Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1890-05-26
woRLDL1NEss VS.. GOODNESS.

again ACcil lIOh1 OA1O liz Va Wiz
man under our notice that worldly
vanity and sin are very anxious to
have piety bow before them. Hannah
was fair emblem of entire worldi-
ness, and Mordecai the representative
of unfinching godliness. 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 respect for his
| character and nation. Mordecai would,
therefore, have sinned against his re-
ligion had he made any obeisance or
dropped his chin half an inch before
Hannah When, therefore, proud Ha-
man 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 yield to its dictates.
| Daniel, if he had been a man of relig-
| ious compromises, 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 re-
ligion without making himself so COM
pletely obnoxious to the idolaters
Paul might have retained the favor of
his rulers and escaped 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 insult
Fagot and rack and halter in all
ages have been only the different ways
in which the world has demanded
obeisance. It was once, away up on
the top of the temple, that Satan COM
manded the Holy One of Nazareth to
| kneel before him But it is not now
SO much on the top of churches as
down in the aisle and the pew
and the pulpit that Satan tempts
the espousers of the Christian
faith to kneel before him. Why
was it that the Platonic philosophers
of early times, as well as Toland,
Spinoza and Bolingbrolze of later days.
were SO madly opposed to Christiani
| ty? Certainly not because it favored
immoralities, or arrested civilization,
or dwarfed the intellect. The genu
inc reason, whether admitted or not,
was because the religion of Christ paid
no respect to their intellectual vani-
ties Blount and Boyle, and the host
| of infidels Matched out by the vile
reign of Charles the Second, as rep
| tiles crawl out of a marsh of slime,
could not keep their patience because,
as they passed along, there were sit
ting 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 their PHILOSOPHERS.
| YET ANOTHER APPLE.
Satan told our first parents that they
would become as gods if they would
only reach up and take a taste of the
fruit. They tried it and failed, but
| their descendants are not yet satisfied
with the experiment We have now
many desiring to be as gods, reaching
up after yet another apple. Human
reason, scornful of Gods word, may
foam and strut with the proud wrath
of a Hannah, and attempt to compel
the homage of the good, but in the
presence Of men and angels it shall be
confounded God shall smite thee,
thou whited wall" When science
began to make its brilliant discoveries
there were great facts brought to light
that seemed to overthrow the truth of
the bible. The archaologist with his
crowbar, and the geologist with his
hammer, and the chemist with his
batteries charged upon the Bible.
Moses account of the creation seemed
denied by the very structure of the
earth The astronomer wheeled round
his telescope until the heavenly bodies
seemed to marshal themselves against
the Bible, as the stars in their courses
fought against Sisera. Observatories
and universities rejoiced at what they
considered the extinction of Christian
ity. They gathered new courage at
what they considered past victory, and
pressed on their conquest into the
kingdom of nature until, alas for
theml they discovered too much.
Gods word had only been lying in
ambush that, in some unguarded mo-
ment, with a sudden bound it might
tear infidelity to pieces.
1t was as when Joshua attacked the
city of All He selected thirty thou
sand men and concealed most of them.
Then with a few men he assailed the
city, which poured out it's numbers and
strength upon Joshua's little band.
According to previous plan, they fell
back in seeming defeat; but after all
the proud inhabitants of the city had
been brought out of their homes, and
had Joined in the pursuit of Joshua,
suddenly that brave man halted in his
fight, and, with his spear pointing to-
ward the city, thirty thousand men
bounded from the thickets as panthers
spring to their prey, and the pursuers
were dashed to pieces, while the hosts
of Joshua pressed up to the city, and,
with their lighted torches, tossed it
| into flame.
Thus it was that the discoveries of
science seemed to give temporary vic
tory against God and the Bible, and
for while the church acted as if she
were on a retreat; but, when all the
opposers Of God and truth had Joined
in the pursuit and were sure of the
field, Christ gave the signal to his
church, and, turning, they drove back
their foes in shame. There was found
to be no antagonism between nature
and revelation. The universe and the
Bible were found to be the work of the
same hand, two strokes of the same
pen, their authorship the same God.
FEW LESSONS PRESENTED.
Again: learn the lesson that pride
goes before fall. Was any man ever
so far up as Hannah, who tumbled SO
far down2 Yes, on a smaller scale
every day the world sees the same
thing Against their very advantages
men trip into destruction. When God
humbles proud men, it is usually at
the moment of their greatest AFRO
gancy. If there be a man in youl
community greatly pulled up with
worldly success, you have but to stand
a little while and you will see him
come down. You say, [ wonder that
God allows that man to go on riding
over others heads and making great
assumptions of power. There is nc
wonder about it. Hannah has not ye
oot to the ton Pride is q commander