The Bossier banner., 1893-10-12

what is his amazement to find that the
man who carries around the poor box
is the very one who swindled him.
But never mind-the deacon has his
black coat on now, and looks solemn,
and goes home talking about that
blessed sermon! Christians on Sunday.
Worldlings during the week.
That man does not realize that God
knows every dishonest dollar he has in
his pocket, that God is looking right
through the iron wall of his money
safe, and that the day of judgment is
coming and that ''as the partridge sit
teth on eggs and hatcheth them not,
so he that getteth riches, and not by
right, shall leave them in the midst of
his days, and at his end shall be a
fool" But how many there are who
do not bring the religion of Christ into
their everyday occupation! They think
religion is for Sundays.
Suppose you were to go out to fight
for your country in some great contest,
would you go to do the battling at
Troy or at Springfield? No, you would
go there to get your swords and mus
kets. Then you would go out in the
face of the enemy and contend for
your country. Now, take the Sabbath
day and the church to be the only
armory where we are to get equipped
for the great battle of life, and that
battlefield is Monday, Tuesday, Wednes-
day, Thursday, Friday and Satur-
day. Antioch" and 'St. Martins, -
and "Old Hundred are not worth much
if we do not sing all the week. A SER
mon is of little account if we can not
| carry it behind the counter and behind
the plow. The Sabbath day is of no
value if it lasts only twenty-four hours.
"Oh!'' says some one, ''if l had a
great sphere 1 would do that; if I
could have lived in the time of Martin
Luther, if l could have been Paul's
travelling companion, if I had some
great and resounding work to do-then
should put into application all that
you say" ! must admit that the ro-
nance and knight errantry have gone
| out of life. There is but very little
of it left in the world. The temples
of Rouen have been changed into
tIC S1tSolC LdASlOh dO hoH-
land has been cut up into walking
sticks; the muses. have retreated
before the emigrant's AK and
the trapper's gun, and Vermont
er might go over the Allegheny
| and the Rocky mountains and see
neither an Dread nor Sylph. The
groves where the gods used to dwell
have been cut up for frewood, and the
man who is looking for great sphere S
and great scenes for action will not
find them. And yet there are Alps
to scale and there are Tablespoons to
swim, and they are in common life. It
| is absurd for you to say that you would
| serve God if you had great sphere.
| If you do not serve Him on a small
scale, you would not on a large scale
If you can not stand the bite of a
midge, how could you endure the
| breath of a basilisk?
Our national government does not
think it belittling to put tax on pins,
and tax on buckles, and a tax on
| shoes. The individual taxes do not
amount to much, but in the aggregate
to millions and millions Of dollars And
l would you, o Christian man, put a
high tariff on every annoyance and vex-
alton that comes through your soul
This might not amount to much, in
single cases, but in the aggregate it
would be great revenue of spiritual
strength and satisfaction. A bee can
suck honey even out of a nettle, and if
you have the grace of God III your
heart, you can get sweetness out of
| that which would otherwise irritate
and annoy. A returned missionary
told me that a company of adventur-
ers.rowing up the Ganges, were stung to
| death by flies that infest that region at
certain seasons. I have seen the earth
strewed with the carcasses of men
slain by insect annoyances The only
way to get prepared for the great trou-
bles of life is to couqer these small
| troubles.
Suppose soldier should say: ''This
is only skirmish, and there are only a
few enemies--1 won't load my gun;
wait until l can get into some great
general engagement. That man is a
coward, and would be coward in af,y
sphere. If man does not serve his
country in a sltirtnish, he will not in a
Waterloo. And if you are not faithful
| going out against the single-handed
misfortunes of this life, you would not
be faithful when great disasters, with
their laundering artillery, came roll
ing down over the soul,
! This brings me to another point. We
ought to bring the religion of Jesus
Christ into all our trials. If I'VE have
bereavement, If we lose our fortune.
1t some great trouble blast like tenn
pest, then we go to God for comfort:
but yesterday, in the little annoyances
OF your store, or office, or shop, OF fac
tory, or banking house, did you go to
God for comfort? You did not.
My friends, you need to take the
religion of the Lord, Jestis Christ into
the most ordinary trials of your life.
You have your misfortunes, you have
your anxieties, you have your vexa-
tions. "0h!' you say, ''they don't
| shape my character. Since / lost nv
child, since have lost my property /
have been G very different man from
| what I was" Nv brother. it is the lift.