it should change Him
for such other gods-that Israel
should have given Jehovah such pitt
full rivals. This is the folly at which
the heavens may be amazed. that My
people "have forsaken Me. the foun-
tain Of living waters, and hewed them
out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can
hold no water" To monotheist who
had grasped the principle of the One
God. and who had experience Of spir-
itual communion, polytheism with its
lords many and gods many must have
seemed system almost beneath con-
tempt. Intellectually, it introduced
confusion instead OF order; morally
it meant that life would be lived on
much lower plane; religiously, IL
was the degradation Of the pure spir-
itual worship to which the prophets
pointed the people.
This is why the prophets always
. speak of the shame of idolatry. II
seemed incredible that men in theiI
senses should prefer what appeared
to them to be brutism superstition
Both Intellectually and morally it wa.
a disgrace. Especially the prophet!
of the exile and after it, who hat
cone into close connection Will
heather idolatry, mad this sense O.
superiority, and withered the stupid
j ity Of polytheism with their mos
mordant irony. 1t was shame, a
which they blushed, to think Of Jew
descending to such puerile worship an,
practices. 1t was folly for the heather
who knew no better; it was sham
for Israelites to grove, before a stool
or stone. The prophets confidentl,
predicted that experience would prov
the folly and vanity of idolatry
"They shall be turned back" says tn
prophet of the exile; they shall b
sgreatly ashamed that trust in gravel
images, that say to the molten i'm
ages, Ye are our gods" The proph
cts with their spiritual insight al
ready saw the disgrace and vanity O
such worship; but the people VIII
were seduced by the lower and NOR
sensuous rites of idolatry would hav
to learn their folly by bitter experi
ence. When the pinch came, Whe
the needs of life drove them Hk
sheep, when in the face of the grea
necessities, they would find out ho'
futile had been their faith AS th
thief is ashamed when he is foun
out, so the house Of Israel will b
8 ashamed; they, their kings. the
princes, and their priests and the
Y prophets, saying to a stock, Tho
art my father; and to stone. Tho
hast brought me forth; but in th
g time of their trouble they will sa
:, Arise and save us. But where al
- thy gods that thou hast made thee
= Let them arise If they can save the
in the time of thy trouble"
All, in the time of trouble the
would find out their folly; and IL
J. vanity OF their trust in idols would |
IL found out! They should feel alreat
! the disgrace: but, though they are !:
\ sensible to that now, they will yet
convicted and the hot blush of shan
~ will cover them with confusion
= face. They are not ashamed Of Il
ingratitude and Wickedness and fol
. of their conduct. but their sin W
find them out. and then surely t
conviction of their, foloishness al
guilt will abash them. aud then
10 last they will know the sense
degradation and self-contempt viii
should be theirs now. AS the thI
is ashamed when he is found OUT
b the house of Israel will be ashamei
~ The same .dullness Of mind a