The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-07-02
PEOPLES
Sermon by
CHARLES T.
RUSSELL,
Pastor Brooklyn
Tabernacle.

o
Glens Falls, N. Y, June 27.-Pastor
Russell. of Brooklyn Tabernacle.
preached to large audiences here to-
day on two occasions. We report his
discourse on prayer from the text,
Behold he prayeth," as follows:
The thoughtless utterance of formal
istic petition is not prayer, even though
it be so called. The poet expresses the
truth on the subject in the words
Prayer is the souls sincere desire.
Uttered or unexpressed."
Some of our Lords most severe crit.
icisms of the journalistic piety Of his
day condemned those prayers which
were offered in public places to be
seen or heard of men, to be considered
pious. His curt criticism of such pray
erS was, Verify. say unto you, they
have their reward" They were in
reality praying to men, seeking for
human appreciation. They got the re-
ward they sought. in that many were
deceived and thought them holy, pious.
But while men might be deceived with
such outward pretensions, God looketh
upon the heart, and accepteth only the
souls sincere desires. THE Father
seeketh such to worship him as wor-
ship him in spirit and in truth" Gohn
iv, 24.
Our text is part of the Lords mes
sage to Ananias when directing him to
Saul of Tarsus. The latter had been
a prosecutor Of the Church. an injuri-
Gus person, honest at heart. but mis-
guided and prejudiced. Saul had
sought to do God service by opposing
the Church Of Christ. Following the
lead of his elders, the Scribes and Phar-
isees Of Judaism, he had allowed preju-
dice to make Of him foe to Christ. and
an opponent of all those who sought to
walk In his ways. The Lord had allowed
him to proceed to a considerable eX-
tent in his prosecutions Of the Church.
The Lord wished a certain amount Of
persecution to come against his cause,
and permitted an hOnest-hearted man
to go to considerable length in his OPP
position. The intention of this vas
to accomplish the scattering of the
where, might proclaim the Gospel:
that Saul himself might feel humilias
ed and forever afterward be on guard
against prosecuting spirit and against
the danger Of being deceived respect
ing the Lords will. When the due
time came he was smitten with what
he describes to have been a glance of
the Redeemer's face, while on his way
to further prosecute the Church at
Damascus.
The fash, above the brightness of the
sun at monday, worked serious injury
to Sauls eyesight, completely binding
him. Led by the hand, he was enter
one called Judas. He recognized the
source of his affection. The Lord had
:eproved him for his persecution, say
ing, Why persecuteSt thou me? Saul
inquired, Who art thou, Lord? And
the response was. Il am Jesus, whom
thou rsecutest''-because prosecuting
member Of the Body of Christ is per-
scouting the Head Of the Church. Aft
er reaching Damascus. Saul evidently
continued his praying. He accepted
the fact that his experiences were mi
raculous, and proved that he had been
serving God. but not according to
knowledge;> that he had been n perse-
cutor and an injurious person as re-
spected the cause of his Creator. In
his blindness of natural sight the eyes
Of his understanding began to open.
He was so deeply affected with the
thought of how wrong his course had
been, and how he had been fighting
against God, that he could neither eat
nor sleep, but was continually in pray
err for forgiveness and for some mani
festation of divine favor which would
indicate this. He had finally come to
the proper attitude Of heart, and as 4
consequence the Lord received his pc
tition and answered it by sending a
faithful believer to restore his phys
ical sight in measure, and to further
enlighten his understanding. The ex-
PLANTATION given by the Lord to Ana
MAS in sending him to Saul was,
"Behod, He Prayeth."
How much meaning there was in
these few words! They meant. Saul
of Tarsus is changed man; he is no
longer the self-confident one, boastful
Of his phariseeism. his holiness, his
tithes, and his service of persecution;
but, humbled to the dust, he has come
to realize that while he thought he did
service to the King Of kings. he was
In reality servant of the Evil One,
an injurious person.
While it is true that good men have
prayed, and in spite Of their prayers
have made mistakes. it has doubtless
generally been true that the mistakes
made by religious people have been
along the lines Of too great confidence
In themselves-tOO much Self-aSSur-
ance in respect to the teachings Of the
Bible. too much self-conidence as re-
spects their service Of the truth. And
when good men have made mistakes
after praying for Divine wisdom, it is
not only possible but probable that
their prayers were only partially sim
cere; that when they prayed to the
Lord, "Thy will be done on earth as in
heaven" they sometimes meant. APP
prove my will on earth as l approve
L.,