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THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER tl % MOT. What Shall Be My Relationship to the Gospel? By REV. RICHARD ORME FLINN, PASTOR NORTH AVENUE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Text—Boro. 1:1. The other day a. we were reading Homan, two lines In hla Initial utter- ,nce arrested our attention, ('Paul i • • a servant of Jesus Christ • • • separated unto the gospel.” This I, * frank confession of one man's un- derotandlng of his place and purpose in life. Prince Albert, the consort of flueen Victoria, used to assert that Jiccess in life depended upon a man’s discovering God's plan, finding hla place ,„d falling In line. If this Is true the apostle was a successful man, for as affirmation assures us he had dis- ,vcred God’s Intent, found his pines, and was determined to fill It. How ever others might esteem themselves, and to whatsoever title or dignity they might aspire, It was sufficient for him to i,» known as a "servant of Jesus Christ.” No mattor what career might M cm alluring to others, there was but cne that was alluring to him, and so from all other possible effort he turned aside that he might be separated unto Hip gospel of Christ." Which 8hall It Be? we meditated upon this statement the thought was suggested how differ' cat Is the attitude of this man from that of many, and further as we con- ildered this, wo were startled, as we substituted first one i and then another trief word In its place, to perceive how the change of a preposition in this sen. mice accurately marked the difference between the great classes of mankind their relationship to the gospel of Gcd. Let us read the sentence as we change It, and as we read let us sub stitute our own name for that of Paul. 1. ( ), a servant of Jesus Christ, separated FROM the gospel of God.” 2. ( ) "a servant of Jesus Christ Separated BY the gospel <»f God.” 3. ( ), “a servant of Jesus Christ, separated UNTO the gospel of God.” These Hues may be the epitome of your own soul's history and of mine, a ■ biography of the three great chapters In our career even a* they arc of the apostle'.. But though they may be thus they are not so for all, for (he earthly history of some lives, alas! must close wltlv the first chap ter. “Separated from the gospel" le all that may be written, and for these ti er, ties out beyond a hopeless eteral- tv. Others have two chapter., for th.y who were separated from the gospel have been separated by the gospel, and for these there Is future hope. But the (treat life Is a life like Paul's, with the three chapters written out, wherein we read that one who has been sepa rated front the gospel, being separated by the gospel, with the ardor of a| deathless devotion, Is separated unto the gospel. For such there is glory In time and throughout eternity. Let us pause a moment to consider the significance of these chapters three. 1. Separated from the Gospel. Whnt does this mean? When we have calculated what God Intends the \-ospel to mean to all and what it does mean to those who nccept It, we can begin to estimate the loss of those who are separated from It. The gospel |3 the only adequate answer to the ques- tlons which the tired-hearted world has ever been asking—the only re sponse to the deep outcrytngs of the soul. As men have seen their fellows fall beside them and look back through history at the desolation which time hath wrought, the questlrn has been borno Ireslstibly upon them "If a man die shall ha live ngaln?" And ae they have cried out for answer they have been met with silence, or speculation. But what says the gospel? Through It He Who brought life and Immortality to light, answers with assurance "Yes, we shall live again,” and furthermore. He tells us where, and how. and why, and what that life shell be, but he who Is separated from the gospel Is left still groping for; or trembling because of, the answer concerning a future life. There Is another soul question—It Is about sin and Its consequence. "What shall I do to be saved?" The answers of nil other religions of the world, where an answer Is attempted, save the answer of the gospel of God, nre Inef fective, but Christ stands before us presenting a simple nnd an adequate means of escape for the soul from sin or from the suffering which It entails. Then there Is the eoul's cry concern ing life's provldentlsl mysteries. Why- are these? What do they mean? And Christ replies: "What I do ye know not now, but ye shall know hereafter." and so He aesuree us of Ood’s love and His power to make all these things work together for good, and bids us trust and wait. The gospel, I say. Is the only answer to these and other great cries of the stricken breast. If we bo separated from the gospel what then? We are separated from the only consolation tired hearts can know, sep arated unto Intellectual bewilderment, unto moral Impotence, unto uncertainty and hopelessness of the future. But let us ask further, If we are sep arated from the gospel, why? Is It be cause God would have It so? Nay, when this gospel was