The Yale expositor., 1894-10-12

right kind of Christian. He who at
40 years loves parent must reel under
the blow. Even down TO old age men
are accustomed to rely upon the coun-
sci, or be powerfully influenced by the
advice of parents, if they are still
alive. But how much greater the be-
reavement when il comes in early life,
before the character is self-reliant, and
when naturally the heart Is unsophisti-
Gated and easily tempted
And yet behold what nobility OF
disposition Hadassah exhibited! Though
father and mother were gone, grace
had triumphed over all disadvantages.
Her willingness to self-sacrifice; her
control over the king; her humility;
her faithful worship of God, shows her
10 have been one of the best of the
worlds Christians.
There are those who did not
enjoy remarkable early privileges.
Perhaps, like the beautiful cap
tive of the text, you were
/ an orphan. You had huge sorrows in
your little heart. You sometimes ~ept
in the night when you knew not what
was the matter You felt sad some
times even on the playground. Your
father or mother did not stand in the
door to welcome You when you came
home from a long joarney. You still
feel the effect of early disadvantages,
and you have sometimes offered
them as reason for your not
being as thoroughly religious as
! you would like to be. But these
excuses are not sufficient Gods grace
will triumph if.yeu seekit. He knows
what obstacles you havctought against
and the more trial tie more help.
After all there are no orphans in the
world, for the great Cod is the Father
| of us all
Again, our"slbject j. an illustration
of what religion way be under the
pressuve of poverty. The captivity and
crushed condition Of this orphan girl,
and of the lsind mar who adopted her,
suggest condS ion of poverty
Yet, from the wry first acquaint-
ance we had with Hadnssah we
find Ser the same happy and contented
Christian. 1t was only by compuls6on
she was atterwatis taken into sPaCere
of honor.and af1fIence. In the humble
home of Mordeesi, her adopted father,
she wasa light that illumined every
I prtSation. In come period in almost
every mans life there comes n season
of straightened circumstances when
the seveCest calculation and most ssorSlp-
ing .esonomy are necessary Nh
order 10 subsistence and 1cspvCt-
Gbility. AT the commencement t
mpona profession. when friends sRre
lew and the-world is afraid of you he
cause there is possibility OF failure,
many,of themoblest hearts have stuug-
rfled tgainst poverty, and are Gpow
struggling. To such L bear n message
of good cheer. You say it rs n IElrd
thing for you to be a Christian. This
constant anxiety, this unresting ,palcu-
lation, wear out the buoyaney of ,Tou :
( spirit, and although yOu have tol j
perhaps no one about it, can nC 4
l tell that this is the very trNub' ,e
I which keeps you from being ;wh; 1t
! you ought to be? You hare no tin ne
TO thinloabout laying up treasures in
heaven when it is matter of gre at
doubt whether you will be enabAed To
| pay y0urIaeXt quarters rent You c. an
not think of striving after a Udbe of
| righteousness until you can get inca rs
enough g. buy an overcoat TO keep ant
the cold. You want the bread Of Ii te,
but You think you must get alo ng
without that until you can buy aEotb er
barrel OF -four for your wife and ch IL
dreD. Sometimes you sit do, vn
discouraged and almost wish. Y on
were deaf Christians in satin sHppe IS,
with their feet on damask ottoma j,
may scout at such a class of tempt n
! tioEs, but those who themselves ha We
been in the struggle and grip df Ina I'd
misfortune, can appreciate thelPow eI'
of these evils to dissuade the soulaway
! from religious duties We adn,it the
strength .of the temptation, hut then
we point to HadasSah, her pEverty
equaled by her piety. Courage clown
there in the battle. .Hurl away your
disappointment! Men of half your
heart have, through Christ, been 0nore
than ,eonguerors. In the name of
I
of Christ is just what you want out
there among the empty flour barrels
/ ard beside the cold hearihS. NouLAavc
! nerer tGSd any one of what hardtime
! you have had. hut God knows il asWtell
as you know it. Iour easy times will
come after awhile. DO not let yanr
| spirits brealS down mid life. WhtJ if
your coat is thin2 Run fast enough to
keep warm. What if you have no laAr;-
uries On yCHir table? High expectations
will make your blood tingle better
than the hest Madeira. If you can
not afford 30 smdlse. you can affoEd
to whistle Bus merely animal
spirits are B04 sufficient: the power Of
the gospel-that iswhat you want to-
wrench despair out Of the soul and put s
you forward into the sYont of the hosts.
encased in impenetrSb BILE armor 1t
does not require exhravagant ward
robe, and palatial residence, and dash