The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1909-06-10

truest and purest conception Of God.
I wish I had time to show you that
the really great and permanent work
IN this world has been God-inspired.
God has always been in His world the
source and inspiration of life. Even
before Christ's time this sentiment
for God thrilled and moved the hearts
of men to noble and patriotic deeds.
Thus Horatius at the bridge holding
his country's enemy in check needing
not the warnings of his countrymen to
save himself-is represented as doing
it.
For the ashes of his fathers
And the affairs of his GODS.
This sentiment for God is natural
endowment. Every man has some re-
ligion. The teachings and spirit of
Jesus Christ have been in the world
for 1900 years. Men have been
breathing christian atmosphere.
The leaven of the kingdom has quiet
~ raised the standards of practice
throughout the world.
So I say to this class, whether you
are conscious of it or not, or recog-
nize it as such: Every one of you
has some religion. I would not say
any one of you had enough. We are
here tonight at your invitation, in a
christian church, to listen to a SER
mon from christian minister. What
is this but your recognition of the
power and influence of Jesus Christ as
represented in His church?
The trouble with this world is not
too much religion but not enough.
We are in the condition of young
fellow knew at college. He invited
a young lady to strawberry and ice
cream festival. Wien the waiter came
he asked, Chow much is it?'' 'sTen
cents for Strawberries and ten cents
for ice cream" was the reply.
"Bring a half dish of strawberries
and half dish of ice cream for Miss
--; don't care for any myself. !"
He hadn't but ten cents to his name.
That fellow is now physician in New
York and that girls husband is now
making an income in Chicago of
$40, 1000 year. But what was the
trouble with him? He had heart
enough. He was unselfsh or he would
have said, "a quarter of dish of
each for each of us.'' His trouble
was, he hadn't enough money. He
depended upon a stingy father. He
was trying to do a big business on
too small capital. He was trying to
support a $4,000 girl and had but ten
cents in his pocket.
Life is the greatest gift of God.
Just to live is a mighty business. We
need to invest all the capital with
which we are naturally endowed and
to draw upon the inexhaustible wealth
of our Heavenly Father. The trouble
with us is that we are trying to run
mighty big business on too small
capital. And what poor miserable
weak work we make of living simply
because we will not invest our Inherit
ed capital nor call upon our Spiritual
Banker in time of need. Here you
stand tonight: Over yonder is your
unconquered world. How to possess
it; to know yourself; to understand and
influence men; to discover and direct
the powerful forces of nature. This
is the problem. Skepticism can not
help. Skepticism is weak. The most
brilliant skeptic the world has known
was Ernest Renan. Listen to his
hopeless and mournful confession:
"Since christianity is not true to me
nothing interests me or appears
worth my attention." There is but
one way to get at this world and that
is the way of God.
James II. Ludlow gives US an apt
illustration in the recently added ele-
ment to our list of known chemical
elements. It is called helium. This
substance has always been in the
earth. We have wandered about and
trampled it under foot without know
ing it. How was helium discovered?
AS the name implies by going to the
sun. By use of the spectroscope on
the suns rays this new element showed
up. Reasoning from the unity of the
universe, inasmuch as the earth was
thrown off from the sun, men began to
look beneath their feet and there they
found it.
There is nothing man is striving
harder for than to possess this world.
"He wants the earth" is not too
strong putting. And he has right
to it. It is his divine inheritance.
This illustration shows how to get the
earth. "The far things reveal the
near" If man would know and
master himself and influence others,
if he would gain working knowledge
| IF tho fOrooc of tho ,,p;ron.o >e ,-L:.L