Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1909-12-10
the time to be heartily thankful and
to sing unto the Lord new song"
A CALL TO HAPPINESS.

a CALL TO HAPPINESS.
BY Henry f. Cope.
Let the heavens rejoice, let the
earth be glad-before the Lord, for
He cometh to Judge the earth. "-Ps.
96:11, 13.
When the ancient Hebrew thought
of his god coming to Judge the world
he thought not of the thunders of
an awful countenance before which
trembling mortals shrank in fear, but
OF one whose benefcences found its
reflection in the smiling face of ma
ture, In the gladness OF sea, and field,
and wood. Such Judge and judg-
ment was to be longed for, rather than
to be feared
That may have been a benighted
age, but it knew a freedom, sponta-
neity, and rejoicing in its religion
than we have lost They may have
worshiped only local deity. the god
of the Hebrews; but we have made
for ourselves a lesser being, hedged
about with our notions and restric-
lions, and him we call the god OF the
universe.
All our thinking and speaking of
a god must be in terms OF parallels
and figures of speech; such being
must transcend our vocabularies. Our
definitions signify not what such a one
is, but what our lines Of approach
and apprehension are. The import
1iaI In ifC o.
suits on us, in our living and attitude
to life
We may no longer believe in deity
of the Hebrew type, localized and
dealing directly with men, but still all
men who look below the surface be-
lieve in life in which all lives are
gathered up, moral center and spir-
itual energy to the universe, and the
matter of just how we think of this
life is of no little concern to us oil.
Does the universe in its higher sig
nifcance turn to us face OF blessing
or of terror? Is that law which refgns
through all our friend or foe? Is the
will that eternally expresses itself
with us or against us? Shall we think
Of our god-the Life that explains all
living-in terms of larger life or less,
with fear or with glad confidence?
If that life in which we live and
love and have our being is less than
our own, then our own lives are bound
to shrink, to become less under the
narrowing pressure Of that ideal.
je dot II
small measure by what we think the
highest is; we never go beyond our
own highest.
What is the traditional god Of the
average man but a being possessed Of
unlimited powers. engaged in the sole
business of restriction, vengeance, and
ruling with finnicky eXactitude our
lives, waiting for the moment when,
after death he can call us to account
for our failures to do his will? That
makes life either a serfs subsection
to such an oppressor or an exciting
game of getting the best of such
lord.
How blind we must be to the many
glimpses Of the great face ever to
have allowed the spiritually astigmatic
ecclesiastical leaders to substitute
such a DOGGY for the reality Of the di-
vine! Why should we hear the voice
OF the Infinite only in the thunder and
not when it speaks In the song OF
bird. the pillows Of the sea, and the
forest, and the beauty of the blossoms
and fhn ulnI.v Of rho
face of a child?
The whole world calls to man to re-
joice. The fields manifest joy and
gladness; no man can open his heart
in the out of doors and stay discon-
solate The artificiality of the man
made monarchical deity disappears
from the mind amidst the glory of
the autumn woods or the glow of
springtide flowers. Only in our crowd
ed Streets where mans work prevails,
does life seem to preponderate in mis-
cry and pain.
True life has it's sorrows, just as
the sky would be pail without
clouds and showers. But If you can
set your heart free to faith in the in
finite goodness. even the deepest sor-
rows have their comfort; they lead to
deeper joys, to larger life. to a more
splendid faith.
Unless our god means to us good
ness, life can never be good unless
religion means happy freedom for
larger living. life can never grow; I'M
less it means a vision that inspires
with hope for the future, and gives
confidence OF the worthwhileness of
present day endeavor, it can save
neither us nor our age.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS