Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1896-04-13

going to the prohigacy of Newgate pris
on to shake its obduracy as the angel
came to the prison at Philippi, driving
open the doors and swapping loose the
chain, as well as the lives of thousands
/ of followers Of Jesus who have devoted
themselves to the temporal and spiritual
! welfare OF the race are monuments Of
the Christian religion that shall not
crumble while the world lasts. A man
said to me in the cars: ''What is re-
ligion? Judging from the character cf
many professors Of religion I do not adj
mire religion. - said: CHOW, suppose
we went to an artist in the city of Rome
and while in his gallery asked him,
What is the art Of painting?' Would he
take us out in a low alley and show us
a mere daub Of a pretender at paintings.
or would he take us down into the cor
ridors and show us the Rubens, and tie
Raphaels, and the Michael Angeles?
When we asked him, What is the art
Of painting?' he would point to the
works of these great masters and say,
THAT is painting Now, you propose
to find the mere caricature of religion,
to seek after that which is the mere
pretensiOn of holy life, and you call
that religion. point you to the splen-
did men and women whom this gospel
has blessed and lifted and crowned
Look at the masterpieces Of divine grace
if you want to know what religion is -
Result of Persecution.
We learn also from this story of
Joseph that the result Of persecution is
elevation. Had it not been for his being
sold into Egyptian bondage by his ma
iciOus brothers and his false imprison-
ment Joseph never would have become
a governor. Everybody accepts the
promise, blessed are they that are per-
secuted for Righteousness sake, for
theirs is the kingdom Of heaven" but
they do not realize the fact that this
principle applies to worldly as well as
spiritual success. It is true i'll all de-
partments. Men rise to high official po-
sitions through misrepresentation. Pub
lie abuse is IL that some of our public
men have had to rely upon for their ele-
walton. It has brought to them what
talent and executive force could not
have achieved. Many Of those who are
making great effort for place and power
will never succeed just because they
are not of enough Importance to be
dDuSCU Ii Is InG Nature Oh nCn-Undb Is
Of all generous and reasonable men-to
gather about those who are prosecuted
and defend them, and they are apt to
forget the fault of those who are the
subjects of attack while attempting to
drive back the slanderers. Persecution
is elevation. Helen Stirk, the Scotch
martyr, standing with her husband at
the place of execution, said: Husband,
let us rejoice today. We have lived to-
gether many happy years. This is the
happiest time of all our life. You see
we are to be happy together forever. Be
brave now, be brave. [ will not say
Good night to you, for we shall soon
be in the kingdom of our Father togeth-
er. % Persecution shows the heroes and
heroines. I go into another department,
and find that those great denomina-
lions of Christians which have been
most abused have spread the most
rapidly.
No good man was ever more violently
maltreated than John Wesley-belied
and caricatured and slandered until one
day he stood in a pulpit in London, and
a man arose in the audience and said,
"You were drunk last night" and John
Wesley said: ''Thank God, the whole
catalogue is now complete. I have been
charged with everything but that!' His
followers were hoOted at and maligned
and called by every detestable name that
internal ingenuity could invent, but the
hotter the persecution the more rapidly
they spread until you know what
great host they have become and what
tremendous force for God and the truth
they are welding all the world over. 1t
was persecution that gave Scotland to
Presbyterianism. 1t was persecution
that gave our land first to civil liberty
and afterward to religious freedom
Yea, [ might go farther back and say it
was persecution that gave the world the
great salvation of the gospel. The riba1d
mockery, the hungering and thirsting,
the unjust charge, the ignominious
death, when all the force Of hell's fury
was hurled against the cross, was the
introduction of that religion which is
yet to be the earth S deliverance and our
eternal salvation. The state sometimes
said to the church, "Come, take my
hand, and will help you What was
the result? The church went back, and
it lost it's estate of holiness, and it be-
came ineffective. At other times the
state said to the church, IT will crush
you What has been the result? After
the storms have spent their fury the
church, Sc far from having lost any of
it's force, has increased and is worth in
finitely more after the assault than be-
fore Read all history and you will find
that true. The church is far more in
debted to the opposition of civil govern
ment than to its approval. The fires of the
stake have only been the torches which
Christ held in his hand, by the light Of
which the church has marched to her
present glorious position. In the sound