first announced by an gelic chorus on that eventful morn, the angel's messngo to the Bethlehem shepherd. wa«: “Good tidings of great joy Shalt be to all ptople." It Is God's Intent that no man shall be separated from the gospel. But some are separat ed from the gospel; It may be that you are one of these. Do we ask. then, why? There Is but’otie answer for there Is but on. thing that can sepa rate a man from knowing the power of the gospel when once It has been pro claimed to him, npd that Is—sin. Iralnh affirmed this millenniums ago. "Your Iniquities have separated be tween you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you." Sin Is the only thing that can turn a man away from the gospel of Christ and rob him of Its privileges, of Its prom ises. and Its hopes. The form of sin that separates you may be different from the form that separates another, for some are separated even ns the pharisees and lawyers were, by thu sin of pride, so that they rejected the coun sels of God ngnlnst themselves; and some, life Deman, who loved the pres ent world, nre separated by pleasure: and some. Ilka the men of Gndarn, who drove Christ out of their rnnsts when Ills healing of the demoniac man In terfered with their swine business, are separated by considerations of profit. But whatever the form of It may be, that which separates la sin, and—let Ur be very honest with ourselves here— as we are taught In Ezekiel 14:7, we must mnke a eholcej between sin und the gospel, for the two can not be held at once. If wo hold to sin It separates us from the gospel, and separates us '•»» the life and glory which the gos- 1*1 Is Intended to cohvey. "Every one which separaleth himself from me and setteth up his Idols In his heart and putteth the stumbling block of his In iquity before his faro • • • I, the Lord, will unswer him by myself, and will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, nnd I will cut Him oil from the midst of iny people." It Is possible for men to apparently hold to the gospel, end outwardly ob serve the forms of religion, and to pray In the eanctuary nnd consult with God's counsellors ns though they long ed to enter Into communication with heaven, nnd yet be absolutely severed from the gospel because of secret sin, of Idols enthroned In their hearts. Oh. my friends, If we he separated, let ue understand where Ilea.the blame. See ing that God's face must be against that man who hold, to sin, let us let sin go whntcver be the pain or cost. Separated by «h. Gospel. Tho gospel Is the means of the soul', emancipation. Just as sin separates us front the gospel so the gospel sepa rates us from (In. The slave to Satan HEV. RICHARD ORME FLINN. may be freed by the gnspel and be come, like Paul, the bond slave of Jesus Christ. Faith In the gospel sep aratee us from tho fear of sin's conse quences. Faith In the gospel, which leads to trust and obedience, delivers us from the cursed terror of sin’s dom inance. nnd ae we, by the gospel as through a glass darkly, behold the face of the Muster, wo nre quietly but steadily changed from glory unto glory, so that gradually the old nature, with Its evil tendencies, Is subdued, and the new nature In God's likeness Is estab lished. Is there a soul struggling against sin, hating the filth of the world, seeking to disentangle Itself from It and yet discouraged, defeated and despairing, then hear me—your experience may be the same as tho apostle's, where In the seventh of Ro mans he cries out, "Oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" And an swers triumphantly, ‘‘Thanks be unto God, through Jesus Christ.” Yes, the gospel has transformed others. It may transform you, and If you believe and obey It will. Separation From Friends. Sin Is not the only thing, however, that the gospel separates us from, ft sometimes separates us from compan ionships which are very sweet. Some times this separation Is voluntary. We realise that Ih loyalty to Christ we must choose and we "must forsake oth ers that we may cleave to Him. Some times the separation la Involuntary. We are separated by others from their society as we are told we may expect to be In Luke 0:22. But let us re member and not be affrighted at these losses. If we are cast out by nny on earth because of the gospel, we are hut experiencing a little sooner what must be Inevitable, for those who sep arate themselves In time from/ us who hold to the gospel because of their hos tility to It. are such as will be sepa- | rated In eternity from us by God for | the very same reason. Rend Matthew * S: 32. and see how the day Is coming when He will separate between the multitudes, nnd how It will be bv the test of the gospel that the line of de marcation shall be determined. For then those who now voluntarily sepa rate themselves from us,will then nec essarily be separated from us eter nally by God if wo be such ns, hold to the gospel and they such os reject It. And there Is another consoling thought—If the gospel cause us to he severed from friends now, yet It cuuscs us to be separated unto a Friend now. and unto a Friend who Is