CanTherebeUnity
subject of happiness. I ask special attention to each one of them. And I pray the Spirit of God will apply it to all the souls of those who read this paper. 1. Let me point out some things which are absolutely essential to happiness. 2. Let me expose some common mistakes about the way to be happy. 3. Let me show the way to be truly happy. 1. First of all I have to "point out some things which are absolutely essential to true happiness." Happiness is what all mankind wants to obtain: the desire of it is deeply planted in the human heart. All men naturally dislike pain, sorrow, and discomfort. All men naturally like ease, comfort, and bliss. All men naturally hunger and thirst after happiness. Just as the sick man longs for health, and the prisoner of war for liberty—just as the parched traveler in hot countries longs to see the cooling fountain, or the ice—bound polar voyager the sun rising above the horizon—just in the same way does poor mortal man long to be happy. But how few consider what they really mean when they talk of happiness! How vague and indistinct and undefined the ideas of most men are on the subject! They think some are happy who in reality are miserable: they think some are gloomy and sad who in reality are truly happy. They dream of a happiness which in reality would never satisfy their nature's wants. Let me try this day to throw a little light on the subject. True happiness "is not perfect freedom from sorrow and discomfort." Let that never be forgotten. If it were so there would be no such thing as happiness in the world. Such happiness is for angels who have never fallen, and not for man. The happiness I am inquiring about is the kind that a poor, dying, sinful creature may hope to attain. Our whole nature is defiled by sin. Evil abounds in the world. Sickness, and death, and change are daily doing their sad work on every side. In such a state of things the highest happiness man can attain to on earth must necessarily be a mixed thing. If we expect to find any literally perfect happiness on this side of the grave, we expect what we will not find. True happiness "does not consist in laughter and smiles." The face is very often a poor index of the inward man. There are thousands who laugh loud and are merry in the company of others, but are wretched and miserable in private, and almost afraid to be alone. There are hundreds who are solemn and serious in their demeanor, whose hearts are full of solid peace. A poet once wrote that our smiles are not worth very much, he said, "A man may smile and smile and be a villain." And the eternal Word of God teaches us that "Even in laughter the heart may ache" (Proverbs 14:13). Don't tell me of smiling and laughing faces: I want to hear of something more than that when I ask whether a man is happy. A truly happy man no doubt will often show his happiness in his face; but a man may have a very merry face and yet not be happy at all. Of all deceptive things on earth nothing is so deceptive as mere fun and cheerfulness. It is a hollow empty show, utterly devoid of substance and reality. Listen to the brilliant talker in society, and mark the applause which he receives from a company: follow him to his own private room, and you will very likely find him plunged in sad despondency. I know a man who confessed that even when he was thought to be most happy he often wished that he were dead. Look at the smiling beauty at the party, and you might suppose she never knew what it was like to be unhappy; see her the next day at her own home, and you may probably find her angry at herself and everybody else besides. No, worldly fun is not real happiness! There is a certain pleasure about it, I do not deny. There is an animal excitement about it, I make no question. There is a temporary elevation of spirits about it, I freely concede. But don't call it by the sacred name of happiness. The most beautiful cut flowers stuck in the ground do not make a garden. When ordinary glass is called diamond, and tinsel is called gold, then, and not till then can people who can laugh and smile be called happy men. Once there was a man who consulted a physician about his depression. The physician advised him to keep up his spirits by going to hear the great comic actor of the day. "You should go and hear Matthew. He will make you good." "Sorry to say, sir," was the reply, "I am Matthew himself!" To be truly happy "the highest wants of a man's nature must be met and satisfied." The requirements of his curiously wrought constitution must be all met. There must be nothing about him that cries, "Give, give," but cries in vain and gets no answer. Animals are happy as long as they are warm and fed. The little infant looks happy when it is clothed, and fed, and well, and in its mother's arms. And why? Because it is satisfied. And just so it is with man. His highest wants must be met and satisfied before he can be truly happy. All needs must be met. There must be no void, no empty places, no unsupplied cravings. Till then he is never truly happy. And what are "man's principal wants?" Does he only have a body? No: he has something more! He has a soul. Does he only have the five senses? Can he do nothing but hear, and see, and smell, and taste, and feel? No: he has a thinking mind and a conscience! Does he have any consciousness of any world but that in which he lives and moves? He has. There is still a small voice within him which often makes itself heard: "That this is not all there is to life! There is world unseen: there is a life beyond the grave." Yes! it is true. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. All men know it: all men feel it, if they would only speak the truth. It is utter nonsense to pretend that food and clothing and earthly material wealth alone can make men happy. The soul has needs. There are needs of the conscience. There can be no true happiness until these wants are satisfied. To be truly happy "a man must have sources of happiness which are not dependent on anything in this world." There is nothing on earth which is not stamped with the mark of instability and uncertainty. All the good things that money can buy are but for a moment: they either leave us or we are obliged to leave them. All the sweetest relationships in life are liable to come to an end: death may come any day and cut them off. The man whose happiness depends entirely on things here below is like him who builds his house on sand. Don't tell me of your happiness if it daily depends on the uncertainties of the earth. Your home may be rich in comforts; your wife and children may be all you could desire; your incomes may be amply sufficient to meet all your wants. But oh, remember, if you have nothing more than this to look to, that you are standing on the edge of a cliff! You joy may be deep and earnest, but it is fearfully short-lived. It has no root. It is not true happiness. To be really happy "a man must be able to look at every part of his life without uncomfortable feelings." He must be able to look at the past without guilty fears; he must be able to look around him without discontent; he must be able to look forward without anxious dread. He must be able to sit down and think calmly about things past, present, and to come, and feel prepared. The man who has a weak side in his condition—a side that he does not like looking at or considering—that man is not really happy. Do not talk to me of your happiness, if you are unable to look steadily either before or behind you. Your present position may be easy and pleasant. You may find many sources of joy and gladness in your profession, your dwelling-place, your family, and your friends. Your health may be good, your spirits may be cheerful. But stop and think quietly over your past life. Can you reflect calmly on all the omissions and commissions of by—gone years? How will they bear God's inspection? How will you answer for them at the last judgment? And then look forward and think on the years yet to come. Think of the certain end towards which you are heading; think of death; think of judgment; think of the hour when you will meet God face to face. Are you ready for it? Are you prepared? Can you look forward to these