,transcriber's ,note3 ,italics are indicated by underscores4 ,daily quotations from published prayers1 which are italicised here and in the original1 have been indented4 ,bolding is indicated by equal signs4 ,daily quotations from ,scripture1 which are bolded here and in the original1 have also been indented4 ,small capitals have been rendered in upper case4 ,inconsistencies in spelling 7e4g4 ,savior and ,saviour7 and in hyphenation have been retained4 ,in the two chemical formulae in ,chapter #d is followed by a superscript and by a subscript4 ,minor changes have been made to the format of biblical references2 and corrections made to apparent punctuation errors elsewhere in the text4 ,the ,meaning of ,faith ,,harry ,,emerson ,,fosdick ,,author ,,of ,,the ,,manhood ,,of ,,the ,,master1 ,,the ,,meaning ,,of ,,prayer1 ,,the ,,challenge ,,of ,,the ,,present ,,crisis1 ,,etc4 ,,association ,,press ,,new ,,york3 #cdg ,,madison ,,avenue #aibb ,,copyright1 #aiag1 ,,by ,,the ,,international ,,committee ,,of ,,young ,,men',s ,,christian ,,associations ,printed in the ,united ,states of ,america ,the ,bible ,text used in this volume is taken from the ,american ,standard ,edition of the ,revised ,bible1 copyright #aija1 by ,thomas ,nelson ,sons1 and is used by permission4 ,,to ,,my ,,mother ,,in ,,memoriam ',tis human fortune's happiest height to be ,a spirit melodious1 lucid1 poised1 and whole2 ,second in order of felicity ,to walk with such a soul4 ,,preface ,a book on faith has been for years my hope and intention4 ,and now it comes to final form during the most terrific war men ever waged1 when faith is sorely tried and deeply needed4 ,direct discussion of the war has been purposely avoided2 the issues here presented are not confined to those which the war suggests2 but many streams of thought within the book flow in channels that the war has worn4 ,since the conflict had to come1 ,i am glad for this book's sake that it was not written until it had ,europe's holocaust for a background4 ,against one misunderstanding the reader should be guarded4 ,if anyone approaches these studies1 expecting to find detailed and special views of ,christian doctrine1 he will be disappointed4 ,the perplexities of mind and life and the affirmations of religious faith1 with which these studies deal1 lie far beneath sectarian doctrinal controversy4 ,i have tried to make clear a foundation on which faith might build its thoughts of ,christian truth4 ,and while ,i have spoken freely of ,god and ,christ and the ,spirit1 of the ,cross and life eternal1 ,i have not intended or endeavored a complete theology4 ,i have had in mind that elemental matter of which ,carlyle was thinking when he wrote3 ,the thing a man does practically lay to heart1 and know for certain concerning his vital relations to the mysterious ,universe1 and his duty and destiny there1 that is in all cases the primary thing for him1 and creatively determines all the rest4 ,that is his religion4 ,as in ,the ,meaning of ,prayer1 the ,scripture has been used for the basis and interpretation of the daily thought4 ,the ,bible is our supreme record of man's experience with faith2 it recounts in terms of life faith's sources and results1 its successes and failures1 its servants and its foes4 ,and because faith is not a tour de force of intellect alone1 but is an act of life1 prayers have been used for the expression of aroused desire and resolution4 ,my indebtedness to many helpers is very great4 ,but to my friend and colleague1 ,professor ,george ,albert ,coe1 my gratitude is so definitely due for his careful reading of the manuscript1 that the book should not go out lacking an acknowledgment4 ,h4 ,e4 ,f4 ,december #ae1 #aiag4 ,,acknowledgments ,special acknowledgment is gladly made to the following3 to ,e4 ,p4 ,dutton ,company for permission to use prayers from ,a ,chain of ,prayer ,across the ,ages and from ,the ,temple1 by ,w4 ,e4 ,orchard1 ,d4,d42 to the ,rev4 ,samuel ,mc,comb and the publishers for permission to quote from ,a ,book of ,prayers1 ,copyright1 #aiab1 ,dodd1 ,mead ,company2 to the ,american ,unitarian ,association for permission to draw upon ,prayers1 by ,theodore ,parker2 to the ,pilgrim ,press and the author for permission to use selections from ,prayers of the ,social ,awakening1 by ,dr4 ,rauschenbusch2 to the ,missionary ,education ,movement for permission to make quotations from ,thy ,kingdom ,come1 by ,ralph ,e4 ,diffendorfer2 to ,fleming ,h4 ,revell ,co41 for permission to make use of ,a ,book of ,public ,prayer1 by ,henry ,ward ,beecher2 and to the publishers of ,james ,martineau's ,prayers in the ,congregation and in ,college1 ,longmans1 ,green ,co4 ,none of the above material should be reprinted without securing permission4 ,,contents ,,chapter ,,page ,,preface vii ,i4 ,,faith ,,and ,,life',s ,,adventure #a ,,ii4 ,,faith ,a ,,road ,,to ,,truth #bf ,,iii4 ,,faith ,,in ,,the ,,personal ,,god #ea ,,iv4 ,,belief ,,and ,,trust #gg ,v4 ,,faith',s ,,intellectual ,,difficulties #ajc ,,vi4 ,,faith',s ,,greatest ,,obstacle #abi ,,vii4 ,,faith ,,and ,,science #aeh ,,viii4 ,,faith ,,and ,,moods #ahd ,,ix4 ,,faith ,,in ,,the ,,earnest ,,god #baj ,x4 ,,faith ,,in ,,christ ,,the ,,savior3 ,,forgiveness #bcg ,,xi4 ,,faith ,,in ,,christ ,,the ,,savior3 ,,power #bfc ,,xii4 ,,the ,,fellowship ,,of ,,faith #bhi ,,scripture ,,passages ,,used ,,in ,,the ,,daily ,,readings #caf ,,sources ,,of ,,prayers ,,used ,,in ,,the ,,daily ,,readings #cag ,,publishers' ,,note ,the complex subject of ,faith has required an extended treatment1 which has made the present volume much longer than the author's previous works4 ,every item of expense connected with publishing has greatly increased even within the past few months1 and1 to the regret1 alike of publisher and author1 it has been found necessary to charge more for this volume than for ,the ,meaning of ,prayer and ,the ,manhood of the ,master4 ,,chapter ,i ,faith and ,life's ,adventure ,,daily ,,readings ,discussion about faith generally starts with faith's reasonableness2 let us begin with faith's inevitableness4 ,if it were possible somehow to live without faith1 the whole subject might be treated merely as an affair of curious interest4 ,but if faith is an unescapable necessity in every human life1 then we must come to terms with it1 understand it1 and use it as intelligently as we can4 ,there are certain basic elements in man which make it impossible to live without faith4 ,let us consider these1 as they are suggested in the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 which1 better than any other book in the ,bible1 presents faith as an unavoidable human attitude4 ,first ,week1 ,first ,day ,now faith is assurance of things hoped for1 a conviction of things not seen4--,heb4 #aa3a4 ,as ,moffatt translates3 ,now faith means we are confident of what we hope for1 convinced of what we do not see4 ,when faith is described in such general terms1 its necessity in human life is evident4 ,man cannot live without faith1 because he deals not only with a past which he may know and with a present which he can see1 but with a future in whose possibilities he must believe4 ,a man can no more avoid looking ahead when he lives his life than he can when he sails his boat1 and in one case as in the other1 his direction is determined by his thought about what lies before him1 his assurance of things hoped for4 ,now1 this future into which continually we press our way can never be a matter of demonstrable knowledge4 ,we know only when we arrive1 but meanwhile we believe2 and our knowledge of what is and has been is not more necessary to our quest than our faith concerning what is yet to come4 ,as ,tennyson sings of faith in ,the ,ancient ,sage3 ,she sees the ,best that glimmers thro' the ,worst1 ,she feels the sun is hid but for a night1 ,she spies the summer thro' the winter bud1 ,she tastes the fruit before the blossom falls1 ,she hears the lark within the songless egg1 ,she finds the fountain where they wail'd ',mirage'6 ,however much a man may plan1 therefore1 to live without faith1 he cannot do it4 ,when one strips himself of all convictions about the future he stops living altogether1 and active1 eager1 vigorous manhood is always proportionate to the scope and power of reasonable faith4 ,the great spirits of the race have had the aspiring1 progressive quality which the ,scripture celebrates3 ,these all died in faith1 not having received the promises1 but having seen them and greeted them from afar1 and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth4 ,for they that say such things make it manifest that they are seeking after a country of their own4 ,and if indeed they had been mindful of that country from which they went out1 they would have had opportunity to return4 ,but now they desire a better country1 that is1 a heavenly3 wherefore ,god is not ashamed of them1 to be called their ,god2 for he hath prepared for them a city4--,heb4 #aa3ac-af4 ,almighty ,god1 let ,thy ,spirit breathe upon us to quicken in us all humility1 all holy desire1 all living faith in ,thee4 ,when we meditate on the ,eternal1 we dare not think any manner of similitude2 yet ,thou art most real to us in the worship of the heart4 ,when in the strife against sin we receive grace to help us in our time of need1 then art ,thou the ,eternal ,rock of our salvation4 ,when amid our perplexities and searchings1 the way of duty is made clear1 then art ,thou our ,everlasting ,light4 ,when amid the storms of life we find peace and rest through submission1 then art ,thou the assured ,refuge of our souls4 ,so do ,thou manifest ,thyself unto us1 ,o ,god6 ,our ,heavenly ,father1 we give ,thee humble and hearty thanks for all the sacred traditions which have come down to us from the past--for the glorious memories of ancient days1 concerning that ,divine light in which men have been conscious of ,thy presence and assured of ,thy grace4 ,but we would not content ourselves with memories4 ,o ,thou who art not the ,god of the dead1 but the ,god of the living1 manifest ,thyself unto us in a present communion4 ,reveal ,thyself unto us in the tokens of this passing time4 ,give us for ourselves to feel the authority of ,thy law3 give us for ourselves to realize the exceeding sinfulness of sin3 give us for ourselves to understand the way of salvation through sacrifice4 ,teach us1 by the ,spirit of ,christ1 the sacredness of common duties1 the holiness of the ties that bind us to our kind1 the divinity of the still small voice within that doth ever urge us in the way of righteousness4 ,so shall our hearts be renewed by faith2 so shall we ever live in ,god4 ,amen4--,john ,hunter4 ,first ,week1 ,second ,day ,by faith ,abraham1 when he was called1 obeyed to go out unto a place which he was to receive for an inheritance2 and he went out1 not knowing whither he went4 ,by faith he became a sojourner in the land of promise1 as in a land not his own1 dwelling in tents1 with ,isaac and ,jacob1 the heirs with him of the same promise3 for he looked for the city which hath the foundations1 whose builder and maker is ,god4--,heb4 #aa3h-aj4 ,by faith ,moses1 when he was grown up1 refused to be called the son of ,pharaoh's daughter2 choosing rather to share ill treatment with the people of ,god1 than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season2 accounting the reproach of ,christ greater riches than the treasures of ,egypt3 for he looked unto the recompense of reward4 ,by faith he forsook ,egypt1 not fearing the wrath of the king3 for he endured1 as seeing him who is invisible4--,heb4 #aa3bd-bg4 ,man cannot live without faith because his relationship with the future is an affair not alone of thought but also of action2 life is a continuous adventure into the unknown4 ,abraham and ,moses pushing out into experiences whose issue they could not foresee are typical of all great lives that have adventured for ,god4 ,by faith is the first word necessary in every life like ,luther's and ,wesley's and ,carey's4 ,by faith ,john ,bright1 when his reforms were hard bestead1 said3 ,if we can't win as fast as we wish1 we know that our opponents can't in the long run win at all4 ,by faith ,gladstone1 when the ,liberal cause was defeated1 rose undaunted in ,parliament1 and said1 ,i appeal to time6 and by faith every one of us must undertake each plain day's work1 if we are to do it well4 ,robert ,louis ,stevenson said that life is an affair of cavalry1 a thing to be dashingly used and cheerfully hazarded4 ,but so to deal with life demands faith4 ,the more one sees what venturesome risks he takes every day1 what labor and sacrifice he invests in hope of a worthy outcome1 with what great causes he falls in love until at his best he is willing for their sakes to hazard fortune and happiness and life itself1 the more he sees that the soul of robust and serviceable character is faith4 ,o ,god1 who hast encompassed us with so much that is dark and perplexing1 and yet hast set within us light enough to walk by2 enable us to trust what ,thou hast given as sufficient for us1 and steadfastly refuse to follow aught else2 lest the light that is in us become as darkness and we wander from the way4 ,may we be loyal to all the truth we know1 and seek to discharge those duties which lay their commission on our conscience2 so that we may come at length to perfect light in ,thee1 and find our wills in harmony with ,thine4 ,since ,thou hast planted our feet in a world so full of chance and change that we know not what a day may bring forth1 and hast curtained every day with night and rounded our little lives with sleep2 grant that we may use with diligence our appointed span of time1 working while it is called today1 since the night cometh when no man can work2 having our loins girt and our lamps alight1 lest the cry at midnight find us sleeping and the door fast shut4 ,since we are so feeble1 faint1 and foolish1 leave us not to our own devices1 not even when we pray ,thee to2 nor suffer us for any care to ,thee or for any pain to us to walk our own unheeding way4 ,plant thorns about our feet1 touch our hearts with fear1 give us no rest apart from ,thee1 lest we lose our way and miss the happy gate4 ,amen4--,w4 ,e4 ,orchard4 ,first ,week1 ,third ,day ,man cannot live without faith because the prime requisite in life's adventure is courage1 and the sustenance of courage is faith4 ,and what shall ,i more say8 for the time will fail me if ,i tell of ,gideon1 ,barak1 ,samson1 ,jephthah2 of ,david and ,samuel and the prophets3 who through faith subdued kingdoms1 wrought righteousness1 obtained promises1 stopped the mouths of lions1 quenched the power of fire1 escaped the edge of the sword1 from weakness were made strong1 waxed mighty in war1 turned to flight armies of aliens4 ,women received their dead by a resurrection3 and others were tortured1 not accepting their deliverance2 that they might obtain a better resurrection3 and others had trial of mockings and scourgings1 yea1 moreover of bonds and imprisonment3 they were stoned1 they were sawn asunder1 they were tempted1 they were slain with the sword3 they went about in sheep-skins1 in goat-skins2 being destitute1 afflicted1 ill-treated 7of whom the world was not worthy71 wandering in deserts and mountains and caves1 and the holes of the earth4 ,and these all1 having had witness borne to them through their faith1 received not the promise1 ,god having provided some better thing concerning us1 that apart from us they should not be made perfect4--,heb4 #aa3cb-dj4 ,when in comparison with men and women of such admirable spirit1 one thinks of weak personalities1 that ravel out at the first strain1 he sees that the difference lies in courage4 ,when a man loses heart he loses everything4 ,now to keep one's heart in the midst of life's stress and to maintain an undiscourageable front in the face of its difficulties is not an achievement which springs from anything that a laboratory can demonstrate or that logic can confirm4 ,it is an achievement of faith1 ,the virtue to exist by faith ,as soldiers live by courage4 ,consider this account of ,havelock1 the great ,english general3 ,as he sat at dinner with his son on the evening of the #agth1 his mind appeared for the first and last time to be affected with gloomy forebodings1 as it dwelt on the probable annihilation of his brave men in a fruitless attempt to accomplish what was beyond their strength4 ,after musing long in deep thought1 his strong sense of duty and his confidence in the justice of his cause restored the buoyancy of his spirit2 and he exclaimed1 ',if the worst comes to the worst1 we can but die with our swords in our hands6' ,no man altogether escapes the need for such a spirit1 and1 as with ,havelock and the ,hebrew heroes1 confidence in someone1 faith in something1 is that spirit's source4 ,o ,god1 who hast sent us to school in this strange life of ours1 and hast set us tasks which test all our courage1 trust1 and fidelity2 may we not spend our days complaining at circumstance or fretting at discipline1 but give ourselves to learn of life and to profit by every experience4 ,make us strong to endure4 ,we pray that when trials come upon us we may not shirk the issue or lose our faith in ,thy goodness1 but committing our souls unto ,thee who knowest the way that we take1 come forth as gold tried in the fire4 ,grant by ,thy grace that we may not be found wanting in the hour of crisis4 ,when the battle is set1 may we know on which side we ought to be1 and when the day goes hard1 cowards steal from the field1 and heroes fall around the standard1 may our place be found where the fight is fiercest4 ,if we faint1 may we not be faithless2 if we fall1 may it be while facing the foe4 ,amen4--,w4 ,e4 ,orchard4 ,first ,week1 ,fourth ,day ,man cannot live without faith1 because the adventure of life demands not only courage to achieve but patience to endure and wait1 and all untroubled patience is founded on faith4 ,when the writer to the ,hebrews speaks of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises 7,heb4 #f3ab71 he joins two things that in experience no man successfully can separate4 ,by as much as we need patience1 we need faith4 ,but call to remembrance the former days1 in which1 after ye were enlightened1 ye endured a great conflict of sufferings2 partly1 being made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions2 and partly1 becoming partakers with them that were so used4 ,for ye both had compassion on them that were in bonds1 and took joyfully the spoiling of your possessions1 knowing that ye have for yourselves a better possession and an abiding one4 ,cast not away therefore your boldness1 which hath great recompense of reward4 ,for ye have need of patience1 that1 having done the will of ,god1 ye may receive the promise4--,heb4 #aj3cb-cf4 ,the most difficult business in the world is waiting4 ,there are times in every life when action1 however laborious and sacrificial1 would be an unspeakable relief2 but to sit still because necessity constrains us1 endeavoring to live out the admonition of the psalmist1 ,rest in the ,lord1 and wait patiently for him1 is prodigiously difficult4 ,no one can do it without some kind of faith4 ,in your patience1 said ,jesus1 ye shall win your souls 7,luke #ba3ai71 but such an achievement is no affair of logic or scientific demonstration2 it is a venture of triumphant faith4 ,the great believers have been the unwearied waiters2 faith meant to them not controversial opinion1 but sustaining power4 ,as another has phrased it1 ,our faculties of belief were not primarily given to us to make orthodoxies and heresies withal2 they were given us to live by4 ,we beseech of ,thee1 ,o ,lord our ,god1 that ,thou wilt grant to every one of us in ,thy presence1 this morning1 the special mercies which he needs--strength where weakness prevails1 and patience where courage has failed4 ,grant1 we pray ,thee1 that those who need long-suffering may find themselves strangely upborne and sustained4 ,grant that those who wander in doubt and darkness may feel distilling upon their soul the sweet influence of faith4 ,grant that those who are heart-weary1 and sick from hope deferred1 may find the ,god of all salvation4 ,confirm goodness in those that are seeking it4 ,restore1 we pray ,thee1 those who have wandered from the path of rectitude4 ,give every one honesty4 ,may all transgressors of ,thy law return to the ,shepherd and ,bishop of their souls with confession of sin1 and earnest and sincere repentance4 ,amen4--,henry ,ward ,beecher4 ,first ,week1 ,fifth ,day ,man cannot live without faith because he exists in a universe1 the complete explanation of which is forever beyond his grasp1 so that whatever he thinks about the total meaning of creation is fundamentally faith4 ,by faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the word of ,god1 so that what is seen hath not been made out of things which appear4--,heb4 #aa3c4 ,not only is this true1 but if we think that there is no ,god1 that also is faith2 and if we hold that the basic reality is physical atoms1 that is faith2 and whatever anybody believes about the origin and destiny of life is faith4 ,when ,haeckel says that the creator is ,cosmic ,ether1 and when ,john says that ,god is love1 they both are making a leap of faith4 ,this does not mean that faith can dispense with reason4 ,in these studies we shall set ourselves to marshal the ample arguments that support man's faith in ,god4 ,but when the utmost that argument can do has been achieved1 the finite mind1 dealing with the infinite reality1 is forced to a sally of faith1 a venture of confidence in ,goodness at the heart of the world1 not opposed to reason but surpassing reason4 ,faith always sees more with her eye than logic can reach with her hand4 ,and especially when men come to the highest thought of life's meaning and believe in the ,christian ,god1 they face the fact which the writer to the ,hebrews presents3 ,and without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing unto him2 for he that cometh to ,god must believe that he is1 and that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him4--,heb4 #aa3f4 ,indeed1 in all stout conviction about the meaning of life there is a certain defiant note1 refusing to surrender to small objections4 ,cried ,stevenson1 ,i believe in an ultimate decency of things2 ay1 and if ,i woke in hell1 should still believe it6 ,o ,thou ,infinite ,spirit1 who needest no words for man to hold his converse with ,thee1 we would enter into ,thy presence1 we would reverence ,thy power1 we would worship ,thy wisdom1 we would adore ,thy justice1 we would be gladdened by ,thy love1 and blessed by our communion with ,thee4 ,we know that ,thou needest no sacrifice at our hands1 nor any offering at our lips2 yet we live in ,thy world1 we taste ,thy bounty1 we breathe ,thine air1 and ,thy power sustains us1 ,thy justice guides1 ,thy goodness preserves1 and ,thy love blesses us forever and ever4 ,o ,lord1 we cannot fail to praise ,thee1 though we cannot praise ,thee as we would4 ,we bow our faces down before ,thee with humble hearts1 and in ,thy presence would warm our spirits for a while1 that the better we may be prepared for the duties of life1 to endure its trials1 to bear its crosses1 and to triumph in its lasting joys4444 ,in times of darkness1 when men fail before ,thee1 in days when men of high degree are a lie1 and those of low degree are a vanity1 teach us1 ,o ,lord1 to be true before ,thee1 not a vanity1 but soberness and manliness2 and may we keep still our faith shining in the midst of darkness1 the beacon-light to guide us over stormy seas to a home and haven at last4 ,father1 give us strength for our daily duty1 patience for our constant or unaccustomed cross1 and in every time of trial give us the hope that sustains1 the faith that wins the victory and obtains satisfaction and fulness of joy4 ,amen4--,theodore ,parker4 ,first ,week1 ,sixth ,day ,man cannot live1 lacking faith1 because without it life's richest experiences go unappropriated4 ,opportunities for friendship lie all about us1 but only by trustful self-giving can they be enjoyed2 chances to serve good causes continually beckon us1 but one must have faith to try2 superior minds offer us their treasures1 but to avail oneself of instruction from another involves teachable humility4 ,a man without capacity to let himself go out to other men in friendly trust or to welcome new illumination on his thought with grateful faith would be shut out from the priceless treasures of humanity4 ,a certain trustful openheartedness1 a willingness to venture in personal relationship and in attempts at service is essential to a rich and fruitful life4 ,and what is true of man's relationship with man is true of man's relationship with ,god4 ,so ,prof4 ,william ,james1 of ,harvard1 states the case3 ,just as a man who in a company of gentlemen made no advances1 asked a warrant for every concession1 and believed no one's word without proof1 would cut himself off by such churlishness from all the social rewards that a more trusting spirit would earn--so here1 one who should shut himself up in snarling logicality and try to make the gods extort his recognition willy-nilly1 or not get it at all1 might cut himself off forever from his only opportunity of making the gods' acquaintance4 ,wherever in life great spiritual values await man's appropriation1 only faith can appropriate them4 ,let us fear therefore1 lest haply1 a promise being left of entering into his rest1 any one of you should seem to have come short of it4 ,for indeed we have had good tidings preached unto us1 even as also they3 but the word of hearing did not profit them1 because it was not united by faith with them that heard6--,heb4 #d3a1 #b4 ,o ,infinite ,source of life and health and joy6 the very thought of ,thee is so wonderful that in this thought we would rest and be still4 ,thou art ,beauty and ,grace and ,truth and ,power4 ,thou art the light of every heart that sees ,thee1 the life of every soul that loves ,thee1 the strength of every mind that seeks ,thee4 ,from our narrow and bounded world we would pass into ,thy greater world4 ,from our petty and miserable selves we would escape to ,thee1 to find in ,thee the power and the freedom of a larger life4444 ,we recognize ,thee in all the deeper experiences of the soul4 ,when the conscience utters its warning voice1 when the heart is tender and we forgive those who have wronged us in word or deed1 when we feel ourselves upborne above time and place1 and know ourselves citizens of ,thy everlasting ,kingdom1 we realize1 ,o ,lord1 that these things1 while they are in us1 are not of us4 ,they are ,thine1 the work of ,thy ,spirit brooding upon our souls4 ,spirit of ,holiness and ,peace6 ,search all our motives2 try the secret places of our souls2 set in the light any evil that may lurk within1 and lead us in the way everlasting4 ,amen4--,samuel ,mc,comb4 ,first ,week1 ,seventh ,day ,man cannot live without faith1 because in life's adventure the central problem is building character4 ,now1 character is not a product of logic1 but of faith in ideals and of sacrificial devotion to them4 ,what is becomes only the starting point of a campaign for what ought to be1 and in the prosecution of that campaign what ought to be must be believed in with passionate intensity4 ,faith of some sort1 therefore1 is necessarily the dynamic of character2 only limp and ragged living is possible without faith2 and the greatest characters are girded by the most ample faith in ,god and goodness4 ,the writer to the ,hebrews saw this intimate relationship between quality of faith and quality of life1 and challenged his readers to judge the ,christian faith by its consequence in character4 ,remember them that had the rule over you1 men that spake unto you the word of ,god2 and considering the issue of their life1 imitate their faith4--,heb4 #ac3g4 ,such are the basic elements in human experience that make faith necessary3 we deal with a future1 about which we must think1 with reference to which we must act1 and adventuring into which we need courage and patience2 this venture of life takes place in a world the meaning of which can be grasped only by a leap of faith2 and in this venture the best treasures of the spirit are obtainable only through openheartedness1 and character is possible only to men of resolute conviction4 ,plainly the subject to whose study we are setting ourselves is no affair of theoretical interest alone2 it affects the deepest issues of life4 ,no words could better summarize this vital idea of faith which the ,epistle to the ,hebrews presents than ,hartley ,coleridge's3 ,think not the faith by which the just shall live ,is a dead creed1 a map correct of heaven1 ,far less a feeling1 fond and fugitive1 ,a thoughtless gift1 withdrawn as soon as given4 ,it is an affirmation and an act ,that bids eternal truth be present fact4 ,how great are the mercies1 ,o ,lord our ,god1 which ,thou hast prepared for all that put their trust in ,thee6444 ,thou hast comfort for those that are in affliction2 ,thou hast strength for those that are weak2 444 ,thou hast all blessings that are needed1 and standest ready to be all things to all1 and in all4 ,and yet1 with bread enough and to spare1 with raiment abundant1 and with all medicine1 how many are there that go hungry1 and naked1 and sick1 and destitute of all things6 ,we desire1 ,o ,lord1 that ,thou wilt1 to all ,thine other mercies1 add that gift by which we shall trust in ,thee--faith that works by love2 faith that abides with us2 faith that transforms material things1 and gives them to us in their spiritual meanings2 faith that illumines the world by a light that never sets1 that shines brighter than the day1 and that clears the night quite out of our experience4 ,this is the portion that ,thou hast provided for thy people4 ,we beseech of ,thee1 grant us this faith1 that shall give us victory over the world and over ourselves2 that shall make us valiant in all temptation and bring us off conquerors and more than conquerors through ,him that loved us4 ,amen4--,henry ,ward ,beecher4 ,,comment ,,for ,,the ,,week ,i ,when ,donald ,hankey1 who died in the trenches in the ,great ,war1 said that ,true religion is betting one's life that there is a ,god1 he not only gave expression to his own virile ,christianity1 but he gave a good description of all effective faith whatsoever4 ,faith is holding reasonable convictions1 in realms beyond the reach of final demonstration1 and1 as well1 it is thrusting out one's life upon those convictions as though they were surely true4 ,faith is vision plus valor4 ,our study may well begin by recognizing that1 as it is exercised in the religious life1 such faith is the supreme use of an attitude which we are employing in every other realm4 ,no man can live without vision to see as true what as yet he cannot prove1 or without valor to act on the basis of his insight4 ,our vocabulary in ordinary relationships1 quite as much as in religion1 is full of words involving faith4 ,i believe1 ,i feel sure1 ,i am confident1 ,i venture--such phrases express our common attitudes in work and thought4 ,each day we act on reasonable probabilities1 hold convictions not yet verified1 take risks whose outcome we cannot know1 and trust people whom we have barely met4 ,we may pride ourselves that our twentieth century's life is being built on scientifically demonstrable knowledge1 but a swift review of any day's experience shows how indispensable is another attitude1 without which our verifiable knowledge would be an unused instrument4 ,in order to live we must have insight and daring4 ,it is not alone the just who live by faith2 lacking it1 there is no real life anywhere4 ,to be sure1 we may not leap from this general necessity of faith to the conclusion that therefore our religious beliefs are justified4 ,many men use faith in business and in social life who cannot find their way to convictions about ,god4 ,but our desire to understand faith's meaning is quickened when we see how indispensable a place it holds1 how tremendous an influence it wields1 whether it be religiously applied or not4 ,all sorts of human enterprise bear witness to its unescapable necessity4 ,haeckel1 the biologist1 describing science's method1 says3 ,scientific faith fills the gaps in our knowledge of natural laws with temporary hypotheses4 ,lincoln1 the statesman1 entreating the people1 cries3 ,let us have faith that right makes might and in that faith let us to the end dare to do our duty4 ,stevenson1 the invalid1 trying with fortitude to bear his trial1 writes3 ,whether on the first of ,january or the thirty-first of ,december1 faith is a good word to end on4 ,and the ,master states the substance of religion in a single phrase3 ,have faith in ,god 7,mark #aa3bb74 ,scientific procedure1 social welfare1 personal quality1 religion--the applications of our subject are as wide as life4 ,vision and valor are the dynamic forces in all achievement1 intellectual as well as moral1 and as for man's spiritual values and satisfactions1 ,it is faith in something1 as ,oliver ,wendell ,holmes put it1 which makes life worth living4 ,,ii ,one major reason for this necessary place of faith in our experience is clear4 ,life is an adventure and adventure always demands insight and daring4 ,that ,chinese ,gordon1 on his hazardous expedition into the ,soudan1 should be thrown back on undiscourageable faith in himself1 in the justice of his cause1 in the bravery of his men1 and in ,god2 that he should even speak of praying his boats up the ,nile1 seems to us natural2 for some kind of faith is obviously necessary to any great adventure4 ,but men often forget that all ordinary living is essentially adventurous and that by this fact the need of faith is woven into the texture of every human life4 ,it is an amazing adventure to be born upon this wandering island in the sky and it is an adventure to leave it when death calls4 ,to go to school1 to make friends1 to marry1 to rear children1 to face through life the swift changes of circumstance that no man can certainly predict an hour ahead1 these are all adventures4 ,each new day is an hitherto unvisited country1 which we enter1 like ,abraham leaving ,ur for a strange land1 not knowing whither he went 7,heb4 #aa3h71 and every ,new ,year we begin a tour of exploration into a twelvemonth where no man's foot has ever walked before4 ,if we all love tales of pioneers1 it is because from the time we are weaned to the time we die1 life is pioneering4 ,of course we cannot live by verifiable knowledge only4 ,imagine men1 equipped with nothing but powers of logical demonstration1 starting on such an enterprise as the title of ,sebastian ,cabot's joint stock company suggests3 ,merchants ,adventurers of ,england for the discovery of lands1 territories1 isles and seignories1 unknown4 ,indeed no knowledge of the sort that our scientific inductions can achieve ever will take from life this adventurous element4 ,scientific knowledge in these latter decades has grown incalculably2 yet for all that1 every child's life is a hazardous experiment1 every boy choosing a calling takes his chances1 every friendship is a risky exploration in the province of personality1 and all devotion to moral causes is just as much a venturesome staking of life on insight and hope as it was when ,garrison attacked slavery or ,livingstone landed in ,africa4 ,to one who had acquired not only all extant but all possible knowledge1 as truly as to any man who ever lived1 life would be full of hazard still4 ,he could not certainly know in advance the outcome of a single important decision of his life4 ,he could not at any moment tell in what new1 strange1 challenging1 or terrific situation the next hour might find him4 ,with all his science1 he must face each day1 as ,paul faced his journey to ,rome1 not knowing the things that shall befall me there 7,acts #bj3bb74 ,the reason for this is obvious4 ,our systematized knowledge is the arrangement under laws of the experiences which we have already had4 ,it furnishes invaluable aid in guiding the experiments and explorations which life continuously forces on us4 ,in every enterprise1 however1 we must use not only legs to stand on1 but tentacles as well with which to feel our way forward--intuitions1 insights1 hopes1 unverified convictions1 faith4 ,we project our life forward as we build a cantilever bridge4 ,part of the structure is solidly bolted and thoroughly articulated in a system2 but ever beyond this established portion we audaciously thrust out new beginnings in eager expectation that from the other side something will come to meet them4 ,without this no progress ever would be possible4 ,every province of life illustrates this necessity of adventure4 ,in science1 the established body of facts and laws is only the civilized community of knowledge from whose frontiers new guesses and intuitions start4 ,says ,sir ,oliver ,lodge about the great ,newton3 ,he had an extraordinary faculty for guessing correctly1 sometimes with no apparent data--as for instance1 his intuition that the mean density of the earth was probably between five and six times that of water1 while we now know it is really about five and one half4 ,in personal character1 our habits are basic1 but our ideals in which1 despite ourselves1 we must believe1 are pioneers that push out into new territory and call our habits after them to conquer the promised land4 ,in social advance1 some ,edmund ,burke1 statesman of the first magnitude1 basing his judgment on the established experience of the race1 can call slavery an incurable evil and say that there is not the slightest hope that trade in slaves can be stopped2 and yet within eighty-two years the race can feel its way forward to ,lincoln's ,emancipation ,proclamation4 ,as for daily business1 adventurous daring is there the very nerve of enterprise4 ,says a modern newspaper man3 ,there are plenty of people to do the possible2 you can hire them at forty dollars a month4 ,the prizes are for those who perform the impossible4 ,if a thing can be done1 experience and skill can do it2 if a thing cannot be done1 only faith can do it4 ,great in human life is this adventurous element1 and1 therefore1 great in human life is the necessity of faith4 ,to chasten and discipline1 to make reasonable and stable the faiths by which we live is a problem unsurpassed in importance for every man4 ,,iii ,one result of special interest follows from this truth4 ,it is commonly suspected that as mankind advances1 the function of faith proportionately shrinks4 ,it is even supposed that the place of faith in human life has sensibly diminished with our growing knowledge1 and that ,matthew ,arnold told the truth3 ,the sea of faith ,was once1 too1 at the full1 and round earth's shore ,lay like the folds of a bright girdle furl'd4 ,but now ,i only hear ,its melancholy1 long1 withdrawing roar1 ,retreating1 to the breath ,of the night-wind1 down the vast edges drear ,and naked shingles of the world4 ,accordingly by custom we call the medival centuries the ,age of ,faith4 ,but even a cursory comparison between the medival people and ourselves reveals that among the many differences that distinguish us from them1 none is more marked than the diversity and range of our faiths4 ,one considers in surprise the things which they did not believe4 ,that the world would ever grow much better1 that social abuses like political tyranny and slavery could be radically changed1 that man could ever master nature by his inventions until her mighty forces were his servants1 that the whole race could be reached for ,christ1 that war could be abolished and human brotherhood in some fair degree established1 that common men could be trusted with responsibility for their own government or with freedom to worship ,god according to the dictates of their own consciences--none of these things did the medival folk believe4 ,one of the most distinguishing characteristics of the so-called ,age of ,faith was its lack of faith4 ,it lived in a static world2 it was poor in possibilities except in heaven2 it pitiably lacked those most certain signs of vital faith1 the open mind eager for new truth and the ardent1 vigorous life seeking new conquests4 ,in comparison with such an age our generation's faiths are rich and manifold4 ,to call our time an ,age of ,doubt because of its free spirit of critical inquiry1 is seriously to misunderstand its major drift4 ,bunyan's ,pilgrim found ,doubting ,castle kept by ,giant ,despair and his wife ,diffidence and in any ,doubting ,castle these two always dwell4 ,but who1 considering our generation's life as a whole1 would call it diffident or desperate8 ,it is rather robust and confident2 its social faiths1 at least1 are unprecedented in their sweep and certainty4 ,even the ,great ,war is the occasion of such organized faith in a federated and fraternal world as mankind has never entertained before4 ,the truth is that with the progress of the race the adventure of life is elevated and enlarged1 and in consequence faith grows not less but more necessary4 ,the faiths of a savage are meager compared with a modern man's4 ,the ,australian bushman never dreams of laboring for social ideals even a few years ahead4 ,what can he know of those superb faiths in economic justice and international brotherhood1 which even in the face of overwhelming difficulty1 master the best of modern men8 ,the primitive mind was not curious enough to wonder whether the sun that rises in the morning was the same that set the night before4 ,what could such a mind understand of modern science's faith in the universal regularity of law8 ,put a ,moro head hunter beside ,mr4 ,edison1 and see how incalculable the difference between them1 not simply in their knowledge1 but in their faith as to what it is possible for humanity to do with nature6 ,or put a fetish worshipper from ,africa beside ,phillips ,brooks and compare the faith of the one in his idol with the faith of the other in ,god4 ,faith does not dwindle as wisdom grows2 vision and valor are not less important4 ,the difference between the twentieth century man and the savage is quite as much in the scope and quality of their faith as in the range and certainty of their knowledge4 ,faith1 therefore is not a transient element in human life1 to be evicted by growing science4 ,for whatever life may know1 life is adventure2 and as the adventure widens its horizons1 the demand for faith is correspondingly increased4 ,if one tries to imagine the world with all faith gone--knowledge supposedly having usurped its place--he must conceive a world where no conscious life and effort remain at all4 ,take trust in testimony away from courts of law1 and unsure experiments from the physician's practice2 refuse the teacher his confidence in growing minds and the business man his right to ventures that involve uncertainty2 abstract from civic reforms all faith in a better future1 from science all unproved postulates1 from society all mutual trust and from religion all belief in the ,unseen1 and life would become an inane sand heap4 ,a man who tries to live without faith will die of inertia4 ,a society that makes the attempt will be paralyzed within an hour4 ,the question is not whether or no we shall live by faith4 ,the question is rather--,by what faiths shall we live8 ,what range and depth and quality shall they have8 ,how reasonable and how assured shall they be8 ,,iv ,among all the faiths which mankind has cherished and by which it has been helped in life's adventure1 none have been more universally and more passionately held than those associated with religion4 ,in the daring experiment of living1 men naturally have sought by faith interpretation not only of life's details but of life itself--its origin1 its meaning1 and its destiny4 ,australian bushmen1 unable to count above four on their fingers1 have been heard discussing in their huts at night whence they came1 whither they go1 and who the gods are anyway4 ,and when one turns to modern manhood in its finest exhibitions of intelligence and character1 he sees that ,professor ,ladd1 of ,yale1 speaks truly3 ,the call of the world of men today1 which is most insistent and most intense1 if not most loud and clamorous1 is the call for a rehabilitation of religious faith4 ,for it does make a prodigious difference to the spirit of our adventure in this world1 whether we think that ,god is good or on the other hand see the universe as ,carlyle's terrific figure pictures it--one huge1 dead1 immeasurable ,steam-engine1 rolling on1 in its dead indifference1 to grind me limb from limb4 ,it does make a difference of quite incalculable magnitude whether we think that our minds and characters are an evanescent product of finely wrought matter which alone is real and permanent1 or on the contrary with ,john believe that ,now are we children of ,god and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be 7,i ,john #c3b74 ,how great a difference in life's adventure religious faith does make is better set forth by concrete example than by abstract argument4 ,on the one side1 how radiant the spirit of the venture as the ,new ,testament depicts it6 ,the stern1 appealing love of ,god behind life1 his good purpose through it1 his victory ahead of it1 and man a fellow worker1 called into an unfinished world to bear a hand with ,god in its completion--here is a game that indeed is worth the candle4 ,on the other side is ,bertrand ,russell's candid disclosure of the consequences of his own scepticism3 ,brief and powerless is man's life2 on him and all his race the slow sure doom falls pitiless and dark4 ,blind to good and evil1 reckless of destruction1 omnipotent matter rolls on its relentless way2 for ,man condemned today to lose his dearest1 tomorrow himself to pass through the gate of darkness1 it remains only to cherish1 ere yet the blow falls1 the lofty thoughts that ennoble his little day--proudly defiant of the irresistible forces that tolerate for a moment his knowledge and his condemnation1 to sustain alone1 a weary but unyielding ,atlas1 the world that his own ideals have fashioned despite the trampling march of unconscious power4 ,man's life1 interpreted and motived by religious faith1 is glorious1 but shorn of faith's interpretations life loses its highest meaning and its noblest hopes4 ,let us make this statement's truth convincing in detail4 ,when faith in ,god goes1 man the thinker loses his greatest thought4 ,man's mind has ranged the universe1 has woven atoms and stars into a texture of law2 his conquering thoughts ride out into every unknown province of which they hear4 ,but among all the ideas on which the mind of man has taken hold1 incomparably the greatest is the idea of ,god4 ,in sheer weight and range no other thought of man compares with that4 ,amid the crash of stars1 the reign of law1 the vicissitudes of human history1 and the griefs that drive their ploughshares into human hearts1 to gather up all existence into spiritual unity and to believe in ,god1 is the sublimest venture of the human mind4 ,when faith in ,god goes1 man the worker loses his greatest motive4 ,man masters nature until the forces that used to scare him now obey2 in society he labors tirelessly that his children may have a better world4 ,wars come1 destroying the achievements of ages2 yet when war is over1 man rebuilds his cities1 recreates his commerce1 dreams again his human brotherhoods1 and toils on4 ,many motives1 deep and shallow1 fine and coarse1 have sustained him in this tireless work1 but when one seeks the fountain of profoundest hope in mankind's toil he finds it in religious faith4 ,to believe that we do not stand alone1 hopelessly pitted against the dead apathy of cosmic forces which in the end will crush us in some solar wreck and bring our work to naught2 to believe that we are fellow-laborers with ,god1 our human purposes comprehended in a ,purpose1 ,god behind us1 within us1 ahead of us--this incomparably has been the master-faith in man's greatest work4 ,when faith in ,god goes1 man the sinner loses his strongest help4 ,for man is a sinner4 ,he tears his spiritual heritage to shreds in licentiousness and drink4 ,he wallows in vice1 wins by cruelty1 violates love1 is treacherous to trust4 ,his sins clothe the world in lamentation4 ,yet in him is a protest that he cannot stifle4 ,he is the only creature whom we know whose nature is divided against itself4 ,he hates his sin even while he commits it4 ,he repents1 tries again1 falls1 rises1 stumbles on--and in all his best hours cries out for saviorhood4 ,no message short of religion has ever met man's need in this estate4 ,that ,god himself is pledged to the victory of righteousness in men and in the world1 that he cares1 forgives1 enters into man's struggle with transforming power1 and crowns the long endeavor with triumphant character--such faith alone has been great enough to meet the needs of man the sinner4 ,when faith in ,god goes1 man the sufferer loses his securest refuge4 ,one who has walked with families through long illnesses where desperate prayers rise like a fountain day and night1 who has seen strong men break down in health or lose the fortune of a lifetime1 who has stood at children's graves and heard mothers cry1 ,how empty are my arms6 does not need long explication of life's tragic suffering4 ,the staggering blows shatter the hopes of good and bad alike4 ,whether one's house be built on rock or sand1 on both1 as ,jesus said1 the rains descend and the floods come and the winds blow4 ,in this experience of crushing trouble nothing but religious faith has been able to save men from despair or from stoical endurance of their fate4 ,to face the loom of life and hopefully to lay oneself upon it1 as though the dark threads were as necessary in the pattern as the light ones are1 we must believe that there is a purpose running through the stern1 forbidding process4 ,what men have needed most of all in suffering1 is not to know the explanation1 but to know that there is an explanation4 ,and religious faith alone gives confidence that human tragedy is not the meaningless sport of physical forces1 making our life what ,voltaire called it1 a bad joke1 but is rather a school of discipline1 the explanation of whose mysteries is in the heart of ,god4 ,no one who has lived deeply can ever call such faith a matter of words and names4 ,to multitudes it is a matter of life and death4 ,when faith in ,god goes1 man the lover loses his fairest vision4 ,when we say our worst about mankind1 this redeeming truth remains1 that each of us has some one for whose sake he willingly would die4 ,the very love lyrics of the race are proof of this human quality1 from homely folk songs like ,john ,anderson1 ,my ,jo1 ,john to great poetry like ,mrs4 ,browning's sonnets4 ,we call them secular1 but they are ineffably sacred4 ,and when one seeks the faith that has made these loves of men radiant with an illumination which man alone cannot create1 he finds it in religion4 ,love is not a transient fragrance from matter finely organized--so men have dared believe2 love is of kin with the ,eternal1 has there its source and ground and destiny2 love is the very substance of reality4 ,god is love1 and he that abideth in love1 abideth in ,god1 and ,god abideth in him 7,i ,john #d3af74 ,man the lover is bereft of his finest insight and love's inner glory has departed1 when that faith has gone4 ,when faith in ,god goes1 man the mortal loses his only hope4 ,man's nature1 like a lighthouse1 combines two elements4 ,at the foundation of the beacon all is stone2 as one lifts his eyes1 all is stone still2 but at the top is something new and wonderful4 ,it is the thing for which the rock was piled4 ,its laws are not the laws of stone nor are its ways the same4 ,for while the stolid rock stands fast1 this miracle of light with speed incredible hurls itself out across the sea4 ,two worlds are here1 the one cold and stationary1 the other full of the marvel and mystery of fire4 ,so man has in him a miracle which he cannot explain2 he feels that he is greater than he knows2 and he never has been able to believe that the mystery of spirit was given him in vain1 had no reality from which it came1 and no future beyond death4 ,the finest thing ever said of ,columbus is a remark of his own countryman1 ,the instinct of an unknown continent burned in him4 ,that is the secret of ,columbus' greatness4 ,all the arguments by which he attempted to convince the doubters were but afterthoughts of this2 all the labors by which he endeavored to make good his hopes were but its consequence4 ,and if we ask of man why so universally he has believed in life to come1 the answer leaps not superficially from the mind1 but out of the basic intuitions of man's life4 ,we know that something is now ours which ought not to die2 the instinct of an unknown continent burns in us4 ,but all the hopes1 the motives1 the horizons that immortality has given man must go1 if faith in ,god departs4 ,in a godless world man dies forever4 ,one1 therefore1 who is facing loss of faith may not regard it as a light affair4 ,to be sure1 some denials of religion1 even a ,christian must respect4 ,huxley1 for example1 at the death of his little boy1 wanting to believe in immortality as only a father can whose son lies dead1 yet1 for all that1 disbelieving1 wrote to ,charles ,kingsley1 ,i have searched over the grounds of my belief1 and if wife and child and name and fame were all to be lost to me one after another as the penalty1 still ,i will not lie4 ,one respects that4 ,when ,george ,john ,romanes turned his back for a while on the ,christian faith1 he wrote out of his agnosticism1 ,when at times ,i think1 as think at times ,i must1 of the appalling contrast between the hallowed glory of that creed which once was mine1 and the lonely mystery of existence as now ,i find it--at such times ,i shall ever feel it impossible to avoid the sharpest pang of which my nature is susceptible4 ,one respects that4 ,but some discard religion from their life's adventure with no such serious understanding of the import of their denial4 ,they are pert disbelievers4 ,they toss faith facilely aside in a light mood4 ,such frivolous sceptics indict their own intelligence4 ,whoever discards religious faith should appoint a day of mourning for his soul1 and put on sackcloth and ashes4 ,he must take from his life the greatest thought that man the thinker ever had1 the finest faith that man the worker ever leaned upon1 the surest help that man the sinner ever found1 the strongest reliance that man the sufferer ever trusted in1 the loftiest vision that man the lover ever saw1 and the only hope that man the mortal ever had4 ,so he must deny his faith in ,god4 ,before one thus leaves himself bereft of the faith that makes life's adventure most worth while he well may do what ,carlyle1 under the figure of ,teufelsdrckh1 says that he did in his time of doubt3 ,in the silent night-watches1 still darker in his heart than over sky and earth1 he has cast himself before the ,all-seeing1 and with audible prayers cried vehemently for ,light4 ,v ,if minimizing the importance of religious faith is unintelligent1 so is avoiding some sort of decision about religious faith impossible4 ,most of those into whose hands these studies fall will grant readily faith's incalculable importance4 ,some1 however1 will be not helped but plunged into deeper trouble by their consent4 ,for they feel themselves unable to decide about a matter which they acknowledge to be the most important in the world4 ,asked whether they believe in ,god1 they would reply with one of ,victor ,hugo's characters1 ,yes--,no--,sometimes4 ,they grant that to be steadily assured of ,god would be an invaluable boon1 but for themselves1 how can they balance the opposing arguments and find their way to confidence8 ,all our studies are intended for the help of such1 but at the beginning one urgent truth may well be plainly put4 ,however undecided they may appear1 men cannot altogether avoid decision on the main matters of religion4 ,life will not let them4 ,for while the mind may hold itself suspended between alternatives1 the adventure of life goes on1 and men inevitably tend to live either as though the ,christian ,god were real or as though he were not4 ,some questions allow a complete postponement of decision4 ,as to which of several theories about the ,northern ,lights may be true1 a man can hold his judgment in entire suspense4 ,life does not require from him any action that depends on what he thinks of the ,aurora ,borealis2 and whether a man think one thing or another1 no conceivable change would be the consequence in anything he said or did4 ,but there is another kind of question1 where1 however much the mind may waver between opinions and may resolve on indecision1 life itself compels decision4 ,a man cannot really be agnostic and neutral on a question like the moral law of sexual purity1 for1 by an irrevocable necessity1 he has to act one way or another4 ,he may stop thinking1 but he cannot stop living4 ,with tremendous urgency the adventure of life insistently goes on1 and it never pauses for any man to make up his mind on any question4 ,therefore while a man may theoretically suspend his judgment as to the requirements of the moral law1 his life will be a loud1 convincing advertisement to all who know him that he has vitally decided4 ,a man can avoid making up his mind1 but he cannot avoid making up his life4 ,quite as truly1 though1 it may be1 not quite as obviously1 religious questions belong to this second class4 ,not all questions that are called religious belong there4 ,with fatal pettiness religious men have reduced the great faiths to technicalities and some beliefs called religious a man may hold or not1 with utter indifference to anything he is or does4 ,but on the basic attitudes of religion such as we have just rehearsed1 a man cannot be completely neutral1 no matter how he tries4 ,bernard ,shaw's remark1 ,what a man believes may be ascertained not from his creed1 but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts1 should be taken to heart by any one trying to remain religiously neutral4 ,for one cannot by any possibility avoid assumptions on which he habitually acts4 ,he tends to undertake social service either as confident cooperation with ,god's purpose or as an endeavor to make one corner of an unpurposed world as decent as possible4 ,he tends to follow his ideals1 either as the voice of ,god calling him upward1 or as the work of natural selection1 adjusting him to a temporary environment4 ,he tends to face suffering either hopefully as a school of moral discipline1 in a world presided over by a ,father1 or grimly as a hardship in which there is no meaning4 ,he tends to face death either as the supreme adventure1 full of boundless hope1 or as a final exit that leads nowhere4 ,he may never consciously formulate his ideas on any of these matters1 he may maintain an intellectual agnosticism1 genuine and complete1 but his living subtly involves the confession of some faith4 ,a man's action1 said ,emerson1 is only the picture-book of his creed4 ,and the more thoughtful he is1 the more he will be aware of that unescapable tendency to confess in his living an inward faith about life4 ,one practical result of this urgent truth is too frequently seen to be doubtful4 ,those who in religion do not decide1 thereby decide against religion4 ,religious faith is a positive achievement1 and he who does not deliberately choose it1 loses it4 ,a man who1 rowing down ,niagara ,river1 debates within himself whether or not he will stop at ,buffalo1 and who cannot decide1 thereby has decided4 ,his irresolution has not for a moment interfered with the steady flow of the river1 and if he but debate long enough concerning his stop at ,buffalo1 he will awake to discover that he has finally decided not to stop there4 ,as much beyond the control of man's volition is the steady flow of life4 ,it pauses for no man's indecision1 and if one is irresolute about any positive1 aspiring faith in any realm1 his indecisiveness is decision of a most final sort4 ,this1 then1 is the summary of the matter4 ,life is a great adventure in which faith is indispensable2 in this adventure faith in ,god presents the issues of transcendent import2 and on these issues life itself continuously compels decision4 ,our obligation is obvious--since willy-nilly the decision must be made--to make it consciously1 to reach it by reason1 not by chance1 by thinking1 not by drifting4 ,if a man is to be irreligious1 let him at least know why1 and not slip into this estate1 as most irreligious men do1 by careless living and frivolous thought4 ,if a man is to be religious1 let him have reason for his choice2 let his faith be founded not on credulity and chance1 but on real experience and reasonable thought4 ,so his faith shall be good not only for domestic consumption1 but for export too--clear in his own mind and convincing to his friends4 ,the forms of thought shift with the centuries and old situations cannot be repeated in detail1 but one crisis in its essential meaning is perennial3 ,elijah came near unto all the people1 and said1 ,how long go ye limping between the two sides8 if ,jehovah be ,god follow him2 but if ,baal then follow him 7,i ,kings #ah3ba74 ,,chapter ,,ii ,faith a ,road to ,truth ,,daily ,,readings ,many minds are prevented from even a fair consideration of religious faith by prejudices which spring1 not from reasoned argument1 but from practical experience4 ,they are biased before argument has begun2 they feel that faith means credulity1 and that religious faith in particular is a surrender of reason4 ,before we positively present faith as an indispensable means of dealing with reality in any realm1 let us1 in the daily readings1 consider some of the practical experiences and attitudes that thus prejudice men against religion4 ,second ,week1 ,first ,day ,many men are biased in advance by the unwise treatment to which in their childhood they were subjected4 ,paul pictures the home life of ,timothy as ideal3 ,i thank ,god1 whom ,i serve from my forefathers in a pure conscience1 how unceasing is my remembrance of thee in my supplications1 night and day longing to see thee1 remembering thy tears1 that ,i may be filled with joy2 having been reminded of the unfeigned faith that is in thee2 which dwelt first in thy grandmother ,lois1 and thy mother ,eunice2 and1 ,i am persuaded1 in thee also4--,,ii ,tim4 #a3c-e4 ,unfeigned faith is often thus a family heritage1 handed down by vital contagion4 ,but in many homes religion is not thus beautifully presented to the children2 it is a hard and rigorous affair of dogma and restraint4 ,oh1 why1 said a young professional man1 whom ,professor ,coe quotes1 why did my parents try to equip me with a doctrinal system in childhood8 ,i supposed that the whole system must be believed on pain of losing my religion altogether4 ,and so1 when ,i began to doubt some points1 ,i felt obliged to throw all overboard4 ,i have found my way back to positive religion1 but by what a long and bitter struggle6 ,if1 however1 one has been so unfortunate as to be hardened in youth by unwise training1 is it reasonable on that account forever to shut himself out from the most glorious experience of man8 ,this complaint about mistreatment in youth is often an excuse1 not a reason for irreligion4 ,says ,phillips ,brooks3 ,i have grown familiar to weariness with the self-excuse of men who say1 ',oh1 if ,i had not had the terrors of the law so preached to me when ,i was a boy1 if ,i had not been so confronted with the woes of hell and the awfulness of the judgment day1 ,i should have been religious long ago4' ,my friends1 ,i think ,i never hear a meaner or a falser speech than that4 ,men may believe it when they say it--,i suppose they do--but it is not true4 ,it is unmanly1 ,i think4 ,it is throwing on their teaching and their teachers1 or their fathers and their mothers1 the fault which belongs to their own neglect1 because they have never taken up the earnest fight with sin and sought through every obstacle for truth and ,god4 ,it has the essential vice of dogmatism about it1 for it claims that a different view of ,god would have done for them that which no view of ,god can do1 that which must be done1 under any system1 any teaching1 by humility and penitence and struggle and self-sacrifice4 ,without these no teaching saves the soul4 ,with these1 under any teaching1 the soul must find its ,father4 ,o ,thou1 who didst lay the foundations of the earth amid the singing of the morning stars and the joyful shouts of the sons of ,god1 lift up our little life into ,thy gladness4 ,out of ,thee1 as out of an overflowing fountain of ,love1 wells forth eternally a stream of blessing upon every creature ,thou hast made4 ,if we have thought that ,thou didst call into being this universe in order to win praise and honor for ,thyself1 rebuke the vain fancies of our foolish minds and show us that ,thy glory is the joy of giving4 ,we can give ,thee nothing of our own4 ,all that we have is ,thine4 ,oh1 then1 help us to glorify ,thee by striving to be like ,thee4 ,make us just and pure and good as ,thou art4 ,may we be partakers of the ,divine ,nature1 so that all that is truly human in us may be deepened1 purified1 and strengthened4 ,and so may we be witnesses for ,thee1 lights of the world1 reflecting ,thy light4 ,help us to make religion a thing so beautiful that all men may be won to surrender to its power4 ,let us manifest in our lives its sweetness and excellency1 its free and ennobling spirit4 ,forbid that we should go up and down the world with melancholy looks and dejected visage1 lest we should repel men from entering ,thy ,kingdom4 ,rather1 may we walk in the freedom and joy of faith1 and with ,thy new song in our mouths1 so that men looking on us may learn to trust and to love ,thee4 ,amen4--,samuel ,mc,comb4 ,second ,week1 ,second ,day ,many men are prejudiced against religion during their youthful period of revolt against authority4 ,listen to an ancient father talking with his sons3 ,hear1 my sons1 the instruction of a father1 ,and attend to know understanding3 ,for ,i give you good doctrine2 ,forsake ye not my law4 ,for ,i was a son unto my father1 ,tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother4 ,and he taught me1 and said unto me3 ,let thy heart retain my words2 ,keep my commandments1 and live2 ,get wisdom1 get understanding2 ,forget not1 neither decline from the words of my mouth2 ,forsake her not1 and she will preserve thee2 ,love her1 and she will keep thee4 ,wisdom is the principal thing2 therefore get wisdom2 ,yea1 with all thy getting get understanding4 ,exalt her1 and she will promote thee2 ,she will bring thee to honor1 when thou dost embrace her4 ,she will give to thy head a chaplet of grace2 ,a crown of beauty will she deliver to thee4 --,prov4 #d3a-i4 ,no father can read this urgent1 anxious plea without understanding the reason for its solicitude4 ,every boy comes to the time when he breaks away from parental authority and begins to take his life into his own hands4 ,it is one of youth's great crises1 and the spirit of it is sometimes harsh and rebellious4 ,so ,carlyle describes his own experience3 ,such transitions are ever full of pain3 thus the ,eagle when he moults is sickly2 and1 to attain his new beak1 must harshly dash-off the old one upon rocks4 ,for religious faith this period of life is always critical4 ,stevenson in his revolt1 when he called respectability the deadliest gag and wet-blanket that can be laid on man1 also became1 as he said1 a youthful atheist4 ,how many have traveled that road and stopped in the negation6 ,stevenson did not stop1 and years afterward wrote of his progress3 ,because ,i have reached ,paris1 ,i am not ashamed of having passed through ,newhaven and ,dieppe4 ,surely if anyone has been a youthful atheist1 it was an experience to be passed through4 ,o ,god1 we turn to ,thee in the faith that ,thou dost understand and art very merciful4 ,some of us are not sure concerning ,thee2 not sure what ,thou art2 not sure that ,thou art at all4 ,yet there is something at work behind our minds1 in times of stillness we hear it1 like a distant song2 there is something in the sky at evening-time2 something in the face of man4 ,we feel that round our incompleteness flows ,thy greatness1 round our restlessness ,thy rest4 ,yet this is not enough4 ,we want a heart to speak to1 a heart that understands2 a friend to whom we can turn1 a breast on which we may lean4 ,o that we could find ,thee6 ,yet could we ever think these things unless ,thou hadst inspired us1 could we ever want these things unless ,thou ,thyself wert very near8 ,some of us know full well2 but we are sore afraid4 ,we dare not yield ourselves to ,thee1 for we fear what that might mean4 ,our foolish freedom1 our feeble pleasures1 our fatal self-indulgence suffice to hold us back from ,thee1 though ,thou art our very life1 and we so sick and needing ,thee4 ,our freedom has proved false1 our pleasures have long since lost their zest1 our sins1 oh how we hate them6 ,come and deliver us1 for we have lost all hope in ourselves4 ,amen4--,w4 ,e4 ,orchard4 ,second ,week1 ,third ,day ,some men--often the precocious1 clever ones--are biased against religion because in youth they accepted an immature philosophy of life and have never changed it4 ,the crust forms too soon on some minds1 and if it forms during the period of youthful revolt1 they are definitely prejudiced against religious truth4 ,the difference between such folk and the great believers is not that the believers had no doubts1 but that they did not fix their final thought of life until more mature experience had come4 ,they fulfilled the admonition of a wise father to keep up a tireless search for truth3 ,my son1 if thou wilt receive my words1 ,and lay up my commandments with thee2 ,so as to incline thine ear unto wisdom1 ,and apply thy heart to understanding2 ,yea1 if thou cry after discernment1 ,and lift up thy voice for understanding2 ,if thou seek her as silver1 ,and search for her as for hid treasures3 ,then shalt thou understand the fear of ,jehovah1 ,and find the knowledge of ,god4 --,prov4 #b3a-e4 ,mrs4 ,charles ,kingsley1 for example1 says of her husband that at twenty ,he was full of religious doubts2 and his face1 with its unsatisfied1 hungering1 and at times defiant look1 bore witness to the state of his mind4 ,at twenty-one ,kingsley himself wrote3 ,you believe that you have a sustaining ,hand to guide you along that path1 an ,invisible ,protection and an unerring ,guide4 ,i1 alas6 have no stay for my weary steps1 but that same abused and stupefied reason which has stumbled and wandered1 and betrayed me a thousand times ere now1 and is every moment ready to faint and to give up the unequal struggle4 ,if ,kingsley had framed his final philosophy then1 what a loss to the world of an inspiring life transfigured by ,christian faith6 ,he cried after discernment1 lifted up his voice for understanding1 and he found the knowledge of ,god4 ,many a man ought to revise in the light of mature experience and thought a hasty irreligious guess at life's meaning which he made in youth4 ,o ,father1 we turn to ,thee because we are sore vexed with our own thoughts4 ,our minds plague us with questionings we cannot answer2 we are driven to voyage on strange seas of thought alone4 ,dost ,thou disturb our minds with endless questioning1 yet keep the answers hidden in ,thy heart1 so that away from ,thee we should always be perplexed1 and by thoughts derived from ,thee be ever drawn to ,thee8 ,surely1 our ,god1 it must be so4 ,but still more bitter and humbling1 ,o ,father1 is our experience of failure1 so frequent1 tragic1 and unpardonable4 ,we have struggled on in vain1 resolves are broken ere they pass our lips2 we can see no hope of better things1 we can never forgive ourselves2 and after all our prayers our need remains and our sense of coming short but deepens4 ,yet1 at least we know that we have failed1 and how1 if something higher than ourselves were not at work within8 ,our desperate desires have driven us at last to ,thee1 conscious now1 after all vain effort1 that it is ,thyself alone can satisfy1 and now at peace to know that ,thou it is who art desired1 because ,thou it is who dost desire within us4 ,beyond our need reveal ,thyself1 its cause and cure2 in all desire teach us to discern ,thy drawing near4 ,amen4--,w4 ,e4 ,orchard4 ,second ,week1 ,fourth ,day ,men are often prejudiced against religion because the churches which they happened to attend in youth urged on them an irrational faith4 ,some men never recover from the idea that all religion everywhere must always be the same kind of religion against which in youth their good sense rose in revolt2 they are in perpetual rebellion against religion as it was when they broke with it a generation ago4 ,but if one thing more than another grows1 expands1 becomes in the intelligent and pure increasingly pure and intelligent1 it is religion4 ,consider an early ,hebrew idea of ,god3 ,and it came to pass on the way at the lodging-place1 that ,jehovah met him1 and sought to kill him4 ,then ,zipporah took a flint1 and cut off the foreskin of her son1 and cast it at his feet2 and she said1 ,surely a bridegroom of blood art thou to me4 ,so he let him alone4 ,then she said1 ,a bridegroom of blood art thou1 because of the circumcision4--,exodus #d3bd-bf4 ,over against so abhorrent a picture of a deity who would have committed murder1 had not a mother swiftly circumcised her son1 consider a later thought of ,god3 ,how think ye8 if any man have a hundred sheep1 and one of them be gone astray1 doth he not leave the ninety and nine1 and go unto the mountains1 and seek that which goeth astray8 ,and if so be that he find it1 verily ,i say unto you1 he rejoiceth over it more than over the ninety and nine which have not gone astray4 ,even so it is not the will of your ,father who is in heaven1 that one of these little ones should perish4--,matt4 #ah3ab-ad4 ,so religion grows with man's capacity to receive higher1 finer revelations of the divine4 ,and in no age of the world has so great a change passed over the intellectual framework of faith as in the generation just gone4 ,to live in protest against forms of belief a generation old is fighting men of straw2 the vanguard of religious thought and life has pushed ahead many a mile beyond the point of such attack4 ,men who threw away the living water of the ,gospel because they disliked the water-buckets in which their boyhood churches presented it1 are living spiritually thirsty lives when there is no reasonable need of their doing so4 ,there is many an unbeliever with a ,god-shaped blank in his heart1 who could be a confident and joyful believer if he only knew what religion means to men of faith today4 ,o ,god1 who hast formed all hearts to love ,thee1 made all ways to lead to ,thy face1 created all desire to be unsatisfied save in ,thee2 with great compassion look upon us gathered here4 ,our presence is our prayer1 our need the only plea we dare to claim1 ,thy purposes the one assurance we possess4 ,some of us are very confused2 we do not know why we were ever born1 for what end we should live1 which way we should take4 ,but we are willing to be guided4 ,take our trembling hands in ,thine1 and lead us on4 ,some of us are sore within4 ,we long for love and friendship1 but we care for no one and we feel that no one cares for us4 ,we are misunderstood1 we are lonely1 we have been disappointed1 we have lost our faith in man and our faith in life4 ,wilt ,thou not let us love ,thee who first loved us8 ,some of us are vexed with passions that affright us2 to yield to them would mean disaster1 to restrain them is beyond our power1 and nothing earth contains exhausts their vehemence or satisfies their fierce desire4 ,and so because there is no answer1 no end or satisfaction in ourselves2 and because we are what we are1 and yet long to be so different2 we believe ,thou art1 and that ,thou dost understand us4 ,by faith we feel after ,thee1 through love we find the way1 in hope we bring ourselves to ,thee4 ,amen4--,w4 ,e4 ,orchard4 ,second ,week1 ,fifth ,day ,many minds are prejudiced against religion because1 having gone so far as to feel the credulity of religious belief1 they have never gone further and seen the credulity of religious unbelief4 ,irreligion implies a creed just as surely as religion does2 and many a man's return to faith has begun when his faculties of doubt1 which hitherto had been used only against belief in ,god1 became active against belief in no-,god4 ,mr4 ,gilbert ,chesterton1 with his characteristic vividness and exaggeration1 narrates such an experience3 ,i never read a line of ,christian apologetics4 ,i read as little as ,i can of them now4 ,it was ,huxley and ,herbert ,spencer and ,bradlaugh who brought me back to orthodox theology4 ,they sowed in my mind my first wild doubts of doubt4 ,our grandmothers were quite right when they said that ,tom ,paine and the free-thinkers unsettled the mind4 ,they do4 ,they unsettled mine horribly4 ,the rationalist made me question whether reason was of any use whatever2 and when ,i had finished ,herbert ,spencer ,i had got as far as doubting 7for the first time7 whether evolution had occurred at all4 ,as ,i laid down the last of ,colonel ,ingersoll's atheistic lectures the dreadful thought broke across my mind1 ',almost thou persuadest me to be a ,christian4' ,i was in a desperate way4 ,lest ,mr4 ,chesterton's whimsicality may hide the seriousness of such an experience1 we may add that ,robert ,louis ,stevenson's first break with his youthful atheism came when1 under the influence of ,professor ,fleeming ,jenkin1 he too began to have his first wild doubts of doubt4 ,he began thinking1 as he says1 that certainly the church was not right1 but certainly not the anti-church either4 ,many a man has played unfairly with his doubts2 he has used them against religion1 but not against irreligion4 ,when he is thorough with his doubts he may join the many who understand what the apostle meant when he wrote to ,timothy3 ,o ,timothy1 guard that which is committed unto thee1 turning away from the profane babblings and oppositions of the knowledge which is falsely so called2 which some professing have erred concerning the faith4 ,grace be with you4--#a ,tim4 #f3bj1 #ba4 ,o ,god1 too near to be found1 too simple to be conceived1 too good to be believed2 help us to trust1 not in our knowledge of ,thee1 but in ,thy knowledge of us2 to be certain of ,thee1 not because we feel our thoughts of ,thee are true1 but because we know how far ,thou dost transcend them4 ,may we not be anxious to discern ,thy will1 but content only with desire to do it2 may we not strain our minds to understand ,thy nature1 but yield ourselves and live our lives only to express ,thee4 ,shew us how foolish it is to doubt ,thee1 since ,thou ,thyself dost set the questions which disturb us2 reveal our unbelief to be faith fretting at its outworn form4 ,be gracious when we are tempted to cease from moral strife3 reveal what it is that struggles in us4 ,before we tire of mental search enable us to see that it was not ourselves but ,thy call which stirred our souls4 ,turn us back from our voyages of thought to that which sent us forth4 ,teach us to trust not to cleverness or learning1 but to that inward faith which can never be denied4 ,lead us out of confusion to simplicity4 ,call us back from wandering without to find ,thee at home within4 ,amen4--,w4 ,e4 ,orchard4 ,second ,week1 ,sixth ,day ,many men are biased in favor of their habitual doubt because they do not see that positive faith is the only normal estate of man4 ,we live not by the things of which we are uncertain1 but by the things which we verily believe4 ,columbus doubted many of the old views in geography1 but these negations did not make him great2 his greatness sprang from the positive beliefs which he confidently held and on which he launched his splendid adventure4 ,goethe is right when he makes ,mephistopheles1 his devil1 say1 ,i am the spirit of negation1 for negation1 save as it paves the way for positive conviction1 always bedevils life4 ,the psalmist reveals the ideal experience for every doubter4 ,first1 uncertainty3 ,but as for me1 my feet were almost gone2 ,my steps had well nigh slipped4 ,for ,i was envious at the arrogant1 ,when ,i saw the prosperity of the wicked4 --,psalm #gc3b1 #c4 ,then vision3 ,when ,i thought how ,i might know this1 ,it was too painful for me2 ,until ,i went into the sanctuary of ,god1 ,and considered their latter end4 --,psalm #gc3af1 #ag4 ,then1 positive assurance3 ,thou wilt guide me with thy counsel1 ,and afterward receive me to glory4 ,whom have ,i in heaven but thee8 ,and there is none upon earth that ,i desire besides thee4 ,my flesh and my heart faileth2 ,but ,god is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever4 --,psalm #gc3bd-bf4 ,doubt1 therefore1 does have real value in life2 it clears away rubbish and stimulates search for truth2 but it has no value unless it is finally swallowed up in positive assurance4 ,so ,tennyson pictures the experience of his friend1 ,arthur ,hallam3 ,one indeed ,i knew ,in many a subtle question versed1 ,who touch'd a jarring lyre at first1 ,but ever strove to make it true3 ,perplext in faith1 but pure in deeds1 ,at last he beat his music out4 ,there lives more faith in honest doubt1 ,believe me1 than in half the creeds4 ,he fought his doubts and gather'd strength1 ,he would not make his judgment blind1 ,he faced the spectres of the mind ,and laid them3 thus he came at length ,to find a stronger faith his own4 ,o ,most ,merciful1 whose love to us is mighty1 long-suffering1 and infinitely tender2 lead us beyond all idols and imaginations of our minds to contact with ,thee the real and abiding2 past all barriers of fear and beyond all paralysis of failure to that furnace of flaming purity where falsehood1 sin1 and cowardice are all consumed away4 ,it may be that we know not what we ask2 yet we dare not ask for less4 ,our aspirations are hindered because we do not know ourselves4 ,we have tried to slake our burning thirst at broken cisterns1 to comfort the crying of our spirits with baubles and trinkets1 to assuage the pain of our deep unrest by drugging an accusing conscience1 believing a lie1 and veiling the naked flame that burns within4 ,but now we know ,thou makest us never to be content with aught save ,thyself1 in earth1 or heaven1 or hell4 ,sometimes we have sought ,thee in agony and tears1 scanned the clouds and watched the ways of men1 considered the stars and studied the moral law2 and returned from all our search no surer and no nearer4 ,yet now we know that the impulse to seek ,thee came from ,thyself alone1 and what we sought for was the image ,thou hadst first planted in our hearts4 ,we may not yet hold ,thee fast or feel ,thee near1 but we know ,thou holdest us4 ,all is well4 ,amen4--,w4 ,e4 ,orchard4 ,second ,week1 ,seventh ,day ,men are often prejudiced against religion or any serious consideration of it1 because they never have felt any vital need of ,god4 ,to study wireless telegraphy in the safe seclusion of a college laboratory is one thing2 to hear the wireless apparatus on a floundering ship send out its call for help across a stormy sea is quite a different matter4 ,many folk have never thought of faith in ,god save with a mild1 intellectual curiosity2 they do not know those deep experiences of serious souls with sin and sorrow and anxiety1 with burden for great causes and desire for triumphant righteousness in men and nations--experiences that throw men back on ,god as their only sufficient refuge and hope4 ,men never really find ,god until they need him2 and some men never feel the need of him until life plunges them into a shattering experience4 ,even in scientific research new discoveries are made because men want them1 and ,mayer1 lighting on a theory that proved to be of great value1 says1 ,engaged during a sea voyage almost exclusively with the study of physiology1 ,i discovered the new theory1 for the sufficient reason that ,i vividly felt the need of it4 ,how much more must the vital discovery of ,god depend on life's conscious demand for him6 ,and how certainly a shallow1 frivolous nature1 unstirred by the deep concerns of life1 is biased against any serious interest in religious faith6 ,great believers have first of all thirsted for ,god4 ,ho1 every one that thirsteth1 come ye to the waters1 and he that hath no money2 come ye1 buy1 and eat2 yea1 come1 buy wine and milk without money and without price4 ,wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread8 and your labor for that which satisfieth not8 hearken diligently unto me1 and eat ye that which is good1 and let your soul delight itself in fatness4 ,incline your ear1 and come unto me2 hear1 and your soul shall live3 and ,i will make an everlasting covenant with you1 even the sure mercies of ,david4444 ,seek ye ,jehovah while he may be found2 call ye upon him while he is near3 let the wicked forsake his way1 and the unrighteous man his thoughts2 and let him return unto ,jehovah1 and he will have mercy upon him2 and to our ,god1 for he will abundantly pardon4--,isa4 #ee3a-c1 #f1 #g4 ,grant unto us1 we pray ,thee1 the lost hunger and thirst after righteousness--the longing for ,god4 ,grant unto us that drawing power by which everything that is in us shall call out for ,thee4 ,become necessary unto us4 ,with the morning and evening light1 at noon and at midnight1 may we feel the need of ,thy companionship4444 ,though ,thou dost not speak as man speaks1 yet ,thou canst call out to us2 and the soul shall know ,thy presence1 and shall understand by its own self what ,thou meanest4 ,grant unto us this witness of the ,spirit1 this communion of the soul with ,thee--and not only once or twice3 may we abide in the light4 ,thou hast come unto ,thine own2 and even as of old1 ,thine own know ,thee not1 and believe ,thee not4 ,how many are there that have learned ,thy name upon their mother's knee1 but have forgotten it6 ,how many are there that grew up into the happiness of a childhood in which piety presided1 but have gone away1 and have not come back again to their first love and to their early faith6 ,how many are there marching on now in the ,sahara of indifference and in the wilderness of unbelief6444 ,lord1 look upon them2 have merciful thoughts toward them1 and issue those gracious influences of power by which what is best in them shall lift itself up and bear witness against that which is worst4 ,amen4--,henry ,ward ,beecher4 ,,comment ,,for ,,the ,,week ,i ,we are to deal in this chapter with one of the most common experiences of doubt and are to attempt the statement of a truth useful in meeting it4 ,many minds are undone at the first symptoms of religious uncertainty1 because they suppose that their doubt is philosophical1 and they feel a paralyzing inability to deal with philosophy at all4 ,as men have been known to take to their beds at hearing the scientific names of illnesses which hitherto they had patiently endured1 so minds are sometimes overwhelmed by an unsettlement of faith that takes the name of philosophic doubt4 ,it is well1 then1 early in our study1 to note the homely1 familiar experience1 which in most cases underlies and helps to explain the problem of theological unrest4 ,we all began1 as children1 with an unlimited ability to believe what we were told4 ,we were credulous long before we became critical4 ,god and ,santa ,claus1 fairy stories and life after death--in what beautiful1 unquestioning confusion we received them all6 ,our thinking was altogether imitative1 as our talking was4 ,from the existence of ,kamchatka to the opinion that it was wrong to lie1 we had no independent knowledge of our own4 ,reliance on authority was our only road to truth4 ,one prescription was adequate for every need of information3 ask our parents and be told4 ,this situation was the occasion of our first unsettlement of faith3 we discovered the fallibility of our parents4 ,they failed to tell us what we asked1 or we found to be untrue what they had said1 or they themselves confessed how much they did not know4 ,to some this was a shock1 the memory of which has never been forgotten4 ,edmund ,gosse1 the literary critic1 tells us that up to his sixth year he thought that his father knew everything4 ,then came the fateful crisis when his father wrongly reported an incident which ,edmund himself had witnessed4 ,nothing could possibly have been more trifling to my parents1 he writes1 but to me it meant an epoch4 ,here was the appalling discovery never suspected before that my father was not as ,god and did not know everything4 ,the shock was not caused by any suspicion that he was not telling the truth1 as it appeared to him1 but by the awful proof that he was not1 as ,i had supposed1 