New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-12-13

4 Cheerful Religion.
The Rev. William r. Algef, Of Bostof
Massachusetts, has been called to tn
Nastorate of the Church OF the Messiah, q
bark avenue and Thirty fourth street i
this city, and it was announced privatel
Yesterday by the trustees that he hal
Accepted the call and would soon be 10
etalled az pastor The vacancy was causes
ny the resignation Of the Rev. Henr.
Powers. and it was supposed at one tim'
would succeed him, but Mr.. Collye
declined. and the trustees called thu
Rev. Mr., Alger This church was for
merly under the pastoral charge OF the
Rev. George II. Hepworth, and Garlic
still Of the Rev. Dr. OsgOod. Dr.: Osgooc
went over to the Protestant E2iscopa
Church, and the Rey. M Mr.: hepxso tni ne pc
ciples independently, after q formal an
.nounceinent Of his change Of belief % to the
divinity of Christ The Rev. William r.
Alper. the new pastor, is q scholar Of estab
. lis6ed reputation. He il native of Massa.
chusetts, about ffty1One years OF age, and
, - the author of several religious works. Of
which the History of the Doctrine Of z
future Life "a it has Prevailed in all
Nations and Ages" is an often quoted au-
shortly. He preached yesterday morning
In the church over which he will soon be
ipstalled pastor, announcing his subject to
be "A Cheerful Religion" based on this
text: .'Rejoice in the Lord always; and again
ssg, rejoice" Philippians w., 4.
What forms, he asked, the basis Of Q
cheerful religioni The principle that the
welfare of man il tho viii Of God. And is
not this q sound peinciples Who can look
abroad with Q wholesome mind over the
great plan Of the world and not SEQ that
She Creator clearly designs that His cree
lures shall be happy, and by swelling higher
the tide Of universal joy esuse Him to be
own aptsoonism with one another that pre-
vents this. God has endowed us with won
derful faculties. He has filled our habita-
Zion with g0Odly treasures. He has sur
rounded No with the sersphic hosts Of
beauty, blazing rank above rank; to his
very throne. Then He has said to US: "My
love toward you is shown in the immense
provision made for the supply ofyour wants.
Go forth now, roam over my works,
learn their secrets, enjoy the pleas
ure they yield. Keep my laws, love
one another. and be happy" To
do this faithfully would be the practice of q
genuine, unadulterated religion. And could
anything be more cheerful Why should
the votary of munificent faith wear 2
luEubri6us cOuntenance and 60 signing and
moprning to his gravel Solomon expressed
his belief that the happiness of man is the
will Of God, in the striking prOverb: "A
merry heart doeth good like q medicine
The apborism il true In q threef0ld sense.
in the first place cheerfulness is an excel
lent prophylactic or recipe for warding of
invading ills, as we'll as precious stimulant
under impending exhaustion. It is motto
rious that in the hospitals of . defeated
army far greater proportion Of the wound.
ed die than in the hospitals of the victors.
Bright hopes are fine tonic; gloomy fears
sct 20 poison; therefore, happiness is the
will Of God, the helpful and inspiring law
of thines.
= Secondly, happy man is stronger and
more capable than an unhappy one. he 10
fuller Of vital energy. more accessible to
: the motives which are the SOU! OF ambition
Auently do more work and do 1t better than
4 diskeartened and wretched man can.
When We are happy. full OF heart and life,
ahen we strike out new plans Of usefulness
and honor, then we work with perssvering
vigor. But when We are sOrrOwful and
distrustful. saddened by the aching Of I'M
satisfied wants, then the world loses its
motives which before excited No become
pOwerless and are sunk into Indifference.
Thirdly, in the normal condition of things,
enjoy nent is favorable to virtue, while
"wretchedness ia Q panderer to vice. The
true tendency Of happiness is to render
man genial, benevolent and grateful. An
unhappy person is apt to become cross,
misanthr0pic, tyrannicsl. The natural
thirst of his desires being ungratifed, be is |
discordant and uneasy. Many man.
s0nred by disappointment Of his ambition. |
seeks miserable comfort in Indignantly |
deprecatiug those who have succeeded ia |
theirs. Personal joy and contentment |
would transform this self-gnawing animos-
ity into a peaceful and good will. A merry !
heart doeth good like medicine; therefore,
hnman happiness. not gloom and pain, is |
the design Of the Creator, and the true re. |
ligion. To love your Maker and your
neighbor, do your recognized duties to |
the best of your ability, and with q
bounding heart enjoy tho world. without |
dread OF a satanic power in nature, an in
herited doom in history, or 3 yawning per
dition in the future, this is cheerful rel |
gion; and it is consistent with unperverted
ChristiaDity-namely, conformity to the |
Word of God and a perfect love which casts
ont fear. There is q raw religion of bar
baric superstition, which is q sensational
assimilation Of the dark and pOrtentous
phenomena of nature. The savage tribes
who hold this are slaves of terror, tOrturing
themselves in the rites Of their worship. |
There is also the arbitrary religion of NOR
bid dogma, which 10 metaphysic aesimila.
ton OF the dark and pOrtentous facts OF /
life. The civilized nations who hold this |
arc victims Of anxiety, imagining themselves |
TO be under doom which they strive by /
various artificial means to avert.
Finally, there is the healthy religion of |
faith and love, which is . rational assimila-
rion to the order and benignity of the uni |
verse. The enlightened and emancipated
individuals who hold this, trusting in the |
infinite perfection of God, try to learn His
will as EXPRESSED in the constitution OF His
works, and to do it; and then enjoying |
every good he has placed in their power, l
leave results in His hands without misglv- |
ing. The spirit Of the 'first form of religion
is natural alarm; of the second, artificial
anxiety; Of the third, grateful content.
the second, the technical religion Of disease;
the third, the veracious religion of health. |
The first is an instructive grewth of super
stitiOus i'm sginatiOns, the next an elaborate
product of morbid intellects, but the last is
the normal correspondence in human ex-
perience of the Divine plan enacted in
nature and providence-a true. cheer
full religion. As . spring gurgles up
from the heart of the earth, clear and
fresh, scattering refreshment and pro-
ducing verdure in GUNNER, rearing Its
crystal structures and hanging it's gems in
winter, SO in the centre OF our being God
has placed an immortal soul, the play OF
whose affection may gladden. itself and ell
aronnd with the choicest delights, and the
activity of whose intelligence, winning con-
meat after conquest, may furnish pleasures
without end. Our Maker unquestiona0iy
leaiened the conscious sctiOn Of the feCui'
lea within us to be fountain Of unfaihng,