unfailing, from Whom nothing can ever pnrt us. for If the gospel separates unto God there Is absolutely nothing that can separate us from God. Rend those stir ring affirmations In the close of the eighth chapter of Romans, that we may declare with Paul. "I am per suaded that neither death, nor life, nor nngels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature can separate us from the love of God. which Is In Christ Jesus our Lord." Too often young Christians hesitate before ncceptlhg Christ because they fear they must lose too much by such allegiance. They dread the separation It will cause, but they forget what the separation will Insure, they forget friends It gains and the royal society of crowned souls Into whose fellowship such separation will introduce them. Nay. let us fear not, our loss shall be nothing to our gain. Separated Unto the Qoepel. When a man Is saved It Is In order that he may serve. We are separated by the gospel In order thnt we mny be separated unto It. Alas, too many are willing to stop at tho second chapter, but God's Intent Is that every man who receives the blessings of the gospel shall pass them on. And there Is need today that men should come 10 a real ization of this and should devote them selves to Its fulfillment. There are those In this city who are separated from the gospel, and who forever must thus remain unless those to whom God Is looking for their salvation separate themselves unto the.gospel and begin with all seriousness the blessed work of reaching out after them. Why should we let the servants of the devil be more diligent In pulling )n0n and women down than we, the servants of the Lord, are In lifting them up? Why should we 1st them prove that they are more eager to get in touch with men and with women In order to destroy them than we are to reach them In order that we may save? There are those within our reach who never come under the sound of the gospel, nnd who never will unless we go after thtm; whoso every contact with their com panions means Infamy nnd a deeper degradation of soul, and God loves these nnd wants them to know It. Are you going to tell them? If not, what wilt you say to God when He asks you about It? The fact that you are en tangled and are too busy will not be a sufficient excuse to satisfy God—we hove no right to be too busy. This Is Just the point—If we are Christ's serv ants We need to he separated from whatsoever prevents us from being separated unto this, His chief service. "He that wlnneth souls Is wise,” not he that saveth dollars. Millions Bayond. Thsre are multitudes beyond our city nnd our stage and our native shores who are not only separated from the gospel, because they have not had It adequately presented or alluringly Il lustrated, but because they have never heard It nnd know nothing of It. There are millions of human beings who nre living nnd who are dying us thpugh Jesus Christ had never lived and died and risen, and so far as they arc con cerned the Infinite sacrifice of tho Sa viour Is unavailing. These need the gospel for this life nnd they need tho gospel for tho life to come. Will you not glvo them n chnnre? Our civiliza tion has bean conditioned nnd has been determined hy the gospel. It alone Is the force that has been sufficient to produce the twentieth century civiliza tion, whose benefits we enjoy, but there nre millions In this twentieth century who do not enjoy these benefits because they have not received the gospel; they are living ns though Jesus Christ hud never wrought or His disciples'written. Who Is to blame—God? No. You nnd I, If we will not separata ourselves unto the work of the gospel. When millions who are living In abject mis ery, wlthodt light and hope, are being swept like withered leaves before the autumn gales from a life of terror Into an eterntly of gloom, w ho Is to blame ■Mjod? No. You and I, If we will not separate ourselves Unto the gospel. My friends, there arc men enough who know the message nnd they con trol money enough to Insure the gos pel’s speedy and world-wide proclama tion If they would only separate them selves and their substance unto Its service. We could do It If we would. God grant that we may catch up the refrain of the great centennial meeting of the missionary brotherhood and cry. "We can do It and we will." But listen. If we are to do It, there must be dot only the enthusiasm of a choice, but there must be an abandonment of soul, of life, of means, of time nnd of Inter est to the untiring effort of attainment. We must make It the serious business of our life. There must he with us os In the esse of Paul such a burning passion for souls as that we will let nothing hinder hr from the work of the gospel. When we know 1 "A land of sin and shame And hearts that faint nnd tire. And know a Name, a Name, a Name can sat that land on fire, sound Is a brand and whose let ters flams When we know a Name, a Name, s Name, That can sat that land on fire," then how dare tv# be silent? Nay, let us speak until the world Is ablaze with the knowledge nnd the love of Christ. Oh, for the passion of a Henry Mnrtyn, whose cry was, ns he spent himself by arduous toll In Persia, "Not where I am needed, hut where I nin needed most." Oh, for the heart of a Count Zlnzendorf. who declared, "My passion Is for souls; my meat Is to do the will of Him thnt sent me and to finish the work.” Oh, for such an ardor os was His when He declared, “My field Is the world.” Oh. that like Paul, we might decide that Ood, being our helper, wo shall at any cost carry the gospel aa far afield as we may and Into such places ns others may not dare to ven ture. As Mr. Mott has said, let us so separate ourselves unto the gospel as that we shall "keep our eyes on the ut termost parts of th* earth and tie our selves to the man nearest to us.