Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1912-06-20

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The anniversary Of the college Christian
associations was observed In the evening
An interesting address was given by the
Rev. DR.. George Miller Rowland Of Sa-
poro. Japan. DR.. Miller was graduated
from Middlebury College in the class of
1883 and is engaged In missionary work
for the American board of commissioners
for foreign missions. He spoke concern
ing Christian work in the Far East DR..
Rowland IS In this country on years
furough Or. Thomas in his baccaau-
reate sermon this morning spoke as fol-
lows:
THE REALITY OF GOD"
And God said moreover unto Moses,
Jehovah The God of Your fathers, the
God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and
the God of Jacob hath sent me unto
you; this is my name for ever, and this
Is my memorial unto all generations. -
Exodus 3:5
The God of Israel was a God of their
fathers. He had brought them out of the
land of Egypt, out of the house Of
bondage. His mighty wrath had CULVER
ed in the accents of Deborah, and sent
the hosts of Ssera scurrying before His
storm. At the call of Saul and of David
lie marched from Teman. and his holy
ones from Mount Paran: His glory COW
cred the heavens, and the burning Goals
went forth at His fecr. BY His power
prophets spoke in words not their own,
in tones that impigned on frightened
hearts like the very thunder, and by
J lis spirit psalmsts sang OF his tender
~, fh., of v,,{v
md with the light touch of the sun on
IN autumn pasture. God? Believe in
God? Why their life was full Of God;
not in the meaningless sense that they
saw Him equally everywhere and al
ways. but in the very definite sense
that In every crisis worthy OF Him they
heard the coming Of His chariot, the
voice OF His power. They lived their
way into the divine reality. Just as their
children lived their way into their
| mother tongue. Faith In the Almighty
became part OF their soul as inevitable
MS pride in the city of David and JOY in
the yearly sacrifice. Belief in God was
a national racial, institution; 1t was
surely made such by tho devoutness Of
their life, by the fidelity OF their obed-
| fence to things unseen.
| We are intcrested in these Hebrews
only because they blaZed the trail which
we must follow II we would come into
| the knowledge of God. We too must live
| our way up into the confidence in the
| divine reality ms we live our way into
our mothers speech, Our hope is in our
| fathers God. the actual spirit who has
realized Himself in the honorable deeds
| of pure-souled men and women Of our
| own blood and kin. Not in the petty
| questions which men try. not from the
Laboratories OF scientists, nor the studies
| of savants, Is there hope of a new birth
of faith. either for the masses or for any
| man. There must men arise who can
| catch the spirit of heroic obedience to
| Gods living words, the spirit that lived
In the best of the sainted dead. In days
| gone by there were sons of soldiers who
took the sword nj the hand of their dying
sires and welded It for two; likewise
there must boys grow up who will claim
for themselves all their fathers hatred
OF injustice and hypocrisy. all their
fathers honor of holy right and truth
Such sons of such fathers will believe
In God. They will believe as naturally
and in the same manner. as the men
OF Israel believed in the God OF Abra-
ham.
ANSWER AS DID MOSES.
Ii | were asked who had appointed me
to declare unto you sin, and righteous
ness. and judgment to come. would
answer, precisely as did Moses with
equal gertrude. the God Of my fathers
and Of your fathers hath sent me unto
|
of those We have honored and loved
whom perhaps we have lost awhile
which was real, very real and very ear
nest Not that must believe all that
they believed. In their honor l cherish
liberty. as they cherished it. The thought
is not that what they believed must be
true. since they were good men, but
rather that the spiritual experience
through which they passed was real
experience, and can he duplicated, They
knew the hold of right against tempta-
ton, and ! can know it. TOO. They knew
the possibility of rising above this
troubled world into regions of eternal
calm. and my soul has that capacity
also
| Religion is just the capacity OF the
farther reaches of the human spirit, the
lahility to rise above earth's clouds and
ldlrt ana live as free souls in Gods clear
air 1t Is faculty. an art, a mode of
me- an achievement of the heart. We at
tain II, Just as We attain all other intel
lectual and spiritual abilities by living in
the company OF those who have attained
II before us II no more comes to each
man by himself apart than his language
comes TO nm In isolation. or than lie
can be taught the delights OF music. az
that art has come TO be, without bcne-
1T from the gifted souls in whose souls
lwere born it's great creations You must
Hive in the atmosphere of the soul life
YOU desire. steep yourself in II day after
lday You must take In all possible
thought of its masters; live their strug
lgles through In Imagination at their side
make their achievements your own You
must go out into the world in 0haAr
spirit; meet your tasks as they Nrt
theirs; and then YOU will say that NE
God of your fathers is your God-thoWJh
Iperchance. my friend, A. Lhs HaeoW