^ Froude reminds us how bright and happy and even humorous were the great heroes of the Eeforniation — Luther, Calvin, and Knox ; and yet they lived in times when tliere was far more to lament and to be ashamed of even than in ours ; they fought a battle for light and truth and liberty under far heavier discourage- ments than we have to bear, and yet they were among the happiest of men. And why ? Because they were doing something, they were not idle and sentimental spectators of the foul state of things around them, but every day and all day they were active in trying to overthrow them ; they were for ever fighting against the lies
> W. H. Fitchett, Wesley and His Century, 82.
PSALM xcvii. II 279
and baseness and follies and superstitions on eveiy hand and therefore they were not morbid or melancholy ; they knew that God was on their side and therefore their true hearts were glad. Difficulties did not daunt them ; wounds did not disable them ; reproaches, curses, mortal danger did not even damp their spirits or lower the temperature of their joy. Amidst the Egyptian darkness, the darkness which might be felt, as we are told, the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. True or not as a matter of history, it is grandly true that wherever there is righteous work for God there is light in the mind and soul, wherever there is fidelity there is joyful gladness.^
^ Many a man gets little credit for his indomitable good cheer, because it is supposed that this is but his natural inclination. But a virtue is still a virtue, even though it be congenial ; and those who have diligently kept their lamp of joy alight are not the least worthy of God's faithful ones. As for Stevenson, he deliberately drew upon and encouraged all the available sources of gladness. He carried with him into manhood, not only the glee that comes from physical vitality, and the sense of the world's opulence, but also the spirit of the Lantern-bearer, who carefully kept alive his inner light. His natural optimism is unquestionable, but it should be remembered that he needed it all, and that, if his strenuous choice of it had flagged, pessimism would not have been far to seek. It is a great and potent secret, that of fostering our own peculiar enthusiasm as a sacred flame, Eegard yourself, as you face the simplest duty of to-morrow, as tending within your soul's temple the fires of God, and you shall find the bright parable true. Both these sources, the outward and the inward, were largely drawn upon by Stevenson.^
III.
The Eeapers of Light and Gladness.
God's light is sown for all mankind, but only " the righteous " can find it ; His gladness waits at the door of every soul, but it never enters save to " the upright in heart." But who are " the righteous" who are thus favoured, and what does it mean to be " upright in heart " ? What Jesus meant by righteousness was substantially what the great prophets of the Old Testament
^ C. Voysey.
' J. Kelmaii, The Faith of Robert Louis Stevenson, 250.
2So LIGHT AND GLADNESS
had meant before Him when they protested against idolatry. He meant motive rather than deed ; He meant that equality of mind and heart whereby a man loses sight of self-interest in the desire to help and succour his fellow-creatures. From this stand- point it is clear that the more righteous a man becomes the less will he think about it ; he will cease to be self-conscious ; he will just go on giving himself quietly and simply without asking whether he is to be rewarded or not.
No sooner does a man become absorbed in some great impersonal achievement, ceasing to care what may or may not happen to himself in the process, than he begins to find that life discloses new and vaster meaning ; and he knows more of true blessedness than he ever knew before. He may be quite willing to forgo everything in the shape of reward, but it is part of the very law of universal being that he cannot do so. The less he thinks about reward the more certainly will the highest kind of reward pour in upon him. He cannot be wretched ; life forbids it. He may have to go down into the darkness for a brief hour, but it is only to bring up the everlasting light ; he may wrestle awhile in Gethsemane, but it is only a stage in the ascent to the gladness beyond the cross. Who will gainsay the truth of this? It is the eternal paradox which faces every generation, and challenges every individual experience as though it had never been known before. It lies at the heart of all religion, and reaches its highest expression in the life and death of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
1. While it is true of all good men in every creed that light springs up in their hearts, and joyful gladness is ever the sweet handmaid of sincerity, yet it is especially true that God often rewards an intense desire for righteousness with clearer views of His own righteousness and more light to shine upon us from His love. We have been faithful to some obligation or trust, and so God in His mercy has revealed to us more light to shine on His dealings with mankind, and has blessed us with the joy of knowing more of His infinite fidelity and trustworthiness. Or we have been more than usually kind, merciful, and generous in our dealings with others, and then God has shown us more and more of His inexhaustible kindness, mercy, and generosity unto all. Or