The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1872-02-23
A LAY SERMON.
REV. |. n. OTIS,


walking along my way to our church on
the evening of the 7th Of January last
I met one of my young friends, John
Wesley, Jr., aud said to him, Come, 90
over and hear our minister to o.night, be
speaks on the subject of Amusements.
Bro. Wesley replied that he did not like
to leave his own church, but as he had
never heard you and being deeply in-
terested in the subject, for it had given
him much trouble, he concluded that be
would accompany me.
We went expecting to End some safe
and scriptual solution of that vexed
question. 1t was a finely written SER
mon, containing many eloquent and
beautiful passages, many glittering gen.
eralities, and broad foundation principles,
but not word specifically as to how
they were to be applied.
You said, "Do your duty faithfully
and honestly, and then take just what
means of recreation you please" You
say, "Dance? Yes. Play cards B? Yes.
Billiards Yes. There is not particle
of harm necessarily connected with any
of them" We expected that heroic
stepping from old fogyism out on to the
broad platform of modern liberalism
would be sustained by some word from
Christ or his Apostles, but some how
the quotation did not come in. Did you
forget it !? Did you ever notice that
sermon may be eloquent at both ends
and yet will not stand alone unless it
has a scriptural back bone ? Would
not that sermon double right up where
the words cards, dance, and billiards
occur? Enough of such speculative
musings. Wesley and / were well
pleased, and went from the sanctuary
resolved to try our hands at some of
these delightful recreations. The next
morning each of us purchased pack of
cards and were ready for a happy sea-
son. We did not really want to play
with one another, and Wesley thought
four hand game would be preferable.--
We passed along down street and soon
found two people of the world, who cx-
pressed a willingness to add to our en-
joyment by their skill and presence
Wesley is a peculiar fellow and is always
raising some unheard of questions, and
he says to me, Is it right for church
members to play cuchre with the chill
dren of this world p He had read
some where that the children Of this
world are wiser than the children Of
light and was afraid TO try our hands
against the terrible odds those sinners
held, Tor the way Andrew Jackson Davis
had stocked his sleeve was frightful TO
behold You had not been specific here
ard we resolved to put the question di-
rectly to you. Should the children of
Christ play cards with the children Of
the devil ? If you answer yes, would
it be safe to try it even handed?
We thought, however, we could get
out of this dilemma by dividing our
selves up all round,-church member
and sinner on one side and sinner and
church member on.the other but here
arose another difficulty, how were we to
tell who won the game, church member
or sinner ? Had the Methodist beaten
the Presbyterian, the Presbyterian van
quished the Methodist, or the devil
euchered them both -? Tell us truly we
implore is it church game, worlds
game, or is it mixed
We thought any way we could get
up dance without any difficulty under
your directions, but here troubles thick.
/, ened and darkness deepenod. You said
IF young people want to dance clear
out your large room, send for fiddle
aud let them enjoy it till bed time, and
chen let them 90 home. I see no harm
in it"
Our spirits were high, but whose room
should be cleared out Should we &c
to the room of our beloved pastor, cleai
it out and have christian dance in the
closet of his devotions, where sermon,
are written and thuderbolts of truth ar,
forged? Happy thought, that was The
place Who could not feel amused
where the walls might be decorated will