Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1900-11-09

tons were for his settlement or adjust
ment He must have had correspond
ence vast beyond all computation There
was not a man in all the earth who had
more to do than Daniel, The secretary OF
state. and yet we find him three times
dav bowling before Tod in prayer.
But To have religion go right along by
them all through life. to have religion
looking over their shoulder when they, ave
making a barrain, to have religion take
up bag of dishonest gold and shake IL
and saw. where did you get that;
they think that is an impertlnent re-
lIciou
Thev would like TO have religion. to
heip Them wher thew are Sic; and when
the shatl,w of death comes over them.
they would like tn have religion as sort
Of night key with which to open the
door of heaven but religion under other
circumstances they take to be Imperti-
hence.
Now. my friends. religion never robbed
man of dollar. Other things being
equal a mason will build a better wall,
cabinet maker will make better char, d
plumber will make better pipe lawyer
will make better plea. a merchant VIII
sell better bill Of goods. | say. other
things being equal OF course when re-
ligion gives man a new heart, u does
not propose to give him new head or to
intellectualize him or to change mans
condition when his ordinary state is an
overthrow Of the philosophical theory that
total vacuum is impossible. but the more
letters YOU have to write, the more bur
dens YOU have to carry. the more miles
YOU have To travel, the more burdens you
have to lift. the more engagements you
have t. meet. the more disputes you have
to settle. the more opportunity you have
Of being Christian. Ii you have
thousand irons in the fire. you have
thousand more opportunities of serving
God than If you only had one iron in the
fire. Who SO busy as Christ? And yet
who n miliopth part as holv? The busl'
est men the hest men, All the persons
converted in Scripture busy at the time
of their being converted Matthew at
tending to his custom house duties, the
prodigal son feeding swine, Lydia sell
ing Durple. SIMON Peter hauling in the
net from the sea, Saul squirting his horse
toward Damascus. going JoWn on MS Jaw
business Busy busy Daniel with all the
affairs OF state weighing down upon his
soul and vet three times day worship
ing the God of heaven.
Again. | learn from this subject that
man NAV take religion into his politics.
Daniel had all the affairs Of state on
hand yet a servant of God. He could
not have kept his elevated position UNI
less he had been thorough politician,
and vet all the thrusts OF officials and all
the danger OF DISGRACE did not make him
yield one iota of his high toned religious
principle. He stood before that age, he
stands before all ages. a specimen OF
godly politician. So there have been in
our day and in the days of our fathers
men as eminent in the service of God as
they have heen eminent in the service OF
the state. Such was Benjam +. Butler,
attorney general OF New York in the
time of your fathers;. such was John Me.
Lean. of the supreme court OF the United
States, such was George Briggs. of Alassa-
chjlsetts such was Theodore Frelnghuy-
SEN of New Jersey-men faithful to the
state, at the same time faithful to t'od.
it is absurd 10 expect that men who have
been immersed III political wickednesS for
thirty or forty years shall come to refor-'
nation, and our hope is in the young men
who are coming up. that they have, patrl-
otto principle and Christian principle side
by side when they come to the ballot
box and cast their first vote and that they
swear allegiance to the government OF
heaven as well as to the government OF
the United States We would have Bum
ker Hill mean less &c them than Calvary,
and Lexington mean less to them than
Bethlehem But because there are bad
men around the ballot box is no reason
why Christian men should retreat from
the arena The last time you ought to
give up your child or forsake your child
is when it is surrounded by q company
of Choctaws, and the last time to sur
render the ballot box is when 1t is sur,
rounded ty impurity and dishonesty and
! sorts of wickedness.
Daniel stood ON a most unpopular plat
FORM He stood firmly, though the dema-
gogues of the day Kissed at him and tried
TO overthrow him. We must carry our
religion into our politics
But there are great many men who
are in favor of taking it into national
politics who do not see the Importance
of taking it into city politics, as though
a man were intelligent about the welfare
of his neighborhood and had no concern
about his own home.
NV subject also impresses me with the
fact that lions cannot hurt a good man.
No man ever got into worse company than
Daniel got into when be was thrown into
the den What rare morsel that TAR
Young lnc would have been for the hun
CRY monsters If they had plunged at
him, lie could not have climbed into
niche beyond the reach of their paw or
the snatch of their tooth. They came
pleased all around about him, as hunters
hounds at the well known whistle come
bounding to his feet. You need not go to
Numidia to get many lions. You all have
had them after you--thc lion of financial
distress, the lion OF sickness, the lion
of persecution. You saw that lion of
financial panic putting his mouth down
to the earth, and he roared until all the
banks and all the insurance companies
quaked With his nostril he scattered the
ashes on the domestic hearth. You have
had trial after trial, misfortune after
misfortune, lion after lion, and yet they
have never hurt you if you put your trust
in God, and they never will hurt you.
They odd not hurt Daniel, and they cannot
hurt you. The Persians used TO think
chat spring rain falling into seashells
would turn into pearls, and have to tell
YOU that the tears OF sorrow turn into
precious gems when they drop into Gods
bottle. You need be afraid of nothing
putting your trust in God. Even death,
| that monster lion whose den is the
world sepulcher and who puts his paw
down amid thousands of millions of the
| dad cannot alright you. When in old.
ell times a man was to get the honors OF
| knighthood, he was compelled to go full
| ly armed the night before among the
| tombs OF the dead carrying u sort OF
spear and then when the day broke he
would come forth, and amid the sound OF
cornet and great parade he would get che
| honors of knighthood. And so it will be
with the Christian in the night before
heaven as fully armed with spear and
helmet of salvation he will wait and watch
! through the darkness until the morning
| dawns, and then he will take the honors
of heaven amid that great throng with
snowy robes streaming over seas of sap
| phire