Bradford opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1874-1881, 1880-06-05

! thorough loyalty Oh the part of its
t defenders, any cause must speedily
fail. Ifit can be said Of any con
, siderable portion ofthem, that they
!, are only waiting for an offer o.
money or promotion, to esp0use the
opposite side, the cause may as
well be abandoned first as last.
Even te,o disloyal ones, even a
small learen Of disloyalty, will do
incalculable injury. There can be
no doubt that even in our late war,
the sympathy of some of the lead.
ers with the opposite side, and mu-
tual jealousies INDUCED, lost us
many a field, protracted the con-
Hict, and deferred the final triumph.
ithWas not till those every whit
compittea ! thl iYaes Of var,
command, that victory perched
serenely ON our banners.
Loyalty in soldier is the golden
quality. Without it the most shin.
ing of other qualifications are
worthless. Indeed, the more brave,
sklllful and efficient Gf not loyal)
the more dangerous he becomes.
Loyalty directs every energy
Alright, and makes the soldier as a
nail fastened in sure place by the
master of assemblies.
The same quality is also of para
mount Importance in q christian.
do not mean by this to intimate
that many so-called christians
mean to betray the cause ; and yet
is to be feared, that many do be-
tray 1t, though it may be uncOn.
sciously. The minister, e. g., who
for popularity's sake, omits the
more solemn truths, and the more
humbling doctrines, or is silent on
the moral issues of the day; or to
attract and please the elite, favors
an unevangelical style of things,
and makes the services formal, ele-
giant and snowy, instead of plain,
simple and earnest as is becoming,
betrays the vital interests of the
cause. And the churches do like
wise when, to advance their mate
rial interests, they resort to disrep.
utable schemes for making money,
such as lotteries; and when to
draw the crowds, they put mounte.
banks in their pulpits, and degrade
the services of Gods house to the
level of theatre.
And so there are many ways, you
see, in which ministers and churches
are tempted to virtually betray the
cause they represent. 1t isindeed an
important thing always to ask con-
cerning anything we undertake in
connection with the church: What
would Christ have me do, and how
would ne have Ine DO IL? WIN IL glo-
;rify him; or how may it be made to
glority him? And thus to keep the
needle of our christian aims and pur-
poses always pointing directly to him ;
and not suffer pride, or love Of gain,
or ambition, or any other thing to
come in and divert us, and turn the
bent of our euergies away from the
cross. I see many before me this
morning that were loyal to their coun-
try in the hour of it's peril. Are we
all likewise loyal soldiers of Jesus
Christ, the captain of our salvation,
who has loved us and washed us in
his own blood? We honor our lead
ers but who so worthry of honor,
and our enthusiastic devotion as he )?
God help us to be loyal soldiers Of
Jesus Christ. Then we shall be 10y
al to everything that is true, just,
pure, lovely and of good report.
A second characteristic of good
soldier, that l notice, is implicit obe-
dience. Without such obedience in
an army, all would be confusion.
The only way in which there can be
any leadership, and therefore any eff
fective handling of body of men, is
to have the principle of strict, unhesi-
tating obedience run all the way down
from the chief commander to the pri-
Yates in the ranks. Then the whole
body becomes as one man, with one
directing mind and one guiding hand.
1t can be managed, quickly, intelli-
gently and effectively. 1t is estima-
ted that our army of 1000 men I'M
der discipline is able to put to route
100000 without discipline, fighting
in the capacity of a disorganized mob.
Hence the Importance of this funda-
mental rule with soldier, to obey
orders. 1t is not for him to forecast
the wisdom or futility of any move
ment or maneuvre, but only to obey
the orders as they come from head
quarters. If it be to advance to the
cannon's mouth, to do that or if to
fall back, to do that, however calling
it may be to his pride. He must
hold his own mind and will entirely
subject to those of his superiors.
This is the first rule of the soldier.
Within little sphere, he may exer-
else his own discretion, and is ex-
pected to be intelligent and quick to
discern but outside of that sphere,
he must be like piece of machinery
promptly, precisely and perfectly
obedient.
Obedience is also a christian
Observation-Disclosures not to Pope
or priest, but to Christ. The Saw
ionr gave us striking example in
this respect in that he himself was
obedient unto death. ''Not my my
will o God" he said in the garden,
"but thine be DONE" And now that
he has been obedient for our sakes in
all that incurred suffering and shame,
he demands of us that we be obedient
for his sake in respect to simple duty
to God. And he makes this obedi-
ence the supreme test of our disciple
ship. "Ye are my disciples" he says,
''if We do whatsoever l command
YOU" 1t will not answer, then, for
us to respond to certain duties (such
as may be most congenial to us) and
pass others by, as the manner of some
is. Paying will not take the place of