The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1910-06-24
THE PULPIT.
A BRILLIANT SUNDAY SERMON BN
THE REV JOHN { ADAMS.
Theme: Hope.
Theme: Hope.

tor of the Ross Street Presbyterian
Church, preached the second sermon
in series of three Oh l. Corinthians
1918: Now abideth Faith, Hope,
Love, these three, but the greatest of
these is Love" The subject last
might was "Hope Mr. Adams said :
The man who wrote these words
practiced what he preached. 1t was
he who said: Brethren, be We fol-
lowers together of me-" Whenever:
he pointed up the steep slopes of
duty he was ready to jump into the:
lead and show the way. He was the
first to lay himself upon the altar
when he enjoined upon others the
duty of sacrifice. He never slum-
bered while others were on the
bridge; he never stopped to rest
while others were on the march.
Me, had not only the enlightenment
of his counsel, they had the energy
tof his conduct; not only the illum-
Iination of eXegesis, but the inspira-
,tion Of example. Great as was his
ipreaching, the practical illustration
in his own life of the things he urges
upon others is still greater. Unlike
the modern general who, from the
distance of miles, perhaps upon some
eminence, from which he surveys the
entire field of battle, mobilizes and
moves his men by semaphore, aide or
telephone; himself far removed from
danger of shrapnel or Mauser, Paul
never sounded the charge that he did
not plunge into the thickest of the
fight. Did he preach Christ as the
ultimate ideal and goal for which
men should strive? Of himself he
says: mot as though 1 had already
attained But one thing d
do press toward the mark for tho
prize"
We are not surprised, then, to
find in him the apostle of hope
When he places it among the graces,
he does so because it had graced his
own life. He can urge upon others
the duty and privilege of optimism
because he knows what it is to glory
in his own infirmities, and count all
worldly losses as gains, He ever
walks with buoyant and springN
step. With him the shadows never
lengthen and the night never deep
ems, it is always day. He walks in
the light; he is child OF light; he
rcjoices in tribulation, and through
fits leaden skies the star of hope ever
shines.
Hope is defined as the desire of
some good, accompanied with an ex-
pectation of attaining it, or belief
that it is ob.ainable. 1t is more than
an emotiCn, therefore, or a wish, or a
desire; it is a confidence, an eXpectaL
tion; it almost reaches the stage of
conviction. 1t is the philosophy of
optimism. and as such it abides and
deserves to abide. We are told that
travellers in the Alps, standing upon
the middle ground see, beneath
them, the shadows and valleys and
darkly flowing river. and above them
the snow-clad heights on which the
sun rests long after the valley be-
meath is in the grip Of the night. At
one time, then, it is possible to look
down into the shadows or up into the
sunshine. Pessinlism is the philoso-
ply Of the downward look; hope lifts
its eyes unto the hills from whence
cometh mans help; and believes that
the best and not the worst is yet to
come
David was an optimist. In the
Forty-second Psalm he is facing a
crisis. He cannot stand upon middle
ground. He must either descend or
ascend; it is the abyss or the noun
tain top. And so, he lays hold upon
the one refuge from pessimism and
despair, and calls upon his soul to
hope. ''Why art thou cast down, o
my soul? And why art thou dis
quieted within me? Hope thou in.
God. for ] shall yet praise Him for
the health of His countenance
Hope abides because it is the sur
vival of the fittest. Dependency un-.
fits, humbles, dethrones 1t saps the
very strength from manhood. Fran
ces II. Burnett in THE Shuttle. -,
gives us the picture of the English
lord, sitting hour after hour, hold
ing the wasted hand of one of his
common laborers, who is stricken
with typhoid fever, and calling back
through the power of hope the life
that had almost gone out in despair
The great specialist, who has been
called i'll in the hour of crisis, when
the faces of the watchers are pale.
AMI fear has frozen the very foun-
tains Of life and energy, gives the
verdict of 'Hope," and instantly the
body straightens, the hack stiffens.
the blood courses through the veins,
Hope is energy. The provisions
have failed; the boat leaks, the seas
rise. strength is gone, and intolerab ble
thirst alone remains. But, upon the
horizon there rise the masts and then
the hull of the liner. Hone at once
energizes With the vestige of re-
naming strength, the distress signal
is EOiSted, it is seen; it is answered.
the steamers course is changed, and
rescue is at hand. Hope is the gran
itic clement of nature OF Samuel
Adams, Bancroft says: 'Difficulties
could not discourage his decision, nor
dangers appall his fortitude. Of des-
pOndcncy he knew nothing; trials
only GeTved him for superior strug-
giles. His sublime and unfalterin g
hope had a cast of sOlemnity, and
was as much a part of his nature as
if his confidence sprung from insight
into the divine decrees, and was as
firm us sincere Ca'vinist's assur-
ance of his election"
Hope is life's song. Once Elijah
lost it, and life was paralyzed. Hav-
ing seen hope slip away from him, he
was ready to die. The wilderness is
about him and within him. The best
thing God car give Kim is the grave.
And this man is not q coward. He
has fought to death, or Carmel,
BaaI's priests. lie has won many
other battles, but now he is in the
strip OF desTondercy, and his imper-
ial spirit is broken. But God calls
him mp from the depths, and when
natures elementary forces, when fire
and wind and earthquake fail to
rouse his slumbering soul, the still
small voice of GCd sings to him the
song of Hope, and the prophet is
strengthened.
The worst thing that has ever beer
thought Of hell is that in its fiery
dtpths all hope is abandoned. So
long as the man waits. through the
long hours, for the dawn, and so long
rs he believes that the dawn will
come, hell is not ready for him, the
celestial gates are still swung wide
open.
If hope is all this, then we do we'll
to cultivate it, to cherish it, at all
hazards. Better part with anything
than it. Better give up your friends
than your hopes. Better part with
yOur money. The only man without
l.