The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1903-11-27
A SERMON Tf yfypIT'
AN ELOQUENT discourse ekTiTL
"AFTERwsRp."
" - IT VT. - "I t'1' - "
tonnecticut Legislature, Declare rlisi
the whole Enigma o. Life is Solved st
Once when You Hold the keyword.

Nevl, pastor OF lne Nase-l luth lNohhl u
l.. Church. preached Sunday morning an
Grace " r Church in the absence q the
pastor. the Rev. d. John T.. Adams Nj
Lockwood is well and i-yoraply known IN
Brooklyn and on Long Island, where ne
has held several pasto.ltes. he was born
and educated IN Brooklyn and studied law
before be entered the ministry He had
the distinction Of beng last year the only
clerical member OF the Connection; Leg
lslature. He took for TIE subject Of hIs
sermon. "AiteTwaTd His text wss from
Hebrews. xn:2: Now no ohastening, but
the present seemah 20 he JOYOUS, but
grlevous: nevertheless afterward u yield
eth the peaceahle fruit OF righteousness
unto them which are exercised thereby"
Mr. Lockwood said.
Let us consider the single word After
ward" as our text. II you grasp that word
and lts rich content OF comfort you VIII
have caught the whole message of the ser
hon, and YOU Will possess a most valuable
solvent Tor hfe's perpleXlng, and often dis
tressing, problems.
Human life rs a mysterious enic-.a that
has successfully bafiled the efforts persist.
entity made by the proiounuest thinkers OF
oI> race for It's solution. What II hteF
is the still pulling question Of questions.
As the biologl SITS and their fellow scientists
have not succeeded N telling us just what
that elusive thing we call physical hte is,
neither have poets. prophets, philosophers,
nor even philanthro' = been able 70 tell
US adequately what real life ia.
Here IS this strange thing we call life.
with its many and varied phenomena. and
the more profoundly and Comprehenslvely
We study IL the more confused i leave Us.
There are experiences positively Joyous and
experiences positively painful. and there
are experiences partially Joyous and par
tally painful, and we look az this great
mass of ife's complex data anil are quite
ktr+ tod I.aF Gf al
with our hearts, as well as with our heads,
we ask again the irrepress bic lnterToga-
tive What is life"
Are we, indeed. only lot f animals
high class animals, to be SUI but only aUl-
mails, nevertheless, sprung from the prime
val mud and rlsen 70 our present intellect
ual and moral eXaitation aud glory by
painful step and slow or'~ 10 b. plowed
under shortly in the great cosms agrIcul-
ture to serve as soil for some future crop,
a little finer grained than we From mud
10 mud-that ls the program of evolution.
Or on the other hand, Is II some splendid,
sweeping plan which we are IN, working
ont for us, the immortal participants, a far
more exceeding and eternal weight OF glory
that shall th"ll the soul forever: Have
We been but blind and stuuid workers at
the loom OF time. weaving an imaginary
fabric that really had no existence, even as
"onC that beatCth the air or are we act
ually engaged IN some real work OF marvel
Gus design, whose pattern we see not clear
ly and IN all It's comprehensive details, but
which our Master Workman knoweth well?
Let Us look at the three profiered eXpIa-
nations of life. First there Is the doleful
and distressing answer of phiosophic pes
slmlsm which assures us that things are
surely growing worse all the time, the
world il rolling down hill and there are no
brakes that can be applied The world
now j. better than II will ever be hereafter.
II you like that view, accept It. No, we
must not say IL so. Not, do You like II,
but is II trune That Is the way TO p. It;
for. pleasant OF repugnaLt, we must accept
what is true. But this view cannot posi-
bly, be true unless the proposition on which
II Is based II also true, the proposition OF
the fool who said IN ms heart, There II no
Cod
And in the second place we have the an
swer OF philosophIc optimism, which as
serts that things are steadily getting bet
ter; that, whereas life to-day Is far better
than IL was 1900 or 10000 years ago, u Will
be far better 1000 OF 10000 years hence.
But this prevalent theory ls scarcely any
Improvement on the other, except 20 the
superficial thinker. for II makes no proyl-
SION for the perpetuation OF personality
Where viii YOU and ] be when those far
off improvements OF our race ar: vey Tbs
materialistic philosophy offers Us of the
present no. immortality, and hence no op-
portunIty for the adjustment Of lie's pres
ent glaring lnjustices ! am glad 70 believe
that the race that shall be resident here
1000 years from now Will be a better race.
But | would like to be IN existence some
where, too, when the better day dawns.
And even II | could rise TO the superb un-
selhshness like unto that which poets some
times sing when, temporarily, they happen
to be in Just that mood, and could say
was content 10 live and die and cease TO
harq pp no 81 - D a
result of my having lived a while, future
generations might be lifted a little higher;
still, one must feel that that pretty and.
after all rathe' morbidly sentimental
scheme does not satisfy the imperative de.
mands of our souls that wrongs shall be
adequately righted. that innocent sufferers
shall be compensated and that outraged
helpessness shall be avenged.
Now comes Christianity. with its ample
answer. lt admits all the facts, the ap
parent injustlces Of the present, the pros
perity of the uuTightCOus, the trIumpbIng
Of the wicked, and, on the other hand, The
suffering and the seeming defeats OF God
heroes and saints in the fierce, hot contest
of life; and then II speaks one blessed
word, "Afterward" Gud we can be pa
tlent
After we have heard that divine word
we can see the wicked spread himself like
a green hay tree and still we rest IN the
refuse TO fret ourselves because Of him
who prospereth IN his ways, because OF the
man who bringeth wicked devices 10 pass.
The whole puzzlng enigma OF life Is
solved at once when YOU hold the keyword,
and that word 4 the single word OF the
text, "Afterward!"
That Is 10 say, you can get no satlsfac-
tory explanation OF tins strange and some.
what feverish thing We call life unless you
think of what II 20 follow. \ noted Amer
ican orator, IN a famous sentence Ct fls,
has told us that We have no lamp with
which 20 guide our feet IN the future eN-
ccpt the experience OF the past He con
tended. and rightly, too, that We cannot
properly estimate the future unless we
base our judgment on the experience of
the past. Now we may 60 on and supple
ment Patrick Henry's familiar d.ctum by
saying that we have no lamp 20 reveal the
meaning of the present. except the light OF
the future. "Aiterward u the word that
explains the mysterious dIsCIpllnlngs and
chastenings Of the present. If YOU VIII
grasp that word with hrm. athletic grip. d
will settle for you al these difficult prob.
lens that so frequently confront your sou.
and disturb your heart.
When YOU come % some terrific eIper.
fence IN life that all but skaters the very
foundations Of falth-wheu your soul falls
stricken and wounded on hfe's cruel bat.
tlefeld-a thousand arrows OF temptation
piercing the spirit and many a sword Of
sorrow thrust through the heart-so that
oil YOU can do is 20 CRY m agony and terror,
NV God. my God. hast Thou torsaken
me- Then above the tumult Of grief aud
the roar OF the black blilows may God
send some miuisterlng angel Of memory 90
whisper with soothing voice this one word.
"alterward - and the soft. sweet beauty Of
IL shall solace your aching heart and the
peace OF God shall once more Hood your