“ Only, for souls let nur life work be; only for souls until death shall set free. Let us strive as those running after earth's goals. Only for souls, only for souls." •W. f to SCIENCE VS. RELIGION By RABBI JULIUS T. LOEB, OF THE BETH-ISRAEL CONGREGATION A Day of Atonement sermon deliv- irsd before the Congregation Beth- trael on Tuatday night. It were Impossible for any human language to adequately translate Into vords the noble significance and lofty ideal ol the Yom-KIppur: a day con- werated In Israel to psychological de velopment, or the probation of the hu- ' man soul, by virtue of repentance and or reconciliation with God and man. Not merely a fast day or day of afflic tion: but principally a day of spiritual edification, a "Sabbath of Sabbaths," which Is to give rest to our bodily func- ; ms; to lift us out of all the engross ing materialism, and to open up our reasoning faculties to the better appre ciation of life's duties. Shut out en tirely from the busy turmoil of the material worid, from the cares and drudgeries of dally life, with their cus tomary allurements and stultifying In fluence*, we are on this day Invested with the pure and holy atmosphere of ober thought and earnest medltntlon. Ve are brought, as it were,, In touch “Ith our better selves. In sacred com munion with the Divine Presence (text: Leviticus xvl, 80), "for on this day shall He make atonement for you, to cleanse you, thnt ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord." (>n this blessed day ample means Is forded us for the atonement of our souls before the Lord.' On this day free scope Is given to the monitor that dwells within the Inmost recesses of heart—the human conscience—to assert Itself In our resolves for good. lamp of the" Lord Is the sou! of man," and by means of this lamp we are enabled to throw light on our dally conduct; to institute a search Into our moral character, and If It be found wanting In those qualities which should make the perfect man and consistent Israelite, we should at once set about an Improvement /• our ways. According to Jewish doctrine, each one of the human race Is endowed with a Godly spirit, which It Is his duty to develop for his moral good: each one has within himself a portion of the divine. In Image of God, "For In the Image of God made He matt,” was really spoken of the soul. According to .Malmonides, the "Image ' God" Is reference to the substance God, which Is tho divine spirit—not the outward form. We, the descendants of the patri archs, are therefore bid to confess be fore no priest, nor saint, nor deml-god, »»ve only before the Lord of Hosts, and lo Him alone our hearts should ascend In prayer; In the fullest conviction that all mortals are alike dependent upon ihe mercy of God, as they are all alike subjected to His eternal rule. Out of fear or ostentation a man will often promise boforo his fellow man lhat which he Is either unable or un willing to fulfill. But one could never Promise it truthfully before God and his own conscience without subse- uuently making an effort to carry these promises Into practice. Hence, our rages of blessed memory have poeti cally expressed It In tho words, "Truth “ Ihe seal of God," for truth not only inscribes, but seals the human resolve for good. Thin great day of ours Is, therefore, known In the language of our sages as the day on which our fate Is sealed; as [his Is the last of the first ten days of the year which we give to God and His Jeered service, this is the crowning Point of our season of repentance. Season of Repentance. But why Is our first portion of the year a "season of repentance?" Be cause the acknowledgment of our sh/irt.comings and Imperfections at the opening of a new period In our exist- •nee, and the manifestation of our de pendency upon the grace of an all-rul- |ng nnd all-just Creator at the assump tion of life’s duties, forms the basis of •■I religion. And Yom-KIppur. the “tost earnest and most sacred day In our religion, la therefore characterized “>’ the efficacy of repentance. > I have often asked the question as Is " h Jther or not repentance la a thing mat becomes civilized beings; a* we claim to he at this so-called enllght- «ncd ace? And I answered; Repent ance not only becomes civilized beings, bttt It is the highest Ideal, the truest means of civilization, arid he Is no civilized being who feels not the sting