omniscient4 ,by most of us1 however1 the transfer of our faith from our parents' authority to some other basis of belief was easily accomplished4 ,we found ourselves resting back on the priest or the church or the creed or the ,bible4 ,still our convictions were not independently our own2 we had never fought for them or thought them through2 they were founded on the say-so of authority4 ,what we wished to know we asked another1 and what was told us we implicitly believed4 ,the time inevitably comes1 however1 to a normally developing mind1 when such an attitude of unquestioning credulity becomes impossible4 ,the curious ,why8 of the growing child1 that began in early years to besiege all statements of fact1 now ranges out to call in question the propositions of religious faith4 ,for long-accepted truths1 from the rotundity of the earth to the existence of ,god1 the enlarging intellect wants reasons rather than dogmas4 ,so normal is this period of interrogation that it is regularly slated on the timetables of psychological development4 ,starbuck fixes the average age of the doubt period at about eighteen years for boys and about fifteen for girls4 ,at whatever time and in whatever special form this period of doubt arises1 the characteristic quality of its outcome is easily described4 ,in the end the fully awakened mind is ill content to accept any authoritative statements that he dare not question or deny4 ,he resents having a quotation from any source waved like a revolver in his face with the demand that he throw up his intellectual hands4 ,no more in religion than in politics does he incline to stand before infallibility1 like the ,french peasants before ,louis ,,xi1 saying1 ,sire1 what are our opinions8 ,he claims his right to question everything1 to make every truth advance and give the countersign of reasonableness1 to weigh all propositions in the scales of his own thinking1 and if he is to love the ,lord his ,god at all1 to do it1 not with all his credulity1 but1 as ,jesus said1 with all his mind4 ,biography reveals how many of the great believers have passed through this youthful period of rebellion against accepted tradition and have suffered serious religious unsettlement in the process4 ,robert ,browning tells us that as a boy he was passionately religious4 ,when his period of questioning and revolt arrived1 however1 it carried him so far that he was publicly rebuked in church for intentional misbehavior1 and in his sixteenth year1 under the influence of ,shelley's ,queen ,mab1 he declared himself an atheist4 ,but in his ,pauline1 written when he was twenty-one1 the direction in which his quest was leading him was plain3 ,i have always had one lode-star2 now ,as ,i look back1 ,i see that ,i have halted ,or hastened as ,i looked towards that star-- ,a need1 a trust1 a yearning after ,god4 ,and when he grew to his maturity1 had left his early credulousness with the revolt that followed it far behind and had used his independent thinking to productive purpose1 from what a height of splendid faith did he look back upon that youthful period of storm and stress which he called the passionate1 impatient struggles of a boy toward truth and love6 ,henry ,ward ,beecher's intellectual revolution was postponed until he had entered the theological seminary4 ,i was then twenty years old1 he writes1 and there came a great revulsion in me from all this inchoate1 unregulated1 undirected experience4 ,my mind took one tremendous spring over into scepticism1 and ,i said3 ',i have been a fool long enough--,i will not stir one step further than ,i can see my way1 and ,i will not stand a moment where ,i cannot see the truth4 ,i will have something that is sure and steadfast4' ,having taken that ground1 ,i was in that state of mind for the larger part of two years4 ,a wholesome restraint upon the wild perversions1 the anarchic denials1 the abysmal despairs of this period of life is the clear recognition that in some form it is one of the commonest experiences of man4 ,,ii ,the treatment accorded to a youth who is passing through this difficult adjustment often determines1 in a fine or lamentable way1 his subsequent attitude towards religion4 ,negative repression of real questions is of all methods the most fatal1 whether it be practiced on the youth by others or by the youth upon himself4 ,i have not been in church for twenty years1 said a college graduate4 ,why8 was the inquiry4 ,because in college ,i learned from geology through how many ages this earth was slowly being built4 ,troubled by the conflict between this new knowledge and my early training1 ,i went to my minister4 ,he said that the ,bible told us the earth was made in six days and that ,i must accept that on faith4 ,that's why4 ,thousands of men are religious wrecks today because1 when the issue was raised in their thinking between their desire for a reason and their traditional beliefs1 they were told that to ask a reason is sin4 ,george ,eliot's experience unhappily is not unique4 ,just when in girlhood her mind was waking to independent thought1 a book now long unread1 ,hennell's ,inquiry ,concerning the ,origin of ,christianity1 convinced her immature judgment that her early credulity had been blind4 ,no one was at hand to state the faith in a reasonable way or to meet1 not by denying but by using her right to think1 the attacks of ,hennell1 which now are forgotten in their futility4 ,she never came through her youthful unsettlement4 ,years after1 ,f4 ,w4 ,h4 ,myers wrote3 ,i remember how at ,cambridge ,i walked with her once in the ,fellows' ,garden of ,trinity1 on an evening of rainy ,may1 and she1 stirred somewhat beyond her wont1 and taking as her text the three words which have been used so often as the inspiring trumpet calls of men--the words ,god1 ,immortality1 ,duty--pronounced with terrible earnestness1 how inconceivable was the first1 how unbelievable was the second1 and how peremptory and absolute the third4 ,never1 perhaps1 had sterner accents affirmed the sovereignty of impersonal and unrecompensing law4 ,i listened and night fell2 her grave1 majestic countenance turned toward me like a ,sibyl's in the gloom2 it was as though she withdrew from my grasp one by one the two scrolls of promise1 and left me the third scroll only1 awful with inevitable fate4 ,in this period of readjustment1 whether one is the youth in the midst of the struggle or the solicitous friend endeavoring to help1 one most needs a clear perception of the ideal outcome of such intellectual unrest4 ,let us attempt a picture of that ideal4 ,the youth who long has taken on his parents' say-so the most important convictions that the soul can hold1 or who1 with no care to think or question for himself1 has looked to ,book or ,church for all that he believed about ,god1 now feels within him that intellectual awakening that cannot be quieted by mere authority4 ,he long has taken his truth preserved by others' hands2 now he desires to pick it for himself1 fresh from the living tree of knowledge4 ,his declaration of independence from subjection to his parents or his ,church is not at first irreverent desire to disbelieve2 it is rather desire to enter into the ,samaritans' experience when they said to the woman who first had told them about ,jesus3 ,now we believe1 not because of thy speaking2 for we have heard for ourselves1 and know that this is indeed the ,saviour of the world 7,john #d3da74 ,the youth turns from second-hand rehearsal of the truth to seek a first-hand1 original acquaintance with it4 ,as he began in utter financial dependence on his father1 then made a bit of spending money of his own1 and at last moved out to make his living1 ashamed to be a pensioner and parasite when he should be carrying himself1 so from his old1 intellectual dependence the youth passes to a fine responsibility for his own thinking and belief4 ,he knows that such transitions1 whether financial or intellectual1 generally mean stress and perplexity1 but if he is to be a man the youth must venture4 ,in this transition beliefs will certainly be modified4 ,not only do forms of religious thinking shift and change with the passing generations1 but individuals differ in their powers to see and understand4 ,religious faith1 like water1 takes shape from the receptacles into whose unique nooks and crannies it is poured4 ,if the truth which the youth possesses is to be indeed his own1 it will surely differ from the truth which once he learned1 by as much as his mind and his experience differ from his father's4 ,even in the ,new ,testament one can easily distinguish ,james' thought from ,paul's and ,john's from ,peter's4 ,but change of form need not mean loss of value4 ,to pass by fine gradations from unquestioning credulity to thoughtful faith is not impossible4 ,thus a boy learns to swim with his father's hands beneath him and passes so gradually from reliance upon another to independent power to swim alone that he cannot tell when first the old support was quietly withdrawn4 ,thus ideally pictured1 this transition is nothing to be feared2 it is one of life's steps to spiritual power4 ,this period of questioning and venture we have called the passage from credulity to independence1 but its significance is deeper than those words imply4 ,it is the passage from hearsay to reality4 ,of all inward intimate experiences1 religion reaches deepest and is least transferable4 ,it is as incommunicable as friendship4 ,a father may commend a comrade to his son and lay bare his own deep friendship with the man1 but if the son himself does not see the value there nor for himself in loyalty and love make self surrender1 the father can do nothing more4 ,friendship cannot be carried on by proxy4 ,one can as easily breathe for another as in another's place be loyal to a friend or trust in ,god4 ,when1 therefore1 the youth moves out from mere dependence on his father1 his ,bible1 or his ,church to see and know ,god in his own right1 he is fulfilling the end of all religion4 ,for this his father taught him1 for this the ,book was written and the ,church was founded4 ,as ,george ,macdonald put it1 ,each generation must do its own seeking and finding4 ,the father's having found is only the warrant for the children's search4 ,said ,goethe3 ,what you have inherited from your fathers you must earn for yourself before you can call it yours4 ,this individual experience makes religion real1 and the awkward age of the spirit when the old security of credulous belief has gone and the new assurance of personal conviction has not yet fully come1 is a small price to pay for the sense of reality that enters into religion when a man for himself knows ,god4 ,such is the ideal transition from credulity to independence1 from hearsay to reality4 ,,iii ,one fallacy which disastrously affects many endeavors after this ideal transition is the prejudice that1 since faith has hitherto in the youth's experience meant credulous acceptance of another's say-so1 faith always must mean that4 ,faith and credulity appear to him identical4 ,in ,alice through the ,looking ,glass the ,queen asserts that she is a hundred and one years1 five months1 and one day old4 ,i can't believe that1 said ,alice4 ,can't you8 said the ,queen4 ,try again1 draw a long breath and shut your eyes4 ,so blind1 irrational1 and wilful does faith seem to many6 ,so far from being an essential part of all real knowledge1 therefore1 faith seems to stand in direct contrast with knowledge1 and this impression is deepened by our common phraseology4 ,tennyson1 for example1 sings3 ,we have but faith3 we cannot know2 ,for knowledge is of things we see4 ,before there can be any profitable discussion of religious belief1 therefore1 we need to see that faith is one of the chief ways in which continually we deal with reality2 it is a road to truth1 without which some truth never can be reached at all4 ,the reason for its inevitableness in life is not our lack of knowledge1 but rather that faith is as indispensable as logical demonstration in any real knowing of the world4 ,behind all other words to be said about our subject lies this fundamental matter3 faith is not a substitute for truth1 but a pathway to truth2 there are realities which without it never can be known4 ,for one thing1 no one can know persons without faith4 ,the world of people1 without whom if a man could live1 he would be1 as ,aristotle said1 either a brute or a god1 is closed in its inner meaning to a faithless mind4 ,entrance into another life with insight and understanding is always a venture of trust4 ,we cry vainly like ,cassim before the magic cave1 ,open1 ,barley1 if we try to penetrate the secrets of a human personality without sympathy1 loyalty1 faith4 ,these alone cry ,open1 ,sesame4 ,surely this knowledge of persons1 impossible without faith1 is as important as any which we possess4 ,while the physical universe furnishes the general background of our existence1 the immediate world in which we really live is personal1 made up of people whom we fear or love1 by whom we are cheered1 admonished1 hurt1 and comforted4 ,the world is so waste and empty1 cried ,goethe1 when we figure but towns and hills and rivers in it1 but to know that someone is living on it with us1 even in silence--this makes our earthly ball a peopled garden4 ,a solitary ,robinson ,crusoe would give up any other knowledge1 if in return he could know even a benighted savage like ,friday4 ,but even a savage cannot be known by logical demonstration4 ,crusoe could so have learned some things1 but when he wanted to know ,friday1 he came by way of adventures in confidence1 personal trust and self-commitment1 growing reliance and appreciative insight1 assured loyalty and faith4 ,he knew whom he had believed4 ,moreover1 such knowledge of persons is as solid as it is important4 ,that two plus two make four cannot be gainsaid1 and doubtless no other kinds of information can be quite so absolute as mathematical theorems4 ,but when one thinks of a comrade1 long loved and trusted until he is known through and through1 for practical purposes one can think of nothing more stable than his knowledge of his friend4 ,the plain fact is that we do know people1 know them well1 and that this knowledge never has been or can be a matter of logical demonstration4 ,by taking ,arthur ,hallam to pieces and analyzing him1 the inductive mind might work out all the laws that are involved in ,arthur ,hallam's constitution2 but that mind with all its knowledge would not know ,arthur ,hallam4 ,tennyson's ,in ,memoriam1 however1 makes clear that knowledge of a friend is not interdicted because scientific demonstration cannot supply it4 ,tennyson knew ,hallam well1 and this knowledge1 far more solid and significant than most other information he possessed1 was not achieved by grinding laws out of facts2 it came1 as all such knowledge comes1 by faith4 ,as one considers what this understanding of the personal world1 seen with the open eyes of trust and loyalty1 means to us1 how assured it is1 how it enriches and deepens life1 he perceives that here at least faith is something far more than a stop-gap for ignorance1 a dream1 a fantasy4 ,it is positively a pathway to truth4 ,there is another realm where faith is our only way of dealing with reality2 by it alone can we know the possibilities of individuals and of society4 ,we are well assured now in the ,united ,states that the nation can be economically prosperous without slavery4 ,but sixty years ago plenty of people were assured of the contrary1 were convinced that if the abolitionists succeeded we could not economically endure4 ,how did we come by this significant knowledge that the immoral system was dispensable8 ,not by logical demonstration4 ,the economists of most of our universities logically demonstrated that slavery was essential4 ,faith was the pathway to the truth4 ,faith that a new order minus slavery was possible gained adherents1 grew in certainty with access of new believers1 fed its followers on hopes unrealized but passionately believed in1 until faith became experiment1 and experiment became experience1 and experience brought forth knowledge4 ,the nation trusted and tried4 ,this is the only way to truth in the realm of moral possibilities4 ,if the world were finished1 its i's all dotted and its t's all crossed1 we might exist on that sort of descriptive science that finds the facts and plots their laws4 ,but the world is in the making2 what is actual is not quite so important to us as what is possible2 we live1 as ,wordsworth sings1 in ,hope that can never die1 ,effort and expectation and desire1 ,and something evermore about to be4 ,to endeavor to satisfy man1 therefore1 with descriptions of the actual is preposterous4 ,the innermost meaning of personal and social life lies in the contrast between what we are and what we may become4 ,beyond the achieved present and the demonstrable future1 stands the ideal1 whose possibility we can never know as a truth without faith enough to try4 ,when1 therefore1 one hears disparagement of faith as a poor makeshift for knowledge1 he may be pardoned a sharp rejoinder4 ,when has man ever found solid knowledge in this most important realm of human possibilities1 without faith as the pioneer8 ,we do not know first and then supply by belief what knowledge lacks4 ,we believe first1 as ,columbus did1 and then find new continents because what faith first suggested a great venture has confirmed4 ,when ,stephenson proposed to run a steam car forty miles an hour1 a host of wise-acres proved the feat impossible on the ground that no one could move through the air so rapidly and still survive4 ,if now we know that one easily survives a speed of over a hundred miles an hour in an aeroplane1 it is because a faith that saw and dared introduced us to the information4 ,we know now that democracy is not a futile dream1 nor the conquest of the air by wireless and of the land by electricity a madman's frenzy2 we know truths of highest import and certainty from the usefulness of radium to the wisdom of religious liberty1 and all this knowledge existed as belief in possibility before it became truth in fact4 ,faith was assurance of things hoped for1 a conviction of things not seen 7,hebrews #aa3a74 ,faith is no makeshift4 ,its power is nowhere felt more effectively than in the achievement of knowledge4 ,,iv ,so far is faith1 then1 from being blind credulity1 that it alone deserves to be called the ,great ,discoverer4 ,everywhere faith goes before as a pioneer and the more prosaic faculties of the mind come after to civilize the newly opened territory4 ,in the evolution of the senses touch developed first4 ,all the knowledge that any creature had1 concerned the tangible4 ,but in time other senses came4 ,dimly and uncertainly creatures discerned by hearing and seeing the existence of distant objects4 ,they became aware of presences which as yet they could not touch2 they were furnished with clues1 in following which they found as real what at first had been intangible4 ,such a relation faith bears to knowledge4 ,faith1 said ,clement of ,alexandria1 is the ear of the soul4 ,said ,ruskin1 faith is veracity of insight4 ,by it we hear what as yet we cannot touch and see what the arms of our logic are not long enough to reach4 ,all the elemental1 primary facts of life are faith's discoveries2 we have no other means of finding them4 ,by faith we discover our selves4 ,we do not hold back from living until we can prove that we exist4 ,we never can strictly prove that we exist4 ,the very self that we are trying to demonstrate would have to be used in the demonstration4 ,we have no other way of getting at ourselves except to take ourselves for granted--accepting ,this main miracle that you are you1 ,with power on your own act and on the world4 ,as ,mr4 ,chesterton remarked1 ,you cannot call up any wilder vision than a city in which men ask themselves if they have any selves4 ,by faith all men go out to live as though their selves were real4 ,by faith we accept the existence of the outer world4 ,we do not restrain ourselves from acting as though the physical world were really there1 until we can prove it4 ,we never can strictly prove it2 perhaps it is not there at all4 ,when through a microscope an ,indian was shown germs in the ,ganges' water1 to convince him of the peril of its use1 he broke the instrument with his cane1 as though when the microscope was gone1 the facts had vanished too4 ,in his philosophy all that we see is illusion4 ,perhaps this is true--the world a phantasm and our minds fooling us4 ,but none of us believes it4 ,and we do not believe it because we live by faith--the elemental faith on which all common sense and science rest and without which man's thought and work would halt--that our senses and our minds tell us the truth4 ,it is idle to talk always of the alternative of reason and faith4 ,reason itself is a matter of faith4 ,it is an act of faith to assert that one's thoughts have any relation to reality at all4 ,by faith we even discover the universe4 ,we cannot think of the world as a multiverse2 we always think of it as having unity1 and we do so whether as scientists we talk about the uniformity of nature1 or as ,christians we speak of one ,creator4 ,not only1 however1 can no one demonstrate that this is a universe2 it positively does not look as though it were4 ,opposing powers snarl at each other and clash in a disorder that gives to the casual observer not the slightest intimation that any unity is there4 ,thunder storms and little babies1 volcanoes and ,easter lilies1 immeasurable nebul in the heavens and people getting married on the earth--what indescribable contrasts and confusions6 ,still we insist on thinking unity into this seeming anomaly1 and out of it we wrest scientific doctrines about the uniformity of law4 ,as ,professor ,james1 of ,harvard1 put it1 ,the principle of uniformity in nature has to be sought under and in spite of the most rebellious appearances2 and our conviction of its truth is far more like religious faith than like assent to a demonstration4 ,one might suppose that beliefs so assumed and so incapable of adequate demonstration would make the knowledge based upon them insecure4 ,but the fact is that all our surest knowledge is thus based on assumptions that we cannot prove4 ,as for the strong conviction1 ,huxley says1 that the cosmic order is rational1 and the faith that throughout all duration1 unbroken order has reigned in the universe1 ,i not only accept it1 but ,i am disposed to think it the most important of all truths4 ,faith then1 in ,huxley's thought1 is not a makeshift when knowledge fails4 ,rather by faith we continually are getting at the most important realities with which we deal4 ,as ,prof4 ,ladd1 of ,yale1 impatiently exclaims3 ,the rankest agnostic is shot through and through with all the same fundamental intellectual beliefs1 all the same unescapable rational faiths1 about the reality of the self and about the validity of its knowledge4 ,you cannot save science and destroy all faith4 ,you cannot sit on the limb of the tree while you tear it up by the roots4 ,v ,if faith is thus the pioneer that leads us to knowledge of persons and of moral possibilities2 if by faith we discover our selves1 the outer world's existence and its unity1 why should we be surprised that faith is our road to ,god8 ,superficial deniers of religion not infrequently seek the discredit of a ,christian's trust by saying that ,god is only a matter of faith4 ,to which the ,christian confidently may answer3 ,of course ,god is a matter of faith4 ,faith is always the ,great ,discoverer4 ,a man finds ,god as he finds an earthly friend4 ,he does not go apart in academic solitude to consider the logical rationality of friendship1 until1 intellectually convinced1 he coolly arms himself with a ,q4 ,e4 ,d4 and goes out to hunt a comrade4 ,friendship is never an adventure of logic2 it is an adventure of life4 ,it is arrived at by what ,emerson called the untaught sallies of the spirit4 ,we fall in love1 it may be with precipitant emotion2 our instincts and our wills are first engaged2 the whole personality rises up in hunger to claim the affection that it needs and without which life seems unsupportable2 faith1 hope1 and love engage in a glorious venture1 where logic plays a minor part4 ,but to make friendship rational1 to give it poise1 to trace its origins and laws1 to clarify1 chasten1 and direct--this is the necessary work of thought4 ,faith discovers and reveals2 reason furnishes criticism1 confirmation1 and discipline4 ,so men find ,god4 ,they are hungry for him not in intellect alone1 but with all their powers4 ,they feel with ,tolstoi3 ,i remembered that ,i only lived at those times when ,i believed in ,god4 ,they need him to put sense and worth and hope into life4 ,as with the reality of persons1 the validity of knowledge1 the unity of the world1 so in religion the whole man rises up to claim the truth without which life is barren1 meaningless4 ,his best convictions at the first are all of them insights of the spirit1 affirmations of the man4 ,but behind1 around and through them all play clarifying thoughts1 and reasons come to discipline and to confirm4 ,but the reasons by themselves could not have found ,god4 ,faith is the ,great ,discoverer4 ,oh6 world1 thou choosest not the better part1 ,it is not wisdom to be only wise1 ,and on the inward vision close the eyes2 ,but it is wisdom to believe the heart4 ,columbus found a world and had no chart ,save one that ,faith deciphered in the skies2 ,to trust the soul's invincible surmise ,was all his science and his only art4 ,our knowledge is a torch of smoky pine ,that lights the pathway but one step ahead ,across the void of mystery and dread4 ,bid then the tender light of ,faith to shine ,by which alone the mortal heart is led ,into the thinking of the thought ,divine4#a #a ,professor ,santayana1 of ,harvard4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,faith in the ,personal ,god ,,daily ,,readings ,we are to consider this week the ,christian faith that ,god is personal4 ,before1 however1 we deal with the arguments which may confirm our confidence in such a faith1 or even with the explanations that may clarify our conception of its meaning1 let us1 in the daily readings1 consider some of the familiar attitudes in every normal human life1 that require ,god's personality for their fulfilment4 ,men have believed in a personal ,god because their own nature demanded it4 ,third ,week1 ,first ,day ,men have believed in a personal ,god because of a deep desire to think of creation as friendly4 ,f4 ,w4 ,myers1 when asked what question he would put to the ,sphinx1 if he were given only one chance1 replied that he would ask1 ,is the universe friendly8 ,some have tried to think of creation as an enemy which we must fight1 as though in ,greenland we strove to make verdure grow1 although the soil and climate were antagonistic4 ,some have tried to think creation neutral1 an impersonal system of laws and forces1 which we must impose our will upon as best we can1 although in the end the system is sure to outlast all our efforts and to bring our gains to naught4 ,but at the heart of man is an irresistible desire to think creation a friend1 with whose good purposes our wills can be aligned1 and whose power can carry our efforts to victorious ends4 ,says ,gilbert ,murray1 of ,oxford ,university1 ,as ,i see philosophy after philosophy falling into this unproven belief in the ,friend behind phenomena1 as ,i find that ,i myself cannot1 except for a moment and by an effort1 refrain from making the same assumption1 it seems to me that perhaps here too we are under the spell of a very old ineradicable instinct4 ,but friends are always persons1 and if creation is friendly then ,god is in some sense personal4 ,this faith is the radiant center of the ,gospel4 ,but thou1 when thou prayest1 enter into thine inner chamber1 and having shut thy door1 pray to thy ,father who is in secret1 and thy ,father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee4 ,and in praying use not vain repetitions1 as the ,gentiles do3 for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking4 ,be not therefore like unto them3 for your ,father knoweth what things ye have need of1 before ye ask him4 ,after this manner therefore pray ye3 ,our ,father who art in heaven1 ,hallowed be thy name4 ,thy kingdom come4 ,thy will be done1 as in heaven1 so on earth4 ,give us this day our daily bread4 ,and forgive us our debts1 as we also have forgiven our debtors4 ,and bring us not into temptation1 but deliver us from the evil one4 ,for if ye forgive men their trespasses1 your heavenly ,father will also forgive you4--,matt4 #f3f-ad4 ,o ,lord1 we would rest in ,thee1 for in ,thee alone is true rest to be found4 ,we would forget our disappointed hopes1 our fruitless efforts1 our trivial aims1 and lean on ,thee1 our ,comfort and our ,strength4 ,when the order of this world bears cruelly upon us2 when ,nature seems to us an awful machine1 grinding out life and death1 without a reason or a purpose2 when our hopes perish in the grave where we lay to rest our loved dead3 ,o what can we do but turn to ,thee1 whose law underlieth all1 and whose love1 we trust1 is the end of all8 ,thou fillest all things with ,thy presence1 and dost press close to our souls4 ,still every passion1 rebuke every doubt1 strengthen every element of good within us1 that nothing may hinder the outflow of ,thy life and power4 ,in ,thee1 let the weak be full of might1 and let the strong renew their strength4 ,in ,thee1 let the tempted find succor1 the sorrowing consolation1 and the lonely and the neglected their ,supreme ,friend1 their faithful ,companion4 ,o ,lord1 we are weary of our old1 barren selves4 ,separate us from our spiritual past1 and quicken within us the seeds of a new future4 ,transform us by the breath of ,thy regenerating power1 that life may seem supremely beautiful and duty our highest privilege1 and the only real evil a guilty conscience4 ,let us be no longer sad1 or downcast1 or miserable1 or despairing1 vexed by remorse1 or depressed by our failures4 ,take from us the old self4 ,give us a new self1 beautiful1 vigorous1 and joyous4 ,let old things pass away and let all things become new4 ,kindle within us a flame of heavenly devotion1 so that to us work for ,thee shall become a happiness1 and rest in ,thee shall become an energy1 unchecked by fears within and foes without4 ,give us love1 and then we shall have more than all we need1 for ,thou art ,love1 ,thyself the ,giver and the ,gift4 ,amen4--,samuel ,mc,comb4 ,third ,week1 ,second ,day ,bless ,jehovah1 ,o my soul2 ,and all that is within me1 bless his holy name4 ,bless ,jehovah1 ,o my soul1 ,and forget not all his benefits3 ,who forgiveth all thine iniquities2 ,who healeth all thy diseases2 ,who redeemeth thy life from destruction2 ,who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies2 ,who satisfieth thy desire with good things1 ,so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle4 --,psalm #ajc3a-e4 ,such an attitude of thankfulness as this psalm represents is native to man's heart4 ,when he is glad he feels grateful3 he has an irrepressible impulse to thank somebody4 ,as between a boastful ,nebuchadnezzar--,this great ,babylon which ,i have built 444 by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty 7,dan4 #d3cj7--;and the ,master1 grateful for the dawning success of his cause--,i thank ,thee1 ,o ,father1 ,lord of heaven and earth 7,matt4 #aa3be7--we can have no doubt which is the nobler attitude4 ,man at his best always looks upon his blessings as gifts1 his powers as entrustments1 his service as a debt which he owes1 and his success as an occasion of gratitude rather than pride4 ,but we cannot be really thankful to impersonal power4 ,little children blame chairs for their falls and thank apple trees for their apples1 but maturity outgrows the folly of accusing or blessing impersonal things4 ,thankfulness1 in any worthy interpretation of the term1 can never be felt except toward friendly persons who intended the blessing for which we are glad4 ,a thoughtful man1 therefore1 cannot be grateful to a godless world-machine1 even though it has treated him well1 for the world-machine never purposed to treat him well and his happiness is a lucky accident1 with no good will to thank for it4 ,haeckel says that there is no ,god--only mobile1 cosmic ether4 ,imagine a congregation of people1 under ,haeckel's leadership1 rising to pray1 ,o ,mobile ,cosmic ,ether1 blessed be thy name6 ,it is absurd4 ,unless ,god is personal1 the deepest meanings of gratitude in human hearts for life and its benedictions have no proper place in the universe4 ,o ,god above all1 yet in all2 holy beyond all imagination1 yet friend of sinners2 who inhabitest the realms of unfading light1 yet leadest us through the shadows of mortal life2 how solemn and uplifting it is even to think upon ,thee6 ,like sight of sea to wearied eyes1 like a walled-in garden to the troubled mind1 like home to wanderer1 like a strong tower to a soul pursued2 so to us is the sound of ,thy name4 ,but greater still to feel ,thee in our heart2 like a river glorious1 cleansing1 healing1 bringing life2 like a song victorious1 comforting our sadness1 banishing our care2 like a voice calling us to battle1 urging us beyond ourselves4 ,but greater far to know ,thee as our ,father1 as dear as ,thou art near2 and ourselves begotten of ,thy love1 made in ,thy image1 cared for through all our days1 never beyond ,thy sight1 never out of ,thy thought4 ,to think of ,thee is rest2 to know ,thee is eternal life2 to see ,thee is the end of all desire2 to serve ,thee is perfect freedom and everlasting joy4 ,amen4--,w4 ,e4 ,orchard4 ,third ,week1 ,third ,day ,have mercy upon me1 ,o ,god1 according to thy lovingkindness3 ,according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions4 ,wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity1 ,and cleanse me from my sin4 ,for ,i know my transgressions2 ,and my sin is ever before me4 ,against thee1 thee only1 have ,i sinned1 ,and done that which is evil in thy sight4 --,psalm #ea3a-d4 ,penitence is one of the profoundest impulses in man's heart4 ,and man at his deepest always feels about his sin as the ,psalmist did3 he has wronged not only this individual or that1 but he has sinned against the whole structure of life1 against whatever ,power and ,purpose may be behind life1 and his penitence is not complete until he cries to the ,highest1 ,against ,thee1 ,thee only1 have ,i sinned4 ,while men1 therefore1 have always asked each other for forgiveness1 they have as well asked ,god for it4 ,but such an attitude is utterly irrational if ,god is not personal4 ,persons alone care what we do1 have purposes that our sins thwart1 have love that our evil grieves1 have compassion to forgive the penitent2 and to confess sin to a world-machine--careless1 purposeless1 loveless1 and without compassion--is folly4 ,yesterday we saw how impossible it was really to feel grateful to a materialist's god2 today imagine congregations of people addressing to the ,cosmic ,ether any such penitent confessions as ,christians by multitudes continually address to their ,father3 ,we have erred and strayed from ,thy ways like lost sheep4 ,plainly in a world where creative power is impersonal the deepest meanings of penitence have no place4 ,read over the prayer that follows1 considering the futility of addressing such a penitent aspiration to anything impersonal2 and then really pray it to the ,god whom ,christ revealed3 ,we beseech ,thee1 ,lord1 to behold us with favor1 folk of many families and nations gathered together in the peace of this roof1 weak men and women subsisting under the covert of thy patience4 ,be patient still2 suffer us yet awhile longer--with our broken purposes of good1 with our idle endeavors against evil1 suffer us awhile longer to endure and 7if it may be7 help us to do better4 ,bless to us our extraordinary mercies2 if the day come when these must be taken1 brace us to play the man under affliction4 ,be with our friends1 be with ourselves4 ,go with each of us to rest2 if any awake1 temper to them the dark hours of watching2 and when the day returns1 return to us1 our sun and comforter1 and call us up with morning faces and with morning hearts--eager to labor--eager to be happy1 if happiness shall be our portion--and if the day be marked for sorrow1 strong to endure it4 ,we thank ,thee and praise ,thee2 and in the words of him to whom this day is sacred1 close our oblation4 ,amen4--,robert ,louis ,stevenson4#b ,third ,week1 ,fourth ,day ,now the ,god of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing1 that ye may abound in hope1 in the power of the ,holy ,spirit4--,rom4 #ae3ac4 ,for in hope were we saved3 but hope that is seen is not hope3 for who hopeth for that which he seeth8 ,but if we hope for that which we see not1 then do we with patience wait for it4--,rom4 #h3bd1 #be4 ,hope is no fringe on the garment of human life2 it is part of the solid texture of our experience2 without it men may exist1 but they cannot live4 ,now some minds live by hope about tomorrow1 or at the most1 the day after tomorrow1 and do not take long looks ahead4 ,but as men grow mature in thoughtfulness1 such small horizons no longer can content their minds2 they seek a basis for hope about the far issue of man's struggle and aspiration4 ,they cannot bear to think that creation lacks a far-off divine event2 they cannot tolerate a universe that in the end turns out to be ,an eddy of purposeless dust1 ,effort unmeaning and vain4 ,but it is obvious that if ,god is not in control of creation1 with personal purpose of good will1 directing its course1 there is no solid basis for hope4 ,if the universe is in the hands of physical forces1 then a long look ahead reveals a world collapsing about a cold sun1 and humanity annihilated in the wreck4 ,some such finale is the inevitable end of a godless world4 ,as another pictures it1 mankind1 like a polar bear on an ice floe that is drifting into warmer zones1 will watch in growling impotence the steady dwindling of his home1 until he sinks in the abyss4 ,all optimistic philosophies of life have been founded on faith in a personal ,god1 who purposes good to his children1 and without such faith no hope1 with large horizons1 is reasonable4 ,paul is fair to the facts when he says1 ,having no hope and without ,god in the world 7,eph4 #b3ab74 ,when one asks why men have believed in a personal ,god1 this clearly is part of the answer3 only a personal ,god can be the ,god of hope4 ,o ,god of heaven above and earth beneath6 ,thou art the constant hope of every age--the reliance of them that seek ,thee with thoughtfulness and love4 ,we own ,thee as the guardian of our pilgrimage2 and when our steps are weary we turn to ,thee1 the mystic companion of our way1 whose mercy will uphold us lest we fall4 ,thou layest on us the burden of labor throughout our days2 but in this sacred hour ,thou dost lift off our load1 and make us partakers of ,thy rest4 ,thou ever faithful ,god1 our guide by cloud and fire6 without this blest repose our life were but a desert path2 here we abide by the refreshing spring1 and pitch our tents with joy around ,thy holy hill4 ,yet when we seek to draw nigh to ,thee1 ,thou art still above us1 like the heavens4 ,o ,thou that remainest in the height1 and coverest ,thyself with the cloud thereof6 behold1 we stand around the mountain where ,thou art2 and if ,thou wilt commune with us1 the thunder from ,thy voice of love shall not make us afraid4 ,call up a spirit from our midst to serve ,thy will2 and take away the veil from all our hearts1 that with the eye of purity we may look on the bright and holy countenance of life4 ,and when we go hence to resume our way1 may it be with nobler spirits1 with more faithful courage1 and more generous will4 ,for life and death we trust ourselves to ,thee as disciples of ,jesus ,christ4 ,amen4--,james ,martineau4 ,third ,week1 ,fifth ,day ,jehovah is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup3 ,thou maintainest my lot4 ,the lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places2 ,yea1 ,i have a goodly heritage4 ,i will bless ,jehovah1 who hath given me counsel2 ,yea1 my heart instructeth me in the night seasons4 ,i have set ,jehovah always before me3 ,because he is at my right hand1 ,i shall not be moved4 ,therefore my heart is glad1 and my glory rejoiceth3 ,my flesh also shall dwell in safety4 ,for thou wilt not leave my soul to ,sheol2 ,neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption4 ,thou wilt show me the path of life3 ,in thy presence is fulness of joy2 ,in thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore4 --,psalm #af3e-aa4 ,many things in human life bring joy4 ,from the sense of a healthy body and the exhilaration of a sunshiny day to the deep satisfactions of home and friends--there are numberless sources of happiness4 ,but man has always been athirst to find joy in thinking about the total meaning of life4 ,lacking that1 the details of life lose radiance1 for1 in spite of himself1 man ,hath among least things ,an undersense of greatest2 sees the parts ,as parts1 but with a feeling of the whole4 ,if when he thinks about ,god1 he can1 like this psalmist1 rejoice in the love behind life1 the good purpose through it1 the glorious future ahead of it1 then all his other blessings are illumined4 ,not only are there happy things in life1 but life itself is fundamentally blessed4 ,but if when he raises his thought to the ,eternal1 he has no joyful thoughts about it1 sees no love or purpose there1 then a pall falls on even his ordinary happiness4 ,alas for that man who does not like to think about life's origin and destiny and meaning1 because he has no joyful faith about ,god6 ,some men have what ,epictetus called paralysis of the soul every time they think of creation1 for to them it is a huge physical machine crashing on without reason or good will4 ,but some men have such a joyful faith in the divine that their gladness about the whole of life redeems their sorrow about its details4 ,so ,samuel ,rutherford in prison said1 ,jesus ,christ came into my room last night and every stone flashed like a ruby4 ,for the thought of ,god in terms of friendly personality is the most joyful idea of him that man has ever had4 ,man's thirst for joy is one of the sources of his faith in a personal ,god4 ,he has wanted what ,paul called joy and peace in believing 7,rom4 #ae3ac74 ,we rejoice1 ,o ,lord our ,god1 not in ourselves nor in the firm earth on which we tread1 nor in the household1 nor in the church1 nor in all the procession of things where mankind moves with power and glory4 ,we rejoice in the ,lord4 ,we rejoice in ,thy strength4 ,a strange joy it is4 ,day by day we find ourselves breaking out into gladness through the ministration of the senses1 and by the play of inward thought2 but ,thou art never beheld by us4444 ,thou never speakest to us1 nor do we feel ,thy hand1 nor do we discern ,thy face of love and glory and power4 ,we break away from all other experiences1 and look up into the emptiness1 as it seems to us1 which yet is full of life2 into that which seems cold and void1 but wherein moves eternal power2 into the voiceless and inscrutable realm where ,thou dwellest1 ,god over all1 blessed forever4444 ,o ,lord our ,god1 how near ,thou art to us6 and we do not know it4 ,how near is the other life6 and we do not feel it4 ,it clothes us as with a garment4 ,it feeds us4 ,it shines down upon us4 ,it rejoices over us4444 ,thither1 out of narrow and anguishful ways1 out of sorrows1 out of regrets1 out of bereavements1 we look2 and already we are rested before we reach it4 ,grant unto us1 today1 we beseech ,thee1 this beatific vision4 ,amen4--,henry ,ward ,beecher4 ,third ,week1 ,sixth ,day ,for when one saith1 ,i am of ,paul2 and another1 ,i am of ,apollos2 are ye not men8 ,what then is ,apollos8 and what is ,paul8 ,ministers through whom ye believed2 and each as the ,lord gave to him4 ,i planted1 ,apollos watered2 but ,god gave the increase4 ,so then neither is he that planteth anything1 neither he that watereth2 but ,god that giveth the increase4 ,now he that planteth and he that watereth are one3 but each shall receive his own reward according to his own labor4 ,for we are ,god's fellow-workers3 ye are ,god's husbandry1 ,god's building4--,i ,cor4 #c3d-i4 ,one of the profoundest motives that can grip man's heart is the conviction that he is a fellow-worker with the ,divine4 ,to feel that there is a great ,cause1 on behalf of which ,god himself is concerned1 and in the furtherance of which we can be ,god's instruments and confederates1 is the most exhilarating outlook on life conceivable4 ,even people who deny ,god try to get this motive for themselves4 ,one such man hopes for the success of his favorite causes in the tendency of the universe2 another talks about the nature of things taking sides4 ,but nothing save personality has moral tendencies1 and only persons take sides in moral issues4 ,if the guidance of the world is personal1 then1 and then only1 can we rejoice with confidence in a great ,ally1 who has moral purposes and who has committed to us part of his work4 ,this was the ,master's motive when he said1 ,my ,father worketh even until now1 and ,i work 7,john #e3ag74 ,but one clearly sees that such an inspiring consciousness of cooperation with the ,eternal depended on the certainty with which the ,master called the ,eternal by a personal name--,father4 ,when men like ,livingstone have gone out in sacrificial adventure for the saving of men they have not banked on the tendency of the universe1 nor trusted in any abstract nature of things taking sides2 they have been servants of a personal ,god1 under orders from him1 and they have counted on personal guidance in the service of a cause whose issue was safe in ,god's hands4 ,o ,god1 we pray ,thee for those who come after us1 for our children1 and the children of our friends1 and for all the young lives that are marching up from the gates of birth1 pure and eager1 with the morning sunshine on their faces4 ,we remember with a pang that these will live in the world we are making for them4 ,we are wasting the resources of the earth in our headlong greed1 and they will suffer want4 ,we are building sunless houses and joyless cities for our profit1 and they must dwell therein4 ,we are making the burden heavy and the pace of work pitiless1 and they will fall wan and sobbing by the wayside4 ,we are poisoning the air of our land by our lies and our uncleanness1 and they will breathe it4 ,o ,god1 ,thou knowest how we have cried out in agony when the sins of our fathers have been visited upon us1 and how we have struggled vainly against the inexorable fate that coursed in our blood or bound us in a prison-house of life4 ,save us from maiming the innocent ones who come after us by the added cruelty of our sins4 ,help us to break the ancient force of evil by a holy and steadfast will and to endow our children with purer blood and nobler thoughts4 ,grant us grace to leave the earth fairer than we found it2 to build upon it cities of ,god in which the cry of needless pain shall cease2 and to put the yoke of ,christ upon our business life that it may serve and not destroy4 ,lift the veil of the future and show us the generation to come as it will be if blighted by our guilt1 that our lust may be cooled and we may walk in the fear of the ,eternal4 ,grant us a vision of the far-off years as they may be if redeemed by the sons of ,god1 that we may take heart and do battle for ,thy children and ours4 ,amen4--,walter ,rauschenbusch4 ,third ,week1 ,seventh ,day ,i will extol thee1 my ,god1 ,o ,king2 ,and ,i will bless thy name for ever and ever4 ,every day will ,i bless thee2 ,and ,i will praise thy name for ever and ever4 ,great is ,jehovah1 and greatly to be praised2 ,and his greatness is unsearchable4 ,one generation shall laud thy works to another1 ,and shall declare thy mighty acts4 ,of the glorious majesty of thine honor1 ,and of thy wondrous works1 will ,i meditate4 ,and men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts2 ,and ,i will declare thy greatness4 ,they shall utter the memory of thy great goodness1 ,and shall sing of thy righteousness4 ,jehovah is gracious1 and merciful2 ,slow to anger1 and of great lovingkindness4 ,jehovah is good to all2 ,and his tender mercies are over all his works4 ,all thy works shall give thanks unto thee1 ,o ,jehovah2 ,and thy saints shall bless thee4 --,psalm #ade3a-aj4 ,adoration springs from the deeps of man's spirit4 ,we never can be content with looking down on things beneath us1 nor with looking out on things that find our level4 ,we always must look up to things above us4 ,as a medival saint said1 ,the soul can never rest in things that are beneath itself4 ,worship1 therefore1 is an undeniable impulse in man's heart4 ,poets worship ,beauty2 scientists worship ,truth2 every man of honor worships ,right4 ,that is1 the good1 true1 and beautiful stand above us calling out our adoration1 and all the best in us springs from our worshipful response to their appeal4 ,but this impulse to adore is never fulfilled until we gather up all life into spiritual unity and bow down in awe and joy before ,god4 ,that is adoration glorified1 worship crowned and consummated4 ,and the only ,god whom man can adore with awe and joy is personal4 ,no impersonal thing is worshipful2 however great a thing may be it still lies beneath our soul4 ,no abstract ,idea is worshipful2 we still are greater than any idea that we can hold4 ,only ,god1 thought of in personal terms but known to be greater than any terms which human life can use1 is adorable4 ,men have believed in ,him because worship is man's holiest impulse4 ,such are the experiences of man1 with which faith in a personal ,god is inseparably interwoven4 ,our demand for a friendly creation1 our deepest impulses to thanksgiving1 penitence1 hope1 joy1 cooperation with the ,eternal1 and adoration of the highest--all require personality in ,god4 ,as ,professor ,william ,james said1 ,the universe is no longer a mere ,it to us1 but a ,thou if we are religious4 ,o ,lord our ,god1 ,thy greatness is unsearchable1 and the glory of ,thy presence has overwhelmed us4 ,thou art hidden in excess of light2 and if we were to behold ,thee in the great sphere in which ,thou art living1 none of us would dare to draw near to ,thee4 ,our imperfections1 our transgressions1 our secret thoughts1 our wild impulses1 that at times come surging in upon us1 are such that we should be ashamed to stand before the ,all-searching ,eye4 ,our lives are before ,thee1 open as a book1 and ,thou readest every word and every letter thereof4 ,blessed be ,thy name1 ,thou hast taught us to come to ,thee through the ,lord ,jesus ,christ as through a friend1 and thou hast taught us to draw near to ,thee in person through the familiar way of ,fatherhood2 from our childhood we have said1 ,our ,father1 and in this way we are not afraid2 in this way we come familiarly and boldly3 not irreverently1 but with the familiarity which love gives4 ,thou hast poured the light of ,thy love upon the path which we tread1 and ,thou hast taught us to come rejoicing before ,thee4444 ,open ,thy hand and ,thy heart1 and say to every one of us1 ,peace be unto you6 ,amen4--,henry ,ward ,beecher4 ,,comment ,,for ,,the ,,week ,i ,we have been using freely the most momentous word in human speech as though we clearly understood its meaning4 ,we have been speaking of ,god as though the import of the term were plain4 ,but most of us1 asked to state precisely what we mean by ,god1 would welcome such a refuge from our confusion as ,joubert sought4 ,it is not hard to know ,god1 said he1 provided one will not force oneself to define him4 ,many people who stoutly claim to believe in ,god live in perpetual vacillation as to what they mean by him4 ,writes one3 ,god to my mind is an impersonal being1 but whether for convenience or through sheer impotence ,i pray to him as a personal being4444 ,i know ,i talk on both sides of the fence1 but that is just where ,i am4 ,at times1 indeed1 some question whether there is any need to think or say what ,god may signify4 ,they call him by vague names--the ,all1 the ,infinite4 ,in moods of exalted feeling1 impatient of definition1 they wish to be left alone with their experience of the ,eternal2 they resent the intrusion of theology1 as a poet1 lost in wonder at a landscape1 might resent the coming of surveyors with their clanking chains4 ,so ,walt ,whitman wanted to see the stars rather than hear the astronomer1 and after listening to the learned lecture1 with its charts and diagrams1 he says1 ,i became tired and sick1 ,till rising and gliding out ,i wandered off by myself1 ,in the mystical moist night air1 and from time to time ,looked up in perfect silence at the stars4 ,but1 for all that1 we well may be thankful for astronomers4 ,at times the mystical1 moist night air is absent2 we do not wish to look up in perfect silence at the stars2 and1 even though we know in advance that they are bound to be inadequate1 we do want as clear and worthy ideas as possible about the universe4 ,moreover1 when such ideas are ours1 looking up in perfect silence at the stars is more impressive than it ever was before4 ,no more can men content themselves with a vague consciousness of ,god4 ,spirits like ,wordsworth have raptures of which they sing1 ,in such access of mind1 in such high hour ,of visitation from the living ,god1 ,thought was not--in enjoyment it expired4 ,in communion with nature1 in love for family1 in fellowship with ,god1 such hours may come1 but nature1 family1 and ,god must also be the objects of understanding thought4 ,days of vital need1 if not of mental doubt1 inevitably come when it is impossible any longer to use a term like ,god without knowing what we mean4 ,the special urgency of this is felt by most of us because as children we were taught to picture the ,divine in terms of personality4 ,the ,god of the ,bible is personal4 ,little that persons do1 save sinning1 is omitted from the catalogue of ,god's activities as he is pictured for us in the ,scripture4 ,he knows1 loves1 purposes1 warns1 rebukes1 allures1 rewards1 and punishes1 as only persons can4 ,and all our relationships with him are clearly personal4 ,when we pray we say ,our ,father2 when we seek our duty we ask1 ,what wilt thou have me to do8 ,god is ,he and ,thou1 not ,it1 and friendship is the ideal relation of all souls with him4 ,moreover1 in our maturity we are not likely to be interested in a ,god who is not personal4 ,whoever curiously asks why he believes in ,god1 will find not simply reasons but causes for his faith1 and will perceive that the causes of faith lie back of the reasons for it4 ,vital need always precedes the arguments by which we justify its satisfaction4 ,a man eats one thing and shuns another on principles of dietetics that can be defended before his intelligence2 but behind all such sophisticated reasons stands the vital cause of eating--hunger4 ,so back of intellectual arguments for belief in ,god lies the initial cause of faith3 men are hungry4 ,men believe in ,god because they hunger for a world that is not chance and chaos1 but that is guided by a ,purpose4 ,they believe in ,god1 because in their struggles after righteousness they hunger for a ,divine ,ally in whom righteousness has its origin1 its ground and destiny4 ,they believe in ,god because they hunger for confidence that ,someone cares about our race in its conflicts and defeats and because in their individual experience they want a friend4 ,without such faith man feels himself to be1 in ,goethe's phrase1 a troubled wanderer upon a darkened earth4 ,plainly this elemental human hunger for purpose1 righteousness1 and friendship calls for something akin to personality in ,god4 ,only persons have purpose1 character1 and friendliness4 ,the vital motives which lead men to seek ,god's comfort1 forgiveness1 guidance1 and cooperation plainly imply his personality4 ,things do not forgive us1 love us1 nor purpose good concerning us1 nor can any thing be imagined so subtle and so powerful as to satisfy the needs on account of which men come to ,god4 ,if ,god is not personal1 he can feel no concern for human life and a ,god of no concern is of no consequence4 ,the philosophers of ,india1 with a well-reasoned pantheistic system and centuries to make their philosophy effective1 have failed to quell this deathless thirst for a ,god who counts4 ,every wayside shrine of ,hinduism incarnates the old faith in gods conceived as friends1 not things2 and ,buddha1 who taught impersonal deity1 is now himself adored as the ,personal ,lord of ,love and ,blessedness4 ,wherever one finds vital religion one finds that ,god is no dry impersonal abstraction1 but man's friend4 ,boscamen1 speaking of the ,egyptian ,book of the ,dead and of the ,chaldean ,tablets1 says3 ,six thousand years ago in ,egypt and ,chaldea--it is not dread1 but the grateful love of a child to his father1 of friend to friend1 that meets us in the oldest books of the world4 ,and when one turns from the oldest to the newest books this inner demand of man's religious life has not ceased2 it has been refined and confirmed4 ,the ,all would not be the ,all unless it contained a ,personality1 said ,victor ,hugo4 ,that ,personality is ,god4 ,biography is lavish in illustrations of this need in man's religious life4 ,the biographer of ,theodore ,parker1 the freelance preacher of ,boston1 remarks3 ,in his theology ,god was neither personal nor impersonal1 but a reality transcending these distinctions4 ,in his devotions ,god was as personal as his own father or mother1 and he prayed to him as such1 daringly indifferent to the anthropomorphisms of his unfettered speech4 ,when one passes from speculation to religion1 he always comes into a realm where only a personal ,god will do4 ,on this point even confessed unbelievers furnish confirmation4 ,one who calls himself an agnostic writes3 ,at times in the silence of the night and in rare lonely moments1 ,i experience a sort of communion of myself with ,something ,great that is not myself4 ,then the ,universal ,scheme of things has on me the effect of a sympathetic ,person1 and my communion therewith takes on a quality of fearless worship4 ,these moments happen1 and they are to me the supreme fact in my religious life4 ,always for the purposes of vital religion1 ,god must have on us the effect of a sympathetic ,person4 ,,ii ,when one1 however1 subjects this need of his religious life to searching thought1 what difficulty he encounters6 ,multitudes1 if they were candid1 would confess what a college senior wrote3 ,when ,i am just thinking about ,god in a speculative or philosophical way1 ,i generally think of him as impersonal1 but for practical purposes ,i think of him as personal4 ,many folks feel thus distraught2 at the heart of their religious life is the paralyzing doubt1 that in a universe like this to think of ,god as personal is absurd4 ,if a train moving a mile a minute should leave the earth1 it must travel #dj1jjj1jjj years before it would reach the nearest star4 ,the ,creator of such a world is not readily reduced to the similitude of human life4 ,once men lived on a flat earth1 small in compass and cosily tucked beneath the sky's coverlet1 but now the world's vastness beggars imagination4 ,as an astronomer remarked1 coming from a session with his telescope1 ,this does away with a six-foot god2 you cannot shake hands with the ,creator of this4 ,men used to suppose that ,arcturus was a single star1 but now new telescopes reveal ,arcturus as a galaxy of stars1 thousands in number1 with interstellar spaces so immense that thought breaks down in spanning them and imagination even cannot make the leap4 ,is the ,god of such a universe to be conceived in terms of a magnified man8 ,so to picture deity seems at first sight a survival of mere childishness4 ,professor ,john ,fiske1 of ,harvard1 has told us that when he was a boy ,god always conjured up in his imagination the figure of a venerable bookkeeper1 with white flowing beard1 standing behind a high desk and writing down the bad deeds of ,john ,fiske4 ,how many of us can recall such early crude and childish thoughts of ,god6 ,a mother asked her young daughter what she was drawing4 ,a picture of ,god1 was the answer4 ,but no one knows what ,god looks like1 the mother said4 ,they will1 came the rejoinder1 when ,i get through4 ,we all began with some such primitive idea of deity4 ,indeed1 these early conceptions long persist in many minds1 as the following statements1 written by college students1 indicate3 ,i think of ,god as real1 actual skin and blood and bones1 something we shall see with our eyes some day1 no matter what lives we lead on earth4 ,it may be a remnant of youth1 but anyhow1 every time ,i think of ,god there appears a vague image of a man1 with all members of the body1 just enormously large4 ,i have always pictured him according to a description in ,paradise ,lost as seated upon a throne1 while around are angels playing on harps and singing hymns4 ,i think of ,god as having bodily form and being much larger than the average man4 ,he has a radiant countenance beaming with love and compassion4 ,he is erect and upright1 fearless and brave4#c ,no one of us may be contemptuous of such crude ideas2 we all possessed them once4 ,indeed the loss of them1 with their picture of deity1 clear in feature and distinct in outline1 has been to some a shock from which faith has not recovered4 ,when increasing knowledge discredited our immature theology1 and our world immeasurably widened1 the very human ,god of our first imaginations was lost among the stars4 ,we learned that this is a universe where the light that falls upon our eyes tonight left the far heavens when ,abraham was shepherding on ,syrian hills4 ,the ,christian ,gospel of the personal ,father which once was good news became a serious problem4 ,we still may cling to the old meanings of our religious faith2 still we may pray in hours of need as though our childhood's ,god were really there2 but at times we suspect that we are clinging to the beauty of an early memory while reluctantly we lose conviction of its truth4 ,many modern men and women can understand the plight of the famous ,dr4 ,jowett of ,oxford1 who1 so runs the tradition1 inserted used to in a muffled voice1 when he recited the creed3 ,i used to believe in ,god the ,father ,almighty4 ,with such misgivings1 whether as habitual disturbers of our faith or as occasional moods of unbelief that come and go1 most of us must be familiar4 ,what ,charles ,darwin is reported to have said about himself1 many if they spoke frankly would say too3 ,sometimes ,i feel a warm sense of a personal ,god1 and then--with a shake of his head--it goes away4 ,,iii ,whatever may be our theology1 the fact is plain that the denial of a personal ,god solves no problem4 ,for if we may not think of ,god in terms of personality1 the query still remains1 which was there before--in what terms shall we conceive of the ,eternal8 ,in a discussion on the nature of the sky1 one boy1 denying the idea of a solid canopy1 exclaimed1 ,there ain't any sky4 ,said the other1 seeing how little this negation solved the problem1 ,well1 what is it that ain't8 ,some such inquiry one must put to his doubts about ,god's personality4 ,though we may deny a personal ,god1 nevertheless in the place where he once stood1 creator and sustainer of all existence1 is ,something that we do think of somehow4 ,we may have but little of ,carlyle's sublime imagination2 may not easily transport ourselves to stand with him on the far northern cliff1 behind him all ,europe and ,africa fast asleep1 except the watchmen1 and before him the silent ,immensity and ,palace of the ,eternal1 whereof our sun is but the porch-lamp4 ,yet who of us1 regarding the illimitable universe1 on the far outskirts of which our little earth is whirling1 so minute that through the strongest telescope from the nearest star its conflagration would be quite invisible1 has escaped the sense of a ,universal ,power8 ,and the human mind cannot so keep itself at home in little tasks and pleasures as to evade the question3 ,how shall we think of the ,power that made the universe8 ,in what terms8 ,by what analogies8 ,hours of revelation come in every serious life when no desire compares in urgency with the desire to know the character of the ,eternal4 ,it does make a prodigious difference what hands hold the leash of the universe4 ,this second fact is also clear1 that if we are to think of the ,eternal at all1 we must think in terms of something drawn from our experience4 ,when we sing of ,paradise we speak of golden streets and gates of pearl1 and ,thoreau remarks that1 arriving in heaven1 he expects to find pine trees there4 ,such words we do not take literally1 but such words we cannot utterly avoid1 for if we are to speak at all of the unknown glory1 we must use pictures from the known4 ,so we think of ,god in human symbols4 ,we cannot catch him in an abstract definition as though a boy with a butterfly net should capture the sun at noon4 ,our minds are not fitted for such enterprise4 ,of necessity we take something homely1 familiar1 close at hand1 and lifting it up as far as we can reach1 say ,god is most like that4 ,no one who thinks at all of the ,eternal escapes this necessity4 ,by this method the materialist reaches his philosophy4 ,haeckel laughs to scorn the opening clause of the ,apostles' ,creed4 ,i believe in ,god the ,father ,almighty1 maker of heaven and earth--for such faith no words are contemptuous enough4 ,this denial does not mean however that ,haeckel has no faith2 he deliberately offers a creedal substitute which runs in part3 ,i believe in a chemical substance of a viscous character1 having albuminous matter and water as its chief constituents4 ,in such terms does ,haeckel think of the ,eternal4 ,a professor of medicine has remarked that such a theory reduces all reality to phosphorus and glue4 ,when some ,psalmist cries1 ,bless the ,lord1 ,o my soul1 nothing substantial is speaking or is being spoken to save phosphorus and glue6 ,when an ,italian patriot cries1 ,the time for dying comes to all1 but the time for dishonoring oneself ought never to come1 nothing is real and causal save phosphorus and glue6 ,and every gracious and redeeming deed in history from the love of mothers to the cross of ,christ has been a complicated working out of phosphorus and glue6 ,in whatever labored phrases he may state his case1 the materialist's method there is obvious2 he has taken physical energy1 of whose presence in his own body he is first assured1 and whose reality he has then read out into the world1 and this homely and familiar experience he has lifted up as far as he can reach to say1 the ,eternal is most like that4 ,so far as method is concerned1 the theist of necessity travels the same road2 only he insists on a nobler symbol than physical energy in terms of which to think of ,god4 ,he takes mind4 ,he says in effect3 ,there may be wide stretches of the universe where our intellects meet no answer and find no meaning4 ,but in much of the universe we do see meaning2 and how can intelligence find sense where intelligence has not put sense8 ,a few scratches on a cliff's face in ,assyria1 after centuries of neglect1 rendered up their meaning to the mind of ,rawlinson4 ,they were themselves the work of intelligence1 and intelligence could read them4 ,so1 the theist continues1 the universe is in part at least intelligible4 ,our minds fit into it and are answered by it4 ,we can trace its laws and predict its movements4 ,man first worked out the nature of the ellipse in theoretical geometry1 and then telescopes later showed the gigantic ellipses of planetary orbits in the heavens4 ,can it be that this intelligible world1 readable by mind1 is itself essentially mindless8 ,as easily believe that the notes of ,wagner's operas were accidentally blown together by a whirlwind and yet are playable by man6 ,therefore the theist believes the universe to be rational2 he takes mind as he has known it in himself1 and lifting it as high as he can reach1 cries1 ,god is most like that4 ,so far as the general method of approach is concerned1 the ,christian travels the same road to his idea of ,god4 ,only he cannot believe that the best he knows is too good or too great to be a symbol in terms of which to think of the ,eternal4 ,therefore he will not take a byproduct of experience such as physical energy1 nor a section of personality such as mind2 he takes the full orb of personality1 self-conscious being that knows and purposes and loves1 and he affirms that ,god is most like this4 ,such in its simplest form is the ,christian assertion of ,god's personality4 ,in one of his noblest passages ,martineau has put into classic form this necessity1 which we have been discussing1 of thinking about ,god in terms of human experience3 ,god1 being infinite1 can never be fully comprehended by our minds2 whatever thought of him be there1 his real nature must still transcend3 there will yet be deep after deep beyond1 within that light ineffable2 and what we see1 compared with what we do not see1 will be as the raindrop to the firmament4 ,our conception of him can never correspond with the reality1 so as to be without omission1 disproportion1 or aberration2 but can only represent the reality1 and stand for ,god within our souls1 till nobler thoughts arise and reveal themselves as his interpreters4 ,and this is precisely what we mean by a symbolical idea4 ,the devotee who prostrates himself before a black stone1--the ,egyptian who in his prayers was haunted by the ideal form of the graceful ibis or the monstrous sphinx--the ,theist who bends beneath the starry porch that midnight opens to the temple of the universe--the ,christian who sees in heaven a spirit akin to that which divinely lived in ,galilee1 and with glorious pity died on ,calvary--all alike assume a representation of him whose immeasurable nature they can neither compass nor escape4 ,and the only question is1 whether the conception they portray upon the wall of their ideal temple is an abominable idol1 or a true and sanctifying mediatorial thought4 ,,iv ,in their endeavor thus to think of ,god in terms of personality1 some are perplexed because in their imagination a person is inseparable from flesh4 ,i think of ,god as a personal being1 writes a college student4 ,a personal being would have a form that you could see or touch4 ,but this would be true only if the grossest materialism were accepted1 and the spiritual life declared to be the product of brain as digestive fluids are of salivary glands4 ,on any other basis1 personality is not indissolubly bound to body nor by it necessarily delimited4 ,a man cannot hear without his ear1 but he is not his ear2 he cannot hear without the auditory nerve1 but he is not the auditory nerve2 he cannot hear without the temporal lobe of the brain1 but he is not the brain nor any portion of it4 ,these may be the instruments which he uses2 he is free when they are well1 hampered when they are broken1 and at last he is separable from them all4 ,john ,quincy ,adams at the age of eighty met a friend upon a ,boston street4 ,good morning1 said the friend1 and how is ,john ,quincy ,adams today8 ,thank you1 was the ex-president's reply1 ,john ,quincy ,adams himself is well1 quite well1 ,i thank you4 ,but the house in which he lives at present is becoming dilapidated4 ,it is tottering upon its foundation4 ,time and the seasons have nearly destroyed it4 ,its roof is pretty well worn out4 ,its walls are much shattered and it trembles with every wind4 ,the old tenement is becoming almost uninhabitable and ,i think ,john ,quincy ,adams will have to move out of it soon4 ,but he himself is quite well1 quite well4 ,such a conception of man as being a permanent personality and having a temporary body is essential to any worthy meaning when we use personal terms about ,god4 ,with such an elevated thought1 however1 of what personality does mean1 it soon is evident that no other reality with which we deal is so worthy to be the symbol of an ,eternal ,spirit4 ,is one perplexed that ,god1 who is invisible1 should be pictured in the similitude of human persons8 ,but we are invisible4 ,the outward husks and fleshly garment of our friends we indeed have seen1 but upon the friend himself--consciousness1 love1 purpose1 ideal1 and character--no eye has looked4 ,no mirror ever has been strong enough to show us to ourselves4 ,in every homely conversation this ineffable miracle is wrought3 out of the unseen where ,i dwell1 ,i signal by word and gesture to you back in the unseen where you dwell4 ,we are inhabitants now of the intangible and unseen world2 we are as invisible as ,god4 ,indeed1 personality is essentially the most unlimited reality with which we deal2 in comparison a solar system is a little thing4 ,consider memory1 by which we can retrace our youthful days1 build our shanties once again at brooksides1 replay our games1 and recapitulate the struggles and the joys of the first days at school4 ,nothing in all the universe can remember except persons4 ,were we not so familiar with this element in human greatness1 we would more often pause to exclaim1 as did ,augustine1 fifteen centuries ago1 ,great is the power of memory4 ,amazement overcomes me when ,i think of it4 ,and yet men go abroad to gaze upon the mountains1 the broad rivers1 the wide ocean1 the courses of the stars1 and pass themselves1 the crowning wonder1 by6 ,consider imagination1 by which1 sitting still in body we can project ourselves around the world1 can walk down ,princes ,street in ,edinburgh1 or stand in mingled awe and condemnation before the tomb of ,napoleon in ,paris1 or rise uncovered before the majesty of the ,matterhorn4 ,nothing in all the universe can do that except persons4 ,were full power to act wherever we can think added to our gifts1 we should come so near to incipient omnipresence as to be in dread of our responsibility4 ,consider love1 by which we live not so much where our bodies are as where our friends and family may be4 ,love expands the individual until his real life is independent of geography4 ,says one lover to another3 ,the widest land ,doom takes to part us1 leaves thy heart in mine ,with pulses that beat double4 ,many a mother in ,america has lived in the trenches of ,france2 many a man has found that what might happen to him where his body was could not be compared with what might happen to him where his friendships were2 and as we grow in love and loyalty we find ourselves scattered all over creation4 ,how far such an expansion of life may go our ,lord revealed when he said1 ,inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these1 my brethren1 even these least1 ye did it unto me4 7,matt4 #be3dj47 ,nothing in heaven above or on the earth beneath can so extend itself in love save persons4 ,finally1 consider creative power by which human beings project themselves into the future1 and1 with masterful ideals in mind1 lay hold on circumstance and bend it to their will4 ,as if he shared creative power with the ,eternal1 an engineer summons nature's forces to his bidding and lays his will upon them1 until where nothing was a structure stands that mankind may use for centuries4 ,nothing in all the universe can so create except persons4 ,in that essentially creative act where deathless ideas and harmonies are given being by poets and musicians1 so that something out of nothing is brought to pass by personality1 man faces a mystery as abysmal as ,god's making of the world4 ,paradise ,lost is wonderful2 but not half as wonderful as the creative personality itself who years before projected it4 ,an inward prompting1 ,milton says1 which now grew daily upon me1 that by labor and intense study1 joined with the strong propensity of nature1 ,i might perhaps leave something so written to after times as they should not willingly let it die4 ,nothing can so create save personality4 ,personality is not so limited that we should be ashamed to think of ,god in terms of it4 ,rather1 of all realities with which we deal1 personality alone1 invisible1 reaching back in memory1 reaching out in imagination1 expanding itself in love1 and laying hold upon the future with creative power1 is a worthy symbol of the ,eternal ,spirit4 ,even when the meaning of personality has been so enlarged and elevated1 we should not leave our statement of belief in ,god as though our experience of personality were a mould into which our thought of him is poured and so delimited4 ,we are not presumptuous ,lilliputians1 running out with verbal stakes and threads1 to pin down the tall1 majestic ,gulliver of the ,eternal and dance in theological exultation round our capture4 ,we know better than that4 ,we understand how insufficient is every human name for ,god4 ,we know that when we have said our best--,how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past tracing out6 7,rom4 #aa3cc74 ,nothing more has marred the ,christian message and discredited the ,christian faith than the unwise presumption that has forced its definitions into the secrets of the ,infinite4 ,it is enough to say1 exclaims ,leslie ,stephen1 that they defined the nature of ,god ,almighty with an accuracy from which modest naturalists would shrink in describing the genesis of a black beetle4 ,the antidote to such vain pride of theology is found in the wholesome modesty of the ,bible4 ,there man enquires1 ,canst thou by searching find out ,god8 ,canst thou find out the ,almighty unto perfection8 ,it is high as heaven2 what canst thou do8 ,deeper than ,sheol2 what canst thou know8 7,job #aa3g74 ,there ,god replies3 ,as the heavens are higher than the earth1 so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts 7,isa4 #ee3i74 ,scripture bears abundant testimony to the symbolic nature of our human terms for ,god4 ,like as a father pitieth his children1 so ,jehovah pitieth them that fear him 7,psalm #ajc3ac74 ,as one whom his mother comforteth1 so will ,i comfort you 7,isa4 #ff3ac74 ,i will betroth thee unto me 7,hos4 #b3bj74 ,return1 444 saith ,jehovah1 for ,i am a husband unto you 7,jer4 #c3ad74 ,the ,lord spake unto ,moses 444 as a man speaketh unto his friend 7,ex4 #cc3aa74 ,father1 ,mother1 ,bridegroom1 ,husband1 ,friend--these are symbols of ,god4 ,men1 endeavoring to frame some worthy thought of the ,eternal1 lift up their best in phrases such as these1 and in them enshrine their noblest concepts of the divine4 ,they have no better1 truer thing to say of ,god1 no wiser way in which to say it4 ,but when they think of the ,eternal as he must be1 and of their human words1 infinitesimal in comparison1 they know that all their best names for ,god are like small measures of water dipped from an immeasurable sea4 ,for all that1 so much of ,god as they can grasp and understand is the most important truth that mankind knows4 ,let even a tea-cup of water be taken to a laboratory and it will tell the truth about the sea2 that one tea-cup will reveal the quality of the whole ocean4 ,yet it will not reveal all the truth about the ocean4 ,when one considers the reach of the sea over the rim of the world2 thinks of the depths that no eye can pierce1 the distances that no mind can imagine2 remembers the currents that sweep through the sea1 the tides that rise there1 and the storms that beat it to its nether wells1 he dare not try to put these into a tea-cup4 ,so ,god sweeps out beyond the reach of human symbols4 ,at once so true and so inadequate are all our words for him4 ,so we might speak to one who incredulously looks upon our faith1 but for one who whole-heartedly approaches ,god as ,christianity suggests1 no negative and cautionary word is adequate4 ,the ,christian method of conceiving ,god brings the most exhilarating thought of him that man has ever had4 ,it says in brief3 ,take your best and think of ,god as most truly symbolized in that4 ,as to what our best is1 not even the agnostics doubt4 ,the physical universe belittles us on one side only2 it makes a pigmy of the body4 ,in our spirits we still tower above the physical2 we are greater than the world we know4 ,our supreme good1 the divinest reality with which we deal1 is personality4 ,then lift that up1 says ,christianity2 it is your best1 and you dare not think of ,god in terms of less2 you have ,christ's example in arguing from the human best to the divine3 ,if ye1 being evil1 know how to give good gifts unto your children1 how much more 444 your ,father4 7,matt4 #g3aa47 ,the ,christian faith asserts that when a man thus thinks of ,god in terms of the best he knows he is on the road toward truth4 ,how many billion spiritual miles he may have to travel to the end1 no man can tell4 ,only he will never need to stop1 retrace his steps1 and start upon a lower path than personality1 a road that lies beneath righteousness and love4 ,the road leads on and up beyond our imagination1 but it is the same road and not another4 ,god is personality plus1 or else he alone is completely personal and we are but in embryo4 ,if ,god so is personal1 then all the deep meanings of religious life and faith that the saints1 our spiritual sires1 have known are open to us modern men and women4 ,forms of thought indeed have changed1 but if ,god is thus our ,father and our ,friend1 the essentials of ,christian experience are waiting for us all4 ,life then is not purposeless2 all creation is bound into spiritual unity by personal ,will2 and in sacrificial labor we are serving one who is able to guard that which we have committed unto him against that day 7,,ii ,tim4 #a3ab74 ,old hymns of confidence in time of trial1 we too can sing3 ,still will we trust1 though earth seem dark and dreary1 ,and the heart faint beneath ,his chastening rod2 ,though steep and hard our pathway1 worn and weary1 ,still will we trust in ,god4 ,and we can pray1 not indeed with clamorous beggary as though the grace of ,god were a wayside stall where every greedy hand can pluck what passing whim may wish1 but we can commune with ,god as the real saints have always prayed with humility and gratitude and confident desire for good4 ,most of all1 that priceless privilege is open to us which is the center and sun of ,christian thought and life4 ,for if among all realities in our experience1 we have dared take the best1 personality1 as a symbol in terms of which to think of ,god1 how should we not1 among all personalities1 take the best we know as the highroad of approach to him4 ,therefore our real symbol of ,god shall be no man among us1 frail and sinful1 but our ,lord himself fairest among ten thousand--the one altogether beautiful4 ,we shall think of ,god in terms of him4 ,we shall see the light of the knowledge of the glory of ,god in the face of ,jesus ,christ 7,,ii ,cor4 #d3f47 #b ,copyright1 #aiad1 ,charles ,scribner's ,sons4 ,used by permission4 #c ,from a questionnaire1 ,belief in ,god and ,immortality1 by ,prof4 ,james ,h4 ,leuba4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,belief and ,trust ,,daily ,,readings ,we have tried to explain our faith in the personal ,god1 and to see the transfiguring influence of that faith on life4 ,but is belief in ,god always such a blessing as we have pictured8 ,rather faith1 like every other experience of man1 has its caricatures and burlesques4 ,many men are prevented from appreciation of faith in ,god1 with its inestimable blessings1 because they have so continually seen faith's perversions4 ,the fact is that belief in ,god may be an utterly negligible matter in a man's experience or may even become a positively pernicious influence4 ,let us1 in the daily readings1 consider some of the familiar travesties on faith4 ,fourth ,week1 ,first ,day ,praise ye ,jehovah4 ,praise ,jehovah1 ,o my soul4 ,while ,i live will ,i praise ,jehovah3 ,i will sing praises unto my ,god while ,i have any being1 ,put not your trust in princes1 ,nor in the son of man1 in whom there is no help4 ,his breath goeth forth1 he returneth to his earth2 ,in that very day his thoughts perish4 ,happy is he that hath the ,god of ,jacob for his help1 ,whose hope is in ,jehovah his ,god4 --,psalm #adf3a-e4 ,no one can mistake the note of reality in this psalmist's experience of ,god4 ,but every one of us knows people who1 if asked whether they believed in ,god1 would readily assent1 yet to whom faith makes no such difference in life as this psalm expresses4 ,their faith is nothing but an opinion about ,god1 lightly held1 a formal consent that what church or family tradition says must be correct4 ,they have what ,luther used to call the charcoal burner's faith4 ,a man of that occupation1 when asked what he believed1 said1 ,what ,holy ,church believes2 but1 questioned further1 he could not tell what it was that ,holy ,church did believe4 ,so formal1 vitally unpossessed1 and practically unreal is much of our religious opinion that passes for faith4 ,dean ,swift was a churchman of high rank1 and yet his biographer is compelled to say of him3 ,he clung to the doctrines of his church1 not because he could give abstract reasons for his belief1 but simply because the church happened to be his4 ,vital religious faith is a very different thing from such dry conventionality4 ,a man may assent to the contents of a college catalogue and yet never have experience of college life2 he may agree that a menu is dietetically correct and yet never grow strong from the food2 and he may believe in every creed in ,christendom and not know what faith in ,god really means4 ,opinions about ,god are a roadway to ,god1 but the end of the journey is a personal fellowship that transfigures life2 and to seize opinions as though they were the object of faith is1 to use ,tagore's figure1 like a man who tries to reach his destination by firmly clutching the dust of the road4 ,o ,thou great ,father of us all1 we rejoice that at last we know ,thee4 ,all our soul within us is glad because we need no longer cringe before ,thee as slaves of holy fear1 seeking to appease ,thine anger by sacrifice and self-inflicted pain1 but may come like little children1 trustful and happy1 to the ,god of love4 ,thou art the only true ,father1 and all the tender beauty of our human loves is the reflected radiance of ,thy loving kindness1 like the moonlight from the sunlight1 and testifies to the eternal passion that kindled it4 ,grant us growth of spiritual vision1 that with the passing years we may enter into the fulness of this our faith4 ,since ,thou art our ,father1 may we not hide our sins from ,thee1 but overcome them by the stern comfort of ,thy presence4 ,by this knowledge uphold us in our sorrows and make us patient even amid the unsolved mysteries of the years4 ,reveal to us the larger goodness and love that speak through the unbending laws of ,thy world4 ,through this faith make us the willing equals of all ,thy other children4 ,as ,thou art ever pouring out ,thy life in sacrificial father-love1 may we accept the eternal law of the cross and give ourselves to ,thee and to all men4 ,we praise ,thee for ,jesus ,christ1 whose life has revealed to us this faith and law1 and we rejoice that he has become the first-born among many brethren4 ,grant that in us1 too1 the faith in ,thy fatherhood may shine through all our life with such persuasive beauty that some who still creep in the dusk of fear may stand erect as free sons of ,god1 and that others who now through unbelief are living as orphans in an empty world may stretch out their hands to the great ,father of their spirits and find ,thee near4 ,amen4--,walter ,rauschenbusch4 ,fourth ,week1 ,second ,day ,faith is travestied in many lives not so much by the substitution of opinion for experience1 as by making religion consist in certain devout practices1 such as church-going4 ,ceremonialism1 instead of being an aid in making ,god real1 takes the place of fellowship with ,god4 ,how scathing were the attacks of the prophets on this distortion of religion6 ,hear the word of ,jehovah1 ye rulers of ,sodom2 give ear unto the law of our ,god1 ye people of ,gomorrah4 ,what unto me is the multitude of your sacrifices8 saith ,jehovah3 ,i have had enough of the burnt-offerings of rams1 and the fat of fed beasts2 and ,i delight not in the blood of bullocks1 or of lambs1 or of he-goats4 ,when ye come to appear before me1 who hath required this at your hand1 to trample my courts8 ,bring no more vain oblations2 incense is an abomination unto me2 new moon and sabbath1 the calling of assemblies--,i cannot away with iniquity and the solemn meeting4 ,your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth2 they are a trouble unto me2 ,i am weary of bearing them4 ,and when ye spread forth your hands1 ,i will hide mine eyes from you2 yea1 when ye make many prayers1 ,i will not hear3 your hands are full of blood4 ,wash you1 make you clean2 put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes2 cease to do evil2 learn to do well2 seek justice1 relieve the oppressed1 judge the fatherless1 plead for the widow4--,isa4 #a3aj-ag4 ,many young people1 watching conventional observances in religious worship and perceiving no real life active there1 come to the conclusion that religious faith is a decent and negligible formality4 ,so ,william ,scott ,palmer1 tracing his progress from agnosticism to ,christianity1 describes the religion of his boyhood3 ,religion as a personal matter1 religion as a life1 did not exist for me or for my family4 ,the border-land of my native village went to church at eleven o'clock on fine ,sundays1 and ,i went in and with it4 ,there were unlucky ,sundays when the ,litany was said1 and the service prolonged by its unmeaning length2 the lucky ,sundays were wet ones that cleared up later4444 ,i did not know that there was any vital meaning in religion4 ,and even ,sir ,wilfred ,grenfell1 whose work in ,labrador is one of this generation's outstanding triumphs of ,christian faith1 says of his young manhood3 ,the ordinary exponents of the ,christian faith had never succeeded in interesting me in any way1 or even in making me believe that they were more than professionally concerned themselves4 ,religion appeared to be a profession1 exceedingly conventional1 and most unattractive in my estimation--the very last ,i should have thought of selecting4 ,no travesty on faith is more deadly in its effects than this substitution of conventional observance for life4 ,o ,jesus1 we thy ministers bow before ,thee to confess the common sins of our calling4 ,thou knowest all things2 ,thou knowest that we love ,thee and that our hearts' desire is to serve ,thee in faithfulness2 and yet1 like ,peter1 we have so often failed ,thee in the hour of ,thy need4 ,if ever we have loved our own leadership and power when we sought to lead our people to ,thee1 we pray ,thee to forgive4 ,if we have been engrossed in narrow duties and little questions1 when the vast needs of humanity called aloud for prophetic vision and apostolic sympathy1 we pray ,thee to forgive4 ,if in our loyalty to the ,church of the past we have distrusted ,thy living voice and have suffered ,thee to pass from our door unheard1 we pray ,thee to forgive4 ,if ever we have been more concerned for the strong and the rich than for the shepherdless throngs of the people for whom ,thy soul grieved1 we pray ,thee to forgive4 ,o ,master1 amidst our failures we cast ourselves upon ,thee in humility and contrition4 ,we need new light and a new message4 ,we need the ancient spirit of prophecy and the leaping fire and joy of a new conviction1 and ,thou alone canst give it4 ,inspire the ministry of ,thy ,church with dauntless courage to face the vast needs of the future4 ,free us from all entanglements that have hushed our voice and bound our action4 ,grant us grace to look upon the veiled sins of the rich and the coarse vices of the poor through ,thine eyes4 ,give us ,thine inflexible sternness against sin1 and ,thine inexhaustible compassion for the frailty and tragedy of those who do the sin4 ,make us faithful shepherds of ,thy flock1 true seers of ,god1 and true followers of ,jesus4 ,amen4--,walter ,rauschenbusch4 ,fourth ,week1 ,third ,day ,and he spake also this parable unto certain who trusted in themselves that they were righteous1 and set all others at nought3 ,two men went up into the temple to pray2 the one a ,pharisee1 and the other a publican4 ,the ,pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself1 ,god1 ,i thank thee1 that ,i am not as the rest of men1 extortioners1 unjust1 adulterers1 or even as this publican4 ,i fast twice in the week2 ,i give tithes of all that ,i get4 ,but the publican1 standing afar off1 would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven1 but smote his breast1 saying1 ,god1 be thou merciful to me a sinner4 ,i say unto you1 ,this man went down to his house justified rather than the other3 for every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled2 but he that humbleth himself shall be exalted4--,luke #ah3i-ad4 ,the men against whom the ,master directed this parable were bigots4 ,self-opinionated1 self-conceited1 dogmatic1 and contemptuous--they wore all the attributes of bigotry4 ,and bigotry is a very familiar perversion of faith4 ,vital fellowship with ,god ought to make men gracious1 magnanimous1 generous2 it ought to make life with ,god seem so incomparably important that when anyone has that1 his opinions about ,god will be tolerantly regarded1 however mistaken they may appear to be4 ,dr4 ,pritchett1 when ,president of the ,massachusetts ,institute of ,technology1 passed through a classroom where a young instructor was conducting a chemical experiment4 ,the reaction itself1 says ,dr4 ,pritchett1 was going on in a retort on the table1 while on a blackboard was written the conventional formula1 which in the science of chemistry is used to describe the reaction4 ,it so happened that the instructor had made a mistake in writing the formula2 instead of ,,co#b he had written ,,co#c4 ,but this made not the slightest difference in the reaction which was going on in the flask4 ,so1 a man may live his life with an admirably ,christian spirit1 although he describes it with a mistaken formula4 ,his error is theoretical1 not vital4 ,but a bigot is so sure that he alone knows the true formula1 that a man without that formula is altogether wrong1 and that he must either set him right or condemn him utterly1 that he grows bitter1 hard1 unlovely4 ,his opinions may be right1 but his spirit is wrong4 ,the faith that should make his life radiant is perverted to make it narrow1 harsh1 contemptuous4 ,he renders hateful the very faith he seeks to commend and ruins the reputation of the ,god whom he is zealous to exalt4 ,so the ,pharisee of the parable missed all the beauty of the ,publican's life because he thought the ,publican's formula was wrong4 ,no one can estimate the irreparable damage which zealous bigots have done to true faith4 ,o ,thou who art of purer eyes than to behold iniquity1 canst ,thou bear to look on us conscious of our great transgression8 ,yet hide not ,thy face from us1 for in ,thy light alone shall we see light4 ,forgive us for the sins which crowd into the mind as we realise ,thy presence2 our ungovernable tempers1 our shuffling insincerities1 the craven fear of our hearts1 the pettiness of our spirits1 the foul lusts and fatal leanings of our souls4 ,not for pardon only1 but for cleansing1 ,lord1 we pray4 ,forgive us1 we beseech ,thee1 our unconscious sins2 things which must be awful to ,thy sight1 of which we yet know nothing4 ,forgive by giving us in fuller measure the awakening of ,thy presence1 that we may know ourselves1 and lose all love of sin in the knowledge of what ,thou art4 ,forgive us for the things for which we can never forgive ourselves2 those sad turned pages of our life which some chance wind of memory blows back again with shame2 for the moment of cruel passion1 the hour beyond recall1 the word that went forth to poison and defame1 the carelessness that lost our opportunity1 the unheeded fading of bright ideals4 ,forgive us for the things that others can never forgive2 the idle tale1 the cruel wrong1 the uncharitable condemnation1 the unfair judgment1 the careless criticism1 the irresponsible conduct4 ,forgive us for the sins of our holy things2 that we have turned the sacred page without a sigh1 read the confessions of holy men and women and never joined therein1 lived in ,thy light and never prayed to be forgiven or rendered ,thee thanksgiving2 professed to believe in ,thee and love ,thee1 yet dared to injure and hate4 ,naught save being born again1 nothing but a miracle of grace1 can ever be to us forgiveness4 ,cleanse our hearts1 renew our minds1 and take not ,thy ,holy ,spirit from us4 ,amen4--,w4 ,e4 ,orchard4 ,fourth ,week1 ,fourth ,day ,of all perversions of faith none is more fatal than the substitution of opinions about ,god for integrity of character and usefulness of life4 ,with what scathing vehemence does ,james1 as ,dr4 ,moffatt renders him1 attack this travesty on faith4 ,my brothers1 what is the use of anyone declaring he has faith1 if he has no deeds to show8 ,can his faith save him8 ,suppose some brother or sister is ill-clad and short of daily food2 if any of you says to them1 ',depart in peace6 ,get warm1 get food1' without supplying their bodily needs1 what use is that8 ,so faith1 unless it has deeds1 is dead in itself4 ,someone will object1 ',and you claim to have faith6' ,yes1 and ,i claim to have deeds as well2 you show me your faith without any deeds1 and ,i will show you by my deeds what faith is6 ,you believe in one ,god8 ,well and good4 ,so do the devils1 and they shudder4 ,but will you understand1 you senseless fellow1 that faith without deeds is dead8 ,when our father ,abraham offered his son ,isaac on the altar1 was he not justified by what he did8--,james #b3ad-ba4 ,an ,american business man not long dead1 who hated any word from the pulpit about social righteousness1 used to complain3 ,preachers are talking so everlastingly about this earth4 ,i've done my best to get them to stick to the ,gospel1 and not allow 'worldliness' to get into the teachings of the ,church2 but the good old preachers have gone to glory4 ,yet this pious zealot helped wreck the finances of a great railroad system1 and with part of the proceeds built a theological seminary4 ,there was no vital1 intelligent connection between his faith in ,god and his ideals of character and service4 ,one verse should be made to flame in ,christian pulpits3 ,if any provideth not for his own1 and specially his own household1 he hath denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever 7,i ,tim4 #e3h74 ,domestic fidelity is here only typical of all basic moral obligations4 ,what this verse says in principle is clear3 theoretical unbelief is not the worst sin in ,god's sight2 any man who fails in the fundamental duties of rectitude and service has thereby denied the faith and is worse than an atheist4 ,o thou holy ,one and just6 if alone the pure in heart can see thee1 truly we must stand afar off1 and not so much as lift up our eyes unto heaven4 ,were it not that thou hast help and pity for the contrite spirit1 we could only cry1 ,depart from us1 we are sinful men1 ,o ,lord6 ,for idle words1 for proud thoughts and unloving deeds2 for wasted moments and reluctant duties1 and too eager rest2 for the wandering desire1 the vain fancy1 the scornful doubt1 the untrustful care2 for impatient murmurs1 and unruly passions1 and the hardness of a worldly heart2 thou1 ,lord1 canst call us unto judgment1 and we have naught to answer thee4 ,but1 ,o thou ,judge of men1 thou art witness that we do not love our guilty ways2 make our conscience true and tender that we may duly hate them1 and refuse them any peace as enemies to thee4 ,stir up within us a great and effectual repentance that we may redeem the time which we have lost1 and in the hours that remain may do the work of many days4 ,thou knowest all our secret snares2 drive from us every root of bitterness3 with thy severity pluck out1 ,o ,lord1 the thorns of sin from our entangled souls1 and bind them as a crown of contrition around our bleeding brows2 and having made our peace with thee may we henceforth watch and pray that we enter not again into temptation1 but bear our cross with patience to the close4 ,amen4--,james ,martineau4 ,fourth ,week1 ,fifth ,day ,some of the most lamentable perversions of religious faith arise from inadequate ideas of ,god4 ,consider1 for example1 the way ,manasseh thought that the ,divine ought to be worshiped4 ,for he built again the high places which ,hezekiah his father had destroyed2 and he reared up altars for ,baal1 and made an ,asherah1 as did ,ahab king of ,israel1 and worshipped all the host of heaven1 and served them4 ,and he built altars in the house of ,jehovah1 whereof ,jehovah said1 ,in ,jerusalem will ,i put my name4 ,and he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of ,jehovah4 ,and he made his son to pass through the fire1 and practised augury1 and used enchantments1 and dealt with them that had familiar spirits1 and with wizards3 he wrought much evil in the sight of ,jehovah1 to provoke him to anger4--,,ii ,kings #ba3c-f4 ,then compare the thought of the ,master on the same subject4 ,but the hour cometh1 and now is1 when the true worshippers shall worship the ,father in spirit and truth3 for such doth the ,father seek to be his worshippers4 ,god is a ,spirit3 and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth4--,john #d3bc1 #bd4 ,there is no reason to suppose that ,manasseh was insincere2 he is one of an innumerable company in whom the religious motive has been harnessed to warped and ignorant ideas of ,god4 ,religious faith1 like any other tremendous power1 is terrific in evil consequences when it goes wrong4 ,men1 under its subtle and prevailing influence1 have waged bloody wars1 worshiped with licentious rituals1 carried on pitiless persecutions1 and in bigotry1 cruelty1 and deceit have grown worse than they would have been with no religion whatsoever4 ,and men1 in its inspiring light1 have launched missionary movements1 founded great philanthropies1 built schools1 hospitals1 orphanages1 and in sacrifice1 courageous service1 and hope of human brotherhood have made man's history glorious4 ,religion needs intelligence to save it from becoming a ruinous curse2 like all power of the first magnitude it is a disaster if ignorantly used4 ,since religious faith will always be a major human motive1 under what obligations are we to save it from perversion and to keep it clean and right6 ,almighty ,god1 our heavenly ,father1 we are most unworthy to be called ,thy children2 for when light and darkness have been set before us1 we have often chosen darkness rather than light4 ,conscious that within us are the elements of a nobler and a meaner life1 we have yet given way to the meaner appetites1 and have not obeyed the inspiration ,thou hast kindled within us4 ,we entreat ,thee now of ,thy grace to call us back from the ways of temptation and sin into that higher life which ,thou dost breathe upon us1 and which is manifested in ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,give us the self-knowledge1 the humility1 the repentance1 the aspiration which draw us to the ,cross of ,christ1 that worshiping there in lowliness1 we may see the weakness of falsehood and the strength of truth1 the exceeding sinfulness of selfishness1 and the beauty of love and sacrifice4 ,o ,thou whose secret is with them that fear ,thee1 inspire us with that loyalty of soul1 that willingness to do ,thy will to which all things are clear4 ,darkness1 we know1 cometh upon the proud and disobedient2 confusion is ever attendant upon self-will2 while to the humble1 the earnest1 and the pure-minded1 the way of duty and spiritual health is made clear4 ,o ,spirit of the ,eternal1 subdue within us all pride1 all vainglory1 all self-seeking1 and bring every thought and every desire into obedience to the law of ,christ our ,lord4 ,almighty ,father1 to ,thee would we consecrate these earthly days from infancy to age4 ,thee would we remember in childhood and youth4 ,thee would we serve in all the relations and activities of middle age4 ,thee would we teach our children to love and serve4 ,be ,thou our stay and hope when health and strength shall fail4 ,and when we are summoned hence1 do ,thou1 ,o ,life of our life1 illumine the mystery of the invisible world with ,thy presence and love4 ,we ask these blessings in the spirit of ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,amen4--,john ,hunter4 ,fourth ,week1 ,sixth ,day ,the perversions of religious faith1 working pitiable instead of benevolent consequences1 are often seen on mission fields4 ,consider ,paul's address in ,athens3 ,and ,paul stood in the midst of the ,areopagus1 and said1 ,ye men of ,athens1 in all things ,i perceive that ye are very religious4 ,for as ,i passed along1 and observed the objects of your worship1 ,i found also an altar with this inscription1 ,,to ,,an ,,unknown ,,god4 ,what therefore ye worship in ignorance1 this ,i set forth unto you4 ,the ,god that made the world and all things therein1 he1 being ,lord of heaven and earth1 dwelleth not in temples made with hands2 neither is he served by men's hands1 as though he needed anything1 seeing he himself giveth to all life1 and breath1 and all things2 and he made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth1 having determined their appointed seasons1 and the bounds of their habitation2 that they should seek ,god1 if haply they might feel after him and find him1 though he is not far from each one of us3 for in him we live1 and move1 and have our being2 as certain even of your own poets have said1 ,for we are also his offspring4 --,acts #ag3bb-bh4 ,paul did not need to plead for religion with the ,athenians2 they were already very religious4 ,only religion was not doing for them what it ought2 it was a power used in ignorance2 and ,paul1 valuing all that was good there1 quoting their own poets with appreciation1 nevertheless longed to take their strong religious motives and so clarify and direct them that faith might mean unqualified benediction4 ,is not this always the right missionary method8 ,the people of ,india are intensely religious2 no tribe in ,africa lacks its gods2 and everywhere the faith-motive is immensely powerful4 ,but often it makes mothers drown their babies in sacred rivers1 it consecrates caste systems as holy things1 it centers man's adoration around unworthy objects1 its powers1 gone wrong1 are a curse and not a blessing4 ,if in ,jesus ,christ religious faith has come to us1 through no merit of our own1 as an unspeakable benediction1 ought we not1 humbly1 without dogmatism or intolerance1 and yet with passionate earnestness1 to share our best with all the world8 ,religious faith may either depress or lift a people's life2 it is forever doing one or the other in every nation under heaven2 and there is no hope for the world until this master-motive is lifting everywhere4 ,almighty ,god1 our ,father in heaven1 who hast so greatly loved the world that ,thou hast given ,thine only-begotten ,son1 the ,redeemer1 communicate ,thy love to the hearts of all believers1 and revive ,thy ,church to preach the ,gospel to every creature4 ,o ,thou who rulest by ,thy providence over land and sea1 defend and guide and bless the messengers of ,christ2 in danger be their shield1 in darkness be their hope2 enrich their word and work with wisdom1 joy1 and power1 and let them gather souls for ,thee in far fields white unto the harvest4 ,o ,thou who by ,thy ,holy ,spirit workest wonders in secret1 open the eyes that dimly look for light to see the day-star in ,christ2 open the minds that seek the unknown ,god to know their ,heavenly ,father in ,christ2 open the hearts that hunger for righteousness to find eternal peace in ,christ4 ,deliver the poor prisoners of ignorance and captives of idolatry1 break down the bars of error1 and dispel the shadows of the ancient night2 lift up the gates1 and let the ,king of glory and the ,prince of ,peace come in4 ,thy kingdom1 ,o ,christ1 is an everlasting kingdom6 ,strengthen ,thy servants to pray and labor and wait for its appearing2 forgive our little faith and the weakness of our endeavor2 hasten the day when all nations shall be at peace in ,thee1 and every land and every heart throughout the world shall bless the name of the ,lord ,jesus1 to the glory of ,god the ,father4 ,amen4--,henry van ,dyke4 ,fourth ,week1 ,seventh ,day ,the sad perversions of religious faith are not a matter for foreign missions only4 ,at home1 too1 we find people who seem to be rather worse than better because they are religious4 ,just as power in any other form may be abused1 so may religious faith4 ,some in the name of religion become censorious and intolerant1 some superstitious1 some slaves to morbid fears2 and ignorance1 self-conceit1 pride1 and worldly ambition when driven and enforced by a religious motive are infinitely worse than they would have been without it4 ,toward this fact two attitudes are possible4 ,one is to throw over religion on account of its abuses2 which is as reasonable as to deny all the blessings of electricity because in ignorant hands it is a dangerous power4 ,the other is to take religious faith more seriously than ever1 to see how great a force for weal or woe it always is in human life1 and to strive in ourselves and in others for a high1 intelligent1 and worthy understanding and use of it4 ,for religion can mean what ,amiel said of it3 ,there is but one thing needful--to possess ,god4 ,religion is not a method3 it is a life--a higher and supernatural life1 mystical in its root and practical in its fruits2 a communion with ,god1 a calm and deep enthusiasm1 a love which radiates1 a force which acts1 a happiness which overflows4 ,from our study of the perversions and travesties of faith1 we turn therefore in the weekly comment to consider faith's vital meanings4 ,so ,paul1 writing to the ,galatians1 rejoices in religion as a gloriously transforming power in life4 ,but ,i say1 ,walk by the ,spirit1 and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh4 ,for the flesh lusteth against the ,spirit1 and the ,spirit against the flesh2 for these are contrary the one to the other2 that ye may not do the things that ye would4 ,but if ye are led by the ,spirit1 ye are not under the law4 ,now the works of the flesh are manifest1 which are these3 fornication1 uncleanness1 lasciviousness1 idolatry1 sorcery1 enmities1 strife1 jealousies1 wraths1 factions1 divisions1 parties1 envyings1 drunkenness1 revellings1 and such like2 of which ,i forewarn you even as ,i did forewarn you1 that they who practise such things shall not inherit the kingdom of ,god4 ,but the fruit of the ,spirit is love1 joy1 peace1 long-suffering1 kindness1 goodness1 faithfulness1 meekness1 self-control2 against such there is no law4 ,and they that are of ,christ ,jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof4--,gal4 #e3af-bc4 ,thou1 ,o ,god1 hast exalted us so that no longer we walk with prone head among the animals that perish4 ,thou hast ordained us as ,thine own children1 and hast planted within us that spiritual life which ever seeks1 as the flame1 to rise upward and mingle with ,thee4 ,every exaltation1 every pure sentiment1 all urgency of true affection1 and all yearning after things higher and nobler1 are testimonies of the divinity that is in us4 ,these are the threads by which ,thou art drawing us away from sense1 away from the earth1 away from things coarse and unspiritual1 and toward the ineffable4 ,we rejoice that we have in us the witness of the ,spirit1 the indwelling of ,god4 ,for1 although we are temples defiled1 though we are unworthy of such a ,guest1 and though we perpetually grieve ,thee1 and drive ,thee from us1 so that ,thou canst not do the mighty work that ,thou wouldst within us1 yet we rejoice to believe that ,thou dost linger near us4 ,even upon the outside1 ,thou standest knocking at the door until ,thy locks are wet with the night dews1 and dost persuade us with the everlasting importunity of love1 and draw us upward1 whether with or without our own knowledge4 ,thou art evermore striving to imbue us with ,thyself1 and to give us that divine nature which shall triumph over time and sense and matter2 and we pray that we may have an enlightened understanding of this ,thy work in us and upon us1 and work together with ,thee4 ,amen4--,henry ,ward ,beecher4 ,,comment ,,for ,,the ,,week ,one might be tempted by the last chapter to suppose that1 if he could accept the proposition that ,god is personal1 he would be well upon his way toward ,christianity4 ,but in theory at least ,plato accepted this proposition four hundred years before ,christ1 when he said3 ,god is never in any way unrighteous--,he is perfect righteousness2 and he of us who is most righteous is most like ,him4 ,he1 too1 used personality as a symbol of ,god4 ,when1 however1 one compares ,plato with ,jesus1 how incalculably greater is the religious meaning of our ,lord6 ,there is something more in the ,master's experience and thought than the belief that ,god is personal4 ,evidently our quest must be followed further than the last chapter carried us4 ,in ,scripture two kinds of faith in the personal ,god are clearly indicated4 ,on the one side stand verses such as this3 ,thou believest that ,god is one2 thou doest well2 the demons also believe and shudder 7,james #b3ai74 ,on the other1 one finds through both the ,testaments witness and appeal for a kind of faith that plainly differs from the first3 ,o my ,god1 in thee have ,i trusted 7,psalm #be3b74 ,it is not difficult to guess the terms in which many would describe this difference4 ,in the first1 so the familiar explanation runs1 we are dealing with the mind's faith in ,god2 the man's intellect assents to the belief that ,god is and that ,he is one4 ,in the second we are dealing with the heart's faith in ,god2 the whole man is here involved in an adoring trust that finds in reliance upon ,god life's stimulus and joy4 ,this distinction between the faith of the intellect and of the heart is valid1 but it does not go to the pith of the truth4 ,when a professor in the class-room1 discussing conflicting theories of life's origin1 concludes that theism is the reasonable interpretation of the universe1 the listener understands that the lecturer believes in ,god's existence4 ,but if the professor could be followed home and overheard in a private prayer1 like ,fnelon's3 ,lord1 ,i know not what ,i ought to ask of ,thee2 ,thou only knowest what ,i need2 ,thou lovest me better than ,i know how to love myself4 ,o ,father6 give to ,thy child that which he himself knows not how to ask1 something incalculably more than the classroom talk disclosed would be revealed about the meaning of the teacher's faith4 ,and as the classroom lecture and the private prayer stand so contrasted1 the gist of the difference is plain4 ,in the one1 faith was directed toward a theory2 in the other faith laid hold upon a ,person4 ,that the intellect was more involved in the first and the emotions in the second is incidental to the main matter1 that two differing objects were in view4 ,toward these two objects we continually are exercising faith--ideas and people1 propositions and persons4 ,now faith in a proposition we conveniently may call belief2 and faith in a person1 trust4 ,we believe that gravitation and the conservation of energy universally apply1 that democracy will prove better than absolutism1 and that prison systems can be radically reformed2 these and innumerable other propositions that cannot be demonstrated we confidently believe4 ,but in quite another way we daily are exercising faith2 we have faith in our friends4 ,how profound a change comes over the quality and value of faith when it thus finds its objective in a person6 ,our beliefs in propositions are of basic import and without them we could not well exist1 but it is by trust in persons that we live indeed4 ,belief in monogamy1 for all its importance1 is a cold abstraction1 and few could be found to die for it4 ,men do not lay down their lives for abstract theories1 any more than they would suffer martyrdom1 as ,chesterton remarked1 for the ,meridian of ,greenwich4 ,but when monogamy is translated from theory into personal experience1 when belief in the idea becomes trust in a life-long comrade of whom one may sing3 ,what ,i do ,and what ,i dream include thee1 as the wine ,must taste of its own grapes1 faith has taken a form for which men do live and die in glad surrender4 ,although the same word1 faith1 be applied to both1 trust in persons reaches deeper than belief in propositions and supplies a warmth and power that belief cannot attain4 ,in religion these two aspects of faith continually are found and both are indispensable4 ,trust in a person1 for example1 presupposes belief in his existence and fidelity4 ,he that cometh to ,god must believe that he is1 and that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him 7,heb4 #aa3f74 ,trust cannot exist without belief1 but when one seeks the inner glory of the religious life that has overflowed in prayer and hymn1 supplied motive for service and power for character1 he finds it not in belief1 but in the vital relationships involved in trusting a ,person4 ,men often have discussed their particular beliefs with cool deliberation1 have stated them in formal creeds1 have changed them with access of new knowledge and experience4 ,but trust1 the inner reliance of the soul on ,god and glad self-surrender to his will1 has persisted through many changes1 clothing itself with beliefs like garments and casting them aside when old4 ,trust has made rituals and churches and unmade them when they were ineffectual1 it has been the life behind the theory1 the experience behind the explanation2 and its proper voice has been not creed and controversy1 but psalm and song and sacrifice4 ,men have felt in describing this inward friendship that their best words were but the vocal gestures of the dumb1 able to indicate but unable to express their thoughts4 ,for while belief is theology1 trust is religion4 ,,ii ,this central position of trust in the ,christian life is evident when one considers that in its presence or absence lies the chief point of difference between a religious and an irreligious man4 ,the peculiarity of religion is not that it has beliefs2 everybody has them4 ,as we have seen1 ,huxley1 who called himself an agnostic1 said that he thoroughly believed the universe to be rational1 than which only a few greater ventures of faith can be imagined4 ,a man may not want to have beliefs4 ,he may say that knowledge is wool1 warm to clothe oneself withal1 that belief is cotton1 and that he will not mingle them4 ,but for all that he still does have beliefs and he cannot help it4 ,when1 therefore1 a ,christian and an atheist converse they can match belief with belief4 ,i believe1 says one1 in ,god the ,father2 and ,i believe1 says the other1 in the eternal physical universe1 without spiritual origin or moral purpose4 ,says the ,christian1 ,i believe in the immortality of persons1 and the atheist replies1 ,i believe that the spirit dies with the body as sound ceases when the bell's swinging iron grows still4 ,says the ,christian1 ,i believe in the ultimate triumph of righteousness2 and the atheist replies1 ,i believe that all man's aspiration after good is but the endless sailing of a ship that never shall arrive4 ,so the two may play battledore and shuttlecock1 but if1 so having paired beliefs1 they part with no more said1 they have missed the real point of their difference4 ,the irreligious man can match the ,christian's belief with his own1 but one thing he cannot match--the ,christian's trust4 ,he has nothing that remotely corresponds with that4 ,the ,christian always has this case to plead with an unbelieving man3 ,do not suppose that the difference between us is exhausted in a conflict of contrasting propositions4 ,great indeed is the divergence there6 ,but the issue of all such difference lies in another realm4 ,when you face life's abysmal mysteries that your eyes can no more pierce than mine1 you have no one to trust4 ,when misfortunes fall that send men to their graves1 as ,sydney ,smith said1 with souls scarred like a soldier's body1 you have no one to trust4 ,when you face the last mystery of all and whether going say farewell to those who stay1 or staying bid farewell to those who go1 you have no one to trust4 ,you can match my belief with your belief1 but for one thing you have no counterpart4 ,jehovah is my shepherd1 ,i shall not want 7,psalm #bc3a74 ,you cannot match that6 ,my heart hath trusted in him1 and ,i am helped 7,psalm #bh3g74 ,you cannot match that6 ,shall not the ,judge of all the earth do right8 7,gen4 #ah3be72 ,we have our hope set on the living ,god 7,i ,tim4 #d3aj72 ,father1 into thy hands ,i commend my spirit 7,luke #bc3df74 ,that trust you cannot match6 ,,iii ,in the light of this distinction between belief and trust some mistaken types of faith can be easily described4 ,there1 for example1 is the faith of formal creedalism4 ,we cannot have trust without some belief1 but we may unhappily have belief without any trust4 ,now a man who believes the doctrines that underly the ,christian life but who does not vitally trust the ,person whom those doctrines present1 has missed the heart out of faith's meaning4 ,he is like one who cherishes a letter of introduction to a great personality1 but has never used it2 he has the formal credentials1 but not the transforming experience4 ,it follows that we cannot estimate a man merely by knowing his beliefs4 ,i believe in all the ,christian truths1 says one2 and the curious question rises1 how did these beliefs of his come into his possession8 ,they may have been handed to him by his forbears like a set of family jewels1 a static and external heritage1 which now he keeps in some ecclesiastical safe-deposit vault and on state days1 at ,christmas or at ,easter1 goes to see4 ,still he may claim that they are his beliefs2 he may even quarrel about their genuineness1 not because he ever uses them but because they are his4 ,he may repeat the creed with the same unquestioning assent that he gives to the conventional cut of his clothes4 ,his beliefs are not the natural utterance and explanation of his inner life with ,god and man1 but are put on as they were handed to him1 like the fashions of his coats4 ,so easy is it to be formally orthodox6 ,over against such conventional believers one thinks of other folk whom he has known4 ,they have no such stereotyped1 clear-cut beliefs4 ,they are very puzzled about life4 ,it seems to them abysmally mysterious4 ,and when they speak they talk with a modesty the formal creedalist has never felt3 ,my beliefs are most uncertain4 ,confused by many voices shouting conflicting opinions about truths which ,i once accepted without thinking1 ,i cannot easily define my thoughts4 ,but ,i do trust ,god4 ,that assent of the mind which ,i cannot give to propositions1 ,i can give to him4 ,life is full of mystery1 but ,i do not really think that the mystery is darkness at its heart4 ,my faith has yet its standing ground in this1 that the world's activities are not like the convulsions of an epileptic1 unconscious and purposeless4 ,there is a ,mind behind the universe1 and a good purpose in it4 ,yet in the maddening maze of things1 ,and tossed by storm and flood1 ,to one fixed trust my spirit clings2 ,i know that ,god is good4 ,say as one may that such an attitude is far from adequate1 yet as compared with the merely formal acceptance of inherited opinions how incomparably superior its religious value is6 ,the people of placid1 stiff beliefs are not the successors of the real saints4 ,when one reads ,george ,matheson's books of devotion1 for example1 or sings his hymn ,o ,love1 that wilt not let me go1 or learns of his great work in his church in ,edinburgh1 one might suppose that he never had a doubt4 ,yet listen to his own confession3 ,at one time with a great thrill of horror1 ,i found myself an absolute atheist4 ,after being ordained at ,innellan1 ,i believed nothing2 neither ,god nor immortality4 ,i tendered my resignation to the ,presbytery1 but to their honor they would not accept it1 even though an ,highland ,presbytery4 ,they said ,i was a young man and would change4 ,i have changed4 ,one need only read such books of his as ,can the ,old ,faith ,live with the ,new8 to see through what a searching discipline of strenuous thought he passed in the regaining of his faith4 ,but if one would know what held his religious life secure while he was working out his beliefs from confusion to clarity1 one must turn to ,matheson's poem3 ,couldst thou love ,me ,when creeds are breaking-- ,old landmarks shaking ,with wind and sea8 ,couldst thou refrain the earth from quaking ,and rest thy heart on ,me8 ,many a man has been held fast by his trust in ,god while in perplexity he thought out his beliefs about ,god4 ,indeed1 within the ,scripture1 whatever word is used to describe the attitude of faith1 this vital personal alliance with ,god is everywhere intended4 ,for convenience we have called faith in propositions belief1 but that does not mean that when the ,scriptures use believe they are urging the acceptance of propositions4 ,not often in the ,bible are we invited merely to agree with an opinion2 we are everywhere called to trust a ,person4 ,trust in the ,lord in the ,old ,testament1 ,believe in the ,lord ,jesus ,christ in the ,new1 are neither of them the proclamation of a theory1 but the exaltation of a personality4 ,wherever in ,scripture doctrines are insisted on--the unity of ,god1 the deathlessness of the spirit1 the divinity of ,christ--they are never doctrines for their own sakes2 they are either commendatory truths about a ,friend1 that we may not fail to trust him1 or they are ideas about life that have come to men because they did trust him4 ,trust in a ,person is either the source or the goal of every ,christian doctrine4 ,the ,gospel at its center is not a series of propositions1 but a concrete1 personal relationship opened between the soul and the ,divine1 out of which new powers1 joys1 possibilities flow gloriously into human life4 ,when out of this experience of divine fellowship ,paul1 for example1 speaks of faith he means by it the alliance that binds him to his friend4 ,he fairly sings of the peace that comes from such believing 7,rom4 #ae3ac71 of the love that is its motive power and chief expression 7,gal4 #e3f71 and of the sacrifice and service which are its issue 7,phil4 #b3ag74 ,he enthusiastically commends to everyone this divine alliance through which moral defeat is changed to victory in the righteousness which is of ,god by faith 7,phil4 #c3i72 and his prose slips over into poetry when he describes his new transfigured life as access by faith into that grace wherein we stand 7,rom4 #e3b74 ,plainly he is not talking here about a set of propositions2 he is rejoicing in a transforming personal relationship4 ,some faith is nothing but an inherited set of opinions and it gives a cold light like an incandescent bulb2 some faith1 like sunshine1 is brighter for seeing than any incandescence can ever be1 but warm too1 so that under its persuasive touch new worlds of life spring into being4 ,the faith of the ,new ,testament and of the real saints is not the cold brilliance of a creed in whose presence one can freeze even while he sees2 it is the warm1 life-giving sunshine of a trust in ,god that makes all gracious things grow1 and puts peace and joy1 hope and love into life4 ,belief in propositions is there1 but the crown and glory of it are trust in a ,person4 ,,iv ,in the light of this distinction between belief and trust1 the inadequacy of another type of faith can easily be understood4 ,many would protest that they have not accepted their beliefs as an external heritage from the past1 but rather have thought them through1 and hold them now as reasonable theories to explain the facts of the spiritual life4 ,they would say that as a geologist observes the rocks and constructs an hypothesis to account for their origin and nature1 so the mind1 observing man's contacts with invisible powers1 constructs religious beliefs as explanations of experience4 ,they would insist that their theology is not merely traditional1 but in large degree is independently appropriated and original4 ,they hold it as an hypothesis to make intelligible man's experiences of the spiritual world4 ,there is significant truth in this view of faith4 ,man's ideals1 his loves1 hopes1 aspirations1 his unescapable sense of moral obligation1 his consciousness of ,someone other than himself1 are facts1 as solidly present in experience as stars and mountains4 ,to explain these facts by theology is as rational as to explain the stars by astronomy4 ,every believer in religious truth should welcome this confirming word from ,dr4 ,pritchett1 written when he was ,president of the ,massachusetts ,institute of ,technology3 ,science is grounded in faith just as is religion1 and scientific truth1 like religious truth1 consists of hypotheses1 never wholly verified1 that fit the facts more or less closely4 ,but when one turns from such a statement to inquire what faith has actually meant to religious men1 he does not find that their experience could easily be defined as belief in an hypothesis4 ,the prophets1 standing their ground through national disaster1 undiscourageable in their conviction of ,god's good purpose for ,his people1 would have been surprised to hear their faith so described4 ,when the ,sons of ,thunder were swept out into a new life by the influence of ,jesus1 or the seer of ,patmos was ravished with visions of eternal victory1 or ,paul was made conqueror in a fight for character that had been his despair1 they would hardly have spoken of their experiences as belief in an hypothesis4 ,real religion has always meant something more vital than holding a theory about life4 ,when ,robert ,louis ,stevenson says of his transformation of character1 ,i came about like a well-handled ship4 ,there stood at the wheel that unknown steersman whom we call ,god2 when ,tolstoi cries3 ,to know ,god and to live are one and the same thing2 when ,professor ,william ,james1 of ,harvard1 writes of his consciousness of ,god1 ,it is most indefinite to be sure and rather faint1 and yet ,i know that if it should cease1 there would be a great hush1 a great void in my life2 one sees what conversion of character1 what increase of life's value1 what spiritual reenforcement religion has meant even to such unconventional believers4 ,when they speak of it1 they are evidently thinking of a vital power and not a theory4 ,the most obscure ,christian to whom religion has become a necessity in living1 knows how far short the plummet of hypothetical belief comes from reaching bottom4 ,in sin1 burdened by a sense of guilt that he could not shake off and unable to forgive himself1 he has cried to be forgiven1 and the ,gospel that has been his hope was no injunction to hold hard by his hypothesis6 ,in sorrow1 when the blows have fallen that either hallow or embitter life1 he has sought for necessary fortitude1 and the ,gospel which established him certainly was not1 ,cast thy care on thine hypothesis6 ,and when1 more than conqueror1 he faces death1 his confidence and hope will rest on no such prayer as this1 ,o ,hypothesis1 guide me6 ,the word of religion is of another sort1 ,though ,i walk through the valley of the shadow of death1 ,i will fear no evil1 for ,thou art with me4 ,not belief in propositions1 but trust in a ,person has been the heart of the ,gospel1 and to make any hypothesis1 however true1 do duty as religion is to give the soul a stone when it asks for bread4 ,the futility of seeking contentment in faith as an hypothesis alone is especially manifest in our time4 ,this is an age of swiftly changing ideas in every realm4 ,as in science1 so in religion1 today one theory holds the field to be displaced tomorrow by another4 ,a man in theology1 as much as in politics or psychology1 goes to bed supposing he has settled his opinions1 and wakes up to find a new array of evidence that disturbs his confidence4 ,when1 therefore1 religious faith has meant no more to its possessor than theory1 there is no security or rest4 ,each day the winds of opinion shift and veer1 and minds at the beginning obstinate in their beliefs1 at last1 dismayed by the reiterated uncertainties of thought1 give up their faith4 ,where1 then1 have the men of faith found the immovable center of their confidence8 ,paul revealed the secret4 ,on the side of his particular opinions he frankly confessed his limited and uncertain knowledge4 ,now we know in fragments1 he wrote1 now we see through a glass darkly4 ,how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past tracing out6 ,but on the side of his trust he is adamant3 ,i know him whom ,i have believed4 ,the certainty of his life was his relationship with a person1 and his beliefs were the best he yet had thought in the explication and establishment of that trust4 ,the great believers of the ,church continually have exhibited this dual aspect of their faith4 ,even ,st4 ,augustine1 facing the profound mysteries involved in his trinitarian belief1 complains that human speech is pitiably futile in trying to explain what ,three persons means1 and that if he uses the familiar phrase1 he does so not because he likes it1 but because he may not be silent and knows no better thing to say4 ,but when ,augustine prays to the ,god whose nature is so unfathomable that no man can see it fully or express it adequately1 he reveals no such uncertain thought3 ,grant me1 even me1 my dearest ,lord1 to know ,thee and love ,thee and rejoice in ,thee4444 ,let the love of ,thee grow every day more and more here1 that it may be perfect hereafter2 that my joy may be great in itself and full in ,thee4 ,i know1 ,o ,god1 that thou art a ,god of truth2 ,o make good ,thy gracious promises to me6 ,so children do not fully understand an earthly father and often hold conceptions grotesquely insufficient to do justice to his life and work4 ,but they may have for him well-founded trust4 ,even in the years of infancy an ennobling personal relationship begins1 despite the inadequacy of their beliefs1 and that trust yearly deepens while mental concepts shift and change with access of new knowledge4 ,the abiding core of a child's life with his father is not belief but trust4 ,such has always been the secret of faith's stability in men who have entered into personal fellowship with ,god4 ,even of the first disciples it has been said--,they would have had difficulty sometimes to tell you what they believed1 but they could always have told you in whom they believed4 ,v ,the truth of which we have been speaking has pertinent bearing on the main object of our studies4 ,we shall be considering the difficulties which ,christians have with their beliefs1 and the arguments which may clarify and establish our minds' confidence in ,god4 ,but many problems in the realm of intellectual belief cannot be solved by any arguments which the mind devises4 ,the trouble often lies not in our theories about the religious life1 but in our religious life itself4 ,the deeper difficulty is not that our thinking is unreasonable1 but that our experience is unreal4 ,to a man who never had seen the stars or felt the wonder of their distances1 astronomy would be a lifeless topic and his endeavors to think about it a blundering and futile operation4 ,our theories about anything depend for their interest and worth upon the vividness with which we experience the thing itself and care to understand its meaning4 ,this is true about matters like the stars2 how much more true about the intimate affairs of man's own life6 ,democracy vs4 autocracy is a crucial problem4 ,but plenty of men are so careless about human weal1 think so little of their country and the world as objects of solicitude and devotion1 that to discuss in their presence democratic and autocratic theories of state is a waste of time4 ,the trouble is not with their minds2 they may be very clever and acute4 ,the trouble is with their lives4 ,they need to experience patriotism as a vital motive2 they need to care immensely what happens to mankind4 ,only then will the problems of government grow vivid1 and the need of a solution become so critical that thinking will be urgent and productive4 ,we never think well about anything for which we do not care4 ,plenty of people today discuss theology as an academic pastime4 ,it is a speculative game at which they play1 as they do at golf1 for its fun and lure4 ,they do not really care about ,god2 they feel no crucial need of him4 ,of little use is all their ingenuity in argument1 clever and astute though it may be4 ,blind men might so discuss the color scheme of an ,italian landscape and deaf men debate the harmonies of ,handel's oratorios4 ,what is lacking is experience4 ,for our theories are only the explanations of experience1 and an emptier game cannot be played than debating explanations of experiences which we have not had4 ,everyone in difficulty with his faith should give due weight to this important truth4 ,our intellectual troubles are not all caused by the bankruptcy of our spiritual lives1 but many of them are4 ,men live with drained and unreplenished spirits1 from which communion with ,god and service of high causes have been crowded out4 ,god grows unreal4 ,the self-evidencing experiences that maintain vital confidence in the spiritual life grow dim and unimperative4 ,men pass years without habitually thinking as though ,god really were1 without making any great decisions as though ,god's will were ,king1 without engaging in any sacrificial work that makes the thought of ,god a need and a delight1 without the companionship of great ideas or the sustenance of prayer4 ,then1 when experience is denuded of any sense of ,god's reality1 some intellectual doubt is suggested by books or friends1 or fearful trouble shatters happiness4 ,what recourse is there in such a case8 ,the arguments of faith have no experience to get their grip upon2 they can appeal to no solid and sustained fact of living4 ,religious confidence goes to pieces and men tell their friends that modern philosophy has been too much for faith4 ,but the underlying difficulty was not philosophical2 it was vital4 ,the insolvency of belief was due to the bankruptcy of trust4 ,personal fellowship with ,god failed first2 the theory about him lapsed afterward4 ,throughout our endeavor to deal with intellectual perplexity1 this fundamental truth should not be forgotten4 ,the peril of religion is that vital experience shall be resolved into a formula of explanation1 and that men1 grasping the formula1 shall suppose themselves thereby to possess the experience4 ,if one inquires what air is1 the answer will probably be a formula stating that oxygen and nitrogen mixed in proportions of twenty-one to seventy-nine make air4 ,but air in experience is not a formula4 ,air is the elixir we breathe and live thereby4 ,air is the magician who takes the words that our lips frame and bears them from friend to friend in daily converse4 ,air is the messenger who carries music to our ears and fragrance to our nostrils2 it is the whisperer among the trees in ,june1 and in ,march the wild dancer who shakes the bare branches for his castanets4 ,air is the giant who piles the surf against the rocky shore1 and the nurse who fans the faces of the sick4 ,one cannot put that into a formula4 ,no more can ,god be put into a theology1 however true4 ,they who define him best may understand him least4 ,god is the ,unseen ,friend1 the ,spiritual ,presence1 who calls us in ideals1 warns us in remorse1 renews us with his pardon1 and comforts us with power4 ,god is the ,spirit of ,righteousness in human life1 whose victories we see in every moral gain1 and allied with whom we have solid hopes of moral victory4 ,god is the ,one who holds indeed the far stars in his hand1 and yet in fellowship with whom each humblest son of man may find strength to do and to endure with constancy and fortitude and deathless hope4 ,and when one lives close to him1 so that the inner doors swing easily on quiet hinges to let him in1 he is the ,one who illumines life with a radiance that human wills alone cannot attain4 ,that is ,god--,blessed is the man that taketh refuge in him 7,psalm #cd3h74 ,,chapter ,v ,faith's ,intellectual ,difficulties ,,daily ,,readings ,most people will readily grant that such a sense of personal fellowship with ,god as the last week's study presented is obviously desirable4 ,every one who has experienced such filial life with ,god will bear witness to its incomparable blessing4 ,said ,tennyson1 ,i should be sorely afraid to live my life without ,god's presence1 but to feel he is by my side just now as much as you are1 that is the very joy of my heart4 ,but many who would admit the desirability of the experience are troubled about the reasonableness of the beliefs that underly it4 ,they want intellectual assurance about their faith4 ,let us in the daily readings present certain considerations which a mind so perplexed should take into account4 ,fifth ,week1 ,first ,day ,we should let no one deny our right to bring religious belief to the test of reasonableness4 ,glanvill was right when in the seventeenth century he said1 ,there is not anything ,i know which hath done more mischief to ,religion than the disparaging of ,reason4 ,in the ,new ,testament ,paul says3 ,prove all things2 hold fast that which is good4--,i ,thess4 #e3ba4 ,peter says3 ,yea1 and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence1 in your faith supply virtue2 and in your virtue knowledge4--,,ii ,pet4 #a3e4 ,this might be paraphrased to read1 ,faith should be worked out into character and thought through into knowledge4 ,as for ,jesus3 ,one of the scribes came1 and heard them questioning together1 and knowing that he had answered them well1 asked him1 ,what commandment is the first of all8 ,jesus answered1 ,the first is1 ,hear1 ,o ,israel2 ,the ,lord our ,god1 the ,lord is one3 and thou shalt love the ,lord thy ,god with all thy heart1 and with all thy soul1 and with all thy mind1 and with all thy strength4--,mark #ab3bh-cj4 ,in many a life which has neglected these admonitions ,lowell's words have proved true3 ,nothing that keeps thought out is safe from thought4 ,in our resolute endeavor to think through the mystery of life1 however1 and to find a reasonable basis for faith1 we need to remember that the very desire to know is an indication of the reality which we seek4 ,the dim intuition that the world with all its diverse powers was in some sense a unity1 preceded by ages the statement of nature's uniformity which modern science knows2 and man's tireless desire to reach a reasonable statement of the unity was an intimation in advance that unity was there4 ,so men do not believe in ,god because they have proved him2 they rather strive endlessly to prove him because they cannot help being sure that he must be there4 ,this in itself is an intimation about reality which no thoughtful man will lightly set aside4 ,tennyson rightly describes the reason for man's quest after proof about ,god3 ,if e'er when faith had fall'n asleep1 ,i heard a voice 'believe no more' ,and heard an ever-breaking shore ,that tumbled in the ,godless deep2 ,a warmth within the breast would melt ,the freezing reason's colder part1 ,and like a man in wrath the heart ,stood up and answer'd ',i have felt4' ,eternal ,father1 ,quest of ages1 long sought1 oft doubted or forsook2 can it be that ,thou art known to us1 the ,law within our minds1 the ,life of every breath we draw1 the ,love that yearneth in our hearts8 ,art ,thou the ,spirit who oft hast striven with us1 and whom we greatly feared1 lest yielding to ,his strong embrace we should become more than we dared to be8 ,an impulse toward forgiveness has sometimes stirred within us1 we have felt moved to show mercy1 the sacrificial life has touched our aspiration2 but we were unprepared to pay the price4 ,was this ,thyself1 and have we turned from ,thee8 ,something like this we must have done1 so barren1 joyless and so dead has life become4 ,canst ,thou not visit us again8 ,we hush our thoughts to silence1 we school our spirits in sincerity1 and here we wait4 ,o may we not feel once more the light upon our straining eyes1 the tides of life rise again within our waiting hearts8 ,we never looked to meet ,thee in the stress of thought1 the toil of life1 or in the call of duty2 we only knew that somehow life had lost for us all meaning1 dignity1 and beauty4 ,how then shall we turn back again and see with eyes that fear has filmed8 ,how can we be born again1 now grown so old in fatal habit8 ,if we could see this life of ours lived out in ,thee1 its common days exalted1 its circumstances made a throne1 its bitterness1 disappointment1 and failure all redeemed1 then our hearts might stir again1 and these trembling hands lay hold on life for evermore4 ,amen4--,w4 ,e4 ,orchard4 ,fifth ,week1 ,second ,day ,not only is man's tireless quest for assurance about ,god an intimation that ,god must be here to be sought after2 but the spiritual nature of man which insists on the quest is itself a revelation that ,god actually is here4 ,some men say that our spiritual life is the result of evolution1 and they suppose that by this magic word they have explained it4 ,but what comes out of a process of growth was somehow latent in the ,original ,beginning from which the growth started4 ,palm-trees do not grow from acorns2 only oaks evolve from acorns and for the sufficient reason that oaks are somehow involved in acorns to start with4 ,so a universe with spiritual life in it naturally presupposes an ,original with spiritual life in ,it4 ,whatever evolves must first of all have been involved4 ,the very fact that the seeker after ,god has a spiritual life1 which is restless and unsatisfied without faith in the ,eternal ,spirit1 is one of the clearest indications that1 whatever else may be said about the source of life1 it must be spiritual4 ,the ,nile for ages was a mystery2 it flowed through ,egypt--a blessed necessity to the land1 enriching the soil1 and sustaining the people--but nobody knew its source4 ,long before ,victoria ,nyanza was discovered1 however1 thinkers were sure that a great lake must be the explanation of the stream2 and when at last they found the sources of the ,nile1 the lake was even greater than anyone had dreamed4 ,so is man's spirit a revelation of a spiritual origin even before that origin is clearly known4 ,as the ,bible puts it3 ,now he that wrought us for this very thing is ,god1 who gave unto us the earnest of the ,spirit4--,,ii ,cor4 #e3e4 ,o ,god6 mysterious and ,infinite1 ,thou art the first and ,thou the last3 as our weeks pass away and our age rises or declines1 we still return to ,thee who ever art the same4 ,we seek ,thee as the sole abiding light amid the shadows of perishable things4 ,o ,thou most ancient ,god6 to whom the heavens are but of yesterday1 and the life of worlds but as the shooting star1 there is no number of ,thy days and mercies2 and what can we do1 ,o ,lord1 but throw ourselves on ,thee who failest not1 and from whom our pathway is not hid8 ,with solemn and open heart we would meet ,thee here4 ,cover not ,thyself with a cloud1 most ,high1 but may our prayer pass through4 ,o ,thou our constant ,witness and our awful ,judge6 ,when we remember our thoughtless lives1 our low desires1 our impatient temper1 our ungoverned wills1 we know that ,thou hast left us without excuse4 ,for ,thou hast not made us blind1 ,o ,lord1 as the creatures that have no sin2 nor hast ,thou spared the light of holy guidance4 ,thy still small voice of warning whispers through our deepest conscience2 and ,thine open ,word hath dwelt among us1 full of grace and truth1 and called us to the feet of ,christ to choose the better part4 ,we are not our own1 and are ashamed to have lived unto ourselves4 ,thou hast formed us for ,thy service1 and we must hide our face that we have shrunk from the glorious hardships of our task1 and slumbered on our holy watch4 ,our daily work has not been wrought as in ,thy sight2 and we have not made the outgoings of the morning and the evening to praise ,thee4 ,the trials of our patience we have received as earthly pains of nature1 not as the heavenly discipline of faith2 and the fulness of ,thy bounties has come to us as dead comfort1 not as the quickening touch of ,thy everlasting love4 ,o our true and only ,god6 we have lived in a bondage of the world that bringeth no content2 and the passions we serve are as strange idols that cannot deliver4 ,awake1 awake1 ,o ,arm of the ,lord6 and burst our bonds in sunder2 and help the spirit that struggles within us to turn unto ,thee with a pure heart1 and serve ,thee in newness of spirit4 ,amen4--,james ,martineau4 ,fifth ,week1 ,third ,day ,many stumble at the very beginning of their quest for ,god1 because they are sure that finite mind can never know the ,infinite4 ,the ,bible itself asserts that ,god is in one sense unknowable4 ,touching the ,almighty1 we cannot find him out4--,job #cg3bc4 ,man cannot find out the work that ,god hath done from the beginning even to the end4--,eccl4 #c3aa4 ,o the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of ,god6 how unsearchable are his judgments1 and his ways past tracing out6 ,for who hath known the mind of the ,lord8 or who hath been his counsellor8--,rom4 #aa3cc1 #cd4 ,but in the same sense in which ,god is unknowable1 all the most important realities with which we deal are also beyond our comprehension4 ,we do not know what electricity is1 what matter is1 what life is4 ,ether is utterly beyond the reach of our definitions1 and an ,english scientist calls it unknown1 impalpable1 the necessary condition of scientific thought4 ,as for the constituent elements of the material world1 we are told that atoms are so infinitesimally minute as to be indivisible1 and yet that an electron ranges about in the atom as a mouse might in a cathedral4 ,the plain fact is that in any realm1 human knowledge soon runs off into an unknown region where it deals with invisible realities1 which it cannot define1 but on which life is based4 ,while therefore we do not know what electricity1 ether1 electrons1 and life itself are1 we do know them well in their relationship with our needs4 ,so we may know ,god4 ,deep beyond deep in him will be past our fathoming1 but what ,god means in his relationships with our lives we may know gloriously4 ,o ,thou who transcendest all thought of ,thee as the heavens are higher than the earth2 we acknowledge that we cannot search ,thee out to perfection1 but we thank ,thee that ,thou1 the ,invisible1 comest to us in the things that are seen2 that ,thy exceeding glory is shadowed in the flower that blooms for a day1 in the light that fades2 that ,thine infinite love has been incarnate in lowly human life2 and that ,thy presence surrounds all our ignorance1 ,thy holiness our sin1 ,thy peace our unrest4 ,give us that lowly heart which is the only temple that can contain the infinite4 ,save us from the presumption that prides itself on a knowledge which is not ours1 and from the hypocrisy and carelessness which professes an ignorance which ,thy manifestation has made for ever impossible4 ,save us from calling ourselves by a name that ,thou alone canst wear1 and from despising the image of ,thyself ,thou hast formed us to bear1 and grant that knowledge of ,thee revealed in ,jesus ,christ which is our eternal life4 ,amen4--,w4 ,e4 ,orchard4 ,fifth ,week1 ,fourth ,day ,the assurance of ,god may come in part from looking outward at his creation4 ,this universe seems superficially to be material1 but really it is saturated with the presence of mind4 ,so a city's streets1 buildings1 bridges1 subways1 and railroads might appear to careless thought grossly material2 but the fact is that in their origin they all are mental4 ,they are not simply iron and steel and stone2 they are thought1 plan1 purpose materialized and made visible4 ,the basic fact about them is that mind shaped them and permeates every use to which they are put4 ,the most important and decisive force in their origination was not anything that can be seen1 but the invisible thought that dreamed them and moulded them4 ,so when one looks at creation he finds something more than matter2 he finds order1 law1 uniformity2 his mind is at home in tracing regularities1 discovering laws1 and perceiving purposes4 ,creation is not grossly material2 it is saturated with the evidence of mind4 ,lord ,kelvin1 the chemist1 walking in the country with ,liebig1 his fellow-scientist1 asked his companion if he believed that the grass and flowers grew by mere chemical forces2 and ,liebig answered1 ,no1 no more than ,i could believe that the books of botany describing them could grow by mere chemical forces4 ,lift up your eyes on high1 and see who hath created these1 that bringeth out their host by number2 he calleth them all by name2 by the greatness of his might1 and for that he is strong in power1 not one is lacking4 ,why sayest thou1 ,o ,jacob1 and speakest1 ,o ,israel1 ,my way is hid from ,jehovah1 and the justice due to me is passed away from my ,god8 ,hast thou not known8 hast thou not heard8 ,the everlasting ,god1 ,jehovah1 the ,creator of the ends of the earth1 fainteth not1 neither is weary2 there is no searching of his understanding4 ,he giveth power to the faint2 and to him that hath no might he increaseth strength4 ,even the youths shall faint and be weary1 and the young men shall utterly fall3 but they that wait for ,jehovah shall renew their strength2 they shall mount up with wings as eagles2 they shall run1 and not be weary2 they shall walk1 and not faint4--,isa4 #dj3bf-ca4 ,o ,thou ,infinite ,perfection1 who art the soul of all things that are 444 we thank ,thee for the world of matter whereon we live1 wherewith our hands are occupied1 and whereby our bodies are builded up and filled with food and furnished with all things needful to enjoy4 ,we thank ,thee for the calmness of ,night1 which folds ,thy children in her arms1 and rockest them into peaceful sleep1 and when we wake we thank ,thee that we are still with ,thee4 ,we bless ,thee for the heavens over our head1 arched with loveliness1 and starred with beauty1 speaking in the poetry of nature the psalm of life which the spheres chant before ,thee to every listening soul4 ,we thank ,thee for this greater and nobler world of spirit wherein we live1 whereof we are1 whereby we are strengthened1 upheld1 and blessed4 ,we thank ,thee for the wondrous powers which ,thou hast given to man1 that ,thou hast created him for so great an estate1 that thou hast enriched him with such noble faculties of mind and conscience and heart and soul1 capable of such continual increase of growth and income of inspiration from ,thyself4 ,we thank ,thee for the wise mind1 for the just conscience1 for the loving heart1 and the soul which knows ,thee as ,thou art1 and enters into communion with ,thy spirit1 rejoicing in its blessing from day to day4 ,amen4--,theodore ,parker4 ,fifth ,week1 ,fifth ,day ,the vital assurance of faith always comes1 not so much from observing the outer world1 as from appreciating the meaning of man's inner life4 ,man knows that he is something more than a physical machine4 ,theorists may say that our minds are only a series of molecular changes in the brain2 but man turns to ask3 ,who is it that is watching these molecular changes8 ,the very fact that we can discuss them1 is proof that we are something more than they are and of another order4 ,leslie ,stephen was an agnostic1 but at the thought of man as merely a physical machine he grew impatient4 ,i knock down a man and an image1 he said1 and both fall down because both are material4 ,but when the man gets up and knocks me down1 the result is not explicable by any merely mechanical action4 ,man denies his own inward consciousness of self when he refuses to acknowledge the mental and spiritual part of him as the thing he really is4 ,man may have a body1 but he surely is a soul4 ,and when man lets this highest part of him speak its own characteristic word1 he always hears a message like this3 ,i am spirit2 to grow into great character is the one worthy end of my existence2 but how came ,i to be spirit with spiritual purpose unless my ,creator is of like quality8 and how can ,i believe that my existence and my purpose are not a cruel joke unless ,i am begotten by a ,spiritual ,life that will sustain my strength and crown my effort8 ,to believe that man's soul is a foundling1 laid on the doorstep of a merely physical universe1 crying in vain for any father who begot him or any mother who conceived him1 is to make our highest life a liar4 ,therefore man at his best has always believed in ,god4 ,for as many as are led by the ,spirit of ,god1 these are the sons of ,god4 ,for ye received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear2 but ye received the spirit of adoption1 whereby we cry1 ,abba1 ,father4 ,the ,spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit1 that we are children of ,god4--,rom4 #h3ad-af4 ,o ,thou whom no name can tell1 whom all our thoughts cannot fully comprehend1 we rejoice in all ,thy goodness4444 ,we thank ,thee for our body1 this handful of dust so curiously and wonderfully framed together4 ,we bless ,thee for this sparkle of ,thy fire that we call our soul1 which enchants the dust into thoughtful human life1 and blesses us with so rich a gift4 ,we thank ,thee for the varied powers ,thou hast given us here on earth4 ,we bless ,thee for the far-reaching mind1 which puts all things underneath our feet1 rides on the winds and the waters1 and tames the lightning into useful service4444 ,we thank ,thee for this conscience1 whereby face to face we commune with ,thine everlasting justice4 ,we thank ,thee for the strength of will which can overpower the weakness of mortal flesh1 face danger and endure hardship1 and in all things acquit us like men4444 ,we thank ,thee for this religious sense1 whereby we know ,thee1 and1 amid a world of things that perish1 lay fast hold on ,thyself1 who alone art steadfast1 without beginning of days or end of years1 forever and forever still the same4 ,we thank ,thee that amid all the darkness of time1 amid joys that deceive us and pleasures that cheat1 amid the transgressions we commit1 we can still lift up our hands to ,thee1 and draw near ,thee with our heart1 and ,thou blessest us still with more than a father's or a mother's never-ending love4 ,amen4--,theodore ,parker4 ,fifth ,week1 ,sixth ,day ,one ground of assurance concerning faith is the way a sincere fellowship with ,god affects life4 ,in a delicious passage of his autobiography1 ,benjamin ,franklin says1 ,i was scarce fifteen1 when1 after doubting by turns of several points1 as ,i found them disputed in the different books ,i read1 ,i began to doubt of ,revelation itself4 ,some books against ,deism fell into my hands2 they were said to be the substance of sermons preached at ,boyle's ,lectures4 ,it happened that they wrought an effect on me quite contrary to what was intended by them2 for the arguments of the ,deists which were quoted to be refuted1 appeared to me much stronger than the refutations2 in short ,i soon became a thorough ,deist4 ,my arguments perverted some others1 particularly ,collins and ,ralph2 but1 each of them having afterwards wrong'd me greatly without the least compunction1 and recollecting ,keith's conduct towards me 7who was another free thinker71 and my own towards ,vernon and ,miss ,read1 which at times gave me great trouble1 ,i began to suspect that this doctrine1 tho' it might be true1 was not very useful4 ,many men1 not yet able to see clearly the issue of conflicting arguments1 are practically convinced in favor of faith by the relative effects on life of faith and unbelief4 ,when one carries this thought out until he imagines a world where no one any more believes in ,god1 he feels even more emphatically the negative results of unbelief4 ,as ,sir ,james ,stephen said1 ,we cannot judge of the effects of ,atheism from the conduct of persons who have been educated as believers in ,god1 and in the midst of a nation which believes in ,god4 ,if we should ever see a generation of men to whom the word ,god has no meaning at all1 we should get a light on the subject which might be lurid enough4 ,a practical working conviction is often gained in religion1 as in every other realm1 not by argument1 but by acting on a principle until it verifies itself by its results1 or1 as in ,benjamin ,franklin's case1 by trying a negation until one is driven from it by its consequences4 ,beware of false prophets1 who come to you in sheep's clothing1 but inwardly are ravening wolves4 ,by their fruits ye shall know them4 ,do men gather grapes of thorns1 or figs of thistles8 ,even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit2 but the corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit4 ,a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit1 neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit4 ,every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down1 and cast into the fire4 ,therefore by their fruits ye shall know them4--,matt4 #g3ae-bj4 ,o ,god1 who remainest the same though all else fades1 who changest not with our changing moods1 who leavest us not when we leave ,thee2 we thank ,thee that when we lose faith in ,thee1 soon or late we come to faith in something that leads us back again with firmer trust and more sincerity4 ,even if we wander into the far country we take ourselves with us2 ourselves who are set towards ,thee as rivers to the sea4 ,if we turn to foolishness1 our hearts grow faint and weary1 our path is set with thorns1 the night overtakes us1 and we find we have strayed from light and life4 ,grant to us clearer vision of the light which knows no shade of turning1 that we stray not in folly away2 incline our hearts to love the truth alone1 so that we miss ,thee not at last2 give us to realise of what spirit we are1 so that we cleave ever to ,thee1 who alone can give us rest and joy4 ,amen4--,w4 ,e4 ,orchard4 ,fifth ,week1 ,seventh ,day ,when all is said and done in the matter of intellectual assurance1 many are confused by the seeming lack of finality in the result4 ,after all these ages of debate1 they say1 see all the innumerable opinions of jarring sects about religious truth6 ,evidently there is no satisfying conclusion obtainable at all6 ,but look at the innumerable schools of medicine--shall one on their account decide that health is a fruitless study8 ,consider the infinite variety of taste in food--shall we say that therefore hunger and its satisfaction is a futile question to discuss8 ,rather1 the very variety of the answers in man's quest reveals the importance of the quest itself4 ,of course proof of ,god lacks the finality of a scientific demonstration1 and this is true because it moves in a realm so much more important than anything that science touches4 ,exactness and finality are possible only in the least important realms4 ,one can measure and analyze and describe to a minute nicety a table which a carpenter has made1 but when one turns to the carpenter himself and endeavors to analyze his motives1 weigh his thoughts1 estimate his quality1 and prove his purposes1 one drops minute nicety at once4 ,the carpenter is not to be put into a column of figures and added with mathematical precision as his table is4 ,the farther up one moves in the scale the less precise and undeniable do his conclusions become4 ,so science is exact just because it deals with measurable things2 but religion1 by as much as its realm is more important1 can less easily pack its conclusions into neat parcels finally tied up and sealed4 ,a man who will not believe anything which is not precisely demonstrable must eliminate from his life everything except what yardsticks can measure and scales can weigh4 ,let no man ever give up the fight for faith because he does not seem at once to be reaching an answer which he can neatly formulate4 ,let him remember ,tolstoi1 writing on his birthday3 ,i am twenty-four1 and ,i have not done a thing yet4 ,but ,i feel that not in vain have ,i been struggling for nearly eight years against doubt and temptation4 ,for what am ,i destined8 ,this only the future will disclose4 ,hear1 ,o ,jehovah1 when ,i cry with my voice3 ,have mercy also upon me1 and answer me4 ,when thou saidst1 ,seek ye my face2 my heart said unto thee1 ,thy face1 ,jehovah1 will ,i seek4 ,hide not thy face from me2 ,put not thy servant away in anger3 ,thou hast been my help2 ,cast me not off1 neither forsake me1 ,o ,god of my salvation4 ,when my father and my mother forsake me1 ,then ,jehovah will take me up4 ,teach me thy way1 ,o ,jehovah2 ,and lead me in a plain path1 ,because of mine enemies4 ,deliver me not over unto the will of mine adversaries3 ,for false witnesses are risen up against me1 ,and such as breathe out cruelty4 ,i had fainted1 unless ,i had believed to see the goodness of ,jehovah ,in the land of the living4 ,wait for ,jehovah3 ,be strong1 and let thy heart take courage2 ,yea1 wait thou for ,jehovah4 --,psalm #bg3g-ad4 ,deliver us1 our ,father1 from all those mists which do arise from the low places where we dwell1 which rise up and hide the sun1 and the stars even1 and ,thee4 ,deliver us from the narrowness and the poverty of our conceptions4 ,deliver us from the despotism of our senses4 ,and grant unto us this morning1 the effusion of ,thy ,spirit1 which shall bring us into the realm of spiritual things1 so that we may1 by the use of all that which is divine in us1 rise into the sphere of ,thy thought1 into the realm where ,thou dwellest1 and whither have trooped from the ages the spirits of just men now made perfect4 ,grant1 we pray ,thee1 that we may not look with time-eyes upon eternal things1 measuring and dwarfing with our imperfectness the fitness and beauty of things heavenly4 ,so teach us to come into ,thy presence and to rise by sympathy into ,thy way of thinking and feeling1 that so much as we can discern of the invisible may come to us aright4 ,amen4--,henry ,ward ,beecher4 ,,comment ,,for ,,the ,,week ,i ,while it is true that in many cases the apparent unreasonableness of ,christian faith springs from the underlying unreality of ,christian life1 this is not always a sufficient diagnosis of doubt4 ,horace ,g4 ,hutchinson1 the ,english golfer1 who spent much of his life in agnosticism and has now come over into ,christian faith1 thus interprets the spirit of his long unbelief3 ,all the while ,i had the keenest consciousness of the comfort that one would gain could he but believe in the truth of the ,christian promises4 ,surely that must always be the agnostic's mood4444 ,it is not that they wilfully reject the appeal to the heart2 their will is eager to respond to it4 ,but man has his gift of reason2 it cannot be that he is not intended to use it4 ,least of all can it be part of the great design that he should suspend its use in regard to the most important subject to which his thought can be directed4 ,such sincere intellectual difficulties with faith must be met with intellectual arguments and not with moral accusations4 ,plenty of folk of elevated character and admirable lives grant1 sometimes impatiently1 that the ,christian faith is beautiful--but is it so8 ,is not its solacing power a deceptive sleight of hand1 by which our pleasing fancies and desires are made to look like truth8 ,so a mirage is beautiful to weary travelers1 but their temporary comfort rests on fallacy4 ,mc,taggart summed up one of the most wide-spread and masterful desires of this generation when he said1 ,what people want is a religion they can believe to be true4 ,as one sets himself to meet faith's intellectual difficulties1 the attitude in which he is to approach the problem is all-important4 ,samuel ,m4 ,crothers tells us that a young man once left with him a manuscript for criticism1 and remarked in passing1 ,it is only a little bit of my work1 and it will not take you long to look it over4 ,in fact it is only the first chapter in which ,i explain the ,universe4 ,when one outgrows this cocksure presumption of youth and gains a graver and more seasoned mind1 he leaves behind the attempt to pierce to creation's last secret4 ,he sees that we can no more neatly and finally demonstrate ,god than we can demonstrate any of life's important faiths4 ,moreover proof of ,god1 as a theorem in philosophy1 is not a deep human need4 ,men often have supposed that they had such demonstration1 but human experience was little affected by the fact4 ,the exhaustless source of mankind's desire for assurance about ,god is not theoretical curiosity but vital need1 and until a man feels the need1 sees how urgently man's highest life reaches out toward ,god1 he never will make much of any arguments4 ,browning's bishop asks his friend3 ,like you this ,christianity or not8 ,it may be false1 but will you wish it true8 ,has it your vote to be so if it can8 ,until a man gives an affirmative answer to that inquiry1 until he possesses a life that itself suggests ,god and wants him1 he is not likely to arrive anywhere by argument alone4 ,this is not the case with ,christianity only4 ,we cannot prove with theoretical finality that monogamy is the form of family life to which the universe is best adapted4 ,but mankind1 trying many experiments with family life1 has found in the monogamous family values unique and indispensable4 ,it is because men feel the value of such a love-bond1 that they begin to argue for it4 ,and their argument1 when one sees deeply into it1 is framed after this fashion3 ,we know the worth of this family-life of faithful lovers4 ,we want monogamy and we propose to have it4 ,we do not pretend that our faith in monogamy1 as the form of marriage best fitted to this universe1 is capable of exact demonstration2 but we do see arguments of great weight in favor of it and we do not see any convincing arguments against it4 ,we are persuaded that our faith has reasonable right of way2 and we propose to go on believing in monogamy and practicing it and combating its enemies1 until we prove our case in the only way such cases ever can be finally proved1 by the issue of the matter in the end4 ,so men come into the sort of personal and social life that ,jesus represents4 ,apart from any theories1 they value the life itself--its ideals of character1 friendship1 service1 trust4 ,if honesty allows1 they propose to live that life4 ,when a man has gone far enough in ,christian experience1 so that he comes up to his intellectual difficulties by such a road1 he is likely to profit by a consideration of the reasons in favor of faith4 ,he is in the attitude of saying3 ,i have found great living in ,christ4 ,no argument for the ,christian experience can be quite so convincing as the ,christian experience itself4 ,i am bound to have that life if ,i honestly can1 and ,i will search to see whether there is any insuperable intellectual difficulty in the way of it4 ,,ii ,one of the initial perplexities of faith concerns the sort of intellectual assurance which we have a right to expect4 ,in a laboratory of physics1 the investigator gathers facts1 makes inductions as to their laws1 and then verifies his findings4 ,he uses a simplicity of procedure and gains a finality of result that makes all other knowledge seem relatively insecure4 ,to be sure1 the scientist may seek long for his truth and make many ineffectual guesses that prove false1 but1 in the end1 he reaches a conclusion so demonstrable that every man of wit enough to investigate the subject must agree that it is so4 ,how the ,christian wishes for such certainty concerning ,god6 ,before1 however1 any one surrenders confidence in ,god1 because confessedly the affirmations of religious faith cannot be established by such methods as a physicist employs1 there is ample reason for delay4 ,we are certain that heat expands and cold contracts1 and we can prove the fact and state its laws4 ,but are we not also sure that it is wrong to lie and right to tell the truth8 ,this conviction about truthfulness at least equals in theoretical certainty and in practical right to determine conduct1 our confidence in heat's expanding power4 ,this conviction about truthfulness does actually sway life more than does any single scientific truth that one can name4 ,let us then set ourselves to prove our moral confidence by such methods as the physical laboratory can supply--with yard sticks1 and ,troy weight scales1 and test tubes1 and meters6 ,at once it is evident that if we are to hold only such truth as is amenable to the demonstration of a laboratory1 we must bid farewell to every moral conviction that hitherto has influenced our lives4 ,god1 banished because the physicist cannot prove him1 will have good company in exile6 ,moreover1 all our esthetic convictions will have to share that banishment4 ,we know that some things are beautiful4 ,the consensus of the race's judgment has not so much agreed to accept the new astronomy as it has agreed to think sunrise glorious and snow-capped mountains wonderful4 ,take from our lives our judgments on beauty1 so that we may call no music marvelous1 no poetry inspiring1 no scenery sublime1 and some of the most intimate and assured convictions we possess will have to go4 ,a man who has seen the ,matterhorn at dawn1 when the first shaft of light reaches its rocky pinnacle and streams down in glory over the glaciers that cape its shoulders1 will not disbelieve the splendor of the scene1 though all the world beside unanimously should cry that it is not beautiful4 ,but prove it by the methods of a laboratory8 ,when the geologist has analyzed all the mountain's rocks1 the chemist all its minerals2 when the astronomer has traced the earth's orbit that brings on the dawn1 and the physicist has counted and tabulated the rays of light that make the colors1 our conviction of the scene's beauty will be as little explained or proved as is our confidence in ,god4 ,it becomes clear that some convictions which we both do and must hold are not amenable to the sort of proof which a scientific laboratory furnishes4 ,moreover1 if we will have no truth beyond the reach of a physicist's demonstration1 all our convictions in the realm of personal relationship will have to go4 ,we know that friendship-love is the crown of every human fellowship4 ,father and son1 mother and daughter1 brother and sister1 wife and husband--these relationships are in themselves bare branches wanting the foliage and fruit of friendship4 ,of no truth is man at his best more sure than he is that ,life is just our chance o' the price of learning love4 ,but no laboratory ever can deal with such a truth1 much less establish it4 ,for this is the neglected insight1 for the want of which our religious confidence is needlessly unstable3 ,every realm of reality has its own appropriate kind of proof1 and a method of proof available in one realm is seldom1 if ever1 usable in another4 ,that truthfulness is right is in a way provable1 but methods proper to the moral realm must be allowed2 that the ,matterhorn is sublime is in a sense provable1 but by methods which the esthetic realm permits2 that love is the crown of life can be soundly established1 but one must employ a method appropriate to personal relationships4 ,if1 obsessed by the procedure of a laboratory as the solitary path to knowledge1 one will have no convictions which cannot meet its tests1 then in good logic there must be a great emigration from his soul4 ,all his convictions about morals and beauty1 all his convictions about personal friendships and about ,god must leave together4 ,he will have a depopulated spirit4 ,no man could live on such terms for a single hour4 ,the most essential and valuable equipment of our souls is in convictions which the demonstrations of a physicist can as little reach as an inch worm1 clambering up the ,himalayas1 can measure the distance to the sun4 ,,iii ,a man to whom the ,christian life has come to be preeminently valuable1 and who is asking whether it is intellectually justifiable1 is set free1 by such considerations as we just have noted1 to seek assurance where religious assurance may properly be found4 ,for one thing1 he may find help by trying out the creed of no-,god4 ,many a man is a wavering believer1 makes little excursions into doubt and returns hesitant and unhappy1 because he never has dared to see his doubts through to their logical conclusion and to face the world with ,god eliminated4 ,one may sense the general atmosphere of the world1 under the no-,god hypothesis1 by saying1 ,in all this universe there is no mind essentially greater than mine4 ,the import of such a statement grows weightier the more one ponders it4 ,all human minds are infinitesimal in knowledge2 endless realities must lie beyond our reach2 our science is a drop1 our ignorance a sea4 ,yet human knowledge is all that anywhere exists1 if the no-,god hypothesis is true4 ,there is no knower who knows more1 and the infinite reality beyond our grasp is not known by any mind at all4 ,no one ever thought it or will think it through eternity4 ,then1 let a man add1 ,in all this universe there is no goodness essentially greater than mine4 ,human goodness is pitiably partial2 it is but prophecy of what goodness ought to mean2 ,man is a dwarf of himself1 as ,emerson said4 ,but human goodness is all that anywhere exists1 if the no-,god hypothesis is true4 ,there never will be any better