Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1912-09-21
MINISTERING ANGELS SUBJECT
OF sermon BYDR. GOODSPEED

- ess
life in the faith that our poor worlt
is beautifully and gloriously Sur
frounded. To the end of time mer
will rejoice to hear the echo of. thu
angelic cohorts, as they roll theil
husannas out of the midnight sky
singing peace on earth, good will u
men. Poetry is truer than prose, anC
poetry says:
Hand in hand with angels through
| the world we CO."
But while have not the least doub,
of the existence and blessed services
of these heavenly ministers, II Is Of
some other angels that ! wish Il
speak today.
Laws Good Angels.
L remark, I'm the first place, that
the Laws of the Universe are good
angels. They are Gods face unyeif
] ed. They are pledges of His infinite
and constant care. They are the Sc
cret of His infinite heart written
upon the universe. They are copy
of the Eternal Mind, transcript OF
1.-THE divine nature. God has given us
a universe that can be, counted on
and trusted, and because law Is the
revelation of the Most High, an ex-
Epression of the original idea OF truth
and good existing in his mind from
eternity; therefore, the mission OF law
is a beneficent one. When man seems
| to fall he falls into the Everlasting
Arms, for God is never outside His
laws. A loving will is the foundation
and guide of all the forces within ana
about our life. The poet of divinity
mas well said: ... ..a.
"Alfs law, yet all's love-"
The seventies of the universe are the
seventies of love. Pain is the merci-
full and forceful protest OF violated
law. Nerves are warnings OF ap-
preaching disaster. Every pain is
danger signal, telling you that 1t Is
time to stop, merciful note OF warn
ing of coming calamity. Every law
is an expression of Gods kindness;
every law is good Samaritan, knit
ting I'D the raveled sleeve OF care
and restoring the wounded. Were
all these laws observed, ignorance
would disappear, sorrow would be I'M
known, disease would be banlsned-
and the very ribs of death would have
beneath them a ,throbbing heart or
life. Sometimes the wheels seem TO
be Jagged, sometimes these laws made
for the, regulation of the universe
seem cruel and Implying in their &C
ton. but, the wise man can detect
lesson OF wisdom and Of worth any
where in the universe, for the uni
verse is a unit, and in each single
thing the whole body of divine enact
ment is reflected. A providence IS
not Q piece of broken crystal under
meath whose fragments there abides
no law OF form. A swinging lamp
means nothing until a man called
calico had eyes to see its inward
meaning-then he beholds the anger
of the law of movement. A falling
apple means nothing except terrible
Jaw when disobeyed, but Newton
comes and sees that 1t teaches the
beneficent force which holds the uni
verse together, reading beneath 1t the
law of order and harmony throughout
all the works of God.
Ministerial In Aspect.
Rightly understood, tbs great Gre
alton. with its law and system and
organization, becomes ministerial IN
its aspect. Our angels are not Dan
ished. but our conceptions are en-
larged. We do not wait for some ce-
lestial beings to direct our steps ana
hold US in their hands, for God has
given us a better understanding or
His universe, and now the flame that
leaps up from our hearth, the wind
that beats in our faces. and the stars
that shine in the sky, the forces that
throb everywhere, are all representa-
tiyes of Him who planned the whole,
are all ministering spirits and mes
sengers of God bringing to us the
secrets of perpetual health and life
and power. e.
Hope an Angel. .
Hope is one OF Cots angels.
h. ..s..s ooh, what were life,
Even In the warm and summer light
of joy, .=.
Without those hopes that, like re-
freshing gales,
At evening from the sea, come DER
ID the SOUL.
Breathed from the ocean of eter-
nity?"
Faith looks upward. Hope looks for
ward. Faith rests everything on God.
Hope expects everything from God.
Faith is sure that God will do right
Hbpe is confident that God will send
good: Hope is divinely called IAN an
Choir of the SOUL an anchor both
sure and steadfast, and entering into
that which is within the veil" If we
slip that cable, il we lose that an
Choir, we are like drifting ship, and
we deprive ourselves of all the good
promised to those of the trusting soul
and the clinging heart. where there
is no hope, there can be no endeavor,"
says DR.. Johnson. And Coleridge tells
hot