Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1910-08-25
THE PULPIT.
= BRILLIANT SUNDAY SERMON ~
DS. e. T. ]. WRleLEY.
Theme: The True Lie.

80
Theme: The True Lie.
BROOKLYN, n. Y. nr -,
Mrigiey, rector OF Grace Church.
Tleacned Sunday morning on "The
1,e Lie. The text was from
Ma.tnew lE25, 81 thank Thee. o
ratner, Lord of heaven and earth.
Ina Thou hast hid these things from
tne wise and prudent, and hast re-
ley said:
When a man makes up his mind
not TO vegetate, not to be content
simply to exist, but to live the life:
wnen he realizes that he is not only
an animal, having much in common
WIN the animals; but also a man,
having much in common with the
Worlo OF mystery by which he is sur
rounded, there are very few ultimate
Ideals to which he can turn. The
!act Is, there are only two such ideals.
II we bar out that insane suggestion
OF n d~isordered mind Of Nietsche
n a a man should cultivate the will
TO enjoy" Or the twill to have pow
er," which is not a philosophy of life,
out suitably a f%oolhardy agoism.
The mans choice really lies be-
tween a life of pessimism and agnos-
tlcism, a life which gives up all the
real problems of life and settles down
into an existence of grim despair and
apparently hopeless ignorance of all
the things which, most Of all, a man
wants to know. or a life which IAN
swers the challenge of all suffering
n mystery and sin by affirming the
everlasting yea" On the one side
we have Buddha and Buddhism,
which even yet holds in it's grasp In
aia and China and other Eastern
countries, and is the cause of the un-
progressive and despairing life of
those peoples; and, on the other
hand, we have Jesus Christ and the
confident and affirmative attitude
that He takes toward life, proclaim
Ing a bold faith in a fatherly God,
who is guiding the world toward a
certain goal OF goodness and perfec-
ton. He points out to us a life of
fuller content than any of which man
a dared to dream; and He joyfully
points 1t out to us, calls it His COS
pei, and declares that it shines
through all the perplexities and
struggles of u existence-nay, that
it is the author and origin not only
of all our troubles but also of all our
satisfactions. That it is the quality
of the everlasting, that it is Selling
hold of man and triumphantly bid
ding him to put his hand into the
hand of God, and through the mys-
teries and mists Of life to trust the
Father, and not only allow himself
to be led, but himself to struggle up
toward the eternal.
Which of these ideals shall a man
accept to-day? Is there any choice?
Can a man study the two for even a
short time and still be undecided?
True. the man may not have heard
of the second ideal, and that it is
which constitutes the clarion call to
MISSIONS; but If he has heard, can
he long question which ideal he Is
TO choose? Why, without thinking
boment, an ordinary. Mnpreiudiced
MN would say, as he looked upon the
TWO pictures OF life, / would rather
he Erong with Jesus than right with
Put An speaking of this life, Jesus
.oid. II thank Thee, Father, that
'Thou hast hid these things from the
wise and, prudent, and revealed then
INTO hahes." What does that mean
surely. NIT that the gospel is bidder
from men 81 great infeTfecrdaar-TT6yel
or mental acumen; not that knoWI
edge or wisdom is a bar to the &C
c~eptance of the teachings OF Jesus
This is untrue as a fact, for, since
the coming of Jesus Christ into tn
world. It is safely within the limits
of truth to say that the vast ma1orit!
of the really wise and ntellectuall
great men Of the Christian worlt
have been Christians. When a mai
saws that his worldwide knowledg'
binders him from accepting the mar
row revelation of Jesus, l point t
Gladstone. When a man says tina
his scientific studies are a hindranc
To his faith, 1 point to Lord Kelvin
for both Gladstone and Kelvin repre-
sent towering intellectual ability, tn
one in the departments Of literatur
and craftsmanship, and the other i
\ pure science. No, Jesus does no
mean that wisdom prevents a ma
from believing, nor does He discou1
age learning; Christ's religion, i
|! fact. has been the leader always i
the educational world, but He mean
that no amount of learning can Civ
] to a man that which He comes to tn
/ world to give. Worldly learning cal
not reveal heavenly things. In othe
words, worldly wisdom cannot b
substituted for revelation.
Jesus Christ came into the worl
to live a life, which should be in i
self a revelation of new values.
is needless to say they are opposed
world values. For instance, Jes,
begins with life itself. It us the 81
preme value, hence the horrible cha
acter of murder and suicide. tt
Christian world has not yet graspe
the real meaning of the value whie
Jesus placed upon life; not cultivate
and refined, but just human lif
Then humility, the possessi<
Of which puts a man into the rig
altitude. toward God and his fello
man. Then unselfishness, which e
ables him to shed many of the cha
acteristies Of the brute world. Th'
obedience, which enables him to CT
tivate the qualities Of the ruler. tn
II = -. - - ~L-~-