goodness anywhere1 and when the earth comes to its end in a solar catastrophe1 there will be no goodness left at all4 ,certainly the hypothesis of no-,god raises more questions than it easily can quell4 ,indeed the ,christian1 long accused by unbelieving friends of gross credulity because he holds his creed1 may well leave his defense and go over the top in an offensive charge4 ,if it is a question of holding creeds1 unbelief is a creed as certainly as belief is2 it says1 ,i believe that there is no ,god or that ,god cannot be known4 ,if it is a question of credulity1 the ,christian suspects that of all the different kinds of credulousness which the world has seen1 nothing ever has surpassed the capacity of modern sceptics to accept impossible beliefs4 ,he who says1 ,i believe that there is no ,god1 nor anything which that name might reasonably connote1 is saying1 ,i believe that the fundamental reality everywhere is physical4 ,long ages ago atoms1 electrons1 mobile cosmic ethers began their mysterious organization1 whose present issue is planetary orbits1 rocks1 organic life1 and1 highest point of all1 the brain of man4 ,man's mind is but the moving shadow cast by the activity of brain4 ,man's character is the subtle fragrance of his nerves4 ,everywhere1 if the no-,god hypothesis be true1 spirit is a result1 physical energy the cause4 ,some startling corollaries follow such a view4 ,no man can be blamed for anything4 ,molecular action in the brain is responsible alike for saints and sinners1 and we are as powerless to change our quality of character or action as a planet is to change its course4 ,judas and ,jesus1 ,festus and ,paul1 the ,belgian lads and the ,prussian officers who mutilated them1 the raper and the raped--why blame the one or praise the other when all characters alike are ground from a physical machine1 whose action is predetermined by the push of universal energy behind8 ,one man even says that to condemn an immoral deed is like ,xerxes whipping the ,hellespont--punishment visited on physical necessity which is not to blame4 ,the second corollary is not less startling3 every man thinks as he does because of molecular action in the brain4 ,a ,christian believes in ,god because his molecules maneuver so1 and his opponent is an atheist because his molecules maneuver otherwise1 and all convictions of truth1 however well debated and reasoned out1 are fundamentally the work of atoms1 not of mind4 ,what we call intellect as little causes anything as steam from a kettle causes the boiling out of which it comes4 ,some brains boil ,socialism1 some do not2 some brains boil ,episcopalianism and some ,christian ,science4 ,a determinist and a believer in freewill differ as do oaks and elm trees1 for physical reasons only1 and folk are ,catholic in southern ,europe--so we are informed--because their skulls are narrow1 and in northern ,europe ,protestants because their skulls are broad4 ,truth is a nickname for a neurosis4 ,the standing marvel is that on some matters like the multiplication table our brains boil so unanimously4 ,a third corollary still remains3 we have no creative power of mind and will4 ,all that is and is to be was wound up in primeval matter1 and now in our thoughts and actions is ticking like a clock4 ,all of our philosophy1 says ,huxley1 all our poetry1 all our science1 and all our art--,plato1 ,shakespeare1 ,newton1 and ,raphael--are potential in the fires of the sun4 ,that is to say1 ,plato had nothing to do with creating his philosophy1 nor ,shakespeare with writing plays--they were empty megaphones and the real voice is the physical machine from which all things come4 ,professor ,bowne of ,boston ,university1 after the publication of his ,metaphysics1 received from a physicist a protest against his emphasis on the reality of mind4 ,the professor of physics insisted that the only fundamental reality was physical and that mind is always a result of brain's activity and never a cause of anything4 ,to this ,professor ,bowne replied that according to the writer's own theory1 as he understood it1 the letter of protest was the result of certain physical forces issuing in nervous excitations that made scratches on paper1 and that the writer's mind had nothing effectual to do with its composition4 ,this1 said ,professor ,bowne1 might be a plausible explanation of the letter1 but he was unwilling to apply it to the universe4 ,what wonder that the physicist acknowledged to a friend that the retort nettled him1 for he did not see just how to answer it8 ,,iv ,one's discontent with this reduction of our lives to physical causation is increased when he studies the mental process by which men reach it4 ,it is as if a man should perceive in the works of ,shakespeare insight and beauty1 pathos and laughter1 despair and hope1 and should set himself to explain all these as the function of the type4 ,how plausibly he could do it6 ,if one takes ,shakespeare's sentences full of spiritual meaning he can readily resolve them into twenty-six constituent letters of the alphabet1 and these into certain hooks and dashes1 and these into arithmetical points diffused in space4 ,starting with such abstract points1 let one suppose that some fortunate day they arranged themselves into hooks and dashes1 and these into letters of the alphabet1 and these by fortuitous concourse came together into sentences4 ,reading them we think we see deep spiritual meaning1 but they are all the work of type2 the fundamental reality is arithmetical points diffused in space4 ,such is the process by which a man reduces the mental and moral life of man back to its physical basis2 then breaks up the physical basis into atoms2 then1 starting with these abstractions1 builds up again the whole world which he just has analyzed1 and thinks he has explained the infinitely significant spiritual life of man4 ,not for a long time will we accept such a method of explaining the works of ,shakespeare6 ,nor can man contentedly be made to follow so inconsequential a process of thought as that by which the mind and character of ,jesus are reduced to a maneuver of molecules4 ,the attractiveness of this explanation of the universe as a huge physical machine is easily understood4 ,it presents a simple picture1 readily grasped4 ,it packs the whole explanation of the world into a neat parcel1 portable by any mind4 ,in the days of monarchy the government of the universe was pictured in terms of an absolute sovereign2 in feudal times the divine economy was pictured as a gigantic feudalism2 we always use a dominant factor in the life of man to help us picture the eternal4 ,so in the age whose builder and maker is machinery we easily portray the universe as a huge machine4 ,the process is simple and natural1 but to suppose that it is adequate is preposterous4 ,lord ,kelvin1 the chemist1 knew thoroughly the mechanistic idea of the world4 ,he felt the fascination of it1 for he said at ,johns ,hopkins ,university1 ,i never satisfy myself until ,i make a mechanical model of a thing4 ,if ,i can make a mechanical model ,i can understand it4 ,as long as ,i cannot make a mechanical model all the way through1 ,i cannot understand4 ,but ,lord ,kelvin knew better than to suppose that this figure comprehended all of reality4 ,the atheistic idea1 said he1 is so nonsensical1 that ,i do not know how to put it into words4 ,the rejection of the no-,god hypothesis does not necessarily imply that a man becomes fully ,christian in his thought of deity4 ,there are way-stations between no-,god and ,jesus' ,father4 ,but it does mean that to him reality must be fundamentally spiritual1 not physical4 ,what other hypothesis possibly can fit the facts8 ,for consider the view of a growing universe which we see from the outlook that modern science furnishes4 ,out of a primeval chaos where physical forces snarled at each other in unrelieved antagonism1 where no man had yet arisen to love truth and serve righteousness1 something has brought us to a time1 when for all our evil1 there are mothers and music and the laughter of children at play1 men who love honor and for service' sake lay down their lives1 and homes in every obscure street where fortitude and sacrifice are splendidly exhibited4 ,out of a chaos1 where a contemporary observer1 could there have been one1 would have seen no slightest promise of spirit1 something has brought us to the ,ten ,commandments1 and the ,sermon on the ,mount1 to great character and growing achievements in social righteousness1 to lofty thoughts of the ,divine and hopes of life eternal4 ,something has been at work here besides matter4 ,no explanation of all this will do1 without ,god4 ,v ,another source of confirmation for the man who1 valuing ,christian experience1 seeks assurance that it is intellectually justifiable1 is to be found in the effect of ,christian faith on life itself4 ,the nautical tables can be proved by an astronomer in his observatory2 but if they are given to a sailor and he beats about the seas with them in safety1 finding that they make adventurous voyages practicable1 that also would be important witness to their truth4 ,so the ,christian ideas of life have not been kept by studious recluses to ponder over and weave philosophies about2 they have been down in the market place1 men have been practically trying them for generations1 and they make great living4 ,the ultimate ground of practical assurance about anything is that we have tried it and that it works4 ,a man may have experience that other persons exist1 may draw the inference that friendly relations with them are not impossible1 but only when he launches out and verifies his thought in an adventure will he really be convinced of friendship's glory4 ,in no other way has final assurance about ,god come home to man4 ,they who have lived as though ,god were have been convinced that he is2 they who have willed to do his will have known4 ,that religious faith does justify itself in life is a fact to which mankind's experience amply testifies4 ,men have come to ,god1 not as chemists to bread curious to analyze it2 they have come as hungry men1 needing to eat if they would live4 ,and they have found life glorified by faith in him4 ,the difference between religion and irreligion here is plain4 ,how seldom one finds enthusiastic unbelievers6 ,when all that is fine spirited and resolute in agnostic literature is duly weighed and credited1 the pessimistic undertone is always heard4 ,leslie ,stephen thus summarizes life--,there is a deep sadness in the world4 ,turn and twist the thought as you may there is no escape4 ,optimism would be soothing if it were possible2 in fact1 it is impossible1 and therefore a constant mockery4 ,no gospel burns in the unbeliever's mind1 urgent for utterance2 he has no inspiring outlooks to offer1 no glad tidings to declare4 ,the more intelligent he is the more plainly he sees this4 ,with ,clifford he laments that the spring sun shines out of an empty heaven to light up a soulless earth and feels with utter loneliness that the ,great ,companion is dead2 with ,romanes he frankly states1 ,so far as the ruination of individual happiness is concerned1 no one can have a more lively conception than myself of the possibly disastrous tendency of my work4 ,an unbeliever whose admirable life raised the question as to the philosophy by which he guided it1 gave this summary of his creed1 ,i am making the best of a bad mess4 ,unbelievers do not spontaneously utter in song the glory of a creed like this1 and when they do write poetry1 it is of a sort that music will not fit-- ,the world rolls round forever like a mill1 ,it grinds out death and life and good and ill1 ,it has no purpose1 heart1 or mind or will4 ,when from poetry one turns to philosophy1 he can see good reasons why hymnals and unbelief should be uncongenial4 ,there is little to make life worth while in a creed which holds as ,haeckel does that morality in man1 like the tail of a monkey or the shell of a tortoise1 is purely a physiological effect1 and that man himself is an affair of chance2 the froth and fume at the wave-top of a sterile ocean of matter4 ,shall the practical unserviceableness of such an idea for the purpose of life1 awaken no suspicion as to its truth8 ,upon the other hand1 suppose that by some strange chance the principles of ,jesus should over night take possession of mankind4 ,even as it is1 when one starts his thought with the ,stone ,age1 the progress of mankind has obviously been immense4 ,from universal cannibalism after a battle1 to massacre without cannibalism marked one great advance2 from massacre of all prisoners taken in war to enslavement of them marked another2 and when slavery ceased being a philanthropic improvement1 as it was at first1 and became a sin and shame1 humanity took another long step forward4 ,with all our present barbarity1 a far look backwards shows a clear ascent4 ,as for the influence of ,jesus1 ,lecky1 the historian1 tells us that ,the simple record of three short years of ,christ's active life has done more to regenerate and soften mankind than all the disquisitions of philosophers and all the exhortations of moralists4 ,what if this process were brought to its fulfilment between sunset and dawn1 and the new day came with every one sure of ,god's fatherhood and life eternal1 of the law of love and the supremacy of character and with everyone living as though these were true8 ,whatever intellectual perplexities of belief a man may have1 he knows that such a world would be divinely great4 ,no war1 no evil lust1 no covetous selfishness1 no drunkenness6 ,mankind1 relieved of ancient burdens which have ruined character and crushed endeavor1 confident of faiths that give life infinite horizons and deathless hopes1 in cooperative international fraternity would be making the earth a decent home for ,god to rear his children in4 ,one finds it hard to believe that ideas which1 incarnate in life1 would so redeem the world are false4 ,as to the effect of the ,christian affirmations on individual character1 we do not need to picture an imagined future4 ,a ,character has been here who has lived them out4 ,a jury of philosophers might analyze the wood-work and the metals of an organ1 and guess from form and material what it is1 but we still should need for our assurance a musician4 ,when he sweeps the keys in harmony we know that it is an organ4 ,so when the philosophers have debated the pros and cons of argument concerning faith1 ,jesus plays the ,gospel4 ,his life is the ,christian affirmations done into character4 ,when religious faith1 at its best1 is incarnate in a ,man1 this is the consequence4 ,and multitudes of folk1 living out the implications of the faith1 have found the likeness of the ,master growing in them4 ,weighty confirmation of the ,gospel's truth arrives when its meaning is translated into life2 the world will not soon reject the ,new ,testament in this edition--bound in a ,man4 ,to one in perplexity about belief1 this proper question therefore rises3 ,what do we think about the ,christlike character8 ,is it not life at its sublimest elevation8 ,but to acknowledge that and yet to deny the central faiths by which such life is lived is to say that those ideas which1 incarnate1 make living great are false1 and those ideas which leave life meager of motive and bereft of hope are true4 ,no one lives on such a basis in any other realm4 ,we always mistrust the validity of any idea which works poorly or not at all4 ,and so far from being a practical makeshift1 this negative pragmatism is a true principle of knowledge4 ,says ,professor ,hocking1 of ,harvard1 ,if a theory has no consequences1 or bad ones2 if it makes no difference to men1 or else undesirable differences2 if it lowers the capacity of men to meet the stress of existence1 or diminishes the worth to them of what existence they have2 such a theory is somehow false1 and we have no peace until it is remedied4 ,the last word against irreligion is that it makes life unlivable2 the last word for faith is that it makes life glorious4 ,,vi ,one who is facing intellectual difficulties in the way of faith may well consider that the very ,christian life for whose possession he is seeking justification is itself an argument of the first importance4 ,this life grew up in the universe2 it is one expression of the universe2 and it is hard to think that it does not reveal a nature kindred to itself in the source from which it came4 ,mankind has always experienced a relationship with the ,unseen which has seemed like communion of soul with ,soul4 ,when a psychologist like ,professor ,james1 of ,harvard1 reduces to its most general terms this religious ,fact which has been practically universal in the race1 he puts it thus3 ,man becomes conscious that this higher part 7his spiritual life7 is coterminous and continuous with a ,,more of the same quality1 which is operative in the universe outside of him1 and which he can keep in working touch with1 and in a fashion get on board of and save himself when all his lower being has gone to pieces in the wreck4 ,no experience of man is more common in occurrence1 more tremendous in result than this4 ,from the mystics whose vivid sense of ,god canceled their consciousness that anything else was real1 to plain folk who in the strength of the divine alliance have lived ordinary lives with extraordinary spirit1 mankind as a whole has known that the best in man is in contact with a ,,more4 ,one does not need to be of a mystical temperament1 given to raptures1 to know what this means4 ,let him consider his own experience of love and duty1 how he is bound by them to his ideals and woven into a community of personal life not only with his friends but with all humanity1 until this spiritual life of his becomes the most august and commanding power he knows4 ,when in our bodies we so discern a physical nature1 whose laws and necessities we did not create1 and whose power binds us into a community of need and labor with our fellows1 our conclusion is confident4 ,this experience is the basis of our assurance that a physical universe is really here4 ,when1 likewise in our inner selves we find a spiritual life1 which man did not create1 in obedience to which alone is safety1 and peace1 and power1 what shall we conclude8 ,that there is a spiritual universe as plainly evidenced in man's soul as the physical universe is in the body6 ,and when we note the attributes of this ,spiritual ,order1 how it demands righteousness1 rebukes sin1 welcomes obedience and holds out ideals of endless possibility1 it is plain that we are talking about something close of kin to ,god4 ,as in summer we beat out through some familiar bay1 naming the headlands as we sail1 until if we go far enough1 we cannot prevent our eyes from looking out across the unbounded sea1 so if a man moves out through his own familiar spiritual life far enough1 he comes to the ,spiritual ,order which is ,god4 ,man has not drifted into his religion by accident or fallen on it merely as superstition2 he has moved out from his inner life to affirm a ,spiritual ,order as inevitably as he has moved out from his bodily experiences to affirm a physical universe4 ,when from this general experience we turn to the specific experiences of religion1 which prayer and worship represent1 the testimony of the race is confident4 ,men have not all these ages been lifting up their souls to an unreality from which no response has come4 ,the artesian well of transforming influence in human souls has not flowed from ,nowhere4 ,some1 indeed1 hearing confidence in ,god founded on the individual experiences of man1 derisively cry ,nonsense6 ,but if one were to prove that the ,sistine ,madonna is beautiful1 he would have to offer his experience in evidence4 ,i went to ,dresden1 he might say1 up into the room where the ,madonna hangs 444 and it is beautiful4 ,i saw it4 ,met with derision by a doubter1 as though his experience were no proof at all1 how shall he proceed8 ,i am not the only one1 he might continue1 who has perceived its beauty4 ,all these centuries the folk best qualified to judge have gone up into that room and have come down again1 sure that ,raphael's work is beautiful4 ,is anyone in a position to deride that8 ,so through all ages men and women1 from lowest savages to the race's spiritual kings and queens1 have gone up to the ,divine1 and1 at their best1 from experiences of prayer1 worship1 forgiven sins1 transfigured lives1 have come down sure that ,reality is there4 ,one may not call nonsense the most universal and influential experience of the human race6 ,the force of this fact is more clearly seen when one considers that man has grown up in this universe1 gradually developing his powers and functions as responses to his environment4 ,if he has eyes1 so the biologists assure us1 it is because the light waves played upon the skin and eyes came out in answer2 if he has ears it is because the air waves were there first and ears came out to hear4 ,man never yet1 according to the evolutionist1 has developed any power save as a reality called it into being4 ,there would be no fins if there were no water1 no wings if there were no air1 no legs if there were no land4 ,always the developing organism has been trying to catch up with its environment4 ,yet some would tell us that man's noblest power of all has developed in a vacuum4 ,they would say that his capacity to deal with a ,spiritual ,world1 to believe in ,god1 and in prayer to experience fellowship with him1 has all grown up with no ,reality to call it into being4 ,if so1 it stands alone in man's experience1 the only function of his life that grew without an originating ,fact to call it forth4 ,it does not seem reasonable to think that4 ,the evidence of man's experience is overwhelmingly in favor of a ,reality to which his spirit has been trying to answer4 ,said ,max ,mller1 ,to the philosopher the existence of ,god may seem to rest on a syllogism2 in the eyes of the historian it rests on the whole evolution of human thought4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,faith's ,greatest ,obstacle ,,daily ,,readings ,the speculative doubts leave many minds untouched1 but one universal human experience sooner or later faces every serious life with questions about ,god's goodness4 ,we all meet trouble1 in ourselves or others1 and oftentimes the wonder why in ,god's world such calamities should fall1 such wretchedness should continually exist1 plunges faith into perplexity4 ,few folk of mature years can fail to understand ,edwin ,booth when he wrote to a friend1 ,life is a great big spelling book1 and on every page we turn the words grow harder to understand the meaning of4 ,now1 the basis of any intelligent explanation of faith's problem must rest in a right practical attitude toward trouble4 ,to the consideration of that we turn in the daily readings4 ,sixth ,week1 ,first ,day ,beloved1 think it not strange concerning the fiery trial among you1 which cometh upon you to prove you1 as though a strange thing happened unto you3 but insomuch as ye are partakers of ,christ's sufferings1 rejoice2 that at the revelation of his glory also ye may rejoice with exceeding joy4 ,if ye are reproached for the name of ,christ1 blessed are ye2 because the ,spirit of glory and the ,spirit of ,god resteth upon you4 ,for let none of you suffer as a murderer1 or a thief1 or an evil-doer1 or as a meddler in other men's matters3 but if a man suffer as a ,christian1 let him not be ashamed2 but let him glorify ,god in this name4444 ,wherefore let them also that suffer according to the will of ,god commit their souls in well-doing unto a faithful ,creator4--,i ,pet4 #d3ab-af1 #ai4 ,such an attitude toward trouble as ,peter here recommends is the most wholesome and hopeful possible to man4 ,and it is reasonable too1 if only on the ground that trouble develops in men the essential qualities of strong character4 ,our highest admiration is always reserved for men who master difficult crises4 ,if the story of ,joseph1 begun beside ,bedouin camp fires centuries ago1 can easily be naturalized beside modern radiators2 if ,robinson ,crusoe1 translated into every tongue is understood by all1 the reason lies in the depth of man's heart1 where to make the most out of untoward situations is a daily problem4 ,not every one can grasp the argument or perceive the beauty of ,paradise ,lost and ,paradise ,regained1 but one thing about them every man appreciates--the blind ,milton1 sitting down to write them3 ,i argue not ,against ,heaven's hand or will1 nor bate a jot ,of heart or hope2 but still bear up and steer ,right onward4 ,the full understanding of ,ole ,bull's playing on the violin was necessarily restricted to the musical1 but no restriction bounds the admiration of men1 learned or simple1 when in a ,munich concert1 his ,a string snaps and he finishes the composition on three strings4 ,that is the human problem in epitome4 ,getting music out of life's remainders after the break has come2 winning the battle with what is left from a defeat2 going blind1 like ,milton1 and writing sublimest poetry1 or deaf1 like ,beethoven1 and composing superb sonatas2 being reared in an almshouse and buried from ,westminster ,abbey1 like ,henry ,m4 ,stanley2 or1 like ,kernahan1 born without arms or legs and yet sitting at last in the ,british ,parliament--all such hardihood and undiscourageable pluck reach back in a man's bosom beyond the strings that ease and luxury can touch1 and strike there an iron1 reverberating chord4 ,nothing in human life is so impressive as pluck1 fighting with the scabbard after the sword is gone4 ,and no one who deeply considers life can fail to see that our best character comes when1 as ,peter says1 we suffer as a ,christian4 ,o ,lord our ,god1 let our devout approach to ,thee be that of the heart1 not of the lips4 ,let it be in obedience to ,thy spiritual law1 not to any outward ritual4 ,thou desirest not temples nor offerings1 but the sacrifice of a lowly and grateful heart ,thou will not despise4 ,merciful ,father1 to all ,thy dispensations we would submit ourselves1 not grudgingly1 not merely of necessity1 but because we believe in ,thy wisdom1 ,thy universal rule1 and ,thy goodness4 ,in bereavement and in sorrow1 in death as in life1 in joys and in happiness1 we would see ,thy ,hand4 ,teach us to see it2 increase our faith where we cannot see2 teach us also to love justice1 and to do mercy1 and to walk humbly with ,thee our ,god4 ,make us at peace with all mankind1 gentle to those who offend us1 faithful in all duties1 and sincere in sorrow when we fail in duty4 ,make us loving to one another1 patient in distress1 and ever thankful to ,thy ,divine power1 which keeps1 and guides1 and blesses us every day4 ,lord1 accept our humble prayer1 accomplish in us ,thy holy will4 ,let ,thy peace reign in our hearts1 and enable us to walk with ,thee in love2 through ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,amen4--,francis ,w4 ,newman1 #ahje4 ,sixth ,week1 ,second ,day ,even unto this present hour we both hunger1 and thirst1 and are naked1 and are buffeted1 and have no certain dwelling-place2 and we toil1 working with our own hands3 being reviled1 we bless2 being persecuted1 we endure2 being defamed1 we entreat3 we are made as the filth of the world1 the offscouring of all things1 even until now4--,i ,cor4 #d3aa-ac4 ,if ,paul could be questioned about the experience of trouble which these verses vividly express1 would he not say that there had been qualities of character in him and resources in his relationship with ,god which he never would have known about had it not been for the test of adversity8 ,trouble not only develops but also reveals character2 we do not know ourselves until we have been tried out in calamity4 ,the simplest demand of adversity on every man is that he be game4 ,henry ,newbolt is not indulging in rhetoric when he tells of a ,soudan battle where a ,british square made up of ,clifton graduates is hard beset by a charge of fierce enemies1 and1 in that crisis1 makes the cry of a ,clifton football captain1 ,play up1 boys1 play the game6 rally the men and save the day4 ,at school or in the ,soudan the problem is the same2 the sling with which ,david plays in his youth is his chief reliance when ,goliath comes2 a game spirit is essential to character from birth to death4 ,we turn from the story of ,nelson at ,aboukir1 nailing six flags to his mast so that if even five were shot away no one would dream that he had surrendered1 to find that the spirit there exemplified is applicable to our most common day4 ,the quality which made ,nelson an ,admiral of ,england1 in spite of his lost arm1 his lost eye1 his small stature1 and his feeble health is one of our elemental needs4 ,and to a supreme degree this quality was in great ,christians like ,paul4 ,read his letter to the ,philippians and see6 ,adversity brought his spirit to light1 and made it an asset of the cause4 ,in a real sense1 trouble1 however forbidding1 was one of ,paul's best friends1 and there was a good reason why he should rejoice in tribulations4 ,o ,father of spirits6 ,thou lovest whom ,thou chastenest6 ,correct us in our weakness as the children of men1 that we may love ,thee in our strength as the sons of ,god4 ,may the same mind be in us which was also in ,jesus ,christ1 that we may never shrink1 when our hour comes1 from drinking of the cup that he drank of4 ,wake in us a soul to obey ,thee1 not with the weariness of servile spirits1 but with the alacrity of the holy angels4 ,fill us with a contempt of evil pleasures and unfaithful ease2 sustain us in the strictness of a devout life4 ,daily may we crucify every selfish affection1 and delight to bear one another's burdens1 to uphold each other's faith and charity1 being tender-hearted and forgiving as we hope to be forgiven4 ,hold us to the true humility of the soul that has not yet attained2 and may we be modest in our desire1 diligent in our trust1 and content with the disposals of ,thy ,providence4 ,o ,lord of life and death6 ,thy counsels are secret2 ,thy wisdom is infinite3 we know not what a day may bring forth4 ,when our hour arrives1 and the veil between the worlds begins to be lifted before us1 may we freely trust ourselves to ,thee1 and say1 ,father1 into ,thy hands ,i commend my spirit4 ,amen4--,james ,martineau4 ,sixth ,week1 ,third ,day ,if adversity1 rightly used1 so develops and reveals character1 we may expect to find trouble as a background to the most admirable men of the race4 ,we read the luminous histories of ,francis ,parkman and do not perceive1 behind the printed page1 the original manuscript1 covered with a screen of parallel wires1 along which the blind author ran his pencil that he might write legibly4 ,we think of ,james ,watt as a genius at invention1 and perhaps recall that ,wordsworth said of him1 ,i look upon him1 considering both the magnitude and the universality of his genius1 as perhaps the most extraordinary man that this country ever produced4 ,but ,watt himself we forget--sickly of body1 starving on eight shillings a week1 and saying1 ,of all things in life there is nothing more foolish than inventing4 ,kant's philosophy was a turning point in human thought1 but lauding ,kant1 how few recall his struggle with a broken body6 ,said he1 speaking of his incurable illness1 ,i have become master of its influence in my thoughts and actions by turning my attention away from this feeling altogether1 just as if it did not at all concern me4 ,wilberforce1 the liberator of ,british slaves1 we know1 and beside his grave in ,westminster ,abbey we recall the superb title that he earned1 the attorney general of the unprotected and of the friendless1 but the ,wilberforce who for twenty years was compelled to use opium to keep himself alive1 and had the resolution never to increase the dose--who knows of him8 ,one of the chief rewards of reading biography is this introduction that it gives to handicapped men2 the knowledge it imparts of the world's great saints and scripture makers1 conquerors and reformers1 who1 in the words of ,thucydides1 dared beyond their strength1 hazarded against their judgment1 and in extremities were of excellent hope4 ,and when one turns to the supreme ,character1 could the dark background be eliminated and still leave ,him8 ,but now we see not yet all things subjected to him4 ,but we behold him who hath been made a little lower than the angels1 even ,jesus1 because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor1 that by the grace of ,god he should taste of death for every man4 ,for it became him1 for whom are all things1 and through whom are all things1 in bringing many sons unto glory to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings4--,heb4 #b3h-aj4 ,o ,god1 who art unsearchable in ,thy judgments1 and in ,thy ways past finding out1 we bow before the mystery of ,thy ,being1 and confess that we know nothing1 and can say nothing worthy of ,thee4 ,we cannot understand ,thy dealings with us4 ,we have faith1 not sight2 when we cannot see1 we may only believe4 ,sometimes ,thou seemest to have no mercy upon us4 ,thou dost pierce us through our most tender affections1 quenching the light of our eyes in dreadful darkness4 ,death tears from us all that we love1 and ,thou art seemingly deaf to all our cries4 ,our earthly circumstances are reversed and bitter poverty is appointed us1 yet ,thou takest no heed1 and bringest no comfort to the sorrow and the barrenness of our life4 ,still would we trust in ,thee and cling to that deepest of our instincts which tells us that we come from ,thee and return to ,thee4 ,be with us1 ,father of ,mercies1 in love and pity and tenderness unspeakable4 ,lift our souls into ,thy perfect calm1 where all our wills are in harmony with ,thine4 ,amen4--,samuel ,mc,comb4 ,sixth ,week1 ,fourth ,day ,to one perplexed and disheartened by adversity1 a theoretical explanation is generally not half as valuable as concrete instances of courage and fortitude1 founded on faith4 ,whether we be theologians or scientists or as ignorant of both as ,caliban1 there is an immediate1 personal call to arms in the brave fight of ,george ,matheson1 one of ,scotland's great preachers for all his blindness1 or in ,louis ,pasteur's indomitable will1 making his discoveries despite the paralytic stroke that in his forty-sixth year crippled his strength4 ,the qualities which we admire in them are a sort of apotheosis of the qualities which we need in ourselves4 ,for we all are handicapped1 some by ill-starred heredity1 by unhappy environment1 or by the consequences of our own neglect and sin2 some by poverty1 some by broken bodies1 or by dissevered family ties--and all of us by unfortunate dispositions4 ,it does us good then to know that ,phillips ,brooks failed as a teacher4 ,his biographer tells us that so did his first ambition to be an educator cling to him1 that in the prime of life1 when he was the prince of preachers1 he came from ,president ,eliot's office1 pale and trembling1 because he had refused a professorship at ,harvard4 ,so ,robertson1 of ,brighton1 whose sermons began a new epoch in ,british ,christianity1 was prevented from being a soldier only by the feebleness of his body1 and ,sir ,walter ,scott1 who wanted to be a poet1 turned to novel writing1 anonymously and tentatively trying a new role1 because1 as he frankly put it1 ,because ,byron beat me4 ,he is an excellent cook who knows how to make a good dinner out of the left-overs1 and hardly a more invigorating truth is taught by history than that most of the finest banquets spread for the delectation of the race have been prepared by men who made them out of the leavings of disappointed hopes4 ,therefore let us also1 seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses1 lay aside every weight1 and the sin which doth so easily beset us1 and let us run with patience the race that is set before us1 looking unto ,jesus the author and perfecter of our faith1 who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross1 despising shame1 and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of ,god4 ,for consider him that hath endured such gainsaying of sinners against himself1 that ye wax not weary1 fainting in your souls4--,heb4 #ab3a-c4 ,our ,father1 we thank ,thee that while we are sure of ,thy protecting care1 ,thy causal providence1 which foresees all things1 we can bear the sorrows of this world1 and do its duties1 and endure its manifold and heavy cross4 ,we thank ,thee that when distress comes upon us1 and our mortal schemes vanish into thin air1 we know there is something solid which we can lay hold of1 and not be frustrate in our hopes4 ,yea1 we thank ,thee that when death breaks asunder the slender thread of life whereon our family jewels are strung1 and the precious stones of our affection fall from our arms or neck1 we know ,thou takest them and elsewhere givest them a heavenly setting1 wherein they shine before the light of ,thy presence as morning stars1 brightening and brightening to more perfect glory1 as they are transfigured by ,thine own almighty power4 ,we thank ,thee for all the truth which the stream of time has brought to us from many a land and every age4 ,we thank ,thee for the noble examples of human nature which ,thou hast raised up1 that in times of darkness there are wise men1 in times of doubt there are firm men1 and in every peril there stand up heroes of the soul to teach us feebler men our duty1 and to lead all of ,thy children to trust in ,thee4 ,father1 we thank ,thee that the seed of righteousness is never lost1 but through many a deluge is carried safe1 to make the wilderness to bloom and blossom with beauty ever fragrant and ever new1 and the desert bear corn for men and sustain the souls of the feeble when they faint4 ,amen4--,theodore ,parker4 ,sixth ,week1 ,fifth ,day ,one distinguishing mark of the men who have won their victories with the remnants of their defeat is that they refuse to describe their unideal conditions in negative terms4 ,if they cannot live in southern ,california where they would choose to live1 but must abide in ,new ,england instead1 they do not describe ,new ,england in terms of its deficiencies--no orange groves1 no acres of calla lilies1 no palm trees4 ,there are compensations even in ,new ,england1 if one will carefully take account of stock and see what positively is there6 ,or if a man would choose to live in ,boston and must live in ,labrador1 the case of ,grenfell suggests that a positive attitude toward his necessity will discover worth1 and material for splendid triumphs even on that inhospitable coast4 ,the mark of the handicapped men who have made the race's history glorious has always been their patriotism for the country where they had to live4 ,they do not stop long to pity themselves1 or to envy another's opportunity1 or to blame circumstances for their defeat1 or to dream of what might have been1 or to bewail their disappointed hopes4 ,if the soil of their condition will not grow one crop1 they discover what it will grow4 ,they have insight1 as did ,moses1 to see holy ground where an ordinary man would have seen only sand and sagebrush and sheep4 ,now ,moses was keeping the flock of ,jethro his father-in-law1 the priest of ,midian3 and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness1 and came to the mountain of ,god1 unto ,horeb4 ,and the angel of ,jehovah appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush3 and he looked1 and1 behold1 the bush burned with fire1 and the bush was not consumed4 ,and ,moses said1 ,i will turn aside now1 and see this great sight1 why the bush is not burnt4 ,and when ,jehovah saw that he turned aside to see1 ,god called unto him out of the midst of the bush1 and said1 ,moses1 ,moses4 ,and he said1 ,here am ,i4 ,and he said1 ,draw not nigh hither3 put off thy shoes from off thy feet1 for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground4--,exodus #c3a-e4 ,father of life1 and ,god of the living1 ,fountain of our being and ,light of all our day2 we thank ,thee for that knowledge of ,thyself which lights our life with eternal splendor1 for that giving of ,thyself which has made us partakers of ,thy divine nature4 ,we bless ,thee for everything around us which ministers ,thee to our minds2 for the greatness and glory of nature1 for the history of our race1 and the lives of noble men2 for the thoughts of ,thee expressed in human words1 in the art of painters and musicians1 in the work of builders and craftsmen4 ,we bless ,thee for the constant memories of what we are that rise within ourselves2 for the pressure of duty1 the hush of solemn thoughts1 for moments of insight when the veil on the face of all things falls away1 for hours of high resolve when life is quickened within1 for seasons of communion when1 earth and sense forgotten1 heaven holds our silent spirits raptured and aflame4 ,we have learned to praise ,thee for the darker days when we had to walk by faith1 for weary hours that strengthened patience and endeavor1 for moments of gloom and times of depression which taught us to trust1 not to changing tides of feeling1 but to ,thee who changest not4 ,and now since ,christ has won ,his throne by ,his cross of shame1 risen from ,his tomb to reign forever in the hearts of men1 we know that nothing can ever separate us from ,thee2 that in all conflicts we may be more than conquerors2 that all dark and hostile things shall be transformed and work for good to those who know the secret of ,thy love4 ,glory be to ,thee1 ,o ,lord4 ,amen4--,w4 ,e4 ,orchard4 ,sixth ,week1 ,sixth ,day ,when folk have seen into human life deeply enough so that they perceive how adversity can be used to high issues1 faith in ,god becomes not so much a speculative problem as a practical need4 ,they want to deal with trouble nobly4 ,they see that faith in ,god gives the outlook on life which makes the hopeful facing of adverse situations reasonable and which supplies power to make it possible4 ,the result is that the great sufferers have been the great believers4 ,the idea that fortunate circumstances make vital faith in ,god probable is utterly unsupported by history4 ,hardly an outstanding champion of faith who has left an indelible impress on man's spiritual life can anywhere be found1 who has not won his faith and confirmed it in the face of trouble4 ,what is true of individuals is true of generations4 ,the days of ,israel's triumphant faith did not come in ,solomon's reign1 when wealth was plentiful and national ambitions ran high4 ,the great prophets and the great psalms stand out against the dark background of the ,exile and its consequences4 ,awake1 awake1 put on strength1 ,o arm of ,jehovah2 awake1 as in the days of old1 the generations of ancient times4 ,is it not thou that didst cut ,rahab in pieces1 that didst pierce the monster8 ,is it not thou that driedst up the sea1 the waters of the great deep2 that madest the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over8 ,and the ransomed of ,jehovah shall return1 and come with singing unto ,zion2 and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads3 they shall obtain gladness and joy2 and sorrow and sighing shall flee away4 ,i1 even ,i1 am he that comforteth you3 who art thou1 that thou art afraid of man that shall die1 and of the son of man that shall be made as grass2 and hast forgotten ,jehovah thy ,maker1 that stretched forth the heavens1 and laid the foundations of the earth2 and fearest continually all the day because of the fury of the oppressor1 when he maketh ready to destroy8 and where is the fury of the oppressor8 ,the captive exile shall speedily be loosed2 and he shall not die and go down into the pit1 neither shall his bread fail4 ,for ,i am ,jehovah thy ,god1 who stirreth up the sea1 so that the waves thereof roar3 ,jehovah of hosts is his name4 ,and ,i have put my words in thy mouth1 and have covered thee in the shadow of my hand1 that ,i may plant the heavens1 and lay the foundations of the earth1 and say unto ,zion1 ,thou art my people4--,isa4 #ea3i-af4 ,that is a voice out of the ,exile4 ,such great believers1 whose faith shone brightest when the night was darkest1 have not pretended to know the explanation of suffering in ,god's world4 ,but they have had insight to see a little and trust for the rest4 ,stevenson has expressed their faith3 ,if ,i from my spy-hole1 looking with purblind eyes upon a least part of a fraction of the universe1 yet perceive in my own destiny some broken evidences of a plan1 and some signals of an overruling goodness2 shall ,i then be so mad as to complain that all cannot be deciphered8 ,shall ,i not rather wonder1 with infinite and grateful surprise1 that in so vast a scheme ,i seem to have been able to read1 however little1 and that little was encouraging to faith8 ,we thank ,thee1 ,o ,god1 that ,thou dost ride upon the cloud1 and govern the storm4 ,all that to us is dark is light to ,thee4 ,the night shineth as the day4 ,all that which seems to us irregular and ungoverned1 is held in ,thine hand1 even as the steed by the rein4 ,from age to age ,thou dost control the long procession of events1 discerning the end from the beginning2 and all the wild mixture1 all the confusion1 all the sorrow and the suffering1 is discerned of ,thee4 ,as is the palette to the color1 as is violence to development in strength1 as is the crushing of the grape to the wine1 so in ,thy sight all things are beneficent that to us are most confusing and seemingly conflicting and threatening4 ,sorrow and pain and disaster are woven in the loom of ,god2 and in the end we1 too1 shall be permitted to discern the fair pattern1 and understand how that which brought tears here shall bring righteousness there4 ,o1 how good it is to trust ,thee1 and to believe that ,thou art wise1 and that ,thou art full of compassion1 as ,thou carriest on ,thy great work of love and benevolence1 sympathizing with all that suffer on the way1 and gathering them at last with an exceeding great salvation6 ,we trust ,thee1 not because we understand ,thee1 but because in many things ,thou hast taught us where we should have been afraid to trust4 ,we have crossed many a gulf and many a roaring stream upon the bridge of faith1 and have exulted to find ourselves safe landed1 and have learned to trust ,thee1 as a child a parent1 as a passenger the master of a ship1 not because we know1 but because ,thou knowest4 ,amen4--,henry ,ward ,beecher4 ,sixth ,week1 ,seventh ,day ,every one therefore that heareth these words of mine1 and doeth them1 shall be likened unto a wise man1 who built his house upon the rock3 and the rain descended1 and the floods came1 and the winds blew1 and beat upon that house2 and it fell not3 for it was founded upon the rock4 ,and every one that heareth these words of mine1 and doeth them not1 shall be likened unto a foolish man1 who built his house upon the sand3 and the rain descended1 and the floods came1 and the winds blew1 and smote upon that house2 and it fell3 and great was the fall thereof4--,matt4 #g3bd-bg4 ,an important fact is here asserted by the ,master1 which is commonly obscured in the commentaries4 ,he says that no matter whether a man's life be built on sand or on rock1 he yet will experience the blasts of adversity2 on both houses alike the rain descended1 and the floods came1 and the winds blew4 ,the ,master repeatedly affirmed that trouble comes without necessary reference to character1 that while we may always argue that sin causes suffering1 we never can confidently argue that suffering comes from sin 7,luke #ac3d2 ,john #i3a-c74 ,folks needlessly and unscripturally harass their souls when they suppose that some special trouble must have befallen them because of some special sin4 ,the book of ,job was written to disprove that1 and as for the ,master1 he distinctly says that the man of faith with his house on a rock faces the same storm that wrecks the faithless man4 ,the difference is not in the adversity1 but in the adversity's effect4 ,no more important question faces any soul than this3 seeing that trouble is an unevadable portion of every life1 good or bad1 what am ,i to do with it8 ,says ,oliver ,wendell ,holmes1 ,did you ever happen to see that most soft-spoken and velvet-handed steam-engine at the ,mint8 ,the smooth piston slides backward and forward as a lady might slip her delicate finger in and out of a ring4 ,the engine lays one of its fingers calmly1 but firmly1 upon a bit of metal2 it is a coin now1 and will remember that touch1 and tell a new race about it1 when the date upon it is crusted over with twenty centuries4 ,so it is that a great silent-moving misery puts a new stamp on us in an hour or a moment--as sharp an impression as if it had taken half a lifetime to engrave it4 ,the only flaw in that simile is that the coin cannot decide what impression shall be made4 ,but we can4 ,rebellion1 despair1 bitterness1 or triumphant faith--we can say which impression adversity shall leave upon us4 ,o ,god of our life1 whom we dimly apprehend and never can comprehend1 to whom nevertheless we justly ascribe all goodness as well as all greatness2 as a father teaches his children1 so teach us1 ,lord1 truer thoughts of ,thee4 ,teach us to aspire1 so far as man may lawfully aspire1 to a knowledge of ,thee4 ,thou art not only a ,god to be honored in times of rest and ease1 ,thou art also the ,refuge of the distressed1 the ,comforter of the afflicted1 the ,healer of the contrite1 and the ,support of the unstable4 ,as we sympathize with those who are sore smitten by calamity1 wounded by sudden accident1 wrecked in the midst of security1 so must we believe that ,thy mighty all-embracing heart sympathizes4 ,pitier of the orphan1 ,god of the widow1 cause us to share ,thy pity and become ,thy messengers of tenderness in our small measure4 ,be ,thou the ,stay of all in life and death4 ,teach all to know and trust ,thee1 give us a portion here and everywhere with ,thy saints2 through ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,amen4--,francis ,w4 ,newman1 #ahje4 ,,comment ,,for ,,the ,,week ,i ,few who have sincerely tried to believe in ,god's goodness and who have lived long enough to face the harrowing facts of human wretchedness will doubt what obstacle most hampers faith4 ,the major difficulty which perplexes many ,christians1 when they try to reconcile ,god's love with their experience1 is not belief's irrationality but life's injustice4 ,according to the ,psalmist1 ,the fool hath said in his heart1 ',there is no ,god' 7,psalm #ad3a74 ,but the fool is not the only one who has said that4 ,he said it1 jeering2 he announced it in derision2 he did not want ,god1 and contemptuous denial was a joy4 ,it was the temper of his negation that made him a fool4 ,but many hearts1 in tones far different from his1 have said1 ,there is no ,god4 ,parents cry it brokenheartedly beside the graves of children2 the diseased cry it1 suffering from keener agony than they can bear2 fathers cry it when their battle against poverty has failed and their children plead in vain for bread2 and men who care about their kind say it as they watch the anguish with which war1 drunkenness1 lust1 disease1 and poverty afflict the race4 ,no man of moral insight will call such folk fools4 ,the wretchedness and squalor1 the misery and sin which rest upon so much of humankind are a notorious difficulty in the way of faith4 ,in dealing with this problem two short cuts are often tried1 and by them some minds endeavor to evade the issue which faith ought to meet4 ,some minimize the suffering which creation cost and which man and animals are now enduring4 ,we must grant that when we read the experience of animals in terms of man's own life1 we always exaggerate their pain4 ,animals never suffer as we do2 their misery is not compounded by our mental agonies of regret and fear2 and even their physical wretchedness is as much lower in intensity as their nerves are less exquisitely tuned4 ,darwin1 who surely did not underestimate the struggle for existence1 said in a letter1 ,according to my judgment1 happiness decidedly prevails4 ,all sentient beings have been formed so as to enjoy1 as a general rule1 happiness4 ,we must grant also that man's practical attitude toward life gives the lie to pessimism4 ,only the suicides are the logical pessimists1 and all the rest of men1 most with good heart and multitudes with jubilant enthusiasm1 do actually cling to life4 ,indeed1 all normal men discover1 that1 within limits1 their very hardships are a condition of their happiness and do not so much abate their love of life is they add zest and tang4 ,we must grant further that suffering should be measured not by quantity1 but by intensity4 ,one sensitive man enduring bereavement1 poverty1 or disease represents all the suffering that ever has been or ever can be felt4 ,to speak of limitless suffering1 therefore1 is false4 ,there is no more wretchedness anywhere nor in all the world together1 than each one can know in his own person4 ,when all this1 however1 has been granted1 the facts of the world's misery are staggering4 ,modern science has given terrific sweep and harrowing detail to ,paul's assertion1 ,the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now 7,rom4 #h3bb74 ,let one whose insight into misery's meanings is quickened by even a little imagination1 try to sum up the agony of drunkards' homes1 of bereaved families1 of hospitals1 insane asylums1 jails1 and prisons1 of war with its unmentionable horrors--its blinded1 deafened1 maddened1 raped--and no small palliatives can solve his problem4 ,rather he understands the picture which ,james ,russell ,lowell said he saw years ago in ,belgium3 an angel holding back the ,creator and saying1 ,if about to make such a world1 stay thine hand4 ,another short cut by which some endeavor to simplify the problem and content their thought is to lift responsibility for life's wretchedness from ,god's shoulders and to put it upon man's4 ,were man's sin no factor in the world1 some say1 life's miseries would cease2 all the anguish of our earthly lot stands not to ,god's responsibility but to man's shame4 ,but the sufferings of ,god's creatures did not begin with man's arrival1 and the pain of creation before man sinned is a longer story than earth's misery since4 ,let ,romanes picture the scene3 ,some hundred of millions of years ago1 some millions of millions of animals must be supposed to have become sentient4 ,since that time till the present1 there must have been millions and millions of generations of millions and millions of individuals4 ,and throughout all this period of incalculable duration1 this inconceivable host of sentient organizations have been in a state of unceasing battle1 dread1 ravin1 pain4 ,looking to the outcome1 we find that more than one-half of the species which have survived the ceaseless struggle are parasitic in their habits1 lower and insentient forms of life1 feasting on higher and sentient forms1 we find teeth and talons whetted for slaughter1 hooks and suckers molded for torture--everywhere a reign of terror1 hunger1 sickness1 with oozing blood and quivering limbs1 with gasping breath and eyes of innocence that dimly close in deaths of cruel torture4 ,is man responsible for that8 ,for cold that freezes ,god's living creatures1 for lightning that kills them1 for volcanoes that burn them1 for typhoons that crush them--is man responsible8 ,by no such easy evasion may we escape the problem which faith must meet4 ,in sober truth1 as ,john ,stuart ,mill exclaimed1 nearly all the things which men are hanged or imprisoned for doing to one another1 are ,nature's everyday performances4 ,who can avoid seeing the patent contrast between the ,father of ,jesus and the ,creator of such a world8 ,the power that launches earthquakes and arms cuttlefish1 said one perplexed believer1 has but a meager relationship to the power that blesses infants and forgives enemies4 ,,ii ,could we hold this problem at arm's length1 discussing it in speculative moods when we grow curious about the makeup of the universe1 our case would be more simple4 ,but of all life's problems1 this most certainly--sometimes creeping1 sometimes crashing--invades our private lives4 ,every man has a date with adversity which he must keep and which adversity does not forget4 ,one notes the evidence of this in every normally maturing life4 ,as children we wanted happiness and were impatient1 lacking it4 ,our cups of pleasure easily brimmed and overflowed4 ,a ,christmas tree or a birthday party--and our hearts were like sun-parlors on cloudless days with all the windows open to the light6 ,but the time comes to all when happiness like this is not our problem2 we recognize that it is gone2 our ,edens are behind us with flaming angels at the gate4 ,we have had friends and lost them and something has gone from our hearts that does not return2 we have won successes which we do not estimate as highly in possession as we did in dreams1 and it may be have lost what little we achieved2 we have sinned1 and though forgiven1 the scars are still upon us2 we have been weathered by the rains and floods and winds4 ,happiness in the old fashion we no longer seek4 ,we want peace1 the power to possess our souls in patience and to do our work4 ,we want joy1 which is a profound and spiritually begotten grace as happiness is not4 ,this maturity which so has faced the tragic aspects of our human life is not less desirable than childhood2 it may be richer1 fuller1 steadier4 ,we may think of it as ,wordsworth did about the ,english landscape--that not for all the sunny skies of ,italy would he give up the mists that spiritualize the ,english hills4 ,but when trouble comes1 life faces a new set of problems that childhood little knew4 ,we have joined the human procession that moves out into the inevitable need of comfort and fortitude4 ,the decisive crisis in many lives concerns the attitude which this experience evokes4 ,some are led by it more deeply into the meanings of religion4 ,the ,bible grows in their apprehension with the enlarging of their life2 new passages become radiant as1 in a great landscape1 hills and valleys lately unillumined catch the rays of the rising sun4 ,at first the human friendliness of ,jesus is most real1 and the ,bible's stories of adventure for ,god's cause2 then knightly calls to character and service become luminous2 but soon or late another kind of passage grows meaningful3 ,now our ,lord ,jesus ,christ himself1 and ,god1 our ,father who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace1 comfort your hearts and establish them 7,,ii ,thess4 #b3af74 ,others1 so far from being led by adversity into the deeper meanings of faith1 renounce faith altogether1 and fling themselves into open rebellion against life and any ,god who may be responsible for its tragedy4 ,they may not dare to say what ,james ,thomson did1 but they think it-- ,who is most wretched in this dolorous place8 ,i think myself2 yet ,i would rather be ,my miserable self than ,he1 than ,he ,who formed such creatures to his own disgrace4 ,the vilest thing must be less vile than ,thou ,from whom it had its being1 ,god and ,lord6 ,creator of all woe and sin6 abhorred1 ,malignant and implacable6 ,i vow ,that not for all ,thy power furled and unfurled1 ,for all the temples to ,thy glory built1 ,would ,i assume the ignominious guilt ,of having made such men in such a world6 ,many1 however1 are not by adversity made more sure of ,god1 nor are they driven into rebellion against him4 ,they are perplexed4 ,it had been so much easier1 in the sheltered and innocent idealism of their youth1 to believe in ,god than it is now4 ,as children they looked on life as they might have listened to ,mozart's music1 ravished with unqualified delight2 but now they know that ,mozart died in abject poverty1 that the coffin which his wife could not buy was donated by charity1 that as the hearse went to the grave the driver loudly damned the dead because no drink money had been given him1 and that to this day no one knows where ,mozart's body lies4 ,maturity has to deal with so much more tragic facts than youth can ever know4 ,with all the philosophy that man's wit can supply1 the wisest find themselves saying what ,emerson did1 two years after his son's death3 ,i have had no experience1 no progress to put me into better intelligence with my calamity than when it was new4 ,and in this inevitable wrestling with adversity1 the cry of men is not simply for more courage4 ,they might easily steady their hearts to endure and overcome1 were only one question's answer clear--is there any sense in life's suffering8 ,the one unsupportable thought is that all life's pain and hardship is meaningless and futile1 that it has no worthy origin1 serves no high purpose1 that in misery we are the sport of forces that have no consciousness of what they do1 no meaning in it and no care4 ,such folk want to believe in ,god1 but--can they8 ,,iii ,two preliminary facts about ,christianity's relationship with our problem may help to clarify our thought4 ,the doubt sometimes obtrudes itself on minds perplexed about life's tragedies that the ,christian's faith in a ,god of love is an idealistic dream4 ,such faiths as the ,fatherhood of ,god have come to men1 they think1 in happy hours when calamity was absent or forgotten2 they are the fruition of man's fortunate days4 ,and born thus of a view of life from which the miseries of men had been shut out1 this happy1 ideal faith comes back to painful realities with a shock which it cannot sustain4 ,but is ,christian faith thus the child of man's happy days8 ,rather the very symbol of ,christianity is the ,cross4 ,our faith took its rise in one of history's most appalling tragedies1 and the ,gospel of a loving ,god1 so far from being an ideal dream1 conceived apart from life's forbidding facts1 has all these centuries been intertwined with the public brutality of a crucifixion4 ,every emphasis of the ,christian's faith has the mark of the ,cross upon it4 ,jesus had said in words that ,god was love1 but it was at ,calvary that the words took fire3 ,god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son 7,john #c3af74 ,jesus had preached the divine forgiveness1 but on ,golgotha the message grew imperative3 ,god commendeth his own love toward us1 in that1 while we were yet sinners1 ,christ died for us 7,rom4 #e3h74 ,jesus had put into parables the individual care of the ,father for every child1 but it was the ,cross that drove the great faith home3 ,christ tasted death for every man 7,heb4 #b3i74 ,nothing in ,christian faith has escaped the formative influence of the ,tragedy4 ,the last thing to be said about the ,gospel is that it is a beautiful child-like dream which has not faced the facts of suffering4 ,in the ,new ,testament are all the miseries on which those who deny ,god's love count for support4 ,we are at home there with suffering men3 they were stoned1 they were sawn asunder1 they were tempted1 they were slain with the sword3 they went about in sheepskins1 in goatskins2 being destitute1 afflicted1 ill-treated 7of whom the world was not worthy71 wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and the holes of the earth 7,heb4 #aa3cg1 #ch74 ,the men with whom ,christianity began were not strangers to such trouble1 so that some modern need remind their innocent and dreaming faith that life is filled with mysterious adversity4 ,christianity was suckled on adversity2 it was cradled in pain4 ,at the heart of its ,book and its ,gospel is a ,good ,man crowned with thorns1 nailed to a cross1 with a spear wound in his side4 ,nor have the great affirmations of faith in ,god's fatherhood ever been associated with men of ease in fortunate circumstance4 ,the voice that cried ,father1 into thy hands ,i commend my spirit spoke in agonizing pain4 ,and through history one finds those words best spoken with a cross for a background4 ,thomas ,becket said them1 martyred in his own cathedral2 ,john ,huss said them1 going to the stake at ,constance2 ,george ,wishart said them1 roasted at the foot of the sea-tower of ,st4 ,andrews4 ,christian faith is not a dream that came in hours when human trouble had been forgotten2 it has furnished from the beginning an interpretation of human trouble and an attitude in meeting it that has made men more than conquerors4 ,the second preliminary fact is this3 ,christianity has never pretended to supply a theoretical explanation of why suffering had to be4 ,this seeming lack has excellent reason1 for such an explanation1 if it be complete1 is essentially beyond the reach of any finite mind4 ,the most comprehensive question ever asked1 some philosopher has said1 was put by a child4 ,why was there ever anything at all8 ,no finite mind can answer that4 ,and next in comprehensiveness1 and in penetration to the very pith of creation's meaning1 is this query1 ,why1 if something had to be1 was it made as it is8 ,one must be ,god himself fully to answer that1 or to comprehend the answer1 could it be written down4 ,to expect therefore1 from ,christianity or from any other source a theoretical explanation that will plumb the depths of the mystery of suffering is to cry for the essentially impossible4 ,so ,carlyle says with typical vividness3 ,to the minnow every cranny and pebble1 and quality and accident of its little native creek may have become familiar2 but does the minnow understand the ,ocean ,tides and periodic ,currents1 the ,trade-winds1 and ,monsoons1 and ,moon's ,eclipses2 by all which the condition of its little ,creek is regulated1 and may1 from time to time 7un-miraculously enough71 be quite overset and reversed8 ,such a minnow is ,man2 his ,creek this ,planet ,earth2 his ,ocean the immeasurable ,all2 his ,monsoons and periodic ,currents the mysterious ,course of ,providence through ,aeons of ,aeons4 ,so little is this inability of ours to know all that we wish about the world a cause for regret1 that it ought to be an occasion of positive rejoicing4 ,if we could understand the universe through and through1 how small and meager the universe would have to be6 ,the fact is that we cannot understand anything through and through4 ,if one is disheartened because he cannot pierce to the heart of ,providence and know all its secrets1 let him try his hand upon a pebble and see how much better he will fare4 ,what is a pebble8 ,if one define it roughly as granite he must ask what granite is2 if that be defined in terms of chemical properties1 he must ask what they are2 if they be defined as ultimate forms of matter1 he must inquire what matter is2 and then he will be told that matter is a mode of motion1 or will be assured by a more candid scientist1 like ,professor ,tait1 that we do not know and are probably incapable of discovering what matter is4 ,no one ever solves the innermost problems of a stone1 but what can be done with stones our engineering feats are evidence4 ,if1 therefore1 we recognize at the beginning that the question why suffering had to be is an ultimate problem1 essentially insoluble by finite minds1 we need not be dismayed4 ,two opposing mysteries are in the world--goodness and evil4 ,if we deny ,god1 then goodness is a mystery1 for no one has ever yet suggested how spiritual life could rise out of an unspiritual source1 how souls could come from dust4 ,if we affirm ,god1 then evil is a mystery1 for why1 we ask1 should love create a world with so much pain and sin8 ,our task is not to solve insoluble problems2 it is to balance these alternatives--no ,god and the mystery of man's spiritual life1 against ,god and the mystery of evil4 ,such a comparison is not altogether beyond our powers1 nor are weighty considerations lacking to affect our choice4 ,,iv ,for one thing1 we may well inquire1 when we complain of this world's misery1 what sort of world we are seeking in its place4 ,are we asking for a perfectly happy world8 ,but happiness1 at its deepest and its best1 is not the portion of a cushioned life which never struggled1 overpassed obstacles1 bore hardship1 or adventured in sacrifice for costly aims4 ,a heart of joy is never found in luxuriously coddled lives1 but in men and women who achieve and dare1 who have tried their powers against antagonisms1 who have met even sickness and bereavement and have tempered their souls in fire4 ,joy is begotten not chiefly from the impression of happy circumstance1 but from the expression of overcoming power4 ,were we set upon making a happy world1 therefore1 we could not leave struggle out nor make adversity impossible4 ,the unhappiest world conceivable by man would be a world with nothing hard to do1 no conflicts to wage for ends worth while2 a world where courage was not needed and sacrifice was a superfluity4 ,beside such an inane lotos-land of tranquil ease this present world with all its suffering is a paradise4 ,men in fact find joy where in philosophy we might not look for it4 ,said ,mac,millan1 after a terrific twelve-month with ,peary on the ,arctic continent3 ,this has been the greatest year of my life4 ,the impossibility of imagining a worth-while world from which adversity had all been banished is even more evident when one grows ill-content to think of happiness as the goal of life4 ,that we should be merely happy is not an adequate end of the creative purpose for us1 or of our purpose for ourselves4 ,in our best hours we acknowledge this in the way we handle trouble4 ,however much in doubt a man may be about the theory of suffering1 he knows infallibly how suffering practically should be met4 ,to be rebellious1 cursing fate and hating life2 to pity oneself1 nursing one's hurts in morbid self-commiseration--the ignobility of such dealing with calamity we indubitably know4 ,even where we fall feebly short of the ideal1 we have no question what the ideal is4 ,when in biography or among our friends we see folk face crushing trouble1 not embittered by it1 made cynical1 or thrust into despair1 but hallowed1 sweetened1 illumined1 and empowered1 we are aware that noble characters do not alone bear trouble2 they use it4 ,as men at first faced electricity in dread1 conceiving toward it no attitude beyond building lightning-rods to ward away its stroke1 but now with greater understanding harness it to do their will1 so men1 as they grow wise and strong1 deal with their suffering4 ,they make it the minister of character2 they set it to build in them what nothing save adversity can ever build--patience1 courage1 sympathy1 and power4 ,they even choose it in vicarious sacrifice for the good of others1 and by it save the world from evils that nothing save some one's suffering could cure4 ,they act as though character1 not happiness1 were the end of life4 ,and when they are at their best they do this not with stoic intrepidity1 as though trouble's usefulness were but their fancy1 but joyfully1 as though a good purpose in the world included trouble1 even though not intending it4 ,so ,robert ,louis ,stevenson1 facing death1 writes to a friend about an old woman whose ventriloquism had frightened the natives of ,vailima1 ,all the old women in the world might talk with their mouths shut and not frighten you or me1 but there are plenty of other things that frighten us badly4 ,and if we only knew about them1 perhaps we should find them no more worthy to be feared than an old woman talking with her mouth shut4 ,and the names of some of these things are ,death and ,pain and ,sorrow4 ,whatever1 then1 may be our theoretical difficulty about suffering1 this truth is clear3 when we are at our best we practically deal with suffering as though moral quality were the goal of life4 ,we use adversity1 as though discipline were its purpose and good its end4 ,it is worth noting that the only theory which fully fits this noblest attitude toward trouble is ,christianity4 ,men may think ,god a devil1 as ,james ,thomson sang1 and yet may be practically brave and cheerful1 but their theory does not fit their life4 ,men may believe in no ,god and no purpose in the world1 and yet may face adversity with courage and hope1 but their spirit belies their philosophy4 ,when men are at their best in hardship they act as though the ,christian faith in ,god were true1 as though moral quality were the purpose of creation4 ,if now1 we really want a world in which character is the end and aim--and no other world is worth ,god's making--we obviously may not demand the abolition of adversity4 ,if one imagines a life from its beginning lapped in ease and utterly ignorant what words like hardship1 sorrow1 and calamity imply1 he must imagine a life lacking every virtue that makes human nature admirable4 ,character grows on struggle2 without the overcoming of obstacles great quality in character is unthinkable4 ,whoever has handled well any calamitous event possesses resources1 insights1 wise attitudes1 qualities of sympathy and power that by no other road could have come to him4 ,for all our complaints against life's misery1 therefore1 and for all our inability to understand it in detail1 who would not hesitate1 foreseeing the consequence1 to take adversity away from men8 ,he who banishes hardship banishes hardihood2 and out of the same door with ,calamity walk ,courage1 ,fortitude1 ,triumphant ,faith1 and ,sacrificial ,love4 ,if we abolish the cross in the world1 we make impossible the ,christ in man4 ,it becomes more clear the more one ponders it1 that while this is often a hard world in which to be happy1 to men of insight and faith it may be a great world in which to build character4 ,v ,before too confidently1 however1 we accept this conclusion1 there is one objection to be heard4 ,so far is the world from being absolved from cruelty1 on the plea of moral purpose1 one may say1 that its injustice is the very crux of its offense4 ,see how negligent of justice the process of creation is6 ,its volcanoes and typhoons slay good and bad alike1 its plagues are utterly indifferent to character2 and in the human world which it embosoms some drunken ,caesar sits upon the throne while ,christ hangs on the cross4 ,who for a single day can watch the gross inequities of life1 where good men so often suffer and bad men go free1 and still think that the world has moral purpose in it8 ,the ,bible itself is burdened with complaint against the seeming senselessness and injustice of ,god4 ,moses cries3 ,lord1 wherefore hast thou dealt ill with this people8 ,neither hast thou delivered thy people at all 7,exodus #e3bb1 #bc72 ,elijah laments1 ,o ,jehovah1 my ,god1 hast ,thou also brought evil upon the widow1 with whom ,i sojourn1 by slaying her son8 7,i ,kings #ag3bj72 ,habakkuk complains1 ,wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously1 and holdest thy peace1 when the wicked swalloweth up the man that is more righteous than he8 7,hab4 #a3ac72 and ,job protests1 ,although thou knowest that ,i am not wicked1 444 yet thou dost destroy me 7,job #aj3g1 #h74 ,man's loss of faith springs often from this utter disparity between desert and fortune4 ,the time comes to almost every man when he looks on1 indignant1 desperate1 at some gross horror uninterrupted1 some innocent victim entreated cruelly4 ,he understands ,carlyle's impatient cry1 ,god sits in heaven and does nothing6 ,natural as is this attitude1 and unjust as many of life's tragic troubles are1 we should at least see this3 man must not demand that goodness straightway receive its pay and wrong its punishment4 ,he may not ask that every virtuous deed be at once rewarded by proportionate happiness and every sin be immediately punished by proportionate pain4 ,that1 some might suppose1 would put justice into life4 ,but whatever it might put into life1 such an arrangement obviously would take out character4 ,the men whose moral quality we most highly honor were not paid for their goodness on ,saturday night and did not expect to be4 ,they chose their course for righteousness' sake alone1 although they knew what crowns of thorns1 what scornful crowds about their cross might end the journey4 ,they did not drive close bargains with their fate1 demanding insurance against trouble as the price of goodness4 ,they chose the honorable deed for honor's sake2 they chose it the more scrupulously1 the more pleasure was offered for dishonor2 their tone in the face of threatened suffering was like ,milne's1 ,scotland's last martyr3 ,i will not recant the truth1 for ,i am corn and no chaff2 and ,i will not be blown away with the wind nor burst with the flail1 but ,i will abide both4 ,every man is instinctively aware and by his admiration makes it known1 that the kind of character which chooses right1 willing to suffer for it1 is man's noblest quality4 ,the words in which such character has found utterance are man's spiritual battle cries4 ,esther1 going before the ,king1 saying1 ,if ,i perish1 ,i perish 7,esther #d3af72 the three ,hebrews1 facing the fiery furnace saying1 ,our ,god whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace2 and he will deliver us out of thy hand1 ,o king4 ,but if not1 be it known unto thee1 ,o king1 that we will not serve thy gods 7,dan4 #c3ag1 #ah72 ,peter and the apostles1 facing the angry ,council1 saying1 ,we must obey ,god rather than men 7,acts #e3bi72 ,anaxarchus1 the martyr1 crying1 ,beat on at the case of ,anaxarchus2 ,anaxarchus himself you cannot touch2 ,luther1 defying the ,emperor1 ,here stand ,i2 ,i can do no other--most words of men are easily dispensable1 but no words like these can man afford to spare4 ,they are his best4 ,and this sort of goodness has been possible1 because ,god had not made the world as our complaints sometimes would have it4 ,for such character1 a system where goodness costs is absolutely necessary4 ,a world where goodness was paid cash in pleasant circumstance would have no such character to show4 ,right and wrong for their own sakes would be impossible2 only prudence and imprudence for happiness' sake could there exist4 ,out of the same door with the seeming injustice of life goes the possibility of man's noblest quality--his goodness in scorn of consequence4 ,many special calamities no one on earth can hope to understand4 ,but when one has granted that fitness to grow character is the only worthy test of creation1 it evidently is not so simple as at first it seemed to improve the fundamental structure of the world4 ,,vi ,indeed1 when one in imagination assumes the task of omnipotence and endeavors to construct a universe that shall be fitted for the growth of character1 he cannot long hesitate concerning certain elements which must be there4 ,a system of regular law would have to be the basis of that world1 for only in a law-abiding universe could obedience be taught4 ,if the stars and planets behaved like swarms of flies and nothing could be relied upon to act twice in the same way1 character and intelligence alike would be impossible4 ,in this new world1 remolded1 nearer to our heart's desire1 progress also would be a necessity4 ,a stagnant world cannot grow character4 ,there must be real work to do1 aims to achieve2 there must be imperfections to overpass and wrongs to right4 ,only in a system where the present situation is a point of departure and a better situation is a possibility1 where ideal and hope1 courage and sacrifice are indispensable can character grow4 ,in this improved world of our dreams1 free-will in some measure must be granted man4 ,if character is to be real1 man must not in his choice between right and wrong be as ,spinoza pictured him1 a stone hurled through the air1 which thinks that it is flying2 he must have some control of conduct1 some genuine1 though limited1 power of choice4 ,and in this universe which we are planning for character's sake1 individuals could not stand separate and unrelated2 they must be woven into a community4 ,love which is the crown of character1 lacking this1 would be impossible4 ,what happens to one must happen to all2 good and ill alike must be contagious in a society where we are members one of another4 ,no one of these four elements could be omitted from a world whose test was its adaptability for character4 ,men with genuine power of choice1 fused into a fellowship of social life1 living in a law-abiding and progressive world--on no other terms imaginable to man could character be possible4 ,yet these four things contain all the sources of our misery4 ,physical law--what tragic issues its stern1 unbending course brings with terrific incidence on man6 ,progress--how obviously it implies conditions imperfect1 wrong1 through which we have to struggle toward the best6 ,free-will--what a nightmare of horror man's misuse of it has caused since sin began6 ,social fellowship--how surely the innocent must suffer with the guilty1 how impossible for any man to bear the consequence of his own sin alone6 ,we may not see why these general conditions should involve the particular calamities which we bewail1 but even our finite minds can see thus far into the mystery of suffering3 all our trouble springs from four basic factors in the universe1 without any one of which1 great character would be impossible4 ,while1 therefore1 if one deny ,god1 the mystery of goodness lacks both sense and solution2 one may affirm ,god and find the mystery of evil1 mysterious still but suffused with light4 ,god is working out a spiritual purpose here by means without which no spiritual purpose is conceivable4 ,fundamentally creation is good4 ,we misuse it1 we fail to understand its meaning and to appropriate its discipline1 and impatient because the eternal purpose is not timed by our small clocks1 we have to confess with ,theodore ,parker1 ,the trouble seems to be that ,god is not in a hurry and ,i am4 ,in hours of insight1 however1 we perceive how little our complaints will stand the test of dispassionate thought4 ,our miseries are not ,god's inflictions on us as individuals1 so that we may judge his character and his thought of us by this special favor or by that particular calamity4 ,the most careless thinker feels the poor philosophy of ,lord ,londonderry's petulant entry in his journal3 ,here ,i learned that ,almighty ,god1 for reasons best known to himself1 had been pleased to burn down my house in the county of ,durham4 ,one must escape such narrow egoism if he is to understand the purposes of ,god2 one must rise to look on a creation1 with character at all costs for its aim1 and countless ons for its settling4 ,in the making of this world ,god has limited himself2 he cannot lightly do what he will4 ,he has limited himself in creating a law-abiding system where his children must learn obedience without special exemptions2 in ordaining a progressive system where what is is the frontier from which men seek what ought to be2 in giving men the power to choose right1 with its inevitable corollary1 the power to choose wrong2 in weaving men into a communal fellowship where none can escape the contagious life of all4 ,what ,martineau said of the first of these is true in spirit of them all3 ,the universality of law is ,god's eternal act of self limitation or abstinence from the movements of free affection1 for the sake of a constancy that shall never falter or deceive4 ,when once a man has risen to the vision of so splendid a purpose in so great a world1 he rejoices in the outlook4 ,granted that now he sees in a mirror darkly1 that many a cruel event in human life perplexes still--he has seen enough to give solid standing to his faith4 ,what if an insect1 someone has suggested1 were born just after a thunderstorm began and died just before it stopped--how dark would be its picture of creation6 ,but we who span a longer period of time1 are not so obsessed by thunderstorms1 although we may not like them4 ,they have their place and serve their purpose2 we see them in a broader perspective than an insect knows and on sultry days we even crave their coming4 ,a broken doll is to a child a cruel tragedy1 but to the father watching the child's struggle to accept the accident1 to make the best of it and to come off conqueror1 the event is not utterly undesirable4 ,he is not glad at the child's suffering1 but with his horizons he sees in it factors which she does not see4 ,so ,god's horizons infinitely overpass our narrow outlooks4 ,there is something more than whimsy in the theologian's saying1 which ,president ,king reports1 that an insect crawling up a column of the ,parthenon1 with difficulty and pain negotiating passage about a pore in the stone1 is as well qualified to judge of the architecture of the ,parthenon1 as we of the infinitude of ,god's plans4 ,seeing as much as we have seen of sense and purpose in the structure of creation1 we have seen all that our finite minds with small horizons could have hoped4 ,we have gained ample justification for the attitude toward suffering which ,dolly ,winthrop in ,silas ,marner has immortalized3 ,eh1 there's trouble i' this world1 and there's things as we can niver make out the rights on4 ,and all as we've got to do is to trusten1 ,master ,marner--to do the right thing as far as we know and to trusten4 ,for if us1 as knows so little1 can see a bit o' good and rights1 we may be sure as there's a good and a rights bigger nor what we can know--,i feel it i' my own inside as it must be so4 ,,vii ,we may not truthfully leave our subject in such a case that faith's concern with human misery will seem to lie merely in giving adversity an explanation4 ,faith is concerned not alone to explain misery but to heal it4 ,for while it is impossible without hardship to develop character1 there are woeful calamities on earth that do not help man's moral quality2 they crush and mutilate it2 they are barbarous intruders on the plan of ,god and they have no business in his world4 ,some ills are such that no theory can reconcile them with the love of ,god and no man ought to desire such reconciliation2 in the love of ,god they ought to be abolished4 ,slavery must be a possibility in a world where man is free2 but ,god's goodness was not chiefly vindicated by such a theory of explanation4 ,it was chiefly vindicated by slavery's abolishment4 ,the liquor traffic and war1 needless poverty in a world so rich1 avoidable diseases that science can overcome--how long a list of woes there is that faith should not so much explain as banish6 ,when some ills like drunkenness and war and economic injustice are thrust against our faith1 and men ask that the goodness of ,god be reconciled with these1 faith's first answer should be not speculation but action4 ,such woes1 so far from being capable of reconciliation with ,god's goodness1 are irreconcilable with a decent world4 ,god does not want to be reconciled with them2 he hates them with a perfect hatred4 ,we may not make ourselves patient with them by any theory of their necessity4 ,they are not necessary2 they are perversions of man's life2 and the best defense of faith is their annihilation4 ,indeed1 a man who1 rebellious in complaint1 has clamorously asked an explanation of life's ills as the price of faith in ,god1 may well in shame consider ,god's real saints4 ,when things were at their worst1 when wrong was conqueror and evils that seemed blatantly to deny the love of ,god were in the saddle1 these spiritual soldiers went out to fight4 ,the winds of ill that blow out our flickering faith made their religion blaze--a pillar of fire in the night4 ,the more evil they faced1 the more religion they produced to answer it4 ,they were the real believers1 who through faith subdued kingdoms1 wrought righteousness1 obtained promises4 ,in comparison with such1 it is obviously paltry business to drive a bargain with ,god that if all goes well we will believe in him1 but if things look dark1 then faith must go4 ,many a man1 therefore1 who is no philosopher can be a great defender of the faith4 ,he may not weave arguments to prove that such a world as this in its fundamental structure is fitted to a moral purpose4 ,but he can join the battle to banish from the world those ills that have no business here and that ,god hates4 ,he can help produce that final defense of the ,christian faith--a world where it is easier to believe in ,god4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,faith and ,science ,,daily ,,readings ,the intellectual difficulties which trouble many folk involve the relations of faith with science1 but often they do not so much concern the abstract theories of science as they do the particular attitudes of scientists4 ,we are continually faced with quotations from scientific specialists1 in which religion is denied or doubted or treated contemptuously1 and even while the merits of the case may be beyond the ordinary man's power of argument1 he nevertheless is shaken by the general opinion that what ministers say in the pulpit on ,sunday is denied by what scientists say all the rest of the week4 ,in the daily readings1 therefore1 we shall deal with the scientists themselves1 as a problem which faith must meet4 ,seventh ,week1 ,first ,day ,no one can hope to deal fairly with the scientists1 in their