St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1875-03-12
Gathering UP the Fragments.

When they were filled he said to hi-
disciples. "Gathrr up the fragments
that remain. that nothing he lost.
| his command WAS not given bV the
aNiour from accident or impulse 1t
WAS 1" teach the disciples and all hc-
levers. to the end of time. IL great
Truth III every WAY essential To IL sound
Christian character. The Saviour might
easily have filled their baskets with
new fresh bread aud given the tined
disciples no tronblc about fragments.
but he ah>taincd from doing 50 for a
definite reason. Had nothing been
said. the disciples might. infer from the.
experience of that day that their ne
ccs>ities would hr met in the future
without amy labor or foresight of their
own. and 81 have relapscd into indie
lencr and improvidence. Up to that
hour the lessons OF the miracle had
been : Trust in God aud Your wants
may be supplied by the simple wave of
the hand. whether ,you do any thing to
help Yourselves OF not. Now comes
the universal principle that nothing
must he lost A.; that even the fragments
"f Gods bounty are Ia Ice carefully
saved and used He would counsel
and demand Il wise economy H. an i'm
portaut Christian virtue. ..Gather M
the fragments that remain. that moth
my bc lost. Ii seems rather Il slow
hi>Inc>S n"WadlN> to he gathering up
fragments and >aNIn" the littlcS-a
thing To d" ont of sight and To bc al
most ashamed of The gu>h of grucr-
">Iry that >catter> its thousands is much
nI f1 th,. .,,,I Hi.
vc;il> to us how much nearer we are t.
the vice of extravaganza than to the
noble virtue of economy God i trugtl
III matter. He saves and uses every
thing. In all this universe hc suffers
Ii" atom tn Glade his grasp. lie has
his agents out. and picks up and EN-
ploN> each fragment. He teaches Us
how to do much with the littlc> IL
the physical world there is no such
thing as waste known. In mind. God
allows no Thought or feeling or deed to
perish. All are wrought into the
structure of character. EVERYWHERE
the trucSt economy goes hand in hand
with the most liberal bounty. Wise
economy is Il Christian duty. BY econ
"mN Christ does not mean parSimony.
Under the name of economy no man i
permitted to he mean and little and
gra>pmg. The gospel ahoninatcS Il
mIser, and throws him up as the fish did
Jonah Many things are done in the
name of Christian prudence and right
eous saving which are mere StingimcS>.
The roll of saints shows many il Iirh
man. but no Skin-tlint many IA poor
man. but II" spcndthriit. Economy i
cni"ined as moral obligation for high
spiritual ends. y man is enabled to
serve others i'll proportion ;IS he guards
against waste. The twenty six little
letters of our language make up all the
wealth of our literature the nine
Arabic figures. all the power of nnmber> ::
and the eight notes of the scale all the
majesty and enchantment of music
There must he no waste. because CA
travagance leads to other >ins. Society
Is filled with evils that flow from waste.
Money is round and rolls away easily.
Extravaganza is the disease of the
times.
Multitndcs have been living beyond
their incomes. Luxury has been in
vited in to dinner. and refuses to leave
at tea-time. The pocket money of the
boys and girls in II modern family would
have supported the grandfithcr'S house
hold. The great financial cloud that
hangs over us has come for the reason
that men have not known the worth of
dollar. God has set apart this wear
to teach it, and think he will keep u>
III school till we have got the lesson.
In scattering for worldly pleasure. men
have driven fleet horses in saving for
worthy uses they have ridden snail>.
Fashion has been reigning in fools
paradise. Hundreds of nice yorm~
men have been doing nothing hut part
their hail in the middle. and spend
THEN fathers earnings. And as many
nice young women have been sticking
their hair on the top of their head, and
helping them. Now, God has come to
cut ont the proud flesh, aud good and
bad alike will teel the knife. In the
practice of simplicity, honesty, sin
ccrlty, true economy, our Christian du-
ty begins.
1.-The best rule" says wise writer.
sis to say all the good we can Of ever,