The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1900-11-23


duties; the prodigal son feeding swine
Lydia selling purple; Simon Peter
hauling in the net from the sea; Sau
+ spurring his horse toward Damascus
going down on his law business: Busy
busy. Daniel with all the affairs OF
state weighing down upon his soul. and
yet three times a day worshiping the
God of Heaven.
Again | learn from this subject
that a man may 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 unless he had been a thor
ough politician, and yet an the
thrusts of officials and all the danger
of disgrace did not make him yield
one iota of his high toned religious
principle. lie 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 i'm the
service Of God as they have been en-
inent in the service of the state. Such
was Benjamin +. Butler. attorney
general of New York in the time of
your fathers. Such was John Nc
Lean, of the supreme court Of the
United States. Such was George
Briggs, Of Massachusetts. Such was
Theodore Freliughuysen, Of New Jer-
sey-men faithful TO the state. at the
same time faithful 10 God. II is alb
surd to expect that men who have
been immersed in political wickedness
for 30 or 40 years shall come TO refor-
nation. and our hope is in the young
men who are coming up, that they
have patriotic 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 Bunker Hit
mean less to them than Cavalry. and
Lexington mean less 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 il is surrounded
by company Of Choctaws. and the
last time to surrender the ballot box
is when it is surrounded by impurity
and dishonesty and all sorts of wick
edness.
Daniel stood on a most unpopular
platform. He stood firmly. though
the demagogues of the day hissed at
him and tried TO overthrow him. We /
must carry our religion into our pol 7
itics. But there are a great many
men who are IN favor of taking re-
ligion 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 I
his neighborhood and had no concern +
about his own home.
My subject also impresses me with .
the fact that lions cannot hurt
good man. No man ever got into
worse company than Daniel got when
be was thrown into the den. What
4 rare morsel that fair young man
would have been for the hungry mon
'torsl If they had plunged at him
he could not have climbed into a niche
beyond the reach of their paw or the
snatch of their tooth. They came,
pleased. all around him. as hunters
hounds at the well-known whistle
.ome bounding 10 his feet. You need
not 90 10 Numidia TO get many lions.
fou all have them after you-the lion
,f financial distress. the lion Of sick
less. the lion of persecution. You
aw that lion Of financial panic put
ing his mouth down TO the earth. and
le roared until all the banks and all
he insurance companies quaked. .
With his nostril he scattered the
shes on the domestic hearth. You
ave had trial after trial misfortune
fter misfortune lion after lion. and
ct they have never hurt you. If You
mt your trust in God. and they never
riH hurt you. They did not hurt
)aniel. and they cannot hurt you.
he Persians used 10 think that
prng rain falling into seashells
rould turn into pearls. and ] have TO
ell you that the tears Of sorrow turn
lto precious gems when they drop
1to Gods bottle. You need be afraid
T nothing. putting your trust in God.
wen death. that monster lion whose
en- is the worlds sepulcher. and who
uts his paw down amid thousands Of
iillions Of the dead. cannot alright
on. When I'm olden times man was
b get the honors of knighthood. he
.as compelled TO 60 fully armed the
ight before among the tombs Of the
cad. carrying a sort of spear, and
hen when the day broke he would
ome forth. and. amid the sound OF
,rnet and great parade. he would get
he honors of knighthood. And so IL
i'm be with the Christian i'm the night
efore Heaven. as. fully armed with
pear and helmet Of salvation. he viii
ait and watch through the darkness
ntil the morning dawns and then he
I'M take the honors Of Heaven amid
ie great throng with snowy robes.
roaming over seas of sapphire.
Phrase In n Name. .
Once. after exposing the ridiculous
un lers Of the editor of certain old
avs James Russell Lowell concluded