Morning journal and courier., 1881-04-16

of the parish, been blamed because its finan-
 ces were not in better conditioni How often
 have ministers, able and faithful, been de- posed from their pastorates because the pews
 were not full, or the society's debt paid or the roll of members greatly increased, as if all this rested in their hands and was subject to their control. And have not Christians been known to expend much time and effort in an endeaver to secure the services of some noted laborer, more time than was given to prayer or personal work, as if forgetting that l the one who alone can give the increase | with whom is the residue of the spirit-can always be had by the soul earnestly seeking and cheerfully working with him. Conform l ity to the world must, I think, be added to the list of stfaults'' which Christians need to tsremember" to-day. It is undoubtedly true l that many members of our churches are in doubt how far they should go in separating themselves from the world and it's associa- tions This is matter which can be settled by no mans assertion. Scripture and an l enlightened conscience must be our friends. With their help, however, may state cer | tain principles which may aid in the solution of the problem. There must be some distinc | ton between the Christian and the irreigious man. To deny this is to falsify the scriptures and stultify their divine authors, for such distinction is everywhere recognized, and l made the basis of pleadings and threatenings innumerable. This distinction, while primarily an internal one-of the heart, the purpose will have some external manifestation. This must be so from the nature of the case. Thus, in the choice of pursuits, the Christian must choose one which is honest itself and may be honestly followed. The irreigious man may or may not do this. So, in the
 selection of friends, regard must be had to spiritual well-being. "How can two walk 1 together in closest intimacy, except they 1 be agreed" upon this vital matter? In regard | to recreation, too, the principle obtains. There are cases in which persons say they are | in doubt whether amusement is harmless or not. Then, plainly, you should give your soul | the benefit of the doubt But often the doubt will be dissipated by frank reply to the | question, ''Win this indulgence leave me in as l healthystate, spiritually, as now-equally ready l engage in the Masters work, as well fitted to | to- enjoy communion with him. Moreover, since we are members one of another" and | make up the body of which Christ IS the I head regard must be had to his honor and our brothers welfare ''All things are law ful for me, wrote the great apostle, ''but all l things are not expedient." We are told by some that the apparent conformity of the church to the world is in reality the approach of the world toward the standard of Christian living. If this be so, 1t IS the more 1ncum- bent upon the church not@ to lower that stand ! ard, but keep it, as did the Lord, full high | advanced. Concession here is not magma | nimity, but pusillanimity The fine l linen, clean and white, |" wherein the bride at- | tires herself for her lord is the righteous ness of the saints" Until, Christians come out from the world and are separate recog-
 nize God practically, as they now do formal | ly in all their ways-perform the duties which the Christian fife requires, and prove the sincerity of their faith by works they will need to remember the faults" I have specified, whenever they come together to make confession of sin and i'm plore pardon. But, as the proclamation un- der which we are convened is addressed not simply to members of churches but to the citizens of the State generally, it is fitting I that we include in our summary those | 'sfaults" or some of them, from which, it is l feared, not all professed disciples are exempt, ! but which we look for more naturally, if any where, outside the pale of the church. Fore l most among these mention the tendency to | dishonesty in business transactions and civil 1 trusts. Some of you are business men. Do you not readily recall numerous instances, | recent too, in which merchants, bankers, l officers of banks, treasurers of corporations, | hitherto men of high standing in the con- munities where they lived, some of them members of the church, have proved un-
 trustworthy? They appropriated the funds l in their custody, the property of others, to their own use or that of their friends, intend | ing perhaps to make good the deficiency be- 1 fore long, but seemingly unaware that such mode of raising loan is best characterized 1 by the little word ''theft." Or take another | class of offences against honesty, where l the end is attained by combination | I refer to those joint stock companies, coal l oil, mining or what not, which sometimes ex- 1 ist only on paper, and the directors and l original stockholders of which speedily retire | with handsome profits, the investment of the 1 laboring man, the widow and orphan, who, ] when the bubble bursts find themselves beg 1 gared. While such transactions are allowed, 1 and the parties engaged in them find ready 1 access to business and social circles it is not 1 surprising that this tendency to dishonesty is 1 illustrated on a larger scale; States coolly
 pudiating their obligations and members of l Congress making their influence and vote | source of private gain. In one of his later l stories George Macdonald represents Drew, l 8 draper, as hearing the curate in the course | of a sermon, ask, Do you do to your neigh bor as you would have your neighbor do to 1 you? If not, how can you suppose that the | Lord of Christians will acknowledge you as | disciple of his ?' The discussion sent the draper to his house and shop to think upon l what his method of business had been, and how Christ would probably have acted in his | place. The result of his meditations is given | in a sentence 'It has come to this, | that I must set things right or give up business" He took the first step toward setting things right the next day, when, l overhearing clerk persuading a customer | to her disadvantage, he announced that similar offence would cost any of them their place. The Scotch preachers fiction has it's | suggestions for business and those whom
 they employ. Sharp practices, misrepresen- l tation, the forcing of undesirable goods, are | not in harmony with that '1ove which beareth no ill to his neighbor," they most profitable on the whole. The most success full dry goods merchant this country has known, whose capital of $3, ,00O grew to many
 millions, once said If the golden rule can be inco1 porated into purely mercantile af l fairs 1t has been done in this establishment, l the customers being treated precisely as.the seller himself would like to be- were he in
 their place. That is to say, nothing is mis- represented, the price is fixed, once and for all, at the lowest possible figure and the cir cumstances of the buyer are not suffered to influence the salesman in his conduct in the smallest particular" In confirmation of this we are told that, on his opening day in trade, Mir. Stewart corrected a clerk who represent ed that piece of calico he was trying to sell would wash, saying: ''You know it
 to be untrue. The calico will fade; she will demand her money
 back and she will be right. I don't want goods represented for what they are not y
 AS read the statement I was reminded of this entry in the diary of another successful
 merchant of Philadelphia, written on his twenty first birthday Received this morn
 ing my consignment of linens. pray to
 God that may never, either by word. equiv
 ocation mental reservation, in order to uldk0 d SaI0, SW0rV0 III the SuEeSG IrOh IQe
 truth, sacrifice integrity to the al
 mighty dollar" The more insight get into
 the temptations of business and the modes
 of conducting it, the more strongly do I feel
 the need its deyotees have of divine help,
 and the more am persuaded that the gi-
 gantic frauds which come to the light from
 time to time fostered, if not made pos
 sible, by the bad practices and petty immor-
 alities of ordinary business life.
 It is not the duty of the pulpit, I am aware,
 to solve financial problems. The preacher,
 l gladly admit, is not to settle laws of trade. |
 But he is to remind the dishonest tradesman 1
 that ''a false balance is an abomination to
 the Lord" He is to repeat, in the hearing l
 of those who conspire to rob the fatherless 1
 and widow, the curse pronounced upon them
 by Jehovah. And. Christian patriot, he |
 is to do what he can to save from reproach |
 the State and the nation. The transition |
 from cheating fellow man to robbing God l
 is natural, though it should be observed that |
 many. do the latter who would scorn to be |
 guilty of the former. Hence we have to |
 notice the standardization of the Lords day as |