Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1870-11-26
Cheerful Christianity.
A LECTURE ROOM rALK-BY BEEcnER.

l am not disposed to persecute people
because they are solemn; this is Il mis-
fortune often, as much as fault. have
known men in the Christian church, who
were really Christians, yet never saw
them smile in my life. As general
thing, it i: presumption against man,
when he has no JOY, ] say distinctly,
that the joyful state is the typical state.
| do not say that because people are
happy i'll meeting they are Christians,
but | do say that when men are brought
into true relations with God, the tenden-
cy is toward cheerfulness, hope, Joy.
This is The life to be aimed at when
men are always cast down, their depres-
sion is against them.
1t is true that the New Testament en=
joins us to be vigilant and careful il Is
true that besides orr own passions, there
is Il great realm thickly peopled with ad-
versaries; we have need to be sober and
earnest, we are to walk with fear and
trembling; but all this is compatible
with Joy and even jnblation. You can
be under the influence of responsibility
and yet sound the highest notes of joy.
You can have an undertOne OF care, and
yet oyer all and stronger than all have
peace, gIadness, yea mirth. | love to see
Christians that blossom. | am not dis
posed to underate the root and the stem,
yet the crown ofthe plant is the blossom,
and out of it the fruit. We are to feel Il
! sweet assurance, not an impertinent con
filpnce.
Can all persons rise 10 this ? Net at
once, Some persons have melancholy
temperaments, but they sholld aim at
iov, and not fall back on their tempera-
meut, and suppose that the more solemn
they are, the more Christian they are.
But ought not men to examine them
selves? Yes, once in a whilei but it j.
the poorest kind of business to be al
ways stirring up your beart, and pulling
out threads to see what yon are made of.
Your heart is the poorest thing you can
look into. No man should be imditfer
ent 10 the general proportions of his
life, but that is not where you get youl
JOY. Men must look after their diet, but
they need not think of every potato
and peice of bread that they eat, and en-
guire how it is digcsting.
Psychologists say that we should moi
think about the functions that are going
on in the body, Men who are Away think
ing about their brain, and heart and lily
er, become fidgets. There are II grea
many f,lgets in the church. 1t is very
poor company that man finds when h,
watches himself. A man may know
whether he is in the main in the Masters
work, but joy is not in you, i, is in God
Rejoice in God is not simply command
it Is philosophy. Not what we are
but what is revealed to us of God, com
poses our joy. The effect Of Q true joy
genial, confding disposition, is good
1t influences the world, when it is added
to truth and fidelity.
| like to see a man express a surplus o
Joy, by singing or whistling over hi
work, If You walk according 10 godli
ness, and are cheerful, you make religion
attractive. There is nothing that mel
want so much as something to make thi
sad world brighter. lie that is full o
JOY is preaching the gospel wherever b
goes. While fear is the bass note, jO,
aud love are the tenor notes. We mus
have casual experiences of sadness i
view of our experiences and relations i
this world, but in'the main we are to re
Ijoice. A thunder shower is good 70
washing the earth and sweetening th
air, but the constant drizze of north
east rain is Objectionable. There is moth
ing so broad as the New Testament idei
OF character; it is not lean nor strait
l.c,d. Whatsoever things are true, hon
est, just, pure, lovely, of good report
Paul says think on these things. Insid
of right, you are TO be what makes yo
seem attractive to others, what make
you of good report among those wit
whom you liyc, You are bound to be
Christian strong enough 10 carry sadnes
and joy as nature carries light 2hd shade
Nothing is SO round, SO volqminods. s
beautiful, as Christian character. Lean
ness, poverty, apprehensiyeness, do no
belong to j.,
The King of Prussia has conferred IN
Gross of l6e Order Of the Red Eagle
the highest honor ofthe German nobility
on DIR. Tholuck, the German Theologial