The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1896-08-06

/ evil, as In the case of AaronSBurr. the
ibertine, who had for Their Preside
Burr, the consecrated; as in the case
of PierrepOnt Edwards, the scourge OF
New ork society eighty years ago,
Who had Christian ancestry, while,
on the other hand, some of the best
men and women of this day are those.
who have come of an ancestry which
it would not be courteous to speak in
their presence. The practical and use
full object of this sermon is to show
YOU that if you have come of a Chris
tan ancestry, then you are solemnly
bound to preserve and develop the glo-
rlous inheritance; or, if you have come
OF deprayed ancestry, then it is your.
duty to brace yourself against the evil
fendencN by all prayer and Christian
determlnat1o and you are to find out
the family frailties, and in arming the
ca site put the strongest guard at the
stones from the brook I hope to strike
YOU, not where David struck Goliath
in the head but where Nathan struck
David, in the heart. "Whose son art;
thou. thou young man %
There is something in all winter hol.
idays to bring up the old folks. j
times are set to the tune of "a uld
Lang Syne." The old folks were so
busy at such times in making us ham
py, and perhaps on less resource,
made their sons and daughters happi-
er than you, on larger resources, are
able to make your sons and daugh-
ters The snow lay two feet above
their graves, but they shook off the
white blankets and mingled in the hol-
iday festivities-the same wrinkles.
| the same stoop of shoulder under the
weight of age, the same old style of
dress OF coat, the same smile, the same
tone of voice. I hope you remember
them before they went away. If not,
| = hope there are those who have re-
| cited to you what they We're, and that
there may be in your house some arti-
| Gle of dress or furniture with which
| you associate their memories. want
| to arouse the most sacred memories Of
| your heart while I make the impas-
stoned interrogatory in regard to your
pedigree: Whose son art thou, then,
| young man? 2"
| o, We of Christian ancestry! You
have a responsibility vast beyond all
measurement. God will not let you off
with just being as good as ordinary
people when you had such extraordin-
airy advantage. Ought not a flower
planted in dollhouse be more thrifty
than a flower planted outside in the
storm! Ought not factory turned by
the HOusatOnic do more work than a
factory turned by a thin and shallow
mountain stream? Ought not you, of
great early opportunity, be better
than those who had cradle un.
| blessed? A father sets his son up iii
business. He keeps an account of all
his expenditures So much for store
fixtures, so much for rent, so much for
this, so much for that, and all the
items aggregated, and the father ex-
poets the son to give an account. Your
Heavenly Father charges against you
all. the advantages of a pious ancestry
so many prayers, SO much Christian
example, SO many kind entreaties all
these gracious influences, one tremen-
dous aggregate, and he asks you for
an account Of it. Ought not you to be
better than those who have no such
advantage? Better have been a found
ling, picked up off the city commons,
than with such magnificent inheritance
| Of conservation to turn out Indifferent
". Ought you not, my brother, to be
Il OCIiCAs udV1AS, C1llSCluu
than the man who can truly say this
morning: 'aThe first word I remem-
Der my father speaking to me was an
oath; the first time I remember my
father taking hold Of me was in wrath;
! / never saw a Bible Until I was ten
years of age, and then I was told it
was pack Of lies. The first twenty
years Of my life was associated with
the vicious. seemed to be walled in
by sin and DEATH
| Now. my brother, ought you mott
leave it as a matter Of fairness with
you-ought you not to be better than
those who had no early Christian in
fiuence? Standing, as you do between
| the generation that is past and the
i generation that is to come, are you
4 going to have your life, the gulf in
/ which this tide Of blessings shall
/ drop out Of sight forever? You are
/ the trustee of piety in that ancestral
line, and are you going to augment or
/ squander that solemn trust fund? Are
i you going to disinherit your sons and
1 daughters Of the heirloom which your
parents left you? All. that cannot be
/ pOsslble---that cannot be possible that
you are going to take such a position
as that you are very careful about the
! life assurances, and careful about the
/. deeds, and careful about the mort
gage, and careful about the title to
your property, because when you step
4 off the stage you want your children
to get it all. Are you making no pro
vision that they shall get grandfather
or grandmother's religion: Oh, what
a last will and testament you ara max
I. ing, my brother! In the name of
God, amen. I, Being Of sound mind,
make this my last will and testament
I bequeath to my children all the mon
ey / ever made and all the houses /
cwn; but / disinherit them / rob them
of the ancestral grace and the Christ
ian influence that I inherited. 4 have
squandered that on my own worldli-
ness. Share and share alike must
4 they in the misfortune and the ever
lasting outrage. Signed, sealed and
delivered, in the presence of God, and
men, and angels and devils, and all
4 the generations Of earth and heaven
and hell. July, 1896. z
@. We of highly-favored ancestry,
wake up this morning to a sense OF
your opportunity and responsibility, !
i think there must be an old cradle or a