Sharp County record., 1890-09-18

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.Ae value of decision OF character in
any department Daniel knew that II
he continued his adherence to the re-
ligion of the Lord he would be hurled
to the lions, but having set his compass
well, he sailed right on.
For the lack of that element OF char
acter, so eminent in Daniel, many men
are ruined for this world, and ruined
for the world to come. A great many at
forty years of age are not settled in any
respect, because they have not been
able to make up their mind. Perhaps
they will go West Perhaps they will
60 East. Perhaps they will not, Per-
haps they will 60 North. Perhaps
they may SO South. Perhaps they
will not Perhaps they may make that
investment in real estate or in
railroads. Perhaps they will not.
They are like steamer that should 90
out of New York harbor, starting for
Glasgow, and the next day should
change for Havre de Grace, and the next
for Charleston, and the next for Boston,
and the next for Liverpool These men
on the sea of life, everlastingly tacking
ship and making no headway. Or they
are like man who starts to build a
house in the Corinthian style, and
changes it to Doric, and then completes
it in the Ionic, and is cursed by 9ll
styles of architecture.
Young man! start right and keep on.
Have decision of character. Character
is like the goldfnch of Tonquin-it is
magnificent while standing firm. bu'
loses all its beauty in flight. How much
| decision of character in order that these
young men may be Christians Their
old associates make sarcastic filings at
them. They go on excursions and t..ey
do not invite them. They prophesv
that he will give out. They wonder if
he is getting wings. As he passes they
grimace, and wink, and chuckle, and
say: There goes a saint"
young man! have decision OF char
acter. You can afford, in this matter
of religion, to be laughed at. What do
you care for the SCOTS of these men who
are affronted because you will not go to
ruin with them? When the grave
cracks open under their feet and grim
messengers put them into it, and eter-
nifty comes down hard upon their spirit,
and conscience stings, and hopeless
ruin lifts them up to hurl them down,
will they laugh then?
learn also from my subject that men
may take religion into their worldly
business. Daniel had enough work to
do to occupy six men. All the affairs of
state were in his hands-questions of
finance, questions Of war, of peace, all
international questions were for his set
tlemont or adjustment. He must have
had correspondence vast beyond all
computation. There was not man
in all the earth who had more to do
than Daniel, the Secre tary Of State,
and yet we find him three times a day
bowing before God in prayer There
are men in our day who have not hun
dredth part of Daniels engagements,
who say they are too busy to be re-
ligious. They have an idea somehow
that religion will spoil their worldly
occupation, that it will trip the ac-
countant's pen, or dull the carpenters
saw, or confuse the lawyers brief, or
disarrange the merchants store-shelf.
They think religion is impertinent.
They would like to have it very we'll
seated beside them in church on the
Sabbath, to find the place in the psalm
book, or to nudge them awake when
they get sleepy under the didactic dis
courses; or they would like to leave it
In the pew on Sabbath evening as they
go out closing the door saying: "Good
night, religion; I'll be back next Sun
day" But to have religion 60 right
by them all through life to have re-
ligion looking over their shoulder when
they are making bargain, 10 have
religion take up bag Of dishonest
gold and shake it, and say: "tla! ha!
where did you get that?" They
think that is an impertinent religion.
They would like to have religion to
help them when they are sick, and
when tho shadow of death comes over
them they would like to have religion
as sort of night-key with which to
open the door of Heaven; but religion
under other circumstances they take to
be an impertinence, Now, my friends,
religion never robbed man of dollar.
Other things being equal, mason will
build a better wall, cabinet-maker
will make better chair, plumber
will make a better pipe, a lawyer will
make better plea, merchant will sell
u better bill Of goods,
say other things being equal. or
course when religion gives man new
heart, 1t does not propose to give him
head, or to intollectualize him, or to
change a mans condition whom his Or
dinary state is an overthrow OF the
philanthropicOl theory that total
vacuum is impossible; but the moro lot.
ters you have to write, tho moro burdens
you have to carry tho more miles YOU
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