Democratic messenger., 1893-02-04


God Almighty. Your coadjutors.
This is not the advice of n misanthrope
There is no man in the house to whom
the world is brighter than il is to me.
is not the advice of dysteptic-my di
gestion is perfect: ii is not the advice o
man who cannot understand joke o
who prefers funeral; it is not the al
vice of "A woTnout man, but the advic,
of a man who can see this world in al
its brightness. and. considering mysel
competent III Judging what is goot
cheer. tell the multitudes of Young mci
in this house this morning that there i
nothing in worldly association so grant
and so beautiful and so cxhilarant rs il
Christian society.
know there is great deal of tall
about the self dcnials of the Christian
| have to tell You that where the Chris
tian has one self denial the man of th'
world has thousand self deEials. Tn,
Christian is not commanded 10 surrcndcl
anything that is worh keeping. Bu
what does man deny himself who de
nies himself the religion of Christ. II,
denies himself pardon of sin: he denie.
himself peace of conscience; he denie:
himself the joy of tie Holy Ghost; h
denies himself comfortable death pill
low: he denies himself the glories o
heaven. Do not talk to me about tn,
self denials Of the Christian life! Wher,
there is one in the Christian life ther,
are Il Thousand in the life of the world
Her ways are ways of pleasantness."
Again. find great deal of religion:
sunshine i'll Christian and divine expla
nation. To . great many people life j.
an inexplic;Sle tangle. Things turn ont
differently from what was supposed
There is Il useless woman in perfect
health There is an industrious and
consecrated woman complete invalid
Explain that. There is bad man with
So. 900 of income. There is good man
with $500 of income, Why is that.
There is Zoe of society who lives on
doing all the damage he can, to seventy.
FIVE years of age. and here is Christian
father. faithful in every department OF
life. at thir;y-tive years taken away by
death. his family left helpless. Explain
that. Oh. there is no sentence that of.
tener drops from your lips than this: Il
cannot understand it. cannot under.
stand it.
THE JOYS OF RELIGION.
Well. now. religion comes in just n,
that point with its illumination and its
explanation. There is business man
who has lost his entire fortune. The
week before he lost his fortune there
were twenty carriages that stopped AT
the door of his mansion. The week after
he lost his fortune all the carriages you
could count on one finger. The week be-
fore financial trouble began people all
took off their hats to him rs he passed
down the street. The week his financial
prospects We're under discussion people
just touched their hats without anywise
bending the rim. The week that he was
pronounced insolvent people just jolted
their heads rs they passed. not tipping
their hats N I'll. and the week the sheriff
sold him ont all his friends were looking
in the store windows rs they went down
past him.
Now, while the world goes away from
u man when he is in financial distress,
the religion Of Christ comes TO him and
says: You are sick and your sickness
is to bc moral publication; you are be.
reavcd: God wanted in some way ia
take your family 10 heaven. and he must
begin somewhere. and SO he took the one
@l. f,,I
ready to CO." do not say that religion
explains everything in this life, but do
say it lays down certain principles which
are grandly consolatory. You know
business men often telegraph i'll ciphers.
The merchant III San Francisco tele-
graphs to the merchant in New York
certain information in ciphers which nc
other man in that line of business can
understand, hut the merchant in San
Francisco has the key te the cipher. and
the merchant in New York has the key
to the cipher. and on that information
transmitted there are enterprises involv-
ing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Now the providences of life sometimes
seem to be II senseless rigmarole, mys-
tcrious cipher. but God has key to that
cipher. and the Christian key to that
cipher. and. though he may hardly he
rble to spell ont the meaning, he gets
enough of the meaning to understand
that it is for the best. Now is there not
sunshine in that: Is there not pleasure
in that: Far hcyond laughter. it is near
er the fountain of tears than boisterous
demonstration. Have you never cried
for joy: There are tears which are eter-
nal rapture in listilla;ion.
THE soRRowFUL MYSTERIES.
There are hundreds of people in this
house who are walking day by day in
the sublime satisfaction that all is for
the best all things working together for
good for their soul How man can
get along through this life without the
explanation is to me mystery. What.
is that child gone forever: Are You
never TO get it back: Is your property
gone forever: Is your soul to be bruised
and to he tried forever? Have Won no
explanation, no Christian explanation,
and yet not maniac? But when you
have the religion of Jesus Christ in your
soul, it explains everything so far as it
is best for You to understand. You look
off in life. and your soul is full of thanks
giving to God that you are so much bet
ter OF than You might be.
y man passed down the street without
any shoes and said: Il l'ave no shoes.
ISN'T il hardship that have no shoes:
other people have shoes; no shoes, no
thoes," until he :aw Il man who had no
feet. Then he learned lesson. You
ought to thank God for what he does,
instead of grumblinS fer what he does
not. God arranges all the weather i'll
this worlG-the spiritual weather, the
moral weather as well as the natural
weather. Nv hat kind of weather will
it be today" said some one to farmer.
The farmer replied. 1t will he such
weather ;:s like" What do you mean
by that" ask, the other. We'll" said
the farmer. lit will be such weather rs
plcascs the Lord. and what pleases the
Lord pleascs me"
Oh. the sunshine. the sunshine of