The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-05-03

$3.50 T the Tiff church yesterday
Sss89sS Dr. Lockwood took for his
subject in the morning,
#eNgk Meditation; Its Effect Up
&SgA on Character AS usual,
- Mo- 2 large congregation was
81 present, and the singing
l-ssY formed a special feature of
81 the exercises. Dr.. Lockwood
- took his text from Psalms.
g while I was musing the fire
burned"
tpon sultry summer day I have
seen fierce, black clouds mass them
selves in such frightful and angry ar
ray that people have fed in terror to
seek shelter in caves or cellars, but, to
their great relief, the cloud instead of
advancing in the form of a destructive
cyclone has rapidly spread itself over
the sky. spending its fury in a soft,
gentle shower that has refreshed the
earth and relieved the anxious heart
az man. 1t must have been thus with
the soul of the psalmist when he seated
himself to pen the words of this psalm
At first his heart was hct and furious
and he could with difficulty restrain
himself from bursting forth into de-
nunciation and bitter cursing. But as
he reditated his anger subsidized; sol
enn and holy thoughts arose in his
mind; and when at last he found ut
1erance il was in the language of
thanksgiving, reverie and prayer. The
theme suggested to me by these words
is
MEDITATION = ITS EFFECT UPON
CHARACTER.
There is a tendency upon the 2art
f,F narala 70 n11r hn nos
sive and subjective phases of our soul
life. We exalt the Importance of ac-
tion and conduct, frequently forgetting
that all deeds. whether good or bad.
are the children Of our inner life. and
that they have been conceived III 81
lence and darkness deep down in the
human soul. AS man thinketh III
his heart 50 is he" Some one has
truthfuIly said: Sow thought and
You rea2 an act; sow an act and YOU
reap a habit; SOW a habit and you reap
a character: SON d character and YOU
reap a destiny" Ii would appear,
therefore, that in the unseen. and
sometimes unguessed, activities of the
mind lies our ultimate destiny.
III the formation of cbaracter--a real
ity that never perishes-no influence
is to be considered as of slight i'm
portance. The fleecy clouds that drift
across the summer sky leave no trace
or scar upon its pulseiess bosom. But
il is not so of the reVeries that fit
from time to time across the surface of
the soul. Every resolve, every thought,
every aspiration that rests for an in
slant upon the sensitive and delicate
fabric OF the human spirit leaves its
indelible impress; becomes a part and
particle of that fabric, and is wrought
into the very essence of our soul life
and the essence of our soul life is our
character
The habit of retrospection may be-
come morbid and prove hurtfuf TO the
life OF the soul, but the majority of
people reflect toe little, and manv
person is to himself an unoenetrated
continent. We ought to know our
selves. and to do this we must plunge
into the UNEMPLOYED depths of our own
being. The human soul is like some
vast OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES but I'M
traversed. We think that we are ac-
Quainted with il. when we have only
touched its coasts. We dream not that
in the interior of this mighty realm
there are forests. nlateaus and mount
ain ranges; rivers and lakes; diamond
grottoes and rich fields of gold; tan
gled jungles OF passion and dark cav
erns where Turk the wild beasts of lust,
hatred and appetite.
The soul is to the body what the sea-
man is to his craft, the engineer to his
locomotive, the rider to his steed.
Without the quick wit and steady
hand of the sailor his yacht would cap
size or go to pieces upon the rocks: but
for the skill of the engineer his machine
would leap the track or burst its
boiler; and without the courage and
purpose of the horseman the charger
would roam the plains riderlesS and I'M
tanned, instead OF speeding like an ar
row to the mark upon errands of use
Misunderstood. unguided, and unmas-
tered, our bodies are likely to become
fierce and stubborn beasts. and our
spirits runaway engines. Without self
knowledge and self-disciDline we are
neither safe ourselves nor are those
about US free from danger. Every per-
son owes it to himself to know the
weakest and the strongest points of
his character. Others know US; and
our enemies are quick to take advantage
Of our weakness. and TO fortify them
selves against the inVincible aspects
and inaetivities of our character. AS
active and determined agents in the
world for the moral and spiritual re-
generation of society. We shall be able
TO carry out our purposes only as we
become aware of our own talents, and
powers, and learn how wisely to culti-
Vate and direct them. We need, Their
fore. to examine ourselves. to mediate
prayerfully concerning the ten 1encieS
Of our nature, and to unravel some-
times the intricate threads of purpose
and desire that too frequently, in the
best of lives, fall into a tangle.
From the contemplation of the inner
life of the soul it is we'll for us fire.
quently to look about us and to medi-
tate upon the beautiful and the suo-
lime in nature. If man is akin to God
so is nature. If man consciously dis
covers traces and prophecies of the di-
vine and the eternal as he looks within,
nature just as truly, unconsciously, re-
fleets the mind of its creator Com
Inunion with nature is stimulating in
the highest degree. Nature is alto
gether pure. It's beauty ravishes the
soul: its sublimity inspires the heart to
the noblest type of worship: its serenity
Soothes the hot passions; and its UNI
conscious and unobtrusive humility
subdues and cflastens the proud intel
lect of man. Nature is not divine, hut
It has its roots in the divine; and every
bud, and bird, and star breathes of
heaven, and bodies forth the harmony
of God. 1t is impossible, therefore, for
one to yield himself in silence and soli-
tude TO wild and unbroken nature with
out experiencing emotions OF awe and
worship.
ITO him who in the love of nature holds
Communion with her visible forms, she
speaks
She has a voice of gladness and smile
And eloouence of beauty; and she glides
Into his darkest musings with a mild
And healing sympathy, that steals away
Their sharpness ere he is aware"
If you would commune with God go