The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1890-09-02

was not a man in all the earth who
had more to do than Daniel, the secre
tary of state, and yet we find him three
tilt7es day bowling before God in
prayer. There are men in our day
who have not hundredth part Of
Daniels engagements who say they
are too busy to be religious. They
have an idea somehow that religion
will spoil their worldly occupation,
that it will trip the accountants pen,
or dull the carpenters saw, oT confuse
the lawyers brief, or disarange the
merchants store shelf.
IMPERTINENr RELIGION.
They think religion is impertinent.
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 didactc dis
course; or they would like to leave itin
the pew on Sabbath evening, as they
90 out closing the door, saying, Good
night, religion; I'll be back next Sun
day." But to have religion go right
along by them all through life. to have
religion looking over their shoulder
when they are making 4 bargain, to
have religion take up a bag of dishonest
gold and shake it and say, 'IIa! ha'
where did you get that3'-they think
that is an ilnpertinent religion. Yhey
would ike to have a religion to help
them when they are sick, and when the
,tadow of death comes over them they
would like TO have religion as a sort OF
night key with which to open the door
If heaven; but religion under other cir
.unstances they take to be an imperti.
renee. Now, my friends, religion never
.o5bed man of dollar Other things
being equal, u mason will build a bet
.er wall, cabinet maker will make
better CHAIR Il plumber will make a
setter pipe, Il lawyer will make better
,lea. Il merchant will sell Il better bill
# goods.
say other things being equal. OF
curse when religion gives a man a new
lcalr Il does not propose to give him a
.ew head, or TO intellectualize him, or
change u mans condition when his
rdin"ry state is an overthrow Of the
hilosopliical theory that total vacu
IN is impossible; but the more letters
ON lave TO write, the more burdens
on have To carry, the more miles you
axe 70 travel, the more burdens you
AVE 10 LII. the inore engagements you
AVE to ma2t. the more disputes you
ave TO Stle, the more opportunity
on have being g Christian.
TIE BUSIEST MEN THE BEST MEN.
If you have thousand irons in the
ire, Won have thousand more oppor
-uni5ies Of serving God than if you
1ad only one iron in the fire. Who so
busy as Christ? And yet who a mill
ionth part as holy2 The busiest men
The best men. All the persons convert
ed in Scripture busy at the time OF
sheir being converted. Matthew at
lending TO his custom house duties; the
froaiga Son feeding swine; Lydia
selling puyple; Simon Peter hauling in
tie, net from the sea; Saul squirting his
horse toward Damascus, going down on
his law business. Busy busy! Daniel
with all the affairs Of state weighing
down upon his soul, and yet three times
day worshiping the God Of heaven.
Again, learn from this subject that
Il man may take religion into his
politics. Daniel had ali the affairs OF
state on hand, yet Christian. He
could not have kept his. elevated posi-
ton unless he had been a thorough
politician, and yet all the thrusts of Of
fieials and all the danger of disgrace
did not make him yield one iota OF his
high toned religious principle He
stood before that age, ne 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 emf
nent in. the service of God as they have
been eminent in the .sa OF the
state. Such was Benjamin Z. 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 Frelinghuysen, of New Jer
sey. Men faithful to the state, at the
same time faithful to God
OUR HOPE Is N THE YOUNG MEN.
It's absurd to expect that men who
liiSa been immersed in poltcal wick
edl !, for thirty or forty years shall
4 conn 10 reformation; and our hope i
4 in the young men who are coming up
/ that they have patriotic principle and
/ Christian principle side. by side wheI