Middletown transcript., 1894-12-22

| Pheasant TO note.
The sermon, a thoughtful and earne
exhortation, was delivered with the qui,
fervor of Jealous servant of God, VIII
looks to the Divine Guide for leadership
entering upon new field. We hope hi
ministry here will be fraught with muc
good not only to the parish, but the whol
community. We are pleased to give ou
readers the Sunday morning sermon il
full. which was as follows
81 have set God alway before me."-PsAL,
xvi,-9.
In these words, my brethren, we hav
the utterance of a true servant of God. A
they fall upon our ear. we feel at once tha
he who used them had solved Alright th
greatest of all life's questions. The mystery
the uncertainty, the misgivings which
oppress the hearts of many had for hin
found their key. His feet were in sur,
pathway, he knew where his journey lee
him, he had plan and purpose in life, thu
goal stood out clear before his eye. HI
need not doubt or hesitate; he must only
press right on with eager interest and watch.
full care until the end is reached. II have
set God alway before me-" How happy
must have been the life of one who could
use those words with firm conviction and
true simplicity of heart!
We need not be told what help it is in
entering on any undertaking, be it great or
small, to have clearly before us an end in
view. 1t takes away the element of vague
ness and uncertainty. 1t gives us fresh en-
couragement in all the details of our work
if at each step We see the bearing of what
we have in hand on the object of our effort.
That which is mean and petty in itself
gains new Importance and new dignity
when we see that, small rs it is, it is an
essential part of our greater plan, a neces-
sary step toward the attainment of that on
which our hearts are set.
This it principle which, we know full
well, operates every where in life. We find
it illustrated in the daily duties of the Office
and the home, in the labors of the student
and in the toll of the artisan no less than
in the management of great campaign or
the government of all empire. The man
who works happily and wins success is the
man who has an object in view and who
knows that all his labor is helping him to
its attainment.
And what is true of all the undertakings
with which life is filled is also true of life
itself. That Too, must have an object, an
end, an inspiring purpose. it lacks it, it
cannot be lived in any sense happily or be
successful at the last. The young man,
looking forth on life, muses. in his heart on
that which lies before him. In quiet
he asks himself what will the
end be. That precious gift of life, that
golden opportunity of finding ones own
career, will it indeed prove in the reaiza-
tion blessing or curse? Twill my life,',
he says to himself, "be a success or a
failure? Will all the toiling and striving,
all the plans and hopes with which occupy
myself day by day produce any worthy re-
suit? Will they bring me happiness? Will
hey bring me satisfaction When the days |
% which now look forward are numbered |
with the past, shall be able to look back |
lpon them without a sense of failure? Shal
be able to say al have fought good |
light, have finished worthy course ?"
Such questions are natural to youth
They are natural also to us all in so far as
We are conscious of duties to be done, of
areer to be fashioned, of life to be fas
oned, of life to be lived. What, W ask,
will the future be? What can we do h ow
all we live to make it success2
Certainly the first advice we must take to
urselyes when such questions rise is this.
7aue an aim IN life. Be sure you are
eeking some object. Definiteness of aim
) the first condition of success 1t is true,
f course, that We are all very largely de-
endent on external circumstance; it is
rue that the best laid plans are sometimes {
rought to naught by what to human eyes
GEMS accident. Still, with certain limita- !
ons and exceptions, believe that it is
roadly true that we can succeed if we will. {
say this now without regard to what we t
lake the object of our quest. If we set {
nything before us as our sole end in life, I
we concentrate our thoughts upon it, if @
e sacrifice all else that we may win it if t
e toll day and night and live and work t
# it alone, that object shall be ours. 1t l
ay be wealth that we seek, it may be 4
me, it may be influ ence, it may be politi- Q
i place, it may be knowledge. What v
'er it is it can probably be ours, if forsak- S
g all else we give up ourselves wholly to $
pursuit. Most men attain that which G
ey keep always before them and strive o
r with all their might. n
We feel, however, am sure, that such a
ccess may after all be very poor thing. r
may not be worth striving for, it may o
snppoint us in the end. Another element +
ust be introduced if our lives are to be d
red Alright. 1t is not only needful that Il
) should have an end in view and pursue liz
with all our soul. Our end must be n
,rthy one, and more and more, my friends, n
we think out life's problem, as we read Ii
e lessons of the past, as we look out over b
e broad world of toll and endeavor, as o,
raise our thoughts to the more endur- n
3 realm which faith brings in view, we te
i that there is only one true end in life if
have set God alway before me-" The g
In who uttered from his heart those N
,rds had found that worthy goal. n,
Yesl God made us for himself and ur h,
arts can never know the deepest satisfac- cr
II until they rest in Him. Gods will is "a
} source of harmony in all the universe 4,
It He has made and therefore our lives Il
out Of tune if they are not spent in full i,
ing the will of God, in carrying out the 4,
'ine intention, in contributing Our title | &
ire toward setting up the 81
: and o9nraa1r xli 4