The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1900-08-17

that all cities impress upon me and
ought to impress upon you three
or four very important lessons, all OF
them agreeing in the same thing. 1t
does not make any difference in what
part of the country we walk the
streets of great city there is one
lesson l think which ought to strike
every intelligent Christian man, and
that is the world is scene of toll and
struggle. Here and there you find a
man in the street who has his arms
folded and who seems to have no par
ticular errand, but if you will stand at
the corner of the street and watch the
countenances of those who go by you
will see in most instances there is an
intimation that they are on an errand
/ which must be executed at the earll-
est moment possible, so you are
| jostled hither and thither by business
men, up this ladder with hod of
bricks, out of this bank with roll
of bills, digging a cellar, shingling
roof, binding a book, mending a
watch Work, with it's thousand eyes
and thousand feet and thousand arms.
goes on singing its song, Work, work,
work!' while the drums of the mill
beat it and the steam whistles fife it.
In the carpeted isles of the forest, In
the woods from which the eternal
shadow is never lifted, on the shore
of the sea overiwhose iron coast losses
the tangled foam, sprinkling the
cracked cliffs with a baptism of whirl-
wind and tempest, is the best place to
study God, but in the rushing, swarm
ing, raving street is the best place to
study man.
Going down to your place of bust
ness and coming home again 1 charge
you look about; see these signs of
poverty, of wretchedness, of hunger,
of sin, of bereavement, and as you go
through the streets and come back
through the streets gather up in the
arms of your prayer all the sorrow, all
the losses, all the sufferings, all the
bereavements of those whom you pass
and present them in prayer before an
all sympathetic God. In the great day
of eternity there will be thousands of
persons with whom you in this world
never exchanged one word will rise up
and call you blessed; and there will
be thousand fingers pointed at you
in Heaven, saying: THAT is the man,
that is the woman who helped me
when was hungry and sick and wan
dering and lost and heartbroken. That
is the man, that is the woman" and
the blessing will come down upon you
as Christ shall say: II was hungry
and we fed me, 1 was naked and ye
clothed me, 1 was sick and in prison |
and We visited me; inasmuch as We did |
1t to these poor waits of the streets |
We did it unto me-"
Again, in all these cities | am inn
pressed with the fact that life is full
of pretension and sham. What subter-
fuge, what double dealing, what two
facedness! Do all people who wish
you good morning really hope for you
a happy day? Do all the people who
shake hands love each other? Are all
those anxious about your health who
inquire concerning it? Do all want to |
see you who ask you to call? Does all i
the world know half as much as it pre-
tends to know? Is there not many a II
stock of goods with bril-
liant store window? Passing up<and |
down the streets to your business and
your work, are you not impressed with
the fact that society is hollow and
hat there are subterfuges and preten-
iions2 Oh, how many there are who
'wagger and strut and how few peo-
Ole who are natural and walk! While
ops shipper and fools smoker and sim
oletons giggle, how few people are
natural and laugh! I say these things
lot to create in you incredulity or
nor do forget there are
thousands of people great deal bet
er than they seem, but I do not think
my man Is prepared for the conflict
# this life until he knows this par
ocular peril. Ehud comes pretending
% pay his tax to King Eglon, and,
While he stands in front of the king,
tabs him through with dagger I'M
IL the haft went in after the blade.
Judas Iscariot kissed Christi
One of the mightiest temptations in
commercial life in all cities to-day is
n the fact that many professed Chris
ian men are not square in their bar
rains. Such men are in Baptist
md Methodist and Congregational
churches, and our own denomination
s as largely represented as any of
hem. Our good merchants are fore
most in Christian enterprises; they
Ire patronizers of art, philanthropic
Ind patriotic. God will attend to
hem in the day of His coronation.
am not speaking of them, but of
hose in commercial life who are set
ing a ruinous example to our young
merchants. Go through all the stores
md offices in our cities and tell me in
low many of those stores and offices
ire the principles of Christ's religion
dominant? In three-fourths of them?
No. In half of them? No. In one
enth of them? No. Decide for your
elf. The impression is abroad some
low that charity can consecrate in
quitous gains and that if man give
% God a portion of an unrighteous
bargain then the Lord will forgive
Tim the rest. The secretary of ben.
.vo1apt epniatv carna IN ma apd Sa;d.