^Sj^ j^y^wwp^^ 307i ONE of buc greatest modern think ers here chooses a winning theme. His subject is divided into eleven short, pithy chapters under such suggestive titles as "Three Kinds of Happiness," " Getting is not Always Gaining," "The Spring of Perpetual Youth," and " The Blessedness of Battle." The essays are strong, virile, and inspifed by the author's own serene optimism and pleasing style. ,rt-- PUBLISHERS* NOTE. €ttisVs Secret of l^appme00 Cl)rfet*0 Btmt of Happiness Ji3cttj gorfe Ci^omajs ^. Crotoell & Co* Put>W0i)et0 Copyright, 1907, by Thomas Y. Crowell & Co. Published March, 1907 D. B. Updike, The Merrymount Press, Boston 30*1 a. Contentjs I. Three Kinds of Happiness 3 II. Four Unfortunates 9 III. The Blessedness ofthe Poor 17 IV. The Joys of Sorrow 23 V. Getting is not always Gaining 31 VI. The Spring of Perpetual Youth 37 VII. A Twice Blessed Grace 45 VIII. The Vision of God 53 IX. The Honors of Peace 59 X. The Blessedness of Battle 67 XI. Why Are You not Happy? 75 Cfitee l&mD0 of ^appme00 II LESSED are the poor in spirit : for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn : for they shall be com forted. Blessed are the meek : for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after right eousness : for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful : for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart : for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers : for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake : for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. C^t(0t*0 Secret of 1$avpinm i Cfjtee f&inns of JDappine00 HERE are three kinds of happiness: pleasure, joy, blessedness. Pleasure is the happiness of the animal na ture ; joy, of the social nature ; bless edness, of the spiritual nature. Pleasure we share with the animals, joy with one another, blessedness with God. A boy comes home at Christmas from college. At the close of the Christmas dinner he says, " Mother, I have n't had as good a dinner as this since I was home at Thanksgiving." That is pleasure. Friends come in ; there are games, dancing, quiet talks in nooks and corners ; in brief, a good time. That is joy. By and by the friends depart, the children go to their rooms, the father closes the house, the mother sits meditatively by the dying embers of the fire, Hving over the birth, the childhood, the early youth of her boy, and looking forward with a mother's hope to his future, and as her hus band comes to remind her that it is time to d)ti0t'0 retire, she draws a sigh of quiet joy, and says, Secret ofl^ap- pinpss as she reaches out to take his hand, " John, we are certainly blest in our children." That is blessedness. These three types of happiness are not in consistent. One may have them all. God does not require us to choose. The ascetic is certainly mistaken when he imagines that one must give up this world in order to enjoy the next, or sacrifice the hap piness of the body in order to have the happi ness of the spirit. God " giveth us richly all things to enjoy." He who eagerly desired to have one last social meal with his friends be fore he died did not condemn the joys of friendship. He who compared the kingdom of God to a great supper, and himself to one playing in the market-place that the children might dance to his music, did not condemn the legitimate pleasures of a social table and a healthful dance. The child of the world is equally mistaken when he imagines that to have a good time he must postpone the consecration of his life to Christ until he has exhausted the pleasures of youth. It is not true that "We followers of an injured King Are marching to the tomb." We are marching to victory, and we are fol- 4 lowers of a triumphing King. The joy of his C6ti0t'0 life should be in our hearts and the light of his %0Ct0t life on our faces. Because we are Christ's, we jjf ^gps must deny ourselves all pleasures and all joys? pini00 No ! Because we are Christ's, all things are ours : whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all are ours : all teachers, all material things, all normal activities, all present opportunities, all future expectations, and even death itself ; for if we are Christ's, death is our servant, not our master. Blessedness, joy, pleasure, are not incon sistent ; but they are always to be estimated in this order. Blessedness is better than joy ; joy is better than pleasure. For pleasure de pends on the possession of things, and things decay ; joydepends on the possession of friends, and friends die ; but blessedness depends on the possession of character, and character is immortal. The kingdom of heaven, says Paul, is not meat and drink; it is not pleasure. What then? It is righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Righteousness, or a character conformed to God's character; peace, or harmony with God and with the laws of one's own soul; and therefore joy in the Holy Spirit, that is, in healthfulness of spirit inspired by fellowship and cooperation with C{)ti0t'0 theSpiritofGod.*Thisisimmortal.The springs ^6Ct0t of this happiness are within one's own soul. Of ^ap* Pleasures belong to youth ; joys to middle ptn000 life; blessedness to old age. Therefore old age is best ; because it is the portico to a palace beautiful, where happiness is neither withered by time nor destroyed by death. Yet one need not wait for old age. He who in the prime of life has learned this secret of immortal happi ness can with Paul bid defiance to all the ene mies of happiness. He welcomes troubles as contributions to his happiness because build ers of his character : "We glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh pa tience ; and patience, experience ; and expe rience, hope : and hope maketh not ashamed ; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us." Christ's secret of happiness is character. Each quality or attribute of character has its own peculiar blessedness. To interpret this truth as it is affirmed by Jesus Christ in the Beatitudes is the object of this little volume. •Or, through a holy spirit with which we have been endowed. In Pauline use, Holy Spirit sometimes means the Spirit of God, some times the spiritual nature in man, which Paul habitually connects with the inspiration of God acting: upon man. 6 It jFout 2Infottunate0 Alas for you that are rich ! for ye have received what you have asked for. Alas for you that are filled to the full I for ye shall hunger. Alas for you laughing ones ! for ye shall mourn and weep. Alas for you when all men speak well of you 1 for so did their fathers to the false prophets. tt JFout 23nfottunatc0 jjEFORE considering Christ's con gratulations on the truly happy, found in Matthew's report of the Sermon on the Mount, it will be well to consider his lamentations over the unfor tunates of earth, reported only by Luke.* There are four classes included in these lamentations: the rich, the self-satisfied, the merry, and the popular. These are they whom most men envy. Christ pities them. Why? Jesus pities the rich, not because they are rich, but because they have received all that they asked for. The word rendered " consola tion" in the text of the Authorized Version, "Woe unto you that are rich ! for ye have re ceived your consolation," is derived from a Greek word meaning to call to one's aid, and is used in the Gospel of John to designate the Holy Spirit. Christ pities not all rich men, not Joseph of Arimathea, for example, but him who makes riches his chief good the object ofhis reverence and ofhis supreme desire. It is not the rich, but they that will be rich, who fall * Luke vL z4-ze. Ci)ti0t'0 into temptation and a snare; it is not money, ^0Ct0t but the love of money, which is a root of all evil.