of remorse? who has not the capability of correcting himself and of rising to a higher plane, of living with every suc ceeding year. What is civilization, If not the per fection of the human character, moral ly, mentally and physically? And now again, what la religion In Its substance? Every effort,for good, everything that makes for the betterment nnd Improve- ment of human nature under the divine law of unerring Justice, Spell these correctly, and you find therein none else but what we call "repentance.” "Repentance Is the dlvinest thing within man,” says Thomas Carlyle; and why? Because repentance Is the most significant mark of the higher na. ture of man, which distinguishes him above the beast of the earth. Man alone of all created beings can moved by repentance. The nntmal be low knows It not. Hence It Is that when you find a man slow to the awak ening of conscience It means that this man Is descending to the level of the brute. But the keener the sensitiveness of conscience the stronger tho man, and the higher his standard of moral ity. Rabbi David Phlllpson very wisely remarks with reference to this sub ject: "Raise men,” he says, "by cdu cation and trdlnlng to a proper ap preciation of the efficacy of repentance, und you will have accomplished what neither bastinado, nor exile, nor fine, nor prison cell have during these many sad centuries achieved." We can safely assert that out of one hundred offenders against the laws of a state, and of morality, there are ninety-nine—or you might ns well take In the other one hundredth part—who committed their deeds without the full knowledge of what they were doing. Insanity In Sin. Man will not commit an offense unless he be moved by a spirit of In sanity,” says the Talmud. The habit ual sinner Just merely did not stop to think It over, for lack of reasoning his conscience was gradually lulled to Bleep, and the result Is moral stagna' tlon. Hence It follows that what we all need as human creatures for the forti fication of our character and the per fection of our soul Is to pause at fre quent Intervals and think It oysr, to throw the searchlight of Investigation on our moral condition and endeavor to fortify all the weak points therein; that means—to repent and amend. In such manor only can we hope to be/ come good men, loyal citizens and use. ful members of society. From whnt we have premised we may easily comprehend that repent ance—the embodiment of religion—Is only the counterpart of civilization, and one without tho other Is simply an Impossibility. Those Individuals who still keep up their harangue—"down with religion! Away with prayer, repentance, and so, on”—they are away behind the times, and are hopelessly below the standard of civilization. For olcr.g with the progress of the ages religion Is tower- mg high, spreading Its benign wings over all reasoning beings and con stantly aiding In effecting the cultiva tion of the human mind and character. The salutary Influence of religion Is going from strength to strength and permeating all sections and spheres amid the human family. There Is scarcely a man prominent In human affairs, or filling a high and responsi ble position In the world, who Is not animated by sentiments of religion. The newer discoveries and scientific researches have only opened up newer avenues for religious thought. Will Never Cease. Religion l« not a technical contri vance, nor a mere philosophy, which soon should give way to any newer mode of thinking; but It Is the ever present attribute of him that Is created n the Image of God, and, as was well exorcised by one of our modem pnl- lcs.iphcrs: "Religion will cease only with man. not among men. Whatever the outward form* or re man with Ood, tho Divine Presence; »he constant yearning of the human soul after the Spirit of All. The slogan "Science Versus Religion" is a mere chimera. Science may well form Its technical construction round nature, origin and* growth; It may either prove or disprove certain doc trines or theories; it may put Into op eration that all-pervading force Known us electricity, end may show a thou sand wonders within nature; yet sci ence never will fathom tho mystery of nature's first causer never will unravel the enigma of life and death, and never r.utroot from the human heart the be lief In and knowledge of a Ood. We hear of ao many men of learning (•r gnged In psychical research, and In the various other branches of science, who ufter many years of study nnd sci entific Investigation have pronounced themselves confirmed believers In God. Upon his discovery of n "plurality of Inhabited worlds" a Camille Klamma- rlon stops, gases In wonderment nt tho vast pnnortima spread before his eyes, the countless worlds set In array throughout the boundless expanse of tho universe; all governed nnd pre- H-rved In a wonderfully harmonious or der by a master hand that Is Invisible nnd Intangible, yet existent In Its ef fect. And learning of the many worlds of existing being* which we dreamt not in our philosophies, thia savant finally learns also of the existence of a world of Spirits. 