The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1926-01-29
SERMONETTE
By r. ASHLEY CAKE
Sunshine Haven, Absecon, N.
WHAT is RELIGION

Fear God and keep his command
ments, for this is the whole duty OF
man. "-Eccl. 70: 49,
What is Religion? The answer is
embodied in the text-"Fearing God
and keeping his commandments.
while the fear of the Lord is the be-
ginning of wisdom, and endures for
ever, his commandments are exceed
ingly broad; They are as lamp unto
our feet, and as light unto our path
and in the keeping of them there is
great reward
What the Pentateuch is to the whole
Word of God, what the fundamental
rules are to the whole system of math-
ematical teaching, that is what the
knowledge and the keeping of the
commandments are to the whole sys-
TEN of the christian religion. Obey
them we live, disobey we die.
When a student with the venerable
DR.. Hart as principal, learning and
daily recitation of the Ten Command
ments was the first requirement OF our
daily recitals; regardless of all creeds
no more signal factor could be brought
into every school, seminary, college,
university, than making obligatory the
into the hearts and minds of every
student, for it is written, with all our
educational advantages, unless the law
of God is our delight and our medita-
ton we shall all likewise perish.
The fear of the Lord unto which al
fusion is made, is not the slavish fear,
simply fear of Gods wrath. The fear
to which the eXhortation has refer
ence has it's illustration in that OF
child, who knows his Father loves him,
and fears not so much his wrath, but
fears to displease.
Again the commandments are not
only those i'll the Decalogue that we
are to observe, but also those which
are given to us every day; if we keep
the commandments of the Decalogue,
in all the intricacies of life, and in
varied circumstances we are often
tfmtst grated, we sili.i. near tf / dits,
sayse1t.se this is the way walk We in
it,"
These truths will appear more man.
ifest, when we consider that the keep
ing of the commandments have to do
not only with the spiritual, but also
with the mental and physical health.
Speaking from experience, Fearing
God and putting forth efforts to keep
his commandments brings to the spir-
itual, mental and physical, the more
abundant life,. 1t is the channel thru
which this life flows and reaches the
whole man. 1t means Christ dwelling
in the heart, and consciousness of so
blessed a fact fills every crevice in our
nature, it enriches our memory, it
vivid and stimulates our imagination,
it ennobles the will power, and drives
out the power of both sin and shame;
gives us to enjoy going out among men
enjoying the nobility of true manhood
and real virtue of womanhood.
In the language of another sanity
man of God.-if we fear God and keep
his commandments, we live in the en-
ioyment of the thought that our God
given personality is crowned with an
Identity that is indestructible, and
with a sense of destiny, that is mex
f ineHishable and eternal
Thus it is, the True Religion gives
us peace that surpasses hill UNDERSTAND
ding, Joy that not always, but at times
is unspeakable; to enjoy the sweet
ness of our Fathers love, the sense of
his mercy, and the joy of his, pres
ence, we must pay the price; the
terms are rigid, but a soul-rest given
in return is worth all the struggles it
may cost When passing through
some ordeal. or having an experience
that is puzzling to our brains and like
Jesus on the cross, we cried Father
why hast Thou forsaken me- with our
problems unsolved, how comforting it
is to know that Our Fathers chief
concern is our souls eternal salvation.
1t is in such experiences we can read
lily see that our proper attitude is sub
to God. with faith that ena-
bles us to believe that in some way
"all things work together for good to
them that love the Lord"
A beautiful illustration of this per-
feet submission as being one of the
indispensable requisites whereby we
are to keep the commandments, was
given me only last sabbath after at
tending divine worship.
Journeying along New York boule-
ward, noticed several beautiful
homes. l entered into one of these
lovely homes, where resided one of
Gods dear children. l had learned
that she was greatly enjoying the Ser
monettes given to the readers of 'The
Pleasantville Press. In our CONVEX
sation l could both see and feel that
there was spiritual radiancy, it glis-
tened in the eye, it was in the tune of
voice, and was independent of words;
for the facial expression told the story
that Christ was within. With the
still beaming, with tears
dimming her sight finally coursing
down her cheeks, she related to me
the story as to how deaths angel had
come into the garden and had taken
out a precious Rosebud, and had
it into the garden on the
other side, where flowers never fade,
leaves never wither, and Loved Ones
never die. The climax was reached
when with fresh tears coming more
freely she said: But God knows best,
and l know that my boy is safe in
glory and shall see him again"
It was enough, submission was per-
feet. We Immediately went into pray