The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-04-23

, try to spend your days in city life, where
are you going to spend your evenings:
Let me tell you, while there are many
places Of innocent worldly amusement, il
IS most wise for you to throw your body,
mind and soul into Christian society.
Come to me at the close OF five years and
tell me what has been the result OF this
advice. Bring with you the young man
who refused TO take the advice and who
went into sinful amusement. He will
come dissipsted, shabby in apparel. indis-
posed to look any one in the eyes. moral
character So per cent off. You will come
with principle settled, c~ountenance frank.
habits good, soul saved and all the inhab-
itants Of heaven, from the lowest ange!
up to the archangel and clear past him to
the Lord God Almighty. your coadjutors.
This is not the advice Of a misanthrope.
There Is no man in the house to whom
the world is brighter than it is TO me. 1t
is not the advice Of a dyspeptic-my di-
gestlon Is perfect: il is not the advice Of
a man who canno understand q joke or
who prefers a funeral; it is not the advice
or a WORKOUT man, but the advice Of a
man who can see this world in all its
brightness, and, considering myself CON-
petent in judging what is good cheer. /
tell the multitude of young men that
there is nothing in worldly association so
grand and so beautiful and SO exhilarant
as in Christian society.
The Question of Self Denial.
L know there is a great deal Of talk
about the self denials of the Christian.
l nave to tell you that where the Chris
tan has one self denial the man Of the
world has a thousand self denials. The
Christian is not commanded to surrender
anything that is worth keeping. But
what does a man deny himself who de-
MES himself the religion of Christ? He
denies himself pardon for sin. he denies
himself peace of conscience. he denies
himself the joy Of the Holy Ghost. he
denies himself a comfortable death Pill
low, he denies himself the glories of Leav-
en-. Do not talk to ne about the self de-
mails Of the Christian life. Where ;i.,~e
is one in the Christian life there arr a
thousand in the life of the world. Her
ways are ways of piPasantnass."
Again. | find a great deal of ~rp,icic:s
sunshine in Christian and divine c1;.,a
nation. To a great mary People lee j.
an lnexplicablp tanGie. Things tim rIt
differently FROM what was SUPPORT;
There is a useless woman in Et.rTs";
health. There is an Industrious aD'I GA
secrated woman a complete invalid. -
plain that. There is 4 bad man , /.
$4,000 Of income. There is n good E.aa
with $500 of income. Why is tl.a,:
There is a foe of Society who lives GA.
doing all the damage lie can. to ~ ys. y
Of age, and here is q Christian father.
faithful in every department of life. at ~
years of age taken away by death. LIS
family left helpless. Explain that. o..
there is no sentence hat oftener drops
from your lips than this: II cannot To
derstand it. l n understand it."
Well, now religion comes in just at
that point with it's illumination and its
explanation There is q business man
who has lost his entire fortune. The
week before he lost his fortune there
were 20 carriages that stopped at the
door Of his mansion. The week after he
lost his fortune all the carriages you
could count on one finger. The week
before financial trouble began people all
took off their hats to him as he passed
down the street. The week his financial
prospects were under discussion people
just touched their hats without anywise
bending the rim. The week that he was
pronounced iRsolvent people just jolted
their heads as they passed, not tipping
their hats at all, and the week the sheriff
sold him out all his friends were looking
in the store windows as they went down
past him.
Now, while the world goes away from
a man while he is in financial distress.
the religion of Christ comes to him and
says: You are sick, and you sickness is
to be moral publications: you are be
reaved. God wanted in some way to
take you family to heaven. and he must
begin somewhere, and so he took the
ana chat -o- haorl n.I -oo
most ready to 60" l do not say that re-
ligion explains everything in this life. but
/ do say it lays down certain principles
which are grandly consoIatory. You
know business men often telegraph in ci-
pher. The merchant in San Francisco
telegraphs to the merchant in New York
certain information in cipher which no
other man in that line of business can
understand. but the merchant in San
Francisco has the key to the cipher. and
the merchant in New York has the key TO
the cipher, and on that information
transmitted there are enterprises involv-
ing hundreds Of thousands of dollars.
Now. the providences of life sometimes
seem to be a senseless rigmarole. a mys-
terious cipher: but God has a key to that
cipher and the Christian a key to hat CT
pher, and, though he may hardly be able
to spell out the meaning. he gets enough
Of the meaning to understand that it is
for the best. Now. is there not sunshine
in that? Is there not pleasure in that?
Far beyond laughter. il is nearer the
fountain of tears than boisterous demon
s1ration. Have you never cried for joy?
There are tears which are eternal rap
ture in distillation.
All Is For the Best.
There are hundreds of people who are
walking day by day in the sublime sat
isfaction hat all is for the best, all
things working together for good for
their sou. How a man can get along
through this life without the explanation
is to me a mystery. What Is that
child gone forever? Are you never TO get
it back? Is your property gone forever?
Is your soul to be bruised and to be tried
forever? Have you no explanation, no
Christian explanation. and yet not a ma
MAC? But when you have the religion
Of .IeSuS Christ in vorr Snul III eynlaiuS