8cienco and Religion. Or when a man like the late John Ruskln, who devotes himself to tht philosophy of arts, and he finds that what mankind hitherto believed to be deprived of all life—that which wo still i RABBI JULIU3 T. LOEB. continue to call inanimate substance— that, too, lives its life and dies Its death. And Ruskln Is thus convinced of the fact that what man does not see, even If he have It before his eyes, does not signify that it is not. And could he then do It otherwise but form Ids conclusion, that ns much as tho life of the mineral kingdom below Is hld- deg from our view, yet still It Is ex istent, nnd its effect Is perfectly evi dent; so there is a Spiritual kingdom nbove, which wc can not grasp with cur ordinary senses, and whoao exist ence Is nevertheless a perfect reality. The Marconi discovery of but n few years duration has carried into prac tice a matter which so-called scientists had pronounced an utter impossibility; namely, communication by the Intangi ble. To the unreasoning mtfnd all these things are, perhaps, of little conse quence. An additional planet discov ered by the astronomer, another com position of the various quartses found by tho scientist, or the demonstration of a marvelous communicative power In the Invisible world, may not Interest him that Is praoccuplod with selfish thing*, but ipunt Interest every believer In God who may feel the truth that "the heavens relate 'the glory of God;' and the expanso telleth of the work;* of Hla hands." We who are enjoined to think must learn therefrom the In significance of our own wisdom and the nothingness of our earthly strength, In the preaence of Almighty Providence, end of Nature, unconquerable and* in-, searchable, which Is but a wonderful emanation from Him alone. Qt» tills most sacred day of ours, when we come to atone for our souls before the Lord, It Is especially our duty to feci that we are In His Divine presence, that tl Is day and every day we are In His safe keeping, and that by Him wo are animated and prompted to do good, In manner as our wise teachers have dictated to us; that Is, by means of penitence, prayer and benevolence. •Penitence" being the proper realisa tion of the rules and duties of life which wc may have overstepped. And SUPREME POWER Terse Comments on tho Uniform Prayor .looting Topic of the Young People’s Societies—Christian Endeavor, Baptist Young People's Union, Epworth League, Etc.—For. September 22, “God's Omnipotence," 1 Chron. 29: 9-13. By WILLIAM T. ELLIS Calmness comes from a contempla tion of the almlxhtlnesa of Jehovah. The Lord relgneth." God’s In His heaven—all’s right with the world.” 4 No other truth can Impart quietness nnd confidence to a worker for human ity's betterment Ilk. this one of the omnipotence of the Infinite. In the end. God will have His way. And Hie way Is man's welfare. - He who opposes the locomotive’s progress may quail before Its power; rot he who rides In the train may re joice In that power All of a Christian’s power Is Imparted power. tlon?" The answer of all these, except the few Christians, was unequivocally that Japan would never become a Christian nation. Viewing the subject upon a purely national basts, und after considering the visible evidence, they were Justified In tills conclusion, tho other hand, a fuller Investigation of the subject, especially In the light of the strength and purpose of the Jnpa nese Christians, tends to the conclusion that Japan will become a Christian na. tlon. The factor that the statesmen nnd public men Ignore Is God. The supernatural element Is first to be reck oned with. Because God In His om nipotence Is manifestly In tho Japanese church. It will yet conquer Its heathen environment. One of the marvels of grace Is that God’s omnipotence permltidtself to be linked to man's Impotence. "Hitch your wagon to a star," cried Emerson. Better than that figurative exhortation Is the plain advice to link your life to the fife of God, becoming a partaker of the divine energy. That way lies conquest. They prevail who are strengthened by the might of Om nipotence. Barriers have been falling for centuries before the Christian Church, simply because the mysterious °/hti^L t Vhrolf^h "f'hrtji which.' slew progress, or apparent defeat, of 5KJSL2HT cried thS ,*onlel the cause he serves. He hi tempted etrengtherteth me, cried the people. o(ten to , U rrender all. Then It Is that . .... . , . ... ., . _ !hc needs to plant hla feet firmly on the A child goes driving with his father, > vul| abstract truths of God and justice. ‘The misery of life," says F. B. Mey. "will not be to be In the hand of God, but to be outside the hand of God." Every reformer has his daySof dis couragement. He Is cast down at the and pleads to hold the reins. He la per-1 mltted to do so—above where the fa-; tiler's hand grips them. The real guld- ance and control Is with the father. As I little children we chafe and fret to be; given free rein over the world within I and without; but we are safe only w'henj an the omnipotence of the Infinite Is "** — “ pledged to the support and ultimate “For right Is right, since God Is God, And right the day must win. To doubt would be disloyalty. To falter would be tin.” we let the hand of Omnipotence control. The power of the father Is the pro- tcctlon and peace of the child. A year ago In Japan I talked with her statesmen, editors, soldier* and ..JKSraT ideal thereof Is everlaet- other public men upon the question, !