The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1892-06-17

I
son: ITO n brave man no sword is too
short. Ii it be too short, take one step
in advance, and then il is long enough. "
So say 70 any Caylstian who may feel
that he has poor weapons with which to
fight against sin and darkness and death:
"Advance upon the enemy. In the
strength of Christ go forward. God is
for you, and If God be for you, who can
be against your Remember that God
never puts you in battle, but he gives
you weapons with which to fight"
POWER OF CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION.
My second word of counsel to those
who have recently entered upon Christian
life is, Abstain from all pernicious asso.
Citations, and take only those that are
useful and beneticent, Stay out of all
associations that would damage your
Christian character, Take only those as
sociations that will help you. A learned
man said, "lf stay with that man Fenea
Ion any longer, shall get to be Chris
tain in spite of myself" In other words
there is a mighty power in Christian as
sociations. Now what kind of associa-
tons shall we, as young Christians, seek
after? think we ought to get into COM
pany better than ourselves, never going
into company worse than ourselves. If
we get into company little better than
ourselves and there are t people in
that company, ten chances to one we will
be bettered. If we get into company
little worse than ourselves, and there be
ten people in that company, ten chances
to one we will be made worse than we
| were before.
| Now, when young Christian enters
the church, God does not ask him to re-
tire from the world. The anchorite that
| lives on acorns Is no nearer heaven than
the man who lives on partridge and wild
duck. Isolation is not demanded by the
Bible. A man may use the world with
the restriction Of not abusing it. But
just as soon as you find any surroundings
pernicious to your spiritual interest, quit
those associations. This remark is more
especially appropriate to the young. Now
it is impossible that the young and I'M
troubled should seek their associations
with those who are aged and worn out.
AS God intended the aged to associate
with the aged, talking over the past and
walking staff in hand along the same
paths they trod thirty, forty and fifty
years ago; so suppose he intended the
young chiefly to associate with the young.
The grace Of God does not demand that
we be unnatural. l do not want you to
take this caution l have given you as
that of growing misanthrope, hating
hilarity For you must have spring
bow if you want to make the arrow fly.
But while this is so, want you to be es-
pecially on guard in this matter, and let
the religion of Jesus Christ control you
in all your associations. | know young
people who have meant well enough, but
they have doated off into evil influences.
and they have associated day by day with
those who hated God and despise his
commandments, and their characters are
all depleted, can see they are changed
for the worse, but they are not aware of
it. Oh, young man, come out of that bad
association. do not know what it is. |
do not know to what place you may
have private key. do not know to
what place you go without the sanction
of those who love you very much.
do not pretend to point out any evil |
influences, but are there not some sur
rounding influences that are pernicious
to your growth in grace? Stand back
from that furnace In which so many
young Christians have been DESTROYED. |
In this church there is large company
Of young men and young women con-
secrated to Christ. know of no better
than they are
Young convert, invite you into their
friendship. Contact with them will ele-
vate you. All hail young followers of
Jesus Christ, my joy and my pride! My
heart thrills at every step of your ad-
vancement, l talked with you in that
hour when you most tried to break from
sin, and now rejoice as l see you put
ting on the armor of conflict in which
God will give you present and everlast-
ing victory. Stand off from all evil as
sociations. A man is>no better than the
company he keeps. Go among those
who are better than you are, and you
will be made better. Go among those
who are worse than you are and you
will be made worse.
BE BRIGHT AND CHEERFUL.
Ny next word of counsel is that you
be actively employed. l see a great
many Christians with doubts and per-
plexities, and they seem to be proud of
them. Their entire Christian life is
made up of gloom, and they seem to
cultivate that spiritual dependency,
when | will undertake to say that in
nine cases out of ten spiritual despond-
ency is Judgment of God upon idle
ness. Who are the happy people in the
church today? The busy people. Show
me man who processes the religion of
Jesus Christ and is idle, and will show
you an unhappy man. The very first
prescription that l give to man when
l find him full of doubts and fears about
his eternal interest is to go to work for
God. Ten thousand voices are lifted up
asking for your help. Go and help.
Here is a wood full of summer in
sects. An axman goes into the wood to
cut tirewood. The insects do not bother
him very much, and every stroke of the
AK makes them fyaway. let man
go and lie down there, and he is bitten
and mauled, and thinks it is a horrible
thing to stay in the wood. Why does
he not take an ak and go to work: So
there are thousands of Christians now
in the church who go ont amid great
in life-they are not per-
picked, they are all the time busy; while
there are others who do nothing, and
they are stung and stung and stung
and covered from head to foot with the
blotches of Incidence and inactivity, and
spiritual death. {
The first thing, then, you have to do, /
o Christian young man, Christian young
is to 80 to work in the service
Of the Lord. if You want to be happy !
Christian. When an army goes out, '
there are always stragglers falling off
here and there, some because they arc s
faint ana sick, but a great many because t
they are afraid to fight and too lazy to
march. After while the lazy men on
the road hear the booming Of the guns
F..