relationship with faith1 unless he begins with a warm appreciation of the splendid integrity and self-denial which the scientific search for truth has revealed4 ,canst thou bind the cluster of the ,pleiades1 ,or loose the bands of ,orion8 ,canst thou lead forth the ,mazzaroth in their season8 ,or canst thou guide the ,bear with her train8 ,knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens8 ,canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth8 ,canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds1 ,that abundance of waters may cover thee8 ,canst thou send forth lightnings1 that they may go1 ,and say unto thee1 ,here we are8 ,who hath put wisdom in the inward parts8 ,or who hath given understanding to the mind8 ,who can number the clouds by wisdom8 ,or who can pour out the bottles of heaven1 ,when the dust runneth into a mass1 ,and the clods cleave fast together8 --,job #ch3ca-ch4 ,such is man's ancient wonder before the physical universe2 and in the endeavor to discover the truth about it science has developed saints and martyrs whose selfless and sacrificial spirit is unsurpassed even in the annals of the ,church4 ,men have spent lives of obscure and unrewarded toil to get at a few new facts2 they have suffered persecution1 and1 even after torture1 have reaffirmed the truth of their discoveries1 as did ,galileo1 when he insisted1 ,the earth does move4 ,they have surrendered place and wealth1 friends and life itself in their passion for the sheer truth1 and when human service was at stake have inoculated themselves with deadly diseases that they might be the means of discovering the cure1 or have sacrificed everything that men hold most dear to destroy an ancient1 popular1 and hurtful fallacy4 ,the phrase pride of science is often used in depreciation of the scientists4 ,there is some excuse for the phrase1 but in general1 when one finds pride1 dogmatism1 intolerance1 they are the work of ignorance and not of science4 ,the scientific spirit has been characteristically humble4 ,says ,huxley3 ,science seems to me to teach in the highest and strongest manner the great truth which is embodied in the ,christian conception of entire surrender to the will of ,god4 ,sit down before the fact as a little child1 be prepared to give up every preconceived notion1 follow humbly wherever and to whatever end nature leads1 or you shall learn nothing4444 ,i have only begun to learn content and peace of mind since ,i have resolved at all risks to do this4 ,the ,christian1 above all others1 is bound to approach the study of the controversy between science and theology with a high estimate of the integrity and disinterested unselfishness of the scientists4 ,o ,god1 we thank ,thee for the world in which ,thou hast placed us1 for the universe whose vastness is revealed in the blue depths of the sky1 whose immensities are lit by shining stars beyond the strength of mind to follow4 ,we thank ,thee for every sacrament of beauty2 for the sweetness of flowers1 the solemnity of the stars1 the sound of streams and swelling seas2 for far-stretching lands and mighty mountains which rest and satisfy the soul1 the purity of dawn which calls to holy dedication1 the peace of evening which speaks of everlasting rest4 ,may we not fear to make this world for a little while our home1 since it is ,thy creation and we ourselves are part of it4 ,help us humbly to learn its laws and trust its mighty powers4 ,we thank ,thee for the world within1 deeper than we dare to look1 higher than we care to climb2 for the great kingdom of the mind and the silent spaces of the soul4 ,help us not to be afraid of ourselves1 since we were made in ,thy image1 loved by ,thee before the worlds began1 and fashioned for ,thy eternal habitation4 ,may we be brave enough to bear the truth1 strong enough to live in the light1 glad to yield ourselves to ,thee4 ,we thank ,thee for that world brighter and better than all1 opened for us in the broken heart of the ,saviour2 for the universe of love and purity in ,him1 for the golden sunshine of ,his smile1 the tender grace of ,his forgiveness1 the red renewing rain and crimson flood of ,his great sacrifice4 ,may we not shrink from its searching and surpassing glory1 nor1 when this world fades away1 fear to commit ourselves to that world which shall be our everlasting home4 ,amen4--,w4 ,e4 ,orchard4 ,seventh ,week1 ,second ,day ,the ,christian's appreciation of scientists should not stop short of profound gratitude for their service to religion4 ,if one reads ,burns's ,tam o' ,shanter1 with its ghaists1 warlocks and witches1 and auld ,nick1 and remembers that these demonic powers were veritable facts of terror once1 he will see in what a world of superstitious fear mankind has lived4 ,bells were first put into church steeples1 not to call folk to worship1 but to scare the devils out of thunder-clouds1 and the old cathedral bells of ,europe are inscribed with declarations of that purpose4 ,the ancients hardly believed in ,god so vividly as they believed in malicious demons everywhere4 ,now the ,gospel removed the fear of these from the first ,christians2 it made men aware of a conquering alliance with ,god1 so that believers no longer shared the popular dread of unknown demons4 ,but so long as thunderstorms1 pestilences1 droughts1 and every sort of evil were supposed to be the work of devils1 even the ,gospel could not dispel the general dread4 ,only new knowledge could do that4 ,while ,christianity therefore at its best has removed the fear of evil spirits1 science has removed the fact of them as an oppressive weight on life4 ,today we not only do not dread them1 but we do not think of them at all1 and we have science to thank for our freedom4 ,by its clear facing of facts and tracing of laws1 science has lifted from man's soul an intolerable burden of misbeliefs and has cleansed religion of an oppressive mass of credulity4 ,true religion never had a deadlier foe than superstition and superstition has no deadlier foe than science4 ,little children1 brought up in our homes to trust the love of the ,father1 with no dark background of malignant devils to harass and frighten them1 owe their liberty to the ,gospel of ,jesus indeed1 but as well to the illumination of science that has banished the ancient dreads4 ,these things have ,i spoken unto you1 while yet abiding with you4 ,but the ,comforter1 even the ,holy ,spirit1 whom the ,father will send in my name1 he shall teach you all things1 and bring to your remembrance all that ,i said unto you4 ,peace ,i leave with you2 my peace ,i give unto you3 not as the world giveth1 give ,i unto you4 ,let not your heart be troubled1 neither let it be fearful4--,john #ad3be-bg4 ,to ,god the ,father1 ,god the ,son1 ,god the ,spirit1 we pour forth most humble and hearty supplications1 that ,he1 remembering the calamities of mankind1 and the pilgrimage of this our life in which we spend our days1 would please to open to us new consolations out of the fountain of ,his goodness for the alleviating of our miseries4 ,we humbly and earnestly ask that human things may not prejudice such as are ,divine1 so that from the opening of the gates of sense1 and the kindling of a greater natural light1 nothing of incredulity 444 may arise in our minds towards ,divine mysteries2 but rather1 ,o ,lord1 that our minds being thoroughly cleansed and purged from fancy1 and yet subject to the ,divine will1 there may be given unto faith the things that are faith's1 that so we may continually attain to a deeper knowledge and love of ,thee1 ,who art the ,fountain of ,light1 and dwellest in the ,light which no man can approach unto2 through ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,amen4--,francis ,bacon1 #aefa4 ,seventh ,week1 ,third ,day ,if one approach the scientists1 as we have suggested1 with appreciation of their devoted spirit and of their beneficent service1 he is likely to be fair and ,christian in his judgment4 ,for one thing1 he will readily understand why some of them are not religious men4 ,the laws of psychology are not suspended when religion is concerned2 there as elsewhere persistent attention is the price of a vivid sense of reality4 ,when1 therefore1 a man habitually thinks intensely of nothing but biological tissue1 or chemical reactions1 or the diseases of a special organ1 the results are not difficult to forecast4 ,darwin's famous confession that in his exacting concentration on biology he utterly lost his power to appreciate music or poetry is a case in point4 ,said ,darwin1 ,my mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding general laws out of a large collection of facts4 ,it is needless to say that such a mind is not likely to be more vividly aware of ,god than it is to feel music's beauty or poetry's truth4 ,the plain fact is that if any man should persistently restrict himself to a physical science1 should never hear a symphony or an oratorio1 should shut out from his experience any dealing with music or enjoyment of it1 he would in the end lose all musical capacity1 and would become a man whose appreciation of music was nil and whose opinion on music was worthless4 ,just such an atrophy of life is characteristic of intense specialists4 ,when one understands this he becomes capable of intelligent sympathy with scientists1 even when he does not at all agree with their religious opinions4 ,jude gives us a remarkable injunction1 plainly applicable here4 ,on some have mercy who are in doubt4 ,but ye1 beloved1 building up yourselves on your most holy faith1 praying in the ,holy ,spirit1 keep yourselves in the love of ,god1 looking for the mercy of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ unto eternal life4 ,and on some have mercy1 who are in doubt2 and some save1 snatching them out of the fire2 and on some have mercy with fear2 hating even the garment spotted by the flesh4 ,now unto him that is able to guard you from stumbling1 and to set you before the presence of his glory without blemish in exceeding joy1 to the only ,god our ,saviour1 through ,jesus ,christ our ,lord1 be glory1 majesty1 dominion and power1 before all time1 and now1 and for evermore4 ,amen4--,jude #bj-be4 ,o ,god1 who so fillest all things that they only thinly veil ,thy presence2 we adore ,thee in the beauty of the world1 in the goodness of human hearts and in ,thy thought within the mind4 ,we praise ,thee for the channels through which ,thy grace can come to us2 sickness and health1 joy and pain1 freedom and necessity1 sunshine and rain1 life and death4 ,we thank ,thee for all the gentle and healing ministries of life2 the gladness of the morning1 the freedom of the wind1 the music of the rain1 the joy of the sunshine1 and the deep calm of the night2 for trees1 and flowers1 the clouds1 and skies2 for the tender ministries of human love1 the unselfishness of parents1 the love that binds man and woman1 the confidence of little children2 for the patience of teachers and the encouragement of friends4 ,we bless ,thee for the stirring ministry of the past1 for the story of noble deeds1 the memory of holy men1 the printed book1 the painter's art1 the poet's craft2 most of all for the ministry of the ,son of ,man1 who taught us the eternal beauty of earthly things1 who by ,his life set us free from fear1 and by ,his death won us from our sins to ,thee2 for ,his cradle1 ,his cross1 and ,his crown4 ,may ,his ,spirit live within us1 conquer all the selfishness of man1 and take away the sin of the world4 ,amen4--,w4 ,e4 ,orchard4 ,seventh ,week1 ,fourth ,day ,the tendency of scientific specialization to shut out the appreciation of life's other values has one notable result3 the opinions of scientific specialists in the physical realm on matters of religion are generally not of major importance4 ,there is a popular fallacy that an expert in one realm must be listened to with reverence on all subjects4 ,but the fact is that a great physicist is not by his scientific eminence thereby qualified to talk wisely on politics or literature or religion2 rather1 so far as a priori considerations are concerned1 he is thereby disqualified4 ,mr4 ,edison cannot say anything on electricity that is insignificant2 but when he gave an interview on immortality he revealed to everyone who knew the history of thought on that subject and the issues involved in it1 that on matters outside his specialty he could say things very insignificant4 ,the more one personally knows great specialists1 the more he sees how human they are1 how interest in one thing shuts out interest in others1 how the subject on which the mind centers grows real and all else unreal1 how very valuable their judgment is on their specialties1 and how much less valuable even than ordinary men's is their judgment on anything beside4 ,this truth does not concern religion only2 it concerns any subject which calls into play appreciative faculties that their science does not use4 ,for a man1 therefore1 to surrender religious faith because a specialist in another realm disowns it is absurd4 ,if one wishes1 outside of those whose vital interest in religion makes them specialists there1 to get confirmation from another class of men1 let him look not to physicists but to judges4 ,they are accustomed to weigh evidence covering the general field of human life2 and among the great judicial minds of this generation1 as of all others1 one finds an overwhelming preponderance of religious men4 ,but unto us ,god revealed them through the ,spirit3 for the ,spirit searcheth all things1 yea1 the deep things of ,god4 ,for who among men knoweth the things of a man1 save the spirit of the man1 which is in him8 even so the things of ,god none knoweth1 save the ,spirit of ,god4 ,but we received1 not the spirit of the world1 but the spirit which is from ,god2 that we might know the things that were freely given to us of ,god4 ,which things also we speak1 not in words which man's wisdom teacheth1 but which the ,spirit teacheth2 combining spiritual things with spiritual words4 ,now the natural man receiveth not the things of the ,spirit of ,god3 for they are foolishness unto him2 and he cannot know them1 because they are spiritually judged4--,i ,cor4 #b3aj-ad4 ,o ,eternal and glorious ,lord ,god1 since ,thy glory and honor is the great end of all ,thy works1 we desire that it may be the beginning and end of all our prayers and services4 ,let ,thy great ,name be glorious1 and glorified1 and sanctified throughout the world4 ,let the knowledge of ,thee fill all the earth as the waters cover the sea4 ,let that be done in the world that may most advance ,thy glory4 ,let all ,thy works praise ,thee4 ,let ,thy wisdom1 power1 justice1 goodness1 mercy1 and truth be evident unto all mankind1 that they may observe1 acknowledge1 and admire it1 and magnify the ,name of ,thee1 the ,eternal ,god4 ,in all the dispensation of ,thy ,providence1 enable us to see ,thee1 and to sanctify ,thy ,name in our hearts with thankfulness1 in our lips with thanksgiving1 in our lives with dutifulness and obedience4 ,enable us to live to the honor of that great ,name of ,thine by which we are called1 and that1 as we profess ourselves to be ,thy children1 so we may study and sincerely endeavor to be like ,thee in all goodness and righteousness1 that we may thereby bring glory to ,thee our ,father which art in heaven2 that we and all mankind may have high and honorable thoughts concerning ,thee1 in some measure suitable to ,thy glory1 majesty1 goodness1 wisdom1 bounty1 and purity1 and may in all our words and actions manifest these inward thoughts touching ,thee with suitable and becoming words and actions2 through ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,amen4--,lord ,chief ,justice ,sir ,matthew ,hale1 #afji4 ,seventh ,week1 ,fifth ,day ,so far in our thought we have tacitly consented to the popular supposition1 that the scientists are at odds with religion4 ,many of them unquestionably are4 ,but in view of the obsessing nature of scientific specialties1 the wonder is not that some scientists are non-religious2 the wonder is that so many are profoundly men of faith in ,god4 ,the idea that scientists as a whole are irreligious is untrue4 ,lists of testimonials from eminent specialists in favor of religion are not particularly useful1 for1 as we have said1 the judgment of specialists outside their chosen realm is1 at the most1 no more valuable than that of ordinary men4 ,but if anyone tries to rest his case against religion on the adverse opinions of great scientists1 he easily can be driven from his position4 ,sir ,william ,crookes1 one of the world's greatest chemists1 writes3 ,i cannot imagine the possibility of anyone with ordinary intelligence entertaining the least doubt as to the existence of a ,god--a ,law-,giver and a ,life-,giver4 ,lord ,kelvin1 called the ,napoleon of ,science1 said that he could think of nothing so absurd as atheism2 ,sir ,oliver ,lodge1 perhaps the greatest living physicist and certainly an earnest believer1 writes1 ,the tendency of science1 whatever it is1 is not in an irreligious direction at the present time2 ,sir ,george ,stokes1 the great physicist 7died #aijc71 affirmed his belief that disbelievers among men of science form a very small minority2 and ,sir ,james ,geikie1 ,dean of the ,faculty of ,science at ,edinburgh ,university1 impatiently writes1 ,it is simply an impertinence to say that 'the leading scientists are irreligious or anti-,christian4' ,such a statement could only be made by some scatter-brained chatterbox or zealous fanatic4 ,the fact is that1 in spite of the tendency of high specialization to crowd out religious interest and insight1 our great scientists have never thrown the mass of their influence against religion1 and today1 in the opinion of one of their chief leaders1 are growing to be increasingly men of religious spirit4 ,whatever argument is to be based on the testimony of the scientists is rather for religion than against it4 ,for this cause ,i also1 having heard of the faith in the ,lord ,jesus which is among you1 and the love which ye show toward all the saints1 cease not to give thanks for you1 making mention of you in my prayers2 that the ,god of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 the ,father of glory1 may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him2 having the eyes of your heart enlightened1 that ye may know what is the hope of his calling1 what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints1 and what the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe4--,eph4 #a3ae-ai4 ,o ,lord1 who by ,thy holy ,apostle hast taught us to do all things in the ,name of the ,lord ,jesus and to ,thy glory2 give ,thy blessing1 we pray ,thee1 to this our work1 that we may do it in faith1 and heartily1 as to the ,lord1 and not unto men4 ,all our powers of body and mind are ,thine1 and we would fain devote them to ,thy service4 ,sanctify them and the work in which we are engaged2 let us not be slothful1 but fervent in spirit1 and do ,thou1 ,o ,lord1 so bless our efforts that they may bring forth in us the fruit of true wisdom4 ,strengthen the faculties of our minds1 and dispose us to exert them for ,thy glory and for the furtherance of ,thy ,kingdom4 ,save us from all pride and vanity and reliance upon our own power or wisdom4 ,teach us to seek after truth1 and enable us to gain it2 while we know earthly things1 may we know ,thee1 and be known by ,thee through and in ,thy ,son ,jesus ,christ1 that we may be ,thine in body and spirit1 in all our work and undertakings2 through ,jesus ,christ4 ,amen4--,thomas ,arnold1 #agie4 ,seventh ,week1 ,sixth ,day ,far more important than the opinions of individual scientists for religion or against it1 is the fact that scientists are coming increasingly to recognize the limitations of their field4 ,the field of science is limited2 its domain is the system of facts and their laws1 which make the immediate environment of man's life2 but with the ,origin of all life1 with the character of the ,power that sustains us and with the ,destiny that lies ahead of us science does not1 cannot deal4 ,the most superficial observance shows how little any great soul lives within the confines of science's discoveries4 ,carlyle1 after his great bereavement1 writes to his friend ,erskine3 ',our ,father which art in heaven1 hallowed be ,thy name1 ,thy will be done'--what else can we say8 ,the other night in my sleepless tossings about1 which were growing more and more miserable1 these words1 that brief and grand ,prayer1 came strangely to my mind1 with an altogether new emphasis2 as if written and shining for me in mild pure splendor1 on the black bosom of the ,night there2 when ,i1 as it were1 read them word by word--with a sudden check to my imperfect wanderings1 with a sudden softness of composure which was much unexpected4 ,not for perhaps thirty or forty years had ,i once formally repeated that prayer--nay1 ,i never felt before how intensely the voice of man's soul it is2 the inmost aspiration of all that is high and pious in poor human nature4 ,but supposing that the facts of science were all of reality and the laws of science all of truth1 what sort of prayer could ,carlyle have offered8 ,another has suggested the form which the ,lord's ,prayer would take in a world that lacked religious faith3 ,our brethren who are upon the earth1 hallowed be our name2 our ,kingdom come2 our will be done on earth2 for there is no heaven4 ,we must get us this day our daily bread2 we know we cannot be forgiven1 for ,law knows no forgiveness2 we fear not temptation1 for we deliver ourselves from evil2 for ours is the ,kingdom and ours is the power1 and there is no glory and no forever4 ,amen4 ,in such a barren prayer the whole of man's life is not represented4 ,let no man deceive himself4 ,if any man thinketh that he is wise among you in this world1 let him become a fool1 that he may become wise4 ,for the wisdom of this world is foolishness with ,god4 ,for it is written1 ,he that taketh the wise in their craftiness3 and again1 ,the ,lord knoweth the reasonings of the wise1 that they are vain4 ,wherefore let no one glory in men4 ,for all things are yours2 whether ,paul1 or ,apollos1 or ,cephas1 or the world1 or life1 or death1 or things present1 or things to come2 all are yours2 and ye are ,christ's2 and ,christ is ,god's4--,i ,cor4 #c3ah-bc4 ,o ,thou ,infinite ,spirit1 who occupiest all space1 who guidest all motion1 thyself unchanged1 and art the life of all that lives1 we flee unto thee1 in whom we also live and move and have our being1 and would reverence ,thee with what is highest and holiest in our soul4 ,we know that ,thou art not to be worshiped as though ,thou needest aught1 or askedst the psalm of praise from our lips1 or our heart's poor prayer4 ,o ,lord1 the ground under our feet1 and the seas which whelm it round1 the air which holds them both1 and the heavens sparkling with many a fire--these are a whisper of the psalm of praise which creation sends forth to ,thee1 and we know that ,thou askest no homage of bended knee1 nor heart bowed down1 nor heart uplifted unto ,thee4 ,but in our feebleness and our darkness1 dependent on ,thee for all things1 we lift up our eyes unto ,thee2 as a little child to the father and mother who guide him by their hands1 so do our eyes look up to ,thy countenance1 ,o ,thou who art our ,father and our ,mother too1 and bless ,thee for all ,thy gifts4 ,we look to the infinity of ,thy perfection with awe-touched heart1 and we adore the sublimity which we cannot comprehend4 ,we bow down before ,thee1 and would renew our sense of gratitude and quicken still more our certainty of trust1 till we feel ,thee a presence close to our heart1 and are so strong in the heavenly confidence that nothing earthly can disturb us or make us fear4 ,amen4--,theodore ,parker4 ,seventh ,week1 ,seventh ,day ,the difficulty which many ,christians feel concerning science centers around their loyalty to the ,bible4 ,they still are under the domination of the thought that the ,christian idea of the ,bible is the same as the ,mohammedan idea of the ,koran or the ,mormon idea of ,joseph ,smith's sacred plates4 ,the ,koran was all written in heaven1 word for word1 say orthodox ,mohammedans1 before ever it came to earth4 ,as for the ,mormon ,bible1 ,god buried the plates on which he wrote1 said ,smith1 and then disclosed their hiding place1 and his prophet translated them verbatim1 so that the ,mormon book is literally inerrant4 ,but this is not the ,christian idea of the ,bible4 ,inspiration is never represented in ,scripture as verbal dictation where human powers and limitations are suspended1 so that like a phonographic plate the result is a mechanical reproduction of the words of ,god4 ,rather ,god spoke to men through their experience as they were able to understand him1 and as a result the great ,christian ,book1 like a true ,christian man1 represents alike the inbreathing of the ,divine and the limitation of the human4 ,so the ,epistle to the ,hebrews clearly states that ,god did what he could in revealing partially to partial men what they could understand3 ,god1 having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners1 hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in his ,son1 whom he appointed heir of all things1 through whom also he made the worlds4--,heb4 #a3a1 #b4 ,of all limitations that are entirely obvious in the ancient ,hebrew-,christian world1 the current view of the physical universe is the most unescapable4 ,to suppose that ,god never can reveal to men anything about the world1 transcending what the ancient ,hebrews could understand1 is to deny the principle which ,jesus applied even to the more important realm of spiritual truth3 ,i have yet many things to say unto you1 but ye cannot bear them now 7,john #af3ab74 ,o ,thou who hast visited us with the ,dayspring from on high1 who hast made light to shine in the darkness1 we praise ,thy holy name and proclaim ,thy wonderful goodness4 ,we bless ,thee for the dawning of the light in far-off ages as soon as human eyes could bear its rays4 ,we remember those who bore aloft the torch of truth when all was false and full of shame2 those far-sighted souls who from the mountain tops of vision heralded the coming day2 those who labored in the darkened valleys to lift men's eyes to the hills4 ,we thank ,thee that in the fulness of the times ,thou didst gather ,thy light into life1 so that even simple folk could see2 for ,jesus the ,star of the morning and the ,light of the world4 ,we commemorate ,his holy nativity1 ,his lowly toil1 ,his lonely way2 the gracious words of ,his lips1 the deep compassion of ,his heart1 ,his friendship for the fallen1 ,his love for the outcast2 the crown of thorns1 the cruel cross1 the open shame4 ,and we rejoice to know as ,he was here on earth1 so ,thou art eternally4 ,thou dost not abhor our flesh1 nor shrink from our earthly toil4 ,thou rememberest our frailty1 bearest with our sin1 and tastest even our bitter cup of death4 ,and now we rejoice for the light that shines about our daily path from the cradle to the grave1 and for the light that illumines its circuit beyond these spheres from our conception in ,thy mind to the day when we wake in ,thy image2 for the breathing of ,thy spirit into ours till we see ,thee face to face3 in ,god1 from ,god2 to ,god at last4 ,hallelujah4 ,amen4--,w4 ,e4 ,orchard4 ,,comment ,,for ,,the ,,week ,i ,the innermost questions which some minds raise about religion cannot be answered without candid discussion of the obvious contrasts between faith and science4 ,the conflict between science and theology is one of the saddest stories ever written4 ,it is a record of mutual misunderstanding1 of bitterness1 bigotry1 and persecution1 and to this day one is likely to find the devotees of religion suspicious of science and scientists impatient with the ,church4 ,if we are to understand the reason for this controversy between science and theology1 we must take a far look back into man's history4 ,stephen ,leacock remarks that whenever a professor discusses anything1 he has to retreat at least #b1jjj years to get a running start4 ,our retreat must be farther than that2 it carries us to the earliest stage in which we are able to describe the thoughts of men4 ,at the beginning men attributed to superhuman spirits all activities in the world which they themselves did not perform4 ,if the wind blew1 a spirit did it2 if the sun rose1 a spirit moved it2 if a storm came1 a spirit drove it4 ,natural law was non-existent to the primitive man2 every movement in nature was the direct result of somebody's active will4 ,from the mysterious whispering of a wind-swept field to the crashing thunder1 what man did not cause the gods did4 ,if1 therefore1 a primitive man were asked the cause of rain1 he had but one answer3 a god made it rain4 ,that was his scientific answer1 for no other explanation of rain could he conceive4 ,that was his religious answer1 for he worshiped the spirit on whom he must depend for showers4 ,this significant fact1 therefore1 stands clear3 ,to primitive man a religious answer and a scientific answer were identical4 ,sunrise was explained1 not by planetary movements which were unknown1 but by the direct activity of a god1 and the ,dawn then was worshipped in the same terms in which it was explained4 ,the historic reason for the confusion between science and religion at once grows evident4 ,at the beginning they were fused and braided into one2 the story of their relationship is the record of their gradual and difficult disentangling4 ,wherever peace has come between science and religion1 one finds a realm where the boundaries between the two are acknowledged and respected4 ,ask now the question1 ,what makes it rain8 ,there is a scientific answer in terms of natural laws concerning atmospheric pressure and condensation4 ,there is also a religious answer1 since behind all laws and through them runs the will of ,god4 ,these two replies are distinct1 they move in different realms1 and are held together without inconsistency4 ,as ,sabatier put it1 ,since ,god is the final cause of all things1 he is not the scientific explanation of any one thing4 ,in how many realms where once confusion reigned between the believers in the gods and the seekers after natural laws1 is peace now established6 ,rain and sunrise1 the tides and the eclipses1 the coming of the seasons and the growing of the crops--for all such events we have our scientific explanations1 and at the same time through them all the man of religion feels the creative power of ,god4 ,peace reigns in these realms because here no longer do we force religious answers on scientific questions or scientific answers on religious questions4 ,evidently the old ,deuteronomic law is the solution of the conflict between science and religion3 ,cursed be he that removeth his neighbor's landmark 7,deut4 #bg3ag74 ,,ii ,left thus in the negative1 however1 this might seem to mean that we are to divide our minds into air-tight compartments1 and allow no influences from one to penetrate another4 ,but science and religion do tremendously affect each other1 and no honest dealing ever can endeavor to prevent their mutual reaction4 ,our position is not thus negative2 it affirms a positive and most important truth4 ,life has many aspects2 science1 art1 religion1 approach it from different angles1 with different interests and purposes2 and while they do influence each other1 they are not identical and each has solid standing in its own right4 ,when science has grown domineering1 as though her approach to reality were the only one and her conclusions all of truth1 the poets have had as much distaste for her as have the theologians4 ,shelley1 who called himself an atheist1 had no interest in religion's conflict with the extreme claims of science2 yet listen to his aroused and flaming language as he pleads the case for poetry against her3 ,poetry is something divine4444 ,it is the perfect and consummate surface and bloom of all things2 it is as the odor and color of the rose to the texture of the elements which compose it1 and the form and splendor of unfaded beauty to the secrets of anatomy and corruption4 ,what were virtue1 love1 patriotism1 friendship--what were the scenery of this beautiful universe which we inhabit2 what were our consolations on this side of the grave--and what were our aspirations beyond it1 if poetry did not ascend to bring light and fire from those eternal regions where the owl-winged faculty of calculation dare not even soar8 ,this involves no denial of science's absolute right to her own field--the texture of the elements which compose the rose1 and the secrets of anatomy4 ,but it is a justified assertion that this field of science is not all of reality1 and that what the owl-winged faculty of calculation can reach is not all of truth4 ,what is a sunset8 ,science sets forth the answer in tables where the light waves that compose the colors are counted and the planetary movements that bring on the dusk are all explained4 ,poetry answers in a way how different6 ,i've dreamed of sunsets when the sun1 supine1 ,lay rocking on the ocean like a god1 ,and threw his weary arms far up the sky1 ,and with vermilion-tinted fingers1 ,toyed with the long tresses of the evening star4#d ,is one of these answers more true than the other8 ,rather it is absurd to compare their truth2 they are not contradictory2 they approach the same fact with diverse interests1 and seek in it different aspects of reality4 ,each has its rights in its own field4 ,and so far is it from being true that science has a clear case in favor of its own superior importance1 that ,hffding1 the philosopher1 remarks1 ,it well may be that poetry gives more perfect expression to the highest ,reality than any scientific concept can ever do4 ,any great fact is too manifold in its meanings to be exhausted by a single method of approach4 ,if one would know the ,bible thoroughly1 he must understand the rules of grammar4 ,were one to make grammar his exclusive specialty1 the ,bible to him1 so far as he held strictly to his science1 would be nouns and verbs1 adverbs1 adjectives1 and prepositions1 and the law-abiding relationships between them4 ,this mere grammarian would know by such a method one aspect of the ,bible1 but how little of the ,book would that aspect be6 ,no rules of grammar can interpret the thirteenth chapter of ,first ,corinthians or explain the story of the ,cross4 ,the facts and laws of the ,book's language a grammarian could know1 but the beauty and the soul of it1 the innermost transforming truth of it1 would be unperceived4 ,so life is too rich and various to be exhausted by any one approach4 ,science seeks facts and arranges them in systems of cause and effect4 ,poetry sees these bare facts adorned with beauty1 she suffuses them with her preferences and her appreciations4 ,religion sees the whole gathered up into spiritual unity1 filled with moral purpose and good will1 and in this faith finds peace and power4 ,there need be no conflict between these various approaches2 they are complementary1 not antagonistic2 and no man sees all the truth by any one of them alone4 ,so a chemist might come to a spring to analyze it2 a painter to rejoice in its beauties and reproduce them on his canvas2 and a man athirst might come to drink and live4 ,shall they quarrel because they do not all come alike8 ,let them rather see how partial is the experience of each without the others6 ,,iii ,in the mutual trespassing which has caused our problem1 religion has had her guilty share1 and the reason is not difficult to find4 ,god did not have to give a modern scientific education to his ancient ,hebrew saints before he could begin to reveal to them something of his will and character4 ,and they1 writing their experience and thought of him1 could not avoid--as no generation's writers can avoid--indicating the view of the physical world which they and their contemporaries held4 ,it is easy1 therefore1 from scores of ,scripture passages to reconstruct the early ,hebrew world4 ,their earth was flat and was founded on an underlying sea4 7,psalm #acf3f2 ,psalm #bd3a1 #b2 ,gen4 #g3aa72 it was stationary 7,psalm #ic3a2 ,psalm #ajd3e72 the heavens1 like an upturned bowl1 strong as a molten mirror 7,job #cg3ah2 ,gen4 #a3f-h2 ,isa4 #dj3bb2 ,psalm #ajd3b71 rested on the earth beneath 7,amos #i3f2 ,job #bf3aa72 the sun1 moon1 and stars moved within this firmament1 of special purpose to illumine man 7,gen4 #a3ad-ai72 there was a sea above the sky1 the waters which were above the firmament 7,gen4 #a3g2 ,psalm #adh3d71 and through the windows of heaven the rain came down 7,gen4 #g3aa2 ,psalm #gh3bc72 beneath the earth was mysterious ,sheol where dwelt the shadowy dead 7,isa4 #ad3i-aa72 and all this had been made in six days1 a short and measurable time before 7,gen4 #a74 ,this was the world of the ,hebrews4 ,because when the ,hebrews wrote the ,bible their thoughts of ,god1 their deep experience of him1 were interwoven with their early science1 ,christians1 through the centuries1 have thought that faith in ,god stood or fell with early ,hebrew science and that the ,hebrew view of the physical universe must last forever4 ,in the seventeenth century1 ,dr4 ,john ,lightfoot1 ,vice-,chancellor of the ,university of ,cambridge1 said3 ,heaven and earth1 center and circumference1 were created all together1 in the same instant1 and clouds full of water4444 ,this work took place and man was created by the ,trinity on ,october #bc1 #djjd ,b4 ,c41 at nine o'clock in the morning4 ,of what tragedy has this identification of science with religion been the cause6 ,when astronomy began to revolutionize man's idea of the solar universe1 when for the first time in man's imagination the flat earth grew round and the stable earth began moving through space seventy-five times faster than a cannon-ball1 ,pope ,paul ,v solemnly rendered a decree1 that the doctrine of the double motion of the earth about its axis and about the sun is false and entirely contrary to ,holy ,scripture4 ,when geology began to show from the rocks' unimpeachable testimony the long leisureliness of ,god1 laying the foundations of the world1 a ,christian leader declared geology not a subject of lawful inquiry1 a dark art1 dangerous and disreputable1 a forbidden province1 an awful evasion of the testimony of revelation4 ,this tragic record of theology's vain conflict with science is the most pitiable part of the ,church's story4 ,how needless it was6 ,for now when we face our universe of magnificent distances and regal laws has religion really suffered8 ,has a flat and stationary earth proved essential to ,christianity1 as ,protestants and ,catholics alike declared8 ,rather the ,psalmist could not guess the sweep of our meaning when now we say1 ,the heavens declare the glory of ,god and the firmament showeth his handiwork 7,psalm #ai3a74 ,in the last generation the idea of evolution was the occasion of a struggle like that which attended the introduction of the new astronomy4 ,how was the world made8 asked the ancient ,hebrew1 and he answered1 ,by the word of ,god at a stroke4 ,that was his scientific answer1 and his religious answer too4 ,when1 therefore1 the evolving universe was disclosed by modern science1 when men read in fossil and in living biological structure the undeniable evidence of a long history of gradually changing forms of life1 until the world was seen not made like a box but growing like a tree1 many men of religion thought the faith destroyed4 ,they identified the ,christian ,gospel with early ,hebrew science6 ,today1 however1 when the general idea of evolution is taken for granted as gravitation is1 how false this identification obviously appears6 ,says ,professor ,bowne1 ,an ,eastern king was seated in a garden1 and one of his counselors was speaking of the wonderful works of ,god4 ',show me a sign1' said the king1 'and ,i will believe4' ',here are four acorns1' said the counselor2 'will your ,majesty plant them in the ground1 and then stoop down and look into this clear pool of water8' ,the king did so4 ',now1' said the other1 ',look up4' ,the king looked up and saw four oak trees where he had planted the acorns4 ',wonderful6' he exclaimed2 'this is indeed the work of ,god4' ',how long were you looking into the water8' asked the counselor4 ',only a second1' said the king4 ',eighty years have passed as a second1' said the other4 ,the king looked at his garments2 they were threadbare4 ,he looked at his reflection in the water2 he had become an old man4 ',there is no miracle here1 then1' he said angrily4 ',yes1' said the other2 'it is ,god's work whether he do it in one second or in eighty years4' ,such an attitude as this is now a commonplace with ,christian folk4 ,a vast and growing universe through which sweep the purposes of ,god is by far the most magnificent outlook for faith that man has ever had4 ,the ,gospel and ,hebrew science are not identical2 the ,gospel is not indissolubly bound to any science ancient or modern2 for science and religion have separable domains4 ,a fire-mist and a planet1 ,a crystal and a cell1 ,a jelly-fish and a saurian1 ,and caves where cave men dwell4 ,then a sense of ,love and ,duty ,and a face turned from the clod1 ,some call it ,evolution ,and others--call it ,god4 ,the same story of needless antagonism is now being written about religion and natural law4 ,when science began plotting nature's laws1 the control of the world seemed to be snatched from the hands of deity and given over to a system of impersonal rules4 ,god1 whose action had been defined in terms of miracle1 was forced from one realm after another by the discovery of laws1 until at last even comets were found to be not whimsical but as regular in their law-abiding courses as the planets1 and ,god seemed to be escorted to the edge of the universe and bowed out4 ,when ,newton first formulated the law of gravitation1 the artillery of many an earnest pulpit was let loose against him4 ,one said that ,newton took from ,god that direct action on his works so constantly ascribed to him in ,scripture and transferred it to material mechanism and that he substituted gravitation for ,providence4 ,but now1 when science has so plainly won her case1 in her own proper field2 when we know to our glory and profit so many laws by which the world is governed1 and use our knowledge as the most splendid engine of personal purpose and freedom which man ever had1 we see how great our gain has been4 ,nor is it more a practical than a religious gain4 ,god once was thought of chiefly in terms of miraculous action2 he came into his world now and again1 like the deus-ex-machina of a ,greek tragedy1 to solve a critical dilemma in the plot4 ,now all the laws we know and many more are his regular ways of action1 and through them all continuously his purpose is being wrought4 ,as ,henry ,drummond exclaimed1 ,if ,god appears periodically1 he disappears periodically4 ,if he comes upon the scene at special crises1 he is absent from the scene in the intervals4 ,whether is all-,god or occasional ,god the nobler theory8 ,nothing1 therefore1 can be more pathetic than the self-styled defenders of the faith who withstand the purpose of reverent students to give scientific answers to scientific questions4 ,such men are not really defending the faith4 ,they are doing exactly what ,father ,inchofer did when he said1 ,the opinion that the earth moves is of all heresies the most abominable2 what ,mr4 ,gosse did when he maintained1 in explanation of geology's discoveries1 that ,god by the use of stratified rock and fossils deliberately gave the earth the appearance of development through long ages1 while really he made it in six days2 what ,mr4 ,southall did when1 in the face of established anthropology1 he claimed that the ,egyptians had no ,stone age and were born civilized2 what the ,dean of ,chichester did when he preached that those who refuse to accept the history of the creation of our first parents according to its obvious literal intention1 and are for substituting the modern dream of evolution in its place1 cause the entire scheme of man's salvation to collapse4 ,these were not defending the faith2 they were making it ridiculous in the eyes of intelligent men and were embroiling religion in controversies where she did not belong and where1 out of her proper realm1 she was foredoomed to defeat4 ,for scientific problems are not a matter for faith2 they are a matter for investigation4 ,no one can settle by faith the movements of the planets1 the method of the earth's formation1 the age of mankind1 the explanation of comets4 ,these lie in science's realm1 not in religion's1 and religious faith demeans herself when she tries to settle them4 ,let science be the grammarian of the world to observe its parts of speech and their relations6 ,religion deals with the soul of the world1 its deepest source1 its spiritual meaning1 its divine purpose4 ,,iv ,science1 however1 has not always been content with the grammarian's task4 ,when we have frankly confessed religion's sins in trespassing on scientific territory1 we must note that science has her guilty share in the needless conflict4 ,today one suspects that the ,church's vain endeavor by ecclesiastical authority to force religious solutions on scientific problems is almost over4 ,but the attempt of many scientists to claim the whole field of reality as theirs and to force their solutions on every sort of problem is not yet finished4 ,this1 too1 is a vain endeavor4 ,to suppose that the process of scientific observation and inference can exhaust the truth of life is like supposing that there is no more meaning in ,westminster ,abbey than is expressed in ,baedeker4 ,scientists1 for example1 sometimes claim domains which are not theirs by spelling abstract nouns with capitals1 by positing ,law or ,evolution as the makers and builders of the world4 ,but law never did anything2 law is only man's statement of the way1 according to his observation1 in which things are done4 ,to explain the universe as the creation of ,law is on a par with explaining homes as the creation of ,matrimony4 ,abstract nouns do not create anything and the capitalizing of a process never can explain it4 ,so1 too1 ,evolution does nothing to the world2 it is the way in which whoever makes the world is making it4 ,as well explain the difference between an acorn and an oak by saying that ,growth did it1 as to explain the progress of creation from stardust to civilization by changing e to ,e4 ,science may describe the process as evolutionary1 but its source1 its moving power1 and its destiny are utterly beyond her ken4 ,for another thing1 scientists often invade realms which are not theirs1 by stretching the working theories of some special science to the proportions of a complete philosophy of life4 ,a generation ago1 when geology and biology were in their green and salad days1 the enthusiasm inspired by the splendid results of their hypotheses went to strange lengths4 ,one professor of geology seriously explained the pyramids of ,egypt to be the remains of volcanic eruption which had forced its way upwards by slow and stately motion4 ,the hieroglyphs were crystalline formations and the shaft of the great pyramid was the airhole of a volcano4 ,scientists are human like all men2 their specialties loom large2 the ideas that work in their limited areas seem omnipotent4 ,so a student of the influence of sunlight on life thinks reactions to the sun explain everything4 ,heliotropism1 he says1 doubtless wrote ,hamlet4 ,a specialist on the influence of geography on human nature interprets everything as the reaction of man to seas1 mountains1 plains1 and deserts1 and ,lombroso even thinks the revolutionary temperament especially native to men who live on limestone formations6 ,specialists in economic history are sure that man is little more than an animated nucleus of hunger and that all life is explicable as a search for food4 ,and psychologists1 charmed by the neatness of description which causal connections introduce into our inner life1 leap to the conclusion1 which lies outside their realm1 that personality is an illusion1 freedom a myth and our mental life the rattling of a causal chain forged and set in motion when the universe began4 ,all this is not science2 it is making hypotheses from a limited field of facts masquerade as a total philosophy of life4 ,the underlying reason why science1 when she regards her province as covering everything1 inevitably clashes with the interests of religion1 is that she starts her view of the world from the sub-human side4 ,the typical sciences are physics1 chemistry1 astronomy1 geology1 biology1 and the view of the universe which they present is the basis on which all other sciences proceed4 ,but this foundation is sub-human2 the master ideas involved in it are all obtained with the life of man left out of account4 ,such an approach presents a world-machine1 immense and regular1 and when1 later1 psychology and sociology arise1 how easy it is to call the human life which they study a by-product of the sub-human world1 an exudation arising from the activities of matter4 ,religion1 on the contrary1 starts with human life4 ,fall down in awe1 ,science cries1 before this vast sub-human world6 ,and the religious man answers3 ,what world is this ,i am to bow before8 ,is it not the universe which my mind knows and whose laws my intellect has grasped8 ,this universe1 so far as it exists at all for me1 is apprehended by my vision1 penetrated by my thought1 encompassed by my interpretations4 ,what is really great and wonderful here1 is not the world which ,i understand1 but the mind that understands it--not the sub-human but the human4 ,man himself is the supreme ,fact1 and all the world that man could bow before1 man's mind must first of all contain4 ,the master truth is not that my mind exists within a physical universe1 but that the physical universe is encompassed by my mind4 ,therefore1 when ,i interpret life1 ,i will start with man1 and not with what lies below him4 ,romanes1 the ,english scientist1 illustrates in his experience the difference which these two approaches make4 ,when1 returning from agnosticism to ,christianity1 he explained his lapse1 he said1 ,i did not sufficiently appreciate the immense importance of human nature1 as distinguished from physical nature1 in any inquiry touching theism4444 ,human nature is the most important part of nature as a whole whereby to investigate the theory of theism4 ,this ,i ought to have anticipated on merely a priori grounds1 had ,i not been too much immersed in merely physical research4 ,of how many now does this same explanation hold6 ,they segregate man from the rest of the universe1 and endeavor an interpretation of the unhuman remainder4 ,they forget that man is part and parcel of the universe1 bone of its bone1 as imperative an expression of its substantial nature as are rocks and stars1 and that any philosophy which interprets the world minus man has not interpreted the world4 ,here is the difference between a ,haeckel and a ,phillips ,brooks4 ,all the dominant ideas of the one are drawn from existence minus man2 all the controlling convictions of the other are drawn from the heights and depths of man's own life4 ,the first approach inevitably leads to irreligion1 for ,spirit cannot reveal itself except in spirit and until one has found ,god in man he will not find him in nature4 ,the second as certainly leads to religion1 for1 as ,augustine said1 ,if you dig deep enough in every man you find divinity4 ,over against the testimony of the sub-human that there is a mechanistic aspect to the world1 stands the unalterable testimony of the human that there is as well an ideal1 purposive1 and spiritual aspect to the world4 ,surely the latter brings us nearer to the heart of truth4 ,we never understand anything except in terms of its highest expression and man is the summit of nature4 ,could religion find a voice1 therefore1 she would wish to speak not in terms of apology but of challenge1 when science1 assuming all of reality for its field1 grows arrogant4 ,describe the aspect of the world that belongs to you1 she would say4 ,i have learned my lesson2 your field is yours1 and no interference at my hands shall trouble you again4 ,but remember the limitations of your domain--to observe and describe phenomena and to plot their laws4 ,that is an immense task and inexpressibly useful4 ,but when you have completed it1 the total result will be as unlike the real world as a medical manikin with his wire nerves and painted muscles is unlike a real man4 ,the manikin is sufficiently correct2 everything is truly pictured there--except life4 ,so things are as science sees them1 but things are more than science sees4 ,plot then the mechanistic aspect of the world1 but do not suppose that you have caught all of truth in that wide-meshed net6 ,when you have said your last word on facts observed and laws induced1 man rises up to ask imperious questions with which you cannot deal1 to present urgent problems for which no solution ever has been found save ,augustine's1 ,i seek for ,god in order that my soul may live4 ,v ,our thought so ended1 however1 would leave science and religion jealously guarding their boundaries1 not cooperating as allies4 ,such suspicious recognition of each other's realms does not exhaust the possibilities4 ,when once the separate functions each by the other have been granted1 we are free to turn our thought to the inestimable service which each is rendering4 ,consider the usefulness of science to the ideal causes of which religion is the chief6 ,science has given us the new universe1 not more marvelous in its vastness than in its unity4 ,for the spectroscope has shown that everywhere through immeasurable space the same chemical properties and laws obtain2 the telescope has revealed with what mathematical precision the orbits in the heavens are traced and how unwaveringly here or among the stars gravitation maintains its hold4 ,man never had so immense and various and yet so single and unified a world before4 ,polytheism once was possible1 but science has banished it forever4 ,whatever may be the source of the universe1 it is one ,source1 and whoever the creator1 he is more glorious in man's imagination than he could ever have been before4 ,science also has put at the disposal of the ideal causes such instruments as by themselves they would never have possessed4 ,we are hoping for a new world-brotherhood1 and we pray for it in ,christian churches as the ,father's will4 ,but the instruments by which the inter-racial fellowship must be maintained and without which it would be unthinkable are science's gift4 ,railroads1 steamships1 telegraphs1 telephones1 wireless--these are the shuttles by which the ideal faiths in man's fraternity may be woven into fact4 ,when ,christian physicians heal the sick or stamp out plagues that for ages have been man's curse and his despair1 when social maladjustments are corrected by ,christian philanthropy1 and saner1 happier ways of living are made possible2 when comforts that once were luxuries are brought within the reach of all1 and man's life is relieved of crushing handicaps2 when old superstitions that had filled man's life with dread for ages are driven like fogs before science's illumination1 and religious faith is freed of their incumbrance2 when great causes of relief have at their disposal the unimaginable wealth which our modern economic system has created--can anyone do sufficient justice to man's debt to science8 ,and once more science has done religion an inestimable service in establishing as a point of honor the ambition to see straight and to report exactly4 ,the tireless patience1 the inexorable honesty1 the sacrificial heroism of scientists1 pursuing truth1 is a gift of incalculable magnitude4 ,huxley is typical of science at its best when he writes in his journal his ideal--,to smite all humbugs however big2 to give a nobler tone to science2 to set an example of abstinence from petty personal controversies and of toleration for everything but lying2 to be indifferent as to whether the work is recognized as mine or not1 so long as it is done4 ,countless obscurantisms and bigotries1 shams and sophistries have been driven from the churches by this scientific spirit and more are yet to go4 ,science has shown intellectual dishonesty to be a sin of the first rank4 ,christianity never can be thankful enough for science2 on our knees we should be grateful for her as one of ,god's most indispensable gifts4 ,nor should the fact that many a scientist whose contributions we rejoice in was not certain about ,god defer our gratitude4 ,cyrus1 the ,persian1 is not the only one to whom the ,eternal has said1 ,i will gird thee1 though thou hast not known me 7,isa4 #de3e74 ,when1 however1 science has done her necessary work1 she needs her great ally1 religion4 ,without the insight and hope which faith alone can bring1 we learn a little about the world1 our minds enclosed in boundaries beyond which is dark1 unfathomable mystery4 ,we rejoice in nature's beauty and in friendship1 suffer much with broken bodies and more with broken family ties1 until we die as we were born--the spawn of mindless1 soulless powers that never purposed us and never cared4 ,and the whole universe is purposeless1 engaged with blind hands1 that have no mind behind them1 on tasks that mean nothing and are never done4 ,science and religion should not be antagonists2 they are mutually indispensable allies in the understanding and mastery of life4 #d ,j4 ,g4 ,holland4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,faith and ,moods ,,daily ,,readings ,the relationship of faith to feeling1 rather than faith's relationship to mind1 is with many people the more vital interest4 ,the emotional results of faith are rightfully of intense concern to everyone1 for our feelings put the sense of value into life4 ,to see a sunset without being stirred by its beauty is to miss seeing the sunset2 to have friends without feeling love for them is not to have friends2 and to possess life without feeling it to be gloriously worth while is to miss living4 ,now1 in this regard1 the attitude of faith stands sharply opposed to its direct contrary--the attitude of fear4 ,faith and fear are the two emotional climates1 in one or the other of which everyone tends habitually to live4 ,to the comparison of these we set ourselves in the daily readings4 ,eighth ,week1 ,first ,day ,give ear to my prayer1 ,o ,god2 ,and hide not thyself from my supplication4 ,attend unto me1 and answer me3 ,i am restless in my complaint1 and moan1 ,because of the voice of the enemy1 ,because of the oppression of the wicked2 ,for they cast iniquity upon me1 ,and in anger they persecute me4 ,my heart is sore pained within me3 ,and the terrors of death are fallen upon me4 ,fearfulness and trembling are come upon me1 ,and horror hath overwhelmed me4 ,and ,i said1 ,oh that ,i had wings like a dove6 ,then would ,i fly away1 and be at rest4 ,lo1 then would ,i wander far off1 ,i would lodge in the wilderness4 --,psalm #ee3a-g4 ,how many people are slaves to the mood from which this psalmist suffered6 ,fearfulness and trembling are their habitual attitude toward life4 ,they fear to die and just as much they fear to live2 before every vexatious problem1 before every opposing obstacle1 even before the common tasks and responsibilities of daily living1 they stand in dread2 and every piece of work is done by them at least three times--in previous worry1 in anxious performance1 and in regretful retrospect4 ,such fear imprisons the soul4 ,no two men really live in the same world2 for while the outward geography may be identical1 the real environment of each soul is created by our moods1 tempers1 and habits of thought4 ,fear builds a prison about the man1 and bars him in with dreads1 anxieties1 and timid doubts4 ,and the man will live forever in that prison unless faith sets him free4 ,faith is the great liberator4 ,the psalmist who found himself a prisoner of fearfulness and trembling obtained his liberty and became a soul in peace 7v4 #ah72 and the secret of his freedom he revealed in the closing words of his psalm--,but ,i will trust in ,thee4 ,faith of some sort is the only power that ever sets men free from the bondage of their timidities and dreads4 ,if a man is the slave of fearfulness1 there is no substance in his claim to be a man of faith2 a man who has vital faith is not habitually fearful4 ,and as ,emerson said1 ,he has not learned the lesson of life who does not every day surmount a fear4 ,o ,god1 we remember with sadness our want of faith in ,thee4 ,what might have been a garden we have turned into a desert by our sin and wilfulness4 ,this beautiful life which ,thou hast given us we have wasted in futile worries and vain regrets and empty fears4 ,instead of opening our eyes to the joy of life1 the joy that shines in the leaf1 the flower1 the face of an innocent child1 and rejoicing in it as in a sacrament1 we have sunk back into the complainings of our narrow and blinded souls4 ,o deliver us from the bondage of unchastened desires and unwholesome thoughts4 ,help us to conquer hopeless brooding and faithless reflection1 and the impatience of irritable weakness4 ,to this end1 increase our faith1 ,o ,lord4 ,fill us with a completer trust in ,thee1 and the desire for a more whole-hearted surrender to ,thy will4 ,then every sorrow will become a joy4 ,then shall we say to the mountains that lie heavy on our souls1 ,remove and be cast hence and they shall remove1 and nothing shall be impossible unto us4 ,then shall we renew our strength1 and mount up with wings as eagles2 we shall run and not be weary2 we shall walk and not faint4 ,we offer this prayer in the name of ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,amen4--,samuel ,mc,comb4 ,eighth ,week1 ,second ,day ,not only is it true that fear imprisons while faith liberates2 fear paralyzes and faith empowers4 ,the only attitude in which a man has command of his faculties and is at his best1 is the attitude of faith2 while fear bewilders the mind and paralyzes the will4 ,the physical effects of fear are deadly2 it positively inhibits any useful thinking2 and in the spiritual life its results are utterly demoralizing4 ,fear is the panic of a soul4 ,consider such an estate as the author of ,deuteronomy presents3 ,and among these nations shalt thou find no ease1 and there shall be no rest for the sole of thy foot3 but ,jehovah will give thee there a trembling heart1 and failing of eyes1 and pining of soul2 and thy life shall hang in doubt before thee2 and thou shalt fear night and day1 and shalt have no assurance of thy life4 ,in the morning thou shalt say1 ,would it were even6 and at even thou shalt say1 ,would it were morning6 for the fear of thy heart which thou shalt fear1 and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see4--,deut4 #bh3fe-fg4 ,such a situation oppresses every vital power1 and the conquest of such a situation must always be inward before it can be outward2 the man must pass from fear to faith4 ,let even a little faith arise in him1 and power begins to return4 ,men fear that they cannot overcome evil habits1 that they cannot successfully meet difficult situations1 that they cannot hold out in the ,christian life1 and that great causes cannot be fought through to victory--and the weakness which appalls them is the creation of their own misgiving4 ,our doubts are traitors1 ,and make us lose the good we oft might win1 ,by fearing to attempt4 ,but faith is tonic2 the results which follow a change of heart from fear to faith are miraculous2 spiritual dwarfs grow to giants and achieve successes that before would have been unbelievable4 ,no verse in ,scripture has behind it a greater mass of verifiable experience than3 ,this is the victory that hath overcome the world1 even our faith 7,i ,john #e3d74 ,gracious ,father1 ,thou hast invited us1 unworthy as we are1 to pray for all sorts and conditions of men4444 ,we pray for all who are in bondage to fear1 unable to face the tasks of life or bear the thought of death with peace and dignity4 ,free them from the tyranny of these dark dreads4 ,let the inspiration of a great faith or hope seize their souls1 and lift them above their fruitless worry and idle torments1 into a region of joy and peace and blessedness4 ,we pray for the victims of evil habits1 the slaves of alcohol or morphine1 or any other pretended redeemer of the soul from weariness and pain4 ,great is the power of these degrading temptations2 but greater still is the saving energy of ,thy ,spirit4 ,so let ,thy ,spirit enter the hearts of these unhappy children of ,thine1 that their will may be made strong to resist1 and that the burning heat of high thoughts may consume the grosser desires of the flesh4 ,we pray for souls bound beneath self-imposed burdens1 vexed by miseries of their own making2 for the children of melancholy1 who have lost their way and grope without a light2 for those who do their work with no enthusiasm1 and1 when night falls1 can find no sleep though they search for it as for hidden treasure4 ,let ,thy light pierce through their gloom and shine upon their path4444 ,unite us to ,jesus ,christ1 ,thy perfect ,son1 in the bonds of a living trust1 so that sustained by ,his example1 and sanctified by ,his ,spirit1 we may grow more and more into the image of ,his likeness4 ,these1 and all other blessings1 we ask in ,his name and for ,his sake4 ,amen4--,samuel ,mc,comb4 ,eighth ,week1 ,third ,day ,there are many situations in life which naturally throw the pall of dread over man's soul4 ,life is seldom easy1 it is often overwhelmingly difficult1 and if a man has worry in his temperament1 circumstances supply plenty of occasions on which to exercise it4 ,the difference between men lies here3 those in whom the fear-attitude is master hold the oppressive trouble so close to the eye that it hides everything else2 those whom the faith-attitude dominates hold trouble off and see it in wide perspectives4 ,a copper cent can hide the sun if we hold it close enough to the eye1 and a transient difficulty can shut out from a fearful soul all life's large blessings and all the horizons of divine good will4 ,fear disheartens men by concentrating their attention on the unhappy aspects of life2 but faith is the great encourager4 ,whittier lived in a generation full of turmoil and trouble1 and his own life is a story of prolonged struggle against illness1 disappointments1 and poverty4 ,but1 listen3 ,yet sometimes glimpses on my sight ,through present wrong1 the eternal right2 ,and1 step by step1 since time began ,i see the steady gain of man4 ,that is the attitude of faith2 it does not deny the evil1 but it sees around it1 refuses to be obsessed or scared by it1 and takes heart from a large view when a small view would be appalling4 ,and history always confirms the large view4 ,fear may be right for the moment1 but in the long run it is a liar2 only faith tells the truth4 ,be merciful unto me1 ,o ,god2 for man would swallow me up3 ,all the day long he fighting oppresseth me4 ,mine enemies would swallow me up all the day long2 ,for they are many that fight proudly against me4 ,what time ,i am afraid1 ,i will put my trust in thee4 --,psalm #ef3a-c4 ,almighty and ever-living ,god1 we draw near unto ,thee1 believing that ,thou art1 and that ,thou wilt reward all those who diligently seek ,thee4 ,we are weak1 mortal men1 immersed in this world's affairs1 buffeted by its sorrows1 flung to and fro by its conflicts of right and wrong4 ,we cry for some abiding stay1 for some sure and steadfast anchorage4 ,reveal ,thyself to us as the eternal ,god1 as the unfathomable ,love that encompasses every spirit ,thou hast made1 and bears it on1 through the light and the darkness alike1 to the goal of ,thine own perfection4 ,and yet1 when ,thou speakest to us1 we are covered with confusion1 for now we remember all the sadness and evil disorder of our lives4 ,thou hast visited our hearts with ideals fair and beautiful1 but alas6 we have grown weary in aspiration1 and have declined into the sordid aims of our baser selves4 ,thou hast given us the love of parent and of friend1 that we might thereby learn something of ,thine own love2 yet too often have we despised ,thy gift and shut our hearts to all the wonder and the glory4 ,we make confession before ,thee of our sin and folly and ignorance4 ,again and again we have vowed ourselves to ,thy service2 again and again our languid wills have failed to do ,thy ,will4 ,we have been seduced by the sweet poison of sin1 and even against light and knowledge we have done that which ,thou dost abhor1 and which in our secret hearts we loathe4 ,and now we almost fear to repent1 lest ,thou shouldst call us into judgment for a repentance that must needs be repented of4 ,o mighty ,saviour of men6 be patient with us a little longer4 ,take us back to ,thyself4 ,without ,thee1 we are undone2 with ,thee1 we will take fresh heart of hope1 and bind ourselves with a more effectual vow1 and laying aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us1 we will follow ,thee whithersoever ,thou leadest4 ,amen4--,samuel ,mc,comb4 ,eighth ,week1 ,fourth ,day ,fear depresses vitality and is a fruitful cause of nervous disorders1 with all their disastrous reactions on man's health4 ,modern investigation has shown beyond any reasonable doubt that while illness comes often by way of the body1 it comes also by way of the mind2 our moods and tempers have a physical echo1 and of all fatal mental states none is so ruinous as fear4 ,it is not strange1 therefore1 that some people never are well4 ,as ,dr4 ,mc,comb puts it1 ,many play at living--they do not really live4 ,they fear the responsibilities1 the struggles1 the adventures1 not without risk1 which life offers them4 ,they fear illness4 ,they fear poverty4 ,they fear unhappiness4 ,they fear danger4 ,they fear the passion of sacrifice4 ,they fear even the exaltation of a pure and noble love1 until the settlements in money and social prestige have been duly certified4 ,they fear to take a plunge into life's depths4 ,they fear this world1 and they fear still more the world beyond the grave4 ,in such a mood no man can possibly be well4 ,faith1 therefore1 which drives out fear1 has always been a minister of health4 ,the ,master's healings1 which to the rationalism of a previous generation seemed incredible1 in the light of the present knowledge seem inevitable4 ,he had faith and he demanded faith1 and wherever the faith-attitude can be set in motion against the fear-attitude and all its morbid brood1 the consequences will be physical as well as moral4 ,an outgrown custom of the early ,church does not now seem so strange as it did a generation ago3 ,is any among you suffering8 let him pray4 ,is any cheerful8 let him sing praise4 ,is any among you sick8 let him call for the elders of the church2 and let them pray over him1 anointing him with oil in the name of the ,lord3 and the prayer of faith shall save him that is sick1 and the ,lord shall raise him up2 and if he have committed sins1 it shall be forgiven him4 ,confess therefore your sins one to another1 and pray one for another1 that ye may be healed4 ,the supplication of a righteous man availeth much in its working4--,james #e3ac-af4 ,eternal ,god1 who art above all change and darkness1 whose will begat us1 and whose all present love doth enfold and continually redeem us1 ,holy ,guest who indwellest1 and dost comfort us2 we have gathered to worship ,thee1 and in communion with ,thee to find ourselves raised to the light of our life1 and the ,heaven of our desires4 ,pour upon our consciousness the sense of ,thy wonderful nearness to us4 ,reveal to our weakness and distress the power and the grace that are more than sufficient for us4 ,may we see what we are1 ,thy ,spirit-born children linked by nature1 love1 and choice to ,thy mighty being2 and may the vision make all fears to fade1 and a ,divine strength to pulse within4 ,enable us to carry out from this place the peace and strength that here we gain1 to take into our homes a kinder spirit1 a new thoughtfulness2 that we may brighten sadness1 heal the sick1 and make happiness to abound4 ,may we take into our daily tasks and life of labor1 a sense of righteousness that shall be as salt to every evil and corrupting influence4 ,because we have walked here awhile with ,thee1 may we be able to walk more patiently with man4 ,send us forth with love to the fallen1 hope for the despairing1 strength to impart to the weak and wayward2 and carry on through us the work ,thou didst commence in ,thy ,son our ,brother ,man and ,saviour ,god4 ,amen4--,w4 ,e4 ,orchard4 ,eighth ,week1 ,fifth ,day ,fear makes impossible any satisfying joy in life4 ,a man of faith may be deeply joyful even in disastrous circumstances1 but a man of fear would be unhappy in heaven4 ,stevenson sings in the saddest and the bravest song he ever wrote3 ,god1 if this were faith8444 ,to go on for ever and fail and go on again1 ,and be mauled to the earth and arise1 ,and contend for the shade of a word and a thing not seen with the eyes3 ,with half of a broken hope for a pillow at night ,that somehow the right is the right1 ,and the smooth shall bloom from the rough3 ,lord1 if that were enough8 ,sad this song may be1 but at the heart of it is yet a fierce joy because faith is there4 ,but put a man of fear in luxury and remove from him every visible cause of disquiet and he will still be miserable4 ,the more a man considers these two determinant moods in life1 the more he sees that somehow the faith-attitude must be his1 if life is to be worth living4 ,without it life dries up into a ,sahara2 with it1 he comes into a company of the world's glad spirits1 who one way or another have felt what the ,psalmist sings3 ,jehovah is my light and my salvation2 ,whom shall ,i fear8 ,jehovah is the strength of my life2 ,of whom shall ,i be afraid8 ,when evil-doers came upon me to eat up my flesh1 ,even mine adversaries and my foes1 they stumbled and fell4 ,though a host should encamp against me1 ,my heart shall not fear3 ,though war should rise against me1 ,even then will ,i be confident4 ,one thing have ,i asked of ,jehovah1 that will ,i seek after3 ,that ,i may dwell in the house of ,jehovah all the days of my life1 ,to behold the beauty of ,jehovah1 ,and to inquire in his temple4 ,for in the day of trouble he will keep me secretly in his pavilion3 ,in the covert of his tabernacle will he hide me2 ,he will lift me up upon a rock4 ,and now shall my head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me2 ,and ,i will offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy2 ,i will sing1 yea1 ,i will sing praises unto ,jehovah4 --,psalm #bg3a-f4 ,gracious ,father6 ,we confess the painful riddle of our being1 that1 while claiming kinship with ,thee1 we feel far from ,thee4 ,o1 what means this strange bewilderment1 this never-ending war between our worse and better thoughts8 ,we are ,thine by right1 yet we have not given ourselves wholly to ,thy care4 ,our hearts know no rest1 save in ,thee1 yet they have sought it in this world's vainglory1 which passeth away4 ,we seek to quench our thirst at the cisterns of this earth1 but they are broken cisterns1 that can hold no water4 ,lead us to ,thy well of life that springeth up eternally4 ,give us to drink of that spiritual water1 of which1 if any man drink1 he shall never thirst again4 ,we lament our want and poverty before ,thee4 ,open ,thou our eyes to behold the unsearchable riches of ,thy grace1 and increase our faith that we may make them ours4 ,unite us to ,thee in the bonds of will and love and purpose4 ,out of ,thy fulness1 which is in ,christ1 give to each one of us according to his need4 ,make us wise with ,his ,wisdom2 pure with ,his purity2 strong with ,his strength2 that we may rise into the power and glory of the life that is life indeed4 ,hear our hearts' weak and wandering cries1 and when ,thou hearest1 forgive and bless1 for ,his sake4 ,amen4--,samuel ,mc,comb4 ,eighth ,week1 ,sixth ,day ,no man can serve two masters3 for either he will hate the one1 and love the other2 or else he will hold to one1 and despise the other4 ,ye cannot serve ,god and mammon4 ,therefore ,i say unto you1 ,be not anxious for your life1 what ye shall eat1 or what ye shall drink2 nor yet for your body1 what ye shall put on4 ,is not the life more than the food1 and the body than the raiment8 ,behold the birds of the heaven1 that they sow not1 neither do they reap1 nor gather into barns2 and your heavenly ,father feedeth them4 ,are not ye of much more value than they8 ,and which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto the measure of his life8 ,and why are ye anxious concerning raiment8 ,consider the lilies of the field1 how they grow2 they toil not1 neither do they spin3 yet ,i say unto you1 that even ,solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these4 ,but if ,god doth so clothe the grass of the field1 which to-day is1 and to-morrow is cast into the oven1 shall he not much more clothe you1 ,o ye of little faith8 ,be not therefore anxious1 saying1 ,what shall we eat8 or1 ,what shall we drink8 or1 ,wherewithal shall we be clothed8 ,for after all these things do the ,gentiles seek2 for your heavenly ,father knoweth that ye have need of all these things4 ,but seek ye first his kingdom1 and his righteousness2 and all these things shall be added unto you4--,matt4 #f3bd-cc4 ,the meaning of this passage hinges on the first therefore4 ,you cannot serve ,god and selfish gain at the same time1 says ,jesus2 you should choose decisively to serve ,god2 and therefore you must not be anxious about yourself4 ,for anxious fear so concentrates a man's thought on himself that he can serve no one else4 ,that this is the meaning of this familiar passage is clear also from its conclusion4 ,the real reason for conquering anxious fear is that a man may give himself wholeheartedly to the service of the ,kingdom4 ,that fear does spoil usefulness is obvious2 a man cannot be fearful for himself and considerate of his fellows4 ,as ,stevenson puts it in ,aes ,triplex1 ,the man who has least fear for his own carcass has most time to consider others4 ,that eminent chemist who took his walks abroad in tin shoes and subsisted wholly upon tepid milk had all his work cut out for him in considerate dealings with his own digestion4 ,so soon as prudence has begun to grow up in the brain1 like a dismal fungus1 it finds its first expression in a paralysis of generous acts4 ,the shame of our fearful living is that it circles about self1 is narrowed down to mean solicitudes about our own comfort1 and is utterly incapable of serving ,god or seeking first his ,kingdom4 ,only faith puts folk at leisure from their small anxieties so that they can be servants of a worthy cause4 ,jesus1 therefore1 in this passage is not giving us the impossible injunction not to think about tomorrow2 he is stating a truth of experience1 that anxious fear for oneself which so draws in the thought that ,god's great causes are forgotten is a deadly peril in man's life4 ,by faith thrust out the mean and timid solicitudes1 is his injunction1 that life may be free to put first things first4 ,we come to ,thee1 our ,father1 that we may more deeply enter into ,thy joy4 ,thou turnest darkness into day1 and mourning into praise4 ,thou art our ,fortress in temptation1 our ,shield in remorse1 our ,covert in calamity1 our ,star of ,hope in every sorrow4 ,o ,lord1 we would know ,thy peace1 deep1 abiding1 inexhaustible4 ,when we seek ,thy peace1 our weariness is gone1 the sense of our imperfection ceases to discourage us1 and our tired souls forget their pain4 ,when1 strengthened and refreshed by ,thy goodness1 we return to the task of life1 send us forth as servants of ,jesus ,christ in the service and redemption of the world4 ,send us to the hearts without love1 to men and women burdened with heavy cares1 to the miserable1 the sad1 the broken-hearted4 ,send us to the children whose heritage has been a curse1 to the poor who doubt ,thy ,providence1 to the sick who crave for healing and cannot find it1 to the fallen for whom no man cares4 ,may we be ministers of ,thy mercy1 messengers of ,thy helpful pity1 to all who need ,thee4 ,by our sympathy1 our prayers1 our kindness1 our gifts1 may we make a way for the inflow of ,thy love into needy and loveless lives4 ,and so may we have that love which alone is the fulfilling of ,thy law4 ,hasten the time when all men shall love ,thee and one another in ,thee1 when all the barriers that divide us shall be broken down1 and every heart shall be filled with joy and every tongue with melody4 ,these gracious gifts we ask1 in ,jesus' name4 ,amen4--,samuel ,mc,comb4 ,eighth ,week1 ,seventh ,day ,fear does not reveal its disastrous consequences to the full until it colors one's thoughts about the source and destiny of life4 ,folk work joyfully at a picture-puzzle so long as they believe that the puzzle can be put together1 that it was meant1 completed1 to compose a picture1 and that their labor is an effort made in reasonable hope4 ,but if they begin to fear that they are being fooled1 that the puzzle is a hoax and never can be pieced together anywhere by anyone1 how swiftly that suspicion will benumb their work6 ,so joyful living depends on man's conviction that this life is not a hapless accident1 that a good purpose binds it all together1 and that our labor for righteousness is not expended on a futile task without a worthy outcome4 ,but fear blights all such hope2 it whispers what one pessimist said aloud3 ,life is not a tragedy but a farcical melodrama1 which is the worst kind of play4 ,that fear benumbs worthy living1 kills hope1 makes cynical disgust with life a reasonable attitude1 and with its frost withers all man's finest aspirations4 ,only faith in ,god can save men from such fear4 ,fear or faith--there is no dilemma so full of consequence4 ,fear imprisons1 faith liberates2 fear paralyzes1 faith empowers2 fear disheartens1 faith encourages2 fear sickens1 faith heals2 fear makes useless1 faith makes serviceable--and1 most of all1 fear puts hopelessness at the heart of life1 while faith rejoices in its ,god4 ,oh give thanks unto ,jehovah2 for he is good2 ,for his lovingkindness endureth for ever4 ,let ,israel now say1 ,that his lovingkindness endureth for ever4 ,let the house of ,aaron now say1 ,that his lovingkindness endureth for ever4 ,let them now that fear ,jehovah say1 ,that his lovingkindness endureth for ever4 ,out of my distress ,i called upon ,jehovah3 ,jehovah answered me and set me in a large place4 ,jehovah is on my side2 ,i will not fear3 ,what can man do unto me8 --,psalm #aah3a-f4 ,o ,god1 we invoke ,thy blessing upon all who need ,thee1 and who are groping after ,thee1 if haply they may find ,thee4 ,be gracious to those who bear the sins of others1 who are vexed by the wrongdoing and selfishness of those near and dear to them1 and reveal to them the glory of their fellowship with the sufferings of ,christ4 ,brood in tenderness over the hearts of the anxious1 the miserable1 the victims of phantasmal fear and morbid imaginings4 ,redeem from slavery the men and women who have yielded to degrading habits4 ,put ,thy ,spirit within them1 that they may rise up in shame and sorrow and make confession to ,thee1 ,so brutish was ,i1 and ignorant3 ,i was as a beast before ,thee4 ,and then let them have the glad assurance that ,thou art with them1 the secret of all good1 the promise and potency of better things4 ,console with ,thy large consolation those who mourn for their loved dead1 who count the empty places and long for the sound of a voice that is still4 ,inspire them with the firm conviction that the dead are safe in ,thy keeping1 nay1 that they are not dead1 but live unto ,thee4 ,give to all sorrowing ones a garland for ashes1 the oil of joy for mourning1 and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness4 ,remember for good all who are perplexed with the mysteries of existence1 and who grieve because the world is so sad and unintelligible4 ,teach them that ,thy hand is on the helm of affairs1 that ,thou dost guide ,thine own world1 and canst change every dark cloud into bright sunshine4 ,in this faith let them rest1 and by this faith let them live4 ,these blessings we ask in the name of our ,lord and ,saviour ,jesus ,christ4 ,amen4--,samuel ,mc,comb4 ,,comment ,,for ,,the ,,week ,i ,many people do not find their most perplexing difficulty either in the realm of trust or of belief1 but in a problem which includes both4 ,they are confused because neither their experience of ,god nor their intellectual conviction of the reasonableness of faith is dependable and steady4 ,faith comes and goes in them with fluctuating moods that bring an appalling sense of insecurity4 ,their religious life is not stable and consistent2 it runs through variant degrees of confidence and doubt1 and its whimsical ups and downs continually baffle them4 ,to classify some folk as men of faith and some as men of doubt does not1 in the light of this experience1 quite tally with the facts4 ,there are moods of faith and moods of doubt in all of us and rarely does either kind secure unanimous consent4 ,were we to decide for irreligion1 a minority protest would be vigorously urged in the interests of faith1 and when most assuredly we choose religion1 the prayer1 ,lord1 ,i believe1 help thou mine unbelief 7,mark #i3bd7 is still appropriate4 ,we often seem to be exchanging1 as ,browning's bishop says3 ,a life of doubt diversified by faith1 ,for one of faith diversified by doubt4 ,some hope arises when we observe that this experience which so perplexes us is fully acknowledged in the ,bible4 ,the popular supposition is that when one opens the ,scripture he finds himself in a world of constant and triumphant faith4 ,no low moods and doubts can here obscure the trust of men2 here ,god is always real1 saints sing in prison or dying see their ,lord enthroned in heaven4 ,when one1 however1 really knows the ,bible1 it obviously is no serene record of untroubled faith4 ,it is turbulent with moods and doubt4 ,here1 to be sure1 is the fifteenth chapter of ,first ,corinthians1 on ,immortality1 but here too is another cry1 burdened with all the doubt man ever felt about eternal life1 ,that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts2 even one thing befalleth them3 as the one dieth1 so dieth the other2 yea1 they have all one breath2 and man hath no preeminence above the beasts 7,eccl4 #c3ai74 ,the ,scripture has many exultant passages on divine faithfulness1 but ,jeremiah's bitter prayer is not excluded3 ,why is my pain perpetual1 and my wound incurable1 which refuseth to be healed8 ,wilt thou indeed be unto me as a deceitful brook1 as waters that fail8 7,jer4 #ae3ah74 ,the confident texts on prayer are often quoted1 but there are cries of another sort3 ,job's complaint1 ,behold1 ,i go forward1 but he is not there2 and backward1 but ,i cannot perceive him 7,job #bc3h72 ,habakkuk's bitterness1 ,o ,jehovah1 how long shall ,i cry1 and thou wilt not hear8 ,i cry unto thee of violence and thou wilt not save 7,hab4 #a3b74 ,the ,bible is no book of tranquil faith4 ,from the time when ,gideon1 in a mood like that of multitudes today1 cried1 ,oh1 my ,lord1 if ,jehovah is with us1 why then is all this befallen us8 7,judges #f3ac7 to the complaint of the slain saints in the ,apocalypse1 ,how long1 ,o ,master1 the holy and true1 dost thou not judge and avenge our blood 7,rev4 #f3aj71 the ,bible is acquainted with doubt4 ,it knows the searching1 perplexing1 terrifying questions that in all ages vex men's souls4 ,if the ,psalmist1 in an exultant mood1 sang1 ,jehovah is my shepherd1 he also cried1 ,jehovah1 why casteth thou off my soul8 ,why hidest thou thy face from me8 7,psalm #hh3ad74 ,no aspect of the ,scripture could bring it more warmly into touch with man's experience than this confession of fluctuating moods4 ,at least in this the ,bible is our book4 ,great heights are there1 that we know something of4 ,psalmists sing in adoration1 prophets are sure of ,god and of his coming victory2 apostles pledge in sacrifice the certainty of their belief1 and the ,master on ,transfiguration ,mountain prays until his countenance is radiant4 ,and depths are there1 that modern men know well4 ,saints cry out against unanswered prayer and cannot understand how such an evil1 wretched world is ruled by a good ,god2 in their bitter griefs they complain that ,god has cast them off1 and utterly forgotten and1 dismayed1 doubt even that a man's death differs from a dog's4 ,this is our book4 ,for the faith of many of us1 however we insist that we are ,christians1 is not tranquil1 steady1 and serene4 ,it is moody1 occasional1 spasmodic1 with hours of great assurance1 and other hours when confidence sags and trust is insecure4 ,,ii ,faith so generally is discussed as though it were a creed1 