The morning journal-courier., 1908-11-23
FAIR HAVEN NEWS
Rev. Robert E, Brown Breaches Timely Sermon on National Happiness Death of
 Sylvester Gilbert.

non on NallOnal happlnesS, rom tue
 ext Happy Is that people whose God is the Lord" In the course of his ser
 mon he said in part
 The Hath Psalm and the Declara- ton of Independence both agree in this respect that they recognize the
 legitimacy of the pursuit of human happin ss. And here they prove not only happiness for the individual as he pursues his private occupation and his personal desire, but happiness for so
 clety in the various aspects of It's col 1 lectlve life Both documents are alike in this that they see clearly and recog
 nize openly that happiness Is closely related to temporal affairs.
 Happiness Is also dependent upon material possessions The gamers are { tull, the oxen are laden with the pro, { duce of the land the sheep bring forth their thousands in the field Hap 1 pluess Is also related to our social re- lations The liith Psalm does not stop with showing the relation of happiness to our temporal conditions, lt goes much farther and declares our hap lncss to be related also to our religion.
 We are accustomed to the thougls that happiness ls related to business ! When times are slack and trade Is dull no one Of us exults over the situation. All to some extent feel the depression, Even if we do not suffer ourselves we dislike to know of suffering. We much prefer to see production, and orders and purchases and shipments for these signify action. strength, growth and happiness We yry easily associate happiness with amusements the game the play, the opera All these bring variety, abandonment of care. social intercourse. pleasant excitement, in short, they bring happiness. We are quick in country like ours e recos ni2e the relation between happiness and education
 But tho Psalmist insists on 2 rea- tion between happiness and religion And it IS all too true that for a large class of people this relation Is almost inconceivahle To them religion means heavy vows. confess'nnals, restraints and burdens But their conception of religion needs revising. for fl Is q mis- taken one Religion is life, a hope, a faith. an attitude toward God and his moral universe IL imposes no burdens II makes burdens easier II requires no vows except those that you yourself recognize in your h,snest moments show me happy man and l will show ynu one who looks ont beyond lhe reach of time and lays hold upon that spiritual order which Is eternal And religion Is necessary for our national happiness our religious problem is not question of church and state. l. is a question of church or no state We cauno, shrink at this problem nor fail to recognize that national happiness is dep ndent upon national Goilncss Show me your gods and ! will show you your people
 We cannot enshrine the god of com mcrce. although commerce has SD many favorable aspects to it, No we must come barlS after all and realize that our happiness Is bound up In the Lord our God
 On the beginning of our national his tory we see the service of q variety of talents Washington gave his gem eralship, Franklin his political wisdom, Morris his finances. while the man In the ranks gave his humble but par- sistont devotion Nor Is their ideal an | impossible ono for us to-day, our temptation Is to bellttle the service we can render and so we render none at all We need to-day a revival of the spirit of l7l6. Not for defence, but for the needs of harmony, growth and hap piness You may say to mo as did Iosephs brethren of old here cometh that dreamer" You may sny here Is a pure vision and [ say unto you that where there is no vision tho people perish,
 we have need df vision of nation interests, n vital unity and one that finds In mutual service It's highest Ideal of happiness And this must be the task of rcligon--to reconcile to each other the children of the one Father, And to make all realize the ideal of Jesus, "l am in the midst of you as ono who serveth," Here Is our duty and here is our happiness
 The many friends of Sylvester Gil- bert, one of the oldest and best known citizens of Talr Haven, Wern shocked to learn of his death, which came very suddenly at his home, 94 Woolsey street, Saturday morning at the age of "A years Mir. Gilbert has been in poor health for thrte years, suffering more or less from heart trouble, but was around the house as usual yesterday morning. He had not complained of feeling any worse and the family were preparing for breakfast when he sud- denly dropped dead.
 Mir Gilbert was a native Of Ridge field and a son of the late Mir. and | Mrs Charles Gilbert He Came to this city about fifty years ago and had re- sided in Fair Haven for thirty years, building and residing in the house he built He was a builder by trade and one of the best in this part of the coun- try, In all the years of his business he was employed by only three build CTS and had worked for William P, ! Dickerman for twenty six years MT 1 Gilbert superintended the construction | of many well known buildings, among l them Union station and had charge of q number of other constructions ofr the New York, New Haven and Hartford