The Progress., 1892-07-16
Matters Religious.
COUNSEL TO YOUNG MEN.
Rev. DIR. Charles II. Parlshurst Admon-
ishes Them to Fight Sin.

ishes Them to Fight Sin.
There is only one means by which II
man can become thoroughly qualified to
fulfill the functions to which he is divine
ly ordained. He must put himself in
that SPOT. body, mind and estate, III
which Christ put himself i'll the dis
charge of the commission with which
God the Father loaded him. We might
as well stop before we begin If we are
not prepared to be thorough ut this point
There is great deal about Christ that
is mysterious, that we know nothing
about and never shall; but here is some
thing that is clear, that Christ came
into this world from heaven afiamc with
purpose, and thai the fires of that pur.
pose consumed him to ashes, and thai
that purpose-all done up in Il single
wOrd-was none other than the attempt,
burning and all engrossing, to take this
world as it was and make it into what
it was not; to clean it, to beautify il, to
make 1t over from n damnable world
into Il blessed world. That was the thing
he came for. And to be a Christian is
our own, the purpose by which he was
inspired and swept onward. There is
just enough in that to match a young
mans mettle, I've he the divine youn.
man Of Nazareth or the human young
man of New York. Young friend, if a
purpose of life SO searching, so thorough.
so broad and so long doesn't take hold
of you and make your blood beat quicker
and your nerves Jingle, God have mercy
upon you!
Just let me earnestly caution you right
here against the mistake of attempting
to roll off the responsibility OF all this
upon the shoulders of the clergy. Before
God it is my business to do this, and be-
fore the same God it is your business to
do this. 1t is your business and mine,
not because we are this, that or the
other, but because we are Christians
The difference between n layman's obi
cations to this corrupt world and a
clergyman's obligations to this corrupt
world is not in the faintest degree mat
ter of difference in the quality of our OBJ
legations or the strenuousness of them,
but only an affair of difference in the
method by which diversity of endow-
ment. circumstance or occupation makes
it wise for us to meet our obligations.
For a man calling himself Christian to
pay his minister so much year for try
ing to make the world better, and then
leaving it at that and letting the world
go to the devil, so far as his own efforts
are concerned, is rs wicked as it is mean.
and you young fellows, with the fervid
spirit of vigorous manhood in you, you
know it.
As followers of Christ and as cooper
ant with him in the effort to get wicked
ness out of the world you will maintain
a steady consciousness of the sin that is
in the world, and will keep yourself well
in hand to do that sin steady battle. If
the pressure of circumstances and the
times makes itself felt within you, lie
sure not to let your enthusiasm work
itself off in any kind of frothy efferves-
cence. Make earnest with it. Make a
business Of it. Take hold of the world,
take hold of this state, take hold of this
city i'll some matter of fact and calculat-
ing way that shall point in the direction
of some positive result or other. Make
up your mind carefully, conscientiously,
what you will try to do and
how you will try to do it, and then go
along about it. Do not be concerned to |
secure the appreciation of Thomas, Rich
ard or Henry. Keep a clean conscience
and an open road between your own
heart and God, and bid goodby to what
people think of you or say about you.-
From Sermon by Rev. DIR. Charles H. |
Parkhurst.