The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-05-21
MODERAIOR'S
ANNUAL SERMON
DR.. Van Dyke Addresses the Presby-
terrain General Assembly at
Los Angeles.
His Sermon Is Along Broad Lines
and Does Not Refer to
Crede.
Attendance Upon the Assembly Is
Unusually Large and Hotels
Are Crowded.

Los Angeles, Cal, May 21.--The opening |
session of the Presbyterian genral assem-
the day being the moderator's annual ser
mon. The attendance is large and the
hotels are taxed to their utmost to accom-
modate the crowds.
The subject Of the sermon by the mod
orator, the Rev. Henry Van Dyke, was
Knowing and Doing; Joy and Power"
The text was from st. John, the thirteenth
chapter and the seventeenth verse. III
ye know, these things, happy are ,ye If We
do them
| Mr. Van Dyke said in part:
II want to speak to you to-day about
the religion Of Christ in its relation to
happiness.
'In the wish for happiness, all men are
strangely alike. In their views of it, and
| in their ways of seeking It, they are sin
gularly different. II we acknowledge
Christ as our master and Lord, there are
two questions that we must ask Of him.
First, is it right to wish to be happy? Sec
ond. what are the chief conditions on
which the fulfilment Of that wish depends?
| 1.-The desire of happiness is natural.
Now what does Christ say in regard to
! this natural human wish? Does he say
that it is an Illusion? Does he condemn
and deny It? Would he have accepted
Goethe's definition: Religion is renuncia-
tion?'
Surely such a notion is far from the
spirit Of Jesus. There is nothing of the
hardness of stoicism, the GOODNESS Of
Buddhism in Christ's gospel. It is hui
name, sympathetic, consoling. Unrest
and WEAKNESS. the fever Of passion and
i the chill of despair, soul-solitude and
heart trouble, are the very things that he
comes to cure. He begins his great dis
course with series of beatitudes tBles-
Nine times he rings the changes on that
WORD, like a silver bell sounding from the
|campanile of his fair temple on the noun
tain side, calling all who long for happi-
ness to come to him and find rest for their
souls. @
IF we accept his teaching we must be-
lieve that men are not wrong in wishing
for JOY, but wrong in their ways Of seek
ling it. Earthly happiness, pleasure that
belongs to the senses and perishes with
them, is a, dream and a delusion. But
happiness on earth blossoming In spir-
itual joy, fruiting in spiritual spower-is g
n rea1ity.6
Il II we com to Christ for this happiness,
4 He tells us four great secrets about 1t.
4 1t Is inward and not outward, and 50
1t. does not depend on what we have but
/ on whatwe are. i
1t is not to be found by seeking, but
by setting our faces towards the things
from which it flows, and so we must
!clin1b the mount if we would see the
| vision, we must tune the instrument If
we would hear the music.
; It is not solitary but social, and SO we
can never have It without sharing it.
1t Is the result of Gods will for us and
not Of our wills for ourselves, and so we
can only find it by giving ourselves up In
submission and obedience to the control
Of God.
The religion Of Jesus tells us that
cheerful piety is the best piety. There is
, something finer than to do right against
) inclination, and that is to have an in
clination to do right.
knowledge Is Happiness.
: What are the conditions upon which
: true happiness depends? Christ tells us
= In the text, s1f We know these things
. happy are We; If We do them
This is blessing with a double IT,
IF We know this is the knowledge which
Christ gives to faith. eff We do this is
the obedience which faith gives to Christ
Knowing and doing, these are the twin
pillars. joachim and Boaz, on which the
: house of happiness is built. The harmony
of faith and life, this is the secret OF
inward joy and vital power.
eff We know There is, then, a certain
kind Of knowledge without which we can.
not be happy.
II we were mere plants or animals, W.
go on t1V1nS- our. appointed
8 years in complete Indifference to thu
9 Iorigin and meaning Of our existence. Blu
Q within us as human beings there is some
n thing that cries out and rebels agains
g such a blind life. Man Is born to asl
u what things mean.
: The fourth-reaching, questioning soul
u can never be satisfied If IT touches only
Il dead wall in the darkness, If its seeking
y meets with the reply, You do not know
g and you never can know, and you mus
e not try to know" This Is Agnosticism
It is only another way Of unhappiness.
y 'since Christianity is not true" wrot
= Ernest Renan, nothing interests me Q
70 appears worthy Of my attention. This
the logical result of losing the knowledg
= Of spiritual things, a life without real In
70 terest, without deep worth, a life with
= broken spring.
!. But suppose Christianity Is. true. VIII,
- then the first thing that makes it preciou
:. is that 1t answers our questions and tell
70 US what we must know In order to b
81 happy,
TO Do Right Is Happiness.
is Here Is the second IT, on which til
J. power of religion to confer happiness de
r ponds. II We know, happy are We, y
i'd do these things.
It Is not a blessing to know the thing
that Christ teaches and then go on Twin
= as If they were false or doubtful. It is
III trouble, q torment, a secret misery.
- But the right kind of knowing carrie
in its heart the doing Of the truth. An
the right kind Of doing leads to a fulle
lg and happier knowing II any man vi
do Gods will. - said Christ, he shall kr1o
of the doctrine
A revival of simplicity. q revival
sincerity, a revival of work; this will +
store unto us the joy Of salvation. Al
with the joy of. salvation will come q II
Y newal and expansion Of power.
TO The inconsistency Of Christians is II
ur stronghold of unbelief. The lack Of Wit
ed joy in the church is the chief cause Z
IT. indifference in the world. The feeb
NJ energy, the faltering and reluctant spiri
the WEAKNESS in well-doing with which t,
nix many believers impoverish and saddle
r. their own hearts, make other men que,
to ton the reality and value OF religion al
g. turn away from it in cool neglect.
he What then is the duty of the church
IS What must she do to win the confiden,
ial OF the world? What is the best way Il
he her to price her doctrine all divine 2,
1870 First she must increase her labors
nd the love, OF men: second. she must practi
W the simple life in the trust OF God.
by This is the message which i have
nd bring to you, my brethren, in this gene.
fly -.
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