The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-06-02
MOTIVES FOR REC4ITUDE
The Rev. Mr.. Thompson
Finds God the Only
Adequate One.

The Rev. J. +. Thompson, pastor of
the Universalist Church Of the Good
Shepherd, on Summit avenue, preached
an instructive sermon last evening on
"Scriptural Instinct as a Motive for
conduct. He began his remarks with an
extract from Howells' book, "A Hazard
of New Fortunes to show that it Is
wonderful fact, when we hold our mind
close to its consideration, how Inadequate
motive our knowledge furnishes for
that nobility which characterizes the
conduct of the average man and woman
He then proceeded to summarize the
various apparent motives in the world
for that nobility of conduct He said
s'Now / ask you to consider how little
motive the sum of our knowledge con-
tains for that heroism in the midst of
difficulty and danger, that patience in adj
versity and that self denial for duty's
sake which in some measure at least
characterize the conduct of every human
being. 1t is evident that even In the alb
sence of our faith In God and of hope of
Immortality we would be wise in making
some little concession of our personal
pleasure to the permanent welfare OF our
intimate associates, since we should ex-
pect return of the kindness But the
ideal which we call duty frequently de,
mands a sacrifice unusually larger and
more difficult than that which mere pru-
dence dictates. For this excess there Is
no outward compensation at all
is IT ALL sELFIsHNRss?
Mr.. Thompson pursued at some length
the line of thought which this observa-
ton suggested, dwelling upon the fact
that before long those who did the wrong
and those who suffered it would sleep
together. He sasked why then people
should not take as their right whatever.
enjoyment the passing hour afforded
Without troubling themselves with con-
scientiOus scruples.
II know" he went on, shat the usual
answer to this is that whether our life is
long or short, whether the soul dies with
the body or continues its existence in
some other world. it pays to do right, and
it does not pay to do wrong, that there
fore virtue is wisdom and vice folly. But
as society is at present constituted, there
are innumerable sins which bring out
ward gain rather than detriment, and
there are innumerable good deeds of
which moral satisfactions are the only
rewards
Mr. Thompson said he failed to under
stand how people could be capable of these
moral satisfactions unless they were in
spired byssome consciousness Of motive
Which did not lie through the channels of
ordinary knowledge.
AN INSPIRATION.
In conclusion the preacher said, How
shall we explain this universal presence
of feeling and conduct which finds no ade-
quate motive in knowedge gained by out
ward experiencesP The explanation is
that whatever our reason may affirm or
deny concerning the existence of God
our hearts accept it without question.
and our emotions and our deeds have their
deepest and most constant source in
the instructive consciousness of our Inn
mortality. When we try to reason about
these things which never can be proven,
we begin to doubt, because reason seeks
knowledge from what is visible and
tangible &c outward sense. Rnt in every
moral emergency our faith returns, be-
cause the spirit derives perpetual energy
from that fountain of eternal life which
is it's source
IF the deathless hope, born OF the in
structiveness consciousness of our high
destiny, were not deeper and more patent
than any merely intellectual conviction,
we never could endure the trial and suf-
fering which comes to us all.
standing in this little circle Of our
present knowledge, bounded everywhere
by the darkness of present ignorance we
endure as seeing that which to the eyes
of sense is invisible. We feel and act
like immortal souls who already live in
the midst Of eternity, because this is
what we are"