accepted once for all and thereafter statically held1 that the influence of our moods on faith is not often reckoned with4 ,but the moods of faith are the very pith and marrow of our actual experience4 ,when a ,christian congregation recite together their creedal affirmation1 ,i believe in ,god1 it sounds as though they all maintained a solid1 constant faith4 ,but when in imagination1 one breaks up the congregation and interprets from his knowledge of men's lives what the faith of the individuals actually means1 he sees that they believe in ,god not evenly and constantly1 but more or less1 sometimes very much1 sometimes not confidently at all4 ,our faith in ,god is not a static matter such as the recitation of a creed suggests4 ,some things we do believe in steadily4 ,that two plus two make four1 that the summed angles of a triangle make two right angles--of such things we are unwaveringly sure4 ,no moods can shake our confidence2 no griefs confuse us1 no moral failures quench our certainty4 ,though the heavens fall1 two and two make four6 ,but our faith in ,god belongs in another realm4 ,it is a vital experience4 ,it involves the whole man1 with his chameleon moods1 his glowing insights1 his exalted hours1 and his dejected days when life flows sluggishly and no great thing seems real4 ,this experience of variable moods in faith does not belong especially to feeble folk1 whose ups and downs in their life with ,god would illustrate their whole irresolute and flimsy living4 ,the great believers sometimes know best this tidal rise and fall of confidence4 ,elijah one day1 with absolute belief in ,god1 defied the hosts of ,baal and the next1 in desolate reaction1 wanted to die4 ,luther put it with his rugged candor1 ,sometimes ,i believe and sometimes ,i doubt4 ,john ,knox1 at liberty to preach1 dings the pulpit into blads in his confident utterance2 but the same ,knox recalled that1 in the galleys1 his soul knew anger1 wrath1 and indignation which it conceived against ,god1 calling all his promises in doubt4 ,the ,master himself was not a stranger to this experience4 ,he believed in ,god with unwavering assurance1 as one believes in the shining of the sun4 ,but the fact that the sun perpetually shines did not imply that every day was a sunshiny day for him4 ,the clouds came pouring up out of his dark horizons and hid the sun4 ,now is my soul troubled2 and what shall ,i say8 7,john #ab3bg74 ,and once the fog drove in1 so dense and dark that one would think there never had been any sun at all4 ,my ,god1 my ,god1 why hast thou forsaken me8 7,matt4 #bg3df74 ,this experience of fluctuating moods is too familiar to be denied1 too influential to be neglected4 ,there can be no use in hiding it from candid thought behind the recitation of a creedal formula4 ,there may be great use in searching out its meaning4 ,for there are ways in which this common experience1 at first vexatious and disquieting1 may supply solid ground for ,christian confidence4 ,,iii ,in dealing with these variant moods of faith we are not left without an instrument4 ,we have the sense of value4 ,we discern not only the existence of things1 but their worth as well4 ,when1 therefore1 a man has recognized his moods as facts1 he has not said all that he can say about them4 ,upon no objects of experience can the sense of value be used with so much certainty as upon our moods4 ,we know our best hours when they come4 ,the lapidary1 with unerring skill1 learns to distinguish a real diamond from a false1 but his knowledge is external and contingent1 compared with the inward and authoritative certainty with which we know our best hours from our worst4 ,our great moods carry with them the authentic marks of their superiority4 ,experience readily confirms this truth4 ,we all have1 for example1 cynical and sordid moods4 ,at such times1 only the appetites of physical life seem much to matter2 only the things that minister to common comfort greatly count4 ,when ,sydney ,smith1 the ,english cleric1 writes1 ,i feel an ungovernable interest in my horses1 my pigs1 and my plants4 ,but ,i am forced and always was forced to task myself up to an interest in any higher objects1 most of us can understand his mood4 ,we grow obtuse at times to all that in our better moods had thrilled us most4 ,nature suffers in our eyes2 great books seem dull2 causes that once we served with zest lose interest1 and personal relationships grow pale and tame1 ,from such mere dullness we easily drift down to cynicism4 ,music once had stirred the depths1 but now our spirits tally with the scoffer's jest1 ,what are you crying about with your ,wagner and your ,brahms8 ,it is only horsehair scraping on catgut4 ,man's most holy things may lose their grandeur and become a butt of ridicule4 ,when the mood of ,aristophanes is on1 we too may hoist serious ,socrates among the clouds1 and set him talking moonshine while the cynical look on and laugh4 ,the spirit that sits in the seat of the scornful is an ancient malady4 ,but every man is thoroughly aware that these are not his best moods4 ,from such depleted attitudes we come to worthier hours2 real life arrives again4 ,nature and art become imperatively beautiful2 moral causes seem worth sacrifice1 and before man's highest life1 revealed in character1 ideal1 and faith1 we stand in reverence4 ,these are our great hours1 when spiritual values take the throne1 when all else dons livery to serve them1 and we find it easy to believe in ,god4 ,again1 we have crushed and rebellious moods4 ,we may have been ,christians for many years2 yet when disaster1 long delayed1 at last descends1 and our dreams are wrecked1 we do rebel4 ,complaint rises hot within us4 ,joseph ,parker1 preacher at the ,city ,temple1 ,london1 at the age of sixty-eight could write that he had never had a doubt4 ,neither the goodness of ,god nor the divinity of ,christ1 nor anything essential to his ,christian faith had he ever questioned4 ,but within a year an experience had fallen of which he wrote3 ,in that dark hour ,i became almost an atheist4 ,for ,god had set his foot upon my prayers and treated my petitions with contempt4 ,if ,i had seen a dog in such agony as mine1 ,i would have pitied and helped the dumb beast2 yet ,god spat upon me and cast me out as an offense--out into the waste wilderness and the night black and starless4 ,no new philosophy had so shaken the faith of this long unquestioning believer4 ,but his wife had died and he was in a heartbroken mood that all his arguments1 so often used on others1 could not penetrate4 ,he believed in ,god as one believes in the sun when he has lived six months in the polar night and has not seen it4 ,these heartbroken moods1 however1 are not our best4 ,out of rebellious grief we lift our eyes in time to see how other men have borne their sorrows off and built them into character4 ,we see great lives shine out from suffering1 like ,rembrandt's radiant faces from dark backgrounds4 ,we see that all the virtues which we most admire--constancy1 patience1 fortitude--are impossible without stern settings1 and that in time of trouble they find their aptest opportunity1 their noblest chance4 ,we rise into a new mood1 grow resolute not to be crushed1 but1 as though there were moral purpose in man's trials1 to be hallowed1 deepened1 purified4 ,the meaning of ,samuel ,rutherford's old saying dawns upon us1 ,when ,i am in the cellar of affliction1 ,i reach out my hand for the king's wine4 ,and folk1 seeing us1 it may be1 take heart and are assured that ,god is real1 since he can make a man bear off his trial like that and grow the finer for it4 ,these are our great hours too1 when the rains descend1 and the winds blow1 and the floods come1 and beat upon our house1 and it is founded on a rock6 ,once more1 we have hours of discouragement about the world4 ,the more we have cared for moral causes and invested life in their advancement1 the more we are desolate when they seem to fail4 ,some rising tide in which we trusted turns to ebb again1 injustice wins its victories1 the people listen to demagogues and not to statesmen1 social causes essential to human weal are balked1 wars come and undo the hopes of centuries4 ,who does not sometimes fall into the ,slough of ,despond8 ,cavour1 disheartened about ,italy1 went to his room to kill himself4 ,john ,knox1 dismayed about ,scotland1 in a pathetic prayer entitled1 ,john ,knox with deliberate mind to his ,god1 wrote1 ,now1 ,lord put an end to my misery4 ,we generally think of ,luther in that intrepid hour when he faced ,charles ,v at ,worms2 but he had times as well when he was sick with disappointment4 ,old1 decrepit1 lazy1 worn out1 cold1 and now one-eyed1 so runs a letter1 ,i write1 my ,jacob1 ,i who hoped there might at length be granted to me1 already dead1 a well-earned rest4 ,during the ,great ,war1 this mood of discouragement has grown familiar4 ,many can understand what ,robert ,louis ,stevenson meant when he wrote1 of the ,franco-,prussian war1 ,in that year1 cannon were roaring for days together on ,french battlefields1 and ,i would sit in my isle 7,i call it mine after the use of lovers7 and think upon the war1 and the pain of men's wounds1 and the weariness of their marching4444 ,it was something so distressing1 so instant1 that ,i lay in the heather on the top of the island1 with my face hid1 kicking my heels for agony4 ,but these dismayed hours are not our best4 ,as ,bunyan put it1 even ,giant ,despair has fainting fits on sunshiny days4 ,in moods of clearer insight we perceive out of how many ,egypts1 through how many round-about wilderness journeys1 ,god has led his people to how many ,promised ,lands4 ,the ,exodus was not a failure1 although the ,hebrews1 disheartened1 thought it was and even ,moses had his dubious hours2 the mission of ,israel did not come to an ignoble end in the ,exile1 although multitudes gave up their faith because of it and only prophets dared believe the hopeful truth4 ,the crucifixion did not mean the ,gospel's end1 as the disciples thought1 nor did ,paul1 imprisoned1 lose his ministry4 ,nothing in history is more assured than this1 that only men of faith have known the truth4 ,and in hours of vision when this fact shines clear we rise to be our better selves again4 ,what a clear ascent the race has made when wide horizons are taken into view6 ,what endless possibilities must lie ahead6 ,what ample reasons we possess to thrust despair aside1 and to go out to play our part in the forward movement of the plan of ,god6 ,dreamer of dreams8 we take the taunt with gladness1 ,knowing that ,god beyond the years you see1 ,has wrought the dreams that count with you for madness ,into the texture of the world to be4 ,these are our better hours4 ,,iv ,such sordid1 cynical1 crushed1 rebellious1 and discouraged moods we suffer1 but we have hours of insight1 too1 when we are at our best4 ,and as we face this ebb and flow of confidence1 which at the first vexatiously perplexed our faith1 an arresting truth is clear4 ,the creed of irreligion1 to which men are tempted to resign their minds1 is simply the intellectual formulation of what is implied in our less noble hours4 ,take what man's cynical1 sordid1 crushed1 rebellious1 and discouraged moods imply1 and set it in a formal statement of life's meaning1 and the result is the creed of irreligion4 ,but take man's best hours1 when the highest seems the realest1 when even sorrows cannot crush his soul1 and when the world is still the battlefield of ,god for men1 and formulate what these hours imply1 and the result is the central affirmations of religious faith4 ,even ,renan is sure that man is most religious in his best moments4 ,of this high interpretation our variant moods are susceptible1 that we know our best hours when they come1 and the faith implied in them is essential ,christianity4 ,as ,browning sings it3 ,faith is my waking life3 ,one sleeps1 indeed1 and dreams at intervals1 ,we know1 but waking's the main point with us4 ,this fact which we so have come upon is a powerful consideration in favor of religion's truth4 ,are we to trust for our guidance the testimony of our worse or better hours8 ,we have low moods2 so1 too1 we have cellars in our houses4 ,but we do not live there2 we live upstairs6 ,it is not unnatural to have irreligious moods4 ,there may be hours when the eternal ,energy from which this universe has come seems to be playing solitaire for fun4 ,it shuffles the stars and planets to see what may chance from their combinations1 and careless of the consequence1 from everlasting to everlasting it shuffles and plays1 and shuffles and plays again4 ,but these are not our best hours4 ,we may have moods when the universe seems to us1 as ,carlyle's figure pictures it1 as if the heavens and the earth were but boundless jaws of a devouring monster1 wherein1 ,i1 palpitating1 lay waiting to be devoured1 but we are inwardly ashamed of times like that4 ,man comes to this brutal universe of irreligion by way of his ignoble moods4 ,when he lifts up his soul in his great hours of love1 of insight1 and of devotion1 life never looks to him as irreligion pictures it2 it never has so looked to him and it never will6 ,in his best hours man always suspects that the ,eternal must be akin to what is best in us1 that our ideals are born from above1 have there their source and destiny1 that the ,eternal ,purpose reigns and yet shall justify the struggle of the ages1 and that in anyone who is the best we know1 we see most clearly what the ,eternal is and means4 ,that goodness is deeper than evil1 that spirit is more than flesh1 that life is lord of death1 that love is the source of all--such convictions come naturally to us when we are at our best4 ,when one examines such affirmations1 he perceives that ,christianity in its essential faiths is the expression of our finest hours4 ,this is the source whence ,christianity has come2 it is man's best become articulate4 ,some used to say that ,christian faith had been foisted on mankind by priests4 ,christian faith has no more artificially been foisted upon human life than the full blown rose is foisted on the bud4 ,christianity springs up out of man's best life2 it is the utterance of his transcendent moods2 it is man believing in the validity of his own noblest days4 ,christianity1 therefore1 at its heart can never fail4 ,its theologies may come and go1 its institutions rise and fall1 its rituals have their dawn1 their zenith1 and their decline1 but one persistent force goes on and will go on4 ,the ,gospel is saying to man what man at his best is saying to himself4 ,christ has a tremendous ally in human life--our noblest hours4 ,they are all upon his side4 ,what he says1 they rise to cry ,amen to4 ,when we are most truly ourselves we are nearest to him4 ,antagonistic philosophies1 therefore1 may spring up to assail the ,gospel's influence1 and seem to triumph1 and fall at last and be forgotten4 ,still ,christ will go on speaking4 ,nothing can tear him from his spiritual influence over men4 ,in every generation he has man's noblest hours for his ally4 ,v ,in the fact to which our study of man's variant moods has brought us we have not only a confirming consideration in favor of religion's truth1 but an explanation of some people's unbelief4 ,they live habitually in their low moods2 they inhabit spiritual cellars4 ,we are accustomed to say that some friend would be saved from his ignoble attitudes by a vital religious faith2 but it is also true that his persistent clinging to ignoble attitudes may be the factor that makes religious faith impossible4 ,according to ,dickens's ,tale of ,two ,cities a prisoner in the ,bastille1 who had lived in a cell and cobbled shoes for many years1 became so enamored of the narrow walls1 the darkness1 the task's monotony1 that1 when liberated1 he built a cell at the center of his ,english home1 and on days when the skies were clear and birds were singing1 the tap of his cobbler's hammer in the dark could still be heard4 ,so men1 by an habitual residence in imprisoning moods1 render themselves incapable of loving the wide horizons1 the great faiths and hopes of religion4 ,they do not merely make excursions of transient emotion into morose hours and1 like men that find that the road is running into malarial swamps1 turn swiftly to the hills4 ,they dwell in their moroseness2 they choose it1 and often obstinately resist deliverance4 ,the common moods that thus incapacitate the soul for faith are easily seen in any man's experience4 ,there are sullen tempers when we are churlish and want so to be4 ,there are stupid tempers1 when our soul is too negligent to care1 too dull to ask for what only aspiring minds can crave or find4 ,there are bored moods when we feel about all life what ,malachi's people felt about worship1 ,behold1 what a weariness is it6 7,mal4 #a3ac72 rebellious moods when1 like ,jonah1 deprived of a comfort he desired1 we cry1 ,i do well to be angry1 even unto death 7,jonah #d3i72 suspicious moods1 when we mistrust everyone1 and even of some righteous ,job hear ,satan's insinuating sneer1 ,does ,job fear ,god for nought8 7,job #a3i74 ,no man is altogether strange to frivolous hours1 when those thoughts are lost which must be handled seriously if at all1 and wilful hours1 when some private desire assumes the center of the stage and angrily resents another voice than his4 ,to say that one who habitually harbors such moods cannot know ,god is only a portion of the truth2 such a man cannot know anything worth knowing4 ,he can know neither fine friends nor great books2 he cannot appreciate beautiful music or sublime scenery2 he is lost to the deepest loves of family and to every noble enthusiasm for human help4 ,athwart the knowledge of these most gracious and necessary things stand our obtuse1 ignoble moods4 ,the sullen1 stupid1 bored1 rebellious1 suspicious1 frivolous1 or wilful tempers1 made into a spiritual residence1 are the most deadly prison of the soul4 ,of course one who dwells there has no confidence in ,god4 ,lord ,shaftesbury1 the ,english philanthropist1 made too sweeping a statement about this1 but one can see the basis for his judgment3 ,nothing beside ill-humor1 either natural or forced1 can bring a man to think seriously that the world is governed by any devilish or malicious power4 ,i very much question whether anything beside ill-humor can be the cause of atheism4 ,at least one may be sure that where ill-humor habitually reigns1 vital faith in ,god is made impossible4 ,after full acknowledgment1 therefore1 of the momentous intellectual problems of belief1 we must add that there is a moral qualification for faith in ,god4 ,so great a matter is not achieved by any sort of person1 with any kind of habitual moods and tempers4 ,there are views which cellar windows do not afford2 one must have balconies to see them4 ,when ,jesus said that the pure in heart are blessed because they see ,god1 he was not thinking merely1 perhaps not chiefly1 of sexual impurity as hindering vision4 ,he was pleading for a heart cleansed of all such perverse1 morose1 and wayward moods as shut the blinds on the soul's windows4 ,he knew that men could not easily escape the sense of ,god's reality if they kept their vision clear4 ,on elevated days we naturally think of ,spirit as real1 and see ourselves as expressions of spiritual purpose1 our lives as servants of a spiritual cause4 ,when one habitually dwells in these finer moods1 he cannot tolerate a world where his ,best is a transient accident4 ,he must have ,god1 for faith in ,god is the supreme assertion of the reality and eternity of man's ,best4 ,any man who habitually lives in his finest moods will not easily escape the penetrating sense of ,god's reality4 ,,vi ,the certainty with which we tend to be most deeply religious in our best hours is clear when we consider that a man does practically believe in the things which he counts of highest worth4 ,lotze1 the philosopher1 even says that ,faith is the feeling that is appreciative of value4 ,it is conceivable that one might be so constituted that without any sense of value he could study facts1 as a deaf man might observe a symphony4 ,the sound-waves such a man could mechanically measure2 he could analyze the motions of the players and note the reactions of the crowd1 but he would hear no music4 ,he would not suffuse the whole performance with his musical appreciations2 he would neither like it nor condemn4 ,man might be so constituted as to face facts without feeling1 but he is not4 ,facts never stand in our experience thus barren and unappreciated--mere neutral things that mean nothing and have no value4 ,the botanist in us may analyze the flowers1 but the poet in us estimates them4 ,the penologist in us may take the ,bertillon measurements of a boy1 but the father in us best can tell how much1 in spite of all his sin1 that boy is worth4 ,this power to estimate life's values is the fountain from which spring our music1 painting1 and literature1 our ideals and loves and purposes1 our morals and religion4 ,without it no man can live in the real world at all4 ,if we would know1 therefore1 in what1 at our highest altitudes1 we tend to believe1 we should ask what it is that we value most1 when we rise toward our best4 ,in our lowest hours what sordid1 mercenary1 beastly things men may prize each heart knows well4 ,but ever as we approach our best the things that are worth most to us become elevated and refined4 ,our better moods open our eyes to a world where character is of more worth than all the rest beside1 and through which moral purpose runs1 to be served with sacrifice4 ,we become aware of spiritual values in behalf of which at need physical existence must be willingly laid down2 and words like honor1 love1 fidelity1 and service in our hours of insight have halos over them that poorer moods cannot discern4 ,man at his best1 that is to say1 believes in an invisible world of spiritual values1 and he furnishes the final proof of his faith's reality by sacrificing to it all lesser things4 ,the good1 the true1 the beautiful command him in his finer hours1 and at their beck and call he lays down wealth and ease and earthly hopes to be their servant4 ,men really do believe in the things for which they sacrifice and die4 ,in no more searching way can a man's faith be described than in terms of the objects which thus he values most4 ,wherever men find some consuming aim that is for them so supreme in worth that they sacrifice all else to win it1 we speak of their attitude as a religion4 ,the religion of science describes the absolute devotion of investigators to scientific research as the highest good2 the religion of art describes the consuming passion with which some value beauty4 ,when we say of one that money is his ,god we mean that he estimates it as life's highest treasure1 and when with ,paul we speak of others1 whose god is the belly 7,phil4 #c3ai71 we mean men whose sensual life is to them the thing worth most4 ,what men believe in1 therefore1 is most deeply seen not by any opinions which they profess1 but by the things they prize4 ,faith1 as ,ruskin said1 is that by which men act while they live2 not that which they talk of when they die4 ,many a man uses pious affirmations of ,christian faith1 but it is easy to observe from his life that what he really believes in is money4 ,where a man's treasure is1 as ,jesus said1 his heart is1 and there his faith is1 too4 ,is there any doubt1 then1 what we most believe in when we are at our best8 ,while in our lower altitudes it may be easy to believe that the physical is the ultimately real1 in our upper altitudes we so value the spiritual world1 that we tend with undeniable conviction to feel sure that it must be causal and eternal4 ,materialism is man's night-view of his life2 but the day-view is religion4 ,tyndall the scientist was regarded by the ,christians of his generation as the enemy of almost everything that they held dear4 ,let him1 then1 be witness for the truth which we have stated4 ,i have noticed1 he said1 speaking of materialism1 during years of self-observation1 that it is not in hours of clearness and vigor that this doctrine commends itself to my mind4 ,the challenge1 therefore1 presented to every one of us by ,christian faith is ultimately this3 ,shall ,i believe the testimony of my better hours or of my worse8 ,many who deny the central affirmations of the ,gospel put the object of their denial far away from them as though it were an external thing2 they say that they deny the creed or the ,bible or the doctrine about ,god4 ,such a description of a man's rejection of religious faith is utterly inadequate--the real object of his denial is inward4 ,one may1 indeed1 discredit forms of doctrine and either be unsure about or altogether disbelieve many things that ,christians hold1 but when one makes a clean sweep of religion and banishes the central faiths of ,christianity he is denying the testimony of his own finest days4 ,from such rejection of faith one need not appeal to creed nor ,bible1 nor to anything that anybody ever said4 ,let the challenge strike inward to the man's own heart4 ,from his denial of religious faith we may appeal to the hours that he has known and yet will know again1 when the road rose under his feet and from a height he looked on wide horizons and knew that he was at his best4 ,to those hours of clear insight1 of keen thought1 of love and great devotion1 when he knew that the spiritual is the real and the eternal1 we may appeal4 ,they were his best4 ,he knows that they were his best4 ,and as long as humanity lives upon the earth this conviction must underlie great living--that we will not deny the validity of our own best hours4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,faith in the ,earnest ,god ,,daily ,,readings ,throughout our studies we have been thinking of the effect of faith on the one who exercises it4 ,as an introduction to this week's thought on the earnestness of ,god1 let us approach the effect of faith from another angle4 ,faith has enormous influence on the one in whom it is reposed2 not only the believer but the one in whom he believes is affected by his faith4 ,ninth ,week1 ,first ,day ,i commend unto you ,phoebe our sister1 who is a servant of the church that is at ,cenchre3 that ye receive her in the ,lord1 worthily of the saints1 and that ye assist her in whatsoever matter she may have need of you3 for she herself also hath been a helper of many1 and of mine own self4 ,salute ,prisca and ,aquila my fellow-workers in ,christ ,jesus1 who for my life laid down their own necks2 unto whom not only ,i give thanks1 but also all the churches of the ,gentiles3 and salute the church that is in their house4 ,salute ,epnetus my beloved1 who is the first-fruits of ,asia unto ,christ4 ,salute ,mary1 who bestowed much labor on you4 ,salute ,andronicus and ,junias1 my kinsmen1 and my fellow-prisoners1 who are of note among the apostles1 who also have been in ,christ before me4 ,salute ,ampliatus my beloved in the ,lord4--,rom4 #af3a-h4 ,this series of personal commendations is only the beginning of the last chapter of ,paul's letter to the ,romans4 ,all the way through one hears the individual names of ,paul's friends and fellow-laborers1 with his discriminating and hearty praise of each4 ,it is clear that he has faith in these men and women2 he believes in them and relies on them4 ,consider the effect on them that ,paul's confidence in their ,christian fidelity would naturally have4 ,there is no motive much more stirring than the consciousness that somebody believes in us1 is trusting and counting on us4 ,whatever is fine and noble in human life responds to that appeal4 ,soldiers who feel that their country is relying upon their fidelity1 children who are conscious that their parents believe in them1 friends who are heartened by the assurance that some folk completely trust them--how much of the best in all of us has come because we have been the objects of somebody's faith6 ,a ,connecticut volunteer in the ,american ,revolution has written that ,george ,washington once paused for a moment in front of his company and said simply1 ,i am counting on you men from ,connecticut4 ,and the recruit clasped his musket in his arms and wept with the devotion which ,washington's confidence evoked4 ,would not the sixteenth chapter of ,romans have a similar effect on those who read it8 ,o ,thou loving and tender ,father in heaven1 we confess before ,thee1 in sorrow1 how hard and unsympathetic are our hearts2 how often we have sinned against our neighbors by want of compassion and tenderness2 how often we have felt no true pity for their trials and sorrows1 and have neglected to comfort1 help1 and visit them4 ,o ,father1 forgive this our sin1 and lay it not to our charge4 ,give us grace ever to alleviate the crosses and difficulties of those around us1 and never to add to them2 teach us to be consolers in sorrow1 to take thought for the stranger1 the widow1 and the orphan2 let our charity show itself not in words only1 but in deed and truth4 ,teach us to judge as ,thou dost1 with forbearance1 with much pity and indulgence2 and help us to avoid all unloving judgment of others2 for the sake of ,jesus ,christ ,thy ,son1 who loved us and gave ,himself for us4 ,amen4--,johann ,arndt1 #aeee4 ,ninth ,week1 ,second ,day ,and it came to pass in these days1 that he went out into the mountain to pray2 and he continued all night in prayer to ,god4 ,and when it was day1 he called his disciples2 and he chose from them twelve1 whom also he named apostles3 ,simon1 whom he also named ,peter1 and ,andrew his brother1 and ,james and ,john1 and ,philip and ,bartholomew1 and ,matthew and ,thomas1 and ,james the son of ,alphus1 and ,simon who was called the ,zealot1 and ,judas the son of ,james1 and ,judas ,iscariot1 who became a traitor4--,luke #f3ab-af4 ,the power that comes to men when someone believes in them must have come to these disciples whom ,jesus trusted with his work4 ,we often note the power that was theirs through their faith in ,christ2 consider today the inspiration that came from ,christ's faith in them4 ,he picked them out1 commissioned them1 relied on them1 and believed in their ability with ,god's help to carry his work to a successful issue4 ,all that is most distinctive and memorable in their character came from their response to that divine trust4 ,how they must have encouraged themselves in times of failure and disheartenment by saying3 ,he believes in us2 even though we are ignorant and sinful1 he believes in us2 he has trusted his work to us1 and for all our inability he has faith that we can carry it to triumph6 ,their faith in themselves and what they could do with ,god's help must have been almost altogether a reflex of his faith in them4 ,our contention1 therefore1 that faith is the dynamic of life has now a new confirmation3 the faith that lifts and motives life is not simply our faith in the ,divine1 but the faith of the ,divine in us4 ,one of the most glorious results of believing in ,god is that a man can press on to the further confidence that ,god believes in us4 ,if he did not1 he would never have made us4 ,the very fact that we are here means that he does believe in us1 in our possibilities of growth1 in our capacities of service1 in what he can do in and for and through us before he is done4 ,man's faith in ,god and ,god's faith in man together make an unequalled motive for great living4 ,yet there is always a sad appendix to every list of trusted men1 with somebody's blighted name3 ,judas ,iscariot1 who became a traitor4 ,loving ,father1 our hearts are moved to gratitude and trust when we look up to ,thee4 ,we rejoice that through our fleeting days there runs ,thy gracious purpose4 ,we praise ,thee that we are not the creatures of chance1 nor the victims of iron fate1 but that out from ,thee we have come and into ,thy bosom we shall return4 ,we would not1 even if we could1 escape ,thee4 ,thou alone art good1 and to escape from ,thee is to fall into infinite evil4 ,thy hand is upon us moving us on to some far-off spiritual event1 where the meaning and the mystery of life shall be made plain and ,thy glory shall be revealed4 ,look in pity upon our ignorance and childishness4 ,forgive us our small understanding of ,thy purpose of good concerning us4 ,be not angry with us1 but draw us from the things of this world which cannot satisfy our foolish hearts4 ,fill us with ,thyself1 that we may no longer be a burden to ourselves4 ,so glorify the face of goodness that evil shall have no more dominion over us4 ,amen4--,samuel ,mc,comb4 ,ninth ,week1 ,third ,day ,the fact that ,god has faith in us is not alone a source of comfort2 it presents a stirring challenge4 ,it means that he is in earnest about achieving his great purposes in human life and that he is counting upon us to help4 ,he has set his heart on aims1 about which he cares1 and to whose achievement he is calling us2 he is confident that with him we can work out1 if we will1 loftier character and a better world4 ,let us consider some of the purposes which ,god is counting on us1 in fellowship with him1 to achieve4 ,the prophet ,micah1 in a brief but perfect drama1 gives one clue4 ,first the ,lord summons his people to a trial1 with the eternal mountains for judges3 ,hear ye now what ,jehovah saith3 ,arise1 contend thou before the mountains1 and let the hills hear thy voice4 ,hear1 ,o ye mountains1 ,jehovah's controversy1 and ye enduring foundations of the earth2 for ,jehovah hath a controversy with his people1 and he will contend with ,israel4--,micah #f3a1 #b4 ,then1 the ,lord presents his case3 ,o my people1 what have ,i done unto thee8 and wherein have ,i wearied thee8 testify against me4 ,for ,i brought thee up out of the land of ,egypt1 and redeemed thee out of the house of bondage2 and ,i sent before thee ,moses1 ,aaron1 and ,miriam4 ,o my people1 remember now what ,balak king of ,moab devised1 and what ,balaam the son of ,beor answered him2 remember from ,shittim unto ,gilgal1 that ye may know the righteous acts of ,jehovah4--,micah #f3c-e4 ,then the people put in their hesitant1 questioning plea4 ,wherewith shall ,i come before ,jehovah1 and bow myself before the high ,god8 shall ,i come before him with burnt-offerings1 with calves a year old8 will ,jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams1 or with ten thousands of rivers of oil8 shall ,i give my first-born for my transgression1 the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul8--,micah #f3f1 #g4 ,then the mountains pronounce judgment3 ,he hath showed thee1 ,o man1 what is good2 and what doth ,jehovah require of thee1 but to do justly1 and to love kindness1 and to walk humbly with thy ,god8--,micah #f3h4 ,god1 then1 is in earnest about just1 kind1 and humble character4 ,he believes in it as a possibility2 he sees the making of it now in human hearts2 he is pledged to further and establish it with all his power2 and he is counting on us for loyal cooperation with all our powers of choice4 ,vital faith means a transforming partnership with a ,god who is in earnest about character4 ,o ,thou who art the ,father of that ,son which hast awakened us and yet urgeth us out of the sleep of our sins1 and exhorteth us that we become ,thine1 to ,thee1 ,lord1 we pray1 who art the supreme ,truth1 for all truth that is1 is from ,thee4 ,thee we implore1 ,o ,lord1 who art the highest ,wisdom1 through ,thee are wise1 all those that are so4 ,thou art the supreme ,joy1 and from ,thee all have become happy that are so4 ,thou art the highest ,good and from ,thee all beauty springs4 ,thou art the intellectual ,light1 and from ,thee man derives his understanding4 ,to ,thee1 ,o ,god1 we call and speak4 ,hear us1 ,o ,lord1 for ,thou art our ,god and our ,lord1 our ,father and our ,creator1 our ,ruler and our ,hope1 our ,wealth and our ,honor1 our ,home1 our ,country1 our ,salvation1 and our ,life2 hear1 hear us1 ,o ,lord4 ,few of ,thy servants comprehend ,thee1 but at least we love ,thee--yea1 love ,thee above all other things4 ,we seek ,thee1 we follow ,thee1 we are ready to serve ,thee2 under ,thy power we desire to abide1 for ,thou art the ,sovereign of all4 ,we pray ,thee to command us as ,thou wilt2 through ,jesus ,christ ,thy ,son our ,lord4 ,amen4--,king ,alfred1 #hdi4 ,ninth ,week1 ,fourth ,day ,god also is in earnest about social righteousness4 ,i hate1 ,i despise your feasts1 and ,i will take no delight in your solemn assemblies4 ,yea1 though ye offer me your burnt-offerings and meal-offerings1 ,i will not accept them2 neither will ,i regard the peace-offerings of your fat beasts4 ,take thou away from me the noise of thy songs2 for ,i will not hear the melody of thy viols4 ,but let justice roll down as waters1 and righteousness as a mighty stream4--,amos #e3ba-bd4 ,anyone who cares about character must care about social conditions1 for every unfair economic situation1 every social evil left to run its course means ruin to character4 ,and the ,god of the ,bible1 because he cares supremely for personal life at its best1 is zealously in earnest about social justice2 his prophets blazed with indignation at all inequity1 and his ,son made the coming ,kingdom1 when ,god's will would be done on earth1 the center of his message4 ,to fellowship with this earnest purpose of ,god we all are summoned2 ,god believes in the glorious possibilities of life on earth2 he is counting on us to put away the sins that hold the ,kingdom back and to fight the abuses that crush character in men4 ,to believe in ,god1 therefore--the ,god who is fighting his way with his children up through ignorance1 brutality1 and selfishness to new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness--is no weakly comfortable blessing4 ,it means joining a moral war2 it means devotion1 sacrifice2 its spirit is the ,cross and its motive an undiscourageable faith4 ,and our underlying assurance that this war for a better world can be won is not simply our belief that it can be done1 but our faith that ,god is1 and that he believes that it can be done4 ,when we pray we say1 ,thy ,kingdom come1 and we are full of hope about the long1 sacrificial struggle1 for the purpose behind and through it all is first of all ,god's4 ,our earnestness is but an echo of his4 ,o ,thou ,eternal ,one1 we adore ,thee who in all ages hast been the great companion and teacher of mankind2 for ,thou hast lifted our race from the depths1 and hast made us to share in ,thy conscious intelligence and ,thy will that makes for righteousness and love4 ,thou alone art our ,redeemer1 for ,thy lifting arms were about us and ,thy persistent voice was in our hearts as we slowly climbed up from savage darkness and cruelty4 ,thou knowest how often we have resisted ,thee and loved the easy ways of sin rather than the toilsome gain of self-control and the divine irritation of ,thy truth4444 ,we pray ,thee for those who amid all the knowledge of our day are still without knowledge2 for those who hear not the sighs of the children that toil1 nor the sobs of such as are wounded because others have made haste to be rich2 for those who have never felt the hot tears of the mothers of the poor that struggle vainly against poverty and vice4 ,arouse them1 we beseech ,thee1 from their selfish comfort and grant them the grace of social repentance4 ,smite us all with the conviction that for us ignorance is sin1 and that we are indeed our brother's keeper if our own hand has helped to lay him low4 ,though increase of knowledge bring increase of sorrow1 may we turn without flinching to the light and offer ourselves as instruments of ,thy spirit in bringing order and beauty out of disorder and darkness4 ,amen4--,walter ,rauschenbusch4 ,ninth ,week1 ,fifth ,day ,the thought which we have been pursuing leads us to a truth of major importance3 if ,god is thus in earnest1 believing in man's possibilities and laboring for them1 then he cannot be known by anyone who does not share his purpose and his labor4 ,action is a road to knowledge and some things never can be known without it4 ,if one would know the business world1 he must be an active business man2 no amount of abstract study and speculation can take the place of vital participation in business struggle4 ,the way to understand any movement or enterprise is to go into it1 share its enthusiasms and hopes1 labor sacrificially for its success1 bear its defeats as though they were our own1 and rejoice in its achievements as though nothing so much mattered to our happiness4 ,such knowledge is thorough and vital2 when one who so has learned what war is1 or the missionary enterprise1 or the fight against the liquor traffic1 stands up to speak1 a merely theoretical student of these movements sounds unreal and tame4 ,if therefore ,god is earnest ,purpose1 with aims in which he calls us to share1 no one can thoroughly know him merely by thinking2 he must know him by acting4 ,but he that doeth the truth cometh to the light1 that his works may be made manifest1 that they have been wrought in ,god4--,john #c3ba4 ,jesus therefore answered them1 and said1 ,my teaching is not mine1 but his that sent me4 ,if any man willeth to do his will1 he shall know of the teaching1 whether it is of ,god1 or whether ,i speak from myself4--,john #g3af1 #ag4 ,many people endeavor to reach a satisfactory knowledge of ,god by clarifying their thought and working out a rational philosophy4 ,but1 by such intellectual means alone1 they could not gain satisfactory knowledge of so familiar a thing as home life4 ,to know home life one elemental act is essential3 get into a home and share its problems1 its satisfactions1 and its hopes4 ,so the most adequate philosophy by itself can bring no satisfactory knowledge of ,god2 only by working with ,god1 sharing his purposes for the world1 sacrificially laboring for the aims he has at heart can men know him4 ,eternal ,god1 who hast formed us1 and designed us for companionship with ,thee2 who hast called us to walk with ,thee and be not afraid2 forgive us1 we pray ,thee1 if craven fear1 unworthy thought1 or hidden sin has prompted us to hide from ,thee4 ,remove the suspicion which regards ,thy service as an intrusion on our time and an interference with our daily task4 ,shew to us the life that serves ,thee in the quiet discharge of each day's duty1 that ennobles all our toil by doing it as unto ,thee4 ,we ask for no far-off vision which shall set us dreaming while opportunities around slip by2 for no enchantment which shall make our hands to slack and our spirits to sleep1 but for the vision of ,thyself in common things for every day2 that we may find a ,divine calling in the claims of life1 and see a heavenly reward in work well done4 ,we ask ,thee not to lift us out of life1 but to prove ,thy power within it2 not for tasks more suited to our strength1 but for strength more suited to our tasks4 ,give to us the vision that moves1 the strength that endures1 the grace of ,jesus ,christ1 who wore our flesh like a monarch's robe and walked our earthly life like a conqueror in triumph4 ,amen4--,w4 ,e4 ,orchard4 ,ninth ,week1 ,sixth ,day ,because action with ,god is essential to any satisfying knowledge of him1 action is one of the great resolvers of doubt4 ,many minds1 endeavoring to think through the mystifying problems of ,god's providence1 find themselves in a clueless labyrinth4 ,the more they think the more entangled and confused their minds become4 ,their thoughts strike a fatal circle1 like wanderers lost in the woods1 and return upon their course1 baffled and disheartened4 ,to such perplexed minds the best advice often is3 ,cease your futile thinking and go to work4 ,let action take the place of speculation4 ,break the fatal round of circular thought that never will arrive1 and go out to act on the basis of what little you do believe4 ,your mind like a dammed stream is growing stagnant2 set it running to some useful purpose1 if only to turn mill-wheels1 and trust that activity will bring it cleansing in due time4 ,horace ,bushnell1 the great preacher1 while a skeptical tutor at ,yale1 was disturbed because so many students were unsettled by his disbelief4 ,in the midst of a revival he said that like a great snag he caught and stopped the newly launched boats as fast as they came down4 ,unable to think his way out of his intellectual perplexity1 he faced one night this arresting question3 ,what is the use of my trying to get further knowledge1 so long as ,i do not cheerfully yield to what ,i already know8 ,and kneeling he prayed after this fashion3 ,o ,god1 ,i believe there is an eternal difference between right and wrong1 and ,i hereby give myself up to do the right and to refrain from the wrong4 ,i believe that ,thou dost exist1 and if ,thou canst hear my cry and wilt reveal ,thyself to me1 ,i pledge myself to do ,thy will1 and ,i make this pledge fully1 freely1 and forever4 ,what wonder that in time the light broke and that ,bushnell became a great prophet of the faith6 ,even ,paul1 finishing his laborious discussion of ,god's providence toward ,israel1 acknowledges his baffled thought3 ,o the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of ,god6 how unsearchable are his judgments1 and his ways past tracing out6 ,for who hath known the mind of the ,lord8 or who hath been his counsellor8 or who hath first given to him1 and it shall be recompensed unto him again8 ,for of him1 and through him1 and unto him1 are all things4 ,to him be the glory for ever4 ,amen4--,rom4 #aa3cc-cf4 ,and then1 as if he turned from philosophy to action with gratitude1 he begins the twelfth chapter3 ,i beseech you therefore1 brethren1 by the mercies of ,god1 to present your bodies a living sacrifice1 holy1 acceptable to ,god1 which is your spiritual service4 ,and be not fashioned according to this world3 but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind1 that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of ,god4--,rom4 #ab3a1 #b4 ,o ,god1 we thank ,thee for the sweet refreshment of sleep and for the glory and vigor of the new day4 ,as we set our faces once more toward our daily work1 we pray ,thee for the strength sufficient for our tasks4 ,may ,christ's spirit of duty and service ennoble all we do4 ,uphold us by the consciousness that our work is useful work and a blessing to all4 ,if there has been anything in our work harmful to others and dishonorable to ourselves1 reveal it to our inner eye with such clearness that we shall hate it and put it away1 though it be at a loss to ourselves4 ,when we work with others1 help us to regard them1 not as servants to our will1 but as brothers equal to us in human dignity1 and equally worthy of their full reward4 ,may there be nothing in this day's work of which we shall be ashamed when the sun has set1 nor in the eventide of our life when our task is done and we go to our long home to meet ,thy face4 ,amen4--,walter ,rauschenbusch4 ,ninth ,week1 ,seventh ,day ,then shall the ,king say unto them on his right hand1 ,come1 ye blessed of my ,father1 inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world3 for ,i was hungry1 and ye gave me to eat2 ,i was thirsty1 and ye gave me drink2 ,i was a stranger1 and ye took me in2 naked1 and ye clothed me2 ,i was sick1 and ye visited me2 ,i was in prison1 and ye came unto me4 ,then shall the righteous answer him1 saying1 ,lord1 when saw we thee hungry1 and fed thee8 or athirst1 and gave thee drink8 ,and when saw we thee a stranger1 and took thee in8 or naked1 and clothed thee8 ,and when saw we thee sick1 or in prison1 and came unto thee8 ,and the ,king shall answer and say unto them1 ,verily ,i say unto you1 ,inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren1 even these least1 ye did it unto me4--,matt4 #be3cd-dj4 ,the earnestness of ,god is not about any diffuse generality2 it is about persons4 ,his purposes concern them1 and he believes in them and in their capacities for fellowship with him1 for growing character and for glorious destiny4 ,if1 therefore1 one wishes the sense of ,god's reality which comes from active co-partnership1 let him serve persons1 believe in them1 and be in earnest about them4 ,a woman1 troubled by invincible doubts1 was given by a wise minister the ,gospel of ,john and a calling-list of needy families1 and was told to use them both4 ,she came through into a luminous faith1 and which helped her more1 her reading or her service1 she could never tell4 ,when the ,master said that the good we did to the least of his brethren1 we did to him1 he indicated a road to vital knowledge of him2 he said in effect that we can always find him in the lives of people to whom we give love and help4 ,many will never find him at all unless they find him there4 ,the great believers have been the great servants2 and the reason for this is not simply that faith produced service1 but also that service produced faith4 ,the life of ,sir ,wilfred ,grenfell1 for example1 makes convincingly plain that his faith sent him to ,labrador for service1 and that then he drew out of service a compound interest on his original investment of faith4 ,o ,god1 the ,father of the forsaken1 the ,help of the weak1 the ,supplier of the needy1 who hast diffused and proportioned ,thy gifts to body and soul1 in such sort that all may acknowledge and perform the joyous duty of mutual service2 ,who teachest us that love towards the race of men is the bond of perfectness1 and the imitation of ,thy blessed ,self2 open our eyes and touch our hearts1 that we may see and do1 both for this world and for that which is to come1 the things which belong to our peace4 ,strengthen us in the work we have undertaken2 give us counsel and wisdom1 perseverance1 faith1 and zeal1 and in ,thine own good time1 and according to ,thy pleasure1 prosper the issue4 ,pour into us a spirit of humility2 let nothing be done but in devout obedience to ,thy will1 thankfulness for ,thine unspeakable mercies1 and love to ,thine adorable ,son ,christ ,jesus4444 ,amen4--,earl of ,shaftesbury1 #ahja4 ,,comment ,,for ,,the ,,week ,i ,throughout our studies we have been asserting that faith in ,god involves confidence that creation has a purpose4 ,but we shall not see the breadth and depth of the affirmation1 or its significant meaning for our lives1 unless more carefully we face a question1 which1 as keenly as any other1 pierces to the marrow of religion3 ,is ,god in earnest8 ,that the ,god of the ,bible is in earnest is plain4 ,if we open the ,book at the ,exodus1 we hear him saying1 ,i have surely seen the affliction of my people1 444 and have heard their cry1 444 and ,i am come down to deliver them 7,exodus #c3g1 #h74 ,if we turn to the prophets1 we find ,hosea1 interpreting the beating of ,god's heart3 ,how am ,i to give thee up1 ,o ,ephraim8 ,how am ,i to let thee go1 ,o ,israel8 ,how am ,i to give thee up8 ,my heart is turned upon me1 my compassions begin to boil#e 7,hos4 #aa3h74 ,everywhere in the ,old ,testament1 ,god is in earnest3 about personal character--,what doth ,jehovah require of thee1 but to do justly1 and to love kindness1 and to walk humbly with thy ,god8 7,micah #f3h72 about social righteousness--,let justice roll down as waters1 and righteousness as a mighty stream 7,amos #e3bd72 about the salvation of the world--,it is too light a thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of ,jacob and to restore the preserved of ,israel3 ,i will also give thee for a light to the ,gentiles1 that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth 7,isa4 #di3f74 ,when from the ,old ,testament one turns to the ,new1 he faces an assertion of ,god's earnestness that cannot be surpassed3 ,god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten ,son4 ,god in the ,new ,testament is as much in earnest as that1 and all the major affirmations of the ,book cluster about the magnetism of this central faith4 ,god is even like a shepherd with a hundred sheep1 who having lost one1 leaves the ninety and nine and goes after that which is lost1 until he finds it 7,luke #ae3d74 ,from the earliest ,hebrew seer dimly perceiving him1 to the last apostle of the ,new ,covenant1 the ,god of the ,bible is tremendously in earnest4 ,how profoundly the acceptance of this faith deepens the meaning and value of life is evident4 ,for a moment some might think that the major question is not whether ,god is in earnest but whether we are2 but when a man considers the hidden fountains from which the streams of his human earnestness must flow1 he sees how necessary is at least the hope that at the heart of it creation is in earnest too4 ,von ,hartmann1 the pessimist1 makes one of his characters say1 ,the activities of the busy world are only the shudderings of a fever4 ,how shall a man be seriously in earnest about great causes in a world like that8 ,the men whose devoted lives have made history great have seen in creation's busyness more than aimless shuddering4 ,moses was in earnest1 but behind his consecration was his vision of the ,eternal1 saying to ,pharaoh1 ,let my people go6 ,the ,master was in earnest1 but with a motive that took into its account the purposefulness of ,god1 ,my ,father worketh hitherto1 and ,i work 7,john #e3ag74 ,indeed1 no satisfying meaning1 no real unity are conceivable in a purposeless universe4 ,the plain fact is that within the universe nobody explains anything without the statement of its purpose4 ,a chair is something to sit down on2 a watch is something to tell time by2 a lamp is something to give illumination in the dark--and lacking this purposive description1 the story of the precedent history of none of these things1 from their original materials to their present shape1 would in the least tell what they really are4 ,one who knows all else about a telephone1 practically knows nothing1 unless he is aware of what it is for4 ,nor is the necessity of such explanation lessened when scientists endeavor descriptions in their special realms4 ,huxley1 narrating the growth of a salamander's egg1 writes1 ,let a moderate supply of warmth reach its watery cradle1 and the plastic matter undergoes changes so rapid1 and yet so steady and so purposelike in their succession1 that one can only compare them to those operated by a skilled modeler upon a formless lump of clay4 ,as with an invisible trowel1 the mass is divided and subdivided into smaller and smaller portions1 until it is reduced to an aggregation of granules not too large to build withal the finest fabrics of the nascent organism4 ,and1 then1 it is as if a delicate finger traced out the line to be occupied by the spinal column and moulded the contour of the body2 pinching up the head at one end1 the tail at the other1 and fashioning flank and limb into the due salamandrine proportions1 in so artistic a way1 that1 after watching the process hour by hour1 one is almost involuntarily possessed by the notion that some more subtle aid to vision than an achromatic1 would show the hidden artist1 with his plan before him1 striving with skilful manipulation to perfect his work4 ,the obvious fact is that salamanders' eggs act as though they were seriously intent on making salamanders2 and lion's cells as though they were tremendously in earnest about making lions4 ,as ,herbert ,spencer said of a begonia leaf1 ,we have therefore no alternative but to say1 that the living particles composing one of these fragments1 have an innate tendency to arrange themselves into the shape of the organism to which they belong4 ,but if this is so1 purpose is essential in the description of every living thing4 ,all about us is a world of life with something strikingly like purposeful action rampant everywhere1 so that in describing an elm tree it will not do to say only that forces from behind pushed it into being2 one must say1 too1 that from our first observation of its cells they acted as though they were intent on making nothing else but elm4 ,they went about their business as though they had a purpose4 ,the tree's cause is not alone the forces from behind2 it is as well the aim that in the cells' action lay ahead4 ,men can describe nothing in heaven above or on the earth beneath without the use of purposive terminology4 ,how shall they try otherwise to describe the universe8 ,a world in which the minutest particles and cells all act as though they were eagerly intent on achieving aims1 can only with difficulty be thought of as an aimless whole4 ,man's conviction is insistent and imperious that creation1 so surcharged with purposes1 must have ,purpose4 ,the greatest scientists themselves are often our best witnesses here4 ,charles ,darwin and ,alfred ,russel ,wallace are the twin discoverers of evolution4 ,said the former3 ,if we consider the whole universe the mind refuses to look at it as the outcome of chance4 ,said the latter3 the world is a manifestation of creative power1 directive mind1 and ultimate purpose4 ,what such men have coldly said1 the men of devout religion have set on fire with passionate faith4 ,they have been sure that this world is not ,a tale ,told by an idiot1 full of sound and fury1 ,signifying nothing4 ,in every cause that makes for man's salvation they have seen the manifest unveiling of divine intent4 ,god is in earnest--this conviction has possessed them utterly1 and to live and die for those things on behalf of which the ,eternal is tremendously concerned has been the aim1 the motive1 and the glory of their lives4 ,,ii ,one need only watch with casual observance the multitudes who say that they believe in ,god1 to see how few of them believe in this ,god who is in earnest4 ,when they confess their faith in deity they have something else in mind beside the ,god of the ,bible1 compassionately purposeful about his world and calling men to be his fellow-workers4 ,let us therefore consider some of the fallacies that enable men to believe in a ,god who is not in earnest4 ,for one thing1 some put ,god far away4 ,missionaries in ,africa's interior find tribes worshiping stocks1 stones1 demons1 ghosts1 but this does not mean that no idea of a great original god is theirs4 ,often they are not strangers to that thought1 but1 as an old ,africander woman said1 ,he never concerned himself with me2 why should ,i concern myself with him8 ,to such folk a great god exists1 but he does not care2 he dwells apart1 an indifferent deity1 who has left this world in the hands of lesser gods that really count4 ,the task of the missionary1 therefore1 is not to prove the existence of a creator--,no rain1 no mushrooms1 said an ,african chief2 no ,god1 no world--but it is to persuade men that the ,god who seems so far away is near at hand1 that he really cares1 and over each soul and all his world is sacrificially in earnest4 ,such missionary work is not yet needless among ,christian people4 ,said a ,copenhagen preacher in a funeral discourse1 ,god cannot help us in our great sorrow1 because he is so infinitely far away2 we must therefore look to ,jesus4 ,one feels this ,siberian exile of ,god from all vital meaning for our humanity1 when he is called the ,absolute1 the ,great ,first ,cause1 the ,energy from which all things proceed4 ,like the man1 examined by the ,civil ,service1 who1 asked the distance from sun to earth1 answered1 ,i do not know how far the sun is from the earth2 but it is far enough so that it will not interfere with the proper performance of my duties at the ,customs ,office1 so men with phrases like the ,great ,first ,cause put ,god an immeasurable distance off4 ,no man has dealings with a ,great ,first ,cause1 no ,great ,first ,cause ever had vital1 personal1 constraining meanings for a man4 ,rather across infinite distance and time unthinkable1 we vaguely picture a dim ,figure1 who gave this toboggan of a universe its primal shove and has not thought seriously of it since4 ,so a wanderer down the street might put a child upon her sled and giving her a start down-hill1 go on his way4 ,she may have a pleasant slide1 but he will not know2 she may fall off1 but he will not care2 there may be a tragic accident1 but that will not be his concern--he has gone away off down the street4 ,multitudes of nominal believers have a god like that4 ,in comparison with such1 one thinks of men like ,livingstone4 ,his ,god was compassionately concerned for ,africa1 spoke about black folk as ,hosea heard him speak concerning ,israel1 ,how can ,i give thee up8 ,how can ,i let thee go8 until the fire of the divine earnestness lit a corresponding ardor in ,livingstone's heart and he went out to be ,god's man in the dark continent4 ,such men have smitten the listless world as winds fill flapping sails1 crying ,move6 ,and the ,god of such has been tremendously in earnest4 ,,iii ,some gain a ,god lacking serious purpose1 not by putting him afar off1 but by endeavoring to bring him so near that they diffuse him everywhere4 ,writers tell us that ,god is in every rustling leaf and in every wave that breaks upon the beach2 we are assured that ,god is in every gorgeous flower and in every flaming sunset4 ,and the poetry of this is so alluring that we cannot bear to have ,god specially anywhere1 because we are so anxious to keep him everywhere4 ,preachers delight to illustrate their thought of ,god with figures drawn from nature's invisible energies-- ,who has seen the wind8 ,neither ,i nor you3 ,but when the leaves hang trembling ,the wind is passing through4 ,who has seen the wind8 ,neither you nor ,i3 ,but when the trees bow down their heads ,the wind is passing by4 ,by such comparisons are we taught to see that ,god invisibly is everywhere4 ,for all the valuable truth that such speech contains1 its practical issue1 in many minds today1 is to strip ,god of the last shred of personality1 and with that loss to end the possibility of his being in earnest about anything4 ,he has become refined ,vapor thinly diffused through space4 ,folk say they love to meditate on him1 and well they may6 ,for such a god asks nothing of anybody except meditation2 he has no purposes that call for earnestness in them4 ,when little children are ruined in a city's tenements1 when the liquor traffic brutalizes men1 when economic inequity makes many poor that a few may be made rich1 when war clothes the world with unutterable sorrow1 such a god does not care4 ,he is not in earnest about anything4 ,for the only thing in the universe that can be consciously in earnest is personality1 and when one depersonalizes ,god1 the remainder is a deity who has no love1 no care1 no purpose4 ,thousands do obeisance to such a gaseous idol4 ,from this fallacy spring such familiar confessions of faith as this1 ,god is not a person2 he is spirit4 ,if by this negation one intends to say that ,god is not a limited individual1 that is obviously true2 but the contrast between personality and spirit is impossible4 ,one may as well speak of dry water as of impersonal spirit4 ,rays of radium are unimaginably minute and swift1 but they are not spirit4 ,nothing in the impersonal realm can be conceived so subtle and refined that it is spirit4 ,spirit begins only where love and intelligence and purpose are1 and these all are activities of personality4 ,no one can really believe what ,jesus said1 ,god is a ,spirit1 without being ready to pray as ,jesus prayed1 ,our ,father4 ,between an impersonal1 diffused1 and gaseous god1 and the ,god of the ,bible1 how great the difference6 ,god's pervading omnipresence is indeed affirmed in ,scripture4 ,there1 as much as in any modern thought1 the heavens declare his glory1 the flowers of the field are illustrations of his care1 and the influences of his spirit are like the breeze across the hills4 ,to the ancient ,hebrew1 heaven and sheol were the highest and the lowest1 but of each the ,psalmist says to ,god1 ,thou art there1 and as for the uttermost parts of the sea1 even there shall thy hand lead me 7,psalm #aci3g-aj74 ,cries ,jeremiah from the ,old ,testament1 ,am ,i a ,god at hand1 saith ,jehovah1 and not a ,god afar off8 ,can any hide himself in secret places so that ,i shall not see him8 saith ,jehovah4 ,do not ,i fill heaven and earth8 7,jer4 #bc3bc1 #bd74 ,and ,paul answers from the ,new ,testament1 ,not far from every one of us3 for in him we live1 and move1 and have our being 7,acts #ag3bg1 #bh74 ,but the ,god of the ,bible who so pervades and sustains all existence never degenerates into a ,vapor4 ,when ,egyptian taskmasters crack their whips over ,hebrew slaves1 he cares4 ,when exiles try in vain to sing the songs of ,zion in a strange land1 he cares4 ,when evil men build ,jerusalem with blood1 and rapacious men pant after the dust on the head of the poor1 he cares4 ,he is prodigiously in earnest1 and those who best represent him1 from the great prophets to the sacrificial ,son1 are like him in this1 that they are mastered by consuming purpose4 ,the ,god of the ,bible is sadly needed by his people4 ,for lack of him religion grows often listless and churches become social clubs4 ,,iv ,by another road men travel to believe in a ,god who is not in earnest3 they think of him as an historic being4 ,it was said of ,carlyle1 shrewdly if unjustly1 that his ,god lived until the death of ,oliver ,cromwell4 ,whatever may be the truth about ,carlyle1 it is easy to find folk whose ,god to all intents and purposes is dead4 ,long since he closed his work1 spoke his last word1 and settled down to inactivity and silence4 ,he made the world1 created man1 thundered from ,sinai1 established ,david's kingdom1 brought back the exiles1 inspired the prophets and sent his ,son4 ,he once was earnest2 the record of his ancient acts is long and glorious1 and men find comfort in reading what he used to do4 ,they would not explicitly confess it1 but in fact they habitually think of ,god in the past tense4 ,they cannot conceive the universe as happening by chance1 and they posit ,god as making it2 they cannot believe that the transcendent characters of olden times were uninspired1 so ,god becomes the explanation of their power4 ,when such believers wish to assure themselves of ,god they go to the stern of humanity's ship and watch the wake far to the rear2 but they never stand on the ship's bridge1 and feel it sway and turn at the touch of a present ,captain in control4 ,they have not risen to the meaning of the ,bible's reiterated phrase1 the living ,god4 ,hffding tells us that in a ,danish ,protestant church1 well on into the nineteenth century1 worshipers maintained the custom of bowing1 when they passed a certain spot upon the wall4 ,the reason1 which no one knew1 was discovered when removal of the whitewash revealed a ,roman ,catholic ,madonna4 ,folk had bowed for three centuries before the place where the ,madonna used to be4 ,so some folk worship deity2 he is not a present reality but a tradition2 their faith is directed not toward the living ,god himself1 but toward what some one else has written about a ,god who used to be alive4 ,they do not feel now ,god's plans afoot1 his purposes as certainly in progress now as ever in man's history4 ,they stand rather like unconverted ,gideon1 facing backwards and lamenting1 ,where are all his wondrous works which our fathers told us of8 7,judges #f3ac74 ,not by what we say1 but by our practical attitudes we most reveal how little we believe in an earnest1 living ,god whose voice calls us1 whose plans need us1 as much as ever ,moses or ,david or ,paul was summoned and required4 ,if we say that we do believe in this living ,god we are belied by our discouragements1 deserving as we often do the rebuke which ,luther's wife administered to the ,reformer4 ,from what you have said1 she remarked1 standing before him clothed in deep1 mourning black1 and from the way you feel and act ,i supposed that ,god was dead4 ,if we say that we believe in a living1 earnest ,god1 we are belied by our reluctance to expect and welcome new revelations of ,god's truth and enlarging visions of his plan4 ,willing to believe what the astronomers say1 that light from a new star reaches the earth each year1 we act as though ,god's spiritual universe were smaller than his physical1 and do not eagerly await the new light perpetually breaking from his heavens4 ,but most of all the little influence which our faith in ,god has upon our practical service is a scathing indictment of its vitality and power4 ,no one who really believes in an earnest1 living ,god can have an undedicated life4 ,he may not think of the ,divine in the past tense chiefly2 the present and the future even more belong to ,god2 and through each generation runs the earnest purpose of the ,eternal1 who has never said his last word on any subject1 nor put the final hammer blow on any task4 ,a faith like this1 deeply received and apprehended1 is a masterful experience4 ,it changes the inner quality of life2 it makes the place whereon we stand holy ground2 it urgently impresses us into the service of those causes that we plainly see have in them the purpose of ,god4 ,no outlook upon life compares with this in grandeur2 no motive for life is at once so weighty and so fine4 ,v ,one of the subtlest fallacies by which we miss believing in an earnest ,god is not describable as an opinion4 ,men fall into it1 who neither reduce ,god to a ,great ,first ,cause1 nor diffuse him into a vapor1 nor regard him as an historic being4 ,they rather allow their superstitious sentiments to take the place of worthy faith4 ,plenty of people who warmly would insist on their religion1 reveal in their practical attitudes how utterly bereft of serious moral purpose their ,god is4 ,they think their fortune will be better if they do not sit thirteen at a table or occupy room thirteen at a hotel2 on occasion they throw salt or look at the moon over their right shoulders and rap on wood to assure their safety or their luck2 and to be quite certain of divine favor they hang fetishes1 like rabbits' feet1 about their necks4 ,their attitude toward such surviving pagan superstitions is like ,fontenelli's toward ghosts4 ,i do not believe in them1 he said1 but ,i am afraid of them4 ,that this is a law-abiding universe with moral purpose in it1 such folk obviously do not believe4 ,their ,god is not in earnest4 ,he spends his time watching for dinner parties of thirteen or listening for folk who forget to rap on wood when they boast that they have not been ill all winter4 ,the utter poverty to which great words may be reduced by meager minds is evident when such folk say that they believe in ,god4 ,even when these grosser forms of superstition are not present1 others hardly more respectable may take their place4 ,god is pictured as a ,king1 surrounded with court ritual1 in the complete and proper observance of which he takes delight1 and any rupture in whose regularity awakes his anger4 ,to go to church1 to say our prayers1 to read our ,bibles1 to be circumspect on ,sunday1 to help pay the preacher's salary and to contribute to the missionary cause--such things as these comprise the court ritual of ,god4 ,these ,christian acts are not presented as gracious privileges1 opportunities1 like fresh air and sunshine and friendship1 to make life rich and serviceable2 they are presented as works of merit1 by which we gain standing in ,god's favor and assure ourselves of his benignity4 ,for with those who so conform to his ordinances and respect his taboos1 he is represented as well-pleased1 and he blesses them with special favors4 ,but any infraction of these rituals is sure to bring terrific punishment4 ,god watches those who do not sing his praises or who fail in praying1 and he marks them for his vengeance6 ,dr4 ,jowett tells us that in the ,sunday school room of the ,english chapel where as a child he worshiped1 a picture hung that to his fascinated and frightened imagination represented the character of ,god3 a huge eye filled the center of the heavens1 and from it rays of vision fell on every sort of minute happening and small misdeed on earth4 ,as such a monstrous ,detective1 jealous of his rights and perquisites1 ,god is how often pictured to the children6 ,so ,h4 ,g4 ,wells indignantly interprets his experience3 ,i1 who write1 was so set against ,god1 thus rendered4 ,he and his ,hell were the nightmare of my childhood2 ,i hated him while ,i still believed in him1 and who could help but hate8 ,i thought of him as a fantastic monster1 perpetually spying1 perpetually listening1 perpetually waiting to condemn and to strike me dead2 his flames as ready as a grill-room fire4 ,he was over me and about my feebleness and silliness and forgetfulness as the sky and sea would be about a child drowning in mid-,atlantic4 ,when ,i was still only a child of thirteen1 by the grace of the true ,god in me1 ,i flung this lie out of my mind1 and for many years1 until ,i came to see that ,god himself had done this thing for me1 the name of ,god meant nothing to me but the hideous sear in my heart where a fearful demon had been4 ,this bogey ,god is in earnest about nothing except the observance of his little rituals2 he is unworthy of a good man's worship1 he has no purpose that can capture the consent and inspire the loyalty of serious folk4 ,how many so-called unbelievers are in revolt against this perversion of the idea of ,god1 taught them in childhood6 ,the deity whom they refuse to credit is not the ,father1 with the eternal purpose which he purposed in ,christ 7,eph4 #c3aa72 often they have not heard of him4 ,their denial is directed against another sort of ,god4 ,i wish ,i could recall clearly1 writes one1 the conception of ,god which ,i gained as a boy in ,sunday school4 ,he was as old as grandfather1 ,i know1 but not so kind4 ,we were told to fear him4 ,surely the real ,god must sympathize with those who hate his caricature4 ,a vindictive ,bogey1 querulous about the mint1 anise1 and cummin of his ritual1 in earnest about nothing save to reward obsequious servants and to have his vengeance out on the careless and disobedient1 is poles asunder from the ,god and ,father of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ with his majestic purpose for the world's salvation4 ,,vi ,of all the sentiments1 however1 by which a worthy faith is made impossible1 none is so common1 in these recent years1 as the ascription to ,god of a weak and flaccid affectionateness4 ,god's love is interpreted by love's meaning in hours when we are gentle with our children or tender with our friends4 ,the soft and cosy aspects of love1 its comforts1 its pities1 its affections1 are made central in our thought of ,god4 ,we are taught1 as children1 that he loves us as our mothers do2 and as from them we look for coddling when we cry for it1 so are our expectations about ,god4 ,our religion becomes a selfish seeking for divine protection from life's ills1 a recipe for ease1 an expectant trust1 that as we believe in ,god he in return will nurse us1 unharmed and happy1 through our lives4 ,no one intimately acquainted with the religious life of men and women can be unaware of this widespread1 ingrained belief in a soft1 affectionate1 grandmotherly ,god4 ,what wonder that life brings fearful disillusionment6 ,what wonder that in a world where all that is valuable has been ,battered with the shocks of doom ,to shape and use1 the ,god of coddling love seems utterly impossible6 ,the lack in this fallacious faith is central2 there is no place in it for the movement of ,god's moral purpose4 ,to ascribe love to ,god without making it a quality of his unalterable purpose1 which must sweep on through costs in suffering however great1 is to misread the ,gospel4 ,many kinds of love are known in our experience1 from a nursing mother with her babe to a military leader with his men4 ,in ,donald ,hankey's picture of the ,beloved ,captain we see affection and tenderness1 as beautiful as they are strong3 ,it was a wonderful thing1 that smile of his4 ,it was something worth living for1 and worth working for4444 ,it seemed to make one look at things from a different point of view1 a finer point of view1 his point of view4 ,there was nothing feeble or weak about it4444 ,it meant something4 ,it meant that we were his men and that he was proud of us4444 ,when we failed him1 when he was disappointed in us1 he did not smile4 ,he did not rage or curse4 ,he just looked disappointed1 and that made us feel far more savage with ourselves than any amount of swearing would have done4444 ,the fact was that he had won his way into our affections4 ,we loved him4 ,and there isn't anything stronger than love1 when all's said and done4 ,yet1 this ,captain1 loving and beloved1 will lead his men in desperate charges1 where death falls in showers1 but where the purpose which their hearts have chosen forces them to go4 ,the love of ,god must be like that2 it surely is if ,jesus' love is its embodiment4 ,his affection for his followers1 his solicitude and tenderness have been in ,christian eyes1 how beautiful6 ,they shine in words like ,john's seventeenth chapter where love finds transcendent utterance4 ,yet this same ,master said3 ,behold1 ,i send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves 7,matt4 #aj3af72 ,blessed are ye when men shall reproach you1 and persecute you1 and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake 7,matt4 #e3aa72 ,then shall they deliver you up unto tribulation1 and shall kill you2 and ye shall be hated of all the nations for my name's sake 7,matt4 #bd3i72 ,they shall put you out of the synagogues2 yea1 the hour cometh1 that whosoever killeth you shall think that he offereth service unto ,god 7,john #af3b72 ,if any man cometh unto me1 and hateth not his own father1 and mother1 and wife1 and children1 and brethren1 and sisters1 yea1 and his own life also1 he cannot be my disciple 7,luke #ad3bf74 ,the love of ,jesus was no coddling affection2 it had for its center a moral purpose that balked at no sacrifice4 ,he took crucifixion for himself1 and to his beloved he cried1 ,if any man would come after me1 let him deny himself1 and take up his cross1 and follow me 7,matt4 #af3bd74 ,such love is ,god's2 and preachers who advertise his ,fatherhood as a gentle nurse that shelters us from suffering have sapped the ,gospel of its moral power4 ,god's love is austere as well as bountiful2 he is1 as ,emerson said1 the terrific benefactor4 ,indeed1 faith in a ,god of coddling love may be one of the most pernicious influences in human life4 ,our trust1 so misinterpreted1 becomes a cushion on which to lie1 a sedative by which to sleep4 ,when ills afflict the world that men could cure1 such misbelievers merely trust in ,god2 when tasks await man's strength1 they quietly retreat upon their faith that ,god is good and will solve all1 until religion becomes a by-word and a hissing on the lips of earnest men4 ,such misbelievers have not dimly seen the ,scripture's meaning1 where faith is not a pillow but a shield1 from behind which plays a sword 7,eph4 #f3af7 and where men do not sleep by faith1 but fight the good fight of faith instead 7,i ,tim4 #f3ab74 ,or if such misbelievers do rouse themselves to lay hold on their ,divinity1 it is to demand ,god's love for them and not to offer their lives to ,god4 ,as ,sydney ,smith exclaimed about some people's patriotism1 ,god save the ,king6 in these times too often means1 ,god save my pension and my place1 ,god give my sisters an allowance out of the ,privy ,purse1 let me live upon the fruits of other men's industry and fatten upon the plunder of the public4 ,faith in ,god never is elevated and ennobling until we overpass ,god for our lives6 to cry ,our lives for ,god6 ,then at the luminous center of our faith shines the divine purpose1 costly but wonderful1 that binds the ages together in spiritual unity4 ,to that we dedicate our lives2 in that we exceedingly rejoice4 ,no longer do we test ,god's goodness by our happiness or our ill-fortune2 we are his through fair weather and through foul4 ,no longer do we merely hold beliefs1 we are held by them1 captured now and not simply consoled by faith4 ,only so are we learning discipleship to ,christ and are beginning really to believe in the ,christian ,god4 ,,vii ,from all these common fallacies of thought and sentiment one turns to the ,new ,testament to find the ,god of the ,gospel4 ,the very crux of the ,good ,tidings is that ,god is so much in earnest that he is the eternal ,sufferer4 ,the ancient ,greeks had a god of perfect bliss2 he floated on from age to age in undisturbed tranquillity2 no cry of man ever reached his empyrean calm2 his life was an endless stream of liquid happiness4 ,how different this ,greek deity is from ours may be perceived if one tries to say of him those things which the ,scripture habitually says of ,god4 ,in all their affliction he was afflicted 7,isa4 #fc3i72 ,can a woman forget her sucking child1 that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb8 yea1 these may forget1 yet will not ,i forget thee 7,isa4 #di3ae72 ,god1 being rich in mercy1 for his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses 7,eph #b3d1 #e72 ,god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten ,son 7,john #c3af74 ,none of these things that ,christians say about their ,god can be said of a deity who dwells in tranquil bliss4 ,indeed let one stand over against a war-torn1 unhappy world and try to think that ,god does not suffer in man's agony1 and he will see how useless and incredible such a ,god would be4 ,god looks on ,belgium and he does not care2 he looks on ,armenia desolate and ,poland devastated1 and he does not care2 he sits in heaven and sees his children wounded and alone in ,no-man's land1 watches the deaths1 the heart-breaks1 the poverty of war1 its ruined childhood and its shattered families1 and he does not care--how impossible it is to believe in such a ,god6 ,a ,god who does not care does not count4 ,christians1 therefore1 have the ,god who really meets the needs of men4 ,he cares indeed1 and1 with all the modesty that words of human emotion must put on when they are applied to him1 he suffers in the suffering of men and is crucified in his children's agonies4 ,god limited himself in making such a world as this2 in it he cannot lightly do what he will2 he has a struggle on his heart2 he makes his way upward against obstacles that man's imagination cannot measure4 ,there is a cross forever at the heart of ,god4 ,he climbs his everlasting ,calvary toward the triumph that must come1 and he is tremendously in earnest4 ,one important consequence follows such faith as this4 ,confidence in such an earnest1 sacrificial ,god makes inevitable the ,christian faith in immortality4 ,our solar system is no permanent theater for ,god's eternal purposes2 it is doomed to dissolution as certainly as any human body is doomed to die4 ,in the ,lick observatory one reads this notice under a picture of the sun3 ,the blue stars are considered to be in early life1 the yellow stars in middle life1 the red stars in old age4444 ,from the quality of its spectrum the sun is classified as a star in middle age4 ,those1 therefore1 who1 denying their own immortality1 comfort themselves with prophesying endless progress for the race upon the earth1 have no basis for their hopes4 ,we must therefore renounce those brilliant fancies1 says ,faye the scientist1 by which we try to deceive ourselves in order to endow man with unlimited posterity1 and to regard the universe as the immense theater on which is to be developed a spontaneous progress without end4 ,on the contrary1 life must disappear1 and the grandest material works of the human race will have to be effaced by degrees under the action of a few physical forces which will survive man for a time4 ,nothing will remain--',even the ruins will perish4' ,if one believes1 therefore1 in the ,god who is in earnest1 he cannot content himself with such a universe--lacking any permanent element1 any abiding reality in which the moral gains of man's long struggle are conserved4 ,god's purpose cannot be so narrow in horizon that it is satisfied with a few million years of painful experiment1 costly beyond imagination1 yet with no issue to crown its sacrifice4 ,in such a universe as ,faye pictures1 lacking immortality1 generation after generation of men suffer1 aspire1 labor1 and die1 and this shall be the history of all creation1 until at last ,shakespeare's prophecy shall be fulfilled1 ,the cloud-capp'd towers1 the gorgeous palaces1 ,the solemn temples1 the great globe itself1 ,yea1 all which it inherit1 shall dissolve ,and1 like this insubstantial pageant faded1 ,leave not a rack behind4 ,if such is to be the story of creation1 there is no purpose in it and the ,christian faith in an earnest ,god is vain4 ,only one truth is adequate to crown our confidence in a purposeful universe and to make it reasonable3 personality must persist4 ,we believe in immortality1 not because we meanly want rewards ahead1 but because in no other way can life1 viewed as a whole1 find sense and reason4 ,if personality persists1 this transient theater of action and discipline may serve its purpose in ,god's time1 and disappear4 ,he is in earnest1 but not for rocks and suns and stars1 he is in earnest about persons--the sheep of his pasture are men4 ,they are not mortal2 they carry over into the eternal world the spiritual gains of earth2 and all life's struggle--its vicarious sacrifice1 its fearful punishments1 its labor for better circumstance and worthier life--is justified in its everlasting influence on personality4 ,when we say that ,god cares1 we mean no vague1 diffusive attitude toward a system that lasts for limited millenniums and then comes to an uneventful end in a cold sun and a ruined earth4 ,we mean that he cares for personality which is his child1 that he suffers in the travail of his children's character1 and that this divine solicitude has everlasting issues when the heavens wax old like a garment4 ,still ,paul's statement stands1 one of the most worthy summaries of ,god's earnestness that ever has been written3 ,the creation waits with eager longing for the sons of ,god to be revealed 7,rom4 #h3ai74f #e ,george ,adam ,smith's ,translation4 #f ,moffatt's ,translation4 ,,chapter ,x ,faith in ,christ the ,savior3 ,forgiveness ,,daily ,,readings ,during the next two weeks we are to consider some of the distinctive meanings which faith in ,christ has had for his disciples4 ,they have found in that faith unspeakable blessing and have uttered their gratitude in radiant language4 ,but1 just because of this1 many folk find themselves in difficulty4 ,their expectations concerning the ,christian life have been lifted very high1 and in their experience of it they have been disappointed4 ,their problem is not theoretical doubt1 but practical disillusionment4 ,their difficulty lies in their experience that the ,christian life1 while it may be theoretically true1 is not practically what it is advertised to be4 ,at this common problem let us look in the daily readings4 ,tenth ,week1 ,first ,day ,many expect in the ,christian experience an emotional life of joy and quietude which they have not found4 ,they are led to expect this by many passages of ,scripture about peace in believing1 by many hymns of exultation where a mood of unqualified spiritual triumph finds voice1 and by testimonies of men who speak of living years without any depressed hours or flagging spirits4 ,such a wonderful life of elevated emotion many crave for themselves2 they came into the ,christian fellowship expecting it2 and they neither have it1 nor are likely to achieve it4 ,now the beauty of a clear1 high emotional life no one can doubt1 but we must not demand it as a condition of our keeping faith4 ,we ought not to seek ,god simply for the sake of sensational experiences1 no matter how desirable they may be4 ,in all the ages before ,christ1 the outstanding example of deep personal religion1 expressing itself in over forty years of splendidly courageous prophetic ministry1 is ,jeremiah1 and his temperament was never marked by quietude and joy4 ,his emotional life was profoundly affected by his faith3 courage was substituted for fear4 ,but if he had demanded the mood of the #ajcrd psalm as a price for continued faith1 he would have lost his faith4 ,he was not temperamentally constructed like the psalmist--and he was a far greater personality4 ,we must not be too much concerned about our spiritual sensations4 ,consider the ,master's parable about the two sons3 one had amiable feelings1 but his will was wrong1 the other lacked satisfactory emotions1 but he did the work4 ,but what think ye8 ,a man had two sons2 and he came to the first1 and said1 ,son1 go work to-day in the vineyard4 ,and he answered and said1 ,i will not3 but afterward he repented himself1 and went4 ,and he came to the second1 and said likewise4 ,and he answered and said1 ,i go1 sir3 and went not4 ,which of the two did the will of his father8 ,they say1 ,the first4--,matt4 #ba3bh-ca4 ,ah1 ,lord1 unto whom all hearts are open2 ,thou canst govern the vessel of our souls far better than we can4 ,arise1 ,o ,lord1 and command the stormy wind and the troubled sea of our hearts to be still1 and at peace in ,thee1 that we may look up to ,thee