St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1878-04-27
so Did Not l."

pleasant to come upon an honest and
noble man. Such an one was Nehemiah
the rebuilder and retormer of Jerusalem
lie stands in the scripture gallery c
characters as John Hampden's statu
stands in the line of il1ustrious worthie
which tanks the entrance to the Britisl
parliament.
Nehemiah was man who understoo,
the power of that prodigious word "no.'
When he left the Persian capital a
Shushan, ne went down to Jerusalem
determined to do something to reliev
his suffering people there. The dear OLE
city was in ruins. The Jews who hat
returned thither from Babylon wer'
oppressed and plundered. The same
kind of abuses had crept in, which have
disgraced some of our city governments
Nehemiah lays hold of practical reforms
with an unsparing hand. First, he
arouses the people with trumpet pea
to rise up and build" the ruined walls
Then he abolishes the oppressive taxa
ton, and the dissertations of the Sabbath
and the temple. His predecessors in
Office had been receiving big salaries, and
had allowed their underlings to fleece
the people. Nehemiah might have cited
their example as a precedent, and fol.
lowed in their wake, (after the manner
in which greedy oficeholders or plum.
de1ers thrust their arms into public
treasures in our day., but his simple,
manly statement is, $50 did not l, be-
cause of the fear of God" Nobly said
We wish every young man would write
those sharp, ringing words in his note
book, and determine to make the same
answer whenever he is tempted to do a
selfish or wicked act.
The most tremendous word in the
English language is the short yet mighty
word NO. 1t has been the pivot on
which innumerable destinies have
turned, for this world and the next.
Spoken at the right moment, it has saved
multitudes from disgrace, from ruin \
The downward pull of sin is ire
mendous. To be able firmly to say
" Yet will I not" requires the grace
from above in the heart. There is a
subtle pull, also, in the drift of sinful
fashion and usage which carries away
every one who is not well established on
a bible conscience Three-fourths of all
the persons who are drowned On the sea-
shore are swept out by the undertow.
This is the secret influence which takes
hold of so many of the church-members
and carries them off into extravagant
living, into sinful amusements and all
manner of worldly conformities. Every
true Christian is bound to be non.
conformist. If he is not we'll anchored
for Christ, he is swept away By the
undertow. The bottom of the great
deep is strewed with such backsliders.
I would press this truth home upon
every young man whe reads this article
Your salvation depends on your ability
to say "No.' When your principle is
put to the test, ask Gods help and stand
firm.
In every school the difference is clearly
marked between the boy who has moral
pluck and the boy who is mere pulp.
The one knows how to say mo-" The
other is SO afraid of being thought ever
dant" that he soon kills everything pure,
and fresh, and manly in his character,
and dries up into a premature hardness
of heart. Five lads were once gathered
in rosm at boarding~school, and four
of them engaged in game of cards,
which was expressly forbidden by the
rules. One of the players was called
out. The three said to the quiet lad,
who was busy at something else: "Come
take hand with us. 1t is too bad to
have the game broken up" 81 do not
know one card from another" That
makes no difference" exclaimed the
players. eve will show you how.
Come along" Now, that was
turning point in that lads life.
he nobly said My father does not
wish me to play cards, and I will not
disobey him" That sentence settled
the matter and settled his position
among his associates. He was the
boy who could "No;" and thence
forward his victories were made easy and
sure. I well remember the pressure
brought to bear in college upon every
young man to join in wine-drink or to
take a hand in aome contraband amuse-
ment. Some timber got well seasoned.
Some of the, other sort got well rotted
through with sensuality and vice. The
Nehemiahs at college have been Eehs-.
miahs ever since. The boy was father of
the man.
The only motive that couldahoId back
the brave noneonformist at Jerusalem
was godly conscience: So did not I.
because Of the fear of God" This ever
present principle held him firm when
temptation struck him, as the undercur-
rents strike against the keel. What the
fear Of God did for Nehemiah, faith id
the Lord Jesus viii do for you. Christ
must be to you pattern, and He must
be ID you power. It il not enough to