Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1900-09-24

wipe the sweat from his brow in Jo-
seph's carpenter shop; taking the foot
of death off the heart of Lazarus and
breaking the chain of the grave against
the marble of the tomb and then walk
ing out with Mary and Martha without
any more pretension than plain citi-
zen going out in the suburban village
to spend the evening; jostled as though
he were a nobody; pursued as though
he were an outlaw; nicknamed; seated
with publicans and with sinners-King
of heaven and earth trailing his robes
in the DUST
Spirit of Prayer.
How much of that humility have we?
If we get a few more dollars than 9TH
er people or gain a little higher posi-
ton, oh, how we strut We go around
wanting everybody to know their place
and say, as not this great~BabylOn
that I have built for the honor of my
kingdom and by the might Of my
strength?'' Who has anything of the
humility of Christ?
The disposition of Christ was also
the spirit of prayer. Prayer on the
mountains prayer on the sea, prayer
among the sick-prayer everywhere.
Prayer for little children, Father I
thank thee that thou hast hidden these
things from the wise and prudent and
revealed them unto babes" Prayer for
his friends, Father, 1 will that they
be with me where I am" Prayer for
his enemies, Father, forgive them;
they know not what they do" Prayer
for all nations, '"Thy kingdom Gomez
How little of that spirit you and l
havei How soon our knees get tiredi
Where is the vial full of Odors which
are the prayers of all the saints? Which
of us can keep our mind ten minutes
on prayer without wandering? Not
you; not /. Oh, that we might have
the spirit of prayer which was the
spirit of Christ! We want more pray
er in the family, more prayer in the
church, more prayer in the legislative
hall, more prayer among the sick, more
prayer among the aged, more prayer
among the young. The great advance
ment of the church is to be in that di-
rection yet.
While the council Of Nuremberg was
signing the edict that gave the church
it's freedom Martin Luther was away
off in a room by himself praying for
that accomplishment. Though there
was no line of communication between
the place where the council was as
sembled and the room where Martin
Luther was praying, Martin Luther
suddenly rose from his knees and said:
sit is accomplished! The church is
free! Victory, victory" Oh, for this
n OF loot with 10
throne of God, so that it may be said
of us, as it was said Of Luther, 'He
got what he asked for!' We want, like
Daniel, to pray with our face toward
the Holy City; we want like Stephen,
to pray gazing into heaven; we want,
like the publican, to pray shifting on
the heart Of conviction; we want, like
Christ, to pray-the Christ who emp
tied his heart of all its lifeblood and
then filed it with the sorrows, the
woes, the agonies of all nations.
Cold mountains and the midnight air
Witnessed the fervor of his prayer.
Shoulder Your Burden.
The spirit of Christ, l remark lastly,
was spirit of hard work. Not one
lazy moment in all his life. Whether
he was talking to the fishermen on the
beach, or preaching to the sailors on
the dock, or administering to the rus
tics amid the mountains, or spending
an evening in Bethany, always busy
for others With hands, heart, head,
busy for others-hewing in the Naza-
reth carpenter shop, teaching the lame
how to walk without crutches, curing
the child's fits, providing rations for the
hungry host. Busy, busy, busy! The
hardy men who pulled the net out of
the sea filled with foundering treas
ures, the shepherds who hunted up
grassy plots for their focks to nibble
at, the shipwrights pounding away in
the dockyards, the winemakers of En-
gedi dipping the juices from the vat
and pouring them into the goatskins,
were not more busy than Christ. Busy,
busy for others! From the moment he
went out Of the caravansary of Bethle-
hem to the moment when the cross
plunged into the socket on the bloody
mount busy for others. Does that re-
mind you of yourself? 1t does not re-
mind me of myself If we lift a bur-
den, it must be light; if we do work, it
must be popular; if we sit in the pew,
it must be soft; if we move in sphere
Of usefulness, it must be brilliant; if
we have to take hold of load, give us
the light end of the log. In this way
to heaven fan us, rock us, sing us to
sleep. Lift us up toward heaven on
the tips of your fingers under silken
sunshade. Stand out Of the way, all
you martyrs who breasted the fire;
stand out of the way and let this col
ony of tender footed modern Christians
come up and get their crowns!
What has your Lord done to you, o
Christian, that you should betray him?