Orange County observer., 1909-05-20
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a SERMON . 1<2
PY TflE REV. N&S1
IRA hENDERSoN
Theme: To-day.

Is
Theme: To-day.
Text, Psalm 95:7. sTo-dav j. -
tnat entertaining and stinou,a+,an
volume Orthodoxy. Mr. G,1ha.es
Cnesterton delivers himself ~ 4bis
pungent remark: .Au Christie nitn
concentrates on the man at the cros,
,oads: For. says he, THE true nhi-
iosopny Is concerned with the II
stant. me instant is really awf,,l y
Nothlng is truer, nothing more vi
nat multitude OF sermons ara
preached to thetheme, Where will vou
spend eternity?" What a host there
IS looking toward the hereafter How
many there are who are hoping FOR
tomorrow and planning for the wears
TO come. Far be it from me to mini
mlze the value or the need FOR
thought and talk about the life ~
tnat undiscovered country from
whose bourne the traveller NO more
entering, returns. We can not too
mucn direct the attention Of men
/. ana the times to eternity. Would
tnat we might be as strenuously ah-
stract and spiritual and forethou CHIT
1ul IN our thinking and preaching as
we are coldly practical. The king
oom OF heaven truly is here or no
Wnere, but for US it is more there
tnan mere: This life is but q seq
| ment or that wonderful and illimit-
ape eternity to which God ever calls
US on. AS Keats so beautifully sings:
The One remains, the many change and
Heayen,s sSs light forever shines, earth's
Lafe, like dome of many colored glass,
rr STAINS the white, radiance of eternity,
Until death tramples it. to fragments.
Longer shall we live there than
here. Here we sojourn, there in the
providence Of God we shall abide.
To-day Is important none the less.
The measure of our living here con-
d1tions our living there. Our talent
using in this life indicates our value
in the next. How we see God here
determines our vision of Him in the
heavenly abodes. To-day Is impor-
tant. The instant is impressive.
Now" is indeed noteworthy. "To-
day." says the Psalmist, "if ye will,
| hear His voice"
Be wise to-day; 'tois madness to defer:
Next day the fatal precedent will plead;
| thus on, till wisdom is pushed out of life.
II representation is the thief Of time:
L y ear after year it steals, till all are fled.
| And to the mercies of moment leaves
Ihe vast concerns of an eternal scene."
May we, as Edward Young, per-
ceive the wonder and the aWfulness
! or the divine responsibility that rests
on us momentarily to be careful to-
| ward the concerns of the ages.
| The future depends on to-day.
Defer not till tomorrow to be wise. +"
| Eternity rests upon our present
choice. There can be no tomorrow
| Till there has been to-day. The char
acter of tomorrow lies helpless in
the grasp Of to-day. The sins and
| progress of the men who are alive
| will mar or make the future of the
generations yet unborn
The day that Esau sold his BIRTH
right to assuage the gnawing of his
hunger that day he marked his char
acter forever, and Jacob left an ever
lasting explanation to be made.
When Moses set his face steadfastly
away from the leeks and garlics and
| the honOrs of an alien court in tn at
moment the face of history was
changed. When Abraham Lincoln
came up out of the valley of decision
| the slave was free.
Every choice is decisive. Each
! moment is momentous.
Happy the man. and happy he alone.
He who can call to-day his own;
| He who, secure within, can say,
| Tomorrow, do thy worst, for have lived
| to-day"
God and the thoughtful know the
value of to-day. It's use is fine
art. It's value is imm aasurable It's
possibilities are infinite. It's appeal
is heart-searching. It's misuse is a
crime and a grieVous sin.
We ought to utilize to-day with
care. 1t means much how we face
Satan and stand firm for God. Weak
| and unimportant as we may judge
ourselves to be alone, yet our aggre-
| gated decisions are impelling and our
compounded use of time has an ever
lasting bearing. Percbance the &C.
tlOns of one of us may determine the
| course of the onward march of men.
! Most important is to-day in the
! life of the soul. To-day alone is
ours. The future, as the past. is with
God. Let us say with Wesley:
"Lo! on narrow neck of land,
Twixt two unbounded seas stand"
Let us decide for eternity. Let us
| use to-day for the good of the days
| that are to be, for the happiness Of
| our hearts forever.
When to Re Most Glad.
Has Christ become to us such a
living, bright reality that no post of
duty shall be irksome, that as His
witnesses we may return to the quiet
homeside, or to the distant service
among the heather, with hearts more
than glad, more than satisfied, and
most glad, most satisfied, when most
sad, and most stripped, it may be, Of
earthly friends and treasures?
oh a or infN