* Of ^ap* Alas for the man who imagines that the object Pin000 of life is to make money, and who measures his success by the amount of his accumulations; who thinks that man was created to amass ma terial things, who does not know that, material things were created to serve the higher life of true manhood ; who has been inspired not bythe enthusiasm of humanity but by the enthusiasm of accumulation. He gets the pleasures and the power which money confers, and for them he sacrifices the joy and the infiuence which life confers, and when the curtain is about to drop on the drama of his life, it is left for him to say: "And I hated all my labor wherein I labored un- I der the sun : seeing that I must leave it unto the man that shall be after me. And who knoweth I whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labor wherein I have labored, and wherein I have showed wis- : dom under the sun. This also is vanity." " If I were thou, O working bee. And all that honey-gold I see Could delve from roses easily, I would not hive it at man's door. As thou, — that heirdom of my store Should make him rich and leave me poor." • 1 Timothy vi. 9, 10. 10 Jesus pities the self-satisfied. The self-satis fied seems both to himself and to others a hap py man ; but of Paul's experience of perpetual aspiration he knows nothing. He cannot under stand the saying, "Not that I have already obtained or am already made perfect: but I press on, if so be that I may apprehend that for which also I was apprehended by Christ Jesus." He has overtaken his ideal, and can see nothing to be desired beyond what he al ready has and is. He is perfectly satisfied alike with his possessions and with his attainments. He has no interest in political reform, for his country is good enough for him as it is. He takes no interest in town or village improve ments, for he says, "What was good enough for our fathers is good enough for me." Not impossibly he says to himself, if not to his fel low-members in the Church, that he has re ceived the " second blessing " and enjoys per fect sanctification. He therefore no longer reaches forth unto those things which are before, for there is nothing before. If his or thodoxy forbids him to claim such perfect sanctification, his exercises of repentance are less a sorrow for sins that are past than a sat isfaction in his present grace of repentance. Alas for the self-satisfied man ! His peace is the peace ofdeath. When he awakes, it will be to look back upon a life without achievement II Ct)ri0t'0 Secret of^ap=pine00 Ct)ri0t'0 ^ectet ofl^ap'pme00 ; because without aspiration. It will be to con fess : I have fought no fight, I have run no race, I have had no faith to see the invisible ideal i calling me ever to go higher and yet higher. Jesus pities not all those who laugh, but those who do nothing else but laugh. He who com pared himself to one playing in the market place that the children might dance to his music, does not denounce merriment. "A merry heart doeth good like medicine." But he looks with pity upon those to whom life is only a stage on which nothing but comedy is enacted. Those who make a jest of everirthing, and who shut their eyes to everything of which they cannot make a jest ; those who have no tears for the sorrowing, no heartaches for the afflicted; those who take nothing seriously, not even themselves ; those who play the part of a king's jester in life's court, satisfied to be amusing and be amused, Christ pities. Laugh ter cannot lock the door on sorrow. Sooner or later, bidden or unbidden, sorrow will enter. He who has never known how to enter into the griefs of others, through sympathy, will not know how to endure the visit of grief when she comes to sit at his own desolate fireside. Jesus pities the popular man, the man of whom all men speak well. No man can go through this world and can live truly, honestly, and courageously without sometimes interfer- 12 ing with the schemes of the false, the dishon- Ct)ti0t'0 est, and the cowardly. By his life, if not by his ^0Ct£t words, he will rebuke the enemies of mankind ; Of ^ap= disclose their true character hidden behind pin£00 their disguises; disturb their equanimity; arouse their wrath. He who is determined that no one shall speak ill of him while he lives must expect that no one will speak well of him after he is dead. Alas for those who are content with their riches ; who are satisfied with themselves ; who can make nothing but a jest of life ; who are the successful courters of popularity ! They are not to be envied; they are to be pitied. 13 iii Cl)0 1610000011000 of tb0 Poot Blessed are the poor in spirit : for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. tii Cfi0 1610000011000 of tl)0 Poot jHAT does Jesus mean bythe king dom of heaven? I recur to Paul's definition : The kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and joy in a holy spirit.* What does Jesus mean by " the poor in spirit"? The opposite of high spirited. The poor are dependent ; the poor in spirit are those who recognize that they are dependent upon others and specifically upon God. The an cients glorified the high spirited, independent, self-willed, assertive character. These were the crown-winners, the rulers, the kings of the earth. Jesus, who delights in paradoxes, says. No! The humble, the lowly-minded, the con sciously dependent, are the truly happy. These are the true crown-winners. To them belongs the kingdom of God. For they are the ones most easily and naturally dominated by the spirit of rectitude and good will and filled with the joy of consecrated service. Self-will recognizes no other will. It acknow ledges allegiance to no higher authority. It de- * The definite article is lacking: >n the original : the meaning is a spirit consecrated to God and living in fellowship with him. 17 C{)ti0t'0 mands all and submits in nothing. Humility %0Ct0t recognizes the will of Another as its law ; it Of ^ap» says with the Master, Lo, I come to do thy pin000 will, O God ! It allies itself with God by sub mitting its will to God. Thus to humility, righ> eousness —that is, the recognition of a supe rior will and obedignce to a higher law— be comes easy, simple, natural. Thus this first gift of God to his heirs on earth, the gift of right eousness, humility eagerly welcomes. Self-will asserts its superiority. It will brook no superior ; it is impatient of all contradiction. It challenges all other wills and lives ever with its sword unsheathed. Humility sees reason in the opinions of others, has interest in their in terests, seeks their cooperation in its enter prises, and offers its cooperation in theirs. Thus this second gift of God to his heirs on earth, the gift of peace, humility gladly welcomes and sedulously cultivates. Self-will is self-centered and self-seeking. It is neither willing to stoop to serve nor to stoop to receive service ; it will neither wash another's feet nor allow another to wash its own. For it prides itself upon its independence, and is alike irritated whether it fails to possess or whether it is dependent on another for its coveted possession. Self-will and joy never dwell in the same heart. Humility is alike glad i8 to serve and to be served. It can never be hu- C.|)ti0t'0 miliated, because it is already humility. If it is ^0Ct0t prosperous, it is doubly happy because it has Of !^aP' wherewith it can bestow. If it has no prosper- pin000 ity, it is happy because it rejoices in the pros perity of others. Thus this third gift of God to his heirs on earth, the gift of joy, humility, all unconscious of its coronation, accepts, and as unconsciously bestows on all around. Three messengers bearing gifts from the Father come to earth : the gifts of righteous obedience to law, peace and good will toward men, joy in a consecrated, godly life. Self-will locks and bolts the door against them all. Humility opens the door to righteousness, and peace and joy follow in the train. History interprets and confirms this truth. Says W. E. H. Lecky : "The habit of obedi ence was no new thing in the world, but the disposition of humility was preeminently and almost exclusively a Christian virtue. . . . The gentler virtues— benevolence and amiability- may, and in an advanced civilization often do, subsist in natures that are completely devoid of humility; but, on the other hand, it is scarcely possible for a nature to be pervaded by a deep sentiment of humility without this sentiment exercising a softening influence over the whole character. To transform a fierce, warlike na- m Cbli0t'0 ture into a character of a gentle type, the first ®0Ct0t essential is to awaken this feeling." of ^ap« Self-will is the spirit of autocracy: it demands pinPSS the submission of others. Humility is the in spiration of democracy: it recognizes and re spects the rights, the liberties, the opinions of others. Self-will is the inciter of war; it will have submission at whatever cost of blood and tears. Humility is the brooder of peace ; it substitutes persuasion for force; the invita tion. Let us reason together, for the challenge, Let us fight together. Self-will is the parent of social wretchedness ; it seeks only its own. Humility is the cultivator of a harvest of uni versal welfare, for it seeks not only its own welfare but the welfare of others. The spirit of arrogance and self-will, calling itself by the boasted title of independence, breeds lawlessness, war, and sorrow. The spirit of mutual respect and mutual depend ence —that is, of humility — brings righteous ness, peace, and happiness to him who pos sesses it, to the home in which he lives, and to the community which he blesses by his presence. 