undisturbed1 and abide in union with ,thee1 our ,lord4 ,let us not be carried hither and thither by wandering thoughts1 but1 forgetting all else1 let us see and hear ,thee4 ,renew our spirits2 kindle in us ,thy light1 that it may shine within us1 and our hearts may burn in love and adoration towards ,thee4 ,let ,thy ,holy ,spirit dwell in us continually1 and make us ,thy temples and sanctuary1 and fill us with ,divine love and light and life1 with devout and heavenly thoughts1 with comfort and strength1 with joy and peace4 ,amen4--,johann ,arndt1 #aeee4 ,tenth ,week1 ,second ,day ,many came into the ,christian life because they needed conquering power in their struggle against sin4 ,they were told that absolute victory could be theirs through ,christ1 and they set their hearts on that in ardent hope and expectation4 ,but they are disappointed4 ,that they have been helped they would not deny1 but they find that the battle with besetting sin is a running fight2 it has not been concluded by a final and resounding victory4 ,this seems to them a denial of what ,christian preachers and ,christian hymns have promised1 and perhaps it is4 ,hymns and preachers are not infallible4 ,christian experience1 however1 is plainly aligned against their disappointment4 ,some men under the power of ,christ are immediately transformed so that an old sin becomes thenceforth utterly distasteful2 even the desire for it is banished altogether4 ,but a great preacher1 only recently deceased1 no less really under the power of ,christ1 had all his life to fight a taste for drink which once had mastered him4 ,his battle never ceased4 ,his victory consisted not in the elimination of his appetite1 but in abiding power to keep up the struggle1 to refuse subjugation to it1 and at last gloriously to fall on sleep1 admired and loved by his people who had seen in him steadfast1 unconquerable will1 sustained by faith4 ,to have done with a sinful appetite in one conclusive victory is glorious2 but we must not demand it as a price of keeping faith4 ,perhaps our victory must come through the kind of patient persistence which ,james the ,apostle evidently knew4 ,count it all joy1 my brethren1 when ye fall into manifold temptations2 knowing that the proving of your faith worketh patience4 ,and let patience have its perfect work1 that ye may be perfect and entire1 lacking in nothing4 ,but if any of you lacketh wisdom1 let him ask of ,god1 who giveth to all liberally and upbraideth not2 and it shall be given him4 ,but let him ask in faith1 nothing doubting3 for he that doubteth is like the surge of the sea driven by the wind and tossed4 ,for let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the ,lord2 a double-minded man1 unstable in all his ways4--,james #a3b-h4 ,o ,lord ,god ,almighty1 who givest power to the faint1 and increasest strength to them that have no might2 without ,thee we can do nothing1 but by ,thy gracious assistance we are enabled for the performance of every duty laid upon us4 ,lord of power and love1 we come1 trusting in ,thine almighty strength1 and ,thine infinite goodness1 to ask from ,thee what is wanting in ourselves2 even that grace which shall help us such to be1 and such to do1 as ,thou wouldst have us4 ,o our ,god1 let ,thy grace be sufficient for us1 and ever present with us1 that we may do all things as we ought4 ,we will trust in ,thee1 in whom is everlasting strength4 ,be ,thou our ,helper1 to carry us on beyond our own strength1 and to make all that we think1 and speak1 and do1 acceptable in ,thy sight2 through ,jesus ,christ4 ,amen4--,benjamin ,jenks1 #afdf4 ,tenth ,week1 ,third ,day ,jehovah is my shepherd2 ,i shall not want4 ,he maketh me to lie down in green pastures2 ,he leadeth me beside still waters4 ,he restoreth my soul3 ,he guideth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake4 ,yea1 though ,i walk through the valley of the shadow of death1 ,i will fear no evil2 for thou art with me2 ,thy rod and thy staff1 they comfort me4 --,psalm #bc3a-d4 ,what expectations are awakened by such a passage6 ,many have come into the ,christian life because in experience they have found that it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps4 ,they wanted a ,guide in the mysterious pilgrimage of life1 and in the words of hymns like1 ,he leadeth me1 ,o blessed thought6 they saw the promise of a ,god-conducted experience4 ,but they are disappointed4 ,they have the same old puzzles to face about what they ought to do2 they have no divine illumination that clears up in advance their uncertainty as to the wisdom of their choices2 they are not vividly aware of any guidance from above to save them from the perplexities which their companions face about conduct and career4 ,of course part of their difficulty is due to false expectation4 ,not even ,paul or ,john was given mechanical guidance1 infallible and unmistakable2 they never had a syllabus of all possible emergencies with clear directions as to what should be done in every case2 they were guided through their normal faculties made sensitive to divine suggestion1 and doubtless they never could clearly distinguish between their thought and their inspirations4 ,divine guidance1 did not save them from puzzling perplexities and unsure decisions4 ,but it did give them certainty that they were in ,god's hands2 that he had hold of the reins behind their human grasp2 that when they did wisely and prayerfully the best they knew1 he would use it somehow to his service4 ,and so far as the vivid consciousness of being guided is concerned1 that probably came in retrospect2 when they saw how the road came out1 they agreed that ,god's hand must have been in the journey4 ,such an experience it is reasonable to expect and possible to have4 ,o ,god our ,lord1 the stay of all them that put their trust in ,thee1 wherever ,thou leadest we would go1 for ,thy ways are perfect wisdom and love4 ,even when we walk through the dark valley1 ,thy light can shine into our hearts and guide us safely through the night of sorrow4 ,be ,thou our ,friend1 and we need ask no more in heaven or earth1 for ,thou art the ,comfort of all who trust in ,thee1 the ,help and ,defence of all who hope in ,thee4 ,o ,lord1 we would be ,thine2 let us never fall away from ,thee4 ,we would accept all things without murmuring from ,thy hand1 for whatever ,thou dost is right4 ,blend our wills with ,thine1 and then we need fear no evil nor death itself1 for all things must work together for our good4 ,lord1 keep us in ,thy love and truth1 comfort us with ,thy light1 and guide us by ,thy ,holy ,spirit2 through ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,amen4--,s4 ,weiss1 #agch4 ,tenth ,week1 ,fourth ,day ,many folk grow up into the ,christian life1 and so interpret the love of ,god that they expect from him affectionate mothering2 they look to him to keep them from trouble4 ,in childhood1 sheltered from life's tragic incidents1 this expectation was more or less realized2 but now in maturity they are disappointed4 ,god has not saved them from trouble2 he has not dealt with them in maternal tenderness4 ,rather ,job's complaint to ,god is on their lips3 ,i cry unto thee1 and thou dost not answer me3 ,i stand up1 and thou gazest at me4 ,thou art turned to be cruel to me2 ,with the might of thy hand thou persecutest me4444 ,did not ,i weep for him that was in trouble8 ,was not my soul grieved for the needy8 ,when ,i looked for good1 then evil came2 ,and when ,i waited for light1 there came darkness4 ,my heart is troubled1 and resteth not2 ,days of affliction are come upon me4 --,job #cj3bj1 #ba2 #be-bg4 ,one such disappointed spirit says that in youth1 even if she hurt her finger1 she was told to pray to ,god and he would take away the bruise2 but now life does not seem to be directed by that kind of a ,god at all4 ,it isn't6 ,a pregnant source of lost faith is to be found in this unscriptural presentation of ,god's love4 ,in ,scripture ,god's love for his people and their tragic suffering are put side by side1 and the ,cross where the well-beloved ,son is crucified is typical of the whole ,book's assertion that ,god does not keep his children from trouble4 ,sometimes he leads them into it2 and always he lets the operation of his essential laws sweep on1 so that disease and accident and death are no respecters of character4 ,when ,ananias was sent with ,god's message to the newly converted ,paul1 that greeting into the ,christian life concerned how many things he must suffer 7,acts #i3af74 ,whatever else our faith must take into account1 this is an unescapable fact3 we are seeking the impossible when we ask that our lives be arranged on the basis that we shall not face trouble4 ,faith means a conquering confidence that good will1 a purpose of eternal love1 runs through the whole process4 ,it says1 not apart from suffering1 but in the face of it3 ,i'm apt to think the man ,that could surround the sum of things1 and spy ,the heart of ,god and secrets of his empire1 ,would speak but love--with him the bright result ,would change the hue of intermediate scenes1 ,and make one thing of all ,theology4 ,almighty ,god to whom all things belong1 whose is light and darkness1 whose is good and evil1 ,master of all things1 ,lord of all2 who hast so ordered it1 that life from the beginning shall be a struggle throughout the course1 and even to the end2 so guide and order that struggle within us1 that at last what is good in us may conquer1 and all evil be overcome1 that all things may be brought into harmony1 and ,god may be all in all4 ,so do ,thou guide and govern us1 that every day whatsoever betide us1 some gain to better things1 some more blessed joy in higher things may be ours1 that so we1 though but weaklings1 may yet1 ,god-guided1 go from strength to strength1 until at last1 delivered from that burden of the flesh1 through which comes so much struggling1 we may enter into the land of harmony and of eternal peace4 ,hear us1 of ,thy mercy2 through ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,amen4--,george ,dawson1 #ahgg4 ,tenth ,week1 ,fifth ,day ,till we all attain unto the unity of the faith1 and of the knowledge of the ,son of ,god1 unto a fullgrown man1 unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of ,christ3 that we may be no longer children1 tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine1 by the sleight of men1 in craftiness1 after the wiles of error2 but speaking truth in love1 may grow up in all things into him1 who is the head1 even ,christ4--,eph4 #d3ac-ae4 ,many came into the ,christian life familiar with such an idea of growth4 ,they expected the new life to be an enlarging experience1 with new vistas1 deepening satisfactions1 increasing certitude4 ,if at the beginning the ,christian way did not content them1 they blamed their immaturity for the unsatisfactory experience2 they appealed to the days ahead for fuller light4 ,but they are disappointed4 ,they have not grown4 ,the most they can claim is that they are stationary2 the haunting suspicion cannot altogether be avoided that their faith is dwindling and their fervor burning down4 ,this difficulty is not strange--with many folk it is inevitable2 for they have never grasped the fact that the ,christian life1 like all life whatsoever1 is law-abiding1 and that to expect effects without cause is vain4 ,that a ,christian experience has begun with promise does not mean that it will magically continue2 that the spirit will naturally drift into an enlarging life4 ,an emotional conversion1 like a flaming meteor1 may plunge into a man's heart1 and soon cool off1 leaving a dead1 encysted stone4 ,but to have a real life in ,god1 that begins like a small but vital acorn and grows like an aspiring oak1 one must obey the laws that make such increasing experience possible4 ,to keep fellowship with ,god unimpeded by sin1 uninterrupted by neglect2 to think habitually as though ,god were1 instead of casually believing that he is2 to practice love continually until love grows real2 and to arrange life's program conscientiously as though the doing of ,god's will were life's first business--such things alone make spiritual growth a possibility4 ,we desire to confess1 ,o ,lord1 that we have not lived according to our promises1 nor according to the thoughts and intents of our hearts4 ,we have felt the gravitation of things that drew us downward from things high and holy4 ,we have followed right things how feebly6 ,weak are we to resist the attraction of evils that lurk about the way of goodness2 and we are conscious that we walk in a vain show4 ,we behold and approve ,thy law1 but find it hard to obey2 and our obedience is of the outside1 and not of the soul and of the spirit1 with heartiness and full of certainty4 ,we rejoice that ,thou art a ,teacher patient with ,thy scholars1 and that ,thou art a ,father patient with ,thy children4 ,thou art a ,god of long-suffering goodness1 and of tender mercies1 and therefore we are not consumed4 ,and now we beseech of ,thee1 ,o ,thou unwearied ,one1 that ,thou wilt inspire us with a heavenly virtue4 ,lift before us the picture of what we should be and what we should do1 and maintain it in the light1 that we may not rub it out in forgetfulness2 that we may be able to keep before ourselves our high calling in ,christ ,jesus4 ,and may we press forward1 not as they that have attained or apprehended2 may we press toward the mark1 for the prize of our high calling in ,christ ,jesus1 with new alacrity1 with growing confidence1 and with more and more blessedness of joy and peace in the soul4 ,amen4--,henry ,ward ,beecher4 ,tenth ,week1 ,sixth ,day ,the ,christian experience which disappoints its possessor by lack of growth is common1 because so many leave the idea of growth vague and undefined4 ,they expect in general to grow1 but in what direction1 to what describable results1 they never stop to think4 ,if we ran our other business as thoughtlessly1 with as little determinate planning and discipline1 as we manage our ,christian living1 any progress would be impossible4 ,what wonder that as ,christians we often resemble the child who fell from bed at night1 and explained the accident by saying1 ,i must have gone to sleep too near the place where ,i got in6 ,growth is always in definite directions1 and folk will do well at times1 without morbid self-examination1 to forecast their desired courses4 ,becoming ,christians from motives of fear1 as many do1 we should press on to a fellowship with ,god in which fear vanishes in divine friendship and cooperation4 ,choosing the ,christian life for self-centered reasons1 because it can do great things for us1 we should press on to glory in it as a ,cause on which the welfare of the race depends and for which we willingly make sacrifice4 ,beginning with narrow ideas of service to our friends and neighborhood1 we should press on to genuine interest in the world-field1 in international fraternity1 and in ,christ's victory over all mankind4 ,such definite lines of progress we well may set before us4 ,and a life that does grow1 so that each new stage of maturing experience finds deeper levels and greater heights1 is never disappointing2 it is life become endlessly interesting and worth while4 ,not that ,i have already obtained1 or am already made perfect3 but ,i press on1 if so be that ,i may lay hold on that for which also ,i was laid hold on by ,christ ,jesus4 ,brethren1 ,i count not myself yet to have laid hold3 but one thing ,i do1 forgetting the things which are behind1 and stretching forward to the things which are before1 ,i press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of ,god in ,christ ,jesus4 ,let us therefore1 as many as are perfect1 be thus minded3 and if in anything ye are otherwise minded1 this also shall ,god reveal unto you3 only1 whereunto we have attained1 by that same rule let us walk4--,phil4 #c3ab-af4 ,our ,father1 we pray ,thee that we may use the blessings ,thou hast given us1 and never once abuse them4 ,we would keep our bodies enchanted still with handsome life1 wisely would we cultivate the intellect which ,thou hast throned therein1 and we would so live with conscience active and will so strong that we shall fix our eye on the right1 and1 amid all the distress and trouble1 the good report and the evil1 of our mortal life1 steer straightway there1 and bate no jot of human heart or hope4 ,we pray ,thee that we may cultivate still more these kindly hearts of ours1 and faithfully perform our duty to friend and acquaintance1 to lover and beloved1 to wife and child1 to neighbor and nation1 and to all mankind4 ,may we feel our brotherhood to the whole human race1 remembering that nought human is strange to our flesh but is kindred to our soul4 ,our ,father1 we pray that we may grow continually in true piety1 bringing down everything which would unduly exalt itself1 and lifting up what is lowly within us1 till1 though our outward man perish1 yet our inward man shall be renewed day by day1 and within us all shall be fair and beautiful to ,thee1 and without us our daily lives useful1 our whole consciousness blameless in ,thy sight4 ,amen4--,theodore ,parker4 ,tenth ,week1 ,seventh ,day ,while some1 for reasons such as we have suggested1 have made at least a partial failure of the ,christian life1 and are tempted to feel that their experience is an argument against it1 we may turn with confidence to the multitude who have found life with ,christ an ineffable blessing4 ,there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in ,christ ,jesus4 ,for the law of the ,spirit of life in ,christ ,jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death4 ,for what the law could not do1 in that it was weak through the flesh1 ,god1 sending his own ,son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin1 condemned sin in the flesh3 that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us1 who walk not after the flesh1 but after the ,spirit4 ,for they that are after the flesh mind the things of the flesh2 but they that are after the ,spirit the things of the ,spirit4 ,for the mind of the flesh is death2 but the mind of the ,spirit is life and peace4--,rom4 #h3a-f4 ,innumerable disciples of ,jesus can subscribe to this ,pauline testimony1 and the center of their gratitude1 as of his1 is the victory over sin which faith in ,christ has given them4 ,the farther they go with him the more wonderful becomes the meaning of his ,gospel4 ,what ,thomas ,fuller1 in the seventeenth century1 wrote about the ,bible1 they feel about their whole relationship with ,christ3 ,lord1 this morning ,i read a chapter in the ,bible1 and therein observed a memorable passage1 whereof ,i never took notice before4 ,why now1 and no sooner1 did ,i see it8 ,formerly my eyes were as open1 and the letters as legible4 ,is there not a thin veil laid over ,thy ,word1 which is more rarified by reading1 and at last wholly worn away8 ,i see the oil of ,thy ,word will never leave increasing whilst any bring an empty barrel4 ,as for the consciousness of filial alliance with the ,god and ,father of ,jesus1 that has been a deepening benediction4 ,how many can take over the dual inscription on an ancient ,egyptian temple1 as an expression of their own experience6 ,a priest had written1 in the name of the ,deity1 ,i am ,he who was and is and ever shall be1 and my veil hath no man lifted4 ,but near at hand1 some man of growing life and deepening faith has added3 ,veil after veil have we lifted1 and ever the ,face is more wonderful4 ,eternal and ,gracious ,father1 whose presence comforteth like sunshine after rain2 we thank ,thee for ,thyself and for all ,thy revelation to us4 ,our hearts are burdened with thanksgiving at the thought of all ,thy mercies2 for all the blessings of this mortal life1 for health1 for reason1 for learning1 and for love2 but far beyond all thought and thankfulness1 for ,thy great redemption4 ,it was no painless travail that brought us to the birth1 it has been no common patience that has borne with us all this while2 long-suffering love1 and the breaking of the eternal heart alone could reconcile us to the life to which ,thou hast ordained us4 ,we have seen the ,son of ,man sharing our sickness and shrinking not from our shame1 we have beheld the ,lamb of ,god bearing the sins of the world1 we have mourned at the mysterious passion and stood astonished at the cross of ,jesus ,christ2 and behind all we have had the vision of an altar-throne and one thereon slain from the foundation of the world2 heard a voice calling us that was full of tears2 seen beyond the veil that was rent1 the agony of ,god4 ,o for a thousand tongues to sing the love that has redeemed us4 ,o for a thousand lives that we might yield them all to ,thee4 ,amen4--,w4 ,e4 ,orchard4 ,,comment ,,for ,,the ,,week ,i ,hitherto in our studies we have thought of ,god as the object of our faith4 ,from the beginning1 to be sure1 we have been using the ,master as the ,way4 ,the ,god who is in earnest about immortal personalities is supremely revealed in ,jesus ,christ4 ,but through ,christ's mediation we have been trying to pierce to the ,eternal character and purpose2 we have been taking ,jesus at his word1 ,he that believeth on me1 believeth not on me but on him that sent me 7,john #ab3dd74 ,the meaning of faith for the ,christian1 however1 cannot be left as though ,christ were an instrument which ,god used for his revealing and then thrust aside1 a symbol in terms of whom we may poetically picture ,god4 ,christ has been for his people more than a transparent pane1 itself almost forgettable1 through which the divine light shone4 ,his personality has been central and dominant1 and when his disciples have most vividly expressed the meaning of their faith they have said that they believed in him4 ,the first ,christians whose experience is enshrined in the ,new ,testament did not deal with faith in ,god alone4 ,they adored ,jesus2 they were illimitably thankful to him2 they rejoiced to call themselves his bondservants and to suffer for him2 they claimed him as a brother1 but they acknowledged him their ,lord as well2 and they bowed before him with inexpressible devotion4 ,they all set him in the same incomparable place4 ,they all acknowledged to him the same immeasurable debt4 ,one need not read far in the ,new ,testament to see why these first disciples so adored their ,lord4 ,he was their ,savior4 ,they called him by many other names--,messiah1 ,logos1 ,son of ,man1 and ,son of ,god--in their endeavor to do justice to his work and character1 but one name shines among all the rest and swings them about it like planets round a sun4 ,he is the ,savior4 ,from the annunciation to ,joseph1 ,thou shalt call his name ,jesus2 for it is he that shall save his people from their sins 7,matt4 #a3ba71 to the ,new ,song of the ,apocalypse 7,rev4 #e3e-ac71 the ,new ,testament is written around the central theme of saviorhood4 ,these first disciples were vividly aware of an abysmal need1 which had been met in ,christ1 a great peril from which through him they had escaped2 and throughout the ,new ,testament one never loses the accent of astonished gratitude1 from folk who were once slaves and now are free1 who from victims have been turned to victors4 ,when ,wilberforce's long campaign for the freeing of ,british slaves was at its climax1 the population of ,jamaica lined the shore for days awaiting the ship that should bring news of ,parliament's decision4 ,and when from a boat's prow the messenger cried ,freedom1 the island rang with the thanksgiving of the liberated4 ,such rejoicing one hears in the ,new ,testament4 ,the disciples speak of the freedom wherewith ,christ has set them free 7,gal4 #e3a72 they say that they were dead and now are made alive 7,rom4 #f3aa-ac72 once overwhelmed by sin1 they now cry1 ,more than conquerors 7,rom4 #h3cg74 ,nor have they any doubt who is the agent or what is the agency of their salvation3 ,christ is the ,savior and faith the means4 ,this is the victory that hath overcome the world1 they cry1 even our faith 7,i ,john #e3d74 ,if we are to understand this attitude of the first disciples toward ,christ the ,savior1 we must appreciate as they did the peril from which he rescued them4 ,one cannot understand the meaning of any character who1 like ,moses1 delivered a people from their bondage1 unless he deeply feels the importance of the problem to whose solution the man contributed4 ,moses shines out against the background of a nation's trouble like a star against the midnight sky4 ,when the blackness of the night is gone1 the star has vanished1 too4 ,the race's deliverers never can retain their brightness in our gratitude unless we keep alive in our remembrance the evil against which they fought4 ,if we would know ,moses1 we must know ,pharaoh2 if we would know ,wellington1 we must know ,napoleon4 ,if we are to value truly the great educators1 we must estimate aright the blight that ignorance lays on human life4 ,john ,howard will be nothing to us1 if we do not know the ancient prison system in comparison with which even our modern jails are paradise2 and ,florence ,nightingale will be an empty name1 if we cannot imagine the terrors of war without a nurse4 ,always we must see the stars against the night4 ,nor is there any other way in which a ,christian can keep alive a vital understanding of his ,lord4 ,many modern ,christians seem to have lost vision of the problem that ,jesus came to solve1 of the human peril to whose conquest he made the supreme contribution4 ,they think that the ,church has adored ,jesus because of a metaphysical theory about him1 but all theories concerning ,christ have arisen from a previous devotion to him4 ,or they think that ,jesus is adored because he was so uniquely beautiful in character4 ,but while without this his people never would have called him ,lord1 not on this account chiefly have they looked on him with inexpressible devotion4 ,no one can understand the ,christian attitude toward ,jesus except in terms of the bondage from which he came to rescue us4 ,there is a human cry that makes his advent meaningful2 it is like the night behind the star of ,bethlehem4 ,long ago a ,psalmist heard that cry and every age and land and soul has echoed it1 ,my sins are mightier than ,i 7,psalm #fe3c74g ,,ii ,the peril of sin as the innermost problem of human life is in these days obscure to many minds4 ,for one thing1 sin has been so continuously preached about1 that it seems to some an ecclesiastical question1 fit for discussion1 it may be1 in a church on ,sunday1 but otherwise not often emerging in ordinary thought4 ,but sin is no specialty of preaching4 ,if a man1 forgetting churches and sermons1 seriously ponders human life as he knows it actually to be1 if he gathers up in his imagination the deepest heartaches of the race1 its worst diseases1 its most hopeless miseries1 its ruined childhood1 its dissevered families1 its fallen states1 its devastated continents1 he soon will see that the major cause of all this can be spelled with three letters--sin4 ,to make vivid this peril as the very crux of humanity's problem on the earth1 one needs at times to leave behind the customary thoughts and phrases of religion and to seek testimony from sources that the ,church frequently forgets4 ,when governments try to build social states where equity and happiness shall reign1 their prison systems1 their criminal codes1 their courts of law loudly advertise that their problem lies in sin4 ,when jurists plan leagues of nations and sign covenants to make the world a more fraternal place1 only to find greed1 hate1 and cruelty demolishing their well-laid schemes1 their failure uncovers the crucial problem of man's sin4 ,when philanthropists try to lift from man's bent back the burdens that oppress him1 it becomes plain how infinitely their task would be lightened1 if it were not for sin4 ,as for literature--where the seers1 regardless of religious prejudice1 have tried to see into the human heart and truly to report their insights--its witness is overwhelming as to what man's problem is4 ,no great book of creative literature was ever written without sin at the center4 ,macbeth1 ,hamlet1 ,othello1 ,faust1 ,les ,misrables1 ,romola1 ,the ,scarlet ,letter--let the list be extended in any direction and to any length6 ,always the insight of the creative seers reports one inner peril of the race4 ,sin is no bogey erected by the theologians1 no ghost imagined by minds grown morbid with the fear of ,god4 ,sin to every seeing eye is the one most real and practical problem of mankind4 ,for another reason this crucial problem is dimly seen by many minds3 we do not often use the word about ourselves4 ,the hardest thing that any man can ever say is ,i have sinned4 ,we make mistakes1 we have foibles of character and conduct1 we even fall into error--but we do not often sin4 ,by such devices we avoid the painful consciousness of our inward malady and even the name of our disease is banished from decorous speech4 ,but sin does not go into exile with its name4 ,sin has many aliases and can swiftly shift its guise to gain a welcome into any company4 ,sin in the slums is gross and terrible4 ,it staggers down the streets1 blasphemes with oaths that can be heard1 wallows in vice unmentionable by modest lips4 ,then some day prosperity may visit it4 ,it moves to a finer residence1 seeks the suburbs1 or finds domicile on a college campus4 ,it changes all its clothes4 ,no longer is it indecent and obscene4 ,its speech is mild1 its civility is irreproachable4 ,it gathers a company of friends who minister to pleasure and respectability1 and the cry of the world's need dies unheard at its peaceful door4 ,it presses its face continually through the pickets of social allowance1 like a bad boy who wishes to trespass on forbidden ground but fears the consequence4 ,its goodness is superficial seeming2 at heart it is as bad as it dares to be4 ,it has completely changed its garments1 but it is the same sin--indulgent1 selfish1 and unclean4 ,sin1 as anyone can easily observe1 takes a very high polish4 ,neither by calling sin an ecclesiastical concern nor by covering its presence in ourselves with pleasant euphemisms can we hide its deadly bane in human life4 ,the truth and import of this negative statement become clear and convincing when its positive counterpart is faced4 ,the world needs goodness4 ,the one thing in which mankind is poor and for the lack of which great causes lag and noble hopes go unfulfilled is character4 ,with each access of that humanity leaps forward2 with the sag of that all else is failure4 ,and the one name for every loss and lack and ruin of character is sin4 ,that is our enemy4 ,upon the defeat of that all our dearest hopes depend1 and in its victory every dream of good that the race has cherished comes to an end4 ,,iii ,the urgency of this truth is manifest when we note the consequence of sin in our own lives4 ,no statement from antiquity has accumulated more confirming evidence in the course of the centuries than the ,psalmist's cry1 ,my sins are mightier than ,i4 ,let us consider its truth in the light of our experience4 ,our sins are stronger than we are in their power to fasten on us a sense of guilt that we cannot shake off4 ,sinful pleasures lure us only in anticipation1 dancing before us like ,salome before her uncle1 quite irresistible in fascination4 ,happiness seems altogether to depend upon an evil deed4 ,but on the day that deed1 long held in alluring expectation1 is actually done--how swift and terrible the alteration in its aspect6 ,it passes from anticipation1 through committal1 into memory1 and it never will be beautiful again4 ,we lock it in remembrance1 as in the bloody room of ,bluebeard's palace1 where the dead things hung2 at the thought of it we shrink and yet to it our reminiscence continually is drawn4 ,something happens in us as automatic as the dropping of a loosened apple from a tree2 all the laws of the moral universe conspire to further it and we have no power to prevent3 sin becomes guilt4 ,when on a lonely ocean the floating bell-buoys toll1 no human hands cause them to ring2 the waste of an unpeopled ocean surrounds them everyway4 ,the sea by its own restlessness is ringing its own bells4 ,so tolls remorse in a man's heart and no man can stop it4 ,our sins are stronger than we are in their power to become habitual4 ,if one who steps from an upper window had only the single act to consider1 his problem would be simple4 ,he could step or not as he chose4 ,but when one steps from an upper window he finds himself dealing with a power over which his will has no control4 ,master of his single act1 he is not master of the gravitation that succeeds it4 ,many a youth blithely plays with sin1 supposing that separate deeds--which he may do or refrain from as he will--make up the problem4 ,soon or late he finds that he is dealing with moral laws1 built into the structure of the universe as gravitation is--laws which he did not create and whose operation he cannot control4 ,by them with terrific certainty thoughts grow to deeds1 deeds to habits1 habits to character1 character to destiny4 ,at the beginning sin always comes disguised as liberty4 ,its lure is the seductive freedom which it promises from the trammels of conscience and the authority of law4 ,but every man who ever yet accepted sin's offer of a free1 unfettered life1 discovered the cheat4 ,free to do the evil thing1 to indulge the baser moods--so men begin1 but they end not free to stop1 bound as slaves to the thing that they were free to do4 ,they have been at liberty to play with a cuttle-fish1 and now that the first long arm with its suckers grasps them1 and the second arm is waving near1 they are not at liberty to get away4 ,our sins are mightier than we are in their power to make us tempt our fellows4 ,when we picture our sinfulness1 even to ourselves1 we naturally represent our lives assailed by the allurements of evil and passively surrendering4 ,we are the tempted2 we pity ourselves because the outward pressure was too strong for the inward braces4 ,we forget that in sin we are not simply the passive subjects of temptation2 sin always makes us active tempters of our fellows4 ,no drug fiend ever is content until he wins a comrade in his vice2 a thief would have his friends steal1 too2 a gossip is not satisfied until other lips are tearing reputations into shreds2 and vindictiveness is happiest when other hearts as well are lighted with lurid tempers4 ,sin always is contagious as disease is2 the tempted becomes tempter on the instant that he falls4 ,peter weak1 lures ,jesus to his weakness1 and the ,master recognizes the active quality of his disciple's sin2 ,get thee behind me1 ,satan6 7,matt4 #af3bc74 ,sin satanizes men and sends them out to seduce their fellows4 ,when1 therefore1 a sensitive man repents of his evil1 he abhors himself--not mildly as a victim1 but profoundly as a victimizer4 ,he repents of the way he has played ,satan to others1 sometimes deliberately1 sometimes by the unconscious influence of an unworthy spirit4 ,he remembers the times when his words have poisoned the atmosphere which others breathed1 when his tempers have conjured up evil spirits in other hearts1 when his attitude has made wrongdoing easy for his friends and family1 and well-doing hard4 ,and his desperate helplessness in the face of sin is made most evident when he recalls the irrecoverable injury which lives have suffered and are suffering1 hurt1 perhaps ruined1 by his evil4 ,our sins are mightier than we are in their power to bring their natural consequences upon other lives4 ,the landlord1 of whom ,president ,hyde has told1 who without disinfection rented to a new family an apartment where a perilous disease had been1 is typical of every evil-doer4 ,when the only child of the incoming family fell sick of the disease and died1 and the landlord was faced with his guilt1 he pleaded his unwillingness to spend the money which the disinfection would have cost4 ,he denied his ,lord for ten dollars4 ,let the law punish him as it can1 the crux of his moral problem lies in the fact that however much he may be sorry now1 he never can bear all the consequences of his sin4 ,somewhere there is a childless home bearing part of the result of his iniquity4 ,one who had done a deed like that might well crave death and oblivion4 ,but everyone who ever sinned is in that estate4 ,no man ever succeeded in building around his evil a wall high and thick enough to contain all evil's consequences4 ,they always flow over and seep through2 they fall in cruel disaster on those who love us best4 ,one never estimates his sin aright until he sees that no man ever bears all the results of his own evil4 ,always our sins nail somebody else to a cross2 they even crucify 444 the ,son of ,god afresh 7,heb4 #f3f74 ,such is the meaning of the peril against whose background the ,new ,testament believers saw the luminous figure of the ,savior4 ,sin brings men into the debt of a great guilt which they cannot pay and into the bondage of tyrannous habits which they cannot break2 it makes men tempting satans to their fellows1 and it hurls its results like vitriol across the faces of their family and friends4 ,and when one looks on the lamentable evils of the world at large1 its sad inequities1 its furious wars1 he sees no need to deal delicately with sin or to speak of it in apologetic tones4 ,sin is1 as the ,new ,testament saw it1 the central problem of mankind4 ,if anyone has ever come with the supreme contribution to its conquest1 the face of the world may well be turned toward him today4 ,in the ,christian's faith1 such a ,savior has come4 ,for if the visitor from ,mars who so often has been imagined coming to earth1 should come again1 and amazed at the churches built1 the anthems sung1 the service wrought in ,jesus' name1 should curiously inquire what this character had done to awaken such response1 we should have to answer3 ,jesus of ,nazareth made no direct contribution to science or art or government or law--with none of these important realms did he concern himself4 ,only one thing he did3 he made the indispensable contribution to man's fight for great character against sin4 ,and because that is man's crucial problem1 all science1 art1 government1 and law are under an unpayable indebtedness to him4 ,because that is man's innermost need1 his birthday has become the hinge of history1 until one cannot write a letter to his friend without dating his familiar act from the advent of him who came to save us in our struggle for godliness against evil4 ,,iv ,faith in ,christ has a double relationship with the problem of man's sin2 it concerns the basis on which we are to be judged and the strength by which we are to conquer4 ,christ has brought to men a gospel of forgiveness and power4 ,with regard to the first--and with the first alone this chapter is concerned--the opinion of many modern men is swift and summary3 folk are to be judged by what they do2 the output of a man1 as of a machine1 is the test of him4 ,until this popular method of judgment is convicted of inadequacy1 there is no hope of understanding what ,christians have meant by being saved through faith 7,eph4 #b3h74 ,we must see that men are worth more than they do4 ,a man's deeds alone are an insufficient basis for judgment1 because motives for the same act may be low or high4 ,no one can be unaware of the ,master's meaning when he speaks of those who do their alms before men to be seen of them 7,matt4 #f3a;ff71 or of ,paul's when he says1 ,if ,i bestow all my goods to feed the poor 444 but have not love 7,i ,cor4 #ac3c74 ,some men habitually shine to good advantage by such means2 they have the facile gift of putting their best foot forward4 ,like a store at ,christmas time1 its finest goods in the window and inferior stock for sale upon the counters1 they are infinitely skilful in gaining more credit than their worth deserves4 ,one who has dealt with such folk becomes aware that to estimate an isolated deed is superficial2 one must know the motive4 ,a cup of cold water or a widow's penny may awake the ,master's spirited approval1 and millions rung into the temple treasury by showy ,pharisees meet only scorn4 ,deeds alone are an insufficient basis for judgment because1 while we are more than body1 our bodies are the instruments of all that visibly we do4 ,many a man in spirit is like a swift mill race1 eager for service1 but the flesh1 a battered mill wheel1 ill sustains the spirit's vehemence2 it breaks before the shock4 ,one must shut the gates and patch up the wheel1 before the spirit1 impatient for utterance1 may have its way again2 and some mill-wheels never can be mended4 ,says one of ,robert ,louis ,stevenson's biographers3 ,when a temporary illness lays him on his back1 he writes in bed one of his most careful and thoughtful papers1 the discourse on ',the ,technical ,elements in ,style4' ,when ophthalmia confines him to a darkened room1 he writes by the diminished light4 ,when after hemorrhage1 his right hand has to be held in a sling1 he writes some of his ',child's ,garden' with his left hand4 ,when the hemorrhage has been so bad that he dare not speak1 he dictates a novel in the deaf and dumb alphabet4 ,when one has lived with handicapped folk1 discerning behind the small amount of work the infinite willingness for more1 and in the work done a quality that makes quantity seem negligible1 he perceives that deeds are no sufficient measure of spiritual value4 ,only an eye that pierces behind the unwrought work to the man1 willing while the flesh was weak1 can ever estimate how much some spirits are worth4 ,deeds alone are an insufficient basis for judgment because men face unequal opportunities4 ,some start with one talent1 some with ten4 ,the cherished son of a ,christian family ought to live a decent life2 how favorable his chance6 ,but if a vagrant wharf-rat by some mysterious vision of decency and determination of character makes a man of himself1 how much more his credit6 ,the worth of goodness cannot be estimated without knowledge of the struggle which it cost4 ,when one considers the smug1 conventional respectability of some1 possessing every favorable help to goodness1 and the rough but genuine integrity of others who have fought a great fight against crippling handicaps to character1 he sees why1 in any righteous judgment1 the last will be first1 as ,jesus said1 and the first last4 ,only ,god1 with power to understand what heredity and circumstance some men have faced1 what enticements they have met1 what a fight they have really waged even when they may have seemed to fail1 can tell how much they are worth4 ,what's done we partly may compute1 ,but know not what's resisted4 ,judgment based on deeds alone can never truly estimate a man1 because in every important decision of our lives an unpublished self finds no expression in our outward act4 ,duty is not always clear2 at times it seems a labyrinth without a clue4 ,perplexed1 we balance in long deliberation the opposing reasons for this act or that1 until1 forced to choose1 we obtain only a majority vote for the decision4 ,yet that uncertain majority alone is published in our deed2 man's eyes never see the unexpressed protestant minority behind4 ,and when the choice proves wrong1 and friends are grieved and enemies condemn and what we did is hateful to ourselves1 only one who knows how much we wanted to do right1 and who accounts not only the published but the unpublished self can truly estimate our worth4 ,peter1 who denied his ,lord1 it may be because he wanted the privilege of being near him at the trial1 is not the only one who has appealed from the outward aspect of his deed to the inner intention of his heart3 ,lord1 thou knowest all things2 thou knowest that ,i love thee 7,john #ba3ag74 ,moreover1 even when we choose aright1 no deed can ever gather into utterance all that is best and deepest in us4 ,a mother's love is as much greater than any word she speaks or act she does1 as the sunshine is greater than the focused point where in a burning glass we gather a ray of it4 ,we are infinitely more than words can utter or deeds express4 ,no adequate judgment1 therefore1 can rest on deeds alone4 ,a machine may be estimated by its output1 but a man is too subtle and profound1 his motives and purposes too inexpressible1 his temptations and inward struggles too intimate and unrevealed1 his possibilities too great to be roughly estimated by his acts alone4 ,not on the vulgar mass ,called 'work' must sentence pass1 ,things done1 that took the eye and had the price2 ,o'er which1 from level stand1 ,the low world laid its hand1 ,found straightway to its mind1 could value in a trice3 ,but all1 the world's coarse thumb ,and finger failed to plumb1 ,so passed in making up the main account2 ,all instincts immature1 ,all purposes unsure1 ,that weighed not as his work1 yet swelled the man's amount3 ,thoughts hardly to be packed ,into a narrow act1 ,fancies that broke through language and escaped2 ,all ,i could never be1 ,all1 men ignored in me1 ,this1 ,i was worth to ,god1 whose wheel the pitcher shaped4 ,v ,if1 however1 we are to understand the ,christian's meaning when he speaks of being saved by faith 7,rom4 #c3bh2 #e3a2 ,gal4 #c3bd71 we need to see not only that men are worth more than they do1 but as well that they are worth more than they are4 ,some things always start large and grow small2 some things always start small and grow large2 but a man may do either1 and his value is determined not so much by the position he is in1 as it is by the direction in which he is moving4 ,even of stocks upon the market in their rise and fall this truth is clear4 ,the figure at which a stock is quoted is important1 but the meaning of that figure cannot be understood unless one knows whether it was reached on the way up or the way down4 ,how much more is any static judgment of a man impossible6 ,one starts at the summit1 with endowments and opportunities that elevate him far above his fellows1 and frittering away his chance1 drifts down4 ,another1 beginning at the bottom1 by dint of resolute endeavor climbs upward1 achieving character in the face of odds before which ordinary men succumb4 ,somewhere these two men will pass1 and1 statically judged1 will be of equal worth4 ,but one is drifting down2 one climbing up4 ,the innermost secret of their spiritual value lies in that hidden fact4 ,when1 therefore1 one would judge a man1 he must pierce behind the deeds that he can see1 behind the present quality that he can estimate1 back to the thing the man has set his heart upon1 to the direction of his life1 to the ideal which masters him--that is1 to his faith4 ,there lies the potential future of the man1 his ultimate worth1 the seed of his coming fruit4 ,if one has eyes to see what that faith is1 he knows the man and what the man is bound to be4 ,when1 therefore1 men set their hearts on ,christ1 lay hold on him by faith as life's ,master and its goal1 that faith opens the door to ,god's forgiveness4 ,in ,augustine's luminous phrase1 ,the ,christian already has in ,christ what he hopes for in himself4 ,he is ,christ's brother in the filial life with ,god1 young1 immature1 undeveloped--but the issue of that life is the measure of the stature of ,christ's fulness4 ,god does not demand the end when only the beginning is possible1 does not scorn the dawn because it is not noon4 ,he welcomes the first movement of man's spirit toward him1 not for the fruit which yet is unmatured1 but for the seed which still is in the germ2 he takes the will for the deed1 because the will is earnest2 he sees the journey's end in ,christlike character1 when at the road's beginning the pilgrim takes the first step by faith4 ,there is no fiction here2 ,god ought to forgive and welcome such a man4 ,all good parents act so toward their children4 ,this divine grace corresponds with truth1 for a man is worth the central1 dominant faith1 that determines life's direction and decides its goal4 ,and the ,gospel that ,god so deals with man1 announced in the words of ,jesus1 illustrated in his life1 sealed in his death1 has been a boon to the race that puts all men under an immeasurable debt to ,christ4 ,,vi ,this method of judgment which all good men use with their friends and families has been often disbelieved1 in its ,christian formulations1 because it has been misrepresented and misunderstood4 ,but human life1 far outside religious boundaries1 continually illustrates the wisdom and righteousness of so judging men by faith4 ,roswell ,mc,intyre deserted during the ,civil ,war2 he was caught1 court-martialled1 and condemned to death4 ,he stood with no defense for his deed1 no just complaint against the penalty1 and with nothing to plead save shame for his act1 and faith that1 with another chance1 he could play the man4 ,on that1 the last recourse of the condemned1 ,president ,lincoln pardoned him4 ,,executive ,,mansion1 ,oct4 #d1 #ahfd4 ,upon condition that ,roswell ,mc,intyre of ,co4 ,e1 #fth ,reg't of ,new ,york ,cavalry1 returns to his ,regiment and faithfully serves out his term1 making up for lost time1 or until otherwise discharged1 he is fully pardoned for any supposed desertion heretofore committed1 and this paper is his pass to go to his regiment4 ,,abraham ,,lincoln4 ,was such clemency an occasion for lax character8 ,the answer is written across the face of ,mr4 ,lincoln's letter in the archives3 ,taken from the body of ,r4 ,mc,intyre at the ,battle of ,five ,forks1 ,va41 #ahfe4 ,five ,forks was the last cavalry action of the war2 ,mc,intyre went through to the finish4 ,any one who knows the experience of being forgiven understands the motives that so remake a pardoned deserter4 ,the relief from the old crushing condemnation1 the joy of being trusted again beyond desert1 the gratitude that makes men rather die than be untrue a second time1 the unpayable indebtedness from which ambition springs1 whether at home or absent1 to be well-pleasing unto him 7,,ii ,cor4 #e3i7--this is the moral consequence of being pardoned4 ,goodness so begotten reaches deep and high1 has in it conscious joy and hope1 feels vividly the value of its moral victories1 possesses great motives for sacrificial service in the world4 ,the ,apocalypse is right4 ,there is a song in heaven that angels cannot sing4 ,only men like ,mc,intyre will know how to sing it4 ,the vital and transforming faith that saves is always better presented in a story than in an argument1 and in the ,scripture the best description of it is ,jesus' parable of the ,prodigal4 ,as the ,master drew that portrait of life in the far country1 all the watching ,pharisees thought that such a boy was lost4 ,the ,prodigal himself must have guessed that his case was hopeless4 ,his friends1 his character1 his reputation1 his will were gone1 and in the inner court-room of his soul with maddening iteration he heard sentence passed1 ,guilty4 ,only one hope remained4 ,if he was unspoiled enough by the far country's pitiless brutality to think that at home they might bear no grudge1 might find forgiveness possible1 might offer him another chance as a hired servant1 if he could think that perhaps his father even wanted him to come home1 then there was hope4 ,with such slender faith the boy turned back from the far country4 ,he had the same lack of character1 the same weakened will1 the same evil habits4 ,only one difference had as yet been wrought4 ,before1 he had been facing toward swine1 now he was facing toward home4 ,the direction of his life was changed by faith4 ,and when the father saw him1 homeward bound1 while he was yet afar off1 forgiveness welcomed him4 ,no pardon could unload from the lad's life all the fearful consequences of his sin4 ,as long as he lived1 the scars on health1 repute1 and usefulness were there4 ,but forgiveness could take the sin away as a barrier to personal friendship with the father2 the old relationships of mutual confidence1 helpfulness1 and love could be restored2 the glorious chance could be bestowed of fighting through the battle for character1 not hopelessly in the far country1 but victoriously at home4 ,one of the chief glories of the ,gospel is that it has so reclaimed the waste of humanity1 made sons of ,prodigals and patriots of ,mc,intyres4 ,its ,pauls were persecutors1 its ,augustines the slaves of lust1 and its rank and file men and women to whom ,christ's message has meant forgiveness1 reinstatement1 a new chance1 and boundless hope4 ,scientific business conserves its waste and makes invaluable by-products from what once was slag2 but ,christ has been the conserver of mankind4 ,the lost and sick have been returned to sanity and wholesomeness and service2 humanity has been enriched beyond computation1 with ,bunyans and ,goughs and ,jerry ,mc,auleys4 ,tolstoi's simple confession in ,my ,religion is typical of multitudes3 ,five years ago ,i came to believe in ,christ's teaching1 and my life suddenly became changed3 ,i ceased desiring what ,i had wished before1 and began to desire what ,i had not wished before4 ,what formerly had seemed good to me appeared bad1 and what had seemed bad appeared good4444 ,the direction of my life1 my desires became different3 what was good and bad changed places4 ,tolstoi had indulged1 as he acknowledges1 in every form of unmentionable vice practiced in ,russia2 and yet forgiven1 reinstated1 transformed1 he was carried to his burial by innumerable ,russian peasants with banners flying4 ,where ,christ's influence has vitally come1 the loss and wreck and flotsam of the moral world have been so reclaimed to character and power4 ,at the beginning of the ,christian era1 a few desolate sand lagoons lay off the ,paduan coast of ,italy4 ,there the wild fowl made their nests2 the lonely skiffs of fishermen threaded the reedy channels2 the storms washed the shifting and uncertain sands4 ,and possibly to this day the lagoons would have been thus barren and deserted1 had not the ,huns swept down on ,italy4 ,the ,huns made the building of ,venice necessary4 ,they did not intend so fair a consequence of their terrific onslaughts4 ,their thoughts were on death and pillage4 ,but because they came1 the ,italians fled to the lagoons1 built there1 behind the barricade of restless waters1 their gleaming city1 developed there the commerce that combed the world1 built the ,doge's palace as the abode of justice1 and raised ,st4 ,mark's in praise of ,god4 ,venice was the city of ,salvation2 it rose resplendent because the ,huns had come4 ,so ,christ turns the ruin of sin to victory1 and builds in human life character1 recovered and triumphant4 ,if his ,gospel can have its way1 a spiritual ,venice will arise to make the onslaught of the moral ,huns an evil with a glorious issue4 ,what wonder that inexpressible devotion has been felt for him by all his people8 #g ,iniquities prevail against me4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,faith in ,christ the ,savior3 ,power ,,daily ,,readings ,as we saw in the last week's study1 ,christian faith has always centered around the person of ,jesus himself4 ,this week let us consider some testimonies from the ,new ,testament as to the meaning and effect of this definitely ,christian faith4 ,eleventh ,week1 ,first ,day ,it must be clear to any observing mind that the world does not suffer from lack of faith4 ,there is faith in plenty2 everybody is exercising it on some object4 ,in the ,bible we read of folk who trust in vanity 7,isa4 #ei3d71 who trust in lying words 7,jer4 #g3d71 or in the abundance of riches 7,psalm #eb3g72 and the ,master exclaims over the difficulty which those who trust in riches have when they try to enter the ,kingdom of ,god 7,mark #aj3bd74 ,faith1 then1 is a necessary faculty of the soul3 the power by which we commit ourselves to any object that wins our devotion and commands our allegiance4 ,no man avoids its use1 and men differ only in the objects toward which their faith is directed4 ,of all the tragedies caused by the misuse of human powers1 none is more frequent and disastrous than the ruin that follows the misuse of faith4 ,with this necessary and powerful faculty in our possession1 capable of use on things high or low1 to what determination can a man more reasonably set himself than this8--since ,i must and do use faith on something1 ,i will choose the highest4 ,it is with such a rational and worthy choice that the ,christian turns to ,jesus4 ,he is the best we know2 we will direct our faith toward him4 ,this does not mean that in the end our faith does not rest on ,god2 it does1 for ,jesus is the ,way1 the ,door1 as he said1 and faith in him moves up through him to the ,one who sent him4 ,as ,paul put it1 ,such confidence have we through ,christ to ,god-ward 7,,ii ,cor4 #c3d74 ,but faith in ,jesus is the most vivid1 true1 and compelling way we have of committing ourselves to the highest and best we know4 ,in the light of this truth1 we can understand why ,john calls such faith the supreme work which ,god demands of us4 ,work not for the food which perisheth1 but for the food which abideth unto eternal life1 which the ,son of man shall give unto you3 for him the ,father1 even ,god1 hath sealed4 ,they said therefore unto him1 ,what must we do1 that we may work the works of ,god8 ,jesus answered and said unto them1 ,this is the work of ,god1 that ye believe on him whom he hath sent4--,john #f3bg-bi4 ,gracious ,father6 ,thou hast revealed ,thyself gloriously in ,jesus ,christ1 the ,son of ,thy love4 ,in ,him we have found ,thee1 or rather1 are found of ,thee4 ,by ,his life1 by ,his words and deeds1 by ,his trials and sufferings1 we are cleansed from sin and rise into holiness4 ,for in ,him ,thou hast made disclosure of ,thine inmost being and art drawing us into fellowship with ,thy life4 ,as we stand beneath ,his ,cross1 or pass with ,him into the ,garden of ,his ,agony1 it is ,thy heart that we see unveiled1 it is the passion of ,thy love yearning over the sinful1 the wandering1 seeking that it may save them4 ,no man hath seen ,thee at any time1 but out from the unknown has come the ,son of ,man to declare ,thee4 ,and now we know ,thy name4 ,when we call ,thee ,father1 the mysteries of existence are not so terrible1 our burdens weigh less heavily upon us1 our sorrows are touched with joy4 ,thy ,son has brought the comfort that we need1 the comfort of knowing that in all our afflictions ,thou art afflicted1 that in ,thy grief our lesser griefs are all contained4 ,let the light which shines in ,his face1 shine into our hearts1 to give us the knowledge of ,thy glory1 to scatter the darkness of fear1 of wrong1 of remorse1 of foreboding1 and to constrain our lives to finer issues of peace and power and spiritual service4 ,and this prayer we offer in ,christ's name4 ,amen4--,samuel ,mc,comb4 ,eleventh ,week1 ,second ,day ,the ,new ,testament clearly reveals the experience that forgiveness comes in answer to such self-committing faith in ,christ as we spoke of yesterday4 ,and he said unto her1 ,thy sins are forgiven4 ,and they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves1 ,who is this that even forgiveth sins8 ,and he said unto the woman1 ,thy faith hath saved thee2 go in peace4--,luke #g3dh-ej4 ,in popular thought forgiveness is often shallowly conceived4 ,it is thought to be an easy agreement to forget offense1 a good-natured waving aside of injuries committed as though the evil done were of no consequence4 ,but forgiveness is really a most profound and searching experience2 and it takes two persons1 each sacrificially desirous of achieving it1 before it can be perfected4 ,in the pardoner1 the passion for saviorhood must submerge all disgust at the sin in love for the sinner2 and in the pardoned1 desire for a new life must create sacrificial willingness to hate and forsake the evil and humbly accept a new chance4 ,it follows1 therefore1 that no one can forgive another1 no matter how willing he may be to do so1 unless the recipient fulfils the conditions that make pardon possible4 ,forgiveness is a mutual operation2 no forgetting or good will on the part of one person is forgiveness at all2 and the attitude in the forgiven man that makes the reception of pardon possible is negatively penitence and positively faith4 ,any experience of human forgiveness reveals that the offender must detest his sin and turn from it in trust and self-commitment to claim the mercy and choose the ideals of the one whom he has wronged4 ,that ,god in ,christ is willing to forgive is the ,christian ,gospel2 and if we go unforgiven it is for lack of faith4 ,that is the hand which grasps the proffered pardon4 ,almighty ,god1 whose salvation is ever nigh to them that seek ,thee1 we think of our little lives1 of their wayward ways1 and we remember ,thee and are troubled4 ,our days pass from us and we are heated with strifes1 and troubled and restless1 with mean temptations and fugitive desires4 ,we spend our years in much carelessness1 and too seldom do we think of the greatness of our trust and the wonder and mystery of our being4 ,we are vexed with vain dreams and trivial desires4 ,we live our days immersed in petty passions4 ,we strain after poor uncertainties4 ,we pursue the shadows of this passing life and continually are we visited by our own self-contempt and bitterness4 ,we have known the better and have chosen the worse4 ,we have felt the glory and power of a higher life and yet have surrendered to ignoble temptations and to satisfactions that end with the hour4 ,almighty ,father1 of ,thy goodness do ,thou save our lives1 so smitten with passion1 from the failure and misery that else must come to us4 ,be with us in our hours of self-communion1 and inspire us with good purpose and service to ,thee4 ,be with us when heart and flesh faint1 and there seems no help or safety near us4 ,be with us when we are carried into the dry and lonely places1 seeking a rest that is not in them4 ,sustain us1 we beseech ,thee1 under the burden of our many errors and failures4 ,from the confused aims and purposes of our lives may there be brought forth1 by the aid of ,thy ,spirit1 and the teaching and discipline of life1 lives constant and assured in service and obedience to ,thee4 ,amen4--,john ,hunter4 ,eleventh ,week1 ,third ,day ,it is clear in the ,new ,testament that all the free movements of divine help depend on the presence of man's faith4 ,words like these are continually on the lips of ,jesus3 ,be of good cheer2 thy faith hath made thee whole 7,matt4 #i3bb72 ,according to your faith be it done unto you 7,matt4 #i3bi72 ,great is thy faith3 be it done unto thee even as thou wilt 7,matt4 #ae3bh74 ,human life as a whole confirms the truth which such words suggest3 ,man's faith is always the limit of his blessing2 he never obtains more than he believes in4 ,men live in a world of unappropriated truth and unused power2 and the blessings of truth and power can be reached only by ventures of faith4 ,even electricity withholds its service from a man who1 like ,abdul ,hamid1 has not faith enough to try4 ,in personal relationships this fact becomes even more clear4 ,whatever gifts of good will may be waiting in the heart of any man1 we are shut out from them forever1 unless we have the grace of faith in the man and open-hearted self-commitment to him4 ,as the ,christian ,gospel sees man's case1 the central tragedy lies here3 that ,god in ,christ is willing to do so much more in and for and through us than we have faith enough to let him do4 ,our unbelief is not a matter of theoretical concern alone2 it practically disables ,god1 it handicaps his operation in the world1 it is an evil heart of unbelief1 in falling away from the living ,god 7,heb4 #c3ab74 ,the divine will is forced to wait upon the lagging faith of man4 ,how often the ,master exclaimed1 ,o ye of little faith6 7,matt4 #f3cj2 #h3bf74 ,and the reason for his lament was eminently practical4 ,and coming into his own country he taught them in their synagogue1 insomuch that they were astonished1 and said1 ,whence hath this man this wisdom1 and these mighty works8 ,is not this the carpenter's son8 is not his mother called ,mary8 and his brethren1 ,james1 and ,joseph1 and ,simon1 and ,judas8 ,and his sisters1 are they not all with us8 ,whence then hath this man all these things8 ,and they were offended in him4 ,but ,jesus said unto them1 ,a prophet is not without honor1 save in his own country1 and in his own house4 ,and he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief4--,matt4 #ac3ed-eh4 ,almighty ,god1 our ,heavenly ,father1 we desire to come to ,thee in all humility and sincerity4 ,we are sinful2 pardon ,thou us4 ,we are ignorant2 enlighten ,thou our darkness4 ,we are weak2 inspire us with strength4 ,in these times of doubt1 uncertainty1 and trial1 may we ever feel conscious of ,thine everlasting light4 ,soul of our soul6 ,inmost ,light of truth6 ,manifest ,thyself unto us amid all shadows4 ,guide us in faith1 hope1 and love1 until the perfect day shall dawn1 and we shall know as we are known4 ,almighty ,god1 teach us1 we pray ,thee1 by blessed experience1 to apprehend what was meant of old when ,jesus ,christ was called the power of ,god unto salvation1 for we stand in need of salvation from sin1 from doubt1 from weakness1 from craven fear2 we cannot save ourselves2 we are creatures of a day1 short-sighted1 and too often driven about by every wind of passion and opinion4 ,we need to be stayed upon a higher strength4 ,we need to lay hold of ,thee4 ,manifest ,thyself unto us1 our ,father1 as the ,saviour of our souls1 and deliver us from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of ,god4 ,amen4--,john ,hunter4 ,eleventh ,week1 ,fourth ,day ,not only is man's power to appropriate the divine blessing dependent on faith2 in the experience of the ,new ,testament man's power of achievement has the same source4 ,then came the disciples to ,jesus apart1 and said1 ,why could not we cast it out8 ,and he saith unto them1 ,because of your little faith3 for verily ,i say unto you1 ,if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed1 ye shall say unto this mountain1 ,remove hence to yonder place2 and it shall remove2 and nothing shall be impossible unto you4--,matt4 #ag3ai1 #bj4 ,mountains are symbols of difficulty1 and the ,master's affirmation here that faith alone can remove them is clearly confirmed in human experience4 ,it may seem at times as though faith1 compared with the obstacles1 were like a minute mustard seed before the ranges of ,lebanon1 but faith can overcome even that disproportion in size4 ,great leaders always must have such confidence4 ,listen to ,mazzini3 ,the people lack faith 444 the faith that arouses the multitudes1 faith in their own destiny1 in their own mission1 and in the mission of the epoch2 the faith that combats and prays2 the faith that enlightens and bids men advance fearlessly in the ways of ,god and humanity1 with the sword of the people in their hand1 the religion of the people in their heart1 and the future of the people in their soul4 ,in any great movement for human good1 the ultimate and deciding question always is3 ,how many people can be found who have faith enough to believe in the cause and its triumph8 ,when enough folk have faith1 any campaign for human welfare can be won4 ,without faith men collapse into a yielding mass of plaintiveness and fear2 with faith they move mountains4 ,and when men have faith in ,christ as ,god's ,revealor--faith1 not formal and abstract1 but real and vital--they begin to feel about the word impossible as ,mirabeau did1 ,never mention to me again that blockhead of a word6 ,o ,god1 our ,father1 our souls are made sick by the sight of hunger and want and nakedness2 of little children bearing on their bent backs the burden of the world's work2 of motherhood drawn under the grinding wheels of modern industry2 and of overburdened manhood1 with empty hands1 stumbling and falling4 ,help us to understand that it is not ,thy purpose to do away with life's struggle1 but that ,thou desirest us to make the conditions of that struggle just and its results fair4 ,enable us to know that we may bring this to pass only through love and sympathy and understanding2 only as we realize that all are alike ,thy children--the rich and the poor1 the strong and the weak1 the fortunate and the unfortunate4 ,and so1 our ,father1 give us an ever-truer sense of human sisterhood2 that with patience and steadfastness we may do our part in ending the injustice that is in the land1 so that all may rejoice in the fruits of their toil and be glad in ,thy sunshine4 ,keep us in hope and courage even amid the vastness of the undertaking and the slowness of the progress1 and sustain us with the knowledge that our times are in ,thy hand4 ,amen4--,helen ,ring ,robinson4 ,eleventh ,week1 ,fifth ,day ,faith in ,christ has always been consummated1 in the experience to which the ,new ,testament introduces us1 in an inward transformation of life4 ,i have been crucified with ,christ2 and it is no longer ,i that live1 but ,christ liveth in me3 and that life which ,i now live in the flesh ,i live in faith1 the faith which is in the ,son of ,god1 who loved me1 and gave himself up for me4--,gal4 #b3bj4 ,such conversion of life is the normal result of a vital fellowship whose bond is faith4 ,for one thing1 a man at once begins to care a great deal more about his own quality when he believes in ,christ and in ,christ's love4 ,what a ,king stoops to pick up from the mire cannot be a brass farthing1 but must be a pearl of great price4 ,to be loved by anyone is to enter into a new estimate of one's possible value2 to be loved by ,god in ,christ is to come into an experience where our possible value makes us alike ashamed of what we are and jubilant over what we may become4 ,we begin saying with ,irenus1 ,jesus ,christ became what we are that he might make us what he is4 ,and then1 faith1 ripening into fellowship1 opening the life sensitively to the influence of the friend1 issues in a character infused by the friend's character4 ,he lives in us4 ,such transformation of life does not happen in a moment2 it requires more than instantaneous exposure to take the ,lord's picture on a human heart2 but time-exposure will do it1 and ,christ in us be alike our hope of glory and our secret of influence4 ,o ,father ,eternal1 we thank ,thee for the new and living way into ,thy presence made for us in ,christ2 the way of trust1 sincerity1 and sacrifice4 ,beneath ,his cross we would take our stand1 in communion with ,his ,spirit would we pray1 in fellowship with the whole ,church of ,christ we would seek to know ,thy mind and will4 ,we desire to know all the fulness of ,christ1 to appropriate ,his unsearchable riches1 to feed on ,his humanity whereby ,thou hast become to us the bread of our inmost souls and the wine of life1 to become partakers of ,thy nature1 share ,thy glory1 and become one with ,thee through ,him4 ,give unto us fellowship with ,his sufferings and insight into the mystery of ,his cross1 so that we may be indeed crucified with ,him1 be raised to newness of life1 and be hidden with ,christ in ,thee4 ,we desire to make thankful offering of ourselves as members of the body of ,christ2 in union with all the members may we obey our unseen ,head1 so that the ,body may be undivided1 and ,thy love1 and healing power1 and very ,self may be incarnate on the earth in one ,holy ,universal ,church4 ,amen4--,w4 ,e4 ,orchard4 ,eleventh ,week1 ,sixth ,day ,with faith in ,christ so seen as the secret of divine forgiveness and assistance1 of achieving power and inward transformation1 there can be little surprise at the solicitude which the ,new ,testament shows concerning the disciples' faith4 ,we find this urgent interest in ,paul3 ,wherefore when we could no longer forbear1 we thought it good to be left behind at ,athens alone2 and sent ,timothy1 our brother and ,god's minister in the gospel of ,christ1 to establish you1 and to comfort you concerning your faith2 444 night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face1 and may perfect that which is lacking in your faith4--,i ,thess4 #c3a1 #b1 #aj4 ,we are bound to give thanks to ,god always for you1 brethren1 even as it is meet1 for that your faith groweth exceedingly1 and the love of each one of you all toward one another aboundeth4--,,ii ,thess4 #a3c4 ,and one of the most appealing revelations of ,jesus' habit in prayer concerns his supplication for ,peter's faith4 ,simon1 ,simon1 behold1 ,satan asked to have you1 that he might sift you as wheat3 but ,i made supplication for thee1 that thy faith fail not2 and do thou1 when once thou hast turned again1 establish thy brethren4--,luke #bb3ca1 #cb4 ,in all such passages one feels at once that faith is used as ,paul uses it in the thirteenth chapter of ,first ,corinthians--a comrade and ally of hope and love4 ,it is not a matter of dogma and does not move in the realm of opinion1 although ideas of the first magnitude may be involved in it4 ,it is primarily a bond of divine fellowship1 which at once keeps the life receptive to all that ,god would do for the man and moves the man to do all that he should for ,god4 ,if that fails1 even ,peter would fall in ruins1 and the expression is none too strong1 when in ,i ,timothy the failure of such vital faith is described as a shipwreck 7,i ,tim4 #a3ai74 ,but when by faith the consciousness of ,god has grown clear1 and alliance with him is so real that we stop arguing about it and begin counting on it in daily living1 the increment of power and confidence and stability which a man may win is quite incalculable4 ,o ,thou plenteous ,source of every good and perfect gift1 shed abroad the cheering light of ,thy seven-fold grace over our hearts4 ,yea1 ,spirit of love and gentleness1 we most humbly implore ,thy assistance4 ,thou knowest our faults1 our failings1 our necessities1 the dulness of our understanding1 the waywardness of our affections1 the perverseness of our will4 ,when1 therefore1 we neglect to practice what we know1 visit us1 we beseech ,thee1 with ,thy grace1 enlighten our minds1 rectify our desires1 correct our wanderings1 and pardon our omissions1 so that by ,thy guidance we may be preserved from making shipwreck of faith1 and keep a good conscience1 and may at length be landed safe in the haven of eternal rest2 through ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,amen4--,anselm1 #ajcc4 ,eleventh ,week1 ,seventh ,day ,some who gladly acknowledge the surprising results which faith can work in life1 do not see any great importance in the object to which faith attaches itself4 ,they say that faith is merely a psychological attitude1 and that faith in one thing does as well as faith in another4 ,folk are healed1 they point out1 by all kinds of faith1 whether directed toward fetishes1 or saints' relics1 or metaphysical theories1 or ,god himself4 ,it is the faith1 they say1 and not the object1 which does the work4 ,there is a modicum of truth in this4 ,faith1 by its very power to organize man's faculties and give them definite set and drive1 is itself a master force1 and if a man has no interest beyond the achievement of some immediate end1 like conquering nervous qualms or getting strength for a special task1 he may achieve that end by believing in almost anything1 provided he believes hard enough4 ,but to believe in some things may debauch the intelligence and lower the moral standards1 even while it achieves a practical end4 ,to win power for a business task by believing in a palm-reader's predictions is entirely possible1 but it is a poor bargain2 a man sells out his intelligence for cash4 ,the object in which a man believes does make an immense difference in the effect of his faith on his mind and character4 ,an ,african savage may gain courage for an ordeal by believing in his fetish--but how immeasurable is the abyss between the meaning of that faith for the whole of life and the meaning of a ,christian's faith in ,god6 ,we have no business1 for the sake of immediate gain1 to allow our faith to rest in anything lower than the highest4 ,blessed be the ,god and ,father of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 who according to his great mercy begat us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of ,jesus ,christ from the dead1 unto an inheritance incorruptible1 and undefiled1 and that fadeth not away1 reserved in heaven for you1 who by the power of ,god are guarded through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time4 ,wherein ye greatly rejoice1 though now for a little while1 if need be1 ye have been put to grief in manifold trials1 that the proof of your faith1 being more precious than gold that perisheth though it is proved by fire1 may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of ,jesus ,christ3 whom not having seen ye love2 on whom1 though now ye see him not1 yet believing1 ye rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory3 receiving the end of your faith1 even the salvation of your souls4--,i ,peter #a3c-i4 ,gracious ,father of our spirits1 in the stillness of this worship may we grow more sure of ,thee1 who art often closest to us when we feel ,thou hast forsaken us4 ,the toil and thought of daily life leave us little time to think of ,thee2 but may the silence of this holy place make us aware that though we may forget ,thee1 ,thou dost never forget us4 ,perhaps we have grown careless in contact with common things1 duty has lost its high solemnities1 the altar fires have gone untended1 ,thy light within our minds has been distrusted or ignored4 ,as we withdraw awhile from all without1 may we find ,thee anew within1 until thought grows reverent again1 all work is hallowed1 and faith reconsecrates all common things as sacraments of love4 ,if pride of thought and careless speculation have made us doubtful of ,thee1 recover for us the simplicity that understands ,thou art never surer than when we doubt ,thee1 that through all failures of faith ,thou becomest clearer1 and so makest the light that once we walked by seem but darkness4 ,help us then to rest our faith on the knowledge of our imperfection1 our consciousness of ignorance1 our sense of sin1 and see in them shadows cast by the light of ,thy drawing near4 ,if ,thy purposes have crossed our own and ,thy will has broken ours1 enable us to trust the wisdom of ,thy perfect love and find ,thy will to be our peace4 ,so lead us back to meet ,thee where we may have missed ,thee4 ,amen4--,w4 ,e4 ,orchard4 ,,comment ,,for ,,the ,,week ,i ,the forgiveness which the ,gospel offers--reinstating a man in the personal relationships against which he sinned1 and giving him another chance--opens opportunity1 but by itself it does not furnish power4 ,the saviorhood of ,christ1 however1 so far from failing at this crucial point1 makes here its chief claim to preeminence4 ,however one may explain it1 the normal quality of a genuine ,christian life is moral energy4 ,the ,gospel not alone to ,paul1 but to all generations of ,christ's disciples1 had been ,god's saving power for everyone who has faith 7,rom4 #a3af74h ,faith always supplies moral dynamic4 ,emerson's challenge1 ,they can conquer who believe they can1 is easily verified in daily life4 ,in practical business1 in social reform1 in personal character1 no more common or fatal barrier to success exists than disbelief in possibilities4 ,while some who think they can when they cannot1 prove the rule by its exception1 we are sure in advance that one who believes he cannot1 has lost his battle before it has begun4 ,granted a task worth doing1 sufficient strength for its accomplishment1 and motives in plenty to make success desirable1 and one insinuating enemy can spoil the enterprise4 ,let the subtle fear that the task is impossible obsess the thought1 paralyze the nerve1 and no hope is left4 ,like chlorine gas1 such fear defeats us before we have begun to fight and fills our trenches with asphyxiated powers4 ,anyone who is to be a savior to mankind1 therefore1 must be able to make men say1 ,i can4 ,that ,christ has had that influence on men is the commonplace of ,christian biography from the beginning until now4 ,in him who strengthens me ,i am able for anything 7,phil4 #d3ac7i is a word of ,paul's which the best ,christian experience confirms4 ,it does not mean that men can do what they will1 overriding all obstacles to chosen goals2 it means that they are aware of resources in reserve1 of power around them and in them1 so that they are not afraid of anything which they may face4 ,if a duty ought to be done1 they are confident that they can do it2 if a trouble must be borne1 they are assured that they can bear it4 ,this buoyant faith is more than a grace of temperament4 ,in ,paul's case1 for example1 it was not due to rugged health1 for that he lacked2 it was not the easy optimism of some happiness cult1 for he was a persecuted man1 bearing in his body the marks of the ,lord ,jesus2 and such a note of assured resource as we just have quoted did not come from the hopefulness of fortunate circumstance1 but from a prison where he wore a chain4 ,paul himself is certain that his sense of power springs from discipleship to ,jesus4 ,and when one turns to the gospels1 he sees that whenever the ,master had opportunity to exert to the full his influence on men1 some such result as here appears in ,paul is evident4 ,a contagious personality always enlarges the sense of possibilities and powers in other men4 ,a man1 leaving ,trinity ,church1 where he had heard ,phillips ,brooks1 exclaimed1 ,he always makes me feel so strong4 ,it was said that one could not stand for a moment with ,edmund ,burke under an archway1 to let a shower pass by1 without emerging a greater man4 ,each one of us knows folk who so impress him4 ,we go into their presence1 weak1 self-pitiful2 when we come out1 the horizons are broader1 the possibilities have enlarged1 there is more in us than we had suspected1 we are convinced that we can4 ,to a degree that escapes our estimation ,jesus exerted that influence on men4 ,napoleon said that he made his generals out of mud4 ,out of what1 then1 did the ,master make his apostles8 ,at the beginning1 ,peter1 for example1 is protesting1 ,depart from me1 for ,i am a sinful man1 ,o ,lord1 and ,jesus is bending over him1 saying3 ,come after me1 and ,i will make you a fisher of men2 if you will1 you can4 ,after months of influence1 ,peter1 still shamed and weak1 is pleading his love against his deed1 and ,jesus is saying3 ,feed my sheep2 feed my lambs2 if you will1 you can4 ,in ,jesus' relationship with his disciple1 a great personality stands over a lesser one1 by life and word insistently saying1 ,you can1 until power is vitally transmitted1 and in the vacillating1 vehement ,simon there emerges rock-like1 stable ,peter4 ,throughout the ,christian centuries nothing has been more typical than this of the ,master's influence on men4 ,he has come to innumerable sodden lives1 held slaves to tyrannous sin1 saying in the hopelessness of bondage1 ,i cannot1 and he has touched them with his contagious confidence1 until they rose into freedom1 saying1 ,by the help of ,god1 ,i can6 ,he has come into social situations1 where ancient evils1 long entrenched and seemingly invincible1 withstood the assault of reformation1 and he has put inexhaustible resource into his people1 until they said with an old reformer1 ,impossible8 ,if that is all that is the matter1 let us go ahead6 ,he has come to his ,church1 reluctant to undertake a world-wide mission1 staggered by the task's magnitude1 and he has made men pray with life and not alone with lip1 ,thy ,kingdom come1 ,thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven4 ,wherever the influence of ,christ vitally has come1 the horizons of possibility have widened and the sense of power grown inexhaustible4 ,such influence is of the very essence of saviorhood and the attitude that appropriates it is saving faith4 ,when ,john ,b4 ,gough1 desperately enmeshed in habit1 faces the ,christian ,gospel of release one easily may trace his changing response4 ,dubious at first1 he wants to believe it but he does not dare4 ,he wishes it were true1 but the whole logic of his situation1 his long habit1 his spoiled reputation1 his weakened will1 argue against the possibility4 ,as ,augustine said about his lust1 ,the worse that ,i knew so well had more power over me than the better that ,i knew not4 ,still1 a note of authority in the ,gospel1 as though spoken by one whose power to perform is equal to the thing he promises1 arrests ,gough's mind1 captures his imagination1 awakens his spirit's deep desire1 until at last the ,master's call1 ,you can1 is answered by the human cry1 ,i will1 and the man moves out into new possibilities1 new powers1 and increasing liberty4 ,that is salvation4 ,it is no formal status decreed by legal enactment1 as though a judge technically acquitted a prisoner4 ,it is new life1 inward liberation from old habits1 apprehensions1 anxieties1 and fears4 ,it lifts horizons1 consumes impossibilities1 and at the center of life sets the stirring conviction that what ought to be done can be done4 ,christians who are accustomed lightly to assert that they are saved need specially to take this truth to heart4 ,some speak as though salvation were a technicality and they sing about it1 ',tis done1 the great transaction's done4 ,to many such1 were candor courteous1 one would wish to say3 ,saved8 ,saved from what8 ,you are habitually anxious4 ,your life is continually vexed with little fears and apprehensions4 ,when trouble comes1 you are sure that you cannot stand it2 when tasks present themselves1 you are certain that you cannot perform them4 ,you have pet self-indulgences1 from major sins to little meannesses2 you know that they are wrong2 but when suggestion comes that you surrender them1 you are sure that you have not the strength4 ,when causes1 plainly ,christian1 on whose successful issue man's weal depends1 appeal to you for help1 you weaken every enterprise by your disheartenment4 ,saved from what8 ,not from fear1 timidity1 selfishness1 and stagnation6 ,and if you say1 ,saved from ,hell--what is ,hell but the final subjugation of the soul to such sins as you now are cherishing8 ,the words of ,jesus are promises of saviorhood from real and present evils3 ,be not anxious 7,matt4 #f3cd72 ,go1 sin no more 7,john #h3aa72 ,fear not1 little flock 7,luke #ab3cb74 ,when one1 by faith1 turns his face homeward from such destroyers of life1 he begins to be saved2 but only as he lives by faith in fellowship with the ,divine and so achieves progressive victory1 does he keep on being saved4 ,the heart of salvation is victorious power4 ,,ii ,not all men feel the need of the power which comes from discipleship to ,christ4 ,they live content without such increment of strength as ,christians find in faith4 ,their power is equal to their tasks because their tasks are levelled to their power4 ,one cannot understand1 therefore1 what the ,saviorhood of ,christ has meant to men1 unless he sees how ,christ has created the need of the very power he furnishes4 ,he has done this1 in part1 by awakening the desire for an ascending life4 ,men do not naturally want to believe in possibilities too great and taxing2 it always is easier to leave undisturbed the status quo4 ,even changing one's residence is difficult4 ,though one may move to a better house1 yet to decide to move1 to break old relationships1 to tear up and refit the furnishings1 and to adjust oneself to new associations mean stress and strain4 ,so men come to be at home with habits2 they are comfortably accustomed to timidity and self-indulgence4 ,release into a new life does not lure as privilege2 it repels as hardship4 ,some sins1 indeed1 are followed by remorse1 but others1 grown habitual1 bring a sense of well-being and content4 ,we like ourselves2 we do not want a better life2 we are unwilling to pay its cost4 ,our sins are no bed of nettles1 but a lotus land of decent ease4 ,were we candidly to speak to them1 we should say1 ,o ,sin1 you are a comfortable friend6 ,when most we want forbidden fruit you suggest excuses4 ,you side happily with our inclinations and save us from the struggle that high duty costs and the sacrifice of striving for the best4 ,among the blessings of our lives1 we count you not the least1 ,o decent1 comfortable1 self-indulgent ,sin6 ,idlers thus drift listlessly and refuse a voyage with a purpose and a goal2 youths living by low standards1 look on ,christlike character as beyond their interest and possibility2 undedicated men find excuse for holding back devotion to great causes in the world--we shelter ourselves from aspiration and enterprise behind our faithlessness4 ,into such a situation ,christ repeatedly has come1 bringing a vision of what life ought to be1 too imperative to be neglected1 too challenging to be denied4 ,men have been shaken out of their content2 the true color of their lives has been revealed against his white background1 the meanness of their plans against the wide ranges