Year: 1859

| nifty becomes Jne more desirable when 1t IS
remembered that it is only when we are
fearless of the future that we may enjoy
the present. The lamb doomed to slaugh-
ter on the morrow gambols and rejoices in
freedom to-day, because it is fearless of the
future. The birds sings, the insect hams
with the joy that is in it, the kitten frisks
upon the carpet, not because they are not
subjects to pain and death, but because,
knowing nothing Of them, they have no
fear of them. A fearlessness of the future
identical with this cannot be ours, and the
fact is proof of our higher destiny, but a
fearlessness of the future which will render
our life happier than theirs may be acquir-
ed, by preparation to meet the future
Life is only an estimahle blessing to him
who, prepared to meet the future, and who
comprehending bis position and the mean.
ing Of it, is not afraid of the future.


The shadowy future-ah how many
shudder when they think of it How
many shrink from even the thought of it |!
How it poisonS every present delight, and
embtters every pleasure, and haunts every
hour Of hollow mirth l declare this to
be utterly unnecessary-even inexcusable.
|
of sorrow and pain, and shrink from world
in which it shall be done away with if we
are only manly enough to get ready for it |
Accepting our life as an experiment. pe-
riod OF educaton-entering into the plan
by which we are to be fitted for everlasting
happiness and safety, and suhjecting our
selves to the necessary disciplne-we lift
the great shadow from us the phantom of
the future retires, and calm in our trust we
live in the present life Of enjoyment No
man can enjoy life in its full blessed meas
ure until this tormenting fear be cast out /;
and it can never be cast out by rational
man until the future looks safe to him.
The moment the future is taken care of,
present trials seem small and present joys
are lifted to our lips, their divine aroma un-
alloyed


The tendency Of religious instruction and
of philosophical speculation has been to
mystify us all upon this problem of evil in
the world Our preachers have talked SOL
emnly upon the subject of "reconciing" the
existence of evil with the infinite love and
goodness of God as if the belief in this
goodness and the recognition of this evil in
the ordained system of things, we're to be
regarded separately, with an unbridged
gulf Of darkness between them. Thread
ing that darkness, fathoms below sight,
there is supposed to be chain of golden
links, holding one to the other, to be ap
pretended only by an irrational faith Such
teaching and such speculation are full oi
miserable infdellty. l, for one, believe in
the infinite love and goodness of God. l
plant myself on them, aud / believe that
could not be shaken from my foothold with
out the wish that l might plunge into an
utilization. On this firm rock l take my
stand, and, without seeking to reconcile
the evil which enters into my expert ence
and comes within observ alton, with Gods
love and goodness l seek nationally to ac-
count for the evil as an appointed means
of the infinite love and goodness. / know
God is good, or He is no God and l be-
lieve, as a natural consequence that 1 am
to be raised into assimilation with the spe-
cifc quality of His goodness by rational
knowledge OF, and experimental acquaint-
ance with, evil. call that infdeity, and
not faith, which makes of the existence of
evil bliud mystery, to be mournfully ac-
cepted, and sacredly kept from the hand
and eye of reason. 1t makes no difference
what events and what destinies hinge upon
the existence of evil here it matters moth
ing what sufferings, what woes, what sor-
rows assail us ; the moment we swing
loose, by the smallest remove, from perfect
trust in the infinite love and goodness, and
a belief in the benign ministry of evil as a
! department OF their means, we loose .our
hold upon the meaning of our life


Believing in Gods goodness and His in
finite and everlasting love, l believe in evil,
as part of the divinely appointed means
by which my soul is to be educated and
disciplined for its highest possible destiny
as a means rendered necessary by my ma
ture and by my destiny. 1 believe that il
now, in my souls infancy, make my ac-
quaintance with evil, and grow up through
| it into my souls Misunderstanding its re-
lations to divine law and to my own person
al, God-like freedom-that l shall be safe
through the infinite ages that stretch before
me. shall not be like the angels who
lost their first estate, and plunged, full
aedged, from nights of heavenly power into
an Infamous perdition. God might as we'll
have given me my infancy in heaven as here,
if evil had no ministry Of good for me. |
might as well have been ushered at once in
to the spiritual life, as to have been the ten
ant of death doomed body, if there had
been nothing to be gained by probationary
subsection to the power of evil.


So l take my life as find it, as life
full of grand advantages that are linked in
dssolubly to my noblest happiness and my
everlasting safety. belive that infinite
love ordained it, and that, if bow willing
ly, tractably and gladly to its discipline, my
Father will take care Of it, say nothing
here of the Christian scheme because l
choose to discuss this single question by it.
SELF


Now, what wish to say. is this that
man who decides that God is ifntely
good, that he was born into a world of evil
because it was on the whole best for him to
be born into such world, that evil has a
ministry for him essential in the nature Of
things to his highest destiny and his com
plete safety, and, with faith and confidence,
accepts his lot and makes the most of it,
has nothing to fear in the future, and moth
ing to hinder his enjoyment of the present.
I Epon, cuoh a man tho innnhuo Of dark f,t-