«ly the It U the alliance of "Will Japan become a Christian na- victory of servants of truth. As Brown ing puts It, "I trust In God—the right shall bo right. And other than the wrong, while He endures." force that ever dares to defy the om nipotence of God. That Is the human will, to which he has given the power to resist His power. Only that sign nnd seal of man's divinity—his freedom of will to make choice between good and evil—Is able to say to Jehovah, "I will not.” The plants beneath our feet, the wind that blow* In our faces, the star* that ehlne above our heads, all these nre Implicitly obedient to the Omnipo tent Ruler. Man Is the only rebel. And I smiled to think Ood's greatness flowed around our Incompleteness, Round our restlessness His rest. —Elizabeth Barrett Browning. SEVEN-SENTENCE SERMONS. I find the great thing In this world Is not so much where we stand, aa In what direction we are going.—O. W. Holmes. Speak not but what may benefit oth ers or yourself; avoid trifling conver sation—Franklin. Know then this truth, enough for men to know, Virtue alone Is happiness below. —Pope. It Is not what stays In our memories, but what lias passed Into our charac ter that Is tbe possession of our lives.— Phillips Brooks. The tendency to persevere, to persist In spite of hindrances, discouragements, and Impossibilities; It Is this that In all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak.—Carlyle. The key of yesterday I threw away. And now, too late. Before tomorrow'* close-locked gate Helpless I stand—In vein to pray! In vain to sorrewl Only the key of yesterday Unlocks tomorrow! —Anon. There Is no place where so much hard work can be put In with such small visible results a* In the perfecting of character; therefore, have patience, In all the universe there Is only one my aoul.—Anon. this to be urcompanled by our sincere prayer before God thnt He may help us In our endeavors for good, and with the practleo of "benevolence." that Is. "good will," toward all mankind. And those Ideals arc Inculcated In the tex: we have chosen for our consideration. "For or. this day ho shall atone fot you" by nieana of repentance; to cleansa you by the pure and sincere outpouring of your devoted hearts: that Is, prayer; ond before tne Lord you ehnll be cleansed from all your elns, Is dofined by our sages of the Mlshnah. Make Restitution. Offenses of man against mnn Yom Klppur will not atone for, unless one would own up his guilt to Ills neigh bor ond ninko restitution therefor. Rabbi Elozor-Ben-Azarjah deducts this from the third clause of the text. "Of all your sins ye shall be cleansed before the Lord.” Before entering the presence of God wc must remove from our hearts every motive of Ill-feeling, envy, tnallec or hatred toward each other and the world at large. And In such manner only can wc pope to be cleansed from guilt, purified nnd reconciled with Ood and man. » This, our Yom-KIppur, stand* forth In Its awful significance and solemnity above all the days of the year, and Is so rigidly emblematic of the school of en durance 111 which Ihe Jewish people have been trained nnd the affliction to which they were subjected at all times. We now live In an age of Investigation, and I can picture to myself how many of the outer world ask it In silence: Now, what Is there In the Jew ish Yom-KIppur? What profit Is there In the fasting; Jn th* penitence and the prayer? And why Is It really so that If one wants to "get smart" and help himself lo a good dinner on Yom-KIppur, that the Injunction Is held out against him, "An/k that soul shall be cut off from amidst his people," To nccount for the Importance of the YOm-KIppur, to Know what the Yom-KIppur ho* done for us In times post and present. It will suffice to say that this day, this once a yenr calls the roll of our people together and places us all before Ood aa one united Israel. This day has thus saved us from moral degeneration under such trying circumstances which would crush any other element under their weight. This day has taught us of steadfastness and sturdiness of char acter. And If the Jewish character Is a mystery, the Yom-KIppur may offer the key to this mystery. Many, of course, look upon the Jew with no end of amazement. "These Jews certainly are a peculiar race,” they say. Why are they so stiff necked? Why can’t they give up the fight against an overwhelming major ity? Why are they so reduced, and yet so conspicuous? Whr are they so few and yet virtually filling the earth? So degraded and yet so Influential? They are likened unto the "dust of the ground," and likewise unto the "stars of heaven^' The Jewish Nature. Why can a Jew economise In the smallest degree, and he can spend so lavishly as