The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1875-05-22

sifnot the poople committed ~ yonf
charge that thoy must not appear
bcloro the lord empty, M ~ urge
upon them tho practice OF Christian
virtue. leympathi1o very koenly
with your trials In this respect
You are Christians, aud must On.
duro hardness you are gentlemen,
and cannot stoOp to beg ~ matter
Of myOr what Ia yours ~ II matter
ofright you are ministers OF Christ,
and must bc willing TO spend and
TO be spont for tho sake Of souls
entrusted to you you are fishers OF
mon, and must seek them, not theirs;
you have renounced the world, and
must not bctray merccnary mo.
tives, And for al! of these reasons
you are sensitive lest you should be
misunderstood. applaud and
honor that constituencies. Noblcr
far is the ministerial character, and
more Christlike, when man has
learned to be content with that he
hath, than when murmurngs and
complainings or threats are heard.
But while you Danish all these lat
tor far from you il is still your duty
to remember that you are stewards,
and in such il is required that II
man be iourd faithful that you
are ambassadors for Christ, and
must declare the whole counsel of
God that you are priests Of the
Most High God, must guido your
people in their gifts and sacriiices
rs well as in their prayers.
"And you, my brethren Of the
laity, permit the word of kindly
admonition. Remember your clergy,
and esteem them very highly in
love for their works sake. Deal
gently with their faults, and gen.
erously recognize their virtues.
Study rather to aid and help than
to hinder them in their work. Con-
slider that they have human needs,
and try to supply them. Prove
your value for Christian ordinances
by liberal support of those who
minister them. Let your payments
TO the sanctuary be rs the Lord has
prospercd you, and you may legit-
imatcly expect His blessing upon
what remains. Cultivate the habit
of systematic giving rs the law of
your Christian life, it will yield
better results and more happiness
to all concerned than the spasmodic
efforts which are occasionally made.
"Discontnuc all unlawful means
of raising money for religious pur-
poses. We must not offer to the
Lord that which cost us nothing.
The proceeds of fairs, raffl es, lotter-
les and balls are like the wedge Of
gold and the goodly Babalonish
garment which tempted the cupidity
of Achan. If warm hearts and
willing hands consecrate their labor,
having nothing else to give, let the
raimcnt of needlework, or whatever
else the Offering is, be sod for its
fair value, and God will bless the
buyer and the seller. But we must
not import the world into the church,
lest we detile the latter without
cleansing the former. We must not
throw the mantle of religion over
what is called 'pious gambling, and
then blame the world because our
husbands and sons frequent the
haunts of vice. If the church will
masquerade in the cast-otf garments
of the world, it is no matter Of
marvel that she is treated rudely,
and fails to win the respect of
thoughtful men. God requires that
in every place incense be offered unto
His name, and pure Offering
That which is gathered from the
giddy wbirl of the midnight dance,
or drawn from the enthusiastic vo
taries of the most popular lady or
wrung from the willing hands Of
'pous' gazers upon the mysteries of
burnt cork, can hardly be denom-
mated pure The spiritual life
that must be sustained by such
stimulants cannot hope to prosper.
1t will be found, on examination,
like the fig tree of old, having
leaves, indeed, but no fruit to sane
tify the longings of hungry souls. !"
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