Daily Republican., 1879-06-28
SUNDAY READIN G.
NOTHING TO DO.

Cn6 OAy lulo w ANU ny ~"
and labor" make excuse that there is
nothing to do.
They look out upon this great, groan'
ing, suffering world, with its garments
rolled in blood, its oppression aud cru
slty, its Sabbath desecration and de-
bauchery, and find nothiny to do.
They look out upon a hundred thou
sand drunkards on a dead march, fol
lowed by million of broken-hearted
and sorrowing women aud children,
clothed in rags, whose bitter cry OF
agony goes up to God to swell the
thunders of the Judgment, upon gamo-
ing and drinking dens on almost every
corner OF the streets, where men set
their traps openly for the feet OF the
innocent, and barter in human flesh,
and make themselves drunk on the
blood of souls, and mock at human
woes-suares into which their own
children may fall-and yet they may
find nothing to do.
They look upon millions of children
out of the Sabbath school withoutrelig'
ious teaching, idly rowing the streets,
disappearing the name of God, and des-
ecrating his holy day; upon thousands
Of innocent ones, who, left to drift on In
slums of vice in which they find them
selves, cry for bread and struggle with
the first gasp of life itself, and no hands
reached out to save them, and still they
find nothing to do.
They look upon the sick and the poor,
the sorrowing and the tempted, the
and the fallen; upon the
frivolous and thoughtless ones OF our
own circle, and the unsaved members
of their own households, and find moth
ing to do.
In all the wide world there is moth
ing that they can do for God and human
ity' They stand in the broad .ight of
tn. nineteenth century with closed eyes.
The calls of God, to duty, fall on stop
ped ears. There is no spiritual life in
them; no movement of the soul in an
swer to the command: "Go out quick.
ly.' No throb of love in response to
loves great sacrifice in Christ; no
quickening of the pulse, when Jesus
knocks at the door of the heart, and
his name-"the sweetest name on earth
or in heaven, is breathed in holy song.
They are dead dead! dead y! thrice
dead, and plucked up by the roots.
Oh, that the spirit of Lii. would
breathe upon these dry bores.
THE sAcREDNEss OF LIFE.
The " Lutheran Observer says -
1--WE are in need of some wholesome
instruction on the value o human life.
An extraordinary spirit of r-cklsssness
is abroad. There are signs in the sky
that ELL our heart with distrust. 1t is
enough that our food and drinks are
mixed with dangerous adulterations, or
that the mechanic who builds our
houses is utterly indifferent as to safe
ty Of tlue, or that the conductor must
have his train on time, though every
soul on board lie sent into eternity
There is another sign. 1t would seem
as If there is to be- a revival OF the old.
time code of honor. Within the pas,
few weeks, several lives have been sao-
riticed on the slightest provocation.-
The settlement Of trivial difficulty Ii
effected by the pistol.
Existence is boon that the Creator
has given tor His own glory. Long ago
Augustine said: 80 God, thou has
made man for thee, and he is disquiet
ed until he returns to thee" This il
the only cure for the terrible unres
that drives men TO kill themselves ant
each other. In their thoughts there il
no God of jud dg.nent, and no LIE be
yond the grav. Underneath all thi
recklessness, thele is current ofskep
ticism. Other causes root thensrl lve
in this. The old forms Of dolbt hav'
disappeared, but new and more attrac
tive forms have taken their place, un
til the leaven has largely affected tht
general sentiment of the land.
Christian men must inculcate more
earnestly than ever the sacredness o
| lllts ~ lS phAcihi VI uEl Va SOos ~
tamper with it is one OF the hlghes
crimes. 1t goes on into another world
The murderer must face his victim a
the bar OF God. The oath of profanity
has an echo Ill eternity. The cup 0
intemperanoe anay drown present sor
row, but 1t insures an endless sCrrOV
of the soul. Such thoughts SHOULD
check and lebuke the spirit OF reckless
ness. If the Man would give himsel
time to think Of the hereafter and it
account, his tongue would be silent
and his arm palsied with weakness.
SURROUNDINGS AND BELoNG1NGS.
The SUNDAY School Tines says
'TAe character Of the surrounding
and belongings Of a house is quite a
important as that of the changing ant
ephem-ral clothing, and adornments o
the body. Painting, statuary, bronzes
and the thousand decorations of the
home should be watched very carefully
for every one of them exerts some intlu
ence, eth n beneficial or injurious, OF
the individual under whose eyes i
falls. A bad picture or image is like
nerpptuallv renewed glass of wine