The record-union., 1898-11-22
PEOPLE WHO FRET TOO MUCH
MANY A LIFE SACRIFICED TO
y THE HABIT. Yr
Sermon on the Subject by the Pas
tor of tie Congregational
Church.

Every seat above and below was
filled on Sunday evening in the Congre-
gational Church when the pastor, Rev.
j. b. Silcox, preached his sermon on
Don't Fret" The sermon rested on
three texts, selected from the 9th
Psalm, Fret not thyself because of evil
doers Fret not thyself because or him
who prospereth in his way. Fret not
thyself. it tendeth only to evil doing. "
The hearty singing Of joyful Christian
hymns by the congregation was hap
py preparation for the sermon.
Fret is a little word with big mean
ing, said the speaker. The dictionary
will tell you that it means TO irritate
and agitate, to chafe and corrode, TO
gnaw into and wear away. "A worm is
said TO sfret" the planks of ship.
Think Of that; it does not require a
cyclone to destroy ship. It does not
require the battering Of heavy artillery.
Little worms will fret the planks, will
gnaw into and eat away the fibers of
wood, and thus stealthily but surely
destroy the staunchest ship of the line.
Many noble life has been destroyed
by this ugly worm, fretfulness.
s Fret not thyself'' means do not wear
yourself out by needless worry. Do not
allow carking care, like an ugly worm
TO gnaw into your vitals and kill out
all the freshness and force, all the sum
shine and song Of your life. Fret not
thyself'' means, do not make yourself
irritable, peevish, waspish, ilI-humored.
captious, petulant, splenetic, cross, as
alas, many people do every day.
! The meaning of this little word fret,
begins to open to u.s. We see it is
possible for people to fret themselves, to
chafe and irritate, and wear themselves
out by wicked worry. Neglecting this
divine command, men and women make
themselves peevish, waspish, disagree
able. AS companion or partner in life
q would rather have stinging wasp or
"a Well bayoneted hornet than some mo-
rose, gloomy, sour, ill-tempered men
have met. There is only one thing
worse than a waspish man, and that IS
peevish, discontented, fretting, nag
ging woman. From all such miserable
sinners, good Lord deliver me.
The text warns us against allowing
ourselves to drift into this disagreeable
mood. Before am through I want you
TO see what a sin it is to be fretful and
peevish. To fret is as bad as to lie or
steal or get drunk Wesley was right
when he said, 81 would not more dare
TO fret than to curse or swear"
1t is our Christian dug to be sweet
and cheerful, genial and hopeful. Oliver
Wendell Holmes found plain white
marble slab in Mt. Auburn with an epi-
taph of four words, which to his mind
meant more than any of the labored IN
scriptions on grander monuments. It
was this, t'She was so pleasant" That
c1ay
of life that must have kaen a ben
ediction. We need to cultivate the spir-
it of cheerfulness. What happy homes
there would be if we all had the faculty
of being pleasant. WE cannot go
through life bravely unless we go
through cheerfully.
To fret or worry is to- disobey plain
command of Christ. BE not anxious
for your life" why are We anxious
concerning raiment?'' BE not there
fore anxious for the morrow" '.Suf-
ficient for the day is the evil thereof .
1t is anxiety concerning the future-it is
worry, not work that kills people.
Work is healthful. 1t Gtrengthens, IN
vigorates, gladdens. We are health
iest and happiest when we have some
good, honest work in hand. 1t is wor-
ny worry that wastes wears and kills.
You shorten your life, you slay your
happiness, you destroy your usefulness
by fretting. Fret not thyself, it tend
eth only to evil.'
If the men and women of Dayid's time
needed this command, much more do
I'VE of this eager, restless nineteenth
century age. We are busy, busting
folk. Everybody Is anxious to get up
and get on in the world. There is a
vast deal Of friction in life. We COM
pete and conflict with each other If
1--WE are left behind or are pushed aside
I'm the struggle, if some one climos
faster and rises higher than we, if an
other with a longer and stronger arm
than ours grasps the prize we reached
after, we grow moody and complain.
We become discontented and sour. And
we need this heaven-sent message re-
peated and rerepeated in our ears,
Fret not thyself because Of him who
prospereth in his way" There is more
keen competition, more hot rivalry in
life to-day than in the snail-paced days
of David. We all need the tonic of
these texts. If there is man or wom-
an in this audience who has never
fretted and does not need a sermon on
these texts, let them hold up their