The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-04-20
THE VOICE OF THE PULPIT
Gath, HOPE Owe" IMMORTAL
NECESSITIES Nj REALITIES.
tor of the Calvary Baptist Church,
Kansas City, Mo.
And now abideth faith. hope, love, these
three i Corinthians, xiii, Is.

through the whole of life. Necessity sug-
gests supply. At every point in mans life
faith is needed-to account for the COM
mencement and continuance of his exist
ence and 10 meet its conditions and require
ments.
The doctrine Of evolution belongs not so
much to physics as to metaphysics; an UNI
certain philosophy" as Bavinck puts it.
Physics must deal with ''the finite alone;
beyond that physical science changes to
sheer speculation. Once over the line, it of
necessity ceases 10 be scientific in its bald
sense. Apart from revelation. the deriva-
ton of life is an affair of guesswork.
Unsatisfactory at every point is the the
DRY of guess, that particles jostled them
selves together so as TO form living beings.
Science comedies that no form of life is
known which did not spring from prior life.
The theory of guess that living particles.
were shaken down in planetary dust be-
longs 70 the realm of fiction; or, at best, to
poetry and philosophy. The descent of man
from a created Adam is quite As reasOna-
BILE as the descent or ascent of man from
protoplasm common TO the ape. Mans de-
velopment falls naturally within the lines
of the old Scriptural theory, which allows
a place for God and moral righteousness;
for man and sin; for reward and punish
ment. So also with regard to the duration
of mans life, his immortal destiny.
These are the things with which faith
deals. If God in Christ revealed by the
Word and SpiriD is a necessity-and He is
that. because of sin-then faith must
abide as Paul expresses it. An extremely
important part of our thinking must be
over the line of physical science always. In
point of fact we live 1.-The life that now is"
chiefly by faith. The marriage relation,
friendship. business partnerships and en-
terprises rest upon faith-however much
they may be hedged about with the devices
of knowledge.
WALKING BY FAITH.
From the first step of the child to the last
step into the cold waters of what We call
death man walks by faith. Our sole choice
is as TO the quality of that f%aith-that is,
its intelligence and reasonableness. 1t
must be adequate to the demands of life.
1t clamors for a sufficient remedy to meet
a condition. not a theory, to make moral
health catching instead Of moral disease,
TO give sight, for peering through the mist
of death 10 the light Of life beyond: in
short. TO find Him who brought life and i'm
mortality to light in the gospel. Faith is
immortal till its work is done. It's work is
never done; therefore, faith is deathless.
How is it in regard to hope? That is
faith plus desire. Those desires which are
right most are self-evidencing. The hungry
desire food, the blind sight. the deaf hear
ing. the weak strength. the sick health.
The morally blind, when aroused to their
condition. desire moral sight; the morally
weak desire moral strength. Hope begins
with infancy and holds through our earthly
life. Hopes become fruition in heaven, and
yet. in a very real sense, there, too, hope
itself will abide.
The lonely child hopes for the return of
its mother; the struggling boy hopes for
the success of manhood; the mature man
hopes for cumulative power to achieve; the
old man hopes for rest and peace. ALI
along the way the star Of hope is shining.
Very many hopes may be deferred indef-
nitely; many may never be realized at all.
but man remains a hoping animal. His
heart may grow sick by reason of hope de-
ferred," but, by a law of splendid incon-
sistency, he hopes on undismayed. AT one
time IL was very dark for Moses, but he
| hoped for a brighter day and made the fate
of his people his fate-choosing to suffer
hardship with the people of God rather than
to feast at a royal table. David suffered a
frightful eclipse. but he hoped in God as
the strength Of his countenance. Paul cried,
How shall L be delivered from this body
OF DEATH" And his subsconscious hope re-
piled, Through Jesus Christ, my Lord,
thank Cod"
a crust of bread with hope feeds more
richly than a feast with despair. The SOW
er sings through his sowing, the sailor sings
through the storm, the soldier sings through
the battle. the saint sings through the dark
valley because hope shines upon the way.
Hope. like faith, is immortal till it's work Is
done. That work is never finished, there
fore hope is deathless.
Love is lffe's key of gold. If we are ever
to be admitted to its inner temple, it's holt
est place, this must be the key. LIES finest
essence eludes everything else. The moth
| er's presence gives brightness to the eye of
The child. Her absence brings sorrow to its
heart. Professor Fiske says that the re-
| ceding image of the mother on the eye
frightens the child who is not yet familiar
with the law Of sight. Losing the image,
it thinks that it is losing its mother.
GLORIOUS THRALLDOM.
The youth is more independent, but his
love is just as real. The man. If a true
man. never emancipates himself from the
glorious thraldom. A day comes, however,
when another chamber opens to his love.
and, instead Of diminishing. it increases its
power. He joins heart and hand with a
wife, who pours the rich gifts of her soul
into the cup of his life and makes II over
flow. That also We call love. A boy or girl
leads them laughing through life's garden,
and we call that love. Sometimes the daisies
| are removed TO provide a sleeping place for
the silent frame of a little one, and there
seems nothing left but love. The farther
door of the tomb swings open and the lit
tie one beckons TO faith and hope. and they
bid love 10 be of good cheer. Taking them
at their word, love takes ~ the journey
once again and listens with a hunger, sur
passing all other hunger, to the words of
| the Master, Their angels do always look
upon the face OF my Father in heaven"
1t is said that man makes the house and
woman makes the home. II were better 10
say, the hand makes the house and the
heart makes the home. Love lays her hand
on individuals and groups them into fam
| lilies; she lays her hand on antilles and
groups them into communities: on COM
munities and groups them into States: on
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