The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-01-27
LYRIC HALL

Religion the Fruitful Parent of Happf-
unconstitutional Belief the True One
Sermon by tho Rev. u. b. FrOthing-
ham.
The usual congregation assembled at Lyric Hall,
opposite Reservoir square, yesterday morning. Mr..
rockingham, as he very frequently does, chose no
text from the Bible, but took his subject from hui
man experience, IL being, "Joy: The Chief Thing
In Religion" Who can be sure that his is the true
iaiths he began. Those that call themselves true
believers are q melancholy people. Their spirits
are low and their speech is pensve. The people to
whom the cardinal points are Indifferent must be
gloomy. joyless faith IL no faith at all. Beliefs
that do not exhilarate not Mt to be called such.
Joy Is innocence, peace, gratitude trust. As plants
fade and die in the shade, so does human nature
blacken and perish in
GLOOMY BELIEFS.
Religion should be the fruitful parent OF happi-
ness. Every faith claims for itself to be the Joy.
The Romanist looks upon what he calls the bald
ness OF the Protestant worship; the Evangelist
looks with compassion on the Unitarian, and the
Unitarian looks with pity those who believe less
than he does naturally taking 1t for granted that
they live In doubt and fear--that "no rainbow
spans their cloud" In the first place joy mostly
matter Of temperament, and the relation exist
ing between belief and temperament has never
been found. There are sad men in ali religions.
The poet Cowper was one OF the most melancholy
OF men. His life was all bitterness; nothing gave
life was burden. He took no delight
In the greetings OF friend or in the
believer He inherited a melancholy temper with
a streak OF insanity. Ralph Emerson was man
directly opposite to William Cowper. Emerson
would have made day OF the blacklist night, while
Cowper would have made night OF the sunniest
day. We must take belief when II prescrbcs do
nestle nurture, at the time when children are
milk. Fewer aud fewer people find JOY In the
whole faith and the Joy is not as lasting as 1t was
yet every faith mas had It's created periods, ana at
one time has stood for freedom, and then 1t repre-
sented Joy. There IL no religion In the world but
at some moment has given men such an ecstasy
| BRING DOWN HEAVEN
| to them. Take the old Roman religion IN tne
Middle Ages Look into the heather heart IN 1ts
decay The people were poor, ignorant, tyran-
nized over, with no outlet Tor action-crushed be.
| have been seeing new faith opening to them like
the doors OF great cathedral, gathering them al
have BEEN with s broad expanse Of marble oor
and It's massive pillars like giant trees the color 90
forms OF saint and prophet, the volumes OF souno
smoke curling from the Censor upward, and the
priest promising
to those who believed The people thought not OF
| priestcraft, nor superstition, nor tyranny. dool
was opened out OF their wilderness, and beyone
Luther's time things were different. Read Tho
| words Of the early Relormers The Puritans seem
ed TO them very austere people. Yet their mlti
! meant peace and Joy. What a cause for ecstasy
had come when the Christ had come. lie was III
awful Judge, but he judged only after ne ma.
everlasting hell In the future, and that those wn
| escaped were fortunate. In proportion 70 th'
freedom in religion has been the Joy. Th0S'
| who are the most emancipated are the mos
| happy. The rational belief Is the most happy. ]
is lree from superstition and is not of Que country
age or faith, but OF every country, every age an,
| every faith. People commonly speak vi OAR