The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-08-30
THE SUNDAY PULPIT

say Of this intelligent age, but the PLAIN
truth is that the average man does not
Use his reasoning powers to any purpose.
Some good people tell us that 1t IS dan
gerous to use our minds freely. especially
on religious subjects, and assure rs that
it is destructive of faith. But my I'M
preston is that religion more than any
other subject demands the exercise OF
the intellect. and that the faith which
VIII stand the test Of life's strange expert
ences and burn with an undimmed flame
in the midst Of them all must be based
on conviction. Mere impulse is as hurt
full in religious matters as 1t is III bust
ness or in scientific research. A blind
faith is worthless when compared with
oDen-eyed and o~pen-minded faith. 1t is
sure to desert us i'll the pinch or circum-
stances.
If we reasoned more about ourselves,
about our duty and our destiny, We
should be far stronger and nobler than
we are. 1t is because we do not reason
enough that we both fail and fall. The
same intellectual energy which makes
discoveries in astronomy or chemistry If
applied to the conduct of life would form
a foundation on which to build an ideal
character.
Does the man who is addicted to vice
in any Of its many phases use his brains:
On the contrary. he ignores them. pushes
his logical faculty into Il corner, ana
foolishly allows his enjoyment Of Il tenn
porary pleasure to interfere with his last
inc good. If he were to spend half an
hour a day in examining himself. and
could do it as impartially as the natural
list examines Il weed or an insect, would
he voluntarily allow himself to be pois-
oned by an evil habit or would he eX-
pect to avoid the consequences - inn
moral courses? His difficulty is that he
does not think half enough, or even
makes an effort not to think at all, know
ing. in Il vague sort of way. that If he
thinks he will be forced to condemn
himself. If | could persuade men to
think more profoundly about their souls.
about consequences which are the eff
fects Of cause, | should be a benefactor
to my race.
The man who has an aim is the man
who thinks. The man who accompliShes
something worth his while has Il clear
idea to work on. The man who drifts
never thinks, for the moment he began
to do 50 he would put his hand on the
wheel and steer his craft into cica,
water. The worthless lives are lives
without Il fixed purpose and the great
multitude who yearly ruin themselves by
yielding to temptation and vice in the
gulSe of pleasure are men Who were in
tended to be archangclS. and who have
the capacity to become archangcls, but
who do not recognize these facts, because
their inteIlects are under the influence of
morphine. self-adminiStered.
y man and Il horse have some points
in COMMON. In the stare of nature men
and horses are very much alike. The
wild horse has Il prospective value only.
lie must be caught and tanned and
trained. Some horses are gentle and will
take kindly to the ~snafTle. while others
need the strong curb bit. They musl
learn that they have Il master, and that
the master is to be obeyed. y single
touch of the whip is sometimes enough,
and at other times the GrIel spun has to
be applied. In all these respects the
horse and the man resemble each other.
But there is this marked difference.
The horse must be tanned b. Il power
that is without. the man by a power that
IS within. The man must tame himself.
and therein lies his superiority. The
horse does not understand the meaning
of the discipline which tames him. but
the man does. because it is s~elf-applied.
In order to fit himself FOR the best
uses Il man must recognize several inn
DoItdll IictS. w Ic1l lie gins To 1hl1lk
he begins TO be godlike. and soon reaches
Il level which the animal can never at
tain. He keeps company with the brute
creation no longer, for he has caught Il
glimpse of herGiSm. of manhood. of God,
OF eternity. He is tranSfigurcd. his
body IS subOrdinated to his soul. he has
something to do. there is something for
him to become, his ambition is reused.
and nothing will satisfy him but heaven
and his own fitness to enter therein.
When he thinks of the Providence above
him, of the good God who will lend him
something of His own omnipotence in
time Of need, will SEND His angels to
guide in hours of darkness and guard in
time of danger. has asked him to weave
out Of the pleasures and pains of life,
its tears and its joys. Il wedding gar
ment with which to enter the portals of
eternity-Whcn these thoughts fill his
mind and are his daily companions he
IS like Il sir knight clothed in mail of
steel and able to ~vanquish any form of
evil which may present itself.
Why did not Christ yield to tompta-
ton? Because He saw the reality of
things. Evil was evil to His eyes. and
good was good. BY us evil is preferred
to good. because it makes romise which
1t can not keep as long as the world is
governed by law. Which 1t never intends
to keep. and which we would know it can
not keep if we gave the matter our calm.
deliberate attention.
A reasonable religion will alone suffice
for a reasoning being. We must partake
of Gods wisdom before we can appre-
cate Gods love. Find out what Won
can do and ought to do, and ven will
become enamored of goodness. There is
hofhlng that equals a conviction as q
basis Of character. Christ had no doubts
therefore lie had no fears. Temptations
rose their power when Gods face IS Wis
lble to the seeking soul.
GEORGE II. HEPWORTH