The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1903-04-24
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN eLooUs Mt DISCOURSE ENTITLED
"INc7EkSs OF FAITH" :.
vhc Rev. onipey Ewing shows How Thls
Becomes the PRAYER of our sou's
when the Worlds rerpiexities Bear
Down Upon Cs.

Ewing. OF 81. James Episcopal Church,
Greenyille Miss, who was at one time un-
der consideration for one OF the important
pulpits OF Brooklyn, recently preached .
thoughtful sermon on Increase OF Faith.
Mr.. Ewing took his text from l.ake XVII;
s: Lord. increase our faith. In the
course of the sermon he said:
We do not know why precisely the dlsei-
PIES should have made this request az this
particular time. Jesus had Just SAID 10
them: III thy brother trespass against thee
rebuke him, and II he repent, forgive hhn.
and If he trespass against thee seven tiSSs
in a day, and seven times IN day turn 10
thee. saving. Il repent thou shalt forgive
him" Then very abruptly comes. from
them the request, Increase our faith.
Possibly there was some tone OF impatlence
in their voices as they spoke. They may
have recalled that IN the old book OF l.e-
viticus was TO be found practically the
same commandment that He was giving
them; that in the book OF Ievi'lcus they
were taught not 10 hate their brethren,
nor to bear grudge against the children OF
their people, but TO love their neighbor "a
themselves; and they NAV have felt that
there was no need for them 10 bear this
old teaching over again from the hps OF
the Master: that He was but wasting
time in telling them what they already
knew so well.
So their request. Increase our faith may
have meant "Tell US something that we do
not already know-somethlng hid from the
prophets and wise men OF old times; tell
us something, show US something, do some
thing which will make us surer that YOU
are indeed the Messiah we and our fathers
have looked for; that our hope In You Is
not misplaced; that You are truly the
promised Deliverer. Make us more certain
that we were justified IN breaking away
from the authority of the Scribes and
Pharisees in forsaking all 10 follow You.
10 ha MI A ns W
may read ourselves in an ancient book;
say something, do something, reveal some
thing which will certify our faith in You
as the Messiah"
Or the request may have had profound.
er import and been uttered in tone OF
supplcation. Suddenly while Jesus was
speaking there may have awakened in the
souls of His hearers the accusing conscious
ness that, though they had known for so
long the divine law OF duty toward their
neighbors, yet never had they or their
fathers been able to live up TO it. TO real
ize in their human life the divine ideal, and
accompanying the consciousness OF past
failure may have been the reflection that
never should they be able to realize that
divine ideal, to expel from their human
hearts all hatreds, all resentments, all con.
tempts. all unforgivingness and look upon
their fellow-men with the steady Christ
vision OF redemptve charity.
And so their request may have meant,
open wider our spiritual eyes, that we
may see with You; lead us, draw us up to
Your spiritual height; let us share with
You Your vision of God and man; let US
drink from the invisible fountain OF Your
vast strength and goodness; let us know
the secret of Your Christliness, that we
may rise to full sympathy with Your di-
vine purpose and build with You the king
dom of God among men as You would
1,,. h,,1l lal' D,,A Aata ha,V
been the character of the disciples re-
quest, whether of impatient criticism or
humble speculation in the words that came
from their lips. Increase our faith we
may all utter the deepest and devoutest
PRAYER of the most needful moments OF
our human life, Increase our faith" How
inevitably that becomes the prayer of our
souls at times when the infinite problems
and perpexties of this problematical, per-
picking world bear down upon us and
threaten to weigh us down; when we are
forced to give ourselves to reflection upon
the long and cruel and, apparently, unend.
ing suffering Of good and evil; the suffering
of unnumbered millions; the vast failures
of justice and triumphs of injustice: the
tragic defeat of right and victories Of
wrong; the bitter battles of uplifting truth
for recognition by the mind and heart of
humanity; the painful, questionable pro.
grcss of indubtable good everywhere upon
earth: and, so rejecting, are tempted TO
cry out in loud despair, or in danger of
being mastered by that deep hopelessness
which utters no sound and shows Itself in
no outward sign; hopelessness, that n
deathless heart Of good does. indeed. throb
on to victory IN things evil; hopelessness,
that the to-moTrows of humanity will be
gladler and nober than its yesterdays
hopeessness, that the wrongs we know will
be done away, and the good we dream en-
body lt5eu IN fact; hopeiessness, that on"
individual efforts, all that we can say, all
that we can do. are not mere vain, tran
sient strivings against eternal fate, power
less, "a the wings OF insects fiuttering IN
the storm. TO effect any betterment of
things that are! How much that prayer
OF the apostles, Increase our faith, NAV
mean, then, to our individual soulsl a s
lent. unsyllabled cry for rescue TO the In
visible Power that made US and the world;
a pleading with that Power Invisible,
whose name we cannot then utter. whose
attributes we hesitate then to declare. that
again we may be privileged to pray, Our
Father" that again we may feel ourselves
His children; that real enough may be-
come His presence in our lives, 10 Danish !
from us all doubt that the word intelligi
NJ 81 'luSIl 10 YIpp '5Iql5Vslulun 10 '5Io |
His keeping; all suspicion. that any good
dies, that any right fails, that any throned |
and crowned power of iniouity can swing |
this earth outside the circle of His Faith |
ers purpose and His Fathers love.
But II is not only in times of sorrow. sad |
ness, perplexity that the request of the |
apostles should be our prayer, for that re |
quest of theirs points 10 an eternal and |
universal need OF the human soul. the need |
to-day, tomorrow and forever OF a frmer |
grasp OF God, a clearer vision OF His pur- |
poses. a deeper reading of His will in or |
der that we may live and save ourselves in |
the way divine Perhaps from the stand |
point of the need of some of US il is more |
ar ng 70 hat |
prayer. Increase our faith" in the sea.
sons of our greatest JOY than in the days OF |
our deepest anguish; more necessary at
times when the word shines bright about
US and we are conscious OF the burden OF
no DeTplexity and no misgVing, and dis
posed to be thoroughly satisfied with our
selves, our performances and with thing
as they are; for then, IL may be, we are IN
greatest danger OF forgetting God. of grow
ing unmindful OF our personal dependence
upon Him, OF crowding Him out OF our life,
of skimming gayly the gay surface OF things
with eyes and ears blind and deaf 20 their
eternal aspect their profound and supreme
appeal. Perplexed, bewidered. crushed
under the stress OF deep personal anguish
we may think God far from us. all out OF
touch with our lives and their needs. But
70 think God at all, however far we pu.
Him from ne, however grimly we DENY our
selves all consoling faith in His wisdom
and goodness-to think God at all is inf
nitely better than TO forget, 10 ignore HIM
utterly, az II our goodness and our happi-
ness did not need Him. az n the word
about us were fair enough and bright
enough, and altogether satisfactory enough
with or without His presencel
Do Won ssk what sort az faith .his IA v-o !