Year: 1875

HUMAN THOUGHTS OF GOD-SERMON BY MIR. o.


B. FRoTHINGHAM.


Mr.. Frohngham's discourse yesterday dealt with
the many lances and faaces regarding the nature OF
the Deity


The Bible Of the Hebrews insists upon the mpos-
sibty of measuring and weighing God. Nevertheless
men and women claim to be perfectly well acquainted
with the intentions Of the Deity in the past and in the
future This is done with simplicity of mind which
would be amusing were it not dangerous Now |
have single observation to make on this point;-we
have only thoughts OF the Deity. II has never ap-
peared US; it is only hope, dream, conviction
only human thought The pantheist thinks OF God
the soul OF the world; the theist thinks OF Him
personal being, and


CHANGING GODS


It is urged that God has made confession OF His
inmost thoughts-that He has revealed His
sell the Bible The Christian therefore thinks that
he has recorded Gods thoughts about himself But il
is still his thought Of God, and the very per
may pass through all phases Of thought with regard
TO God-rom atheism TO pantheism, and to Christian
y. person, for instance reads scientific book and
lays IL aside with the convection that God Is unknowa
BILE; but scarcely has he laid aside the book when he
hears OF organized wrong that has been done 1t
strs his conscience and he feels that he must do some
thing to redress IT, In that emotion God starts into
being, the'Dety OF right ana justice man feels that
God is necessary to rescue him. aud seeks the closet
and the priest and becomes evangelical Christian
Now, does that change the character Of the Dety2 All
these phases of belief with perfect naturaness
and with the varying phases of human thought


CHILn'S


There is the chd's idea of God child has no mis-
givings to ask God tor cake a flower There is
harm in this, but when the child grows up and be-
comes IL Is sad indeed ii IL STU retains its child
sh ideas and superstitons ol God When the Hebrews
wanted conquer the Land Of Promise their natural
Idea oi God that Of one who assisted them in their
war who would stop the sun and moon IN their courses
would scourge the enemy with pestlence would dr. up
ID Il
bent for war and conquest and whose greatest ideals
evil is not in expressing the false idea Of the Deity for
the false may become tie truer and the truer the
The great evil is that associate false idea with
God Himself


MAN ASSUMING GoD's AUTHORITY


II is unavoidable that by thus associatng lallble
thought with Gods thought we destroy humility that
sweetest Of human traits The moment 2 man feels
that God must think he does himself he arrogates to
himself power which by means belongs To him.
The greatest minds are always the most modest Such
minds RECORDER HAcKErT sAYs:--.EvEN II DTs-
posED RECORDS
CoURT POLITICIAN COULD NOT IT,
CAUSE THE DEPUTY CLERK IS NOT APPOINTED by
JUDGES OF THE COURT or GENERAL SESSIONS -
revise their knowledge continually; hut take
coarse, ignorant man, who is unacquainted with
the thoughts of the great thinkers and he Will
identity his ucubraLions with the supposed thoughts OF
the Eternal God that he will deem himself
anonted; that he will claim that his purpose IL
Gods determination that Gods hand is in this
thing and Gods countenance In that thing,
and all the time never suspecng that these his





this strange haIlucination. Ii he could only
remember that the thoughts he offers
his own and not those OF God he might work good
purpose Is this God that IS working or is il the
preacher that IS workingy That il the question How
do know that II is Gods work. BY these preachers
saying so But all have read history and found
that those who are oudest IN processing 10 be mouth
pieces for tho Deity often those whose records
the least clean


NARROWING Down GOD.


The moment we associate human thoughts with Gods
thoughts they become hardened liked, immoya6le
Of course Gods purpose cannot be chnngeable-that
well understood-and therefore, when point
thoughts to His, this quality reacts upon our
thoughts Many good man would render an appre-
religious belief but that some Scrlptura injunction Is
quoted which HOLDS him back No noble and good
thought stunts narTows a man; II en-,
larges and broadens him. But history is full
OF incidents in which men mutatcd their bodies aud
crushed down their love OF truth simply because they
thought God required these things OF them There
people to-day who would not 20 to hear certain
preacher who would not read certain book that might
interfere with their pet thoughts which they assume 10
call Gods SO perncious is this evil that many people
say, "Better have no God az all than who
the progress OF the soul; who stands in the way OF
truth This evil would not exist " only kept tho
truth before our minds that knowledge sum
cient TO define superhuman being The Being that
controls the universe is so tar beyond that we
know what we know-and that Is all And now
a new light comes upon us. II Is not our duty
to speculate upon God 1t is only when our
darkness is supposed TO be the divine light
that we stagger about Ike a drunken man. Let
us bear In mind that dream is q dream, and the
world Of love Of hope OF aspiration will still be open
with God, but 10 reconcile things as they are with
things as we know they should be. Our duty then,
it, is not to pry into the dim haze Of eternity,
but to do daily something which will make things as
they are such as we feel they ought TO be- Thoughts
airy, vapors, but II thoughts are all we have
VIC must be All lhe more caIe tlAl there should pe