Connecticut western news., 1894-07-19

A failure professionally because know but one minister that has adopted my sentiments. For a quarter of cen tury he laughed at Christianity, and ever since Christianity has been laugh ing at him. Now, it is a mean thing to go into mans house and steal his goods, but 1 tell you the most gigantic burglary ever invented is the proposition to steal these treasuers of our holy re- ligion. The meanest laughter ever ut tered is the laugh of the skeptic
 David's Laugh.
 The next laughter mentioned in the Bible is David's laughter, or the expres sion of spiritual exultation. Then was our mouth filled with laughter. He got very much down sometimes, but there are other chapters where for four or five times he calls upon the people to praise and exult It was not mere twitch of the lips-it was demonstra- tion that took hold of his whole physical nature Then was our mouth filled with laughter '' My friends, this world will never be converted to God until Christians cry less and laugh and sing more. The horrors are poor bait If people are to be persuaded to adopt our holy religion, it will be because they have made up their minds it is happy religion They don't like morbid Christianity. know there are morbid people who enjoy funeral. They come early to see the friends take leave of the corpse, and they steal ride to the ceme- tery, but all healthy people enjoy wedding better than they do burial Now, you make the religion of Christ sepulchral and hearselike. and you make it repulsive say plant the rose of Sharon along the church walks, and columbine to chamber over the church wall, and have smile on the lip, and have the mouth filled with holy laugh ter There is no man in the world, ex- cept the Christian. that has the right to feel an untrammeled glee. He is prom ised everything is to be for the best here, and he is on the way to delight which will take all the processions with palm branches and all the orchestras harped and cymbaled and trumpeted to express Oh" you say, II have so much trouble Have you more trouble than Paul had? What does he say? 'Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing Poor. yet making many rich. Having noth- ing, yet possessing all things " The merriest laugh think have ever heard has been in the siclroom of Gods dear children. When Theodosius was put upon the rack, he suffered very great torture at the first. Somebody asked him how he endured all that pain on the rack. He replied: .Gy ' tL1 ' suffered great deal, but very soon a young man in white stood by my side, and with soft and comfortable hand kerchief he wiped the sweat from my brow, and my pains were relieved. It was punishment for me to get from the rack, because when the pain was, all gone the angel was gone. Oh rejoice evermorei You know how it is in the army-an army in encampment- If to- day news comes that our side has had defeat, and tomorrow another portion of the tidings comes, saying we have had another defeat, it demoralizes all the host. But if the news comes of vic tory today and victory tomorrow the whole army is impassioned for the con- test Now, in the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ report fewer defeats tells us the victories-victory over sin and death and he'll. Rejoice evermore, and again say rejoice. I believe there is more religion in a laugh than in groan Anybody can groan, but to laugh in the midst of banishment and persecution and indescribable trial, that required a David, Daniel, a Paul, a modern hero inc.
 TAssLaugh of Fool.
 The next laughter mentioned in the Bible that shall speak of is the fools laughter, or the expression of sinful merriment. Solomon was very quick at simile. When he makes comparison, we all catch it. What is the laughter of fool like? He says, Ut is the crac- king of thorns under pot The kettle is swung, bunch of brambles is put under it, and the torch is applied to it, | and there is great noise, and big blaze. and sputter, and quick extin guishment. Then it is darker than it was before. Fools laughter. The most miserable thing on earth is a bad mans fun. There they are-10 men in bar room. They have at home wives, moth CTS, daughters. The impure jest starts at one corner of the barroom, and crao- kle, crackle, crackle 1t goes all around. In 500 such guffaws there is not one item of happiness. They all feel be- meaned if they have any conscience left. Have nothing to do with men or women who tell immoral stories, have no confidence either in their Christian character or their morality
 So all merriment that springs out of 1 the defects of others-caricature of a lame foot, or curved spine, or blind eye, or deaf ear-will be met with the | judgment of God, either upon you or upon your children. Twenty years ago | I knew 8 man who was particularly | skillful in initiating the lameness of a neighbor Not long ago son of the | skillful mimic had his leg amputated for the very defect which his father had mimicked years before. do not say it was judgment of God. I leave you to make your own inference. So all merri- | ment born of dissipation, that which l starts at the counter of the drinking res taurant or from the wineglass in the home circle, the maudlin simper, the meaningless joke, the saturnalian gib- perish, the paroxism of mirth about nothing which you sometimes see in the fashionable clubroom or the exquisite parlor at 12 o'clock at night, are the cracking of thorns under a pot. Such | laughter and such sin end in death. When was lad, a book came out en- titled, Dow Juniors Patent Sermons. l It made great stir, very wide laugh, l all over the country thr,t book did It was caricature of the Christian min isty, and of the word of God. and of the day of judgment. Oh, we had a great laugh! The commentary on the whole thing is that the author of that book died in poverty, shame. debauchery, kicked out of society and cursed of Al mighty God. The laughter of such men | is the echo of their own damnation