The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1897-07-22
DR.. IILMlFS SUNDAY SERMON.
A GOSPEL MESSAGE.

Sermon Directed to the Great Army
Of Men and Women Employed as
Clerks In the Various Occupatious-
Words OF Advice and Encouragement.
TEXT: "And q certain woman named
Lydia, a seller of purple, OF the city OF
Thyatira, which worshiped God, heard us.
whose heart the Lord opened. d."-Acts xvi,
IA. "Seest thou man diligent In his bust
ness? He shall stand before Kings"
Proverbs xii, 20.
The first passage introduces to you
Lydia, a Christian merchantess. Her busi-
ness is to deal in purple cloths or silks.
She Is not giggling nonentity, but prac-
tical woman, not ashamed to work for her
living. All the other women Of Philippi
and Thyatira have been forgotten. but God
has made immortal In our text Lydia, the
Christian saleswoman. The other text
shows you man with head and hand and
heart and foot all basy toiling on up until
he gains princely success. "Seest thou a
man diligent in his business? He shall
stand before kings"
Great encouragement in these two pas
sages for men and women who will be busy,
but no solace for those who are waiting for
good luck to show them, at the foot OF the
rainbow, casket Of buried gold. It is
folly for anybody in this world to wait for
something to turn up. 1t will turn down.
The law OF thrift is as inexorable as the
law OF the tides. Fortune, the magician
may wave her wand in that direction until
castles and palaces come, but she will after
while invert the same wand, and all the
splendors will vanish into thin air.
There are certain styles OF behavior
which lead to usefulness, honor and per-
manent success, and there are certain
styles Of behavior which lead to dust, dis
honor and moral default. l would like to
fire the ambition Of young people. have
no sympathy with those who would prepare
young folks for life by whiting down
their expectations. That man or woman
will be worth nothing to church or state
who begins life cowed down. The business
OF Christianity is not to quench but to d.
rect human ambition. Therefore 1t is that
utter words of encouragement to those
who are occupied as clerks In the stores and
shops and banking houses OF the country.
Ihey are not an exceptional class. They
belong to great company OF tens OF thou
sands who are in this country, amid cir
cumstances which will either make or break
them for time and for eternity. Many of
these people have already achieved a
Christian manliness and u Christian wo-
NhiNh VIII Dt tutlT puSSDOTI 10
any position. l have seen their trials.
have watched their perplexties. There
are evils abroad which need to be hunted
down and dragged out into the MONDAY
light.
In the first place, I counsel clerks to
remember that for the most part their
clerkship is only u school from which they
are to be graduated. 1t takes about eight
years TO get into one OF the learned profess
sions. 1t takes about eight years to get to
be merchant. Some Of you will be clerks
all your lives, but the vast majority OF
you are only in a transient position. After
awhile, some December day, the head men
OF the firm will call you into the back
Office, and they will say to you: "Now. YOU
nave done well by us, we are going to do
well by you. We invite you to have an in
terest in our concern, You will bow to
that edict very gracefully. Getting into
street car to go home. an old comrade will
meet you and say, "What makes you look
so happy tonight" "0h," you will say,
nothing, nothing" But in few days
your name will blossom on the sign. Either
In the store or bank where you are now,
or in some other store or bank, you will
take higher position than that which you
now occupy. SO feel l am now address
ing people who will yet have their hand
on the worlds commerce and you will turn
1t this way or that. Now clerks, but to be
bankers, importers, insurance company
directors, shippers, contractors, superin-
tendents OF railroads-your voice mighty
ION 'Change"-standing foremost in the
great financial and religious enterprises
OF the day. For, though we who are in
the profession may, on the platform, plead
for the philanthropies after ALL the mer-
chants must come forward with their mil
lions to sustain the movement
be therefore patient and diligent in this
transient position. You are now where
you can learn things you can never learn
In any other place. What you consider
your disadvantages are your grand oppor-
tunity. You see an affiuent father some
day come down prominent street with his
son who has just graduated from the uni
verslty and establishing him in business,
putting $4,000 of capital In the store.
well you are envious. You say: "oh, i'll
only had chancel like that young man! II
only had father to put $50 600 in q
business for me, then l would have some
chance in the world" Be not enyious,
YOU have advantages over that young man
which he has not over you. As well might
come down to the docks when vessel IS
about to sail for Valparaiso and say, LET
me pilot this ship out to sea-" Why,
would sink crew and cargo before got out
vi the harDor simply because know moth
ing about pilotage. Wealthy sea captains
put their sons before the mast for the
reason that they know it is the only
place where they can learn to be sue
cessful sailors. 1t is only under drill
that people get to understand pilotage and
navigation, and want you to understand
that 1t takes no more skill to conduct ves-
sci out OF harbor and across the sea than to
steer commercial establishment clear of
the rocks. You see every day the folly Of
people going into business they know
nothing about. man makes fortune In
one business, thinks there is another occu-
patton more comfortable, goes into it and
sinks all. Many Of the commercial estab-
lishments of our cities are giving their
clerks mercantile education as thorough
as Yale or Harvard or Princeton are giving
scientific attainments to tho students ma
circulated The reason there are so many
men laundering in business from year to
year is because their early mercantile edu-
cation was neglected. Ask the men in high
commercial circles, and they will tell you
they thank God for this severe discipline of
their early clerkship. You can afford to
endure the wilderness march IL it is going
to end in the vineyards and orchards Of the |
promised land.
But you say, "Will the womanly clerks |
OF I'm at Vag