St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1876-11-17
Must 1, or May 1P
BY REV. II. u. NoETHEur.

Religion has ii higher mission than
lust to whip people into the discharge
OF duty. \ minister ought Ia hc some
thing more than Il Shamyar with an "N-
guad He Is not called OF God To- hc Il
public scold. nor to he Il hydraulic en-
gine. doing 10y IA species "t force what
ought to Ice done without driving or
coaXimy. He l. not commissioned I" he
a public pump, eXtortiug that which
ought to How freely.
What We want l. Il willing religion.
and this L. what We often tail /" get.
The people are not alert. forward. cagcr.
struggling one with another in holy
emulation. hearing personal IeSpon>I-
bility as Il man hcalS the cnlor> of hi>
regiment on the field. II sacred trust and
treasure They have >hrcWd devices
for slipping out of Personal activity.
and are remarkably >pI! III not DONE
what ought To Ice done. They appoint
Il committee and 90 home. The fact i.
many persons expect To Ice driven;
they wait to he dragged. They attend
the PRAYER meeting attcI they are
urged they give money after hc49Ing
has exhausted its Ic>nuIcc> and run dry
And i there not PRAYING from c"mpul-
SUNDAY school when it would hc m"lr
agreeable To he idle doing good unto
all men, not from pleasure. but I" c>-
cape the imfiImy at being considered
mean ? To hcaI some people talk YOU
would think they wanted Il religion that
involved No expense on trouble. and
that there Is nothing which :" contrib
utc> to Il mans growth in grace and
Il. 4 ...l.,.
a contribution box.
Now. no one comes into the kingdom
of God to see how much he can escape
doing. We have struck here upon Il
very important element OF all true rc-
ligious life and action. 1t l. the will
ingneSS of the heart it Is the opposite
of crmpul>ion. 1t j. the souls outhul>t.
its irreplesslhle uprising. its believing
and pra! ing and rejoicing and doing.
with Il movement free and voluntary.
Christianity L. not Il tyranny II L. not
slavery. Its forces are not iron chains
dragging Il victim it, forces are >llken
threads leading Il willing child. When
Young man in one of our eastern col
leges WAS told that his prccarinu> health
would prevent his entering the foreign
mission field. he said. 'lnu must let m"
go; may die. but | shall die >""ucI II
compelled to remain at home. Love
crowds on. springs to its work. L. not
fruitful in devices foI avoiding service.
1t does things not because ii must. hut
because it cannot he'll it. 1t sheds no
tears over the OUTLAWS of Il Christian
life. Why should it ? An heir of glory
has something better to do than to sit
down and whine about paving his pew
rent and being compelled to attend Il
PRAYER meeting once Il week. Let me
do it. i the cry of the heart that l. neal
est to God. When pray iugamd giNim"and
serving must be wruug out of ii man. il
is very untaithtul serving. very cheap
giving. and very poor pray img.
Ii l. true that the service at Christ.
according to his own statement. j. a
yoke, for it imposes restraints upon
sinful propeu>tic> and conduct but
the yoke is easy htcHu>e love bears ii
willingly, finds Il JOY i'll taking it. and
is more ready to impose the restraints
than to avoid them. We speak of
crosses. and many seem To have the
idea that the Christian lif, j. perpct-
ual crucitiNiou. Hanging there upon
the wall Is Il picture of IL cross which L.
rough and rugged. guarled aud severe.
Vel III l. Nltdtntt over anu lbiutt W u
flowers. The idea * Il good one. The
hard things of religious life are buried
deep III joys and satistactious ever
blossoming and ever beautiful.
DIR. Chalmers said that before his
conversion he was i'll bondage: after
ward. his soul WAS uutettercd as u >oaI-
ing bird. 1t is no task to the lark to
take morning flight and sing IA morn
ing song. The peep of day cannot catch
it asleep. Its wings are free a> the air
upon which il rises. its music H. Spon-
taneous rs the sunlight which il yots
up 10 meet. 1t is il thing of liberty 4:
earth and sky are It's only care. Ii l.
made tnI flight and song. Even 81 love.
the life and soul OF religion. l. Il free.
soaring. Spontaneous thing. 1t i II"
task for love to he active. 1t i not
bound I" earth. l. not in fcttcI~. does
not fret and chatc III >crNitudc 1t
needs not to he cuaNed. urged. driven.
1t always wishes to do more. Ii can
make the difficult easy: the bitter
sweet; the task Il pleasure the hand
of iron duty soft a. velvet. We all
want Il fresh baptism of it. We yIoarI.
seek our ease. talk mouIntullv of duty
and denial hecau>e we have little. Let
il he rekindled from ChIi>l'> own burn
ing heart