, 1881-04-17

vie witt, them? When a boy never passe'
a Sunday without I coffin or sotle OF tl
wrath Of God III it. / like the present, styl
! Of making Christianity Il life rather than
| ing to say, " One world At 4 time" II Got
can be trusted in this world, why not trns
| Him for the next Let lis begin with tintt
| ing ont and obeylng His laws III this presen
| life.
and from doubt within as well as without tn
| Church. repeat, doubt is the salt and th'
| waves that keep the oceans of the soul sweet
| Certainty is stagnatl0ll, and when to certain
! ~ you couple enforced uniformity the result
| is death. -
Doubt is an intellectual act. It is the in
| tellec, sitting in Judgment upon the past ant
! the present The mischief of doubt is that i
| is apt to rim into denial. and thus destroy
bo1h belief and spirituality: This. however
| is all :bnse Of the true function Of doubt
While doubt should at all times be used rs /;
check upon crcdullty, the same Us we list
common sense Us 4 check upon excessive
speculation or the 0yer-retinenents OF logic
it should never be allowed to interfere with
that instinct Of worship that is inseparabe
fr".a every hu'nan & soul and dwellS in every
sic. and no amount OF. speculation upon the
musical scale or the philosophy and metap!lys
les ct music can ever Supersede those poplt'
lar and great outbreaks Of this musical In
stncr That come as unbldden Us the sweet
south winds in sp1ingtime. How puny and
idle all that has been written about music
before such spontaneous and untraceable
bursts of music rs the Marsellles hymn. or
"O14 John Brown or, Tramp, Tramp,
the. Boys are Marching" or .'Searer, my
God, 10 thee" So with worship. Upon 10
occasion whatever should it be checked or
suppressed by doubt 1t Is as natural for the
human heart to 60 out to God and Christ III
love, worship, aud gratitude as it is to
breathe. It our spirituality is low and
subtle doubt fills the heart with bitterness:
1fFaith is dry
And men the flies OF latter spring
That lay their eggs. and sting uud sting,
And weave their petty cells lind die;
then comes us its cure the grand yet simple
words Of Christ, "Obcy and ye snail know
Of the doctrines whether they be ut God"
Doubt has its Limitations. These 1imita-
tons are the Limitations Ut the human mind.
There are thousands OF subjects that the llu-
man mind has no adequate organs to grap-
pie. Many subjects defy proof. doubt if
Gods existence IS capable Ut logical or alb
stract proof: Philosophy and science deal
ated, is beyond their grasp. Gods existence
is a first truth, the same as the existence Of
matter and ourselves. To doubt those three
great first trutEs-lnatter. man, and Cod
is mistake. i;t;lk perhaps lntelectnal
fsSS he sie,on sfeSe1 of the neeet ts1y watsver %s
the human mind has the reQuisit apparatus
to Investigate, is legitimate subject boti, for
the tOrernnner, doubt, and tile messenger,
investigation. There are some Questions
however. that the human mind has no ade-
uuate powers to solve. For example, immor-
tality. Here the true rule, as it seems to int,
Is to dismiss our doubts and-trust. Doubt
is the pathway that leads unto tine gates Of
faith. Doubt ought not to be made weapon
to batter down that beautiful gate Because
and ways, shall. therefore. that bug deny the
existence If that juicy fact that has afforded
him so many . savory meal?
Is there cure for doubt? For so1vabIe
doubts the cure is discussion, observation,
reason, just as the cure for democracy is
dote for credulity, and as an antidotc it is
invaluable. But all antidote is poor diet.
Men can no more live upon antiuotes than
upon negati0ns. As to our unsolvable doubts,
the cure is Duty, Patience. and Trust.
If thou couldst trust. poor soul,
In Him whU rules the whole,
Then wouldst have rest.
Wisdom and truth are well, 81
But trust is best.
Doubt. then, is both legitimate and useful
Blessed be the church that has honest doubt
.rs in its midst! Blessed be the man that is
never without doubt on his soul! it is a
painful process, this doubling 1t is Gods
pl0Wshare driving through the worthless
roots and weeds to the end that crop Of
golden grain may be made to grow in the
1eEleeted field. The tirst recorded scene that
S given Us in our Savior, life after Ills baby
lood is that Of an eager boy Of l.: ii, the tenn
DE among tile doctors, ''both hearing and
questions" The last scene that
it. Matthew gives us is iii these ineNpressi-
by beautiful words:
Then the eleven disciples went away into
1allilec, into mountain where Jesus mad ap-
'uintcd tho;u.
Aud when they saw Him they worsh1pcd
lin, but some doubted.
ng:: All power is given 10 inc both i'll Heaven
md iu Earth.
Go ye. therefore, and teach nil nuuous, bap-
iztns them In the IaInc Of the Father and Of
he Son and of the Holy Ghost.
Teaching thus to observe all things have
you, and, 10! am with you alway,
wen unto the end of Tho world.
Thus we have Christ beginning as an in
Let us linger upon this scene. 1t is good to
'e here: Christ had been brutalIy murdered,
'crlclt!ed, de.l and buried"; lie had been |
lie was about to leave Ills be-
oved eleven forever. Even the number is
nd had betrayed Him. That Is the out
oine Of all denial. Denial gives lis atheism
nd death. doubt constantly better concep-
lon of God and Immortality. Denial pro-
nced Judas; doubt pruduccu Thomas.
hat this parting might not be Interrupted
u appointed meeting in the solitudcs Of
mountain. The eyes of the eleven rested
pon His glorified and rcsurrected body.
heir ears fox tile first time in history heard
be voice and their hands felt the pressure cf
Land ta1 Il that tn. had passed through the duSky
hat saw worslliped Him, but some doubted.",
Vho were these doubters? Was 1t Peter. or
DIN, or james! The lips Of the cyaugel-
It are sealed; their names are not writ