The Penn's Grove record., 1903-04-03
SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE ENTITLED
CIRCUMSTANCES OF LlFe.r
The Rev. DIR. Frank Oliver Hall Saws We
Must Learn How to Face the Pros.
perity AZ Well as the Hard Conai-
tons Of This World.

perity - Well as the Hard Cona,-
lions Of This World.
NEW York CITY.-The Rev. DR.. Frank
Oliver Hall, pastor of the Church of the
Divine Paternity, preached Sunday morn.
Ing on Facing the Circumstances OF Life"
He took his text from Philippians iy. p.
IT know how to be abased. and / also
know how to abound. l have learned the
secret" DR.. Hall said:
In other words, Paul said, 81 have
learned the secret Of how to be independ.
ent OF circumstances | know how 10 face
humble circumstances, and / know how TO
face prosperity"
That is a great lesson, and one which few
men ever do learn. But it is a lesson
which we all need to learn in order to pre-
and to make the most of life.
First-Let us look first for the secret of
how to face humble circumstances. Every
n stands IN danger of being reduced to
poverty. No matter how much YOU NAV
possess to-day, on the morrow it NAV he
all swept away. If you put your money in
q bank the cashier may abscond with It
and leave you with nothing but a book
with certain hieroglyphics scrubbed there
in to indicate that you were once a%fluent.
II you put your money in mining stocks,
sAS - ~Gy 6iS Out, VI Ddu MANAGEMENT
may ruin the enterprise. II you invest in a
railroad, a rival line may get all the traffic.
or some INSCRIPTIONS Spectator NAV
wreck the business for his own enrich
ment. 1t you buy real estate. it NAV de-
p~reciate upon your hands, or a fire NAV
sweep away your holdings in a night. II
you conclude to wrap your treasures in a
napkin and hide it in a hole, some thief
may discover and steal it. So no matter
how rich you may be, tomorrow you may
be as poor as any. Proverbially, riches
take to themselves wings and fy awav
1t ID, therefore, extremely important that
n learn the secret Of how to face humble
circumstances. What is the first step to
be taken in this direction?
ID My first word of advice is this: Train
yourself to work. Learn to be useful in
some specific way. Learn to perform some
service of Importance SO that you might be
dropped down in any portion of the civil
lied globe absolutely without resources.
and yet be able at once to command at
least the necessities Of life from the com
munity in which you find yourself. in re-
turn for the service which you are able to
render.
/ take it that this was one of the great
reasons for the contentment Of the man
who wrote the words of our text. He was
independent because he was a skilled work
man, and knew how, by the use of his
hands, to command in any community the
necessities OF life. The Jewish people were
extremely wise in many directions, and
their wisdom was nowhere more manifest
than In the rule which they made as to
the education of youth. Every Jewish bow.
No matter what the circumstances of his
!lfe, must be taught a trade. The boy
Saul, although probably from an early age
predestined by his parents to become a
scholar, a teacher, a religious leader, was
nevertheless taught to make tents. That
is, ne knew how to weave camePs hair and
other material into the fabric of which
tents were made. Thus, after his CONVEX
sion to Christianity, when his worldly
prospects were ruined, and he had cast in
his lot with the poorest and humblest peo-
pie on earth, he was. as far as it is posi-
Bile for a man, independent. How was it
world delivering his message to slaves and
people without resources? When he went
to g new community he at once sought
work, and found it because be was skilled
"a. a.eAi-s s~->s.l.ns -l:el 4hA+~~--.
nifty needed. He earned his bread By the
work of his hands, and spoke his message
because he loved it. And when the peo-
pie to whom he spoke came to him out OF
gratitude and wanted to contribute to-
ward his support, he accepted their hum
bic gifts on the principle that the laborer
is worthy of his hire, and thanked them,
but repeatedly declared that such gifts
were not necessary to his life. "For l am
not in want" he said. II can earn the
necessities of life"
In what an enviable position such a man
stands. How much better it would be If
every religious teacher of our time had
been taught some useful occupation by
wbinh bo ar,1td oonron1 &ha rooo-,,@,oo "a
life. He might never be called upon to
use his ability in shat direction, but the
possession of it would mean liberty. He
would no longer be haunted by the fear
that if he did not conform his opinions to
those of the church authorities the bread
would be taken from the mouths of his
children. The knowledge that he had pow
er to command bread for his family by the
toll Of his hands would give to him entire
freedom in search for truth and in utter
ing it;
it Is just as true of people in other depart
ments of life. Liberty is but a dream fol-
any man who must conform his politica
opinions to those of his employer unless ht
would see his supply of food cut of. Many
q man in the business world works for anC
votes for measures in which he does no
believe, or becomes a party to trickery anc
dishonesty, because these are for The in
terest of the employer, and unless he work:
for the interest of his employer his family
will lack food. Many a girl marries a mar
she distrusts. or even despises, because she
must marry or become a pauper.
Therefore let those vino would find the
secret of independence in the face of hum
BILE circumstances first learn to work, learr
to command some useful occupation by
which they may win from the world the
necessities of life in return for honest and
worthy service.
2. But this is not the whole of Paul's
secret. For n who has known prosperity
to be obliged to face humble circumstances,
to maintain courage and cheerfulness, is
extremely difficult. How shall he be able
to do this?
Let him mediate upon the relation oil
values. Paul had been a man Of great
promise, and was on the high road to
wealth and exalted position, but he lost il
all and came to associate with slaves and
people held in social contempt; he went
back to tent-making, and from being a re-
ligious leader became a common laborer.
But his courage, instead of being dimin-
ished, was increased. No drawer mar ever
lived. His cheerfulness was constant.
When they had seourged him and placed
him in the torturing stocks he sang. Nc
pessimistic word ever escaped him, no
gloomy reflection can be found in his let
tiers. How did he escape gloom and de-
spair under such circumstances? He had
learned the relation of values. All things
which once stood to my credit | have now.
for Christ's sake, come to reckon as loss.
More than that, / reckon everything else
as loss, on account of the exceeding value
of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord. And
for His sake ] lave lost everything, and
reckon it all as the merest refuse if / can
but gain Christ, and be found in union
with Him" Here was a man who counted
wealth, position, country, home, every
thing as so much refuse if only he could
feel that he possessed a true, honest Christ
like character.
8. But that is not the whole Of the Sc
-cret. Listen: 81 have learned the secre!
both to be filed and to be hungry, both to
abound and to be in want How? Be.
cause I have discovered that ri can do al
things in Him that strengtheneth me- Te
the person who really believes in God,
that God watches over him and loves him,
there can be really no such thing as adver
sity. IF some man of immense wealth and
proved generosity, some man in whose
honor you implicitly believe, were to seeI
ron out and say, Come, serve me. / need
you. Go to work in my shop. or my vine
yard; take up your residence in my house;
what is mine shall be yours, and it shall
be my care that you and yours do not suf
e.. uant If Won really believed in that