The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1903-12-11
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
BEAUTIFUL DISCOURSE BY The REV
or. HOWARD oUFF,ELo.
Subject. Hearts Ease-.rhe Iron Hss Never
Entered the soul of Those who IN
pect Happiness TO he Matter OF Per
sonsl Choice.


Rev. Dr. Howard Duffeld, pastor. The
;eNt was from John, xiv: l (Revised Yer
SION Let not Your heart be Jroub' ed
Ye believe in God, believe also IN Ne. -
.r Duffeld said;
Let no; their hearts be troub.cdy How
could they help its They were not men
who knew the world well and they wers
going out 20 face the world alone. They
Were not men versed IN the wisdom
the schools, and they were 10 be the
teachers OF novel, profound aad revolution
airy truths. They were impulsive. undis-
sS,,pLned and without soeial. influence
Hitherto IN every hour OF difficulty a dl-
vine friend had stood at their side 10
blunt upon the shield OF His love every
dart which was launched at them. Now
they must address themselves unfriended
20 a mission such as men never attempted.
and they must enter upon their adventure
broken with bereavement and crushed with
a consciousness OF heiplessness. How could
they be otherwise than troubled IL IL
slmp.e msckery TO say to the heart which
IS harred with the mystery OF pain and
Haunted with the bitterness o loneliness
and stung with the keen sense of its ina
blllty 10 cope with the respons Utilities OF
existence, Don't be troubled The op-
pressed soul is ready 10 reply, Pour acid
upon alRa and say do not ferment' But
when wishes are thwarted and hopes are
wlthered. and endeavor has is uyshot
m disappointment, and the light OF life
has gone INTO eclipse do not saw TO me.
Let not Your heart be troubled Either
you have not measured nv grief OF the iron
has never entered your SOUL
But be Gho spoke ,his scA.ence mad
taken the oNac; measure OF the woe of
those 10 whom He spoke. and He knew
the WOTmwCod tang of SORROWS blacklist
draught. His acquaintance with grief
was lifelong. He knew grief not as a
"a F.sr h. T..
knew grief not as we know some neigh.
Dor by occasional sight. He was the 10
innate and Inseparable associate OF that
grim companion. IL was lust because lie
knew the secret sorrow. It's strange MN
lstry and lts woudrous outcome, that when
He saw His friends standing at the thres
hold OF the very life which He Himself had
lived, lie wrought out IN loneliness
and suffering and defeat and scoTn. a ME
OF utter saCrihCe TO {. uplifting OF 9th.
e.. a lie rejected by the world for whose
enrichment they were to give up every
thing that made their years sweet TO
them. lie SAID. Let not your hearts be
troubled In thought He was looking far
forward from that unknown house in Jeru.
salem beneath whose roof they then were
seated, 10 another mansion, not made with
hands, eternal and glorious in the city Of
God Present TO His gaze was not so
much the plow and the narrow and the
-
"ladsome company OF the reapers. laden
with golden sEeaves and shouting the song
OF the harvest He was looking across the
Storm mswept sea OF the safe and sheltered
hNbor where the troubled waves were
sleeping lie was thinking not only OF
th@wrench OF parting, hut Of the clasp OF
greeting Present to His mind was not
only the death which was TO separate, but
the death which was TO unite. So lie said
Let not y0ur heart be troubled. neither
let 1t be afraid. Daring the strange. sad
hours and the hard and weary days that
are coming. believe IN God; believe also IN
Me: and by and by The Loors of your
Fathers house shall open wide for your
entrance upon larger. holier. purer min.
lstrv for which the disc.plines Of time
shall have evoked the canacity. Il it were
not so. ! would have told you"
Believe is Christs tahsman for charm
ing away the specter Of trouble froil the
haunted heart. Beneve ln the Fathers
pan for His child. Believe in the Fathers
care OF His child. There is no speculative
process by which the mind may unravel
the sore angles OF mortal experience. A
condemned heart cannot find relief IN
logic book. The cold bloodless hand of
reason never wiped ava tear. The in.
teIlect has never discovered any balm for
heartache. When one is DIVING of hunger
1T rs no time to discuss the process by
which Hour IS prepared. When one j.
Diached with poverty, 1t is not the hour
broach the tenets OF political economy.
The tamne-strlcken soul cries for bread
the bankrupt debtor demands coin The
troubled heart yearns for God Himself.
and not for anv theoretical discussion OF
the nature Of deity. When the problem
or the cross becomes too sore and the
weight of the burden becomes too heavy.
c. no. struggle 10 express vour experience
IN theological formula; do not strive to
hs
strength. Lean on God. "Cuddle down" in
HIS arms. Be not afraid. Believe That
ls the way Christ would take the sting
from mortal sorrow.
% ATTEMPT to analyZc such an act of he.
llef as the Ma ster here prescribes would be
Ike endeavoring TO learn TO sing bv study.
ing picture OF the larynx. One NAV
master the anatomy OF the throat and
.i,ver utter 4 note OF song Think your.
sell back INTO the situation. Jesus was
not n theological professor sitting at His
desk am IecturIng TO a class with refer
encc 10 a neatly articuiated system OF
do2mas The shadow of LIES mystery
was chilling to the hearts OF those He
i9Ved' and lie was striving 10 kind,e IN
thelr breasts vivid. luminous. unduench.
able consciousness of the divine sympathy
t1Is word 10 them is Realize God in
stead OF theorIzing about God" As sthouob
lie SAID. Peter James, John and an
the rest: you have lisped sentences con.
cernlnC God since YOU were little children
D,,aaNld hoy hymns were your cradle songs
Ihe sacred roles Of the synagogue have
spoken 70 you their Sabbath dav messages
from the Infinite One. Your hearts were
burned as you participated in the col
emnities ot Passover and Pentecost. which
ce'ebrated the august soyereirnties with
which God had shaped your nations life
WIN an nreprcsslbie wistfuiness YOU have
n T,h -
ieit Him present in the grandeurs Of
nature, while the quiet watches OF the
hight sto.e over YOU as you Law IN your
hshlng boats beneath the unsleeping stars
That God 10 your God. He thinks He
plans, He works for you. He marks veur
steus. lie treasures your tears He
weighs IN His heart every cross before
lie iays. u upon your shoulder The
march OF the tribes through the desert. the
progress, OF humanity through the cen.
turieS. the swing OF the stars through the
s.y u no more 10 Him than the passing
ri the days Of your life. There - moth.
ing better known 10 God than the things
which beiali You. There is no one nearer
to ne heart Of God than you are. Believe
m Him
Tie reason trouble is 20 troublesome "a
that We seldom put God in the present
tense. We transpose Him into the din
past and dwell upon the wonders He
-rought IN the days Of the fathers. W.
transpose Hir1 INTO the remote future
and dream of the giories which shall hs |
ours when all the wells which now hide |
Him shaa he lifted. Christ's cure for trou. |
bic = 20 live with God beside us in our
every day cx-eriences. q take God 20 I
the ott'ce. partner in our business: 10 /
TAX God 90 the par,or, a sharer m our |
pleasures; % be n the comDanionship of |
God when throngS surround us or when |
" -