20 it) C60 3IciP0of^orroto Blessed are they that mourn : for they shall be comforted. in C|)0 3Io?0Of^ortoto wL IO be comforted is not the same as to be consoled. We are consoled when our grief is alleviated ; we are com forted when we are made strong through our grief. Webster says that "the meaning of comfort 'to make strong' is obso lete," but it is not obsolete in experience. William Aldis Wright, in his " Bible Word Book," says : "The idea of strengthening and supporting has been lost sight of in the mod ern usage of the word comfort, which now sig nifies 'to console.'" It ought not to be lost sight of in Christian experience. They that mourn are blessed because through sorrow they are made strong. Suffering is not punitive ; it is redemptive. It is not sent as a punishment, but as an educa tion. We are perfected in character in the school of suffering. It was Paul's conception of this truth that enabled him to say : " We glory in tribulations also: knowing that trib ulation worketh patience ; and patience, expe rience ; and experience, hope ; and hope mak eth not ashamed ; because the love of God is 23 C&ri0t'0 ^0cret of^ap=pin000 shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." There are some les sons which can be learned only in the school of suffering ; there are some virtues which can be formed only in the fire. How could one ac quire courage if he never confronted danger? How could one acquire patience if he never bore burdens? How could one acquire pity if he was never allowed to see the suffering of others? There are three ways in which we may meet sorrow: as the Epicurean, who counts sorrow an evil and flies from it if he can ; as the Stoic, who counts sorrow as evil and conquers it by his pride if he can ; or as Paul, who counts sorrow as God's angel and asks. What gift does he bring to me from heaven? But sorrow does not only make us strong ; it ordains us to a strength-giving ministry. " The God of all comfort," says Paul, "comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are com forted of God." He imparts strength and cour age to us through danger that we may en courage others ; patience to us through bur den-bearing, that we may inspire others with patience. There are three ways in which we may serve our fellow-men — at least three. We may min- 24 ister to their material wants, as Christ fed the C|)ti0t'0 hungry in the wilderness. This is the first and ^0Ct0t the simplest way. We may teach them the of ©ap- truths of life, as Christ taught them in the pin000 synagogue and in the fields; this is the sec ond and the more difficult and higher ministry. We may enter into their lives and bear with them and for them, vicariously, the conse quences of their own transgressions, as Christ bore them for us in his passion and in his cross. This is the highest and most difficult of all. " I rejoice in my sufferings for you," says Paul, " and fill up that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh, for his body's sake, which is the church." The passion of Christ is a perpetual passion, and we enter into Christ's ministry as we become sharers in that passion with him. Who would live in a world of tears and be always dry-eyed? Who would live in a world of sorrow and never know sorrow? Blessed are they that mourn, because in their sorrow they can, if they will, strengthen those that sorrow, sharing their grief and bear ing their burden for them. But sorrow not only develops the highest phases of character and endows for the high est form of service ; it also furnishes the su preme revelation of God. We know him best when we know him as the Comforter; that is, the Strength-Giver. Through the hour of sor- 25 d)ti0t'0 row he enters most into the very interior of ^0Ct0t our lives. We know our best friends only when of ^ap* we walk with them through their Valley of pin000 the Shadow of Death, and theywith us through our dark valley. We know God best only when he is our Companion in our tears ; when we see him in the darkness ; when he is with us in the furnace of fire. "As one whom his mother comforted, so will I comfort thee," says Jehovah. Did you ever notice how a mother comforts her sobbing child? The father stands by his side, brushes off the dirt which has come upon his clothes from the fall, and counsels him to be brave. The mother picks him up, holds him to her breast, stills his sobbing by her strange hypnotic power, pours her own life into his, and in a moment or two he is looking up into her sympathetic face with a smile through his tears. She has given to him her strength to meet his trouble. So God com forts his child. He takes us to himself, and we never see him so plainly or understand him so well as when he reveals himself to us in the chamber of sorrow. Thrice blessed are they that mourn if they know how to take from God's angel of sorrow the benediction which he brings. They grow strong with a divine strength under his up raised hand ; they minister to the world through their passion as Christ ministered by his pas- 26 sion, or rather, let me say, Christ ministers to Ct)ri0t'0 the world by their passion, which he shares ^0Ct0t with them ; and they come into the secret place Of J^ap= ofthe Most High, and abide under the shadow ptn000 of the Almighty. " Deem not that they are blest alone Whose days a peaceful tenor keep ; The God who loves our race has shown A blessing for the eyes that weep." 27 (S0ttin0 is jQot aitDap0 (Sainitig Blessed are the meek : for they shall inherit the earth. t) ©0tting i0 Bot aitoap0 aaining: fHE cynic laughs this statement to scorn. Is it the meek, he says, who have the great fortunes; who pos sess the boundless estates ; who are the multi-millionaires; who are the lords ofthe earth? Are the coal magnates, the railroad barons, the trust kings, remarkable for their meekness? Stop a moment, my cynical friend, and re read Christ's saying. He does not say that the meek shall acquire the earth, but that they shall inherit it. What we acquire comes to us as the result of our endeavor — often of our strenuous endeavor. Not infrequently the greedy and the grasping, the callous and the selfish, the ambitious and the self-assertive, acquire the earth ; but they never inherit it. We inherit what comes to us without seeking, without effort, and often without even any expectation on our part. The inheritance is a free gift. The unmeek often get possession of the earth, but only the meek inherit it. '* Sel fish men," says John Woolman, " may possess the earth ; it is the meek alone who inherit it 31 Cf)ti0t'0 from the heavenly Father, free from all defile- ©0Ct0t ments and unrighteousness." of l^ap* Have you not met the grasping man on a pin000 journey? On the arrival of the train at the sta tion he makes his way to the front, careless of the women and children whom he pushes to one side ; he gets the first seat in the hotel omnibus, or is the first to drive away in a cab from the station ; he succeeds in putting him self at the head of the waiting line at the hotel desk, not infrequently crowding himself in before meeker and less assertive men ; he de mands the best room in the hotel and often gets it. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, they have their reward." But I have noticed that this man never enjoys his journey. He is a chronic grumbler. He finds no pleasure and he finds a multitude of faults. He may possess the earth, and he often does, but he never in herits it. He gets, but he does not gain. Such an experience is symbolic of the larger experience of the journey of life. The eager and the grasping often possess, but they rarely enjoy. An artist who has capacity to appreciate, but not money to buy a single picture, inherits more in the public art gallery than the greedy Philistine who purchases pictures but never really possesses them. John Burroughs, with his few acres on the banks of the Hudson, has really more of the earth than a multi-million- 32 aire who owns hundreds of acres which he has Cbti0t'0 rarely time to visit, and who does not know the ^0Ct0t difference between a maple and an elm, or be- Of !^ap= tween the song of the thrush and the chirp of pin000 the English sparrow. Doubtless there are men who both acquire and possess ; men who can enjoy the pictures they have purchased and the mountain ranges which they own. But in general it is safe to say that the pleasure of life is in an inverse ratio to the amount of en ergy expended in the mere processes of acqui sition, and this for a very simple reason : the processes of acquisition have absorbed all the time and energy, and neither time nor energy has been left for the processes of self-culture. _^^^ Would Jesus, then, discourage effort, para lyze endeavor, forbid the strenuous life, chill ambition and aspiration, make sluggish the blood of enthusiasm? No ; he was himself, in the noblest sense of the term, an enthusiast. His life was a strenuous one. Rarely in hu man history has any individual crowded as^ much into three years as did he. But his en ergy was expended in service for others, not in acquisition for himself. His life interprets his teaching. What he seems to me to say is this : Put all your ambition, all your enthu siasm, into the work of service. Make it the aim of your life to leave the world better and happier because you have lived in it, and take 33 Ci)li0t'0 without greed or grasping what the world will ^0Ct0t Si^e you of service in return. It may give you Of l^aP' roses or it may give you thorns ; it may give pinPSS yo" ^ crown or it may give you a cross ; it may hail you as a king or it may crucify you as a malefactor ; it may sometimes do the one and it may sometimes do the other ; but this does not much matter. What matters is achieve ment, not acquisition. If you pursue this course, you will inherit the earth. For this spirit finds more joy in poverty than self-seeking finds in wealth ; more joy in the cross than self-seek ing finds in the coronation. If you possess this spirit, you may get less than your greedy neigh bor, but you will gain more. The mind wholly given to the work of service will do better work than the mind divided between the ques tion of service and of acquisition, and to such a spirit the better the service the better if not the greater the compensation, for always the greater the happiness. 34 Di C60 ©pting of P0rp0tual ^outb Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness : for they shall be filled. Di Cf)0 Spring of P0tp0tual ^outft lUNGER and thirst a condition of happiness? Yes. A good appetite is the first condition of an enjoyable meal. "As cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country." The cold water is delicious because of the thirst ; the good news is a delight because love has had a great longing to hear. The secret of all happiness is desire and somewhat that satisfies the desire. If there is no desire for food, the food is sent away un- tasted. If there is no desire for the love that is proffered, the love is repellent. What more odious than the caresses that are not wished for ? Not to desire is to be dead. To desire and not obtain is to be disappointed. To desire and have no hope of attaining is to despair. Blessed are those whose supreme desire is for divineness of character, for three reasons: I. They can be perfectly certain that their de sire will be satisfied. One may desire pleasure, wealth, position, honor, influence, and be dis appointed. One may desire scholarship, and yet be denied all opportunity to acquire scholar- 37 C!)ti0t'0 ship. One may desire a life of great usefulness, %0Ct0t and yet be condemned to spend his life in an Of !^ap= invalid's chamber, dependent on the service of pin000 others, when he longs to be serving. But no thing can prevent the attainment of his su preme desire if that desire is for righteousness. He may attain it in the palace of wealth or in the hut of poverty ; in the academy with the learned, or in the field or factory with the manual toil ers ; in the life of highest service as states man or teacher or preacher, or as an invalid, denied all share in the world's activities. There are two promises which, as God's own angels, accompany the one whose hunger and thirst are for righteousness. One, this: "I shall be satisfied when I awake in thy likeness." All the longings of the soul that it may be found at the last without spot, or wrinkle, or blemish, or any such thing, shall be satisfied. The other, this: "He shall see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied." Christ's hunger and thirst for his loved one will be filled. When his work is done, his aspirations for his disciple will be all answered. He will look upon the work of his redeeming love, as God in the beginning looked upon the work ofhis creative love, and will say of the soul he has made his own, It is very good. II. Life might almost be defined as the pursuit of some desired object. The higher the desire, 38 if it is satisfied, the greater the joy of life. A Ct)t^i0t'0 good appetite and a good meal give pleasure. ^0Ct0t A desire for beauty and a beautiful picture give Of l^ap= a higher pleasure. A desire for a useful life and pin000 an open door of opportunity give a pleasure still higher. Highest of all is the desire for godlikeness and fellowship with God, the de sire of love for him and the gladness which the assurance of his love brings. This was the joy of Paul when he sang his psalm of victory: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteous ness." Not a crown which righteousness will confer, but the coronation of character. This was the joy of Jesus when, as he turned from his disciples to go out through the dark doors of Gethsemane and Calvary, he said: "Father, I have glorified thee on the earth : I have fin ished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." What was this glory but the glory of a godlike character? Than this there is no higher blessedness. It is the blessed ness of those who hunger and thirst after righteousness ; of those who can say with their Master, "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work." III. They that hunger and thirst after right- 39 €bri0t'0 ^0Ct0t Of !^ap^ pin000 eousness are satisfied but never satiated. "To satisfy," says Webster, " is to appease fully the longings of desire ; to satiate is to go further and fill so completely that it is not possible to receive or enjoy more. What satisfies gives us pleasure; what satiates produces disgust." Thus one may be satisfied without being sati ated, and, whalt is curious, one may be satiated without being satisfied. The ancient Romans, satiated with their feast, took an emetic that they might return to the table and resume the feast. The covetous man is satiated with his wealth, yet not satisfied ; at the same moment he cynically declares that his wealth makes him no better off than his neighbor, and devises plans for adding to it. The ambitious man af firms that " uneasy lies the head that wears a crown," and reaches out to get another to put on top of it. But spiritual desires grow by what they feed upon. Their satisfaction never becomes satiety. The visit of the artist to the art gallery at Dresden fills him both with delight and with an intense longing to visit the art galleries in Florence. One opera of Wagner's gives at once great satisfaction and eager desire to hear another opera. The lover of literature, whose shelves are full to overflowing with books, longs for more shelves and more books to put upon them, but he never cynically talks of lit- 40 pin000 erature as a "vanity of vanities." He who hun- Cf)ti0t*0 gers and thirsts after righteousness is domi- ^gc^gf nated by a desire which ever gives pleasure and of © aP» never gives disgust. No man who possesses character ever cynically declares that character is of no value. He who doubts the joys of purity attests by his doubts that he is not pure. The pessimistic philosophy may be epito mized thus: Life consists in the pursuit of desire. If one does not attain it, he is disap pointed. If he does attain it, he is disg^isted. Either way lies unhappiness. The only escape is Nirvana, existence without desire. The an swer of Christ to this philosophy is. