Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1893-12-07

lIAaSc OF Cne earth, caftny. Iney saw
some great souls by avaricc turned into
homunculi, and they said to themselves:
II will seek after higher treasure"
From that time they did not care
whether they walked OF rode, if Christ
walked with them; nor whether they
lived in n mansion or i'll a hut, if they
dwelt under the shadow Of the Al
mighty; nor whether they We're ROBBED
in French broadcloth or IN homcspun
it they had the robe Of the Savior's
Righteousness; nor if they We're san
daled with morocco or calf-skin. If they
were shod with the preparation Of the
gospel. Now you see peace on their
countenance. NoN that man says:
What Il fool I was to be enchanted
with this world. Why, I have more
satisfaction in five minutes in the serv-
ice of God than had in all the first
years of my life while Twas gain-get-
ting. like this evening Of my day
a great deal better than ! did the
morning. In the morning I greedily
devourcd the prey; but now in the
evening. and l am sloriOusly dividing
the spoil"
My friends, this world is poor thing
to hunt 1t is healthful to go out in the
woods and hunt 1t rekindles the hs-
ter Of the eye. 1t strikes the brown Of
the autumnal leaf into the cheek. 1t
gives to the rheumatic limbs the
strength to leap like roe. Christopher
North's pet gun, the muckle-mou'd Meg,
going off in the summer in the forests,
had its echo in the winter time in the
cloquence that rang through the uni
versity halls of Edinburgh. 1t is
healthy to go hunting in the fields;
but l tell you that it is belittleing
and bedwartng and belamins for Il
man to hunt this world. The hammer
comes down on the gun cap. and the
barrel explodcs and kills you instead of
that which you are pursuing. When
you turn out to hunt the world, the
world turns out to hunt you: and as
many sportsman aiming his gun
ut a panther's heart has gone down I'M
der the striped claws, so. while you
have been attempting to devour this
world. the world has been devonring
you. So it was with Lord Byron. So
it was with Colelidge. So it was with
Catherine of Russia. Henry II. went
out hunting for this world, and its
lances struck through his heart Fran
els l. aimed at the world. but the as
SaSsins dagger put an end to his am
bition and his life with one stroke.
Mary Queen Of Scots wrote on the win
dow of her castle:
From the top Of all my trust
NliShap hath laid me in the dust.
The Queen Dowager of Navarro was
offered for her wedding day costly
and beautiful pair of gloves, and she
put them on; but they We're poisoned
gloves. and they took her life. Better
a bare hand Of cold privation that a
| warm and poisoned glove Of ruinouS
success. oh says some young man
in the audience, Il believe what YOU
arc preaching. I am going to do that
| very thing. In the morning Of my life
l am going to devour the prey, and in
the evening l shall divide the spoils of
Christian character. l only want a lit
tie while to sow my wild oats and then
l will be good" Young man, did you
ever take the census of all the old pco.
pie? How many old people are there
in Your house? One, two, or none:
How many in a vast assemblage like
this? Only here and there gray head
like the patches of snow here and there
in the fields on a late April day. Tho
fact is that the tides of the years are sc
strong that men so down under them
| before they get to be sixty. before they
get to be fifty, before they get to be
forty. before they get to be thirty; and
| if you, my young brother, resolve now
| that YOU will spend the morning of your
days devouring the prey the probability
is that you will never divide the spoil>
in the evening hour. He who postpone:
until old age the religion of Jesus
| Christ postponcs it forever. Whore arc
the men who. thirty years ago, resolved
| to become Christians in old age putting
| it off 4 certain number Of years? They
never got to be old. The railroad col
| lision. or the steamboat explosion. OF
| the slip on the ice or the falling lad
| der. or the sudden cold put an end tc
| their opportunities. They have never
had IN opportunity since, and will
| never have an opportunity again. The.
| locked the door of heaven against their
| souls. and they threw away their keys
| They chased the world and they died
| in the chase. The wounded tiger turn
ed on them. They failed to take the
| game they pursued. Mounted on !;
swift courser they lcaped the hedge
but the courses fell OH them and crush
ed them. Proposing to barter their SOU
for the world, they lost both and got
neither.
| While this is an encouragement to ole
people who are still unpardoned, it is
no encouragement to the young who
are putting off the day Of grace. This
doctrine that the old may be repentant
| is to be taken cautiously. 1t is medi
cine that kills or cures. The same med
icine, given to different patients. in one
case it saves life and in the other II
| destroys it. This possibility of repent
| apcc at the close of life may cure the
old man while it Kills the young. Be
cautious in taking it,
Again. my subject is descriptive OF
! those who come to a sudden and L rad
| zeal change. You have noticed how
| short L time it is from morning tC
night-only seven or eight hours. You
know that the day has very brief life
| It's heart beats twenty-four times and
| then it is dead. How quick this transi
| ton in the character of these Benja
mites! I'm the morning they shall de-
YOUR the prey, and at night they shall
divide the spoils." Is it possible that
| there shall be such L transformation III
| any of our characters? Yes, a maj
may be at I o'clock in the morning al
all-devouring wording, and at I O'Clock