Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1868-02-01
DAILY DEMOCRAT.
A Winter Sermon.

A Winter Sermon.
rHgr Ans His caiLpRss.
Thou dwelest in q warm and cheerful home;
Thy roof in vain the winter t@mpes, leshes;
While hou=eess wretches round thy mansion
roam,
On whose unshsliered heads the torren,
splashes-
Thy board is loaded with the richest meats,
Der which thine eyes in seted languor wander;
Many nigh; live on what thy mas,iiis eat.
Or ieass on fragments which thy servants
squander.
Thy limbs are mufiled from the piercing blast.
When from thy 6resiie corner thou dost sally
Many have scarce . rag about them cast.
With which the frosted breezes toy and daily.
Thou hast soft smiles to greet the kiss Of lave
When thy light step resounds within the
Some have no friends save him Him who dwells
above.
No swes, communion with a fellow mortal.
Thou sleepest soundy on thy costly bed,
Lulled by the power of Injuries nnnumbered;
Some pillow on stone, some aching head,
Never again 20 wake when they have slum-
bered.
Then think of.those who, formed of kindred
clay,
depend upon the uVie- tuN bountN etattcfs,
Aud God will hear them for thy welfare pray
They are His children, though IN rags and
taitcrs.
CHAIAcTRR AND REPuTArioS.-A western
pastor having written reply TO some ma
lignant newspsp. attacks sent it TO friend
TO be submitted to Dr. Wayland for his adj
vice. The doctor read the article, consider
cd it for few moments, aud said, in sub
stance, "Tcll brother - to take no notice
of the attacks. A mans character will
take care Of his reputation, and he need not
| fear the malicious attacks Of his enemies.
| II is never we'll for . man publicly to vindi-
cate himself from charges which the whole
tenor Of his life contradicts. Those who
know the man 90 not need the vindication,
and those who don't know him will not care
enough about it to read what he may
| write. :" Our mini,tering friend said be had
lived long enough to be more thankful than
he could express for the advice then given.
| THg WoRLD's MADNEss.-When | Look
around upon busy, busting world, eager
lv pursuing vanity and counting disappost-
men,. neeieciing nothing so much as ths
one thing neediul; aud who, in order TO
have their portion in this life, disregard the
world to come. and only treasure up wrath
against the day of wrath; it makes me think
OF farmer, who should, with vast labor
cultivate his lands, and gather in his crop,
and tlraeh It out, and separate the corn
from the chaff, and then sweep the corn out
upon the dunghill. and carefully lay by the
! char. Such person would be supposed
mad but how faint shadow would this
be of lis N ,dness, who labors for the meat
| hat 7, t~e
dureth unto everlasting life. 1t is mad
ne the whole race of men labor under,
unless, and until, divine grace works tbs
cu.e.- Life Of Rev. ]. Scott.
TRIALS AND TEMrrArroxs.-To be tempt
cd is 10 be tried. Trial develops strength
and natures principle. Christ forewarned
His disciples Of the trials they would be
necessi,ated 10 bear, and called such ones
blessed. The apostle James says, blessed
is the man that endure.h temptation" The
bies sedncss is no, in the endurance oftrials,
hu. IN the final results thereby secured -
"for when he is tried he shall receive the
crown of life.r Such things are inevitable.
None are exempt. Christian, meet them,
meet them calmly, beieying'y, Submissive
lv, herecaliy, CArist-like. Are the robes
made white without the great tribulation
The blessed ones above, whose voices are
ever tutoring JOY, gained the promised
crown only by bearing the cross. No cross,
no crown. No acton, no reward. The one
is sure guarantee Of the other. The bat
tie fought, the faith kept. makes certain the
reserved glory and immortality.
"NnrLoIors BufrooSEEY"- Under this
head the Ojsprtr (Presbytcrian) refers in
Ia ~. to nj y
iculous operations carried on IN the name Of
religion:
We noticed recently a masquerade at a
church soc able some where In Indiana, ana,
commenting upon the farce rs disgusting
and well fitted TO bring re igion itself into
ridicule and contempt, We asked, What
next "What next has come This time
not away in the barbarous regions Of the
benighted West. nor even in the Orient.
! where the Gospel is breaking in on the
darkness Of hesthenisni. but here ut home,
in the midst OF the central blaze Of urban
civilization and full developed Christianity
On Christmas Day, the good people OF one
Of the churches 10. far i.om this, desiring
TO make their minister present, bit upon
the following expediens which, for original
ity and novelty. is rot likely TO be excelled.
At the close of the service a live turkey was
driven IN the aisle OF the church, with a
purse containing sum Ct money attached
to he bsok Of the bird. TIE fowl and the
money were thus presented Q the minister
This 10 sufficiently RIDICULOUS, and yet less
reprehensible than what Is to fellow
| One Of OFT city congregations assembled
its Sabbath School for the Christmss cele-
bration. \ tree l9aied with gifts greeted
the delighted eyes Of the children. The
Superintendent proceeded to open the ex
ercises "ChiIdren," he said, YOU have all
heard OF Santa Claus. Doyon suppose that
these . esents have come from Santa Claus,
or have your good friends, the people, given
them to your "Our friends = they ali
cried out. "Well, now" cried he, with a
loud voice, III there is any such person rs
Santa Claus, let him make his appearance y
Up through a trap-door, with a great clat-
ter rose man ligRed Gu: as Santa Claus
the children shrieked /; many of them we're
half scared ont Of their wits he dashed in
among them, pounding some and giving
toys to others, aud finally ran up ladder
and out upon tho roof and disappeared.
And this in Sabbath School, whose object
is 10 teach children to love the only true
God and Christ, his Son. The children had
right ideas Of tho source Of their good
things, and it was very easy to instruct and
amuse them without actually teaching them
q falsehood and frightening them By rid
iculous imposture. But the sercus side Of
such affairs as the masquerade, the turkey
show and Santa Claus is that they bring the
whole matter ofreligin into the realms Of
folly and frolic. They show that the per
| H. -. ~ h. ,t,v
and sacrcdress Of the subject that they
are fast destroying all reverence for divine
shings and provoking the Master to come
suddenly to his temple with scourge Of
small cords.