News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1885-03-26
FOR SUNDAY READING.
SERIOUS THOUGHTS AND REFLEU
TIONs FOR THE FIRESIDE.

SERIOUS THOUGHTS AND REFLEU
TIONs FOR THE FIRESIDE.
Beecher on Hope-The secret of Religion
| Evil Influences of Life in New York
Shaming a Thief, Etc., Etc.
EVIL INFLUENCE OF LIFE IN NEW YORK.
The Rev. DR.. Samnel q. Virgin says:
ION every side throughout the city
bitter cries come up from the poor and
afflicted who live amid wealth and mis-
ery, and surrounded with temptations.
These temptations are found not only in
the gilded bar-rooms and at the gaming
tables, but at the glded balls of the
pawnbroker's shops where the price of
hard labor may be obtained without
toll; they are found in the clubs of the
city whose emissaries seize the poor man
and soon teach him the dialect of curses
against the wealthy. 4 re il our chH-ch
| tonight we have but handful of peo-
pie, but these club rooms would be
| found filled with people who are railing
against home, the Government and re-
Iigion. One of the causes may be seen
in passing glance. Below Fourteenth
street live half million OF people, but
there is not among them more than one
church to every 5000 persons. If this
statement were made of some country
town of 5, 600 population it would startle
the religious community, and churches
| would compete in the effort to regenerate
such a place. But in the Fourteenth
Ward of the city even a worse showing
is made. There are but two churches
in that ward among population of
10000 souls, and neither of these
churches are of Protestant denomina-
tion."
BEECHER ON HOPE.
Mr.. Beecher's sermon last Sunday was
upon "Hopc."
"Men," he said, "who work under
the inspiration of care and fear are like
oxen. They walk over the ground la
boriously, measuring every rise and de-
scent in their path. But the man who
has hope has wings like an eagle. There
is neither up hill nor down bill 10 him,
for hope plus conscience is the found
alton on which character is built; but
men should not build on conscience
alone. Conscience is like granite. 1t is
admirable but not lovable. Crystalline,
cold conscience does not win. There is
piety that is an eternal mourning.
Men who possess it are forever putting
on Grape because Christ died. They are
dolorous Christians, always RECALLING
themselves with their shortcomings.
They think they have hope, but it is not
such hope as mine. The air around
them is full of the devil, and they see
Satan tempting on all sides.
GAS style of piety this is miserable.
Religion ought to be radiant. Wit and
humor are more pious than this dreary
sobriety. When I used to see those
old time dignified ministers, those spir-
ituaI scarecrovva IL. seemed to me that
were it not for feAE 81 hell I should
never want to go to heaven -
sHAMING A THIEF.
The Philadelphia Times tells how
woman's righteous anger put thief to
fight:
"One night lately at the Home of the
Merciful Saviour for Crippled Children,
between the hours of one and two
o'clock, Sister Sarah was aroused by
hearing a chair fall over below stairs.
Hastily putting on her wrapper, lamp in
hand, she descended to the parlor. Her
first glance revealed an open window at
the back part of the room. A small
part of this parlor is curtained off. The
curtain was parted, and Sister Sarah
thought it moved. Approaching it, she
found herself face to face with white
man, tall and stout. Fixing her eyes
upon him she said: The Chinese have a
saying that to some men hearts have
been given, and to some gizzards. You
must be one who has gizzard instead
of heart And with a look of scorn
she~continued: 'Yen have come to a
house as thief where there are only
crippled children and few women to
take care of them.' The man drew his
hat down over his eyes and leaped out
of the window"
THE SECRET OF RELIGION.
The Rev. DIR. William NJ. Taylor says:
As man loves, so he lives. When God
says, "My son, give me thine heart" he
asks for the love of our souls. When
you secure a mans affections, when you
enlist his love, you secure the whole
man, and so God asks for love. We are
in rebellion and bondage till we give
him our affections Religion must bo
more than a duty-a delight. The es-
sence of love is spontaneity. God knocks
at the door, but will not-He cannot
force an entrance It is for us to let
him in. He richly deserves our love be-
cause of His Fatherhood. Tender as
are the memories, sacred and beautiful
as are the associations that gather about
the word Father, no earthly father can
be more than faint image OF the
Heavenly. To this attribute add His
redeeming love. Even the wonderful
parable of the Prodigal Son is inadequate
to express Christs love for us. He
does not merely welcome us home, but
He comes to seek us while we are lost.
Gloomy Christians have not attained
unto the love OF Gol. For love is the
very sunshine OF life. The saddest soul
on earth is the loveless soul.
ITEMS
THE smallest church in England is at
Grove, Buckinghamshire. The parish
has less than twenty inhabitants, but
the church will comfortably hold few
more.
AN English exchange tells of q dying
woman in a Nottingham public house,
who declared that she had been convert
ed by an extract from one of Mr.. Spur
geon's London sermons, reprinted in an
American paper, which had come to her
wrapped round parcel sent from Aus
tralia.
DURING the year 1884 there were 244
new Lutheran churches erected in the
United States. divided in language as
follows: German, 1873; English, SO;
Swedish, %; Norwegian, IA; Norwegian
Danish, T. Danish, 2; Finnish, l; Sic
wakian, l.
INA recent address in London, Mr..
Benjamin Whitworth, M. P, spoke