The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1890-09-11

Iney nave an liea somehow that religion
will spoil their worldly occupation, that it
VIII trip the accountants pen. or dull the
carpenters saw, or confuse the lawyers brief,
or disnrrange the merchants store-shnlf.
they think religion is imptrtnent. They
would like to have it very well 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 discourse; or they would like to
leave it in the pew on Sabbath evening, as
they go out closing the door, saving, go Cd
night religion; III be back next Sunday'
But to have religion go right along by them
all through life, to have religion looking over
their shoulder when they are making bar
gain, to have religion take up bag Of dis
honest gold and shake it, and say: . Ha! ha!
whe re 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 the shadow OF death
comes over them they would like to have re-
hglon as sort of night-key with which to
open the doors OF heaven; but religion under
other circumstances they take to be an i'm
pertnence. Now, my friends, religion never
ROBBED man Of q dollar. Other things be-
ing equal. a mason will build better wall,
a cabinet-maker will make better chair, Il
plumber will make a better pipe a lawyer
will make better plea, a merchant will sell
a better bill of goods.
I say other things being equal Ofcourse
when religion gives man a new heart, it
does not propose to give him a new head. or
to lntelectualize him, or to change mans
condition when his ordinary stated an over
throw of the philosophical theory that a to-
tai vacuum is impossible: but the more let
tiers you have to write, the m ore burdens you
have to carry, the more miles you have to
travel, the more burdens you have to Ii t,
the more engagements you have to meet, the
II (Npa IJCf>1 ltoSv hoxy fx, ~,
opportunity you have of being a Christian
Ii you have thousand irons in the fire,
You have thousand more opportunities OF
serving God than if you had only one iron
IN the fire. Who SO busy as Christ? And vet
who mllionth part as holy? The busiest
men the best men. All the persons converted
in Scripture busy at the time OF their being
converted Matthew attending to his Gus
tom house duties: the prodigal son feeding
swine; Lydia selling purple; Simon Peter
hauling in the net from the sea; Saul spur
ring his horse toward Damascus, going
down on his law business. Busy! busy! Dan
lei with all the affairs of state weighing down
upon his soul. and yet three times a day
worshiping the God of Heaven.
Again: l learn from this 81 beet that man
may take religion into his politics. Daniel
had all the affairs Of state on hand, yet q
Christian. He could not have kept his ele-
waited position unless he had been O thor
ough politician; and yet all the thrusts of
officials and all the danger OF disgrace did
not make him yield one iota of heightened
religious principle. He stood before that
age, he stands before all ages, a specimen of
a Christian politician.
SO there have been in 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 the state. Such was Benjamin
r. Butler, attorney general of New York in
the time OF your fathers Such was John
Mclean, Of Ohio. Such was George Briggs,
of Massachusetts. Such was Theodore
trellnghuysen, of New Jersey. Men faithful
to the state, at the same time faithful to
God. opposes. - -s...- s....
1t is absurd to expect that men who have
been immersed in political wickedness for
30 or 40 years shall come to reformation;
and our hope is in the young men who are
coming up, that they have patriotic princi-
pie and Christian principle side bv = side
when they come to the ballot box and cast
their first vote, and that they swear allie
glance to the government Of heaven as we'll
as to the government of the United States,
We would have Bunker Hill mean less to
them than Calvary, and Lexington mean less
to them than Bethleham @
But because there are bad men around the
ballot box Is no reason why Christian men
should retreat from the arena
The last time you ought to give up your
child or fOrsake your child is when it is sur.
rounded by company of Choctaws; and
the last time to surrender the ballot box is
when it is surrounded by impurity and dis
honesty and all sorts of wickcdness.
Daniel stood on most unpopular plat
form. He stood firmly, though the dema-
gogues of the day Kissed at him and tried to
overthrow him. We must carry our religion
into our politics. But there are q great
many men who are in favor of taking re-
lgion into national politics who do not see
the Importance Of taking it into city politics,
as though man were Intelligent about the
welfare of his neighborhood. and had no
concern about his own house
Religion would drive out all base person
ailtles from politics. You have right to
discuss mems politics and denounce their
political sentiments. or receive them, as YOU
Wlll but you have no right to assal their
private character, as is done every autumn.
mat IS not carrying religion into politics.
Now you can always tell without asking, in
any contest, what candidate will vote for.
1t ls always for the man who is most badger
ed, and most abused, and most spit upon,
and most howled at You have a right to
contest mans political sentiments YOU
have no right for base political purposes to
assail his private moral character.
My subject also impresses me with the fact
that lions cannot hurt a good man. No
Daniel got into when he was thrown into the
den What rare m orsel that fair Dung man
would have been for the hungry m onstersI If
they had plunged at him lie could not have
climbed into a niche beyond the reach of
their paw or the snatch of their tooth. They
came pleased all about him. as a hunters
hounds at the well-known whistle come
bounding to his feet.
You need not go to Numidia to get among
lions. You have all had them after YOU
the lion Of finan cial distress, the lion of sick
ness, the lion of persecution. You saw that
lion OF financial panic putting his mouth
down to the EARTH and he roared until all
the banks and the insurance companies
quaked. With his nostrils he scattered the
ashes on the domestic hearth. You have
had trial after trial, misfortune after mis- or
tune lion after lion; and yet they have never
hurt you if you put your trust in God.
and they never will hurt you. They did not
hurt Daniel and they cannot hurt you.
The Persians used 20 think that spring rain
falling int o seashells would turn into pearls:
and have to tell you that the tears Of sor-
row turn into precious gems when they drop
INTO Gods bottle. You need be afraid of
nothing. puttngyour trust in God Even
death, that monster lion whose den is the
worlds sepulchre, and who puts his paw
down amid thousands OfmiIlions of the dead.
cannot alright you
When in olden times man was to get the
honors OF the knighthood, he was compelled
to go fully armed the night before, among
the tombs of the dead, carrying O sort Of
spear. and then when the day broke he would
come forth and ~ mid tLo e,o,,nl