Teue religion, T chink we all shall agree, will contain borh parts, both the inward, quiet, contemplation of God, and the outward works of Ip; one without the other is useless, unprofitable. to me, because there is a continual swing of the pendulum in this matter of religious emphasis, so that at one time the Siren of religion ts thought esntemplation, at another time! activity. There is a need for us continually to be adjusting—ourselves in order mot to lose the balanced thought, the balanced life, of day, there is no doubt where the emphasis lay. Religion—was conceived as the doing or not doing of things. There was the Pharisee, you remember, who gave thanks to God been use of the things he did—fasting thrice a week, giving tithes of all he possessed," praying regularly, Devotional fervour, the reaching out into the beyond, were suspect, were not understood, were not practised. Was it for this Yeason, T wonder, that Jesus emphasized the need for quiet devotional service to God as supplementary to works of active help?
In our own day, reverse is true. We are sti situation, though I believe slowly coming out of it, when religion is conceived as apart from the everyday business of the world. Fifty Yours ago, a great English historian wrote that the spokesmen of religion leave the present world to the men of business and the devil, Seven years ago, the then British Prime Minister warned his hearers of the catastrophe which would inevitably follow if the Church crosses the Rubicon which divides the outlying province of the Spirit from the secular capital of public affairs. Today, many men criticize the Chuseh and organized religion because. it spends too much of its time in devotional exercises, too little in works of practical help. 'The time is now due, sny many men, for the Church to' put less" emphasis on services, and more on service, Leave the comfort of the cloister, they say, leave the peaceful quiet of the altar, and come down into the noisy streets; leave your subtleties nnd bring a practical Gospel for men who perish for the need of it.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.