The Brandon news., 1903-09-10

est ana pest ana WlIully STRIVING suncon-
sciously, it may be) to thwart the great
end which the heavenly Fathers marvel
Gus love would have us attain.
Brethren, you may possess untold wealth.
Fortune may load you with her, favors, the
world may fawn at your feet, but | declare
there is no happiness to be found In these;
neither does religion confer any outward
benefit that shall appeal as pleasures of
sense, but it's blessedness, the highest, pur.
est, noblest gift in heaven or earth is char
acter-character which finds its likeness in
the Christ, comforting Joy which the an
gels wonder at, and fencing the soul with
impregnable battements OF Godllke moral
rectitude, from wbicn the concentrated fu-
ries and powers of hell are hurled back in
confusion as the oceans waves I'm the
mighty walls of q rock-bound shore Thus
true happiness comes from being. not by
having; from the life within, not influence
without
Every man possesses conscience, and
you will hear many declare that they can
be just as good, quite as moral as Chris
tian through the power of that conscience.
But what is conscience apart from religion?
In many cases it is a slave II -tead OF
master. The power of passion browns its
voice and weakens it by every deliberate
sin. man believing in the existence OF
no higher authority will drift upon the
current of his animal nature, for those ten
enslave him. No. without living faith in
God or personal union with Him the con-
science loses its power to govern and guide,
but religion clothes it with exceeding
strength by revealing to man the source Of
those magnificent moral attributes with
which he is endowed. thus giving to that
"still small voice" within the soul an inf
mite worth.
There is not a heart but has some con-
ception of higher life than il now feels.
Every young man and woman at the gate
way of responsibility is fired with enthusi-
asm and ambitious with a great purpose
which. they long to accomplish; going out
into the world they have to stem mighty
currents: within and without. the tenden-
cies of their lower nature and temptations
to sin clothed with beguiling finery. Crises
will arrive when the future will b. deter
mined. Moments of dire peril fraught
with tremendous responsibility Thev will
then feel the need Of higher power,
greater strength than their own to thwart
the enemy of rectitude. The ideal of pure
manhood and womanhood shining before
them will appear unattainably beyond
their reach, lost forever. How, then. can
they safeguard against this dread exper-
ience which has blighted many promising
Young lives, which, unable to stand against
the. waves of adversely have sunk helpless
and despairing? | answer, BY being relig-
victory which crowns a life complete in
Christ. 1t places them into direct commu-
nlcation with God, whose delight is that
they should become worthy to share His
glory. Temptations will surely come, but
religion gives them a new meaning; they
are but reminders of the existence of
Father who ever waits to aid and sustain,
and, as blessings In disguise they carry
messages of an infinite love for every indi-
vidual soul, proclaiming that virtue is the
beginning and the end of holiness, the mar
row road to perfection.
Another wonderful revelation of religion
asserts that you and [ sprang from the
bosom of the eternal Father. That as He
is eternal we too shall live through endless
aces, created in His image. sustained by
His snirit, our life shall gather unto itself
magnificent growth. Religion sets before
US destiny whose divine splendor startes
and overpowers orlr weak conception of it's
glory. The Word Of God calls into being
An amazing sense of power. To think, nv
brother and sister. that through aeons of
time we shall be adding purity to purity,
love to love, knowledge to knowledge,
glory to glory, living forever in the pres
ence of the immortal and infinite God, ris-
ing to spiritual planes of inconceivable
grandeur and beauty. scaling heights of
happiness beyond the dream of angels. The
incomprebensible destiny of living soul
loyal to God and duty brings our faces to
the dust when we consider that this is our
heritage: yon and /, with all our weakness,
conquering death and the power Of moral
evil
In the midst of the trifiug follies of the
world. the conceit of fashion, the decrees
of thoughtless society. and the whirl of
vapid pleasures, let us keep this thought
like a burning fire within the brain-the
thought of God. holiness and heaven.
Brethren. allow the character of YOUR
heavenly Father as revealed by Jesus
Christ to stand before you as the goal of
and an incentive to reach it. By contem-
plating and really loving this excellence is
to be inspired by it. The Christian man is
always conscious of divine presence In
every phase of his life he marks the guild
ance of God He beholds His handiwork
IN every flower of the field. The hosts of
shining stars as they whirl through space
declare His majesty and in the phenomena
OF nature he discerns a living expression of
His glory. Thus by contemplating and
adoring His handiwork in the natural
world without and the spiritual world
within. Christian is given grace to subdue
all things INTO the one great end of moral
growth: True religion is not belief in
set of doomas, or the recitation of creed.
or profession of faith; these are but the
accessories of a particular attitude toward
truth. but 1T is infinitely move than this
It IS the life giving breath of the spirit of
God which rules. not certain relations but
all correspondence of the heart soul and
body with the Creator and with fellow
mon.
There is no limita ton to the exercise of
the intellect. yet without a moral rrinriple
to guide and enlighten its research. there
can be no advance in the path of truth.
Manv of the greatest thinkers have died
atheists. Religion gives to intellect an
added power of analvss and discrimina-
ton; medium whereby we discern truth.
1t places the mentality of man in cnnmu-
mon with infinite KNOWLEDGE. Gifted
With the eve of the spirit" tae glory of
God streams upon the mage of history. and
every denartment of scientific research tes-
tities to His perfection and wondrous love.
The mind of the most brilliant ~,ho,ar will
only see in phenomena natural results.
Religion alone has power to nermeate his
work with magnificent meanino. There is
hidden wisdom only revealed to the child
of a new, birth" who has had special
and individual revelation of the Father.
Religion crowns intellect with deep in
sight into the mysteries of life The earth.
sea and sky. the complex organism of so.
rIetV. the deothc Of b,,v,,,r ~