Year: 1878

day, as usual Among the announce
ments made before the sermon was one


OF the organization of a singing class


The congregational singing in this


church" said Mr. Beecher, (Which is very
good, compared with singing which is
much worse. is not nearly as good as il


should be The text was from Phillip


plans, iv 6 BE careful for nothing: but


in every hing ny prayer and supplication


with Thanksgiving let your requests be


made known unto God PRAYER" Mr.


Beecher began, "is supposed to be the


act Of solicitation, springing from some


conscious want Prayer and supplca


ton, the Apostle tells US, should always


be accompanied with Thanksgiving and


thanksgiving should give US vivid sense


OF pleasure The rising up of a soul to


express pleasure to the benefactor is Civ.


ing thanks This is one of the com


mands given by an able professor in the


school of Christ There are different


kinds Of schools, and they turn out diff


ferent kinds of scholars Military


schools turn out good fighting soldiers


law schools good fighting lawyers, and


medical schools good fighting doctors to


put Death to death The real call that


Christ made to men was Follow Me and


become NY scholars We have almost


lost that idea from the doctrine of sudden


conversion. In Christ's view, it was to


the lowly, the vicious, to every one,


Come to Ne and will teach you how to


live a higher life We are to undergo


drill all our lives There is a ioyfulness


in Pauls lie which contrasts strangely


with the outward conditions of that liie
Who was Paul2 He was a prisoner, a


man advanced in life, proud, sensitive of


the proudest nation with intense patri-


otism, ostracsed from his country, sub.
jeeted to every indignity, had abandoned


his old religion, and at last found himself


in Roman prison, chained to a soldier


This Epistle to the Philippians was his
dying testimony; yet be says, In all your
supplications give thanks That was his


mood OF mind.


! Paul had an insignificant body; one


that constantly brought him into trouble
| The thorn in the flesh is an instance of
! this, question about which people have


been ten thousand times more curious
than about how to live the Christian life


like Paul for taking care of his old
| body. The horse that Phil Sheridan
rode in all his battles was never made to
labor after the war. | like to see man
care for an old horse, or an old hound,
or an old servant BE careful for moth
ing means don't allow yourself to be
ridden by care or anxiety. We have
been taught to be afraid to say that we
are anything but poor miserable sinners
that we are lower than the worm |
aver if the grace of God is in man he
certainly will develop When Paul put
himself up tor model he was not afraid
that they would initiate his faults His
life had been manly life, and he knew
it. He had no salary He was the chief
nf hIt h1a
which he was settled gave him no money
Paul WAS perfect gentleman. He had
enough gentlrmanliness in him to cut
out fifty Chesterfrlds. Il know both
how to be abased and how to abound he
said A great many people know how to
abound and great many know how to
be ahassd. but few know both. II am
the master of circumstances Paul said;
1 can do all things through Christ, which
trengtheneth me" Alongside of every
possible trouble there is a reason for
Thanksgiving, II there ever was time
when men had right to be solemn and
silent. it was when Paul aud Silas were
thrown into dirty Roman prison, but
they went to singing psalms. How many
men let their grace flow away with their
tears On parade any soldier can make
a good appearance but in a battle-the





soldiers You must be put to it. and if
your bones don't break nor your sinews
snap then you prove your strength l
am far from saying that any man can
come 10 this state simply by being con
verted; but this is the ideal portraiture in
the school of Jesus Christ, to be able to |
bear everything; not stoically, but with |
smile.


The school of Christ graduates just as
many ounces as other schools do Men |
must be taught that they don't go into |
the school of Christ to be saved, but to |
learn to be saved 1t is a common thing |
to laugh at suddenly converted people,
and sneer at them and pity them Con-
slider the thousands of acres | passed |
through in California-acres of golden
wheat, forever wheat
Suppose you should 90 back and see the
dirty men who plowed those fields Can
anything be apparently further from a
golden harvest than blowing a muddy
field? Let no man despise the concep
ton OF religion. Some people say we
live IN an age Of skepticism So we do
What OF it? Skepticlsm is one of the
blessings OF the age Some men would
like to have religion like evergreen trees
green all the year round | prefer to
have the old leaves drop, and a new set
come next year. Trees know enough to
shed their bark Christians don't, and
they get shaggy and rough and full of
bugs There's many.a man would fight
Tor the Bible great deal quicker than
he would use it, If you should burn all
the arithmetics in the world, two and two
would still make four Not God Him
self, in His omnipotence, could oblterate
Christianity now from this world Moth
ing, no power can obliterate fact The
truth, once known, is known forever. A
great soul, in earnest, ranks next to
Gods If you sweep true Christians out
OF the world. and leave nothing but the
Church and the creed and the Bible
they'd better go too There is sound
OF the heavenly land in the soul of every
one OF US, forever calling out to us
There is great power in Christ to give
comfort. | know it from experience
1t isn't doctrine with me; it's a reality.
The old Ten Commandments belong to a
barbaric state. They are string of neg
atives It's not till you get down into
the New Testament that you find Thou
shalt! | believe in the justice of God
| believe that punishment exists both
here and hereafter; but it will not con
tnue after it ceases to do good With
God who would give pain for pains sake
this world would 20 out like candle"


This country remarked a traveller in
\ rthwcstern Iowa, Settles up very
raprdly." ~ a as" replied the native.
watching the movements is of a
t,i do, i II ]