The Portland daily press., 1889-12-16


The vestries were tastefully decorated with
flowers and autumn leaves, under the direc-
ton of Mrs. W. j. Knowlton. The renoya-
ton of the vestries was under the direction
of Mr. John G. Stevens.
FIDELITY REWARDED.
Such was the subject of Rev. N. T. Whit.
aker's sermon to the young ladies of Chest
nut street church yesterday. The text was
Revelations IL. x, "Be thou faithful unto
death and will give thee crown of life."
First were given several instances of the be-
slowing Of divine favor and protection upon
the Christians of old in their times of sorest
trouble. Stephen just before the stones
crushed him saw the heavens open and heard
the voice of the Lord to John came the mar
vicious revelation.
What is it that will secure to any young
lady. the presence, the favor, the defense of
God, and hereafter the crown of life? When
ayoung lady unites in holy wedlock to the
man of her choice. she promises unto him
fidelity until death do them part. Their first
acquaintance may have been the result of
something in his appearance, his manners,
his character, but their love springs from
mutual acquaintance,is based upon harmony
OF character. She means to be faithful
wife and tree companion. She does not un-
derstand all that the conservation means but
she intends to be true whatever may be in
volved. 1t requires greater courage, and
sometimes severer toll, to live a pure, true,
noble. Christian life with some men, than it
does to brave the greatest dangers on sea or
y IN nFaxlJn
band means the binder of the sheaf, the
gatherer or prOyider for the home. Wife
means the weaver of its blessings, the en-
HANGER of Its joys, the preserver of its in
terests. The same tie exists between Christ
and his people: The church is spoken of as
his bride, and In this relation Christ never
breaks his word.
Christian fidelity means that you should
give your whole heart to Christ. You should
consecrate all your time to his service. Time
Is precious legacy given by God to each one
OF US: Every hour is trembling with golden
philosopher said that time is fortune. For
tunes may be lost and then regained friends
may be lost and recalled health may be lost
and sometimes recovered; but an hour lost
with its possibilities Is. gone forever. The
saddest advertisement l ever read in my life
was penned by Horace Mann,-"Lost, some
where, sometime between sunrise and sun
set, two golden hours, each one set with 60
diamond minutes. No reward Is offered,
since they are gone forever"
Through the avenues of authorship wom-
en- may today speak to vast audiences of
Jesus, by silyer-toned trumpets that you and
sometimes call books, magazines, etc. I
venture the assertion, without fear of con-
tradlctlon, that there is not we'll conducted
journal in the city of Portland but would
open gladly its columns for well written ar
ticles by Christian women in the Interests of
morals and of the Christian religion. MANY
OF the richest and most inspiring hymns
came to us from the earnest hearts and gift
ed pens of talented women.
Fidelity to Christ demands your whole life
IN MS life; give your time, your talents,
your influence. your prayers and your deeds.
Great and blessed will be the reward here
after.
PINE STREET. CHURCH.
The third of the series of meetings which
the W. G. 7. U. is holding was held last eye-
ming at the Pine Street NJ. E. Church. After
scripture reading by Mrs. George S. Hunt,
and prayer by Rev. Henry Blanchard, the
the speaker of the evening, Volney B. Cush
ing, ESQ.,, was introduced and delivered an
interesting discourse calling for total absti-
nence on scientific grounds. taking as basis
the scripture account of the defling of the
temple. Our bodies, he said, are temples
and we should be careful how we defile
them. Alcohol in the arts may be necessary,
but alcoholic drinks are not necessary. Hat
tiers and others use alcohol in their work.
but when they use alcoholic drinks. where is
the benefit? He then gave graphic but
terrible account of the deadly work of alco-
hol, which he declared was narcotic poison.
On the human system different poisons. he
said, affect different organs. The point of
attack If alcohol the brain, than which
there is no more necessary or more delicate
organ in the human system. Men call the
action of alcohol stimulating, but it is not a
true stimulant Its function is to paralyze,
and this 1t does the more thoroughly In pro-
portion to the amount taken. For brief time
the sensation may be pleasant but the effect
In the long run is demoralizisg. paralyzing
alike the physical, the mental, and the
moral natures. In closing. Mr.. Cushing
made strong appeal to any in his audience
who migat be under the. bondage of liquor to
stop where they were, for although 1t might
not seem so, yet they were laying the sure
foundation Of death or worse than death.