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after right eousness, for they shall be satisfied. But their satisfaction will never become satiety. The ideal will grow faster than the realization. The desire will be an eternal desire, the satisfaction an eternal satisfaction. The prize of such a life is in the pursuit. The joy of such a one is the joy of perpetual attaining: "Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus." The prize in every attainment is a call to an attainment still higher. He who is mastered by a passion for righteousness has in himself the spring of perpetual youth. 41 Cf)ti0t'0 Blessed are those whose dominating desire ^CCt0t is for divineness of character in themselves and Of ^ap* i*^ their fellows, for this desire is certain to be pitl000 satisfied ; it is the supremest desire, and there fore its satisfaction gives the supremest hap piness; and it is an eternal desire, which is ever bringing satisfaction and never brings satiety. 42 m a Ctoic0 16I0000D (©tac0 Blessed are the merciful : for they shall obtain mercy. t)ii 3 CtoiC0 T610000D (Dtac0 |0 understand the deeper meaning of this aphorism some exact definition is necessary. Mercy is the highest phase of love. Justice desires to, treat every man according to his deserts; pity shares his sufferings and desires to alleviate them however they have been caused ; mercy looks upon his sin as dis ease and longs to cure it. Justice would avenge wrong-doing; pity would relieve from the pun ishment of wrong-doing; mercy would cure the wrong-doer. Justice punishes; pity par dons ; mercy forgives. For, in the New Testament use of that term, forgiveness is not merely relief from punish ment, it is deliverance from sin. The distinc tion between pardon and forgiveness is not clearly marked in language, but the distinc tion between the pity which would succor from punishment, and the mercy which would re deem from sin, is clearly marked in experi ence. When the Psalmist says, "Pardon my iniquity; for it is great," he does not mean. Because my sin deserves so great a punish- 45 Ct)ti0t'0 ment, take off the punishment altogether; ^0Ct0t what he means is. My disease is so great that Of I^ap= it is beyond my curing; do thou, O Lord, come pin000 to my succor and be my physician. Christ's saying, "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy," does not mean, "If you would be pardoned, you must be will ing to pardon ; if you would be relieved from your deserved punishment, you must be will ing to relieve your brother man from his de served punishment:" as though God said, "I will not let the wrong-doer go until he has let go the one who has wronged him." In this aphorism of Christ's is a far deeper meaning. The desire of forgiveness for ourselves and the desire of forgiveness for others are essentially one and the same desire. If we really hate the sin in ourselves and desire to be cured, we shall also hate the sin in our neighbor and desire to cure him. The same feeling respecting sin which leads us to wish to receive from another the cure will make us wish to extend to an other the cure. We cannot be forgiven, that is, delivered from our sin, unless we are willing to relinquish sin; but if we wish to relinquish the sin in ourselves, we shall also wish to de liver our neighbor from the sin which is in him. The desire to be forgiven and the desire to for give are essentially the same. There is a strange tendency to degeneracy in 46 language which indicates a degeneracy in ex- (ZDbti0t'0 perience. Faithfulness ought to mean full of ^0Ct£t faith; hopefulness, full of hope; mercifulness. Of !^ap= full of mercy. Yet, in fact, we ordinarily mean pin000 little more by merciful than a willingness to exercise mercy, as by charitable we mean a willingness to exercise charity. The Psalmist says of God, "His mercy endureth forever." He is full of mercy. It is in him an inexhaust ible spring. His power to cure is greater than our power to offend. The merciful man is in spirit like the merciful God : his mercy endur eth forever. The passion to cure sin abounds in him and overflows in him like the enthusi astic physician's passion to cure disease. The greater the disease, the greater the interest in conquering it; the greater the sin, the greater the interest in overcoming it. Punishment is to the merciful man only a means for cure, as am putation of the diseased limb is only a means for saving threatened life. He who possesses this passion for redemp tion, this curative enthusiasm, this eager long ing to be a physician ofthe morally diseased by the exercise of forgiving kindness, receives for giving kindness. In curing others he cures himself. As no man can teach the truth sin cerely and not understand the truth better be cause he teaches it, so no man can give himself to the work of purifying others without in the 47 Cf)ti0t'0 very process purifying himself. He cannot go ^0Ct0t into the slums for the purpose of inspiring men Of ^ap= and women with an ambition for cleanliness Pin000 of body, purity of soul, temperance, kindliness, unaffected piety^ without himself gaining a clearer understanding of and a greater desire for cleanliness, purity, temperance, kindliness, and unaffected piety in his own life. The way to save one's soul is to endeavor to save the souls of others. The redeemer becomes him self redeemed. There is a joy in forgiving and a joy in being forgiven. The joy of forgiving, Christ has illus trated in the Parable of the Prodigal Son: "Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." The joy of being forgiven, John has illustrated in his vision of the Celes tial City: "And they sung a new song, saying. Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." This double joy of forgiving and being forgiven be longs to the merciful man ; that is, to the man who is dominated by the desire to be cleansed himself and to cleanse other men of iniquity, to be cured himself and to cure other men of sin. 48 "The quality of mercy is not strain'd, C!)ti0t'S It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven ^0Ct0t Upon the place beneath : it is' twice blest; Of ^ap- It blesseth him that gives and him that takes : pin000 'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes The throned monarch better than his crown : H is scepter shows the force of temporal power, The attribute to law and majesty. Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings; But mercy is above this sceptered sway; It is enthroned in the hearts of kings. It is an attribute to God himself; And earthly power doth then show likest God's When mercy seasons justice." 49 toiit Cb0 '©i0ion of dDOD Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. t)iii Cb0 Bi0ioti of ®oD HERE is a great difference between knowing God and knowing about God. Two boys grow up in the same vil lage and attend the same school. The first one is the son of a shopkeeper. He leaves school at the end of the grammar-school period and enters his father's store. He loves his father, reverences his father, desires to work with his father, to be in his father's companionship, to relieve his father of burdens and of cares, to walk in his father's steps, and eventually fill his father's place in the community and keep his father's name honored. He knows his fa ther, but he has never studied moral philos ophy, and he has no theory of parental duty or filial obligation. The other boy is an orphan. He works his own way through school, then goes to college, works his way through college, then takes a postgraduate course in philos ophy, becomes a recognized authority, and teaches in some great university what is the historical origin ofthe family, how it grew up through the gradual process of evolution to the 53 Ct)ti0t'0 present status, how the animal instincts have ^0Ct0t developed in man into spiritual life, and what, of ^ap- philosophically, is the basis