The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1894-04-06

uOU Sdy Dub ITO may DdCh lIOu
some forms of hilarity in which he ono,
INDUCED, but there comes into his sou
an immense satisfaction. A young mar
not Christian depends upon worldly
successes to keep his spirits up. Now
he is prospered, now he has large sal
cry, now he has a beautiful wardrobe
now he has pleasant friends, now he has
more money than he knows how tc
spend. Everything goes bright and wei
with him.
But trouble comes. There are many
young men in the house this morning
who can testify out of their own expert.
ence that sometimes to young men trou.
BILE does come-his friends are gone, his
salary is gone, his health is gone. He
goes down, down. He becomes sour,
cross, queer, misanthropic, blames the
world, blames society, blames the church,
blames everything, rushes perhaps to the
intoxicating cup to drown his trouble,
but instead of drowning his trouble he
browns his body and browns his soul.
But here is Christian young man.
Trouble comes to him. Does he give up?
No! He throws himself back on the re-
sources of heaven. He says: "God is
my Father. Out of all these disasters |
shall pluck advantage for my soul. All
the promises are mine, Christ is mine,
Christian companionshipi is mine, heaven
is mine. What though my apparel be
worn out? Christ gives me a robe of
righteousness. What though my money
be gone? have title deed to the whole
universe in the promise, All are yours
What though my worldly friends fall
away? Ministering angels are my body
guard What though my fare be poor
and my bread be scant? sit at the kings
banquet
Oh, what a poor, shallow stream is
worldly enjoyment compared with the
deep, broad, overlooking river of Gods
peace, rolling midway in the Christian
heart! Sometimes you have gone out
on the iron bound beach of the sea when
there has been a storm on the ocean, and
you have seen the waves dash into white
foam at your feet. They did not do you
any harm. While there you thought of
the chapter written by the psalmist, and
perhaps you recited it to yourself while
the storm was making commentary upon
the passages: Good is our refuge and
strength, very present help in time of
trouble. Therefore will I not fear,
though the earth be removed, and though
the mountains be carried into the midst
of the sea, though the waters thereof
roar and be troubled, though the noun
tains shake with the swelling thereof"
Oh, how independent the religion of
Christ makes man of worldly success
and worldly circumstances Nelson, the
night before his last battle, said, "To-
morrow I shall win either peerage or a
grave in Westminster abbey" And it
does not make much difference to the
Christian whether he rises or falls in
worldly matters. He has everlasting re-
nown anyway. Other plumage may be
torn in the blast. but that soul adorned
with Christian grace is fairer than the
dove-its wings covered with silver and |
its feathers with gold.
LURKING IN THE CUP.
You and have found out that people |
who pretend to be happy are not always
happy. Look at that young man carica-
turing the Christian religion, scofing at
everything good, going into FOSTERING
dashing the champagne
bottle to the floor, rolling the glasses
from the barroom counter, laughing,
shouting, stamping the floor. Is he hap.
Ply? l will go to his midnight pillow. l
will see him turn the gas off. | will ask
myself if the pillow on which he sleeps
is as soft as the pillow on which that
pure young man sleeps.
All, no! When he opens his eyes in
the morning, will the world be as bright
to him as to that young man who retired
at night saying his prayers, invoking
Gods blessing upon his own soul and
the souls of his comrades and father and
mother and brothers and sisters far
away? No, no! His laugh will ring out
rom the saloon SO that you hear it as
you pass by, but it is hollow laughter.
In it is the swapping of heartstrings and
he rattle of prison gates. Happy-that
young man happy?
Let him fill high the bowl; he cannot
brown an upbraiding conscience. Let
he balls roll through the bowling alley;
he deep rumble and the sharp crack can
lot overpower the voices of condemna-
ion. Let him whirl in the dance of sin
md temptation and death; all the bril-
fancy of the scene cannot make him for
.et the last look of his mother when he
eft home, when she said to him: Nov,
ny son, you will do right; am sure you
will do right. You will, won't you" That
Dung man happy? Why, across every
light there fit shadows of eternal dark
ess; there are adders coiled up in every
up; there are vultures of despair strik-
1g their iron beaks into his heart: there
re skeleton fingers of grief pinching a!
be throat.
USEFUL RELIGION.
l come in amid the clicking of the
lasses and under the flashing of the I
and cry: "Woe! Woe! The
ray of the ungodly shall perish. There
no peace, saith my God, to the wick I
i. The way of transgressors is hard" l
h, my friends, there is more joy in one
rop of Christian satisfaction than in