The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1912-12-17
Dedication Jern7On....
by
DR.. Francis II. u>ilber
Presbyterian Church. M Vernon 49, 1919

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Today we come into the house with JOY
and gratitude to Almighty God for this
among His manifold blessings that He
has enabled us to rebuild. in His name
this christian church, to be a silent wit
ness. through the years. that He is our
God and we are Is people. II can stand
for nothing more noble than this, and 1t
should stand for nothing less. We dedi-
cate 1t to Worship the noblest exercise
of our human faculties, the most char
acteristic attitude for devotion to assume
In the whole round of religious experi-
ence. Here II anywhere. the seeker after
God should be able to find Him: for has
He not always revealed Himself most
consciously, most helpfully In sanctuar-
les: places set apart for public praise and
prayer? Here. as nowhere else. men meet
upon common because holy ground to
sink their differences, bury their feuds
and worship the common Father of us all.
MY House shall be called house OF
prayer for all peoples" This was Jesus
ideal, that a church should be used chief
ly. If not solely as the public meeting
place between God and man.
Let us make no mistake in speaking
thus. No mere place, holds a monopoly
| of sacredness. Abraham could find God
upon the emigrant trail. tracking to the
Great West. Jacob could find Him un.
| der the starry sky, at the foot Of an angel
ladder. David could find Him upon the
! sheep-walks Of bethlehem; Isaiah, in the
| temple courts. John, upon the rocky shore
OF Patmos.
And Is not this the very truth our Lord
| strove to teach TO the Samaritan woman
heather and sinner though she was? "Wo-
| man. believe me, that neither in this
| mountain. nor vet at Jerusalem shall
men worship the Father" That Is to say
Worship IL not necessarily attached to any
particular time or place. to any creed, or
| ritual or order. 1t is essentially an at
| titude Of the heart communion of soul
with soul. II may be found along with
the most elaborate rituals; II may also be
I found where no ritual is used. What fol-
ly, then. not to say impiety. to build walls
| OF exclusion, whether of creed, or caste.
or custom. and thus to shut worshippers
away from God, when God Is seeking men
| to worship Him.
Let us, however, guard against another
mistake, OF quite the opposite kind. Let
| ms not seem to say that 1t matters not
what worship men adopt. IL only they
worship. Our Lord made difference be-
tween worshippers and worshippers.
True. He loves sincerity, and we cannot
think Of Him as turning away unbiessed
any who really praise and pray. But
sincerity IL not the only mark OF accept
able worship. Indeed. one may be very
sincere, as sincere for example. as Saul
OF Tarsus. and yet be as unit as was he
for any proper approach to God We may
lao In Nh.t n..I a
between modes of worship, as these ex.
press the varied preparation OF men for
real communion with Him. For exam
pie God never obliterates the distinction
between truth and error an such. nor il
He blind to the fact that error in the
head leads most naturally and easily tn
untruthfulness In the heart.
This IN illustrated in Christs dealing
with the Samaritan woman. He draws a
distinct line between truth and error. and
distinguishes three kinds OF worship; the
ignorant worship Of the Pagan. the ntelli-
gent worship of the jew. and the spirit
ual worship of the Christian. you wor-
ship" He said to her, what you do not
know" that liz the ignorant kind. I'VE
know what we worship" Just because the
jew had put centuries OF culture and
training into his religion, and these two
cults We're not for Il moment to he com
pared, as to intelligent grasp OF religious
truth Relatively speaking, the Jew knew
God as the Pagan did not and Just No
far as the Jews worship was more in
telligent than that of the Pagan 1t APP
preached more nearly to the Divine ideal,
and became more acceptable to God.
but evidently our Lord IN not satisfied
with n worship whose sole claim to SUI
periority Is higher intelligence. II is
indeed much to know God clearly but
this In not all, nor the chief thing In re-
lgion. Was IL not the proud boast of
the Pharisees that he knew God and His
revealed VIII? Did he not say. In his Gym
ical pride: "rhe people who know not the
Law are accursed?" but was 1t not our
Lords chief indictment against the Phari.
sees that they said: I'VE see." and glor-
led In their knowledge. and went up to
the temple to thank God that they were
not like other men? Their worship degen-
Grated into self-congratulation and self
laudation, II was Intelligent. after rigid
and narrow fashion, but lacked the open
mind. God had taught them much. but
He could not teach them any more. They
We're so absorbed with the search for
truths that they failed to discover the
truth And 80 lie who was The Truth n
self came unto His own, and His owi,
received Him not.
Now no age, nor race. nor class of men
can lay successful claim to monopoly OF
the truth, as II the last word had been
said about religion. Creeds are useful ex-
pedents to express expanding thought,
as trellises support growing vines; but
the trellises must not he mistaken for
the vines, And 40 a Confession OF Faith
may become too narrow to remain an ade-
gate statement Of the faith It once EN-
bodied.
Good Pastor Robinson. of the Plymouth
Colony, was wont to say that God had
yet much new light to spring out OF His
word, To this statement the progressive
development OF revelation In the Bible
gives ample illustration. II have we,
many things to tell you," said our Lord
upon one occasion. but ye cannot bear
them now when He who is the Spirit OF
truth is come, He will lead you into all
truth" Thus God ever leads His obed-
lent people onward and upward.
Such nm epoch NJ enlargement In faith