The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1874-10-15

be the best, and his search for the true
be diligent, it viii be pretty sure to
come back as the youth who goes out to
seek his fortune returns after years of
wandering, not so sorry for its disap-
pointments as glad to get back to home
of peace and comfort It comes back
rich in experience, and finds a Joy in
what it disregarded in the days long
since gone by.
If I see a young man leaving the
church, denying the being of God, for
saking Christ, have but little fear for
him SO long as he is anxious to find the
truth, for am as sure as of my presence
here, that he who seeketh diligently
shall find. Theologies are all man made,
truth is of God, and in all cases of true
doubt it is the faith in Gods eternal
truth warning against the imperfections
of mans theories. Like Tennyson's he
his purest convictions, he will surely
come off victor:
| "Perplexed in faith, yet pure in deeds.
At last he beat his music out.
There lives more faith in honest doubt,
Believe me, than in half the creeds.'
/ may be too sanguine, yet trust we
all believe in the eternal verities. Truth
must be eternal, or to put the PROPOSE
/ ton in another form, truth is that which
is eternal, absolute, perfect, and this we
seek. Shall we never find? Has our
| Creator given us food to satisfy our ma
terial cravings, and the pure water of
the mountains to quench our thirst, and
shall He delude our infinite longings
after divine truth and love with phan-
| tasmal lie? Shall we be paid for the labor
of our hands at our daily task, and be
cheated out of the reward for our spirit
| ual strlvings? All, mol No faith can sink
to SO low depth as to believe lie SO
base as that.
We may doubt the imperfect, we may
not be sure that what we see in the
church is Godhke, we may throw away
our creeds and dogmas, but we cannot
throw away our faith in the Infinite
Love that ruleth all things for good.
But the transition from faith in the
partial to faith in the complete may be
bitter and terrible experience. Blessed
is he who never doubted, Blessed is he
who reaches an exalted conception
through an honest scepticism.
Like the angles in the apocalyptic po-
EN- of the evangelist: ''These are they
who have come through great tribula-
ton"
would that I could say word of
cheer and comfort to all troubled souls,
to minds perplexed with questionings.
But here for lack of time, let me indulge
in little dogmatism. There is one who
stands, with staff in hand, ever ready to
guide the wanderer to the father house.
He knows the true way. Whoever fol-
lows Him rightly, studies His word care
fully, viii find soothing balm for every
wound, and His love shall light up
the darkness of every Responding heart.
Jesus of Nazareth is surely the Christ
of God, and His loving soul shall guide
the nations, who are
stumbling often in disastrous night,
Yet ever hoping for the the pefect day."
We see light but partially now; our
nights are spent in the shadow Of our
planet. A few broken rays reach us
from the moon and stars, but the morn
ing shall surely come when f'that which
is in part shall be done away
Doubt, then, if you must but let it
be noble, honest and true, and God will
lead you through it into His everlasting
truth, where we shall e1claim in rap
lures of delight, with the doubling
Thomas, "My Lord, and my God!''