The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1908-10-27
RELIGIOUS
DEPARTMENT

a sermon by the Rev. William Rus
sell Bennett, in the First Presbyter-
ian Church, Sunday morning, October
18th, 1908
Strength and beauty are in His
sanctuary. Psalm 96:6.
Not strength alone, nor beauty
alone. but strength and beauty. The
strong and the beautiful, though often
put asunder in this sadly disordered
human life Of ours, are united and
consecrated in the spiritual. They
are elements ir the being of an min
lite and holy God, and appear in every
manifestation that he makes Of Him
self.
In the sanctuary of nature these are
the two facts that most deeply inn
press us. Gods universe is both strong
and beautiful. The evidences OF dr.
vine power are all about us, and ~
Gods works strength is clothed in
beauty. For as one has said, Beauty
reduced to its simplest terms is the
best way of doing thing . "A
divine Creator must be divine Art
ist. God could not do things badly
without violating His own nature.
Mountains and sea, the Astounding vi
tally of living things, and cosmlc
forces, all proclaim marvellous pow
er but mountain and sea are mantled
with grace and glory, life sings its
song of joy aud there is rhythm OF the
universe, as Carlyle says, 1.-THE heart
of nature is everywhere music.
In the sanctuary of humanity God
is present in the spiritual purpose OF
the natural order, in the sovereignty
of the moral order, in the Fatherly
ministries of the providential order,
Gods relation to men exhibits power
but power is used to fulfil the ends OF
love. There is a throne but there is
also a rainbow round about the throne.
Within the sanctuary of humanity
there is an inner sanctuary, a holy OF
holes. Israel was such sanctuary in
the midst of a heather world. The
spiritual successor of Israel is the
Church Of Christ, in which these two
characteristics of strength and beauty
appear in their superlative quality.
We see them united in the Spirit
which is the source of the church's
life. a redeeming, regenerating, trans
forming power, but the power OF di-
vine love. Strength and beauty are
revealed in the Gospel Of salvation in
the cross of the worlds Saviour, and
in the operations of the Spirit of God,
who is both Fire and Dove.
The ideal of Christian character is
strong and beautiful. Sturdiness and
stability are essential, but these alone
are not sufficient. Strength must be
clothed with the beauty of the Lord.
Christ is the pattern.
The ideal of Christian service is
strong and beautiful. Such service
possesses power that works the work
of God and is not in vain in the Lord,
but it also exhibits the sweetness and
grace of sympathy tenderness and
love, 1T is strong with the strength
of Christian soul and beautiful with
the beauty Of Christian spirit.
The ideal of Christian worship is
strong with passion for communion
with God, and beautiful in its express
sion. The Puritan eliminated beauty
from worship, but the eyes of the Pur-
itan were dimmed to the love of God,
and his religion was commonly intro
Spective and morbid. The worship of
God should spring from every element
Of our being, and the love of beauty is
such an element. 1t should respond
to Gods full manifestation of Him
self, and ins that manifestation are
10th strength and beauty.