New-York tribune., 1882-02-20
PULPIT TALKS.
PEACE IN BELIEVING
-. ,e,ss r Thomas a, ne FIRST Bapu'' o'"'e''
l4O


r uirs+ p,nt;st Church at pierrepont ana
nv proo,ivn. was fairly well filled at the morn
.o~,os vesterday The church building Is Pe'ui"'
oo,s,ructed IN that the entrance Is IN on' . rh
,r.ocher stands in tho corner diagohaip oPP. -. o.
main floor is In the form OF an eiupS" s g., t,o
huil, over the corridors, filling up ' ., o., .,
,,,,d,p0 There are no columns supP'H - a.,
being heiu up ~ -, il no choir, tho organ
ai0HoN ,,i,, ihe singing. The rev Jesse b'
ap" ~, ,,ostor Of the church. preached the sermon
',,v rorping lie is large man oi me presence
;;,aooks without notes and with many gestures NC
rulnit in front OF him. there being on tho pat
s,,y s chair and a small reading desk at one side
The e Il Of the Discourse was Romans XIV, L" 'o'oe
On believing" The preacher said
-, No man fancy that he believes nothing What we
offered IN Christianity is not the beginning OF belief
the end OF it, II offers balm for the wound that
already makes sUerre from the strife that all nave
70 undergo There beliefs that give US pain rather
,haa comfort. There many things that we cannot
helm believing We cannot help believing that there is
something Of space stretching out beyond and that
time reaches ont to innity We cannot conceive OF
The cessation OF time. We cannot think OF day and
then nothing and then day again. These are things
that we cannot help believing without chaos In the mind
We nust unless we let Of everything believe in this
immensty OF time and space These we cannot escape
ime reachn. out into the iuneasuTablc, space reach
tng out into the iufnte. Then there are
things in which believe instnctively,
We know not how. sick man laying on his couch looks
al the pattern Of the paper the wall and sees Mt hst
only maze Of disconnected lines But. looking closer
yconstaptly watching, he finds that they are srrang
In regular figures they that look upon this universe
see the stars first "a sand heaps upon the shore But
when KepIer aids them reach knowledge of their
laws they appear arranged in order And when we una
that what appear mysterous substances are only comb
nations in regular and simple proportions Of simpler sub
stances. We see again the same order Of nature. And
when we can the movements Of the stars
in their cotfrses the order becomes apparent.
There are many things that the child believes II knows
that the place where it once fell must he
guarded against it would not fall again.
II knows that certain things that in
accomplish certain ends Will ia another do the
same. The child "a with broken leg or bird
ettpnntin, with broken wing q feeble fight. and il
accordance with the order Of nature And be
ieve there is One who directs this order Our heart
beats. and while awake we perhaps can watch it,
hut who watches over our heart in the nighttime when
we can feel nothingq We look OF the train in motion
aud we the valleys spread out wide below
fields which we are going and we cannot gee what
know that there IS track under us and an engineer
guiding and though can see neither yet we be-
heye that both are in their place and we have
peace And how could YOU have peace You did not be
hevei II you did not to-day beve that rs this world goes
wnrling in fantastic curves through space among the
guides and an eye that watches You could not sleep
quietly in your beds tonight We see the law and order
nature made continuous Not even the child can help
fion Of iris order When the child with the
broken leg the bird with the injured wing 1t feels that
there ha7 been something dohe ny some ono IN No"'oh
whenever death comes I shrink from It. I cannot |
hclpit / my friend lying dead. WHY'S II shrlnR
from hint He docs not recognize me, but that
would be the case if he were in sleep or in trance
cannot communicate with him, but that would be 50 II
he were alive and in the next room Why am afraid
not the o 9Sgg Gg into OF aGd a n fST see S %' ma m ie
stretching Out with weary wings 70 find the end It can
not reach and | not afraid. / look down and am |
afraid. shrink from death because believe II tO be |
in some unnatural. There is life beyond, |
and death is the cutting of of fe The inferior animals
replace sometimes a lost limb covering Oh II we |
could only feel that such repacing of life would come
u US after death How " would help us II we could IND
some promise OF this good We OOk 10 nature for It and
Ts no G Se ma st. o NO E2 @ ne our oT
guilt upon us Where shah we get this peace There
"know-nothingism," that answers simply, " We do not
know" AS the pr0verb says, They make solitude
that 1t is Impossible to know anything really in This
punish his child, the child might say, Hold father,
] am an Agnostic. Nol one really knows what
we cannot know that how You punish for doing |
anything ~ Would that stop the father from intctng
yor MOTHER heart before you believe that she loves
you. You remember the unbeleving Disciple who ex- |
claimed " Unless put my hands in his side aud my |
Inger in the print Of the nails, VIII not believe" Yet
when the loving Saviour came TO him and invited him 10
prove that IL He, the Disciple simply SAID Lord
believe" lie did not need to touch the wounds; the |
spirit of love showed that 1t was the Master There canc
man to me since my fathers DEATH who said have
communication from the spirit OF your father, and he
u
though might initiate my fathers writing, he could |
initiate my fathers heart as It found expression IN
the words
But there are others who do all this. They say
that there nothing do this world bat TO fight IL
well pOsSible that all the world is at war with
and must keep up the battle as best We may Iho
petition that would bring them their knees they will
not listen TO- but set themselves against It, Woe TO the
man who scis himself against has Maker! The fear Of
the Lord if the beginning of wisdom. The young soldier
goes forth 10 battle with JOY not thinking that tho
dreadful artillery nothing for his mothers love or
the pride of his young strength but goes sweeping
with the rest. The soul that tights against Its
God will be overwhelmed at the last.
Others say: We solve the enigma by Ignoring u. |
Let US eat and drink for tomorrow die. |
We take responsibility for this life. We are here in
this life, and will not to think what comes next"
Aud they 20 with their toys and sports You re-
member the story Of the baron who was told that his
tower would stand unless n child built
up in its walls He brought the child and placed II III
and gave it toys 70 play with, and 1t sat there
playing while the masOns built up the wall mpTisODiDg |
II IN hopeless dungeon SO the architects OF time
building up the walls about you you SIT with your
worldly toys about you, and you do not know IL ill II is
late AL thoughts OF the future VIII leave you rest
less unless there message OF peace from without
And that message Is brought by Christianity