Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1892-06-17


ABsIAIN FROM PERNICIoUs ASSOCIATIONS.
My second word of counsel to those wit
have recently entered upon Christian lif,
is, Abstain from all perniciOus associations
and take only those that are useful aud be
neficent. lStay out of all associations thai
would dan age your Christian character
Take only tLose associations that will helY
you. A learned man said, IF / stay
with that man Fenelon any longer / shall
be a Christian 10 spite Of myself" II
other words, there is a mighty power in
Christian associations. Now, what kind
Of associations shall we, as young Chris
tians, seek afterl think we ought to get
into company better than ourselves, never
going into company worse than ourselves.
If we get into company little better than
ourselves, and there are ten 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 win be made worse than we were be-
fore
Now, when a young Christian enters the
church, God does not ask him to retire
from the world The anchorite that lives
on acorns is no nearer heaven than the man
who lives on partridge and wild duck. Iso-
lation 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 especially more appropriate
to the young. Now it is impossible that
the young and untroubled should seek
their associations with those who are aged
and worn ont.
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 yeung The grace Of
God does not demand that we be unnat-
ural / do not want you to take this eau
tiOn have given you as that Of a grOwl-
ing misanthrope, hating hilarity. For you
must have a spring bow If you want to
make the arrow fly. But while this is so,
want you to be especially 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 tioated off into
evil influences and they have associated
day by day with those who hated God and
despised his commandments, and their
characters are all depleted. can see they
are changed for the worse but they are
not aware Of il. 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 60 without the
sanction of those who love you very much
do not pretend to point out any evil in
lueuces, but are there not some surround
ng influences that are pernicious to your
growth in grace? Stand back from that
furnace ia which 50 many young Chris
,ians have been destroyed
In this church there is a large company
If young men and young women conse-
rated to Christ. know Of no better peO-
llethan they are. Young convert, ] in
lite you into their friendship. Contact
With them will elevate you. All hail,
'Oung followers Of Jesus Christ, my joy
md my pride! My heart thrills at every
tep of your advancement. / talked with
'Ou in that hour when you first tried to
Freak from sin, and now rejoice as / see
'ou putting on the armor Of conflict in
which God will give you present and ever
astiug victory. Stand off from all evil as
ociations 4 man is no better than the
ompany he keeps. Go among those who
re 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.
KEEPS ACTIVELY EMPLOYED.
My next word of counsel is that you be
employed. ! see Il great many
with doubts and pcrplexities,
nd they seem to be proud of them. Their
ntire Christian life is made up of gloom,
nd they seem to cultivate that spiritual
dependency, when | will undertake to
az that in nine cases out Of ten spiritual
is Judgment of God upon
ileness. Who are the happy people in the /
hurch today? The busy people. Show /
le man who processes the religion Of 4
esus Christ and is idle, and ! win show /
on an unhappy man. The very first pre- |
,riptiOn that / give to a man when find /
i'm full of doubts aud fears about his |
tcrnal interest is to 90 to work for God. ]
EN- thousand voices are lifted up asking 4
Or your help. Go and help.
Here is IL wood full Of summer insects. |
n axman goes into the wood to cut fire
God. The insects do not bother him very I
luch, and every stroke of the ak makes /
lem fly away. But let a man go and lie /
own there and he is bitten and mauled I
nd thinks it is a horrible thing to stay in
ne wood. Why does he not take an ak
nd 90 to work? So there are thousands
Z Christians now in the church who go
ut amid great annoyances in life-they
re not perplexcd, they are all the time
usy; while there are others who do moth
X, and they are stung and stung and
Jung and covered from head to foot with
le blotches of Incidence and inactivity
nd spiritual death.
Tho first thing, then, you have to do, o
hristian young man, Christian young
oman, IS TO go to work in the service Of
le Lord If you want to be a happy Chris
an. When Rn army goes out, there are
ways stragglers falling off here and there,
me because they are faint and sick, but
grent many because they are afraid to
ght and too lazy to march. After awhile
le lazy men on the road hear the boom
" of the guns for hours, and they hear
ie shout of victory, and a man on horse
sck comes up and says, I'VE have won
le dayl" Then they hasten up. How
ave they are after the battle is over.
DOR at fighting. but grand at 'buzzaw
, there are stragglers going after the
Ord's host. There come days Of darkness
I'd battle. Where are theyY We call the
il Of the host. They make no answer,
1t after awhile there comes a day Of tri-
nph in the church, and they are all
,out. "Huzzal huzzai Didn't we give
to theml"
BIZ FAITHFUL II PRAYER
I have another VIZ ord Of counsel to give
ose who Eeye just entered Christian life,
ID that is. BE faithful in prayer. You
light as we'll, business man, start out in
e morning without food and expect to
strong all that day-you might as well
Isl ain from food all the week and expect
be strong physically as to be strong
thout prayer " way to get any
rength into the aver, aud the
ly difference between That Christian
at is worth everything and that who is
Orth nothing is the fact that the last
les not pray and the other does.
And the only difference between this
lristian, who is getting along very fast
the holy life, and this, who IS only get
~ along toleinbly, Is that the first prays
ore than the last. You can graduate a
ans progress IN religion by the amount
prayer, not by the number Of hours,