The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1886-10-21

1
fore, it generally thickens his tongue Was
he fine in personal appearance, it mars his
visage. Was he afluent, 1t sends the
sheriff to sell him out. Was be nfuen-
tial, 1T destroys his popularity. Was he
placid and genial, and loving, it makes
him splenetic and cross; and so utterly
is he changed that you can see he is sar-
castle and rasping, and that the Philis.
tines have left him nothing but a file.
Oh, "the way of the transgressor Is
hard Y His cup is bitter. His night is
dark. Hl8 pangs are deep. His end is
terrific Fhillstine iniquity sayO to that
man;
"Now, surrender 70 ue, and VIII give
you all you want-ml l. or the dance, swift
steeds for the race imperial couch to
slumber on, ard yod shall be refreshed
with the rarest T. aits In baskets Of gol den
filagree."
he Hes. The music turns out to be a
grcnn. The fruits burst the rlnd with
K poison. The ilagree is made up of
visited reptiles. The couch Is a grave.
Small allowance of rest, small allowance
of peace, small allowance Of comfort.
Cold, hard, rough--nothing but file. So
it was with Voltaire, the most applauded
man Of his day:
The Scripture was his jest-book, whence he
drew
Bon mots to gall the Christian and tho
Jew.
An intidel when we'll, but what when sick?
/ Oh, then a text would touch him to the
quick
Seized with hemmorhage of the lungs in
Paris, where he had gone to be crowned as
the idol of all France, he sends a messen-
| ger to get priest that he may lie recon =
ciled to the church before he dies.
A great terror falls upon him. He
makes the place all around about him so
| dismal that the nurse declared that she
| would not for all the wealth of Europe
see another infdel die. Philistine in
| iquity has promised him all the worlds
garlands, but in the last hour of his life,
| when he needed a solacing, sent tearing
across his conscience and his nerves a file,
file. So it was with Lord Byron, his
uncleanness in England only surpassed
| by his uncleanness in Venice, then going
| on to end his misery at Mssolonghi, fret
| ting at his nurse Fletcher, fretting at him
self, fretting at the world, fretting at God;
and he gave the world "Chlde Harold"
and "Sardanapalus," and "The Prisoner
of Chillon," and "The Siege of Corinth,"
reduced to nothing but file. Oh, sin has
a great facility for making promises; but
| it has just as great facility for breaking
| theml
A Christian life l. the only cheerful II re,
while life of wicked surrender is re.
| morse, ruin and death. It's painted e les
| is sepulchral ghastliness. In the bright
est days of the Mexican Empire Monte
| yuma said he felt gnawing at his heart
something like a canker Sin, like a
monster wild beast of the forest, some-
times liclIs all over its victim In order that
the victim may be more easily swallowed; ;
but generally sin rasps, and gals, and
tears, and upbraids, and files. Is it not
so, Herod? Is it not so, Hildebraudp Is ID
not so, Robespierre? Aye! ayel Tt is so,
it is so.
The way of the wicked He turneth upside
down.
learn from this subject what sad
thing it is when the Church Of God loses
its metal! These Philistines saw that if
they could only get all the metallic
weapons out of the hands of the Israelites
all would be well, and, therefore, they
took the swords and the spears. They
did not want them to have single metal
lie weapon. When the m etal of the Israeli
ties was gone their strength was gone.
This is the trouble with the Church Of God
to-day. 1t is surrendering its courage 1t
has not got enough metal. How seldom
it is that you see a man taking his posi-
tion in pew or in pulpit or in religious
socity and holding that position against
all opposition, and all trial, and all perse.
cution, and all criticism.
The church Of God to-day wants moro
backbone, more defiance, more con5ecrat-
ed bravery, more metal. How often you
see man start out in some good enter
prise, and at the first blast of opposition
he has collapsed and all his courage gone,
forgetting the fact that If man be right,
all the opposition of the earth pounding
away at him can not do him any permas
nent damage. 1t is only when man is
wrong that he can be damaged. Why,
God is going to vindicate His truth, and
He is going to stand by you, my friends,
in every effort you make for Christ's
cause and the salvation of men.
Go forth in the service of Christ, and do
you whole duty. You have one sphere.
have another sphere.
The Lord of Hosts is W ith MS, and the God
of Jacob is our refu ge. Selahl
We want more of the determination of
Jonathan. do not suppose he was very
wonderful man, but he got on his knees
and clambered up the rock, and with the
help of his armor bearer he hewed down
the Philistines; and man of very ordi-
nary intellectual attachments on his knees
can storm any thing for God, and for the
truth. We want something of the deter
mination of the general who went into the
war, and as he entered his first battle his
knees knocked together, his physical cour.
age not quite up to his moral courage; and
he looked down at his knees and said:
"Ah, If you knew where 1 was going to
take you, you would shake worse than
thatW
There is only one question for you to
ask, and for me to ask-what doss God
want me to dor Where Is the field
Where is the work. Where Is the anvlp
Where is the praYer-meetinga Where 10
the pulpit And, finding out what God
wants us to do, go ahead and do it-all
the energies Of our body, mind and soul
enlisted In the undertaking. OF brethren,
we have but little time In which to hghi
for God You will be dead soon. Put in
the Christian cause every energy that God
gives you.
What thy hand fndeth to do, do IL with all
thy might; for there Ia neither wisdom, nol
device, in the grave, whittier we are ali
Fastening. --oss-
Opportunities of usefulness gone for.
ever; souls that might have been benefi ted