to outstrip the multt-tnll- llonalre? Why Is the Jew craving for the favor of every nation, only to become the benefactor of the nation that favored him? Why Is the Jew so poor, and yet so rich, so frugal and so benevolent? Why Is It that he offers a contrast to the worid, even in his natu ral habits? Why can a Jew drink to his heart's content, nnd yet he.i»—Is 1 rule, exempt from the cotnnf ague gf excessive drink which shs, n Its thousands? For an answer to these questions look to his religion, to this blessed Klppur day and the other biblical ordi nances. See him endure today's fast cheerfully and call It a Yom-Tov, n "feast day," a holy convocation among the other set feasts of the year, where on he Is bid to "rejoice before the Lord,” by eating, drinking and sharing the bounties of nature, together with the poor ond the needy ones of the land. Study the nature of the Jewish sacred Institutions and you will find their intent and purpose to uphold the equilibrium of body and soul; to realise the truth that "for everything there It a tight Amen. season, and a time Is for every pursuit under the heavens." To know how to suit the time for everything; to set bounds to all enrthly things: to enjoy the blessings of llto with proper moderation, and thus to maintain the equanimity of substance ami soul, .Is the secret of life, and the fulfillment of life's duties. We Jews are taught to lead a well- balanced life, and to avoid extremes In nny direction. Our religion Is a re ligion of life, and save only for this one day In the year, which It enforce* most rigidly, and the few days of Jew ish national mourning over the lose of the temple, as Instituted by the sages, the Jewish religion permits of no fast ing and no self-mortlficatlon. It de mands us to be men and women fully alive to all responsibilities, as well aato all sensibilities of life. Asceticism, prohibition or teetotallsm of any sort nre strange to the Jewish spirit, nnd strictly prohibited by the Jewish law. We find not In tho entire history of Judaism a single ono of our patriarchs, prophets, priests and snges, who were sent to onllghton tbo world... thnt they should have made a practice of any of these things, , Prohlbitien Question. On these grounds I have had occasion some time ago to oppose a movement for total abstinence In Washington, D. C. Yet the overwhelming wave of pro. hlbltlnn thnt recently swept over this Georgian state, nnd by nn act of legls- dature has wiped out the further traffic of alcoholic hovemge from Its terri tory, was Just following In the wake of , an ocean of excessive drinking. And this Is a perfectly natural manifesta tion, ns one extreme would always bring on another. From whnt I have learned subsequently It appears that people here had carried the matter too In their excesses, while the liquor deal- 'ers In this place simply Ignored all the laws of morality and public decency until the citizens could endure It no longer, and the result followed In the overthrowel of the entire branch of ‘ Industry. For thus It Is that one ex treme will always be repaid by another extreme—"measure against measure,” Is the penalty meted out In the course of nature. I am glad of one thing, however, that all Jewish cltlsen* here are elated over the passage of tho prohibition bill, W'hleh, they say, will wipe away dis grace from the Jewish name on ac count of the sins of a few. Even Jew* engaged In this line of Industry have expressed themselves before mo as be ing exceedingly glad to get rid of the thing that proved detrimental to the Ihtereats of the community. The Jew can easily adapt himself to circum stances, and I am sure that those of our people hitherto engaged In the liquor trade will soon find employment In other directions, end will never re gret the change. By the observance of the Tom-KIp- pur and of other sacred Inetltutlons of the ancient faith, the Jew hns learned to get along without drinking whenever this be necessary; to sacrifice his own comfort and ease to the public cause, and willingly to yield up even his means of gaining a livelihood In order to ren der himself at one with all the world. As ordinary children of nmn. we Jews have an equal claim with all the rest of our fellow creatures on the blessings of nature and nature’s God, and hence It is our duty, under alt circumstances, to contribute our share to the welfare and prosperity of the place wherein our lot Is east. But as Israelites It Is especial ly Incumbent upon us to strive and la bor. to long and pray for the realiza tion of that end for which our religion, for which In truth all religion, stands: namely, a reconciliation with Ood and man, the principal purpose for which this most sacred day Is designed. Let us then know how to value and profit by this day of grace which God ios so mercifully vouchsafed unto us, and let this day beget In us the strength of character and the radiance of the higher life for wklch we are to strive during all our days on earth. And may God accept In mercy cur fasting and prayer. May He bless and protect us and pervade our souls with heavenly