Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1898-02-10
SERMONS OF THE DAY.
RELIGIOUS TOPICS DISCUSSED BY
PROMINENT AMERICAN MINISTER'S.

st,hristian Cheerfulness" Is the Title of
the Eighth Sermon in the N. Y. Herald's
Competitive Series-By Brooklyn
Minister-Dr. Talmage on Home Life.
TEXT. "Reioice in the Lord always: and
again saw, Rejoice.-Philippians iv.. 4.
What is so common among men as the
disposition to see only the dark side Of the
events of life? Many of us have tendency
to exaggerate our ills which amounts al
most TO melancholia. II it is not always
high tide in our course of fortune we SINK
into condition of morbid despair. We are
too apt to forget that in nature the toe
must fall as well as rise. We do not reailze
that it is the part of wisdom to make the
best use Of the opportunities we nave. we
compare our circumstances with tnose oi
others who are more fortunate and Drood
over ''the sings ana arrows Oh Outrageous
fortune"
The tendency to dwell upon our ills grows
with time In the beginning it can be
checked easily, but in time it becomes ike
u torrent gaining impetus with It's descent,
until it is beyond control. Now and then
we receive the sad news that one whom we
esteemed as upright and godly has allowed
this morbid tendency to obtain such head
, way that it unseats the reason and with 1T
the sense of moral responsibility. Then we
learn Of the self-destruction OF such one
and we are not surprised. 1t was almost
the inevitable consequence Of false, one
sided view of life that is supported by
neither common sense nor religion.
With reference to the character of the
mind men may be divided into the matter
of fact and the exaggerative. While the
former are liable to be unsettled and dis
contented occasionally, the latter are apt
to be so as a rule, because their minds, be-
ing imaginative, create for themselves
ideals which they seldom, If ever, attain.
Nevertheless, the normal condition OF life
q. of nhn f1t
this in nature, which, as a rule, is bright
with sunshine, gay with color and filled
with Joyous sounds. Laughter and song,
harmony and beauty are the radiant fig
ures of that living picture whereby our
Heavenly Father points out to each the
road to happiness. 1t is the desire of
every earnest man to please God. There
is no better way to do SO than by showing
ourselves satisfied with what He gives us.
preacher once said: "We do not please
God more by eating bitter aloes than by
eating honey. A cloudy, foggy, rainy day
is not more heavenly than day Of sun
shine. A funeral march is not so much
like the music of angels as the songs OF
birds on May morning. There is no
more religion in the guant, naked forest
in winter than in the laughing blossoms OF
the spring and the ripe, rich fruits Of au-
. tumn.''
How few cultivate sunny disposition!
How few make an effort to be cheerful
when they feel unhappy There are some
the hard lines of whose faces never break
into Il smile. There are others who know
only that mirth which is provoked by arti-
fetal means, such as joke or ridiculous
incident. Some are cheerful only when
they have driven good bargain. You all
know the business smile worn by those who
are anxious to gain your good will or your
money, Perhaps you are acquainted with
people who wear mask OF cheerfulness
for the outer world and a mask Of terror
for their homes.
Little do they who go through life dissat.
fstied and cheerless know how much they
lose of that which is sweetest in human eX-
perieuce. Not only they but all with whom
they come in contact are robbed of a por-
tion of the blessing of existence. We owe
1T TO our families. our friends, in fact to all
our fellow men, as we'll as to ourselves, to
make brighter. not gloomier, this human
life. st. PauPs example shows that even
in distressing circumstances cheerfulness
is possible. His injunction, "Rejoice In the
Lord was literally obeyed by himself.
The consistent Christian must be cheer.
full. Even when the knowledge of his sin
fulness weighs heaviest upon him he be-
lieves that God is forgiving and mercIful
The bitterness of his sorrow is sweetenet
by the promises of God. The gloom of hi:
soul is illumined by the light Of Gods love
However forbidding the darkness by which
he is surrounded, however great the suffer
ing to which he is subjected, however mer
cilessly the hand of misfortune may tight
en- its grip, he knows he shall be higher il
the esteem of his God and more fit for hi.
destiny if. with patience and Cheerful
heart, he bears these things. The conso
]ations of his religion will never fail him i
he appeals to them. Gloomy Christianit,
is a misrepresentation. However wei
meaning those may be who dwell only OF
the sufferings of Christ, only on the wratl
of God and the punishment Of sin, they Dc
God an injustice and teach only half th
truth. There is nothing to gain from sucl
repulsive presentation of religion. 1t i
not natural, necessary nor fair to our fellow
men to minimize those features of our re
ligion that God has made most prominent
There is bright side which it is Of the ut
most Importance to emphasize in order t.
win men to religion. The dawn of redemp
tion and the joy OF spiritual triumph for
ever obliterated the sorrows of Calvary
The justice, mercy and love of God irradi
ate prismatic light on the sombre pictur
of sin and Judgment. JAMES B. MES,
Rector Church of the Epiphany, Brooklyn
N. Y.