of parental and piVl000 filial obligation. He knows all about father hood, but he has never known a father. The first boy is Piety; the second boy is Theology. Piety knows God; Theology knows, or thinks it knows, about God. The pure in heart, says Christ, see God. So later to his disciples he says: "Whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him : but ye know him ; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." The pure in heart may not know about God ; they may have no definition of him, they may not be able to give a catalogue of his attri butes, they may not be able even to answer the question whether he is a personal God or not, they may have no knowledge which they can formulate, none which they can define. But to them God is an experience; he dwells in them ; they see God. They have gone up into the mountain-top and talked with him face to face. He is not a hypothetical Creator devised to account for the phenomenon of creation ; he is not a being proved by argumentation to exist. They maynever have read Carlyle, but his scorn of a hypothetical God expresses their profound but unexpressed feeling: "Above all things proof of a God? A probable God ! The smallest 54 of Finites struggling to prove to itself, that is to (2tf)ti0t'0 say, if we will consider it, to picture out and ar- @0Ct0t range as diagram, and include within itself, the Of ^ap- Highest Infinite ; in which, by hypothesis, it pitl000 lives, and moves, and has its being ! " Their deep est faith in a living, indwelling God, their Friend, their Great Companion, would find its expres sion in Carlyle's vigorous utterance ofhis faith : "The Eternal is no Simulacrum; God is not only There, but Here or nowhere, in that life- breath of thine, in that act and thought of thine, — and thou wert wise to look to it." To such a one, proof of a God seems as idle as proof of a mother to a child clasped in its mother's arms, or proof of love to the two lov ers who have just plighted their troth to each other. To such all argument of the question. Does God answer prayer ? seems as idle as to a child would seem the question whether he can talk with his father or not. Prayer is not a message by wireless telegraphy to some un known station, remote, invisible, from which some wireless answer may return. Prayer is not a check presented at a bank calling for money to be paid out over the counter at sight or after three days or thirty days of waiting. Prayer is the communion of spirit with spirit. The answer is a new inspiration of courage to meet danger; of patience to take up anew the burden of life ; of hope to exorcise the spirit 55 Cbri0t'0 ^0cr0t of^ap= pin000 of despair. To one who thus sees God and communes with God the companionship of the Great Companion is the most real, the most in timate, the most certain experience of his life. Into this companionship with God the soul comes not by much study, but by high and holy living. We understand our neighbor only as we feel what he feels and purpose what he purposes. We understand God only as in these sources of our being we are at one with him. Not to intellectual acumen, not to great scho larship, but to purity of intention and purity of imagination, to singleness of purpose, clean ness of thought, and tenderness of feeling, is God revealed. We come to the vision of him as we grow into oneness with him, and we grow into oneness with him by purposing what he purposes. If it is true that we shall be like him when we see him as he is, it is also true that we see him as he is only as we are like him. "Ye are," says Paul, "the temple of God; and the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. If any one shall corrupt the temple of God, him shall God bring to corruption." Whatever drives God out of his temple destroys the temple and makes it a common edifice. It is God's temple only when God dwells in it, and God dwells in it only when in aspiration if not in actual real ization, in strong desire if not always in suc cessful accomplishment, the temple is pure. 56 ir Cb0 l^onot0 of P0ac0 Blessed are the peacemakers : for they shall be called the children of God. ir Ci)0^onot0ofP0ace fHE peacemakers not only are the children of God ; they are recognized as such. Many of God's children go through the world incognito. Men may even say of them as men said of Christ, " He hath a devil." Many virtues are unappre ciated. Peacemaking the world appreciates. It recognizes the value of the peacemaker. The peacemakers are called the children of God. When at the opportune moment Theodore Roosevelt suggested to Russia and to Japan the advisability of entering into negotiations for bringing the war to a close, and succeeded by his conferences in this country with represen tatives of those nations in harmonizing their differences, and so put an end to the terrible bloodshed, the whole world honored him and the country which he represented. It is by no means certain that as much was not accom plished for the welfare of humanity by the emancipation of Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippines ; but the whole world did not re cognize this emancipation as an act divinely conceived. General Grant's saying at Appo- 59 Ct)ti0t'0 ©0cr0t ofJ^ap*pin000 mattox Court House, "Let us have peace," will live in men's memories long after that other notable saying of his, uttered in the Wil derness, " I purpose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer," has fallen into oblivion. War-making may sometimes be as divine an act as peacemaking, but its divineness is not as universally recognized. The peacemaker may make peace by inter vening to prevent war, but whether the war, be threatened or actual, whether it be between nations or individuals, such intervention is always hazardous. To make it successful re quires a clear understanding of the conditions of the war and the causes which have led to it, some measure of sympathy with both par ties, a seizure of the right moment for the in tervention, and a combination of tact and force- fulness in the execution of the peacemaker's purpose. If any one of these elements is lack ing, the peacemaker is liable to aggravate the contention which he wishes to prevent. " He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife be longing not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears," is an ancient proverb, and history abundantly justifies it. It requires at least as much skill, if not as much study, to make peace between contending parties as to conduct a war. But there are other ways of making peace. 60 One may be a peacemaker by simply refusing to fight except when duty inexorably sum mons him to the combat. It takes two to make a quarrel ; he who refuses to be one of the two is a peacemaker. So Abram made peace when he gave to Lot the choice of the land: "Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herd- men ; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left." One may make peace by possessing a spirit of peace which he diffuses about him wherever he goes. A peaceful heart in the midst of tur moil and contention is itself a peacemaker. Such a one says by his life what the Master said in words: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you." Who has not known sometimes a strong man, oftener a sainted wo man, whose very presence has diffused such an atmosphere of peace that strife and con tention die out when he enters the room? The battle of words is abated ; half-drawn swords are returned to their scabbards ; the lightning gleam dies out from the eyes ; the clenched fist relaxes, and perhaps presently the palms of the two combatants are brought together in a cordial handshake. The peacemaker has 6i €l)ri0t'0^0ctetof^ap=pin000 Cbti0t'0 made peace without knowing that he did it, ^0Ct0t but others present have known, and in their of ^ap= hearts blessed the unconscious peacemaker. pin000 Sometimes the warrior is a peacemaker. "If it be possible," says Paul, "as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." Sometimes it does not lie in us ; sometimes it is not pos sible. It did not lie in Christ to live peaceably with men who were devouring widows' houses and for pretense made long prayers ; it was not possible for such a one as Christ to live peace ably with such false pretenders. It