The herald., 1896-09-21
Mr.. DYES EVENING SERMON
Property VS.. Manhood SeIfishness VS..
the Spirit of Christ
Rev. Mr.. Rice's Morning Sermon at the Unl.
versalist Church
Christianity AsphyXiated, the Subject Of
His Talk-The First Congregational
Church's Pastor Discusses
Self-Mastery.

Rev. B. w. r. Tayler. rector of st.
Johns church, preached yesterday
morning at st. Paul's church to a large
congregation, great many of whom
were members Of his own parish. He
stated that it was hoped in about three
or four weeks to have st. Johns suffi-
GENTLY advanced in the Improvements
which are making there to enable him
to resume the services in the parish
His text was from Psalm 1876 and sixth
verse. "They that SOW in tears shall
reap in joy" The psalm was a striking
one, not so much from a poetical as
from historical standpoint 1t refers
us to that interesting period Of Jewish
life and history when Cyrus, the king
OF Persia, gave his royal consent for the
Israelitish exiles in his lkingdam to leave
Babylon and reoccupy the dwelling
places of their forefathers in Palestine.
The psalm was composed in a spirit of
sincere thankfulness that long and
oppressive captivity, which had lasted
two generations, had at length come to
an end.
Let us draw a few lessons from this
return of Gods chosen people from ex-
lie and the joy which was theirs when
they had broken the bonds of their cap
tivity. There is a wide contrast between
sowing in tears and reaping in joy, yet
one follows the other as surely as day
follows night. Life cannot be all tears
and all captivity. God never gave life
with only pathway OF thorns to mark
its course. Too often we make it dark
and cheerless by our own habit or tenn
permanent. by continually looking at the
dark side of things. In the midst of the
blacklist despair, when hope seemed al
most a mockery to tllem the children of
israel never lost sight of what they be-
neVed was in store for them, their final
and complete restoration. That lesson
snould not be lost on us. The reason
why there are so many failures in life
is because too few can leave their past
peh1nd them and start out afresh in the
great race of life They are forever
rambling among the dead issues and the
decayed conditions of a past life. 1t
seems impossible to get away from them
But the only thing to do is to let them
pc buried with the past and grasp the
future untramneled and unfettered by
memories of past failures and mistakes
That however, which it is most de-
sired to emphasize is this: That the tears
OF the present or the tears of the past,
necessary weeping which comes from
riven hearts and shattered expectations
are necessary to the development of
that measure of qualification which
causes true and unalloyed peace and
Joy. Sowing in tears and reaping in Joy
was no unfamiliar figure in Palestine.
Sometimes there We're successive fail
ures' OF the crops; year succeeded year
only to tell the same disastrous story
and often the sowing was done with lit
tie or no expectation of a harvest Per-
severance, however, crowned the toll of
the soWer. there seems in this parallel
10 the experience of the Christian who
an In, Il
resolutions ard nobler ambitions even
year after year sees them disastrous
natures. Resolution after resolution
of the purest purpose is often formed
only to be broken and shattered almost
as soon as it is made. A higher and bet
ter l1nei of life is mapped out only to be-
come obliterated when the storms of pas
sion sweep over it. 1t is the same dull,
monotonous, wearisome routine, reso-
luton and relapse-resoluton and re-
lapse. The seed is sown again and again
in bitter tears but the Joy of harvest
seems to mock at us year after year We
form evil habits and when the new year
begins we solemnly pledge ourselves be-
fore the altar of God to newer, better
and higher things, but it is the same
ola story. It is a blessed thing for us
II we can "deluge our sins with showers
of penitential tears Let the weeping
sinner be assured that his tears, though
often they seem profitless and unpro-
ductive, are nevertheless preparing the
way for the rusting and breaking of thu,
fettera of sin which manacle him. When
man or woman. fettered and en-
shaved by some sin which seemingly
cannot be escaped from. allows the tears
of penitence to flow in holy protest
against it we believe there is near at
hand help which is mightier and
stronger than the feeble will and brittle
resolutions of man. Back of us stands
the divine power of the Holy Ghost, and
the conquest over sin, tedious, hopeless,
wearisome. though 1t may appear, is
only matter Of prayer and time.
There is never tear in penitence shed,
never a tear of sorrow,
But 1t brings peace on the penitent's
head, and welcome help for the
morrow.
FIRST CONCpIC ArInnnAr o111rnc1n