The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1893-12-22

$1,000
ties for usefulness.
Who built the pyramids? The king
who ordered them built? No; the plain
workmen who added stone after stone
and stone after stone Who built the
bikes of Holland? The government that
ordered the enterprise? No; the plain
workmen who carried the earth and rang
their trowels on the wall Who are those
that built these vast cities? The capital
lists? No; the carpenters, the masons,
the plumbers, the plasterers, the timers,
the roofers, dependent on days wages
for a livelihood. And so in the great
work of assuaging human suffering and
enlightening human ignorance and halt
ing human iniquity. In that great work,
the chief part is to be done by ordinary
men, with ordinary speech, in an ordinary
manner, and by ordinary means
The trouble is that in the army OF
Christ we all want to be captains and
colonies and brigaGier generals. Weare
not willing to march with the rank and
file and do duty with the private soldier.
We want to belong to the reserve corps
and read about the battle while warming
ourselves at the campfres or on fur
Tough at home, our feet upon an otto
man, we sagging back into an armchair.
AS you go down the street you see an
excavation, and four or five men are
working and perhaps 20 or 30 leaning on
the rail looking over at them. That is
the way it is in the church of God to-
day. Where you find one Christian hard
at work, there are so men watching the
job.
Obi my friends, why do you not go to
work and preach the gospel? You say,
II have no pulpit" You have. 1t may
be the carpenters bench, it may be the
mason's wall. The robe in which you
are to proclaim this gospel may be a
shoemaker's apron. But woe unto you
if you preach not this gospel somewhere,
somehow! If this world is ever brought
to Christ it will be through the unani-
nous and long continued efforts of men
who, waiting for no special endowment,
consecrate to God what they have.
Among the most useless people in the
world are men with 10 talents, while
many one with only two talents, or no
talent at all, is doing a great work, and
so tthe lame take the prey"
There are thousands of ministers of
whom you have never heard-in log
cabins at the west, in mission chapels at
the east-who are warning against the
legions of darkness, successfully war
ring. Tract distributors, month by
month undermining the citadels of sin.
You do not know their going or their
coming, but the footballs of their minis
try are heard in the palaces of heaven.
Who are the workers in our Sabbath
schools throughout this land today? Men
celebrated, men brilliant, men of vast
estate? For the most part, not that at all.
I have noticed that the chief charac-
teristic of the most of those who are sue
cessful in the work is that they know
their Bibles, are earnest in prayer are
anxious for the salvation of the young
and Sabbath by Sabbath are willing to
sit down unobserved and tell of Christ
and the resurrection. These are the
humble workers who are recruiting the
great army of Christian youth--nob by
might, not by power, not by profound !
argument, not by brilliant antithesis,
but by the blessing of God on plain talk,
and humble story, and silent tear, and
anxious look, "the lame take the prey"
Oh! this work of saving the youth of |
our country-how few appreciate what |
it is! This generation tramping on to |
the grave-we will soon all be gone.
What of the next
NOT TALENTS, BUT EFFORT.
An engineer on a locomotive going
across the western prairies day after day
saw little child come out in front of
cabin and wave to him. So he got in
the habit of waving back to the little
child, and it was the days joy to him to
see this little one come out in front of
the cabin door and wave to him while
he answered back.
One day the train was belated and it
came on to the dusk of the evening. AS
the engineer stood at his post he saw by
the headlight that little girl on the track,
why the train did not come,
looking for the train, knowing nothing
of her peril. A great horror seized upon
the engineer, He reversed the engine.
He gave it in charge of the other man on
board, and then he climbed over the en-
sine, and he came down on the cowcatch-
IT. He said, though he had reversed the
'ngine, it seemed as though it were GO
ng at lightning speed, faster and faster,
hough it was really slowing up, and
With almost supernatural clutch he
.aught that child by the hair and lifted
t up, aud when the train stopped and
he passengers gathered around to see
what was the matter, there the old en-
.ineer lay, tainted dead away, the little
hid alive and in his swarthy arms.
oh" you say, that was well done"
3ut want you to exercise some kindness
nd some appreciation toward those in the
community who are snatching the little
mes from under the wheels of tempta-
ion and sin-snatching them from under
rail trains of eternal disaster,
ringing them up into responsibility in !
MS world and into glory for the world
} come. You appreciate what the en- 4,
ineer did. Why can you not appreciate t,
lie grander work done by every Sabbath
,hool teacher and by every Christian :