The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-11-29
THE PULPIT.
A SCHOLARLY SUNDAY SERMON ET
THE REV. DR.. FRANK O. HALL.
Subject: The Spirit Eeareth Witness.

New Fork 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 bearcth 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
We are compelled to think that there
ean be no effect without a cause. But
If we trace an effect back to its cause
and find this in turn to be an effect,
then trace that back 10 its cause and
find that also to be an effect, we must
at length predicate the existence of an
adequate cause for all phenomena, an
underlying and eternal reality.
Or you may put the argument in this
way:
No thought without 4 thinker.
There is thought in the universe.
Therefore there is q 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 mus
conceive of God as a personal being.
To be sure, our words are inadequate
to express the qualities Of the Divine
Life. As the heavens are high above
the earth so are His thoughts higher
than our thoughts. The mode of His
existence may be infinitely higher than
what we name personality. But these
are the best words at our command.
We are obliged to use them or nothing.
So we have a right to say that God is
an intelligent personality.
You may find such arguments elab-
Grated at 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. N~inety-nire
out of every hundred convicts in 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
a mere intellectual belief in the exist
ence Of God.
One may find an intellectual delight
in listening to q clear and convincing
argument for theism as he might Ill
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-
seriousness Of a personal relationship
with God the Father. 20 God" cried
Augustine, Thou hast made me for
Thyself and l cannot rest until I rest
in Thee" Q, to know God personally:
to come into touch with Him; to feel
His love and His pity; to be able to
say, within Thy circling arms l 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 no more gain this con-
seriousness or the power that comes
} from this thought by q 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 q 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, a staff
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.
i know that l am appealing to COM
mon experience and a common longing.
it is to desire with a mighty yearning
for q personal assurance of the love of
God. What are we, after all, but chill
dren?
But what am I?
An infant crying in the night;
An infant crying for a light
And with no language but a cry.
Just as the child wakes in the night
and. feeling the blackness huge and
empty about him, cries out into the
gloom for companionship and love, and
the father comes and takes the child
In his arms and, with confident voice,
soothes away the childish fears. so Of
tentimes we children of earth feel the
darkness of life Cypress our souls and
cry out for the strong arms of a heav-
emily Father. Why should we be
nchnmnd to n~nknnmlndun this hrnnar