SUNDAY READING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9142, 25 August 1888, Page 4 (Supplement)

SUNDAY READING.

THE PROGRAMME OF CHRISTIANITY.

[by professor dkummond.] The gifted author of " Natural Law in the Spiritual World" evidently has a firm hold on "Intellectual London." A noble and richly-decorated room at Grosvenor House (kindly lent by the Duke of Westminster) was crowded by an audience consisting exclusively of men, and very largely of young men. Lords and M.P.'s were there by the score. Precisely at four o'clok Mr. Drummond came upon the platform, hat and stick in hand, followed by the Earl of Aberdeen, who presided. There was no introductory service, no hymns, and no prayer. The Earl simply made a few explanatory remarks as to the way in which these gatherings originated, and then the Professor " went ahead." He does not wish his addresses fully reported, probably because he will repeat them elsewhere. He began by saying that Christianity was the only workable religion—the one which lasts and produces fruits of any importance. God has revealed this religion by the lips and life of a Messenger— that Messenger divine or was He human? That does not affect the message. Where does humanity end and divinity begin? This Messenger was so like a man that Unitarianism is possible, and He was so like a god that Trinitarianism is possible. This does not affect His message. Then the speaker went on to remark that religion did not consist in going to church. Thousands of Christians never go to church, and thousands who are not Christians always go to church. Nor does it consist in believing doctrine. Thousands of Christians believe scarcely any doctrine, and thousands who are not Christians believe all the doctrines. To be a Christian is to be a member of the society of Jesus. Christianity is meant to be more of an inspiration than a fixed and formal institution. If it has not done its work, that simply means that Christians have failed to grasp its full meaning. Socialism simply flourishes on the shortcomings of Christianity. Young men foing to the East End find that the mission alls are not working for the welfare of the poor, for their education, and for their amusement, and so they set up an opposition work. That, of course, is the narrowness of breadth. We have no business to be intolerant with a man who is doing a part of Christianity. Speaking of Socialism, Mr. Drummond said :—Socialism and Christianity are one in the belief that all men are brothers. Socialism got that from Christianity. Socialism and Christianity are one in their regard for the poor and in their idea that every man must labour for the good of the whole. But Christianity must ever be opposed to the revolutionary Socialism of this country, and especially of the Continent. Then the Professor referred to a leaflet which had been distributed throughout the audience, and of which the following is a copy— THE PROGRAMME OF CHRISTIANITY. I To preach Good Tidings unto the Meek. I To bind up the Broken-hearted. To proclaim Liberty to the Captives, and the opening of the Prison to them that are bound. To proclaim the Acceptable Year of the Lord, and the day of Vengeance of pup Qod. To comfort all that Mourn, To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion. To give unto them Beauty for ashes, The Oil of Joy for Mourning, The Garment of Praise for the Spirit of Heaviness. Speaking of the first words of this programme (a programme which contained, he said, everything the world needed) he continued —The message of Secularism to the working-man is "assert yourself." Christ's message is "efface yourself." The only property a man need be' anxious to possess is character. The meek possess the earth by not being possessed by it. A miser does not possess the gold; it possesses him. Referring to the second line. *' To bind up the broken-hearted," he said Militant philanthropy cannot touch a man heart. Philo-

Sophy cannot touch it. But into all the folds of man's nature, <W i- 11 attends to his body and environs' 1,1 philosophy does something for ht ' ■ an ' l but, when a man's heart is broken ™ v," 1 " 1 ' 1 > bind it up? His heart is aS I ho •*> thing than his pocket. In alnL\ ltlva house you will find a heart that is shaH Ve 7 We have discovered that life is =\ tt€re 'l. AiiXSiSt 1 ' 5 o t ' a? it r^r stands or falls by that test. Phi?, l \ Socialism cannot free a man from th» f y » anc * of a besetting sin. But we knnw th ! ters have been set free from temptation ! m ? religion of Christ. The great credenH the Christianity is a Christian-a man wWi of been set free by Christ. As an illui of how this was done, Mr. Drum, "? imagined a man going without food f?°" d considerable time. At last he reach a hotel footsore, weary, and half-starved'V calls loudly for food, but a telegram \ 6 into his hands which tells him tlat hil is dead. He is hungry no longer ' r V* passion of grief he loses his liassion'f.i'f , 4 Thus Christianity puts man. Sin is abashed in the 'f ° a Christ. "He that abideth in llim\?nn 1 not." Socialism must confess itself hi"? 1 when it comes to deal with a beast— who has allowed the animal to * e t-h* V, mail hand. But Christianity says, " Thou-»lf r sins be as scarlet, they shall be as whirl'" 1 ' snow." e * 3

