The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-03-30

pass in bringing the despised and re-
jected among then to be kings and
priests In the earth. Beware, lest, while
we make our arrangements as 10 VINO
shall be President or director or lnoge,
and as We settle IL who shall i've IN the
greatest comfort, beware lest God Is max,
ing other dispositions, and that ne WIZ
make the last first.
There IL momentum in the universe
that is moving ON the hindmost man.
His position indeed is not now enviapie.
His parents have forsaken MIN, put the
Lord will take him UP. And he whom
the Lord takes up goes up, stays up
That man whom the Lord takes up passes
into the sphere of new law OF gravita-
tion in which bodies fall upward. Inc
eternal God Is behind that part OF society
which Is crowded down and yostieo 10
one side. 1t behooves Us TO elevate the
life of this bindmost nan, because the
hardest thing 10 obtain forgiveness for
Is the overlooking OF society's unoer naii.
The inquiry now TO be made Is, VINO
Is the hindmost man?' Every one looks
about him to discover that sad mortal SO
far below him. Surely the hindmost man
is in prison or In the cell OF the con-
demned murderer. Not SO; Ihe hino.
most man Is that person who has done
the least with his opportunities. he may
be college bred; he may be wealthy; ne
may be brainy; he way be well versed In
the words Of Jesus, and the son OF a
clergyman. In the eye OF God the hind-
most man is he who with divine lights
became cynical, dilatory and proud sno
allowed the publicans and harlots to pass
into the kingdom OF heaven before hm.
For the changes In mems positions are
more apparent than real. The good
grow better; the external mark OF rank
being cast aside God ranks men accord
ing to what they are, and Tor aught
know the hindmost man may perhaps be
sitting here today rather than in some
fostering den where having inherited
vice and ignorance he Is scarcely con-
scious OF divine beckonings.
Every church has Its hindmost man.
Are you that man? Don't be. 1t is
harder TO be carried than to walk; besides
it Is disgraceful. Don't be one OF those
people whom the church has to look up
and nurse. For the hindmost man never
looks after himself even; someone has TO
look after him and often one half OF the
army is occupied in keeping the stragglers
in line. 1t requires good man to look
after straggler. The men at the front
would be invincible were they only sure
of support of the hindmost man. No
army was ever beaten by its enemies, but
by its own weak soldiers.
This hindmost man some times remains
where he Is because he thinks the Lord
will take him out of his position but IL
his backwardness is lack of character his
expectations are unfounded. Even though
the Lord should lay hold on him. His
misery will always consist in the recol-
lection that he has moved ahead only when
ne was driven, and he will ell the time
be coming in contact with people who
have reached their positions because
they loved God and struggled to please
Him. Even IL the Lord forgives this
hindmost man he will have the wretched
memory that he did not seek to move un-
til the Lord dragged him forward. For
the hindmost man never responds to any
beckoning impulse; he never says within
himself 81 also will do something
worthy" But he remains in his back
ward position because he thinks 1t an
easy place to be in. This is not true. 1t
is always hard for the hindmost man. He
is in greater danger. of being cut off than
his more forward brethren. The rear man
is miserable in soul and yet he chances
his own place, for sin is blindness.
There are hinder men who presume on
the goodness of God to put them forward.
They will be disappointed, because there
is only SO much time in life, and no man
can ever overtake what he has lost. 1t is
now time for the hindmost man to awake
ont of sleep. For God says not that all
who are last shall be first, but that there
are last who shall be first. Men who
wish to be backward receive the reward
of their own desire.
We are slowly learning through the
reiterated example OF Jesus Christ that
the hindmost man has to be looked after.
Ordinarily people will let him go. The
wickedest man in society, even in the
church, Is allowed to go, it is unnecessary
to say where. He gees; then there is an
other who Is hiudmost; he goes-it Is a
shrinking process. Some churches have
successfully-not successfully had one
after another hundreds of hlndmost men
until at last they have shrunk to one,
there is nobody for him to get behind.
That was the case with most of the seven
churches in Asia to which John wrote.
One by one they dropped of, at the bot
tom.
People in general don't bother about
the hfndmost. At the tack door OF So
ciety there is hopper for waste human
material. Society has found IT conven-
lent, and has failed to seek its elimina-
tion. Society has sought to save its TOP
and the bottom of society has dropped
out Society desired a place to cast its
refuse and into this hell-hopper at the
back door 1t threw its hindmost man.
and there was always one to throw him
in. The executioner, the iailer, the su-
perintendent of the asylum for the insane
task.
Jesus first instituted the systematic
seeking OF the hindmost man. Society's
hells are never full Toe kingdom of hell
has always been at hand. People believe
not only that there is hell but they be-
lieve in hell, in order TO have place to
throw the hindmost man. They left him
for the devil but the Christ found him.
He was lost and Christ showed but IL we
save the hindmost man We save the en-
tire army. whyY Because we save the
hindmost.
He found one 3S years helpless. He
was getting behind. Soon he came aftoi
Jesus saying, "Wno is the Son OF God;
want to believe I'm Him?" Jesus found
also the sinful woman-in saving her He
toned up all society above her.
We give too little attention to the hind.
most. The entire army has slipped back.
General Doth happened to think it we'll
to bother about the hindmost. The bother
was great, but 1t was not too much
bother, because IT was not too much for
Jesus the Christ. Some of those hind.
most men are becoming foremost and
could even lead very respectable people.
Society must bother about this man or he
will suck the life out Of society. Society
must stop the leak at the bottom of its
strata or IL can never be full at the brim.