The morning news., 1892-01-25


try merchant comes IN TO buy spring or fel
goods and be gets into the store OF one oi
these prOfessed Christian men who have
really no grace in their hearts, and he i
completely swindled. He Is 50 overcome
that he cannot get out OF town during the
week. He stays IN town over Sunday
goes into some church to get Chris ian con-
ISOLATION, when. what is shis amazeme It
to find that tine very man VINO hands him
the poor box in the church ia the one who
relieved him Of his money Butnever mind.
the deacon has his black coat on now. Hs
looks solemn. and goes home talking about
''the blessed Sermon II the wheat in the
churches should be put into a hopper, the
first turn Of the crank would make the
ohaff fly. tell you. Some Of these men are
great stricklers for gospel preaching. They
say "you stand there in bands and suTplice
and gown, and preach-preach ike an an
gel and we will stand out here and attend
TO business Don't mix things. Don't get
business aud religion in the same bucket.
You attend TO your matters, and we will
attend TO ours" They do not know that
God sees every cheat they have practiced in
the last six years; that be can look thr ough
the iron wall of their fire-proof safe; that
he has counted every dishonest dollar they
have in their pockets. and that a day of
judgment will come. These inconsistent
Christian men will sit on the Sabbath night
in the house Of God, singing, at the close of
the service Rock Of Ages Cleft for Ne, u
and then, when the benediction is pro-
nounced. shut the pew door and
say, as they go out, Goodbye, religion.
I'll be back next Sunday"
think that the church of God and the
Sabbath are only an armory where we are
% get weapons When war comes, IL a
man wants to fight for his country he does
not go to Troy or Springfield to do battling.
but he goes there for swords and muskets.
! look upon the Church Of Christ and the
Sabbath day as only the place aud time
where and when we are to get armed for
Christian conflict; but the battle field is on
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Thursday,
Friday and Saturday. "St. Martins and
"Lenox,n aud "Old Hundred" do not
amount to anything unless they sing oil the
week. A sermon is useless unless we can
take 1t with us behind the plow and the
counter. The Sabbath day Is worthless If
1T last only twenty-four hours.
There are many Christians who say: eve
are willing to serve God, but we do not
want 20 do 1t in these spheres about which
we are talking; and it seems so insipid
and monotonous. II we bad some great oc-
casion; il we had lived in the time of
Luther: IL we had been Paul's travelling
companion; if we could serve God on a
great scale, we would do it; but we can't in
this everyday life" / admit that great
deal Of the romance and knight-errantry of
tife have disappeared before the advance of
this practical age. The ancient temples of
Rouen have been changed into store houses
and smithies. The residences of poels and
princes have been turned into brokers' shops
The classic mansion of Ashland has been
cut up into walking-sticks. The groves
where the poets said the gods dwelt have
been carted out for fire-wood. The muses.
AAa.e \
peared before the emigrant's axe and the
trappers gun, and that man who is waiting
for e life bewitched Of wonders will never
, find It. There is, however, a field for en-
duranee and great achievement, but it is in
everyday life. There are Alps to scale,
there are Tablespoons to swim, there are
fires to brave; but they are all around us
now. This is the hardest kind of martyr
dom to bear. 1t took grace to lead
Latimer and Ridley through the fire
triumphantly when their armed enemies
aud their friends were looking on; but it
requires more grace now to bring men
through persecution when nobody is looking
on. / could show you in this city a woman
who has had rheumatism for twenty years,
who has endured more suffering and
exhausted more grace than would have
made twenty martyrs pass triumphantly
through the fire. II you are not faithful in
an Insignificant position in life, you would
not be faithful in a grand mission. II
you cannot stand the bite of a mldge how
could you endure the breath of n basilisk
Do not think that any work God gives
you 70 do in the world is on too small a scale
Tor you to do. The whole universe is not
ashamed TO take care of one little flower. l
say, "What are you doing down here in the
grass, you poor little fiowerl Are you not
afraid nightsi You will be neglected, you
will die of thirst, you will not be fed. Poor
little fowerw mo" says a star, I'm
watch over 1t Tonight" "No," saws a
cloud, "I'll give 1t drink" "No," SAYS the
sun, an warm it in my bosom" Then
see the pulleys going, and the clouds are
drawing water, and say. what are you
doing there, o, cloudsN And the reply
1--WE are giving drink to the flower" Then
the wind rises, and comes bending down
wheat, and sound ing its psalm through the
forest. and L cry, "WhiUher away on such
swift wing, o, windq" And it replies
ave are going to cool the cheek of that
shower.n And then bow down and say
Twill God take care OF the grass of the
aieldp And flower at my foot responds,
s'Yes; he clothes the lilies of the field, and
never yet has forgotten me, poor little
flower" o. when l see the great heaven.
bending themselves to what seems insig,
niticant ministration, when l find out
that God does not forget any blossoms OF
'the spring or any snowflake of the winter,
come to the conclusion that we can afford tc
attend TO the minute things Of life, and
that what we do we ought to do well, sinct
there is as much perfection in the construc-
tion OF SPIDERS eye as in the
conformation OF flaming galaxies.
Plato had fable which
have now nearly forgotten, but it ran some.
thing like this He said spirits of tho other
world came back to this world to find a
body and find a sphere of work. One spirit
came and took the body of "a king, aud did
his work. Another spirit came and took the
body of a poet and did his work After a
while Ulysses came, and he said: "Why, al
the fine bodies are taken and all the grand
work is taken. There is nothing left fol
me-" And some one replied: "Ah, the best
one has been left for you." Ulysses said
"What's thatN And the reply was: "Tht
body Of a common man, doing common
work, and for common reward" A good
fable for the world, and just as good a ia
BILE for the church. Whether we eat or drink
or whatsoever we do, let us do it to the
glory Of God.
Again, we need TO bring the religion Of
Christ into our oommonest trials. For SO
we're losses, for bereavement for troubl,
shat shocks like an earthquake and tha
blasts like storm, we prescribe religious
consolation; but, business man, for the
small annoyances of last week, how mucl
OF the grace of God did you applyg 90
you say, these trials are too small for such
application" My brother, thev are shap-
ing your character, they are souring YOU
temper, they are wearing out your patience
and they are making you less and less of
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