The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1905-11-09
UOs..
OUR REGULAR Sunday SERMON
An Eloquent and Touching Discourse
by DR.. Frank o. Hall.

BY DR.. Frank o. Hall.
New York City.-Dr. Frank Oliver
Hall, pastor of the Church of the Di
vine Paternity, preached Sunday morn
| ing on The Spirit Beareth Witness.
| He chose his text from Romans Wills
"The spirit itself beareth witness with
our spnrit that we are the children OF
| God" DR.. Hall said:
1t is easy to build an argument for
the existence of God The process OF
reasoning may be briefly stated thus:
We are compelled to think that there
can be no effect without Il cause. But
| if we trace an effect back to its cause
| and find this in turn to be an effect
| then trace that back to its cause and
find that also to be an effect, We must
| at length predicate the existence of an
| adequate cause for all phenomena. ali
| underlying and eternal reality.
Or you may put the argument in this
way:
No thought without thinker.
There is thought in the universe.
Therefore there is thinker in the
universe.
AS the universe is practically infinite
we must believe that in and through
the universe lives an Infinite Thinker.
| and inaSmuch as we cannot conceive
Of an imperSonal thinker we must
conceive of God as a personal being.
To be sure. our words are inadequate
to express the qualities of tie Divine
Life. AS the heavens are high above
the fifth so are His thoughts higher
| than our thoughts. The mode of His
existence may be infinitely higher than
what we name personality. But these
We are obliged to use them or nothing.
So we have right to say that God IS
an intelligent personality.
You may find such arguments elab-
Grated ut great length in scores Of
learned books on theology and theism.
But when you have read them and
agreed with the conclusion, what does
it amount to? Very likely men and
women have come along this dreary
pathway of logic to the more beautiful
realm of faith, but I am convinced
that a mere intellectual belief in God
is practically worthless. Ninety-nine
out of every hundred convictS i'll our
states prisons believe in God. James
states the case still stronger. "DoSt
thou believe in God? The devils also
believe and tremble" There is neither
comfort nor strength nor enthusiasm in
mere intellectual belief in the exist
ence of God.
One may find an intellectual delight
in listening to a clear and convincing
argument for theiSm rs he might in
listening to some skilled mathematical
talk about geometry. But something
more is necessary. Every one OF US
knows what it is to long for the con-
sciouSneSS Of personal relationship
with God the Father. 20 God" cried
Augustine, Thou hast made me for
Thyself and l cannot rest until | rest
in Thee" o, to know God personally;
toHome into touch with Him; to fee,
HIS love and His pity; to be able to
say, within Thy circling arms lie.'
and feel the sentiment Of the words;
to know that He is my Father and my
friend! o. to have His Spirit bear
witness with our spirits that we are
children Of God.
Now, one can 70 bore gain this opn-
sciousness or the Bwer that comes
from this thought by mere exercise
of the reasoning faculties. than he can
learn to love Tennyson by going
through the process Of counting the
number of words or letters in his COM
plete works. One might gain certain
intellectual satisfaction in doing that.
But if you are really to get good from
Tennyson. then his spirit must bear
witness with your spirit: that is. his
thought and his sentiment must meet
a response in you. So. If God is to be
an ever present help in trouble, staf
for the hand and a guide for weary
feet, then one must have something
more than a mere intellectual belief
in His existence What the world
needs. what each one of us needs. IS
not so much an intellectual assurance
of Gods existence as spiritual assur-
ance of His personal relationship to
us as His children.
l know that 1 am appealing to conf
mon experience and common longing.
Not one of us who does not know what
it is to desire with mighty yearning
for a personal assurance Of the love of
God. What are we, after all. but chill
dren?
But what am /?
An infant crying in the night;