Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1908-04-02
REV. MR.. Fosters
CLOSING sunday

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ed out fifty years in the ministry.
Rev. NJ. K. Foster ranks with the
leading pulpit orators of the Central
Pennsylvania conference and it is
worthy of note that, Notwithstanding
his fifty years of unremitting labor in
the ministry his discourse Sunday
was of the same high order that char
acterized his efforts when in the prime
of strength and manhood. The sermon
was indeed treat, clear and logical
indeed, an eloquent-presentat of
gospel truth, throwing light upon a
point which with some people is the
cause of good deal Of doubt and per-
plexity.
The sermon, showed how man is
justified in the sight of God in hold
ing the lower animals, in subsection,
making beasts of burden. of them or
slaughtering them for food notwith-
standing that they might seem to be,
like man, entitled to life or freedom.
The text was found in the 10th chap
ter of Matthew 3lst verse: "Fear ye
not. therefore, ye are of more value
than many sparrows.
Taking up the subject Of superin-
tending providence the speaker passed
OH to discussion of the value of men
as compared with things. Because as
compared with sparrows we are more
valuable than sparrows we may lay
them to service. Sparrows in this
sense must include all life lower than
man.
God has so ordained that the less
shall serve thesgreater; that inferior
life shall be sacrificed for superior
life. The bird eats the worm and man
eats the bird.
But has not everything that lives a
right to it's life? Why then should the
bird deprive worms of life or man
take the life of beasts?
An answer to these questions will
be found in the fact that it is in har-
mony with Gods order that one should
be sacrificed for the other 1t is true
that God does watch over all his
works, that he feeds the sparrows as
we'll as ministers to the life and well
fare of man, but at the same time he
has ordained that inferior life should
be sacrificed for the we'll being of the
higher order of life. In Genesis God
in substance declares that he has CIV
en- to man dominion over the fowls Of
the air. the fishes of the sea and every
thing that lives on the earth.
We are not justified in abusing the
beasts over which we have dominion,
although we may press them into ser.
vice to us in anyway that they can be
useful to US.
In this connection the speaker touch
ed lightly upon the principle of vivi-
section. When life Is to be sacrificed,
it must be of the lower forms. To IL
lustrate, horse may be run to death
in saving.a human life-if one is to be
sacrificed it must be the horse, not the
man.
How shall we explain this differ.
ence in value? A hasty investigation
might suggest that the superior value
of man lies in his cost-his cost in the
way of redemption. This position might
be taken if it were not for the fact
that sacrifice is involved Man is not
justified in risking his life to save a
brute, but only to save a human being
and this no matter how low down in
the scale, how unworthy from a moral
or religious standpoint the person in
peril may beeven though an imbecile
or child. Indeed, he made it clear
that the more morally derelict man
becomes the greater is the necessity
for sacrifice to the end that his life
may he prolonged and that he ulti-
matelv may be won to God
BY our creation we were mado sus-
ceptible to the keenest pain and en-
dowed with capacity for the apprecia-
tion of that which is good and pure.
In the inferior animals the capacity
for suffering and for happiness is so
small as not to be taken into account.
Man is valuable, but valuable to
whom? We are beneficiaIies of all that
great and good men have accomplish
ed in the agesithat are past. Every
poem, every painting, every work of
art. every discovery is ours. Man as he
comes into the world and takes his
! place among men is debtor to the
worlds progress.
Wesought to see TO it that we secure
and maintain bodily health General.
ly speaking, we ought to be ashamed
to be sick. We would do we'll to avail
ourselves of schools, etc. that we may
measure up to all the possibilities that
are in us.
We should reflect that we are cap
able of attaining to spiritual qualities.
We are to grow as the lilies grow
into physical stature and complete
ness. We should be valuable to the
world-be valuable to ourselves. We
should have good opinion of our.
selves-that we may not offend God,