of his purpose4 ,from seeing him they have gone back to be content in their old habits1 but in vain4 ,can one who has seen a home be happy in a hovel8 ,ranke1 the historian1 says1 ,more guiltless and more powerful1 more exalted and more holy1 has naught ever been on earth than his conduct1 his life1 and his death4 ,the human race knows nothing that could be brought even afar off into comparison with it4 ,so he has been the disturber of man's ignoble self-content1 and to say that we believe in him means that1 no longer able to endure the thing we are1 we go on pilgrimage toward the thing he is4 ,faith means that we decide to move4 ,this first essential work of saviorhood ,christ has wrought1 and when men start to follow him1 they feel the need of power4 ,for another thing1 ,christ has created a thirst for the power he furnishes by revealing the quality of character in the possession of which salvation ultimately consists4 ,at the beginning of the ethical development whether of the individual or of the race1 goodness is defined in terms of prohibitions4 ,there are many things which men ought not to do2 they walk embarrassed in the presence of their duty like courtiers before an exacting prince4 ,how negative and repelling such goodness is6 ,as another exclaims3 ,they do not break the ,sabbath themselves1 but no one who has to spend it with them likes to see the dreadful day come round4 ,they do not swear themselves1 but they make all who know them want to4 ,they are just as good as trying not to be bad can make them4 ,discerning spirits1 therefore1 turn to goodness positively conceived4 ,thou shalt not becomes ,thou shalt2 duty consists of rules to be kept1 precepts to be observed1 principles to be applied1 and we go out to do good deeds to men4 ,but whoever seriously tries to do deeds really good1 faces a need of moral elevation1 as much beyond the outward act of good as that surpasses the observance of prohibitions4 ,good deeds are not a matter of will alone1 but of spiritual quality4 ,let the wind blow to fan the faces of the sick1 but if it discover that it is laden with disease1 what shall it do8 ,to blow this way or that may be within volition's power1 but not to cleanse oneself4 ,the task of character reaches inward1 beyond the things we do or refrain from doing to the man we are4 ,goodness is something more than girding up the loins1 blowing upon the hands1 and setting to the work of being dutiful4 ,it springs from the spirit's depths2 it is tinctured with the spirit's quality2 and deeds are never really better than the soul whose utterances they are4 ,from ,thou shalt not do to ,thou shalt do and from ,thou shalt do to ,thou shalt be1 man's flying goal of goodness moves4 ,and this ideal in ,christ has been incarnate1 visible1 imperative4 ,he was right in the inner quality and flavor of his life2 and to be like him involves a pure and powerful personality4 ,whoever sets that task ahead knows that he cannot strut proudly into it4 ,like ,alice entering ,wonderland he must grow very small before he can grow large4 ,the ,christ who has power to give has revealed the need of it4 ,not only by the intensifying of the ideal1 but by its extension1 has ,christ created thirst for divine help4 ,in youth the problem of character concerns personal habits4 ,our untamed strength must be broken to the harness1 and the snaffle bit be used upon our wayward powers4 ,we justly fear our sins and in their triumph we see the wreck of individual prospects and the ruin of our families' hopes4 ,our concern centers about ourselves1 and its crux is self-mastery4 ,but when in maturity1 somewhat at leisure from ourselves in settled habits1 we no longer fear our own ruin nor think it probable1 goodness extends its meaning4 ,to play our part in man's advancement1 to live1 work1 sacrifice1 and if need be die for causes on which our children's hopes depend1 becomes our ideal4 ,as boys in spring-time when the ice is melting see from a hill-top the swirling flood that overflows the plain1 and know that somewhere underneath the unfamiliar and tumultuous rapids the main channel runs1 from which the floods have broken1 to which in time they must return1 so in a generation when man's life has broken its banks in fury we still believe that the main course of the divine purpose is not forever lost4 ,to believe that1 and in the strength of it to toil for the ends ,god seeks1 becomes to awakened spirits the essential soul of goodness4 ,when such meanings enter into his ideal1 a man runs straight upon the need of ,god4 ,for we may make our contribution to the cause of man's good upon the earth and our children may make theirs1 but if this world is a spiritual ,sahara1 never meant for character and social weal1 and against the dead set of the desert's power we are building oases here with our unaided fingers1 then the issue of our work stands in no doubt4 ,the ,sahara will pile its burning sands about us and hurl its blistering winds across us1 and we and our works together come to naught4 ,by as much1 then1 as a man really cares about democracy and liberty and social equity1 about human brotherhood and ,christian civilization1 by so much he needs ,god1 who gathers up the scattered contributions of his children and builds them into victory4 ,a man alone may keep the decalogue1 but alone he cannot save the world4 ,who dreams of that wants power4 ,and ,christ has made men dream of that1 believe in that with passionate certainty1 until ,thy ,kingdom come is the daily prayer of multitudes4 ,to no human strength can such prayer be offered2 we are not adequate to an eternal1 universal task4 ,again ,christ has brought us to the need of power1 and his people call him ,savior1 because the need which he creates he also satisfies4 ,in one of the tidal rivers near ,new ,york1 the building of a bridge was interrupted by a derelict sunk in the river's bottom4 ,divers put chains about the obstacle and all day long the engineer directed the maneuvering of tugs as they puffed and pulled in vain endeavor to dislodge the hulk4 ,then a young student1 fresh from the technical school1 asked for the privilege of trying1 and from the vexed1 impatient chief obtained his wish4 ,what will you do it with8 the engineer enquired4 ,the flat-boats in which we brought the granite from ,vermont1 the young man answered4 ,so when the tide was out1 the flat boats were fastened to the derelict4 ,the ,atlantic began to come in2 its mighty shoulders underneath the boats lifted--lifted until the derelict had to come4 ,the youth had harnessed infinite energy to his task4 ,to the consciousness of such resource in the spiritual world ,christ has introduced his people4 ,they have meant not formula but fact1 not technicality but experience1 when they have called him ,savior4 ,,iii ,this consciousness of power has come in part from ,christ's revelation of ,god the ,father4 ,whoever has sinned against his friend or unkindly wronged a child knows what sin does to personal relationships4 ,how swift a change comes over a son's thought of his father when the son has sinned6 ,the wrong may have been done secretly so that his sire does not know1 and the boy alone on earth is conscious of it4 ,but for all that the filial relationship has lost its glory4 ,before the sin1 the son was happy with his father near2 they were companions1 confidants1 and to the boy fatherhood was very beautiful4 ,now1 he is most unhappy with his father near2 the father's eyes like a detective's pierce him through1 the face like a judge's waits sternly to condemn4 ,he is looking at his father through the dark glasses of his sin1 and they distort his vision4 ,when one considers the gods whom men have worshiped1 approaching them by bloody altar-stairs1 offering their first-born to assuage wrath or win from apathy to favor1 he sees1 extended to a racial scale1 our boyhood's tragedy4 ,mankind has been looking at the ,father through its ignorance and sin and it has seen him beclouded and awry4 ,christ changed all that4 ,by what he taught1 by what he was1 by what he suffered he has said to man1 so that man increasingly has believed it--,you are wrong about ,god4 ,he does not stand aloof--careless or vindictive2 he is not as he looks to you through the twisted lenses of your evil4 ,he loves you4 ,he cares beyond your power to understand1 and all my compassion but reveals in time what is eternally in him4 ,he is pledged to the victory of goodness in you and in the world1 and you have not used all your power until you have used his1 for that1 too1 is yours4 ,from that day the fight against sin has been a new thing1 and men have gone into it with battle-cries they never used before--,god was in ,christ1 reconciling the world unto himself 7,,ii ,cor4 #e3ai72 ,god commendeth his own love toward us1 in that1 while we were yet sinners1 ,christ died for us 7,rom4 #e3h72 ,if ,god is for us1 who is against us8 7,rom4 #h3ca74 ,this access of power has come in part from ,christ's revelation of man4 ,when a jewel is taken from darkness into sunlight1 there is a two-fold revealing4 ,the sunlight is disclosed in new glory1 for it never seemed so beautiful before as it appears breaking in splendor through the jewel's heart4 ,and there is a revelation of the jewel4 ,dull and unillumined in the dark1 it is lustrous when the sun enlightens it4 ,so ,christ brought us an unveiling of the ,father2 the ,divine never had seemed so wonderful as when it poured in glory through his purity and love4 ,and he brought as well a new revelation of man4 ,our human nature1 bedimmed by sin and lusterless1 he in his own person took up into the light1 and lifting it where all mankind could see he cried--,this is human nature--man as ,god intended him to be--no slave of fate and dupe of sin1 but a free man and a victor4 ,and from that day the war on sin has had new spirit in it1 and battle cries that presage triumph have grown familiar on the fighters' lips3 ,now are we children of ,god1 and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be 7,i ,john #c3b72 ,till we all attain unto the unity of the faith1 and of the knowledge of the ,son of ,god1 unto a full-grown man1 unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of ,christ 7,eph4 #d3ac72 ,his precious and exceeding great promises2 that through these ye may become partakers of the divine nature 7,,ii ,pet4 #a3d74 ,,iv ,christ's double revelation of ,god and man1 however1 has had its vital impact of power on life in what ,christians have always called the experience of the ,spirit4 ,when the ,new ,testament speaks its characteristic word about the ,spirit1 it means the conscious presence of the living ,god in the hearts of men1 and that is the very essence of religion4 ,the first ,christians did not know ,god in one way only2 they knew him in three ways4 ,so one man might know ,beethoven the composer and be an authority upon his works2 another might know ,beethoven the performer and delight in his playing2 and another might know ,beethoven the man and rejoice in his friendship--but no one could know the whole of ,beethoven until he knew him all three ways4 ,the ,new ,testament ,christians came thus to ,god4 ,he was the ,father1 ,creator of all2 he was the ,character1 revealed in ,jesus2 but as well he was the ,spiritual ,presence in their lives1 their sustenance and power4 ,the grace of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and the love of ,god1 and the communion of the ,holy ,spirit 7,,ii ,cor4 #ac3ad7--such was their experience of the ,divine4 ,it was not dogma2 it was life4 ,god was ,creator1 ,character1 and ,comforter4 ,christian experience is in continual danger of drifting from this vital center4 ,in our age especially1 we are prone to find ,god at the end of an argument and to leave him there4 ,we have been compelled by militant agnosticism to put our apologetic armies on the defensive4 ,finding it impossible to hold the respect of men's intelligence without reasonable arguments in the faith's behalf1 we have had to draw such inferences from the nature of the material universe1 from the necessities of human thought1 the demands of human conscience1 and the progress of moral evolution in history1 that materialism should be made1 what indeed it is1 a discredited affair4 ,but ,god so arrived at1 by way of reason1 is an external matter4 ,he is an hypothesis to explain the universe4 ,he sitteth upon the circle of the earth and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers before him4 ,granted the incalculable value in such faith1 putting unity into history and purpose into life--it is not religion and it never can be4 ,religion begins when the ,god outwardly argued is inwardly experienced4 ,religion begins when we cease using the tricky and unstable aeroplane of speculation to seek ,him among the clouds1 and retreat into the fertile places of our own spirits where the living water rises1 as ,jesus said4 ,god outside of us is a theory2 ,god inside of us becomes a fact4 ,god outside of us is an hypothesis2 ,god inside of us is an experience4 ,god the ,father is the possibility of salvation2 ,god the ,spirit is actuality of life1 joy1 peace1 and saving power4 ,god the transcendent may do for philosophy1 but he is not enough for religion4 ,without this completion of the ,gospel1 ,christ's saviorhood does not reach inward to our need4 ,for lacking it1 we stand before the ,master with the same admiration that a man who is no painter feels when he sees a ,raphael4 ,he knows the work is sublime1 but he is not proposing to reproduce it4 ,he is conquered by its beauty1 but he knows no possibility of its imitation4 ,if1 however1 there were a spirit of ,raphael that could lay hold upon a man's life and transform him to the master's skill and power1 then his admiration would become inwardly effective4 ,it takes the spirit of ,raphael to do ,raphael's work4 ,if this gospel of an indwelling dynamic is not coupled with our admiration for ,jesus1 we are like a student practicing the fingering of the ,hallelujah ,chorus on an organ from which the power has been shut off4 ,with what accuracy his fingers travel the keys1 who can tell8 ,once ,handel's soul1 on fire with the passion of harmony1 burned itself into that composition4 ,he wrote it upon his knees4 ,but with whatever agility the student's fingers follow the notes1 no ,hallelujah ,chorus comes from his organ to praise ,god and move men4 ,so the record of this matchless character handed to us in the gospels1 like notes of music meant to be played again1 is but our despair1 if we must attempt its reproduction on a powerless organ4 ,our admiration for it is external and ineffectual4 ,we fall thereby into a static religion of creed2 we have no dynamic religion of progress and hope4 ,this then is the glorious message1 where the ,christian ,gospel reaches its climax1 and which alone puts fullest meaning into ,jesus' perfect life3 the ,spirit of ,god in ,jesus made his quality2 that same ,spirit is underground in our lives1 striving to well up in characters like his1 until we live1 yet not we1 but ,christ lives in us4 ,any spring day may serve to illustrate this faith4 ,where does the restlessness in nature have its source8 ,every tree1 in discontent1 hastens to make buds into leaves1 and every blade of grass is tremulous with impatient life4 ,no tree1 however1 is a sufficient explanation of its own haste and dissatisfaction2 no flower has in itself the secrets of its eager growth4 ,the spirit of life is abroad1 and crowding itself everywhere on old1 dead forms1 is making them bloom again4 ,explain then1 the moral restlessness of our hearts in other wise6 ,we do ill1 and are distraught with remorse until we repent and make reparation4 ,we attain money or talents1 and are chased day and night by the urgent call to their spiritual dedication4 ,we conform ourselves to decency and still hear a call for goodness beyond all earthly need4 ,we succeed as the world calls it1 and we know that it is failure2 we fail as the world sees it1 and our hearts sing for joy because we know that we have succeeded4 ,everywhere we are confronted with a pulsing life that longs to get itself expressed in us4 ,we cannot get away from ,god4 ,he is not far1 he is here4 ,this ,spirit1 for whom there is no better name than the ,spirit of ,jesus1 is our continual companion4 ,we are locked in an enforced fellowship with him4 ,there is no friend with whom we deal more directly and continually than with him4 ,every time we open an inspiring book and devoutly study it1 this ,spirit is pleading for entrance4 ,every time we pray he stands at the door and knocks4 ,every time some child in need1 or some great cause demanding sacrifice1 lays claim on us1 this ,spirit is crying to be let in4 ,men's hunger for food1 their love for family and friends1 are not more direct1 concrete1 immediate experiences than our dealings with this ,spirit of the ,lord4 ,he is not only ,god the ,father2 he is ,god the ,spirit1 striving to dwell in us and work through us4 ,into a vital use of this relationship with the ,divine1 ,christ opened the way and multitudes have followed4 ,he has taught men to find that same resourcefulness in the spiritual world which science finds in the physical4 ,every successful invention of a man like ,edison involves a twofold faith3 that there is inexhaustible power in the universe and that1 with persistent patience and cooperation1 there is no telling what marvels yet may come from the employment of it4 ,faith is science's flying column4 ,it runs out into engineering1 agriculture1 medicine1 and refuses to limit the possibilities4 ,science is a tremendous believer2 it lives by faith that almost anything may yet be done4 ,such a relationship ,paul sustained with the ,spirit4 ,he was confident of resources there1 exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think 7,eph4 #c3bj74 ,he was a spiritual ,edison1 a believer in the divine reality and power and their availability by faith in human life4 ,only such a ,gospel is adequate to man's deepest need4 ,sin1 whether its forms be decent or obscene1 cripples men's wills with the appalling certainty that they are slaves4 ,as a hypnotist draws imaginary circles around his victims1 across which they cannot step1 so ,sin1 that ,svengali of the soul1 whether in personal or social life1 paralyzes its dupes with disbelief in possibilities4 ,to innumerable folk1 emprisoned by their fears and sins1 ,christ has been the ,savior4 ,he has awakened that faith which1 as he said1 is the greatest mountain-mover known to men4 ,they have been strengthened with power through his ,spirit in the inward man 7,eph4 #c3af74 ,v ,when one considers1 as we have in these two chapters1 what ,christ has meant in the experience of his people1 little wonder can remain that they have called him by such high names as have aroused man's incredulity4 ,for this ,gospel of power has never been separable from him1 as though he were its historic fountain and could easily be forgotten by those who far down-stream enjoyed the water4 ,his personality itself has been the inspiration of his people4 ,at ,marston ,moor1 when the ,puritans and ,cavaliers were aligned for battle and all was in readiness for conflict to begin1 ,oliver ,cromwell came riding across the plain4 ,and the chronicler says that at the sight of him the ,puritans sent up a great victorious shout1 as though their battle already had been won4 ,some such effect our ,lord has had on his disciples4 ,to explain that effect one would have to speak not so much of his teaching as of himself--his character and purpose2 nor so much of them as of the ,cross where all he taught and was came to a point of flame that has set the world on fire4 ,christ was the nerve o'er which do creep ,the else unfelt oppressions of the earth4 ,he suffered with man and for man1 he uniquely embodied in his own experience the universal law that the consequences of sin fall in part on the one who loves the sinner and tries to save him2 and in that sacrifice his work for man was consummated1 and his influence over man confirmed4 ,when his people have bowed before him in unutterable devotion they have been thinking not only of what he has done for them1 but of what it cost him to do it4 ,why1 therefore1 should we wonder that his disciples at their best have called ,jesus divine8 ,his first followers began with no abstract ideas of deity2 they began with the man1 ,christ ,jesus 7,i ,tim4 #b3e74 ,they had no idea at the first that he was more4 ,his bodily and mental life had obeyed the laws of normal human development1 advancing in wisdom and stature1 and in favor with ,god and men 7,luke #b3eb74 ,he hungered after his temptation1 thirsted on the ,cross1 slept from weariness while the boat tossed in a storm1 and exhausted1 sat beside the well4 ,like other men he had elevated hours of great rejoicing2 times when compassion moved him to tears1 as when he saw a multitude unshepherded or1 swinging round the brow of ,olivet1 beheld ,jerusalem2 and hours of hot indignation1 too1 as when he found his ,father's house a den of thieves or spoke out his heart against the ,pharisees4 ,he asked questions1 and was astonished1 now at the people's lack of faith1 again at the centurion's excess of it4 ,his fellowship with ,god was nourished by secret prayer1 his power replenished by retreat to quiet places for communion1 and all his life was lived1 his temptations faced1 his troubles borne1 and his work done in a spirit of humble1 filial dependence on his ,father4 ,thus real and human1 a sharer in their limitations1 their sorrows1 and their moral trials1 the first disciples saw the ,master4 ,but ever as they lived with him1 whether in physical presence or in spiritual fellowship1 he wrought in them a ,savior's work4 ,he became to them manhood indeed1 but manhood plus4 ,he grew in their apprehension1 as though a boy had thought an ocean's inlet were a lake enclosed1 and now discovers that it is the sea itself1 and all its tides the pulse of the great deep4 ,how should they name this greatness in their ,lord8 ,they were not utterly without a clue1 for he himself had introduced them to the life divine4 ,they had learned through him to say about themselves that they were temples in which ,god dwelt 7,,ii ,cor4 #f3af71 that ,god abode in them 7,i ,john #d3ab71 that he stood ever waiting to come in 7,rev4 #c3bj71 and that the possession of the divine nature was the ,gospel's promise 7,,ii ,pet4 #a3d74 ,by what other element in their experience could they interpret the greatness of their ,lord8 ,it might be inadequate1 but it was the best they had4 ,they rose to understand the divine life in him from the experience of the divine life in themselves4 ,god was in ,christ1 they said4 ,they never dreamed of claiming equality with him4 ,like pools beside the sea1 they understood the ocean's quality from their own4 ,there are not two kinds of sea-water2 nor1 with one ,god1 can there be two kinds of divine life4 ,but so understanding the sea1 shall the pool claim equality with it8 ,rather1 the sea has deeps1 tides1 currents1 and relationships with the world's life that no pool can ever know4 ,so ,christ was at once their brother and their ,lord4 ,he was real1 because they interpreted his life divine from the foregleams of ,god's presence in themselves4 ,he was adorable1 because he was an ocean to their landlocked pools1 and they waited for his tides4 ,only by some such road as these first disciples trod can men come to a vital understanding of the ,lord4 ,nothing but experience can give us a living estimate of anything2 without that theory is vain4 ,let a man live with the ,master's manhood until it grows luminous and through it he sees the character of ,god2 let a man avail himself of the ,master's saviorhood until forgiven and empowered he finds the life that is life indeed2 let a man grow in the experience of ,god's presence until he knows not only the ,god without but the ,god within2 and then if he rises to estimate his ,lord1 he will not hesitate to see in ,jesus the incarnate presence of the living ,god4 ,after that1 theology may help or hinder him1 according as it is wise and vital or cold and formal2 but with theology or not1 he knows the heart of the ,new ,testament's attitude toward ,jesus4 ,he understands why the first ,christians summed up their faith as believing in the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 #h ,moffatt's translation4 #i ,moffatt's translation4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,the ,fellowship of ,faith ,,daily ,,readings ,our thought turns1 in our closing week of study1 from believers taken one by one1 to believers gathered in fellowship4 ,this community of faith has wider boundaries than the organized churches2 in a real sense it includes all servants of man's ideal aims2 yet in the ,church we naturally seek the chief meanings of fellowship for faith4 ,why men do not go to church1 is often asked4 ,but why men do go1 so that in spite of countless failures in the churches1 attendance on public worship and loyalty to organized religion are among mankind's most usual habits1 is an inquiry far more important4 ,to that inquiry let us in the daily readings turn our thought4 ,twelfth ,week1 ,first ,day ,but woe unto you1 scribes and ,pharisees1 hypocrites6 because ye shut the kingdom of heaven against men3 for ye enter not in yourselves1 neither suffer ye them that are entering in to enter4 ,woe unto you1 scribes and ,pharisees1 hypocrites6 for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte2 and when he is become so1 ye make him twofold more a son of hell than yourselves4444 ,woe unto you1 scribes and ,pharisees1 hypocrites6 for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin1 and have left undone the weightier matters of the law1 justice1 and mercy1 and faith3 but these ye ought to have done1 and not to have left the other undone4 ,ye blind guides1 that strain out the gnat1 and swallow the camel6--,matt4 #bc3ac-ae2 #bc1 #bd4 ,jesus' indictment of the ,jewish ,church is terrific1 and yet no one who knows the story of the ,christian churches can doubt that they often have deserved the same condemnation4 ,they have at times committed all the sins that can be laid at any institution's door2 they have been selfish1 formal1 worldly1 cruel4 ,a wonder-story from the ,arctic says that once the candle-flames froze and the explorers broke them off and wore them for watch charms2 the flames of the great fire congealed and were wound like golden ornaments around men's necks4 ,so repeatedly the burning words of ,scripture1 the blazing affirmations of old creeds1 on fire at first with the passion of souls possessed by ,god1 have been frozen in the churches' ,arctic climate1 and handed to men like talismans and amulets1 with no saving warmth or light4 ,creeds1 rituals1 organizations--how often these frozen forms of life have taken the place of inward spiritual power6 ,dr4 ,washington ,gladden would not be alone in saying3 ,while therefore ,i had as large an experience of church-going in my boyhood as most boys can recall1 ,i cannot lay my hand on my heart and say that the church-going helped me to solve my religious problems4 ,in fact1 it made those problems more and more tangled and troublesome4 ,and yet the ,church goes on4 ,voltaire prophesied its collapse in fifty years1 and in fifty years the house where he made the prophecy was a depot for the circulation of the ,scriptures4 ,the ,church's persistence1 continual adaptation to new conditions1 and apparently endless power of revival must have some deep reason4 ,it may be because prayer like this which follows has never utterly died out in the sanctuary4 ,o ,thou that dwellest not in temples made with hands6 ,we ever stand within the courts of ,thy glorious presence1 only we open now the gates of our poor praise4 ,thou hast enriched this day of rest1 ,o ,lord1 with ,thy choicest gifts of peace2 and lo6 ,thou unforgetting ,god1 its record is before ,thee1 for ages past1 moistened with penitential tears1 and illumined with glad hopes1 and hallowed by the innumerable prayers of faithful and saintly men4 ,in this our day may the churches of ,thy ,holy ,one seek ,thee still in spirit and truth2 may we also enter in and find our rest1 being of one heart and mind1 and serving ,thee with a wakeful and humble joy4 ,teach us now how we may converse with ,thee1 for we cannot order our speech by reason of darkness4 ,we are naked and without disguise before ,thee2 oh6 hide not ,thyself from us behind our ignorance and sin4 ,may we at least in this ,thine hour shake off the sluggish clouds of sense and self that cling around our souls2 and strenuously open our whole nature to the breath of ,thy free spirit1 and the healthful sunshine of ,thy grace4 ,let the divine image of the ,son of ,god visit us with power2 driving out1 with the chastisement of penitence1 all obtruding passions that profane the temple of our hearts1 and turn into a place of traffic that native house of prayer4 ,o ,god of glory1 ,god of grace6 let not the things which are spiritually discerned be foolishness unto us through the blindness of our conscience3 ,thou knowest the thoughts of our wisdom that they are vain2 take them from us1 and bid them vanish away1 lost in that wisdom from above which is revealed only to the pure in heart4 ,not unto us1 ,o ,lord1 not unto us1 but unto ,thee be every thought of praise6 ,amen4--,james ,martineau4 ,twelfth ,week1 ,second ,day ,some men doubtless go to church from traditional habit only1 but such a motive obviously is not adequate to explain why the recurrent tides of humanity1 even after an ebb in interest1 sweep back to the ,church again4 ,in the eighteenth century1 for example1 ,butler reports the common opinion that all that remained for ,christianity was decent obsequies4 ,but in a few years the ,wesleys began a movement that changed the spiritual complexion of the ,english-speaking world1 and swept multitudes into ,christian fellowship4 ,one reason for this repeated fact is clear4 ,mankind cannot and will not consent to live without faith in ,god1 and faith in ,god in its genesis and its sustenance is largely a matter of contagion4 ,we are not so much taught it2 we catch it4 ,it is vitally imparted in the family circle1 and wherever kindred and believing spirits gather4 ,no man is so independent as to escape the vital fact that his noblest emotions1 attitudes1 ideals1 and faiths are socially engendered and socially sustained2 he never would have had them in a solitary life and a solitary life would soon spoil those which he has now4 ,a man may believe in his country and love her2 but let him join in a patriotic movement or even attend a high-spirited patriotic meeting1 and he will believe in her and love her more ardently4 ,man's religious life is not lawless2 it is regulated by the same necessities of fellowship4 ,the ,church has made many mistakes1 but on her altar the fire has never utterly gone out1 and in her fellowship the faith of multitudes has been kindled4 ,let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not2 for he is faithful that promised3 and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works2 not forsaking our own assembling together1 as the custom of some is1 but exhorting one another2 and so much the more1 as ye see the day drawing nigh4--,heb4 #aj3bc-be4 ,great is ,thy name1 ,o ,god1 and greatly to be praised4 ,in ,thee all our discordant notes rise into perfect harmony4 ,it is good for us to think of the wonder of ,thy being4 ,thou art silent1 yet most strong2 unchangeable1 yet ever changing2 ever working1 yet ever at rest1 supporting1 nourishing1 maturing all things4 ,o ,thou ,eternal ,spirit1 who hast set our noisy years in the heart of ,thy eternity1 lift us above the power and evils of the passing time1 that under the shadow of ,thy wings we may take courage and be glad4 ,so great art ,thou1 beyond our utmost imagining1 that we could not speak to ,thee didst ,thou not first draw near to us and say1 ,seek ye my face4 ,unto ,thee our hearts would make reply1 ,thy face1 ,lord1 will we seek4444 ,we thank ,thee for our birth into a ,christian community1 for the ,church and the ,sacraments of ,thy grace1 for the healing day of rest1 when we enter with ,thy people into ,thy ,house and there make holy-day2 for the refreshment of soul1 the joys of communion1 the spiritual discipline1 the inspiration of prayer and hymn and sermon4444 ,we praise ,thee for the myriad influences of good1 conscious and unconscious1 that have been about us1 deeply penetrating our inner life1 shaping and fitting us for ,thy ,kingdom4 ,thou hast indeed forgiven all our iniquities1 and healed all our diseases1 and redeemed our life from destruction1 and crowned us with loving-kindness4 ,therefore would we call upon our souls1 and all that is within us1 to bless ,thy holy ,name4 ,amen4--,samuel ,mc,comb4 ,twelfth ,week1 ,third ,day ,for ye1 brethren1 were called for freedom2 only use not your freedom for an occasion to the flesh1 but through love be servants one to another4 ,for the whole law is fulfilled in one word1 even in this3 ,thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself4 ,but if ye bite and devour one another1 take heed that ye be not consumed one of another4--,gal4 #e3ac-ae4 ,one fundamental reason for the endless revival of the ,church is that faith never is satisfied until it issues in work4 ,it insists on our being servants one to another4 ,we have spoken of ,god's merciful acceptance of a man when out of sin he turns his life by faith toward ,christ2 but to interpret this as meaning the adequacy of faith without effective service is to misread ,scripture and to demoralize life4 ,faith that does not lead to service is no real faith at all4 ,but whenever men endeavor to express in work any faith which they may hold they must come together4 ,service involves cooperation4 ,a hermit may have faith1 but his faith does not concern any ideal hopes on earth2 it has no outlooks save upon his own soul's condition in the world to come2 it is a narrow1 selfish1 inoperative thing4 ,as soon as men are grasped by some moving faith about what ought to be done for ,god's service and man's welfare here and now1 a hermit's solitude or any sort of unaffiliated life becomes impossible4 ,they must combine in a fellowship of faith and of labor to seek common ends4 ,they begin to say with ,edward ,rowland ,sill1 ,for my part ,i long to 'fall in' with somebody4 ,this picket duty is monotonous4 ,i hanker after a shoulder on this side and the other4 ,and to fall in with others to serve ,christian ends means some kind of church4 ,let us pray today for a church more fit to express this passion to serve4 ,god1 we pray for ,thy ,church1 which is set today amid the perplexities of a changing order1 and face to face with a great new task4 ,we remember with love the nurture she gave to our spiritual life in its infancy1 the tasks she set for our growing strength1 the influence of the devoted hearts she gathers1 the steadfast power for good she has exerted4 ,when we compare her with all other human institutions1 we rejoice1 for there is none like her4 ,but when we judge her by the mind of her ,master1 we bow in pity and contrition4 ,oh1 baptize her afresh in the life-giving spirit of ,jesus6 ,grant her a new birth1 though it be with the travail of repentance and humiliation4 ,bestow upon her a more imperious responsiveness to duty1 a swifter compassion with suffering1 and an utter loyalty to the will of ,god4 ,put upon her lips the ancient ,gospel of her ,lord4 ,help her to proclaim boldly the coming of the ,kingdom of ,god and the doom of all that resist it4 ,fill her with the prophet's scorn of tyranny1 and with a ,christ-like tenderness for the heavy-laden and down-trodden4 ,give her faith to espouse the cause of the people1 and in their hands that grope after freedom and light to recognize the bleeding hands of the ,christ4 ,bid her cease from seeking her own life1 lest she lose it4 ,make her valiant to give up her life to humanity1 that like her crucified ,lord she may mount by the path of the cross to a higher glory4 ,amen4--,walter ,rauschenbusch4 ,twelfth ,week1 ,fourth ,day ,for the scripture saith1 ,whosoever believeth on him shall not be put to shame4 ,for there is no distinction between ,jew and ,greek3 for the same ,lord is ,lord of all1 and is rich unto all that call upon him3 for1 ,whosoever shall call upon the name of the ,lord shall be saved4 ,how then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed8 and how shall they believe in him whom they have not heard8 and how shall they hear without a preacher8 and how shall they preach1 except they be sent8 even as it is written1 ,how beautiful are the feet of them that bring glad tidings of good things6--,rom4 #aj3aa-ae4 ,the necessity of affiliation for effective faith is clear when one considers the missionary enterprise4 ,one of the noblest qualities in human life is our natural desire to share our blessings4 ,every normal child is happier when some other child is joining in the play2 every lover of music is gladdened by sharing with a friend enjoyment of a favorite symphony2 save in singularly churlish folk the love of having others partake our joys is spontaneous and hearty4 ,to those whom ,christian faith1 has blessed with hope and power1 the undeniable impulse comes to share these finest benedictions with all other men4 ,the missionary enterprise does not rest upon a text2 it wells up from one of the worthiest impulses in man's life4 ,one may be fairly sure1 that save as some perverted theology inhibits a spirit of love1 a man's missionary interest will be proportionate to the reality and value of his own experience4 ,if he himself has something well worth sharing1 he will want to share it4 ,but the missionary enterprise is more than any individual can compass2 it demands organization1 cooperation1 and massed resources2 it cannot be prosecuted without a church4 ,the further our thought proceeds the more clear it becomes that the question is not1 shall we have churches8 but rather1 since churches are inevitable1 of what sort shall they be8 ,o ,thou who hast made all nations of men to seek ,thee and to find ,thee2 bless1 we beseech ,thee1 ,thy sons and daughters who have gone forth1 into distant lands1 bearing in their hands ,thy ,word of ,life4 ,we rejoice that1 touched with the enthusiasm of ,christ1 so many have consecrated their lives to proclaiming the message of ,thy love to those other sheep of ,thine who are not of our fold1 that they may be united with us and that there may be one flock and one ,shepherd4 ,help ,thy ministering servants to recognize the fragments of truth and goodness that are ever found where men are sincere and to claim these glimpses of ,thyself as the prophecies of a fuller revelation4 ,when discouraged by the hardness of their task1 and the meager fruit of all their labor1 give them faith to see the far-off whitening harvest4 ,inspire them with ,thy gracious promise that though the sower may go forth weeping1 bearing precious seed1 he will come again with joy1 bringing his sheaves with him4 ,comfort them in their exile and loneliness with a sense of ,thy companionship and with the prayers and sympathy of their brethren at home4 ,through them let ,thy ,word have free course and be glorified4 ,and so let ,thy ,kingdom come1 and ,thy ,will be done on earth as in ,heaven1 for ,jesus ,christ's sake4 ,amen4--,samuel ,mc,comb4 ,twelfth ,week1 ,fifth ,day ,after this manner therefore pray ye3 ,our ,father who art in heaven1 ,hallowed be thy name4 ,thy kingdom come4 ,thy will be done1 as in heaven1 so on earth4 ,give us this day our daily bread4 ,and forgive us our debts1 as we also have forgiven our debtors4 ,and bring us not into temptation1 but deliver us from the evil one4 ,for if ye forgive men their trespasses1 your heavenly ,father will also forgive you4 ,but if ye forgive not men their trespasses1 neither will your ,father forgive your trespasses4--,matt4 #f3i-ae4 ,the central ideal of ,christian effort is set for us in the first petition of the ,master's prayer4 ,but a ,kingdom on earth1 with ,god's will done here in heavenly fashion1 is a social idea4 ,it means not only right personal quality2 it means right family life1 and economic1 political1 and international relationships ,christianized4 ,no amount of fine individual character1 necessary as it is1 will of itself rectify the social maladjustments and inequities4 ,were everyone as good as possible1 we still should need organized action4 ,all parts of an engine may be correct1 and yet they may be wrongly fitted together4 ,as it is1 social relations obviously demand concerted action2 we must join together to combat immoral industrial conditions1 to throttle the liquor traffic1 to make human fraternity a fact and not a dream4 ,the opposition to all such reforms is organized1 and no haphazard attack will succeed4 ,now1 many organizations may arise to serve special ends and may do excellent service to the cause1 but what has proved true in the conflict with the liquor traffic1 is true also of enterprises for industrial justice and international cooperation--only when the churches see the moral issue and put their power in1 is there any hope of victory4 ,a ,christian whose faith involves the ,kingdom sees plainly that he cannot go on without the ,church4 ,o ,lord1 we praise ,thy holy name1 for ,thou hast made bare ,thine arm in the sight of all nations and done wonders4 ,but still we cry to ,thee in the weary struggle of our people against the power of drink4 ,remember1 ,lord1 the strong men who were led astray and blighted in the flower of their youth4 ,remember the aged who have brought their gray hairs to a dishonored grave4 ,remember the homes that have been made desolate of joy1 the wifely love that has been outraged in its sanctuary1 the little children who have learned to despise where once they loved4 ,remember1 ,o ,thou great avenger of sin1 and make this nation to remember4 ,may those who now entrap the feet of the weak and make their living by the degradation of men1 thrust away their shameful gains and stand clear4 ,but if their conscience is silenced by profit1 do ,thou grant ,thy people the indomitable strength of faith to make an end of it4 ,may all the great churches of our land shake off those who seek the shelter of religion for that which damns1 and stand with level front against their common foe4 ,may all who still soothe their souls with half-truths1 saying ,peace1 peace1 where there can be no peace1 learn to see through ,thy stem eyes and come to the help of ,jehovah against the mighty4 ,help us to cast down the men in high places who use the people's powers to beat back the people's hands from the wrong they fain would crush4 ,o ,god1 bring nigh the day when all our men shall face their daily task with minds undrugged and with tempered passions2 when the unseemly mirth of drink shall seem a shame to all who hear and see2 when the trade that debauches men shall be loathed like the trade that debauches women2 and when all this black remnant of savagery shall haunt the memory of a new generation but as an evil dream of the night4 ,for this accept our vows1 ,o ,lord1 and grant ,thine aid4 ,amen4--,walter ,rauschenbusch4 ,twelfth ,week1 ,sixth ,day ,neither for these only do ,i pray1 but for them also that believe on me through their word2 that they may all be one2 even as thou1 ,father1 art in me1 and ,i in thee1 that they also may be in us3 that the world may believe that thou didst send me4 ,and the glory which thou hast given me ,i have given unto them2 that they may be one1 even as we are one2 ,i in them1 and thou in me1 that they may be perfected into one2 that the world may know that thou didst send me1 and lovedst them1 even as thou lovedst me4--,john #ag3bj-bc4 ,to the ,christian the ,church is a problem1 just because she is a necessity4 ,he caught his faith from the contagion of her fellowship and he sees that if he is to serve effectively the ideals of ,christ and the coming of the ,kingdom he must work through some church4 ,but because the ,church is necessary1 he is not thereby made content with her4 ,she is at once helping and hindering the spread of the faith2 she is the source of immeasurable good and yet she is not one1 that the world may believe4 ,a traveler across the ,american plains in springtime sees fences1 tiresomely prominent1 staring at him from the landscape2 but in summer when he returns the fences are invisible4 ,the wheat and corn are growing1 the earth is bearing fruit1 and while the old divisions may be there1 they all are hidden4 ,one suspects that if ,christians everywhere set themselves with hearty zeal to bear the fruit of service for the common weal1 if they gave themselves to achieve the aims of ,christ for men with ardor and thoroughness1 the sectarian divisions would grow unimperative and disappear4 ,we may not be able to think the disagreements through1 but we may be able to work them out2 even where we cannot recite a common creed1 we can share a common purpose4 ,the ,war1 where ,jewish rabbis have held crucifixes before the eyes of dying soldiers1 and where ,catholic priests have met death1 as one did at ,gallipoli1 following a ,wesleyan chaplain--my ,protestant comrade--into danger1 has revealed how deeply underneath our sharp divisions our spiritual loyalties seek unity when crisis comes4 ,for all the unity that can come without compromise to conscience1 surely the ,christian people are bound to pray and work4 ,o ,god1 the ,father of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 our only ,saviour1 the ,prince of ,peace2 give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions4 ,take away all hatred and prejudice1 and whatsoever else may hinder us from godly union and concord2 that as there is but one body and one ,spirit1 and one hope of our calling1 one ,lord1 one faith1 one baptism1 one ,god and ,father of us all1 so we may be all of one heart and of one soul1 united in one holy bond of truth and peace1 of faith and charity1 and may with one mind and one mouth glorify ,thee1 through ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,amen4--,the ,book of ,common ,prayer4 ,twelfth ,week1 ,seventh ,day ,for ,i am already being offered1 and the time of my departure is come4 ,i have fought the good fight1 ,i have finished the course1 ,i have kept the faith3 henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness1 which the ,lord1 the righteous judge1 shall give to me at that day2 and not to me only1 but also to all them that have loved his appearing4--,,ii ,tim4 #d3f-h4 ,the fellowship of faith is not bounded by the earth4 ,paul's expectation took into its account a communion that far overreached the confines of temporal experience4 ,the ,new ,testament believers not only held but vividly apprehended that the whole family to which they belonged in ,christian communion was in heaven and on earth4 ,their outlook ,wordsworth has expressed in modern words3 ,there is ,one great society alone on earth3 ,the noble ,living and the noble ,dead4 ,to that society of the world's prophets and martyrs1 seers and servants1 it may well be a man's ambition to belong4 ,and that ideal is not impossible to anyone1 for the mark and seal of their fellowship is that they have kept the faith4 ,when others despaired1 lost heart1 and deserted causes on which man's welfare hung1 they kept the faith4 ,when mysteries perplexed their minds and discouragement1 to human vision1 was more rational than hope1 they turned from sight to insight and they kept the faith4 ,when new knowledge1 half-understood1 disturbed old forms of thought and multitudes were confused in uncertainty and disbelief1 they kept the faith4 ,and they often came to their end1 like ,paul1 having suffered the loss of all things--yet not all1 for they had kept the faith4 ,for all the saints1 who from their labors rest1 ,who ,thee by faith before the world confessed1 ,thy name1 ,o ,jesus1 be forever blest1 ,alleluia6 ,o may ,thy soldiers1 faithful1 true1 and bold1 ,fight as the saints who nobly fought of old1 ,and win with them the victor's crown of gold1 ,alleluia6 ,o blest communion1 fellowship ,divine6 ,we feebly struggle2 they in glory shine2 ,yet all are one in ,thee1 for all are ,thine4 ,alleluia6 ,o ,god1 ,thou only ,refuge of ,thy children6 who remainest true though all else should fail1 and livest though all things die2 cover us now when we fly to ,thee4 ,thy shelter was around our fathers4 ,thy voice called them away1 and bids us seek ,thee here till we depart to be with them4 ,in ,thy memory are the lives of all men from of old4 ,before ,thy sight are the secret hearts of all the living4 ,we stand in awe of ,thy justice which1 since the ages began1 hath never changed3 and we cling to ,thy mercy that passeth not away4 ,almighty ,father1 ,thou art a ,god afar off as well as nigh at hand4 ,thou who in times past didst pity the prayers of our forerunners1 and especially of that suffering servant of ,thine whom ,thou hast made our ,leader unto ,thee6 be pleased to strengthen us now1 ,o ,lord1 to bear our lighter cross and surrender ourselves for duty and for trial unto ,thee4 ,show us something of the blessed peace with which they now look back on their days of strong crying and tears1 and teach us that it is far better to die in ,thy service than to live for our own4 ,rebuke within us all immoderate desires1 all unquiet temper1 all presumptuous expectations1 all ignoble self-indulgence1 and feeling on us the embrace of ,thy ,fatherly hand1 may we meekly and with courage go into the darkest ways of our pilgrimage1 anxious not to change ,thy perfect will1 but only to do and bear it worthily4 ,may we spend all our days in ,thy presence1 and meet our death in the strength of ,thy grace1 and pass thence into the nearer light of ,thy knowledge and love4 ,amen4--,john ,hunter4 ,,comment ,,for ,,the ,,week ,i ,so far in our studies we have been dealing with the individual believer in his search for a reasonable faith4 ,but we must face at last what from the beginning has been true1 that there is no such thing as an individual believer4 ,all faiths are social4 ,however little we may be aware of each other's influence1 however intangible the social forces which shape the convictions by which we live1 no man builds or keeps his faiths alone4 ,we may pride ourselves on our independent thought1 but the fact remains as ,prof4 ,william ,james has stated it3 ,our faith is faith in some one else's faith1 and in the greatest matters this is most the case4 ,the realm of religious conviction is not the only place where we hold with a strong sense of personal possession what has been given us by others1 and often forget to acknowledge our indebtedness4 ,we believe in democracy and popular education1 not because by some gift of individual genius we are wiser than our unbelieving sires1 but because1 in the advance of the race1 that faith has been wrought out by many minds1 and1 with minute addition of our own thought1 we share the general conviction4 ,as a man considers how rich and varied are the faiths he holds1 how few of them he ever has thought through or ever can1 and how helpless he would be1 if he were set from the beginning to create any one of them1 he gains new insight into ,paul's words1 ,what hast thou that thou didst not receive8 but if thou didst receive it1 why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it8 7,i ,cor4 #d3g74 ,indeed1 this same truth holds in every relationship4 ,nothing is more impossible than a self-made man4 ,in no realm can that common phrase be intelligently applied to anyone4 ,if in business one has risen from poverty to wealth1 he has used railroads that he did not invent and telephones that he does not even understand2 he has built his business on a credit system for which he did not labor and whose moral basis has been laid in the ethical struggles of unnumbered generations4 ,for the clothes he wears1 the food he eats1 the education he receives1 he is debtor to a social life that taps the ends of the earth and that has cost blood not his and money which he never can repay4 ,if granting this1 a man still say1 ,my power and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth 7,deut4 #h3ag71 he may well consider whence his power has come4 ,his distant ancestors stalked through primeval forests1 their brows sloped back1 their hairy hides barren of clothes1 and in their hands stone hatchets1 by the aid of which they sought their food4 ,what has this ,twentieth ,century boaster done to change the habits of the ,stone ,age to the civilization on which his wealth is based or to elevate man's intellect to the grasp and foresight of the modern business world8 ,all the power by which he wins his way is clearly a social gift1 and any contribution which he may add is infinitesimal compared with his receipts4 ,by this truth all declarations of individual independence need to be chastened and controlled and all boasting cancelled utterly4 ,normal minds have their times of self-assertion in religion1 when they grow impatient of believing anything simply because they have been told4 ,as a college ,junior put it3 ,i must clear the universe of ,god1 and then start in at the beginning to see what ,i can find4 ,but to assert a reasonable independence ought not to mean that one cut himself off from the support of history1 the accumulated experience of the race1 the insight of the seers1 and in unassisted isolation walk1 like ,kipling's cat1 by his wild lone4 ,no man can do that anywhere and still succeed4 ,imagine a man1 in politics1 dubious of his old affiliations and disturbed by the conflicting opinions of his day4 ,if1 so perplexed1 he should throw over all that ever had been thought or done in civic life1 and in an unaided individual adventure attempt out of his own mind to constitute a state1 in what utter confusion would he land6 ,no mind can begin work as though it were the first mind that ever acted1 or were the only mind in action now4 ,all effective thinking is social2 contributions from innumerable heads pour in to make a wise man's knowledge4 ,and to suppose that any man can climb the steep ascent of heaven all alone and lay his hands comprehensively on the ,eternal is preposterous4 ,no one ever apprehended a science so1 much less ,god6 ,even ,jesus fed his soul on the prophets of his race4 ,,ii ,indeed1 ,jesus' attitude toward the fellowship of faith is most revealing1 seen against the background of his nation's history4 ,in the beginning1 there was in ,israel no such thing as individual religion4 ,in the earliest strata of the ,bible's revelation1 we find no indication of a faith that brought ,god and each of his people into intimate relationships4 ,jehovah was the ,god of the nation as a whole and not of the people one by one4 ,when he spoke1 he spoke to the community through a leader2 ,speak thou with us and we will hear1 the people cried to ,moses1 but let not ,god speak with us lest we die 7,exodus #bj3ai74 ,it was at the time of the ,exile1 when the nation fell in ruins1 and the hearts of faithful ,jews were thrown back one by one on ,god that individual trust1 peace1 joy1 and confidence found utterance4 ,it was ,jeremiah 7,chap4 #ca7 and ,ezekiel 7,chap4 #ah7 who saw men individually responsible to ,god1 and who opened the way for loyal ,jews to be his people even when the nation was no more4 ,and what they began ,jesus completed4 ,he lifted up the individual and made each man the object of the ,father's care4 ,it is not the will of your ,father 444 that one of these little ones should perish 7,matt #ah3ad74 ,what man of you1 having a hundred sheep1 and having lost one of them 444 7,luke #ae3d74 ,the very hairs of your head are all numbered 7,matt4 #aj3cj74 ,as for religion's inner meaning1 it became in ,jesus' ,gospel not a national ritual but a private faith3 ,but thou1 when thou prayest1 enter into thine inner chamber1 and having shut thy door1 pray to thy ,father who is in secret 7,matt4 #f3f74 ,while ,jesus1 however1 so emphasized the inward1 individual aspects of religion1 he did not leave it there1 as though persons could ever be like jugs in the rain1 separate receptacles that share neither their emptiness nor their abundance4 ,he bound his disciples into a fellowship4 ,he joined their channels until1 like interflowing streams1 one contributed to all and the spirit of all was expressed in each4 ,he braided them into friendship with himself and with each other1 so close that the community did what no isolated believer ever could have done--it survived the shock of the crucifixion1 the agony of sustained persecution1 the frailties of its members1 and the discouragements of its campaign4 ,on that group the ,master counted for his work3 ,the gates of ,hades shall not prevail against it 7,matt4 #af3ah74 ,and when the ,new ,testament ,church emerged1 the fellowship which ,christ himself had breathed into it was clear and strong4 ,men who became ,christians1 in the ,new ,testament1 came into a new relationship with ,god indeed1 but into a new human fraternity as well4 ,they were builded together for a habitation of ,god through the ,spirit 7,eph4 #b3bb71 and even when death came that fellowship was not destroyed4 ,they were still the whole family in heaven and on earth 7,eph4 #c3ae74 ,john ,wesley was right3 ,the ,bible knows nothing of a solitary religion4 ,in the ,old ,testament religion was predominantly national2 in the ,new ,testament1 individuals rejoicing in the ,beloved ,community could not describe their life without the reiteration of one another4 ,they were to pray one for another and confess sins one to another 7,james #e3af72 they were to love one another 7,i ,pet #a3bb71 exhort one another 7,heb4 #c3ac71 comfort one another 7,i ,thess4 #d3ah72 they were to bear one another's burdens 7,gal4 #f3b7 and in communal worship admonish one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs 7,col4 #c3af74 ,so when they thought of their faith1 they never held it in solitary confidence2 they were strong to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth1 and to know the love of ,christ which passeth knowledge 7,eph4 #c3ah74 ,,iii ,when a modern believer endeavors to interpret this spirit in the ,new ,testament in terms of his own wants1 he sees at once that he needs fellowship for the enriching of his faith4 ,cooperation for achievement is a modern commonplace1 but when ,paul prayed1 as we have quoted him1 that the ,ephesians might be strong to apprehend with all the saints1 he was stating the more uncommon proposition that men must cooperate for knowledge4 ,he saw the divine love in its length1 breadth1 depth1 and height on one side1 and on the other a solitary man endeavoring to understand it4 ,impossible6 said ,paul2 the divine love in its fulness cannot be known in solitude1 it must be apprehended in fellowship4 ,at first nothing seems more strictly individual than knowledge4 ,to know is an intimate1 personal affair2 it cannot be carried on by proxy4 ,but even casual thought at once makes clear that in solitude we cannot know even the physical universe4 ,no man can go apart and through the narrow aperture of his own mind see the full round of truth4 ,for astronomers study the stars1 geologists the rocks1 chemists know their special field and physicists know theirs2 each scientist understands in part1 and if one is to know the breadth and length and height and depth of the physical world he must be strong to apprehend with all the scientists4 ,in religion this necessity of cooperation in knowing ,god may not at first seem evident4 ,in the secret session behind closed doors1 as ,jesus said1 one finds his clearest thought of ,god1 and in the individual heart the divine illumination comes4 ,so some insist2 and the answer does not deny1 but surpasses the truth in the insistence4 ,is yours the only heart where ,god is to be found8 ,does the sea of his grace exhaust itself in what it can reveal in your bay8 ,rather1 in how many different ways men come to ,god1 how various their experiences of him1 and how much each needs the rest for breadth and catholicity of view6 ,one man comes to ,god by way of intellectual perplexity and he knows chiefly faith's illumination of life's puzzling problems2 another comes through the experience of sin and he responds to such a phrase as ,god our ,saviour 7,i ,tim4 #a3a72 another comes to ,god through trouble and has found in faith eternal comfort and good hope through grace 7,,ii ,thess4 #b3af72 and another by way of a happy life has found in ,god the object of devoted gratitude4 ,one1 a mystic1 finds ,god in solitary prayer2 another1 a worker1 knows him chiefly as the ,divine ,ally4 ,some are very young and have a child's religion2 some are at the summit of their years and have a strong man's achieving faith2 and some are old and are familiar with the face of death and the thought of the eternal4 ,how multiform is man's experience of ,god6 ,some compositions cannot be interpreted by a solo4 ,let the first violinist play with what skill he can1 he alone is not adequate to the endeavor4 ,there must be an orchestra2 the oboes and viols1 the drums and trumpets1 the violins and cellos must all be there4 ,so faith in ,god is too rich and manifold to be interpreted by individuals alone2 a fellowship is necessary4 ,even ,paul1 in one of his most gloriously mixed-up and yet revealing sentences1 prays for fellowship that his faith may be enriched3 ,i long to see you1 that ,i may impart unto you some spiritual gift1 to the end ye may be established2 that is1 that ,i with you may be comforted in you1 each of us by the other's faith1 both yours and mine 7,rom4 #a3aa1 #ab74 ,poverty of faith1 therefore1 is not due only to individual lapses of character and perplexities of mind2 it is due to neglect of ,christian fellowship4 ,one who with difficulty has clung to his slender experience of ,god1 goes up to the church on ,sunday4 ,even though it be a humble place of prayer1 if the worship is genuine1 the hymns1 the prayers1 the ,scriptures gather up the testimony of centuries to the reality of ,god4 ,here ,david speaks again and ,isaiah answers2 here ,paul reaffirms his faith and ,john is confident that ,god is love4 ,here the saints before ,christ cry1 ,jehovah is my rock1 and my fortress1 and my deliverer 7,psalm #ah3b71 and the sixteenth century answers1 ,a mighty fortress is our ,god2 and the nineteenth century replies1 ,how firm a foundation1 ye saints of the ,lord6 ,we go up to the church finding it hard to sing1 ,my ,jesus1 ,i love thee1 ,i know thou art mine2 we go down with a ,te ,deum in our hearts3 ,the glorious company of the apostles praise thee2 ,the goodly fellowship of the prophets praise thee2 ,the noble army of martyrs praise thee2 ,the holy ,church throughout all the world doth acknowledge thee4 ,in the rich and varied faiths of the ,church we find a far more fruitful relationship with ,god than by ourselves we ever could have gained4 ,without such an enriching experience men can only with difficulty keep faith alive4 ,twigs that snap out of the camp-fire lose their flame and fall1 charred sticks2 but put them back and they will burn again1 for fire springs from fellowship4 ,amiel1 after an evening of solitude with a favorite book on philosophy1 wrote what is many a ,christian's prayer3 ,still ,i miss something--common worship1 a positive religion1 shared with other people4 ,ah6 when will the church to which ,i belong in heart rise into being8 ,i cannot1 like ,scherer1 content myself with being in the right all alone4 ,i must have a less solitary ,christianity4 ,,iv ,men need fellowship1 not only for the enrichment of their faith1 but for its stability4 ,no man can successfully believe anything all alone4 ,let an opinion in any realm be denied1 despised1 neglected by common consent of men1 and not easily do we hold an unshaken conviction of its truth4 ,but let it be agreed with1 supported and endorsed by many1 especially by men of insight1 and with each additional testimony to its truth our faith grows confident4 ,a fundamental experience of man is that his faiths are socially confirmed4 ,authority of some sort1 therefore1 never is outgrown in any province of knowledge1 and strugglers after faith have solid right to the sustenance which it can give4 ,for one thing the authority of the expert is acknowledged everywhere4 ,when a great astronomer speaks about the stars1 most of us put our hands upon our mouths and humble ourselves to listen4 ,if in science1 expert knowledge has this authority--not artificial1 infallible1 and externally enforced1 but vital1 serviceable1 and real--how much more in realms where insight and spiritual quality are indispensable6 ,such authority comes in the spirit of ,paul3 ,not that we have lordship over your faith1 but are helpers of your joy 7,,ii ,cor4 #a3bd74 ,an amateur stands before a picture like ,turner's ,the ,building of ,carthage and either does not notice the details1 or noticing sees no special meaning there4 ,but when ,ruskin1 ,turner's seer1 begins to speak--how wonderful the children in the foreground sailing toy boats in a pool1 prophecy of ,carthage's future greatness on the sea6--one by one the details take fire and glow with meaning as our eyes are opened4 ,such is the service of a real authority4 ,it does not1 as ,weigel says1 put out a person's eye and then try to persuade him to see with some one else's4 ,it rather cures our blindness and enables us to see what by ourselves we were incapable of seeing4 ,christ supremely1 when allowed to be himself1 has helped men thus4 ,he has not oppressed the mind with burdensome authority1 denying us our right to think4 ,he has come appealing to our little insight with his own clear vision1 ,why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right8 7,luke #ab3eg74 ,things which we see dimly he has clarified2 things which we did not see at all1 he has made manifest4 ,he has been what he called himself1 the ,light1 and his people have said of him what the man in ,john's ninth chapter said1 ,he opened mine eyes 7,john #i3cj74 ,a struggler after faith may well count among his assets the insight of the seers and of the ,seer4 ,as another states it3 ,our weak faith may at times be permitted to look through the eyes of some strong soul1 and may thereby gain a sense of the certainty of spiritual things which before we had not4 ,beside the authority of the seers1 there is the authority of racial experience1 to which indeed no mind ought slavishly to subject itself1 but from which all minds ought to gain insight and confidence4 ,tradition has done us much disservice4 ,oppressions that might long before have been outgrown have been counted holy because they were hoary4 ,there must be something to commend an opinion or a custom beside its age1 and all progress depends upon recognizing that ,time makes ancient good uncouth4 ,but if out of the past have come evils to be overthrown1 out of the past also have come the best possessions of the race4 ,traditional has grown to be an adjective of ill repute2 it signifies in common parlance the inheritance of oppressive ideals and institutions that hold the dead hand over hopes of progress4 ,but our best music also1 our poetry1 and our art are traditional2 the discoveries of our scientists on the long road from alchemy to chemistry1 from magic to physics are traditional2 all that each new generation begins with1 fitted out like the well-favored child of a provident father1 is traditional4 ,no one can describe the utter barrenness of life1 if we could not build on the accumulations of our sires1 using the result of their toil as the basis of our work1 their hardly won wisdom as our guide4 ,to discount anything because it is traditional is to discount everything1 except that comparatively minute addition which each new generation makes to the slowly accumulating wisdom and wealth of the race4 ,as ,mr4 ,chesterton has put it3 ,tradition may be defined as the extension of the franchise4 ,tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes1 our ancestors4 ,it is the democracy of the dead4 ,tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about4 ,all democrats object to men being disqualified by the accident of birth2 tradition objects to their being disqualified by the accident of death4 ,democracy tells us not to neglect a good man's opinion1 even if he is our groom2 tradition asks us not to neglect a good man's opinion1 even if he is our father4 ,now racial experience is dubious at many points and at very few does it approach finality4 ,but on one matter it speaks with a unanimity that is nothing short of absolute4 ,man cannot live without religion--like the earth beneath the mountain peaks this universal experience of the race underlies the special insights of the seers4 ,when during the mid-,victorian discomfiture of faith at the first disclosures of the new science1 ,tennyson's ,in ,memoriam appeared1 ,prof4 ,sidgwick wrote of it1 ,what ',in ,memoriam' did for us1 for me at least in this struggle1 was to impress on us the ineffable and irradicable conviction that humanity will not and cannot acquiesce in a godless world4 ,that conviction is confirmed by the whole experience of the race4 ,to be sure religion1 like love1 exists in all degrees4 ,from degraded lust to the relationship of ,robert ,browning and ,elizabeth ,barrett1 love is infinite in variety2 it takes its quality from the character of those whom it affects2 yet through all its changes it is itself so built into the structure of mankind1 that though there be loveless individuals1 life as a whole is unimaginable without it4 ,so religion runs the gamut of human quality4 ,in a ,hindu idolater it performs disgusting rites to placate an angry god1 and in ,rabindranath ,tagore it cries3 ,if thou speakest not ,i will fill my heart with thy silence and endure it4 ,i will keep still and wait like the night with starry vigil and its head bent low with patience4 ,the morning will surely come1 the darkness will vanish1 and thy voice pour down in golden streams1 breaking through the sky4 ,in ,torquemada it is cruel2 in ,father ,damien it becomes a passion for saviorhood4 ,religion helped ,sennacherib to his campaigns and ,isaiah to his prophecies2 it preached the ,sermon on the ,mount and it dragged ,jesus before ,pilate4 ,can the same spring send forth sweet water and bitter8 ,but religion does it1 for religion is life motived by visions of ,god2 it is tremendous in strength1 but with man's unequal power to understand the ,divine1 it is ambiguous in quality4 ,like electricity1 it is magnificent in blessing or terrible in curse4 ,yet through all its degrees man's relationship with the ,invisible is so essentially a part of his humanity that lacking it he has never yet been discovered1 and without it he cannot be conceived4 ,it was this impressive witness of racial experience that made ,john ,fiske1 of ,harvard1 say1 ,of all the implications of the doctrine of evolution with regard to man1 ,i believe the very deepest and strongest to be that which asserts the ,everlasting ,reality of ,religion4 ,this testimony of the spiritual seers and this cumulative experience of the race have a right to play a weighty part in any consideration of religious faith4 ,even a rebellious youth might pause before he scoffs at a mature and thoughtful mind1 letting his ,church1 his ,scripture1 and his ,christ speak impressively to him about the reality of ,god4 ,what we all do in every other realm1 when we are wise1 this mind is doing in religion4 ,his individual grasp on truth he sets in the perspective of history4 ,he does not feel himself upon a lonely quest when he seeks ,god2 rather he feels behind him and around him the race of which he is a part and which never yet has ceased to believe in the ,divine1 and he sees his own insights illumined by those supreme spirits who have talked with ,god as a man talketh with his friend4 ,he knows as well as any youth that authority has been stereotyped in theories of artificial infallibility1 to which no mature mind for a moment can weakly surrender its right to think1 but he refuses to give up a real authority because some have held a false one4 ,the authority of the dictionary is one thing--literal and external4 ,but the authority of a good mother moves on a different plane4 ,it is not artificial and oppressive4 ,it is vital and inspiring4 ,she has lived longer1 experienced more than her children2 she is wiser1 better1 more discerning than they4 ,a man who has had experience of great motherhood comes to feel that if his mother thinks something very strongly and very persistently1 he would better consider that thing well1 for the chances are overwhelming that there is truth in it4 ,how much more shall he feel so about the age-long experience of the saints with ,god6 ,in this respect at least there still is truth in ,cyprian's words1 ,he that hath ,god for his ,father1 hath the ,church for his ,mother4 ,v ,faith needs fellowship not alone for enrichment and stability1 but for expression4 ,for faith1 as from the beginning we have maintained1 is not an effortless acceptance of ideas or personal relationships2 it is an active appropriation of convictions that drive life1 and ,christian faith especially has always involved a campaign whose object is the saving of the world4 ,such an expression of religious life involves cooperation2 men cannot effectively support the work of faith 7,i ,thess4 #a3c7 apart from fellowship4 ,the necessity for this cooperative expression of religion is clear when we consider the one in whom we believe4 ,how anyone can expect in solitude to believe in ,christ is a mystery4 ,for ,christ1 with overflowing love to those who shared his filial fellowship with ,god1 said1 ,no longer do ,i call you servants 444 ,i have called you friends 7,john #ae3ae72 his care encompassed folk who never heard of him and whom he never saw1 ,other sheep ,i have1 which are not of this fold3 them also ,i must bring 444 and they shall become one flock1 one shepherd 7,john #aj3af72 and beyond his generation's life his love reached out to followers yet unborn1 ,them also that believe on me through their word 7,john #ag3bj74 ,whatever other quality a movement sprung from such a source may possess1 it must be social4 ,moreover1 ,jesus' faith was active2 the meaning of it he himself disclosed1 ,all things are possible to him that believeth 7,mark #i3bc74 ,in such a spirit1 both by himself and through his followers1 he sought the lost1 healed the sick1 preached the ,gospel1 and expectantly proclaimed an earth transformed to heaven4 ,such a character cannot be known in contemplation under the trees in ,june or through the pages of an interesting book4 ,if ,garibaldi1 leading his men to the liberation of ,italy1 had found a devotee who said1 ,i believe in you2 ,i love to read your deeds1 and often in my solitary1 meditative hours ,i am cheered by the thought of you--one can easily imagine the swift and penetrating answer6 ,that you believe in me is false2 no one believes in me who does not share my purpose2 the army is afoot1 great business is ahead1 the cause is calling1 he who believes follows4 ,such a spirit was ,christ's4 ,the hermits1 whether of old time in their cells1 or of modern time with their unaffiliated lives1 are wrong4 ,the final test of faith in ,christ is fellowship in work4 ,the ,church itself has been to blame for much undedicated faith4 ,correctness of opinion has been substituted1 as a test1 for fidelity of life4 ,believe in the ,lord ,jesus ,christ and thou shalt be saved1 has been interpreted to mean3 accept a theory about ,christ's person and all is well4 ,but one need only go back in imagination to the time when first that formula was used to see how vital was its import4 ,to believe in ,christ then meant to accept a despised religion1 to break ties that men value more than life1 to face the certainty of contempt and the risk of violence4 ,to believe in ,christ then meant coming out from old relationships and going to a sect where one was pilloried with derision1 that one might work for the things which ,christ represents4 ,no one did that as a theory2 it required a tremendous thrust of the will1 a decision that reached to the roots of life4 ,all this was involved in believing on ,christ1 and our decent holding of a theory about him1 in a time when all lips praise him1 is a poor substitute for such vital faith4 ,john tells us that once a multitude of ,jews professed belief in ,jesus1 but the ,master1 hearing their affirmations1 saw the superficial meaning there4 ,many believed on his name1 says ,john--but ,jesus did not trust himself unto them 7,john #b3bc1 #bd74 ,how many believe in ,christ in such a way that he cannot believe in them6 ,they forget that while the test of a man is his faith1 the test of faith is faithfulness4 ,an apostolic injunction needs modern enforcement1 that they who have believed ,god may be careful to maintain good works 7,titus #c3h74 ,the necessity for a cooperative expression of religion is evident again in the truth which we believe4 ,take in its simplest form the ,gospel which ,christianity presents1 that ,god is in earnest about personality1 and what urgency is there for associated work6 ,for personality is being ruined in this world4 ,false ideas of life1 idolatry whether to fetishes in ,africa or to money here1 irreligion in all its manifold and blighting forms1 are destroying personality from within1 and from without sweatshops1 tenements1 war1 the liquor traffic1 industrial inequity1 are engaged in the same task of ruin4 ,the common contrast between individual and social ,christianity is superficial4 ,the one thing for which the ,christian cares is personal life1 and in its culture and salvation he sees the aim of ,god and ,godlike men4 ,whatever1 therefore1 affects that is his concern1 and what is there that does not affect it8 ,what men believe about life's meaning and its destiny strikes to the core of personal life1 and the houses in which men live1 the conditions under which they work1 the wages that they are paid1 and the environments which surround their plastic childhood--these1 too1 mould for good or ill the fortunes of personality4 ,the ,christian1 therefore1 who intelligently holds the faith that he professes cannot be negligent either of evangelism1 education1 and missionary enterprise upon the one side1 or of social reformation on the other4 ,these are two ends of the tunnel by which the ,gospel seeks to open out a way for personality to find its freedom4 ,a man who says that he believes in ,jesus ,christ1 and yet is complacent about child labor and commercialized vice1 poor housing conditions and unjust wages1 the trade in liquor and the butchery of men in war1 stands in peril of hearing the twenty-third chapter of ,matthew's gospel brought up to date for his especial benefit by the same lips that spoke it first4 ,the indignation of the ,master falls on priests and ,levites who1 speeding to the temple service1 pass by on the other side the victims of social injury4 ,isolated ,christians1 however1 cannot further this campaign for personality redeemed from inward ills and outward handicaps4 ,evil is organized1 and goodness must be1 too4 ,as wisely would a single patriot shoulder a rifle and set out for ,france as would an unaffiliated ,christian set his solitary strength against the massed evil of the world4 ,men increase effectiveness by a large per cent through fellowship1 as ancient ,hebrews saw3 ,five of you shall chase a hundred1 and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand 7,lev4 #bf3h74 ,,vi ,many secondary fellowships offer to a ,christian opportunity for associated service2 no cooperative endeavor to make this a better world for ,god to rear his children in should lack ,christian sympathy and support4 ,but the primary fellowship of ,christians is the ,church4 ,some indeed would have no church2 they would have man's spiritual life a disembodied wraith1 without a local habitation and a name4 ,but no other one of all man's finer interests has survived without organized expression4 ,justice is a great ideal2 any endeavor to incarnate it in human institutions sullies its purity4 ,one who dwelt only on the lofty nature of justice1 who thought of it uncontaminated and ideal1 might protest against its embodiment in the tawdry ritual and demeaning squabbles of a law court4 ,between the poetry of justice and the recriminations of lawyers1 the perjury of witnesses1 the fumbling uncertainty of evidence1 the miscarriages of equity1 how bitterly a scornful mind could point the contrast6 ,but a reverent mind1 sorry as it may be at the misrepresentation of the ideal in the human institution1 is ill content with scorn4 ,he who with insight reads the history of jurisprudence1 perceives how the courts of law1 with all their faults1 have conserved the gains in social equity1 have propagated the ideal for which they stand1 have made progress sometimes slowly1 sometimes with a rush like soldiers storming a redoubt1 and in times of stress have been a bulwark against the invasion of the people's rights4 ,the poetry of justice would have been an idle dream without equity's laborious embodiment in codes and courts4 ,some minds dwell with joy upon the spiritual ,church4 ,its names are written on no earthly roster1 but in the ,book of ,life2 its worship is offered in no earthly temple1 but in the trysting places where soul meets ,over-soul in trustful fellowship2 its baptism is not with water but with spirit1 its eucharist not with bread but with the shared life of the ,lord4 ,or1 ranging out to think of the ,church as an ideal human brotherhood men dream as ,manson did in ,the ,servant in the ,house3 ,if you have eyes1 you will presently see the church itself--a looming mystery of many shapes and shadows1 leaping sheer from floor to dome4 ,the work of no ordinary builder6444 ,the pillars of it go up like the brawny trunks of heroes3 the sweet human flesh of men and women is moulded about its bulwarks1 strong1 impregnable3 the faces of little children laugh out from every corner-stone3 the terrible spans and arches of it are the joined hands of comrades2 and up in the heights and spaces there are inscribed the numberless musings of all the dreamers of the world4 ,it is yet building--building and built upon4 ,sometimes the work goes forward in deep darkness3 sometimes in blinding light3 now beneath the burden of unutterable anguish3 now to the tune of a great laughter and heroic shoutings like the cry of thunder4 ,sometimes1 in the silence of the night-time1 one may hear the tiny hammerings of the comrades at work up in the dome--the comrades that have climbed ahead4 ,all such ideals1 like pillars of fire and cloud1 lead the march toward a promised land4 ,they are to the actual ,church what the poetry of justice is to the actual courts4 ,but in one case as in the other1 such ideals are dreams if1 with labor and struggle1 through many mistakes1 against the disheartenment of man's frailty and sin1 we do not work out an institution that shall embody and express man's spiritual life4 ,even now a discerning spirit whose own faith has been nourished at the altar regards the ,church with boundless gratitude4 ,she has indeed been to the ,gospel what courts are to justice1 indispensable and yet burdensome1 an institution that the ideal cannot live without and yet often cannot easily live with4 ,no one feels her faults so acutely as one who devotedly values the ,gospel and longs for its adequate expression on the earth4 ,yet the ,church conserves the race's spiritual gains1 fits out our youth with the treasure of man's accumulated faith1 is a power house of endless moral energy for good causes in the world1 exalts the ideal aims of life amid the crushing pressure of material pursuits1 holds out a gospel of hope to men whom all others have forsaken1 and to the ends of the earth proclaims the good pews of ,god and the ,kingdom4 ,no other fellowship offers to men of faith so great an opportunity to make distinctive contribution to the race's spiritual life4 ,in the presence of the ,church's service and the ,church's need an unaffiliated believer in ,jesus ,christ is an anomaly4 ,for enrichment1 stability1 and expression1 faith must have fellowship4 ,oh magnify ,jehovah with me1 and let us exalt ,his name together 7,psalm #cd3c74 ,,scripture ,,passages ,,used ,,in ,,the ,,daily ,,readings ,,exodus #c3a-e 7,,vi-#e72 #d3bd-bf 7,,ii-#d74 ,,deuteronomy #bh3fe-fg 7,,viii-#b74 ,,ii ,,kings #ba3c-f 7,,iv-#e74 ,,job #cj3bj1 #ba1 #be-bg 7,x-#d72 #cg3bc 7,v-#c72 #ch3ca-ch 7,,vii-#a74 ,,psalms #af3e-aa 7,,iii-#e72 #bc3a-d 7,x-#c72 #bg3a-f 7,,viii-#e72 #bg3g-ad 7,v-#g72 #ea3a-d 7,,iii-#c72 #ee3a-g 7,,viii-#a72 #ef3a-c 7,,viii-#c72 #gc3b1 #c1 #af1 #ag1 #bd-bf 7,,ii-#f72 #ajc3a-e 7,,iii-#b72 #aah3a-f 7,,viii-#g72 #ade3a-aj 7,,iii-#g72 #adf3a-e 7,,iv-#a74 ,,proverbs #b3a-e 7,,ii-#c72 #d3a-i 7,,ii-#b74 ,,ecclesiastes #c3aa 7,v-#c74 ,,isaiah #a3aj-ag 7,,iv-#b72 #dj3bf-ca 7,v-#d72 #ea3i-af 7,,vi-#f72 #ee3a-c 7,,ii-#g74 ,,amos #e3ba-bd 7,,ix-#d74 ,,micah #f3a-h 7,,ix-#c74 ,,matthew #f3f-ad 7,,iii-#a72 #f3i-ae 7,,xii-#e72 #f3bd-cc 7,,vi-#f72 #g3ae-bj 7,v-#f72 #g3bd-bg 7,,vi-#g72 #ac3ed-eh 7,,xi-#c72 #ag3ai-bj 7,,xi-#d72 #ah3ab-ad 7,,ii-#d72 #ba3bh-ca 7,x-#a72 #bc3ac-ae1 #bc1 #bd 7,,xii-#a72 #be3cd-dj 7,,ix-#g74 ,,mark #ab3bh-cj 7,v-#a74 ,,luke #f3ab-af 7,,ix-#b72 #g3dh-ej 7,,xi-#b72 #ah3i-ad 7,,iv-#c72 #bb3ca1 #cb 7,,xi-#f74 ,,john #c3ba 7,,ix-#e72 #d3bc1 #bd 7,,iv-#e72 #f3af1 #ag 7,,ix-#e72 #f3bg-bi 7,,xi-#a72 #g3af1 #ag 7,,ix-#e72 #ad3be-bg 7,,vii-#b72 #ag3bj-bc 7,,xii-#f74 ,,acts #ag3bb-bh 7,,iv-#f74 ,,romans #h3a-f 7,x-#g72 #h3ad-af 7,v-#e72 #h3bd1 #be 7,,iii-#d72 #aj3aa-ae 7,,xii-#d72 #aa3cc1 #cd 7,v-#c72 #aa3cc-ab3b 7,,ix-#f72 #ae3ac 7,,iii-#d72 #af3a-h 7,,ix-#a74 ,i ,,corinthians #b3aj-ad 7,,vii-#d72 #c3d-i 7,,iii-#f72 #c3ah-bc 7,,vii-#f72 #d3aa-ac 7,,vi-#b74 ,,ii ,,corinthians #e3e 7,v-#b74 ,,galatians #b3bj 7,,xi-#e72 #e3ac-ae 7,,xii-#c72 #e3af-bc 7,,iv-#g74 ,,ephesians #a3ae-ai 7,,vii-#e72 #d3ac-ae 7,x-#e74 ,,philippians #c3ab-af 7,x-#f74 ,i ,,thessalonians #c3a1 #b1 #aj 7,,xi-#f72 #e3ba 7,v-#a74 ,,ii ,,thessalonians #a3c 7,,xi-#f74 ,i ,,timothy #f3bj1 #ba 7,,ii-#e74 ,,ii ,,timothy #a3c-e 7,,ii-#a72 #d3f-h 7,,xii-#g74 ,,hebrews #a3a1 #b 7,,vii-#g72 #b3h-aj 7,,vi-#c72 #d3a1 #b1 7,i-#f72 #aj3bc-be 7,,xii-#b72 #aj3cb-cf 7,i-#d72 #aa3a 7,i-#a72 #aa3c1 #f 7,i-#e72 #aa3h-aj 7,i-#b72 #aa3ac-af 7,i-#a72 #aa3bd-bg 7,i-#b72 #aa3cb-dj 7,i-#c72 #ab3a-c 7,,vi-#d72 #ac3g 7,i-#g74 ,,james #a3b-h 7,x-#b72 #b3ad-ba 7,,iv-#d72 #e3ac-af 7,,viii-#d74 ,i ,,peter #a3c-i 7,,xi-#g72 #d3ab-af1 #ai 7,,vi-#a74 ,,ii ,,peter #a3e 7,v-#a74 ,,jude #bj-be 7,,vii-#c74 ,,sources ,,of ,,prayers ,,used ,,in ,,the ,,daily ,,readings ,,alfred1 ,,king--,,ix-#c1 ,a ,chain of ,prayer ,across the ,ages1 by ,s4 ,f4 ,fox4 ,,anselm1 ,,st4--,,xi-#f4 ,a ,chain of ,prayer ,across the ,ages1 by ,s4 ,f4 ,fox4 ,,arndt1 ,,johann--,,ix-#a2 ,x-#a4 ,a ,chain of ,prayer ,across the ,ages1 by ,s4 ,f4 ,fox4 ,,arnold1 ,,thomas--,,vii-#e4 ,a ,chain of ,prayer ,across the ,ages1 by ,s4 ,f4 ,fox4 ,,bacon1 ,,francis--,,vii-#b4 ,a ,chain of ,prayer ,across the ,ages1 by ,s4 ,f4 ,fox4 ,,beecher1 ,,henry ,,ward--,i-#d2 ,i-#g2 ,,ii-#g2 ,,iii-#e2 ,,iii-#g2 ,,iv-#g2 ,v-#g2 ,,vi-#f2 ,x-#e4 ,a ,book of ,public ,prayer4 ,,book ,,of ,,common ,,prayer--,,xii-#f4 ,,dawson1 ,,george--,x-#d4 ,a ,chain of ,prayer ,across the ,ages1 by ,s4 ,f4 ,fox4 ,,hale1 ,,sir ,,matthew--,,vii-#d4 ,a ,chain of ,prayer ,across the ,ages1 by ,s4 ,f4 ,fox4 ,,hunter1 ,,john--,i-#a2 ,,iv-#e2 ,,xi-#b2 ,,xi-#c2 ,,xii-#g4 ,devotional ,services for ,public ,worship4 ,,jenks1 ,,benjamin--,x-#b4 ,a ,chain of ,prayer ,across the ,ages1 by ,s4 ,f4 ,fox4 ,,mccomb1 ,,samuel--,i-#f2 ,,ii-#a2 ,,iii-#a2 ,,vi-#c2 ,,viii-#a2 ,,viii-#b2 ,,viii-#c2 ,,viii-#e2 ,,viii-#f2 ,,viii-#g2 ,,ix-#b2 ,,xi-#a2 ,,xii-#b2 ,,xii-#d4 ,a ,book of ,prayers for ,public and ,personal ,use4 ,,martineau1 ,,james--,,iii-#d2 ,,iv-#d2 ,v-#b2 ,,vi-#b2 ,,xii-#a4 ,prayers in the ,congregation and in ,college4 ,,newman1 ,,francis ,w4--,,vi-#a2 ,,vi-#g4 ,a ,chain of ,prayer ,across the ,ages1 by ,s4 ,f4 ,fox4 ,,orchard1 ,w4 ,e4--,i-#b2 ,i-#c2 ,,ii-#b2 ,,ii-#c2 ,,ii-#d2 ,,ii-#e2 ,,ii-#f2 ,,iii-#b2 ,,iv-#c2 ,,iv-#f2 ,v-#a2 ,v-#c2 ,v-#f2 ,,vi-#e2 ,,vii-#a2 ,,vii-#c2 ,,vii-#g2 ,,viii-#d2 ,,ix-#e2 ,x-#g2 ,,xi-#e2 ,,xi-#g4 ,the ,temple4 ,,parker1 ,,theodore--,i-#e2 ,v-#d2 ,v-#e2 ,,vi-#d2 ,,vii-#f2 ,x-#f4 ,prayers4 ,,rauschenbusch1 ,,walter--,,iii-#f2 ,,iv-#a2 ,,iv-#b2 ,,ix-#d2 ,,ix-#f2 ,,xii-#c2 ,,xii-#e4 ,prayers of the ,social ,awakening4 ,,robinson1 ,,helen ,,ring--,,xi-#d4 ,thy ,kingdom ,come1 by ,ralph ,e4 ,diffendorfer4 ,,shaftesbury1 ,,earl ,,of--,,ix-#g4 ,a ,chain of ,prayer ,across the ,ages1 by ,s4 ,f4 ,fox4 ,,stevenson1 ,,robert ,,louis--,,iii-#c4 ,prayers ,written at ,vailima4 ,,van ,,dyke1 ,,henry--,,iv-#f4 ,thy ,kingdom ,come1 by ,ralph ,e4 ,diffendorfer4 ,,weiss1 ,s4--,x-#c4 ,a ,chain of ,prayer ,across the ,ages1 by ,s4 ,f4 ,fox4