The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1890-09-12

liverpool. These men Oh the sea Of
life cverlastmgly tacking ship and max
ing no headway. Or they are like man
who starts to build Il house in the Corin-
[ ian style and changes il to Doric, and
then completes it in the Ionic. and is
C lrscd by all styles of architecture.
Young man, start right and keep on.
HIVE decision OF character. Character
is like the goldlinch of Tonquin; it is
magnificent while standing firm, but
loses all its beauty in flight. How much
of character in order that these |
young men NAV be Christians. Their |
old associates make sarcastic tllngs 1T
them. They 90 Oh excursions and they !
do not invite them. They prophcsy that |
lie will give out. They wonder if he is
not getting wings. AS he passes, they |
grimace, and wink, and chucklc, and say,
There goes saint"
O young man have decision of char
actcr. You can afford i'll this matter of
religion to be laughed at. What do YOU
care for the scoils of these men, who arc
aitronted because you will not go 10 ruin
with them. When the grave cracks
open under their feet. and grim mcsscn-
gers push them into il, and eternity
comes down hard upon their spirit, and
| them up to hurl them down. will they
laugh then:
learn also from my subject thatmcn
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 Neutrality-suspicious. of
GnNueo. questions of war. oil, l,uc2cc. all
| international questions were Tor his SCI
I ofvn,cut or autus ;mcnt. He must have
| had Il correspondence vast beyond all
computation. There is not man i'll nil
the earth who had more To do than Dan
| icl. the secretary OF state, and yet we
find him three times a day bowing be-
fore God in prayer. There arc men in
our day who have not Il hundrCd+n part
of Daniels engagements. who say That
| they arc too busy 10 be religious. They
have an idea somehow that religion WI!
spoil their worldly occupation: That il
vii! trip the accountants pen. or dull the
carnCntcr's saw. or confuse The lawyer :
brief, or disarran%c the merchants store
shcH.
They think RELIGION is impcrtincn, .
lThcy would like 10 have 1t very WEI,
seated beside them in church on tlc Sal
bath, to find the place in the psalm book,
or to nudge them awake when they get
sleepy under the didactic DISCOURSE; or
th " would like to leave it in the pew OH
S"I!,aih evening. rs they 20 out closing
the door, saving: Good night. religion;
III be back next Sunday ~ But TO havs
re- yion 90 right along by them all
through life, To nave religion looking
over their shoulder when they are mai;-
in, Il bargain. TO have religion take up !,
bay of dishonest GOLD and shake ii and
say: "lla ! ha! where did you%ct that"
Tucy think that is an impcrtincnt re-
lioion. icy would Ike TO have re-
!, ligton to help them when they arc sick.
ana when the shadow of death comes
over them they would like TO have re.
ligiou as Il sort OF niyht-kcy with which
to open the door o. heaven; but religion
under other circumstances they take tC
be an impcrtincncc. Now. my friends
religion never robbed Il man of 4 dollar
l Other things being equal. Il mason WI
&, build n better wall Il caLinct-makCr viii
!. make better chair, apiumbcr will make
Il better pipe, Il lawyer will make Il bet
y Ter plea, Il merchant Will sell better
3Ell, ,of goods.
say other things being equal. O
y Course when religion gives man IL new
bSaEr il does p95 pFop9ssa 70 yG nh him
AIrdinary state is IN overthrow of tho
& lilosophical theory that \ total vacuum
impossible; but the more letters YOU
1--we to W.itc. the more burdens YOU
-,f,avc to carry, the more miles YOU have
10 travel. the more burdens YOU have tu
ElIit. the more engagements YOU hayc e.
fm2ci. the more disputes You have To set
tlc. the more opportunity you have OF
being Chsistian.
II you have n thousand irons in ;hC
lire, you have Il thousand more onpor-
tunItlcs Of serving God than if YOU had
only one iron in the iirc. Who so busy
as Christ! And yet who Il mill:on,h
part rs holy? The busiest men the best
men. Ali the persons converted in
sculpture busy ut the time of their beng
converted. Mathew attending TO his
custom house duties; the Prodi@al son
ic ling swine; Lydia selling purple:
hon Peter II; uling i'll the net from the
ca; Saul spurrin.. his horse toward Da-
masc IS. go (, down on his law business.
Busy! busy Daniel with all the affairs
oil state weighing down upon his soul,
;th@ yc. three times day worShipiny
the God of hcavcl.
| Again: L learn from this subject that
4 man may take religion into his politics,
| '|''iiSi ih'N lil liiC ol state on
hanH. yet Il Christian. He could not
have kept his elevated pos.tiO unless
he had been Il thorough politicians: and
yet al' the thrusts of officials and all the
danger Of disgrace did not make him
Weld one toto of his high-toned religious
'.nciiplc. He stood before that age. he
stands before al ages, a specimen of n
| Christian politician.
50 t. ere have been III our day and in
the days of our fathers men as eminent
in the service OF God as they have been
| eminent in the service of state. Such
Vas Benjamin +. Butler. attorncy-gcn-
craI OF New York i'll the tine of your
| Ia hcrs. Such was John Mclean of
o 10. Such was George Briggs of Ma
5" 'husc;ts. Such was Theodore Frcl-
IN huyscn OF New Jersey. Men faithful
20 the state. at tho samn tim" i";',"-'
lI IS absurd TO expect that men who
have been immersed in political wicked
ness Tor thirty or Inriv rcorS cl,ll ,o,,,o