The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1856-04-12

seem to reverence, not to the market-place,
the exchange, the counting room, place
more intensely secular-not the most reck-
less and riotous festivity, scene OF more
unhallowed levity, than is presented by the
house of prayer?
"But, on the other hand, carry holy prin-
ciples with you into the world, and the
world will become hallowed by their pres
ence. A Christ-like spirit will christianize
everything it touches. A meek heart, in
which the altar fire CT love to God is burn
ing, will lay hold Of the commonest, rudest
things in life, and transmute them, like
coarse fuel at the touch of fire, into-a pure
and holy flame Religion in the soul will
make all the work and toll of life--its gains
and losses, friendships, rivalries, competi-
tions-its manifold incidents and events
the means of religious advancement. Mar
BILE or coarse clay, it matters not much with
which of these the artist works, the touch OF it
transforms the coarser materials into beau
ty, and lends to the finer a value it never
had before. Lofty or lowly, rude or refined,
as life's work to us may be, it will become to
holy mind only the material for an infinite
| ly nobler than all the creations of genius
the image of God in the soul. To spiritual
ize what is material to christianize what is
secuar-this is the noble achievement of
Christian principles. If you are sincere
Christian, it will be your great desire, by
Gods grace, to make every gift, talent, occu-
patton of life, every word you speak, every
action you do, subservient to christian mo-
tive. Your conversation may not always
nay, may seldom, save with intimate friends
consist of formally religious words; you
may perhaps shrink from the introduction
of religious topics in general society; but it
| demands a less amount OF Christian effort
occasionally to speak religious words than to
iafuse the spirit of religion into all our
words and ii the whole tenor of your COM
mon talk be pervaded by spirit of piety,
gentleness, earnestness, sincerity, it will be
| Christian conversation not the less.
"If God has endowed you with intellectu-
al gifts it may be well if you directly devote
| them to His service in the religious instruc-
ton of others $ but man may be a Christian
| thinker and writer as much when giving to
science, or history, or biography, or poetry,
a Christian tone and spirit, as when compos
ing sermons or writing hymns. TO pro-
| mote the cause of Christ directly, by furth-
ering every religious and missionary enter
| prise at home and abroad, is undoubtedly
your duty but remember that your duty
terminates, not when you have done all this,
for you may promote Christ's cause even
still more effectually when in your daily de-
meanor-;n the family, in society, in your
business transactions, in all your common
intercourse with the world, You are diff s.
ing the influence of Christian principle
around you by the silent eloquence Of a holy
life. Rise superior, in Christ's strength, t.
all equivocal practices and advantages in
trade shrink from every approach to mean
ness CT dishonesty; let your eye, fixed On a
reward before which earthly wealth grows
| dim, beam with honor; let the thought Of
God make you self-restrained, temperate,
watchful over speech and conduct; let tie
abiding sense of Christ's redeeming love to
you make you gentle, self-denied, kind and
loving to all around you; then indeed will
your secular life become spiritualized, while
at the same time, your spiritual life will
grow more fervent; then not only will your
prayers become more devout but when the
knee bends not and the lip is silent, the life
in its heavenward tone will spray without
ceasing ;" then from amidst the roar and din
Of earthly toll the ear of God will hear the
sweetest anthems rising; then finally, will
your daily experience prove that it is no high
and unattainable elevation of vi tue, but a
simple and natural thing, to which the text
points, when it bids us be both sdilgent in
business and 'fervent in spirit serving the
Lord.'"
| Mr.. Card takes care to show that though
in order to live religious life in the world
every action must be governed by religious
motives it is not by any means implied that
in all the familiar actions of our daily life re-
| ligion must form direct and conscious OBJ
jet Of thought.
owe cannot" he says, sin our worldly
work be always consciously thinking of reli-
gion, but unconsciously, insensibly, we may
be acting under it's ever present control"
| The difficulties of the Christian life and
the reward that awaits a steady and con-
slant exercise Of the Christian virtues fill up
the remainder of sermon which will be
read by many because Of the peculiar cir
cumstances under which it is given to the
world, but which very well deserves perusal
for it's own merits.