Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-07-08

But these words are not only
lyrical: they are martial. The
preacher quoted as an illustration
Whittier's martial strains of THE
Pipes of Lucknow" These are the
impregnable lines of the Christian
defense, THE love of God which
is in Christ Jesus, our Lord" Be
hind this trench Of Christian as
surance the believer is safe from
every foe of the soul.
The ground of this assurance is
not our love for God but Gods
love in Christ for u.s." The preach
er took issue with much modern
teaching and declared, What the
world needs today is a good dose
Of Calvanism, the characteristic
mark OF its teaching being the SOW
ereignty of God, the Lord God
reigneth.' Armenianism talks
lot about mans freedom and seeks
evolve a God by working from
man. This is not a thorough sys-
TEN. Paul corrects this in the
text. He works from. Gods love,
not from mans love up to God.
Christ hath chosen us; we did not
choose Him first. When Oliver
Cromwell lay dying he was over
heard to say, Faith in the Gov
enant is my only support, and il
l believe not He abides faithful
Then a little later he nurmured
L think that I am the poorest
wretch that lives. but l love God,
or rather am beloved OF God
This is the souls true anchor. Peo-
pIe are too interpretive in this
= fz,sp FsFT Sf1fS n eaEz
to torture them without reason.
Sensitive souls shuddering at the
slightest transgression caused
mainly by forgetting this great
love OF God in Christ.
I'm PauI's enumeration of the
souls enemies you will notice that
he puts death first and then life.
This looks like pathos. 1t is not.
it is climax. He works from the
less to the greater. 1t is not death |
that separates us from God. We
do not know what passes through
the soul of one facing death.
Mothers teaching, the prayer at
her knee. some text, the memory
Of church and Sunday school comes
back and the approach of death
does not separate but draws closer
to God. The chapiains tell me that
&.e communion services held on
the eve of a battle were always
crowded. Do we need more evil
dence than that? Death does not |
separate. It is life that is the great |
separator. In childhood we are |
innocent, Heaven lies about US in |
our infancy not in utter |
nakedness do We come trailing
clouds OF glory from God who is |
our home But we grow up and |
70 out into the world and its dirt |
mars the spotless garments and |
we wander far It is life that sep |
arates. Let us mark some of the /
things in life which separate US
from God. The subtleness of these
things lies in the unconscious pro
cess. IA The very earnestness of
life keeping men preoccupied re-
xsrding the call of duty in the
need To make good as supreme and
forgetting the place of religion,
forgetting that there is no laugh
ter where God is dead. (2) Thus
men lose their interest in religion
and stupid people discuss the emp
ty pew, attributing superficial rea-
sons for the neglect of church at
tendance. Mix with the crowd,
live with them for days and listen
to what they are talking about, q
splendid range Of subjects with one
FAULT, but that one objectionable.
They never mention God in rever-
ence. Men are interested in their
nnions. in girls, in having a good
time. in the Saturday night cab
aret, and then ~ from shear laz-
mess they will not rise early
enough on Sunday morning for
church A boarding house keeper
IN New York City told me that
hey never serve breakfast on Sun
lay morning at all. Just dinner at
1890. You know the rest.
Sometimes the preacher is
blamed, frequently not without
reason. Some OF them are not
1uite human and it may be cold
thinking that they have to preach
Il q different kind of manner to
hat which they would talk to men
bout any other subject. Their
-oice is different thinking they
ave to speak ex-cathedra. This
nay be all true, but the most OF
he blame is Just with this thing
We Cali 1l1S WHICH 10 CCP<AA 0L4uo
nen from God, tearing the souls
,ut of them because they are not
cutting a soul into it. One who
new called it Cares % the world
nd the deceitfuIness of riches.
A. Not only success, but failure
nd disappointment separates.
obs wife said, Curse God and
be- when Job sat on the Arabian
.sh pit. Men are saying that at
he outcome of this war; their 1
opes are broken. This separates.
,ut Paul Offsets all this by saying
hat life is good and that its work
aust be done, and that if we hon
silly commit ourselves to God that
othing can separate us, not even
fe. I am persuaded that neither
cath nor life shall be
BILE to separate us from the love
( God which is in Christ Jesus,
ur Lord
when we come to die, let this
. on our lips and our passing
hall be smooth"