The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1890-07-31

rem~,n in your heart an unbearable
annoyance. If you look back upon your
life, you will find that the most OF the
vexations and disturbances of spirit
which you felt were produced by cir
cumstances that were not worthy OF
notice If you want to be happy you
must not care for trifies. Do not be too
minute in your inspection OF the treat
ment you receive from others. Who
cares whether Mordecai bows when you
pass, or stands erect and stiff as cedar?
That woodman would not make much
clearing in the forest who should stop
to bind up every little bruise and
scratch he received in the thicket; nor
will that man accomplish much for the
world or the church who is too watchful
and appreciative Of petty annoyances.
There are multitudes of people in the
world constantly narrowed because
they pass their lives not in searching
out those things which are attractive
and deserving, but in spying out with
all their powers of vision to see whether
they can not find Morde cal.
Again, learn from the life of the
man under our notice that worldly van
ity and sin are very anxious to have piety
bow before them. Haman was a fair
emblem of worldliness and Mordecai
the representative of unfiinching godli-
ness. Such were the usages of society
| in ancient times that, had this Israelite
bowed to the Prime Minister. it would
have been an acknowledgment of re-
| spect for his character and nation.
| Mordecai would, therefore, have sinned
| against his religion had he made any
obeisance or dropped his chin half an
| inch before Haman. When, therefore,
proud Haman attempted to compel an
! homage which was not felt, he only did
what the world ever since has tried to
do, when it would force our holy religion
! in any way to its dictates. Daniel,
/ if he had been man of religious COM
| promises, would never have been thrown
into the den of lions. He might have
made some arrangement with King
Darius whereby he could have retained
part of his form of religion without
making himself so completely obrox-
ious to the idolators. Paul might have
retained the favor of his ru lers and es-
capped martyrdom if he had only been
willing to mix up his Christian faith
with a few errors. His unbending
Christian character was taken as an in
suit
Fagot and rack and halter in all ages
have been only the different ways in
which the world has demanded ODE i.
sance. 1t was once, away up on the TOP
of the temple, that Satan commanded
the Holy One of Nazareth to kneel be-
fore him. But it is not now so much on
the top of the churches as down in the
aisle and the pew and the pulpit that
Satan tempts the espouser of the
Christian faith to kneel before him
Why was it that the Platonic philoso.
piers of early times, as well as Toland,
Spinoza, and Bolingbroke of later days,
were SO madly opposed to Christianity
Certainly not because it favored immor
talities, or arrested civilization, Oh
dwarfed the intellect The genuine
reason, whether admitted or not, was
because the religion of Christ paid nc
respect to their intellectual vanities
Blount, and Boyle, and the host of inf
dels Matched out by the vile regin of
Charles H., as reptiles crawl out of g
marsh of slime, could not keep theil
patience because, as they passed along
there were sitting in the gate of the
church such men as Matthew. and
Mark, and Luke, and John who would
not bend an inch in respect to thei
philosophers.
Again: Learn the lesson that pride
goes before fall. Was any man eve
so far up as Haman, who tumbled SO fal
down? Yes, on smaller scale every
day the world sees the same thing
Against their very advantages men triI
into destruction. When God humhles
proud men it is usually at the momen
of their greatest arrogancy. If there b.
man in your community greatly puffeC
! up with worldly success, you have bu
; to stand little while aud you will Sc,
him come down. You say, J. wonde
, that God allows that man to e
on riding over others heads and max
ing great assumptions of power
There is no wonder about it. Hamal
has not yet got to the top. Pride is
commander, well plumed and capari
, soned, but it leads forth dark ant
, frowning host. We have the best of au
} thority for saying that Pride goeth be
! fore destruction, and naughty spiri
r before fall" The arrows from tn
Almighty's culver are apt to strike
| man when on the wing. Goliath shake
| his great spear in defiance, but tn
$ small stones from the brook Elah max
a him stagger and fall like an OK unde
Y the butchers bludgeon. He who i
: down can not fall. Vessels scuddin
Q under bare poles do not feel the force G
e the storm, but those with all sails Sc
t capsize at the sudden descent of tn
tempest.
: Again: This Oriental tale remind
: US of the fact that wrongs we prepar
o for others return upon ourselves. Tn
g gallows that Haman built for Mordecs
t became the Prime Minister'S strangul:
: ton. Robespierre, who sent so many t
d the guillotine, had his own head chOl
i ped off by that horrid instrument Tn
r evil you practice on others will reco
|