Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1901-08-09

i a Ion. monotony, But when Christ
comes TO the drawing room aud comes
TO the kitchen. aud comes TO the nurs-
cry. aaj comes TO the dwelling. then
how CHEEKY becomes all wonanly duties
She is never alone now. Martha gets
through fresting and joins Mary ar the
feet of Jesus. All day long Deborah IS
happy because she can help Lapidoth:
Hannah. because she can make coat
for young Samuel: Miriap. because she
can watch her infant brother; Rachel,
because she can help her father water
the stock: the widow OF Sarepta. be-
cause the cruise of OIL IS being replen-
ished o woman. having in your pam
Try a nest OF boxes containing all kinds
of condiments. why Laye you not tried
in your heart and life the spicery Of our
holy religion? 'Martba. Martha. thou
art careful aud troubled about many
things. but Que thing is needful. and
Mary hath chosen that good part which
shall not be taken away from her"
Joyful Chrfstiamity.
must confess that great deal OF
the religion of this day is utterly In
sipid. There is nothing piquant or ele.
waiting about IT, Men and women 20
around hunming psalms in n minor
key and cultivating melancholy. and
their worship has in il more signs than
raptures. We do not doubt their piety.
Oh. no. But they are sitting at a feast
where the cook has forgotten to season
the food. Everything is fiat in their
experience pnd in their conversation.
Emancipa.ed from sin and death and
hell ard IN their way TO magnificent
heaven. they act as though they were
trudging on toward an everlasting Bot.
any Bay. Religion does not seem TO
agree with them. 1t seems to catch In
the windpipe and become a tight stran-
gulation instead OF an EXPLANATION.
All the infidel books that have been
written. from Voltaire down to Her
bert Spencer. have not done so much
damage to our Christianity as iugubri.
Gus Christians. Who wants a religion
woven out of the shadows OF the night?
Why go growing on your way to celes-
tial enforcement? Come out OF that
cave and sit down In the warm light
OF the Sun of righteousness. Away
with your odes TO melancholy and Her
yey's "Meditations Among the Tombs"
Then let our songs abound
And every tear be dry;
Matchmaking through Emmanuers ground
To iairer worlds on high.
| have to say also that we need to
put more spice and enlvenmeut In our
religious teaching. whether Il be In the
prayer meeting or in the Sunday school
or IN the church. We ministers need
more fresh air and sunshine IL our
lungs and our heart and our head. Do
YOU wonder that the world is so far
from being converted when you find so
little yivaclty in the pulpit and In the
pewI We want. like the Lord. TO plant
IN our sermons aud exhortations more
lilies OF the field. We want fewer
rhetorical Celebrations and fewer SEES.
quipedaian words, and when we talk
about shadows we do not want to say
adumbration. and when we mean
queerness we do not want to talk about
idiosyucrasies, or II n stitch in the
back we do not want 10 talk about
iumbago, but. In the plain vernacuiar
of the great masses, preach that Cos
pei which proposes to make all men
happy. honest. victorious and free. In
other words. we want more cinnamon
AID less gristle. Let this be go I'm all
the different departments OF work TO
which the Lord calls us. Let us be
plain. Let us be earnest. Let us be
common senslcal. When we talk TO
ihe people In vernacular they can un-
derstand, they will be very glad 10
come and receive the truth we present.
Would TO God that Queen BaIkls would
drive her spice laden dromedarles into
all our sermons and prayer meeting ex.
hortations.
Eni,vcn Christian Work.
More than that. we want more life
and spice In our Christian work. The
poor do not want so much TO be groaned
over rs sung TO. With the bread and
medicines aud garments you give them
lei there be an accompaniment OF
smiles aud brisk encouragement. Do
not stand and talk 10 them about the
wretchedness OF their abode and the
hunger OF their looks and the hardness
or their lot. Alb. they know il better
than You can tell theml Show them
the bright side OF the thing. II there be
aoy bright side. Tell them good times
will come; tell them that for the chill
dren OF God there Is immortal rescue.
Wake them up out OF their stolidity
by an inspiring laugh. and while you
send In help. like the queen OF Sheba, |
also send in the spices. There are two |
ways OF meeting the poor. One is to |
come Into their house with nose ele- |
waited In disgust. us much as 10 say: II |
don't see how You live here in this |
neighborhood. IL actually makes me |
sick. There is that bundle. Take II.
you poor, miserable wretch. and make
tie most OF IT," Another way is to 60 \
Into the abode OF the poor In a manner
which seems to say: THE blessed Lord /
sent me. lie was poor himself. Ii Is
not more for the good l am going TO
Try 10 DO You than IL is for the good /
mat you can do me-" Coming in that
spirit. the gift will be as aromatic as
the spikenard on the feet of Christ.
ana all the novels on that alley Will be
fragrant with the spice.
We need more spice and enlivenment
IL our church music. Churches Sit dis.
whether they shall have cho.rs
or preeentors or organs or bass vio.s or
comets ! say. take that which will
bring out the most inspiring music. II
we lad half as much zeal and spirit In
our churches as we have in the songs
or our Sunday schools. il would not be
lorg before the whole earth would
quake with the coming God. Why.
bine-tenths or the people in church do
not sing. or they sing so feebly that
the people at their elbows do not know
ihey are singing. People mouth and
humble the praises of God. but there
IS not more than one out OF a hundred
who makes a joyful noise unto the
Rock of Our Salvation. Sometimes.
when the congregation forgets itself
ana is all absorbed in the goodness OF
God OF the glories OF heaven. / get an
intimation Of what church music Will
be hundred years from now when the
coming generation shall wake nm tn tts