Inclosing, Professor Drummond said th + the Kingdom of God was not lnelan, }<" gloom, and sadness. It was righteous,**'' peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. The In piest people in the world were the new?" who forgot all about themselves and lii! 1 for others. Regarding sceptics, he saidChristianity does not say to you "s "7" your soul, but, " Save your life." If' VO ua» not sure about the other life, save thi- lif We have not to prove religion, but to do the will of God and lay down our life for others Thus I have given a most unworthy sketch of a simple, but very remarkable add re f which riveted the interest and attention* 8 } the audience. I noticed that Sir Wilf.-'i Lawson and many other well-known niln were taking copious notes. After the jv feasor had closed, he offered a few word/°f earnest prayer, and his hearers slowly di persed, many of them lingering outride t<, discuss the impressive and interesting ad dress to which they had just listen!.,! Christian World. i.—

HOW AN UNCONVERTED MAN SHOULD READ HIS BIBLE. N [by DWIGHT L. moody.] Only the other night a lady came to me and said, " There are many things in the Bible I cannot understand." No doubt about that God says the carnal mind cannot understand spiritual things, and the Bible is a spiritual Book. How can the unregeuerate heart un derstand the Bible? Well, you say, if i t a sealed Book, how am I going to fie saved'' Well, when God put salvation before the world, He put that very plain. The Word of God may be darkened to the natural man but the way of salvation is written so plain that the little child can understand it if h 8 will. Take this passage and see it you cmnot understand it:— The Spirit and "the Bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come; and let him that is athirst come." Are not many of you thirsty God says, Come. "And whosever will' let him take the water of life freely.' Then, you know what it is to take a gift? God puts salvation before you as a gift. "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not, but, as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God." You can understand that? "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." You know what it is to believe At any rate, you know what it is to trust, to commit your soul to the Lord Jesus Christ—that is all. There are dark and mysterious things in the Bible now, but, when you be<rin to trust Christ, your eyes will be opened, and the Bible will be a new Book to you. Many things that are dark and mysterious to you to-day. to-morrow will have a new beauty, It wul become the Book of books to you. To-day Christ may be a root out of a 'dry ground, without form or comeliness ; but He will become to you the chiefest anion;' tea thousand, the altogether lovely, the bright, the morning star, if you take Him as your Saviour. Then you will understand" the Bible.

No book in the world has been so misguided as the Bible. Men judge it without reading it. Or perhaps they read a bit here and a bit there, and then close it. savin", "It is so dark and mysterious You take a book nowadays, and read it. Someone asks you what you think about it. " Well," you say, " I have only read it through once, not very carefully and I should not like to give an opinion." Yet people take up God's Book, read a few pages, and condemn tk whole of it. Of all the sceptics or intidelsl have ever met speaking against the Bible, I have never met one who read it through. There may be such men, but I have never met them. There is no man living who will stand up before God and say that it kept him out of the Kingdom. It is the devil's work trying to make us believe it is not true, and that it is dark and mysterious. The only way to overcome the great enemy of souls is by the written Word of God. He knows that, and so tries to make men disbelieve it. As soon as a man is a true believer in the Word of God, he is a conqueror over Satan. Young man, the Bible is true. What have these infidels to give you in its place? Every nation that exalteth the Word of God is exalted, and every nation that casteth ic down is cast down. Oh, let us cling close to the Bible. Of course, we shall not understand it all at once. But men are not to condemn it on that account. Suppose I should send my little boy, five years old, to school to-morrow morning, and, when he came home in the afternoon, 1 say to him, " Willie, can you read? can you write? can you spell? l)o you understand all about algebra, geometry, Hebrew, Latin, and Greek?" " Why, papa," the little fellow would say, "how funny you talk ; 1 have been all day trying to learn the ABC !" Well, suppose I should reply, " If you have not finished your education, you need not go any more." What Would you say? Why, you would say I had gone mad. There would be just about as much reason in that as in the way that people talk about the Bible. My friends, the men who have studied the Bible for 30 years— wise men and the scholars, the great theologians —have never got down to the depths of it yet. There are truths there that the Church of God has been searching out for the last 1800 years, but no man has fathomed the depths of that ever-living stream.