Notes of Sermon Preached at Union Church on Sunday, March 2%, 1927, by Rev. Alfred Gandier, D.D., of Knox Colle; ge, Toronto "Now the God of hope fill you yo may abound in hope through the with all peace and joy in Him, that power of the Holy Ghost:"—Romans In the years which have followed the great war earnest-minded peoplo have been tempted to discouragement, and sometimes almost to dsapair. The crushing of Prussian militarism did not usher in the mil-onium, as some people seemed to hope. Liberty and equality did not} bring fraternity, The lust of power, of wealth and of pleasure still dominates the minds of men,. Selfab greed; national ambitions, race pre-that caused theprul Wwar—have all persisted and still persist in the world to-day. It is true that certain ancient tyrannies came tottering to he gr und, that a ow freedom came to oppressed peoples, and that in more than one part of the world the mighty were dragged down from their seats and those of low degree exalted; and yet too many instances the occupants: of the seats of the mighty proved themselves just as selfish, just mean, just' as high-handed and hateful and cruel as those who once oppressed them. We have learned thave is no hope for the betterment of lifs by any mere outward change of government or economic system, fand that hateful and brutish men will wrong each other under any Joun of government, or even without any form of government.
China's also Hopes And to-day in this great land of] Ching, when it, countless millions re. fast beginning to rise out of dept ne SE thee Rardabip rope after something better, there jooms 8 danger of their being ceived by false hopes, and being Ted to think of their ' best friends ans their enemies and to. spam those who "have come to them -aympathy and in love. Two Maya ago a man of groat" ability fand. greatly beloved, the president bf the Nanking Christian University, who like many others and given the Dest years of his life to bring en-Ughtenment to this people and help China find herself, was murdered Ly fen who, like the soldiers who rocified Christ, know not what they id. As one looks at things on the Guréace there seems much that Hhat suses ib that in China mi tors has been largely in vain and Phot the Church has poured out blood and treasure in this lax purpose, It is a bitter ex-Berience when men and women who @uring 10, 20, 90 or even 40 years Ihave given their best days in umelfish wor vice for the good of a people Bre driven out, and with such axicnees we teem to have come to the place where appearances are against us, and where we must ehher give up all hope or fall back pon God in a great faith. The rords of the text surely come with Gomnfore to us at such a time. The Apostle Paul, when he uttered them, must have had in mind such an ex-Perience ax that through which we ye passing in these days: and when Speaking of "the abounding hopo"—the hope that surmounts all dificult that pierces. all barriers and floods one's life with love—he was giving an illustration of which he Eimeelt was a shining example. If there is any one phrase that charac-arites the life of St. Paul it is the one la which he speaks of "rejoiefug in hope." He was never daunted, He knew the bitter results of in-Bratude and of unrequited affection on the part of those among whom hho Iaboured and whom he tried to torve, and yet amidst it all he was able to urge himself and his fol-Towers to peace and joy in God, that they might abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.