The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1889-05-27
LOVE AND FAITH.
SERMON By REV. FREDERICK F..
REESE,
DELIVERED BEFORE THE EFiS'
cOPAL COUNCIL.
IMAM N A CRIATUHE az NANr
NEtD,."
The JoyousncS> OF tne tariy Christian
-ssosi in Christ Was to Them
the AL ma Att-sn,th,
Love. ana Nope.

H..
the Protestant Episcopal church Ooun'
Gil. which met ia ~. Pauls OhuiVn'
I,ncbbure. on Wednesday, May lJth.
first Fpistlc Of 81 Peter. D. an" I"
..NVnotn having not seen. sc love; in Mhoi''
though now yc sce Him not. yet Dents.i' I,
We rejoice with JOY llHs peaAohl' nnu iu.i ~
slory: receiving the cnd of your iaiih' 'N'"
The salvation Of YOU SOUL
Whether upon a nice calculation 81
the contradictoiies OF pleasure ana
pain It is possible TO assert prepondeI
ance of one or the other of these Gle
mems of human experience IN NE. ~
NAV be impossible TO say. IL Is prop
able that the result IN the case OF any
individual ref sctiug upon The proDlr IA
would be ineyita ly affected py ms pc
cul,ar temperament and lht cream
stances of his own life. Our known
edge of life Is TOO limited, oui
vision TOO restricted, too muoh
,ubiect to the variations OF
feeling and disposition. for any
one man To obtain an impartial view III
30 large a subject. But at any rate
there Is no life into whose eXpeflehc
ar observation does not como SO large
an amount of pain and grief and trouble
as To cast a shadow. more or less ace
and continuous. upon its thoughts ana
feelings about life at large. Man j.
born TO trouble as the sparks fly w
ward. " is the reflection of the sage
Man IS a creature of many needs abo
colossal wants; aud 30 often unsatlslieu
needs and unsatlsiicd wants. that II T.
,fteutimes only the instructive bOui
aucy of our hearts and the pfevlou
boon OF at any rate partial forgeiful
ness that makes happiness possible, anu
it-must not be forgotten. that as NE
rises higher ia the scale Of being H.
capacttlos and It's needs increase IN
like propOrti1n. The savage Il happy
and contented with supply tba'
would be only torture to the
larger and more imperative
demands of civilized human beng.
aud IN civilization, too. human nnture
growing steadily upward into tn
region of intellectual aud moral life
fluids itself becoming more and NOR
dependent and making larger ami
larger demands upon It's surroundif -
asa necessary condition of happiness
The retinemcnts Of our aifectiOnal iHe
the tender sensibiliiios of del cate
NATURES are constantly creating finer
and koeuer needs, and opening up pos
sibiliues of finer and keener pain as
well rs Of pleasure. The man whose
life Is most full Of sense, most BODY
and least mind. has The least comph
Gated needs and finds his happiness in
the lowest qualification. lie IS happi
with sat flied appeutes and eXhileratlns
,ensati,n-. Tne man whose life again
i. solely intellectual. only mnd in the
lowest sense. find ms happiness ia an
abundance of mere knowledge ot
things. The man who is selfish needs
no responsiveness OF sympathy and
return Of love To fiji up ms cup. The
man who has no euse OF beauty can re-
ioice after his fashion. even IN the mids
# ughness and discOrd. Ana SO wc
zee many in life who are full of jos
that Is inexphcabe TO as not from
some hidden secret of cOnteutment IN
them, but from some manifest poverty
of being. The foolish are not 10
trouble as other men, neither are thct
plagued as other men, so we read ia
the psalms. The sources of their J9v
are Manufacturer peace can be SAID
in no sense pass understanding But
men have demonstrated by their ,his-
Tory. as well now TOO IN our highest and
best experiences, that they have still
higher needs and proiOunder wants
than sensation. or even mere knOwi-
edge can satisfy. Men can and are
forced as they rise up 10 the full con-
sciousness of self to ak questions and
make demands that life as we know T..
ias 10 power IT, answer and satisfy.
The heart and the conscience
aud the deaf inner life cannot and do
not iind the source of their happiness
in the outward and the visible. Il Will
not do to fill up the body and satisfy
the mind. lis not knowledge OF
things. but knowledge of being that
we crave: not systems of science and
philosophy. but the faith of the eternal
and definite. the vision of the perfect
aud the ideal good that the heart ana
soul seek and crave for. know that /
am. IL is not enough to tell me how /
am; the mere outward knowledge Of
process and method, but | must find
some final rest for my feet. some sure
faith, a. to whence and why | am, aud
the ultimate meaning Of my life. |
must feel and love and live in the ALI
good and the All-wise and the All
strong. You see then. what possibiii
ties OF happiness unfold themselves be-
fore mans higher vision, and what
realities of misery and uBsatisted need
are also found in that higher vision.
Can we regain now the lost happiness
Of our childhood; can we 20 back
and rejoice with the sensualist or the
man of mere world knowledge Can
art, science. and literature cause Us To
rejoice with joy unspeakable. Art that
aims so imperiectly TO express the
visions of the beautiful that float,
directly before the mind; science that
Digs So coIfageOnsly and successfully
but still SO lmperiectly into the secrets
of the outward method OF thugs ;
literature that clothes It's dreams and
faucies of the good and the true in
richest cOlOiiDg of living words But
are these visions and faucleS and
methods ally Is there no ultimate
reality i'm contemplating which the
highest that is IN man can fluid rest. IN
the thought of which men can stop a.
say: That is the goal. the end. the IN, an O..
ing of it all. not attained surely moi
known indeed, but felt and loved and
believed IN And life is no longer "a vain
striving after some vague dream that
fits and changes and escapes che pro
j-ction 0nly of our own uasat,siiei
longing, but a solid and glorious Being
who is. and Who responds TO us IN low
ing aud helpful sympathy and encour-
sgement God, the Almighty and All
Embracing Father. | want you to see
now the source OF the highest aud
truest joyousnoss of life. that which
aumates mau at ms best aud highest;
source that we can never grow beyond.
aud "a Joy that We can never drink To
the fuIl-tbat no man takcth from us.
Ii is satisfying. not from the poverty OF
our beng. bul from the richness of il.
Ii depends not upon the outward and
changeable. but is an inward peace thar
feeds upon the eternal and the perfect;
"A stimulating. animatiug happiness
that comes not only in the eifort OF
striving. but in the quiet restfulness OF /
IL is always satisfying /
yet never full IL has both a present /
and "A future