Connecticut western news., 1890-05-28

uOt care lOT lrlIIcS. DO uOJ UO GOO 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 cedara 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 null titudes of people in the world con stantly narrowed because they pass their lives, not in searching out those things which are attractive and de- serving, but in spying out with all their powers of vision to see whether they cannot find Mordecai.
 woRLDLINESS vS. GoDLINESS.
 Again: learn from the life of the 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 unhinching 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- Ggion 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 it's 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- igion 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 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 we'll as Poland, Spinoza and Bolingbroke of later days, were so madly opposed to Christiani- ty2 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 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 philosophies.
 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 Haman, 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 archeologist 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 al what they considered past victory, ano pressed on their conquest into the kingdom Of nature until, alas fol theml they discovered too much Gods word had only been lying ir ambush that, in some unguarded mo- ment, with a sudden bound, it might tear infidelity to pieces.
 | It was as when Joshua attacked the city of Ali. He selected thirty thou sand men and concealed most of them Then with a few men he assailed tht city, which poured out it's numbers ant strength upon Joshua's little band According to previous plan, they fel
 back in seeming defeat; but after al the proud inhabitants of the city hat
 been brought out of their homes. ant had joined in the pursuit of Joshua suddenly that brave man halted in hi
 flight, and, with his spear pointing to ward the city, thirty thousand mer
 bounded from the thickets as panther
 spring to their prey, and the pursuer