did not lie in Washington and his compatriots to live peaceably with the oppressive Government of Great Britain ; it was not possible for them to live peaceably with the oppressors of the American colonies. It did not lie in Lincoln to live peaceably with the men who sought to sunder the Union and build an empire in the South, with slavery as its corner-stone; if he were loyal to his oath of office, it was not pos sible for him to live peaceably with those who would be the destroyers ofthe Nation. "First pure, then peaceable," is a fundamental truth, and it involves another, namely, that purity is the only sure foundation for permanent peace. The relations between Great Britain and America are the relations of a far truer peace than would have been possible had America remained a colony governed in Great Britain 62 without colonial representation. The relations C{)ti0t '0 between the North and the South are the re- ^0Cr0t lations of a far truer peace to-day than they Of l^ap* were in 1850, before the Civil War. Generals pin000 Lee and Grant were truer peacemakers than Millard Fillmore and James Buchanan. The compromise-maker is not always a peace maker. To be a true peacemaker one must know when to fight as well as when to abstain from fighting. Blessed is he who has the vision to see the appropriate moment and the tact to success fully intervene in a pending controversy and secure peace ; who yields his own rights in non essentials that he may gain his right to a peaceable life with his neighbor; who has in his heart such a spirit of good will to all men, with such a spirit of justice and fair-dealing, that he carries with him wherever he goes a peacemaking atmosphere; who has the wis dom to know when compromise and wjien non-compromising insistence on the right will lead to a permanent peace founded upon right eousness. Such a man is always honored among his fellow-men, because the achieve ment of such peacetriaking is recognized by all men as a divine achievement. 63 r Cbe 16l000eDne00 of T6attl0 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake : for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. r Cl)0 1610000011000 of 'Battl0 jlHE kingdom of heaven is like a seed growing secretly: first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. In this growth are immaturities and imperfections which time alone can cure. We must not expect that the kingdom of God will immediately appear ; we must await the slow processes of growth. And if this parable were a complete interpretation ofthe kingdom of God, we might leave time and growth to overcome all obstacles and cure all imperfec tions. But the kingdom of God is also as a field in which an enemy has sown tares. Sin is not merely imperfection. It is not merely an imma turity which time will correct. It is deliberate, willful, intentional, malignant hostility to right eousness and peace and joy in holiness of spirit. There is a difference between an apple that is green and an apple that has a worm at the core. Growth will cure the greenness. But the worm will grow with the growth of the fruit. There is a difference between the raw ness of a growing boy and the deliberatewick- 67 Cbti0t'0 edness of a mature rascal. Time and patience ^0Ct0t will cure the one ; they will only foster and Of ^ap= promote the other. There are children born in Piri000 our homes and immigrants landing on our shores whose greatest need is education ; but there are also in our country enemies of right eousness, who need not to be taught, but to be fought. There are men who grow rich by robbery; there are others who fatten by foster ing the appetites and passions of their fellow- men — despoilers of manhood and woman hood. "Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth. Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil ; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness ; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight ! Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink : which justify the wicked for a reward, and take away the righteousness ofthe righteous from him !" All these men are in America. Time and patience will not eradi cate them nor counteract their scheming. Per suasions will not divert them. They must be met, exposed, fought. Strength of righteous ness must be arrayed against strength of greed and vice. And in the battle which ensues sol- 68 diers must expect to receive blows as well as to give them. As in the community, so in our children and in ourselves. There are imperfections and im maturities which time and patience will cor rect, faults which we shall outgrow. But there are also vices and sins which will grow with our growth and strengthen with our strength unless we destroy them, and which it were best for us to strangle in their infancy. The children in Laocoon's arms if left alone will grow from childhood to manhood ; but when the serpent comes up out of the sea to kill both him and them, Laocoon must summon all his strength to destroy the serpent in a life-and- death struggle. It is for this reason that the kingdom of God is won only by those who dare persecution. Life is a growth ; but it is also a battle. And the battle is won only by the brave. A lazy wish for the kingdom of righteousness and peace and joy in holiness of spirit will accom plish nothing. Patient waiting will never van quish Goliath ; he will be conquered only by the youth who dares hazard everything in an en counter. It is for this reason that, in his list of the graces that go to make up a true charac ter, Peter puts courage second: "Add to your . faith virtue," that is, valor. It is for this reason that Christ so often declares it essential to dis- 69 Cbti0t'0^ccr0tof J^ap^ pin000 €f)ti0t'0 %0cr0t ofJJ)ap'pin000 cipleship. "And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, Whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple." Pilate wished to save Christ; he tried to save Christ; but when he saw that he must either sacrifice him self or the innocent man before him, he sacri ficed the innocent that he might save himself; and his name has gone down to infamy with the names of Judas Iscariot and Caiaphas. The days of battle are not over. Only now Persecution has changed his name: he calls himself Prudence. He whispers to the editor. Do not call evil that which public sentiment calls good, nor call that bitter which public sentiment calls sweet, or your subscription list will be cut down. He whispers to the politi cian. Do not antagonize the corruptionist, for he controls the machine, and you will lose your nomination and be put out of politics. He whispers to the man in the market-place, Why not lay field to field and house to house? This is success; and nothing succeeds like success. He whispers to the preacher. Be tactful, be considerate, be gracious to those that are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight, or you will lose your influence. And this voice of Prudence drowns the voice of the Master counseling editor, statesman, mer chant, preacher: Blessed are they that are per- 70 secuted: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. C.i)ri0t'0 Every man should seek counsel of two coun- ^0Ct0t selors: Courage and Caution. He should ask of ^ap= Courage, What shall I do? He should ask pin000 Caution, How shall I do it? Shall I give battle to the greed that lays field to field till there be no place, to the truckling that calls evil good and good evil, to the self-complacency that makes the Pharisee wise in his own eyes, to the self-indulgence that is mighty to drink and to mingle strong drink for others, to the corruption which justifies the wicked for a re ward? Let Courage answer that question. How shall I arm myself for this battle? how array my forces to give hope of victory ? Let Caution answer that question. If all the com bativeness which Christians have employed in their conflicts with one another had been em ployed in battle against the common foe, and all the caution which has been exercised in restraining Christians from hazarding a battle against the common foe had been exercised in planning the campaign against him, the kingdom of God would be much nearer its realization on earth than it is to-day. In such a campaign no man should enlist who does not expect