The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-07-13
'DR. FOSTER TALKS ON
 HE WORTH OF MAN
Comments Merchants Half Holiday and Urges Early
 Saturday Closing

"The Worth of Man was the theme
 of Dr. John s. Foster of the First Pres
 byterian church at the morning service yesterday. Psalms s:4 What is man
 that thou art mindful of him or the son
 of man that thou vlsitest him?"
 He spoke in part as follows:
 These words are sometimes quoted in | a spirit of derogation as if man was a creature unworthy of the notice of the Almighty. Whoever thus construes them 1 is ignorant of the trend of the sacred scriptures. They are really a prayer
 from the heart of the Hebrew poet In which he reverenty asks God to dis l close some adequate conception or mans s true worth in the light of the twofold l fact that God has fellowship with Him and has endowed Him with dominion over
 the world of nature
 T want us this morning to reverently take this prayer upon our lips and seek to find the answer God has revealed to questioning faith. It will lead us to the 1 recognition of a dignity and a worth that our Father designs shall sweeten and glorify our life and pilgrimage. "The divine condencension at once ar- rests our attention. He is not poor, frail worm of the dust. creature with out a mission. Let the Bible answer the question: What is man that thou
 name applied to the other creation of the mindfulness of God toward him, is speaking of man. He calls him His child.
 shines on every page of the Bible and glows in the conduct of the Son of God toward man. There is the title given man at his creation in contrast with the name applied to the other creatnoos of the divine power. In speaking of the sun and stars and the earth with her products God calls them His works; in speaking of man, He calsl him His child. Again the infinite worth of man is dis closed in the incarnation in the fact of the Son of God taking to Himself hu- man nature. In this condescension God is indisputably revealing the glory of un- fallen human nature.
 "Christ's doctrine of man first of all inculcates the truth that man should have spiritual fellowship with God. He is diff ferent from the lower forms of animal life about him. He was made in the spiritual likeness of God-that is to say he has mind, and will and conscience and affection-moral quantities found in God who thinks and wills and loves and draws moral distinctions.
 "Christs doctrine of man shows us the necessity of developing the spiritual forces of the soul Man cannot live by bread alone. He must have bread for his bodily powers, but something above material things to give vigor to the living soul. He needs to safeguard the fellowship he has with the Father Un- believing and thoughtful persons some times delight to make an attack upon the church with it's songs of praise, it's spirit of worship and it's desire to know the will of God. An enemy of religion is the worst enemy of man in that he would take from him the essentials In the de- velopment of true manhood. There are two things transpiring in our city just now that are worthy of commendation along the line of the thought I am advancing One Is the united effort of our citizenship to obtain for our city great Christian university. It would stand as bulwark against material lis- tie and commercial conceptions of life. The other matter to which I allude Is the honoring of the spirit of humanity as shown in the l o'c'c hour one day in the week. The spirit of this movement is worthy of appreciation, and would publicly acknowledge it. And yet, l believe something far better than this could be accomplished through the cooperation of our merchants and their customers It would be the closing of the stores not later than o'clock Saturday night. I speak in the interest of man as religious being, as one who cannot attain into his best spiritual and bodily development at the expense of the pow CTS of his soul. I have the profoundest sympathy for men and women whose late Saturday night toll coming at the close of six days of earnest labor rem ders them too weary to heartily enter
 into the spirit of the Sabbath day. should rejoice to see all stores closed
 at o'eloeS Saturday night the year through, fir the firm conviction that such a condition would redown to the moral and spiritual uplft of the entire com munity."