The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1889-03-22

that arc SICK III any one, though
he be an angel from heaven, preach
any other gospel than this" says the
apostle, ''let him be accursed." There
must DO the midnight ride over the
ruins before Jerusalem can be built,
There must be the clicking of the
hoofs before there can be the ringing
of the trowels
CHRISTIAN PERSEVERANCE.
Again. My subject gives me speci
men of busy and triumphant sadness
If there was any man in the world
who had a right to NOPE and give up
everything as lost, it was Nehemiah
You say He was cup bearer in the
palace OF Shushan, and it was grand
place" So it was The hall Of that
palace was two hundred feet square,
and the roof lowered over thirty six
marble pillars, each pillar sixty feet
high; and the intense blue of the sky.
and the deep green of the forest foil.
age, and the white of the driven snow,
all hung trembling in the upholstery.
But, my friends, you know very well
that fine architecture will not put
down inconsistencies Yet Nehemiah
did not give up. Then when you see
him going among these desolated
streets, and by these dismantled tow,
ers, and by the torn up grave Of his
father, you would suppose that he
would have been disheartened, and
that he would have dismounted from
his horse and gone to his room and
said: WOE is mel My fathers grave
is torn up. The Temple is dishonored.
The walls are broken down. have
no money with which to rebuild. ]
wish | had never been born. wish
| were dead" Not so says Nehemiah.
Although he had grief SO intense
that it excited the commentary of his
king, yet that penniless, expatriated
Nehemiah rouses himself up to rebuild
the city. He gets his permission Of
absence. He gets his passports. He
hastens away to Jerusalem. By night
on horseback he rides through the
ruins. He overcomes the most Zero
cious opposition. He arouses the piety
and patriotism of the people, and in
less than two months, namely, in
fifty-two days, Jerusalem was rebuilt.
That's what call busy and triumph
ant sadness.
My friends, the whole temptation is
with you, when you have trouble, to
do just the opposite to the behavior of
and that is to give up. You
say, 81 have lost my child and can
never smile again" You say, Il have
lost my property, and l never can re-
pair my fortunes" You say, II have
fallen into sin, and l never can start
again for a new life" If Satan can
make you form that resolution, and
make you keep it, he has ruined you.
Trouble is not sent to crush you, but
to arouse you, to animate you, to pro-
pei you The blacksmith does not
thrust the iron into the forge and then
blow away with the bellows, and then
bring the hot iron out on the anvil and
beat with stroke after stroke to ruin
the iron, but to prepare it for better
use. Oh tha3 tie 1 Lqkdss b Of Aehs;
hearted people, to rebuild. Whipped,
betrayed, shipwrecked,. imprisoned
Paul went right on. The Italian
martyr Algerius sits in his dun
geon writing a letter. and he
lates it From the delectable
Of the Leonine prison" That
IS what call triumphant sadness. |
knew mother who buried her baby
IN Friday and on Sabbath appeared
IN the house of God and said: "Give
he a class; give me Sabbath school
class have no child now left me,
and would like to have class of little
children. Give me real poor children.
live me class off the back street."
That, ! say, is beautiful. That is tri-
lmphant sadness. At 8 o'clock this
in a beautiful parlor in
parlor pictured and
there will be from ten to
wenty destitute children of the street. !
t has been so every Sabbath after
noon at o'clock for many years
These destitute children receive relig
GUS instruction, concluding with
,akes and sandwiches How do !
lnow that that has been going on for
many years2 l knew it in this way
GREED CURED BY CHRISTIAN WORK.
That was the first home in Philadel
,hia where | was called to comfort a
sreat sorrow. They had splendid
10Y and he had been drowned at Long
Branch. The father and mother al
most idolized the boy, and the sob and
hriek of that father and mother as
hey hung over the coffin resound in
ny ears today. There seemed to be
10 use of praying, for when | knelt
lown to pray, the cutlery in the room
lrowned out all the pray. But the
ord comforted that sorrow. They
lid not forget their trouble. If you
hould 20 on the snowiest winter af-
ernoon into Laurel Hill you would
ind a monument with the word
Walter" inscribed upon it, and a
wreath of fresh flowers around the
ame think there has not been an
our all these years, winter or sum-
ner, when there was not wreath of
resh flowers around Walters name
,ut the Christian mother who sends
hose flowers there, having no child
eft, Sabbath afternoons mothers
en- or twenty of the lost ones of the
treet. That is beautiful. That is
That l call busy and triumphant sad
ess. Here is man who has lost his
He does not go to hard
He does not destroy his
wn life. He comes and says: "Har
E. /