The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-11-24

VI young m60, OUt QO09 NOT 0lo 6e1flOIo 0x-
raiRnment reach to individuals in every
stratum and to our own land q we'll a. his?
As we look around us upon the state of
our modern society" exclaims Archdeacon
Farrar, in sermon preached in Westmin-
ster abbey, lis IL not true that there are
multitudes Of the youth of England who
are called the '9ilded YOUTH who seem to
devote their whole lives to personal amuse-
ment and self-indulRence, who, through
the whole of their evil and ill-favored lives,
never give to any good object never strike
q blow for any noble cause, never say
one single word or do one single deed to
make man purer or woman nobler9" To
the irrevocableness Of these wasted
days. Where is our real life7 II il
not that imaginary career which We Pee
stretching ont into the future, but the
actual line Of things done which extends
behind ne to the dawn Of our consciousness.
q much Of it we repent; is there one item
that We can erase? We count much ON the
mercy of God. Who does not need it2 We
trust in His mercy; We throw ourselves con-
adently upon 1t, but can it givA M back one
Of our wasted days? How, then, should We
compute the value of this present hour?
Only by the study of the hours that belong
to us no more. So measured this Lords
day swells with wonderful signifcanee;
each succeeding day should become equally
impressive; and while we are speaking, the
serious thought confronts us concerning to-
day. that it ID already many hours on ito
way to yesterday. Out Of the past then
let % learn TO use the present. Lat this day
be glorious. ibid thou say thou wilt live
tomorrow" asks Marshal, ''he is wise who
lived Yesterday" That will be the case
with those who make the most ont Of each
fleeing moment. How often we hear the
remark concerning someone that he has
snln n loEA ~ =
utterance. That one has died 10 only the
great commonplace that brings everyone's
experience at last to the Same level. But il
he has only left fortune behind, what
poverty must he needs have conveyed
into the other world! II man il
worth only his money, leaving that behind,
presence Of God and his angela! A simple,
beautiful inscription 10 found in an Italian
church yard: Here lies Etella, who
transported . large fortune to heaven in
acts of charity ana has gone thither to
enjoy it," Do not believe that heaven il
purchased BY gifts Of money. Otherwise
that We deem humane. the clothing of the
naked and the feeding of the hungry, might
prove to be mans most selfish acts. But
II we cannot escape our past, the evil that
70 in it, neither can We escape the good. II
tells, all Of il, in some way there, Your CHAR
AVAO0S yVUA o0sA-SA0AAs0A01 O0AAAVU OUy 000vous
but they win the heavenly temper. In fact
each one Of us 40 he stands is his own past.
II We can escape from ourselves we can get
rid also Of the days and years, with their
burden of things done and undone which
compass our span, brief Or prolonged. Re-
great fixed gulf which separates the upper
and lower classes of the unseen realm.
How mournfu!ly the admonition floats
across: s'Son, remember" For Dives, to
look ut himself was to see the vision Of his
luxurious, self-centred career. His very
character in that place Of torment, unclad
throbbing memory Of the way in which he
had lived for himself alone. Let me urge
once more the lesson. Do good day BY
day. Put your hand to the duty that al
ways lies nearest. Learn Of Jesus Christ
Lord. Learn Of him how 70 pray, how 70
resist temptation, how to be gracious, how
to bear the cross, how to live, how to die.
Great az this world Of Gods ID, nothing
done in His name, for your own soul or
others, il ever lost in it. Scatter your kind
ness, your toll at self-culture over the days
az the current OF time carries each in front
of your feet. It will be like casting bread
upon the waters, which you shall ind after
many days.
Besides it's seriousness, the review Of q
year ought to teach us something of the
beauty of life; not from the enchantment
of distance which IS thrown over q recedinR
experiences; but because its characteristic
qualities and results appear, because you
see the relation OF its facts to the SYM
metrical whole. Have you observed in
summer the effect upon the foothills Of
these mountains around us, of more dis
tant point Of view? The barren interstices
through and the rough scars left BY many
storms where the dull color Of the clay
shows through, disappear in the distance,
and the hillsldes become an unmarried sur
face of waving verdure. On principle
drawn from similar observation, doubt
not laid smoothly on : with = the the
brush, but applied in thick masses
with the palette knife. What mars
them to q near view communicates vigor
and reality to them to distant observer.
Is it not SO with onr livesp Take those
holiness; to the close, discriminating scru-
tiny they are full Of just such scars and in
capabilities. The rich coloring has been
laid on BY master hand, but with no soft
brush. How else indeed can q masterpiece
be wrought? Did You gain the most in
strength and endurance and grace of char
ence sped most smoothly ON the even tenor
Of its wayf And in our retrospection We
discern what God meant by His dealings
with NJ. We see the compensations These
hours with no bright coloring in them in
tho service they have done, are they not our
best? II We took them Alright, were they
not hours Of conservation. when Christ the
Comforter was very near2 These are the
hours to which We 20 back, as Jesus, q short
time before the crucifixion. went back to
tho sacred place of His baptism, carrying to
them the stronger life, which after many
days, We find they have made for NJ: aud
they reinvigorate us for the fresh work
which coming days unfold.
Possibly in the year which is lust passing
from us there may have been something to
try our faith in God; and much that has
shaken our oon6denoe IN mon. II on0ht
to have taught ~ that faulta lie IN orr
selves AZ we'll a. in others But the wear has
utterly failed us If only Il has left NJ vith
bitterness in our heart, Il Il has Taft
Ms less no, eful Of men. Isss
trustful Of God. II our experiences has hsen
Of that wide and indefinite kind vhich M
weakened our convictions Of Righteousness
which strengthens them; il. in q word, we
have not ended better men than We began.
Let us be admonished by the flight Of
time. Standing ON the beach of tho ocean,
you have seem the seamoss or the driftwood
carried far up upon the shore. RetreatinR
waves leave it upon the sand, TO be lifted
farther by each successive wave OF the in
coming tide. Not like mere driftwood at
the sport # the dumb but powerful forces
Of nature. yet thus We may imagine the
great tides Of life are moving us. Each wear
as it recedes leaves us higher upon the