Feilding Wesleyan Church

Feilding Star, Volume XII, Issue 141, 21 May 1891, Page 3

Feilding Wesleyan Church

Last Sunday morning, Mr G. Grant *preached in the above church. His text was - 1 Tim.,'. 4-8. " But godliness is profitable unto all things." He said : — There is a charm to us all in his wordprofitable. Ifc is'parfc and parcel of our nature, and the desire for gain has,undoubtedly been planted there by our Maker, but the destroyer has taken possession "of fchat part of our nature, and he has perverted fchat which God meant to become to us the *maiuspnng of activity, ■and thus it happens that many a promising runner in the race of life has his powers-distracted and his , hopes blasted. He (the preacher) knew of nothing in the Bible whi-h condemned a man for being * rich. He did know that " The hand of the diligent maketh rich, " but it seemed to him that riches have nothing to do with' the great end' of life, and of that which is to come, and " Woe be to that man who sells his soul for nought. " True religion, "and that whioh ifc p;o. ided is godlikeness. The word religion means bound back to God as a" child is bound back to its father, that is—yielding ourselves q him. Men ask " what does ifi profit ?" They tell us, it is a will o* the wisp ; that it is nofc obeying the higher ( powers of man ; that it is irrational, and say further we are as good as you with i your religion.' There are those who say I we cannot be sure ifc Js true. We make science our godliness, health our happiness, and thus we get agnosticism. But, let us rather take our stand on this rock, the inspired Word of God. Godliness is profitable to man physically, and this question of physique is a great and a right" question in our day, and it is a -Bimple delusion to say that "as am an's health" goes down his piety goes up ;" but we bless God that this is a gospel of consolation fco those .who are in a low condition physically. As a proof of the healthy •effects of Christianity he would guarantee that godly, men have the.- advantage ; and why ? Because "it is pape that kills." God has communicated to us powers whiclvwhen we turn them against ourselves, work our .death, and these powers are so. tremendous they are, when let loose, ,as Lord Byron said, "* like mad horses ;" nothing will giye a man control' over himself like godliness. The Christian man is better intellectually. We have but to think a moment to see fchafc the mighty intellects of the world are in Christ's kingdom, and that their greatness is the result of Christ's teaching. We have all looked upon a landscape" when under a thick cloud. We feel it lacks something, but let the sun break through the clouds and light up the scenery. It is the same scene, but how different to look upon. Religion is the sunlight in a ■ i_isn's life; that is fche meaning of the prayer of the Psalmist when he says " Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon *us." If we live among the noble and fche and the pure, and in communion with God, think you that will have no -effect upon us ? It will make our mind.* and it will perfeot our intellect. We shall be better for godliness in our morals, in ■our adversity, better iv life and better in 4_eath, for he that is Christ's is heir of all things. — Communicated.