The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1891-06-12

between TWO Si1ieves Tor the one who
comes to save 1t. High and holy en-
terprise hos always been followed by
abuse. The most sublime tragedy al
sed sacrifice has come to burlesuue,
The graceful gait Of virtue Is AWAY,
followed by gri'nace and travesty. The
sweetest strain. Of poetry ever written
has come to ridiculous parody. and AZ
long as there are virtue and righteous,
ness In the world there will DO some.
thing for iniquity to grin ut. All along
the line OF the ages, and In all lands,
the cry has been: mot this man. but
Barabbas. Now, Barabbas was rob.
ber."
And what makes the persecution OF
life worse Is that they come from peo
pie whom you have helped, from those
to whom you have loaned money OF
have started in business, or whom you
rescued in some great crisis. think II
has been the history of all our lives
the most acrimonious assault has come
from those whom we have benefited.
whom we have helped. and that makes
it all the harder to bear. A man is in
danger of becoming cynical.
Behaved IN UNIVERSAL DAMNArIoN.
A clergyman of the Universalist
church went into neighborhood for
the establishment of church of his
denomination. and he was anxious to
find some one of that denomination,
and he was pointed to a certain house
and went there. He said to the man
of the house, II understand you are a
Universalist; l want you to help Inc in
the enterprise. We'll" said the man,
~ am a Universalist, but l have De-
culiar kind of universalism." What
is that?" asked the minister. WELL"
replied the other, II have been out in
the world, and l have been cheated
and slandered and outraged and abused
until believe in universal dalnnation |"
The great danger is that men will be-
come cynical and given to believe, as
David was tempted to say, that all
men are liars. Oh, my friendsk do not
let that be the effect upon you |ouls!
If you cannot endure a littl .rsecu-
ton, how do you think our )rs en-
dured great persecution? No ley, in
his Dutch Republic" tells us of Egg
mont, the martyr, who, condemned to
be beheaded. unfastened his collar on
the way to the scaffold, and when they
.sked him why he did that he said, 80
they will not be detained in their work;
l want to be ready" Oh, how little we
have TO endure compared with those
who have gone before us"
Now, if you have come across i'll
let me tell you you are in
excellent company-Christ and Luther
and Calico and Columbus and John
Jay and Josiah Quincy and thousands
Of men and women. the best spirits of
earth and heaven. Bulge not one
nch, though all hell wreck upon you
It's vengeance, and you be made tar
get for devils to shoot at. Do you not
link Christ knows all about persecu-
ion? Was he not Kissed at? Was he
lot struck on the cheek2 Was he not
pursued all the days of his life? Did
hey not expectorate upon him9 Or,
70 put it in Bible tanguage, fhey spit
upon him." And cannot he under
stand what persecution ISL Cast thy
burden upon the Lord, and he shall sus-
ain thee"
THE BURDEN OF SICKNESS.
Third-There are others who carry
great burdens of physical ailments.
When sudden sickness has come, and
ierce choleras and malignant fevers
AXE the castles of life by storm. we
appeal to God; but in these chronic
ailments which wear out the strength
lay after day, and week after week,
md year after year, how little resort
ng to God for solace! Then people
depend upon their tonics, and their
olasters, and their cordials, rather than
lpon heavenly stimulants Oh, how
ew people there are completely well.
some of you, by dint of perseverance
md care, have kept living to this time;
'ut how you have had to war against
physical ailments Antediluvians, with
tut medical college and infirmary and
lpothecary shop, multiplied their years
~ hundreds, but he who ha gone
through the gantlet of diseasekn our
ime, and has come to seventy years of
ge, is hero worthy of palm.
The world seems to be a great hos
'ital, and you run against rheumatisms
nd consumptions and scrofulas and
euralgias and scores of old diseases
'aptized by new nomenclature. Oh,
ow heavy burden sickness is! It
axes the color out of the sky and the
parkle out of the wave and the sweet
ess out of the fruit and the luster out
the night. When the limbs ache,
7hen the respiration is painful, when
he mouth is hot, when the ear roars
18th unhealthy distractions, how hard
is to be patient and cheerful and as
duous! Cast thy burden upon the
ord" Does your head ache2 His
7ore the thorn. Do your feet hurt
lis were crushed of the spikes. Is your