to suffer and who does not dare to die. If he is not willing to have his deeds misreported, his utterances misunder stood, his motives maligned, his reputation 71 Cbti0t'0 blackened, his livelihood threatened, he does ^0Ct0t °°t belong in the army. The kingdom of God of ^ap= will never be won save by those who are will- pin000 i"S *° suffer for it. "The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord." 72 ri mbp at0 gou Bot l^apppf These things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be fulL ri aaitjp ar0 gou ii3ot J^appgf IRE you happy ? If not, why not? You 1 ought to be ; it is your own fault if you are not. It is not your fault that I you have few or no pleasures. But if you have the right character, you will have blessedness; for blessedness belongs to char acter. If you have not blessedness, that is your fault. You have great ambitions? If you had mil lions, what good you would do with them in promoting missions, endowing hospitals, edu cating the ignorant, succoring the suffering! If you had eloquence, how you would plead the cause of human rights ; how eloquent for the dumb who cannot speak for themselves! If you had the pen of a ready writer, how you would inspire men with your fancies or guide them in wise courses by your counsels ! But you have none of these things. Your ambition is a great heartache. True! but you can have, if you will, the kingdom of God — righteous ness, peace, and joy in holiness of spirit. Your life can be a silent standard to all men and women who come in contact with you. Your 75 (iLbtiSViS spirit of peace can diffuse itself, making you ^0Cr0t an unconscious peacemaker wherever you go. of ^ap* Your joy and fellowship with your Father can pin000 make your life a song in the night and a glad ness in the sunshine. Perhaps sorrows have overwhelmed you. You have followed to the grave your best beloved. You have entered into the experience of Job and known in succession poverty, the anguish of a stricken affection, and the pains of an in curable disease. Still you can have happiness. "Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted." Your sorrow is meant to be a strength-giver to you and to equip you for giving strength to others. You are called by your Gethsemane to render the highest ser vice which one can ever render in the kingdom of God : the service of filling up that which is lacking of the affiictions of Christ in the world's redemption. Christ called his three favorite disciples to watch outside while he wrestled in agony within the Garden. He calls you to share with him in that wrestling; could he give you greater honor ? Could he bring you into closer fellowship ? You are poor. You have aesthetic tastes, but can buy no pictures ; literary tastes, but can buy no books; you are a lover of nature, but can have no garden. But possession is not en joyment, and enjoyment does not depend upon 76 possession. The Corinthian Christians were Cbri0t'0 poor. Not many wise, nor mighty, nor noble ^0cr0t in that city were called to discipleship. But it Of l^ap= was to these poor outcast Christians Paul pin000 wrote: "All things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come ; all are yours." You are imperfect; you are not the man you would wish to be; you fail to accomplish what you are eager to accomplish ; you are full of faults and painfully conscious of them. No thing in the Book of Common Prayer appeals to you more than the General Confession: "We have left undone tliose things which we ought to have done ; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done; and there is no health in us." But still you can hun ger and thirst after righteousness. Like Paul, you may not have overtaken, but like Paul you can press forward toward the mark for the prize yet to be attained. And this forever desiring and never being satisfied, forever aspiring and never attaining, forever hungering and thirst ing and never being so filled but that the hun ger and thirst still continue, this also is to be blessed. Not the Pharisee with his "God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are," but the publican with his "God, be merciful to me a sinner," is the happier man. The pursuit 77 pin000 Cbti0t'0 °f lif^ is itself life's highest prize. ^0Ct0t ^°" ^^^^ many enemies. You have been OfI&ap= cheated, misrepresented, slandered, cruelly wronged. Then you can gloriously forgive. You can be full of mercy as your Father is full of mercy, and, in the immortal spirit of loving kindness and tender mercy which no evil in flicted upon you is able to destroy, you can find a joy like that of Him of whom it was said, "He shall see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied." You have scholarly instincts and scholarly aspirations, but you have never enjoyed any opportunity for scholarship. The daily duty which has sometimes been also a daily drudg ery has consumed all your time. You are a wage-earner finding it difficult to earn more than the daily bread for your family; a mother, all your time and thought and energy absorbed by your children ; a business man with means to purchase books but with no leisure to use them. You sometimes say to yourself, I would exchange all the joys of life I possess for the joy of knowledge. But the joy of the highest of all knowledge is within your reach. What is it to know science but to know the God who is in nature? What is it to know history but to know the God who is shaping the destiny of mankind and working out the kingdom of heaven on the earth ? What is it to know lit- 78 erature but to know the life of humanity and Cbti0t'0 of God who dwells in humanity? But it is not ^gct0t to the scholars that life brings the promise, of ©ap- "They shall see God." It is to the pure in heart. nin000 Working in your shop, carrying the burdens of your children in the nursery, driven by the necessities of a business which your neighbors think you are driving, you can still cultivate that purity of heart which sees God. Piety is not the prerogative of leisure. Abraham was a busy farmer, David a soldier and a states man absorbed in affairs of state, Paul a mis sionary on whom came the care of all the churches daily. The experiences of God which were theirs you may also possess. You have a strenuous life. No outcry of the past appeals to you more than this: "O that I had wings like a dove, for then I would fly away and be at rest." But this is not permitted to you. You are surrounded by clamorous children and by perpetually recurring house hold cares, or you are in the competitions of a business which, in its incessant demands upon you, resembles a battlefield, or you are en gaged in political life fighting enemies of your country, and required to be always wary and generally belligerent. But it is not necessary to fly away in order to rest. A man may pos sess the spirit of peace while he is environed by war; he may dwell in peace though the 79 (Cbti0t'0 clamor of arms is outside of his tent or though ^0Ct0t the whirl of a thousand spindles is in his fac- Of J^ap= tory. A woman may be at peace though chil- pin000 dren are clinging to her skirts and clamoring their beseechings in her ears. It was just as Jesus Christ had come from the vituperative mob in the Temple, and was going to the more violent outcries of the mob before Pilate's* judgment seat, that he said, "My peace I give unto you: let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." You suffer from flagrant injustice, your words are misrepresented, your actions misunder stood, your motives maligned. Others who have done little and dared less step in before you and take life's prizes. Perhaps even your best friends misunderstand, if they do not misinterpret, you. What then? Have you never read, "The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his Lord"? "Blessed are they that are persecuted for righteousness' sake." For it is only by the resolution that triumphs over obstacles and the courage that faces danger and endures injustice that the kingdom of God is won. Are you happy? If not, why not? Blessedness belongs to character. Whatever your circum stances, if you have the right character you will have blessedness. YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY DEPOSITED BY THE LINONIAN AND BROTHERS LIBRARY ^''\:i%\^'''t^ 4,