Democratic messenger., 1894-06-02

Danger Of Cynicism.
A Clergyman of the Universalist
church went into ncighborhood for
the establishment Of church of his de-
nomination, and he was anxious to find
some one Of that denomination, and he
was pointed to u certain house and went
there. He said to the man of the house:
II understand you are Universalist
want you to help me in the enter
prise Well. said the man. II am
q Universalist. but have peculiar
that" asked the minister. well, re-
piled the other. II have been ont in the
world. and l have been cheated and
slandered and outraged and abused un-
til believe i'll universal damnation!'
The great danger is that men will be-
come cynical and given TO believe. rs
David was tempted to say, that all men
are liars. Oh. my friends, do not let
that be the effect upon your souls! II
you cannot endure little persecution.
how do you think our fathers endured
great persecution? Motley. in his
Dutch Republic. tells us Of Egmont,
the martyr, who. condemned to be be-
headed, unfastened his collar on the
way TO the scaffold, and when they
asked him why he did that he said: 80
they will not be detained in their work
want to be ready" Oh. how little we
have to endure compared with those
who have gone before us!
Now. if you have come across i'll treat
ment. let me tell you you are in excel
lent company-Christ and Luther and
Galilei and Columbus and John Jay
and Josiah Quincy and thousands of
men and women. the best spirits of
earth and heaven.
Christ Can Understand.
Bulge not one inch, though all hell
wreak upon you its vengeance. and you
be made target for devils TO shoot at
Do you not think Christ knew all about
persecution? Was he not Missed at? Was
he not struck ON the cheek? Was he not
pursued all the days of his life? Did
they not expectorate upon him? Or, to
put it in Bible language, They spit
upon him.. And cannot he understand
what persecution is? Cast thy burden
upon the Lord. and he shall sustain
thee"
Then there are others who carry great
burdens Of physical ailments When
sudden sickness has come. and fierce
choleras and malignant fevers take the
castles of life by storm, we appeal TO
God. but in these chronic ailments
which wear out the strength day after
day, and week after week, and year aft
er year. how little resorting TO God for
solacel Then people depend upon their
tonics, and their plasters. and their cor
dials rather than upon heavenly stimu-
lants
Oh. how few people there are COM
pletely welll Some of you. by dint Of
perseverance and care. have kept living
to this time. but how you have had to
war against physical ailments! Antedi
luvians. without medical college and in
firmary and apothecary shop. multiplied
their years by hundreds. but he who
has gone through the gantlet of disease
in our time and has come to 20 years Of
age is hero worthy OF a palm.
The world seems to be n great hospi-
shiA0 yO0 AuA eASssAhSe
and consumptions and scrofulas and
neuralgias and scores of old diseases
baptized by new nomenclature. oh,
how heavy a burden sickness is! 1t
takes the color ont Of the sky, and the
sparkle out of the wave, and the sweet
ness out of the fruit, and the luster out
Of the night When the limbs ache,
when the respiration is painful. when
the mouth is hot, when the ear roars
with unhealthy distinctions. how hard
it is to be patient and cheerful and as.
siduous!
The Faith Cure.
Cast thy burden upon the Lord. F"
Does your head ache? His wore the
thorn. Do your feet hurt? His were
crushed of the spikes. Is your side pain
full? His was struck by the spear. Do
you feel like giving way under the bur-
den? His weakness gave way under
cross While you are in every possible
way to try to restore your physical Wig
or, you are to remember that moro
soothing than any anodyne. more vital
izing than any stimulant and more
strengthening than any tonic is the
prescription of the text, Cast thy bur-
den upon the Lord, and he will sustain
thee"
We hear q great deal of talk now
about faith cure, and some people say
it cannot be done and it is u failure.
do not know but that the chief advance
Of the church is to be in that direc-
tion. Marvellous things come to me day
by day which make me think that il
the age of miracles is past it is because
the faith of miracles is past.
A prominent merchant Of New York
said to member of my family. MY
Talmage.
This was the case He said: MY
mother had q dreadful abscess, from
which she had suffered untold agonies,
and all surgery had been exhausted up
ON her, and worse and worse she grew
until we called in n few Christian
friends and proceeded to pray about &c
We commended her case to God, and
the abscess began Immediately to be
cured She is entirely well now, and
without knife and without any surgery.
So that case has come to me. and there
are score of other cases coming to our
ears from all parts of the earth. Oh, We
who are sick. go to Christ! Oh, ye who
are worn out with agonies of body.
Cast thy burden upon the Lord. and
he shall sustain thee"
Empty Cradles and Chairs.
Another burden some have to carry is
the burden of bereavement All. these
are the troubles that wear us ont! II
we lose our property. by additional in
dustry perhaps we may bring back the
estranged fortune. If we lose our good
name, perhaps by reformation of morals
we may achieve again reputation for
integrity, but who will bring back the
dear departed?
Alas. me. for these empty cradles and
these trunks of childish toys that will
p n ~ VI nj