The Penn's Grove record., 1907-09-27
VOLUME XXX.
[ The EuIDy/
a SERMON GNA
fMWHENDEeSoNW~

81 IftE REV. M @xM%SM
| IRAWHENDEeSoNW
Subject: The Church and Amuse-
mentS.
Brooklyn, N. Y.-Preaching at the
Irving Square Presbyterian Church,
Hamburg avenu and VERIFIED
street, on the above theme, the Rev.
Ira Wemmell Henderson, pastor,
took as his text 1 John 2:17, 1.-THE
world passeth away, and the lust
thereof: but he that doeth the will of
God abideth forever" He said:
Happiness is a universal human
longing. The search for it is a world
wide human characteristic. The
longing of living souls for that which
ministers to the satisfaction of the
noblest and most lasting of human
needs and desires is natural. God
created US to be happy. We were not
men did we not search for joy. Je-
hovah meant US to live in the pos
session and exercise of all that is
peaceful and joyous and lovable. 1t
would be strange if we did not seek
to possess them. We are foolish if
we do not use them.
Not otherwise pleasure, or the sat
~isfaction of lesser human desires and
human needs, is a universal human
craving. AS we long for those things
that are eternally and finally salts
Tying, so do We long for those things
that are of immediate and of contem-
poraneous value. And this craving
is natural. The desire is divinely
granted. 1t is not strange that we
want pleasure.
But happiness and pleasure are not
necessarily to be found in that (and
we shall deliberately circumscribe
the application of the word) which
we call amusement. Happiness may
be far from the heart that is amused.
Many a soul that is scared and heavy
with sorrow has been amused. But
amusement brings such soul no abid-
ing joy and ministers no balm of
solace to heal their wounds. Pleas
ure is not amusement. For a man
may find much pleasure outside of
thai which in the common use and
acceptation of the term is called
amusement. Happiness is a matter,
at the base, of subjective satisfac-
ton. Happiness is centrally a con-
Germ of the soul. Pleasure may con-
serve happiness. But a mar may be
well pleased and yet not be happy.
A man may be amused and find pleas
ure in the amusement. But a man
may be suparlatively unhappy though
his face may be forced to smiles
through the power of amusement.
For amusement is a diversion, a
dissipation, an indication of inward
discomfort. Happiness indicates con-
tentmcnt. The desire to be amused
is very nearly always an indication
of the incapacity of a man to achieve
happiness:
The church expresses happiness in
the terms of eternity, of divinity. of
conscience. The happiness of man
is, in the mind of the Church of
Jesus Christ and in the light of His
truth, dependent upon its perdura-
bility, its ~divineness, upon the clarity
OF the conscience of the man who
possesses it. In the conception of
the church happiness is eternal, it is
the gift of God and q force that
propels man nearer to God: it can
not be enjoyed except the conscience
OF men are void Of the consciousness
or their u~nworthineSS before God. A
man is not really happy unless his
soul is satisfied in an eternal fashion,
unless he has the joy and peace that
are the gift of God unto those who
love Him and who keep His command
ments as his innermost possession,
unless his mind and heart are certi-
fed OF his personal acceptability be-
fore God.
The church expresses righteous
and worthy pleasure in the terms of
the conservation of that which is
eternal, the promotion of that which
is divine, the satisfaction of duty.
Any pleasure that does not augment
happiness is unworthy. That is to
say. that if L pleasures initiate
against our growth in that which is
eternal and divine. if they dull our
consciousness Of the i~mperativesa of
the Almighty that are law and life
to the human soul, they are unright-
eous.
Now, the Church measures muse
ments by these same standards. She
us what our amusements do to
afford us a larger vision of the eter-
mites, to increase our certainty of
the reality and of our self-Dossession
OF divinity, to draw US into correct
relationships with God. By these
standards we have 4 right to meas
uro our amusements ard by these
judgments they must stand or fall.
II they can meet these tests they may
steadfast and they will. If
they cannot be justified By them or
squared to them they will fall and
they ought to. For life is short.
Time advances. Opportunities come
and go. There IS much 70 be done.
We must do it. We have little time
TO waste. Our efforts must tend, be
they little OF m~o:nentous, to the en-
largement Of h~"rtanit-'g -~7-77vohen-
a--N Hl La9se things chat ere eteIuaf
and divine, Il happiness lies i'll the
achievement OF these grEcg5 we have
stipulated then g4 ought to 30 about
the Master business.
No country II he world needs tac
Write N@ht OF publicity ard Dhilos-
ogA5 II o. uncommon sense to glare
upon it's smuseme9ls more than
merica F,sr we arc amusement
crazy Our catch-peIur. tiDsa'ed.
gaudy summer pieces of 2m.ec-oea.
are evidence Of our amusement fever.
ohF theatres are tanned H5-I uro-
PIE VINO want noo 10 be coWral}7I To
mink Or to b brought face 10 face
With reproductions OF real life in
miniature. They 80 largely 10 be
amused. Our anuseme.Ls ara almost
wholly superficial. They mieister 10
the needs OF the Mid that is mo-
mentarily surfeited, 70 the ja4ed
spirit. they are s~trictir tennoTaI
They arc very nearly always inax-
pressibiy cheap ana tawd7y wheu we
lift them TO the bottom Thsg are
unrelated to dr;v. g.. tneg are
primarily intended Il aif ue TO }eyqet
dirty.
o. our multitude of a1ausen sn.s
we shall consider four, Inc esrf
table, the lance, tn theatre. taa
racacra1s Ar3 they ara taken gor
consideration, not beoc.1sa they ara