The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1876-03-27

religion, added, was the only one
which evor recognized JOY as an inSgral
and important part OF its service. The greatest and
most solemn acts Of their religious worship made
up OF social festivity aud Of JOY in its most significant
forms OF expression II was therefore, a kind OF en-
thusiasm OF JOY which developed among them,
and Christ Jew and reared In Jewish thought
and feeling and the apostles all Israelites;
that is little singular that the prejudice Christians
in modern times have against Israelites is prejudice
against those from whose lolns everything that we
have mos: elovating beautiful and joyful sprung. |
have none OF the prejudice Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob wore my ancestors, and those who have de-
scended from them by natural generation are my
brethren The apostles brought the Same spirit INTO
the faith and although they entered upon the or
ganzaton OF the now church life under circumstances
that would naturally have made men ascetc, bgotod
and bitter nevertheless all the early ideas OF Chris
tlanity were sweet and calm. The earliest specimens
Of Christian art found the catacombs at Rome show
no dark or gloomy images. Subsequent philosophy
THIS TEMPERAMENT OF CHRISTIANITY
nor have got over yet the effect Of the soica Greek
philosophy, nor OF the Manichean notions, nor tho
effect Of the Roman mind The idea introduced
that sin was OF the body and that by Notifying that
We could destroy sin, and the idea that the other life
difficult TO be reached, and that the temptations
OF ord nary life and society were so great that
could not afford 10 smile he such great risk. All
these ideas tended to take away from Christianity
much which not only belonged to 1t, but without
which We mover could discover what it really is or was
intended TO be- and they wrought peculiar disposition
or atmosphere in souls OF men when they attempted
q religious lie
Mr. Beecher proceeded to discuss this atmosphere
OF the soul" In the physical world he said dark, dull
atmosphere is unfavorabe to pleasure, to labor to
everything animate and inanmate. On the other
hand clear, genial radiant day seems to favor every
thing. The analogy Is perfect. The soul has an
atmosphere. Sadness, heaviness OF soul, obscurity
mako II hard for man TO live, mako IL hard for him
to be sociablo good natured 1t Is especially mis-
chievous In all religious life, for all the higher graces
and most genial Atmosphere. The Clements that 20 to
constitute what call Christian atmosphere first
good nature, grace which was not mentioned by
PAUL DID NOT SPEAK ENGLISH
With good health and moderately fair circumstances
good nature Is better than genius, than property or
than honor Richard Baxter, looking for wife with
good disposition rather than one that emnenty
many persons that he could not live with. This quality
is better than genius Tor TO have genius and to have
nerves one must have tho dovii, for that is gate
think through which he comes into men, Persons
who have an adipose temperament and whose nerves
are heavily covered; are relieved from good many
annoyances which besot other people.
To good nature must be added what Is called cheer
fulness in the Word OF God. which is state Of happ
ness, content, gadnesstne enjoyment Of life under
the conditions in which 1t Is brought to YOU and to
these IN turn must be added what is termed fath for
although faith has significant and important meaning
special act by which accepts the Lord Jesus
Christ, the word is comprehensive than that. II
includes the whole action OF the Imagination, by which
latter word mean the peculiar faculty Of the human
soul by which 1t discerns things not tangible to the
senses that whole play Of mind by which man deals
with abstract things. The unimagnative, matter-of-
on the road jolts him. But the man with Imagination
has springs he has the OF changing facts by this
operation OF the mind SO as to soften them This power
OF the imagination is one of transcendent importance
1t comes under the head OF faith by which Va over
como the world.
sESsB OF HUMoR
was the next quality the preacher added to the list
and no entered on a long dissertation upon wit and
humor to explain his reasons for namingit BLESSED"
said he, ''are the who know how to put this
cushion between themselves and all the sharp corners
OF life" To the man who can look at things from
n mt hnl hard a
bear and the enemy OF care seems TO lose Its cutting
edges when brought 10 bear upon like that
When man has this atmosphere OF the soul he has
got summer day, and in that summer and
conscience will act better, and he Is better competent
to discharge all the duties OF life. That condition is far
more favorable grace than any other: certainly far
more than this masked sobriety and stoid hardness
which great many persons suppose to DO the
OF the graces and OF true manhood i say that good
nature, cheerfuness and imagination grace. II may
be said that this disposition tends to relax tho
science. Well, that would be the best thing about it
Tor some consciences Loyola was ono of tho most
conscientious men that ever lived Paul was never
conscientious than when he carried the bloody
sword into Africa and tho crueest men in this world
are tho men with limited sympathes and hard con-
sciences. man who ties himself up in every direction
for fear OF SHINING is not so good as man who lets
himself out ana then says, 81 will trust to the grace
of God 10 keep me from SHINING" To-day the popu.
lar idea OF being Christian is to be something less
than you were, whereas say that the conversion OF
man is like the change OF bird that has been in
cage and has been lot out-a man who has been living
In twilight and has the rays OF the rising shed
upon him-a man who has been In the Wilderness and
finds IL suddenly bud and blossom as the r0sc-it is
the largeness OF Christian lie Love, hope cheerful
ness courage, faith, trust in God and the JOY that
overfows and the brightness that comes with IL and
the sustaining power that accompanies tin this is
Christianity, and will not suffer IL to be slandered
here To be Christs man Is to be ten times as large
man you BEFORE To be devils IS
TO BIO dwarf call you not TO prison nor 10 the
gloom ola dungeon call you to thrones and to
glory. Accept God and the light OF Hts countenancc
will make you children OF light Rejoice in the Lord
and again say, rejoice