Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 115, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 May 1912 — BACCALAUREATE SERMON REPLETE WITH ADVICE. [ARTICLE]

BACCALAUREATE SERMON REPLETE WITH ADVICE.

Df. r. H. Hume Delivered Splendid Address to. Graduates, Enron rag* ing Them to Best Efforts. Although the, night was very I*nir favorable from the weather standpoint, a large audience went to the Christian church to listen to the baccalaureate sermon delivered to the graduating class by Dr. R. H. Hume, of Springfield, Ohio. Other churches dispensed with their services and the ministers all attended the events in which the graduating class is the cen ter of interest. .Contrary to the customary plan, the other events do not follow within the week, but will take place nest week. • It was 7:45 when the graduating class marched into the main auditorium from one of the class rooms. They were followed by the high school teachers and all were seated in the front ceiiter .seats. They created a very favorable impression and many complimentary things were said about .their excellent appearance. Mrs. J. L. Brady presided at the organ playing as the graduates marched in. The Singing.of the Doxology followed. Rev. Harper then offered an invocation and the Presbyterian choir sang “Praise Ye the Father.” Rev, Winn then read the Scriptural lesson and Rev. Cross offered prayer. The choir then sang “Consider and Hear Me.” The music was of a high order and the choir received many compliments.

DT". Hume was then introduced and announced his text to be “ I press toward the mark,” the first clause of the 14th verse of the 3rd chapter of the Epistle of Paul. Dr. Hume related the story of Paul’s letter, saying that . it was among the best of the apostlals letters. Its tone is loving, its compliments are generous and kindly, Its advice is tender and its sentiments pure and lofty and it forms a suitable basis for the meditations which we may now indulge in. “If I can employ this splendid aim of Paul’s as a means of putting thoughts into your, minds, purposes into your hearts and aid you to secure the power to express the thoughts with your lips, I shall hav« accomplished much for you, shall have. pleased God, whom I passionately love and have secured personal satisfaction in having been the means of inspiring you to realize that to aspire as Paul did to perfect living is still the noblest purpose of mankind.” “Have* a mark toward which to aim, have a single lofty ambition, and devote all the energies of your life toward its accomplishment. A great majority of people have no definite aim and countless lives are wrecked while drifting unguided on the stream of life. First of all, have a destination and with your mind and 'heart and all your faculties centered on reaching the goal, place your ship in the hands of a skillful and fearless engineer and steqr ahead. Do not se£ your hearts on places of position and fame, for they are as naught Compared to the noble purpose of living near to Christ in all that you do. Do things that are genuinely true, the very best in your hearts, the best in your minds and the purest in your souls. The man at the engine, the accountant at the desk, the girl in the home may accomplish more than persons who are prominent in- the holding of positions or the accumulation of wealth. Humble positions sometimes call for the execution of the highest art and you may reach nearest the goal and never attract attention in your lives. It is not the labor in which you are engaged, but the purpose you have and the thought you give it and the manner in which, you meet your calling.

“The Father asks two things, the best thoughts and the best efforts to accomplish the thoughts you have. “Wisdom is the gift of God and is not to be found in the heavens above or the earth below. Wisdom is living wisely, living with God and having God within you. Many go to colleges who are never heard of afterwards. Some have no aim, no ambition, no purpose, no mark,'and make no use of the opportunities which God has placed on every hand and which our civilization has made so possible he turn to the glory of God. Let your aim be the highest, choose Your calling with the determination to succeed in it. After you have chosen it, continue to think that it 16 the mightiest calling in the world and make the most of it. In selecting your calling, first find out that you are suited for it This is essential to bring ont the best in your soul, heart and mind. Select for your calling the one in which you think you can best serve your fellowmen. 1 have learned to despise the man who lives for self alone. Make your life so earnest in your calling that you can do only the right thing, BslSßr.'- ■ - .. ;

and can never do the wrong tiling. “I wish for each of you a vision of Christ. I want each of you to see and to follow, to hear and obey. All that >ou are,, ail that you can hope to be, must be linked with Christ' if you reach the mark toward which you uhn, it must b& with His aid. If you diacredit Christ. all your training and ■reparation is worthless. “Five essential things occur to me as necessary in the accomplishment ui -effective results. First conies preparation or training, next the ability *.o command yourself according to your trajging, then the ability of coneentratioh, then of application-and last of sacrifice - 1 cap not look intQ your . faces without-fear and trembling, for I know that unites you are different from any other large class that ever graduated some of you will fail, some will take the wrong road, some will be sattstied to do nothing. To these education has done no good. Let me appeal to you on the part of the Savior td throw yourselves into His arms and follow Him with your eyes turned to the goal of your ambition. With His aid there is no such thing as failure. “In conclusion, let me beseech each of you this night to kneel at your bedside and ask Him to raise the veil and let you see the mark "and then tomorrow, strong in your confidence in His loving, kindness, set out to win it with never ending effort. If you are tine to your aim and keep Christ ever within your lives, He will put the best things into your lives “each day and make your lives happy with' the burden of your effort. After your prayer, take up your Bible and write across a page, ‘I press toward the mark.’ Write your name beneath and plead with God to help you win your crown.” ~Di\ Hume’s address was 'one "of the ablest sermons ever delivered in liens selaer and he held the closest attention of the audience and the seed he sowed should find response in the splendid class of young men and young women who are soon to leave the school room for the problems of life. The service was closed with the singing of the “Coronation” and the benediction pronounced by Rev. Hume.