Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1898-03-16
SERMONS OF THE DAY

Kew George II. Hepworth breaches In tn
New York Herald's Columns on "A
Ennobling Eaith"-Rev. DIR. TaImas
Tells About "The Bare Arm Of God. :.
! With the return of Rev. George H. Hep
| worth to New York from his Armenian mis-
| sion the Herald closed its series of competi
tive sermons, fifteen altogether having ap
| peared in its columns on consecutive Sun
DAYS. DR.. Hepworth resumes his regula
| Sunday sermon as the leading editorial II
| the Herald's columns. The first one is en-
titled "An Ennobling Faith" and appear
| below in full.
TEXT: "Now faith is the substance o
things hoped for, the'evidence of things no
een.'-Hebrews, XII, l.
On bitterly cold day was recently rid
| ing with comrade through one of th
most exquisite bits of scenery on the fac,
of the earth. We were toiling up the las
| spur of a mountain so high that the cloud,
| would have rested on its summit had ther.
| been any in the sky. But the heavens wer,
! cioudiess, the sun shone in dazzling splen
dor on the snow covered ridges which sur
| rounded US en- all sides, and we seemed tC
have left our little globe behind US and tc
! be on our way to another world.
Naturally we talked of that Great Be-
| yond, which was apparently not far distant
Conversation under such circumstances
must needs be serious. One cannot be tri.
| vial when he is looking on the grandest oI
God great works. 1t was n time when
| souls were in close relations to each other
] when inmost thoughts came to the lips and
uttered themselves almost unconsciously
as in snliloquy.
Ny comrade spoke freely of loss he had
suffered. little child had been called
from the family circle, had sped away in
the night and gone where no human eyes
could follow her. With a broken heart but
still IN somewhat stoical language, he re-
ferred to that vacant chair. "Gonei goneri
was his deSpairing exclamation. | listened
to the story, and at its close quietly re-
marked: "1es, gone, but not gone fart In
the brighter land you will see her again. ~
Then we iapsed into silence a silence only
broken by the sound of the horses iron
shoes on the crisp and frozen snow.
III could believe that" he said after a
little, "nine-tanths of the burden would he
removed. But to feel that such farnwells
are forever, that is very hard" and the
strong man trembled with suppressed emo
tion, while tears made it impossible TO con-
tinue the compensation.
thought to myself that after all this
world is of very little Importance unless we
have another world to look forward to-
What makes the present life endurable is a
firm and unshaken belief in another life.
Ii love can die. then love is only prolonged
agony: but the conviction that love can
never die strengthens, broadens and en-
mobiles the soul.
1t would be an act of unspeakable cruelty
on the part of God to teach US how to love.
to place us amid circumstances in which
love develops all that is chiyalrous and
grand, and then tell US in the supreme mo-
ment of parting to say goodby for time and
eternity. The Lords Prayer would become
an fmpossibility, nay, more than that, a
grim sort of farce, and in his innermost
depths man would not only rebel but
lose his self-respect and his respect for the
laws OF the universe. 1t is clear that it
would have been so much better to make
him incapable of affection than to anuihi-
late the object of his affection, and bid him
go home from the churchyard despairing,
hopeless creature
Faith can do so much for a man, is so
necessary to his spiritual and even to his
physical well being, that il you take it away
he is in worse plight than the animals of
the fields and forests, for he appreciates his
loss and they do not. To be born dog and
to die dog is one thing, but to be born a
man and then die like Il dog is something
which Il just and omnipotent Creator will
not ask of us. 1t is so unlike what we
have learned of His methods that we are
quite right in pronouncing such a state
ment libellous.
Your faith in Providence is the best of all
your possessions. 1t is worth more to you
than your fame, your social position or
your wealth-worth more than all else
combined. Give me in my relations with
God that mysterious something which the
child has for its mother-a feeling that He
knows who and what L am, that at my cali
He will come to me-that every day He
leads me and every night protects me-and
there is very little more than can ask or
desire. l have the one best thing in the
world, and therefore am content
The plant that has sunshine and dew
will blossom before the frost comes, and
with God, the sun of my SOUL to shine on
me. shall not only blossom into noble
thoughts, but bear the fruit of good deeds.
man becomes n miracle worker from the
moment when he is conscious of Gods
presence and love. Life may be hard, but
at the same time it is glorious. Even sick
ness and death are the only miry spots
which lead to the eternal upland. There
is rcpose in the soul. a vigor, an enthu-
siasm and power of endurance which
nothing else in this wide world can give.
Tell me how to doubt-that is, how to
cut loose from my trust in Proviience-and |
you tell me how to be miserable. On the |
ether hand, confirm my belief iu God in !
the ministration of His angels, in the pos /
sP;lity OF continuous, and unbroken /
o. mmunication with heaven and you make /
ny life more beautiful than words can ex-
press. As long as / dread the future nv .
present is leaden; If 1 am sure of the fu-
ture, and know that my dear ones will /
greet me there with undimiuished love, my .
tears are like the rain cloud on which the .
san shines and makes a rainbow.
Take from me what you will, but leave
me my faith, for IL is my only real possess
sion. All else will pass like a drsam-a
pleasant dream, but still dream. To-day
am rich, tomorrow I may be poor. am
well day, tomorrow 1 may be i'll. But
laith remains with me. is closer to my
heart than the closest friendship, and gives
ne good cheer when L walk in darkness.
It is all L have, all l can keep through hout
eternity, the one thing of which death can
not rob me, the prophecy Of better home
1n high when this earthly home is broken
Up. 1t is God who has given that gift, and
t must be jealously guarded. In their last
analysis faith is heaven and doubt is he'll
GEORGE H. HEPw ORTIZ.