The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1905-11-09
OUR WITNESS
o,,p prc111,AR SUNDAY SERMON
An Eloquent and Touching Discourse
by DR.. Frank o. Hall.

New York City-Dr. Frank Oliver
! Hall. pastor of the Church of the Dl-
vine Paternity, preached Sunday morn
| ing on "The Spirit Beareth Witness.
He chose his text from Romans Willis:
ssThe shirt itself beareth witness with
our spirit that we are the children OF
God" DR.. Hall said:
| 1t is easy to build an argument Tor
| 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 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. an
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 a 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 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 right to say that COO is
an intelligent personality.
You may find sucn 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 mere Intellectual belief in God
is practically worthless. Ninety-nine
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 clear and convincing
argument for theism as 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-
seriousness of a personal relationship
with God the Father. 20 God" cried
Augustine, Thou hast made me for
Thyself and cannot rest until rest
in Thee" o, 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 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 a mere exercise
learn to love Tennyson by going
through the process of counting the
number of words or letters in his CON-
plete works. One might gain a 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 i'm 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 am appealing to COM
mon experience and common longing.
Not one of us who does not know what
. it is to desire with mighty yearning
for 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 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 heav.
emily Father. Why should we be
, ashamed to acknowledge this hunger
of the soul any more than. we are
ashamed to acknowledge the hunger OF
the body? How. especially in the
midst of trouble, the heart hungers fol
its Father. When the clods fall upon
. the coffin lid. how the soul cries, 'My
| God-my Cod" How, when the clouds
! of adversely gather dense-when the
cherished ambitions of lifetime prove
futile; when the fortune which was to
make the years of old age bright takes
to itself wings; how, when the familiar
l friend lifts up his heel against one
!, the heart cries out, ooh, God-my
! Godv' And even in the sunshine and
the joy of life, when everything seems
to be bright and beautiful and full oil
promise of future joy, there will come
moments when it all seems empty and
meaningless and the soul cries out fol-
4 God.
My memory goes back to nv owl
! young manhood, and recall a day tina
e was more than usually beautiful. whe1
stood alone by the sea. had every
reason to be happy. 1 had found m,
place in the world; had a work to d.
! and the future seemed full Of promise
< My health was perfect, and had no
t been disappointed, even in nv boyisf
t dreams. And yet I recall the awfu
f loneliness and emptiness of the hour