The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1898-02-03

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eth whether thou art come to the king.
dom for such time as this!"
Esthsr the beautiful was the wife OF
Ahasusrus the abominable. The time
had come for her to present petition
to her infamous husband in behalf OF
the Jewish nation, to which she had
once belonged. She was afraid to un.
dertake the work lest she should lose
her own life, but her cousin, Mordecai,
who had brought her up. encouraged
her with the suggestion that probably
she had been raised up Of God for that
peculiar mission. "Who knoweth
whether thou art come to the kingdom
for such Q time a. this?"
Esther had her God appointed work.
You and I have ours. 1t is my busi-
ness to tell you what style Of men and
women you ought to be in order that
you meet the demand of the age In
which God has cast your lot. So this
discourse will not deal with the tech
nicalities. but only with the practical
bilities. When two armies have rush.
ed into battle. the officers OF either ar
my do not want philosophical discus
sion about the chemical properties Of
human blood or the nature Of gunpow-
der. They want some one to man the
batteries and take out the guns. And
now, when all the forces Of light and
darkness Of heaven and hell have
plunged into the fight, 1t Is no time to
give ourselves to the definitions and
formulas and technicalities and con-
ventionalities of religion. What we
want is practical, earnest, concentrated.
enthusiastic and triumphant help.
In the first place, In order to meet
the special demand Of this age, you
need to be an unmistakable, aggressive
Christian. OF half and half Christians
we do not want any more. The church
Of Jesus Christ will be better without
them. They are the chief obstacle to
the church's advancement. am
speaking of another kind of Christian.
All the appliances for your becoming
an earnest Christian are at your hand,
and there is a straight path for you
into the broad daylight OF Gods for
giveness. You may this moment be
the bondmen Of the world. and the next
moment you may be the princes Of the
Lord God Almighty. You remember
what excitement there was in this
country, years ago, when the Prince Of
Wales came here-how the people rush.
ed out by hundreds OF thousands to see
him. Why Because they expected
that some day he would sit upon the
throne Of England. But what was all
that henor compared with the honor
to which God calls you-to be sons and
daughters of the Lord God Almighty
yea, to be queens and kings unto God.
"They shall reign with him forever and
forever"
But you need to be aggressive Chris
tians, and not like those persons who
spend their lives in hugging their
Christian graces and wondering why
they do not make progress. How much
robustness of health would man have
If he hid himself in dark closet? A
great deal Of the piety Of to-day is too
exclusive. 1t hides ITSELF 1t needs
more fresh air, more outdoor exercise.
There are many Christians who are
giving their entire life to self examina-
ton. They are feeling their pulses to
see what is the condition of their spir-
itual health. How long would a man
have robust physical health IL he kept
all the day feeling his pulse instead of
going out into active, earnest everyday
work?
was once amid the wonderful, be-
witching cactus growths Of North Car
olina. I never was moro bewildered
with the beauty of flowers. and yet
when I would take up one Of these cac-
fuses and pull the leaves apart the
beauty was all gone. You could hardly
tell that It had ever been a flower. And
there are q great many Christian peo-
pie In this day Just pulling apart their
Christian experiences to see what there
10 In them. and there is nothing left in
them.
This style Of determination Ia q
damage instead Of an advantage to
their Christian character. I remember
when I was . boy used to have q
small piece in the garden that I called
my own, and I planted corn there. and
every few days I would pull 1t up to
see how fast II was growing. Now,
there are great many Christian peo-
pie in this day whose self examination
merely amounts to the pulling up of
that which they only yesterday or the
day before planted. Oh. my friends,
II you want TO have . stalwart Chris.
tian character. plant It right out Of
doors In the great neld Of Christian
useftllnaaa and though storms NAV