The Newark star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1909, 1909-08-09
CALDWELL,
VERONA AND
WEST nUDSON
MEDITATION LOST
ART, SAYS PASTOR
Too Many Distractions Today to
Allow of the Concentration 5.
that Makes Strength.

The Rev. DR.. ". H. Boyle, Of Lake
Forest. Chicago, occupied the pulpit
yesterday morning at the Mum Ave-
nue. Presbyterian Church, East Orange.
The topic of his sermon was a Lost
Art Of Modern Religious Life" DR..
Boyle said in part
! believe that meditation as a habit Of
life is one Of the lost arts Of modern reli-
giuus life. The character Of this age, ma
ttfial in its ambitions and oVerstrained by
multiplied activities. does not condHee
largely to the quiet and retirement which
encourage reflection Of the healthier kind
Amid 2 multitude of attractive things dis-
traction is very commonly the result, not
concentration.
The seats of meditation in all the ages
have been the seats Of the mighty. Every
life that is based on deep principle tends to
ISOLATION, and # il be true that solitude IS
the mother country Of the strong. then il is
likewise true that the most Of those who
have done things for the world worth do
ing ave lived much apart from It.
What Meditation is.
Meditation 10 the staying Of the mind on
God and the things Of God as a mathemat-
clan stays his mind on a problem, as an
astronomer stays his mind on a far-off star.
1t is the souls soliloquy with God present.
II may be at the suggestion Of a sages one
thought; il may be at the fragrant breath
of a wild flower; il may be at the tender
memory Of a hone-love. but. whatever the
suggestion, true meditation is a sort Of
crystal skylight opening out to the upper
realms Of thought and activity. If we
would find a life Of peace amid outward
disquietude, We must have the perfect poise
Of a complete faith; we must daily cool
our burning brows amid the heat of secular
engagements by opening Of windows that
look to eternity; We must not forget while
making a living the diviner thing of MAKE
ing a life. $50
The main reason why so many people are
irritable and overstrained and nervous is
that they do not. in the words of Thomas
A. Kempis, practise the presence of the
eternal
True meditation gives direction TO lifeis
ambitions and corrects life's tendencies
Everything in life must for safety be an
chortd to God by cables Of reversAnt trusts
A lawyer IS better than the brief he pleads
and u physician is better than the prescrip-..
ton he writes. because amid the stress II
temporal transactions the man who works
with his lower self kept under does busi-
ness in partnership with God. sss
NOT Morbid Introspeetion.
Morbid introspection is not the thing
commended. but quality of mind and an
attitude of life which keeps d man from
making the place where he earns his living
the grave of his better being Life. 50 far
from being a vacation from God. is a voca-
ton for him. ~
Discrimination in the choice and use Of
books and mental elevation amid material
pursuits are certain helps to profitable
meditation A good book Is the nfe-blood
of g master spirit. and it is like a good
friend, it must he known to be appreciated.
Superficial reading is one of the crimes of
the age. What may be called a secondary
object in life is a safety valve for many.
a one. it Is something to turn to with
thought at a new angle. The heart Of
faith set deep in God is the secret place OF
mediation. Only when the heart is shut
in its earthward ranges does il become the
eratory of heaven. Faith then becomes in
tuition ,conquering circumstances, the sense
of the unseen.