Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1902-01-29
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- the duties and trials Wnlcn DeIong
to the different decades Of human life;
text, Psalms xc., 10, The days of our
years are threescore years and ten.
The SEVENTEEN milestone OF life is here
planted as at the end Of the journey.
A few go beyond it. Multitudes never
reach it. The oldest person of modern
times expired at 1863 years. A Greek of
the name of Stravarlde lived to 1872 years.
An Englishman of the name of Thomas
Parr lived 152 years. Before the time
of Moses people lived $50 years, and if
you go far enough back they lived 800
years. Well, that was necessary, be-
cause the story of the world must come
down by tradition, and it needed long
life safely to transmit the news Of the
past. II the generations had been short
lived, the story would so often have
changed lips that il might have got all
astray But after Moses began to write
1t down and parchment told it from cen
fury TO century it was not necessary that
people live so long in order TO authenti-
cate the events of the past. II in our
time people lived only twenty-five years,
that would not affect history. since il is
put in print and is no longer dependent
On tradition Whatever your age, will
to-day directly address you, and | shall
speak TO those who are in the twenties,
the thirties, the forties, the hfties, the
sixties, and to those who are in the sew
entities and beyond
First, then, | accost those of you who
are in the twenties. You are full of ex-
pectation. You are ambitious-that is,
IL you amount to anything-for some
kind of success, commercial or mechan-
ical or professional or literary or agricul-
tural or social or moral. II | find some
one in the twenties without any sort of
ambition, l feel like saying: MY friend,
you have got on the wrong planet. This
is not The world for you. You are going
to be in the way. Have YOU made your
choice of poorhouses? You will never
be able TO pay for your cradle. Who Is
going to settle for your board? There
is a mistake about the fact that you were
born at ALL
Advice to tine Twenties.
But, supposing you have ambition, let
me say to all the twenties, expect every
thing through divine manipulation, and
then you will get all you want and some
thing better. Are you looking for wealth.
Well, remember that God controls the
money mdFkSlss the udTN6StS, luo
droughts, the caterpillars, the locusts, the
sunshine, the storm, the land, the sea,
and you will get wealth. Perhaps not
that which is stored up in the banks, in
safe deposits, in United States securities,
in houses and lands, but your clothing
and board and shelter, and that is about
all you can appropriate anyhow. You
cost the Lord a great deal. To feed and
clothe and shelter you for a lifetime re-
quires a big sum of money, and If you get
nothing more than the absolute necessi-
ties you get an enormous amount of sup
ply. Expect as much as you will of any
kind of success. if you expect it from
the Lord you are safe. Depend on any
other resource, and you may be badly
chagrined, but depend on God and all
will be WELL 1t Is a good thing in the
crisis of life to have a man of large
means back you up. 1t is a great thing
to have a moneyed institution stand be-
hind you in your undertaking. But it
is mightier thing to have the God Of
heaven and earth your coadjutor, and you
may have him. Which way are you go
ing to start? Oh, the twenties.
Twenty" is a great word in the Bible.
Joseph was sold for twenty pieces Of sill
FeFp SduSUu Juukeu IhEdSl lNtutS gSaAoi
Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities the
flying roll that Zechariah saw was TWEEN
ty cubits; when the sailors of the ship
on which Paul sailed sounded the Medt-
erranean sea, it was twenty fRthoms.
What mighty things have been done in
the twenties! Romulus founded Rome
when he was twenty; Keats finished life
at twenty FIVE; Lafayette was world re-
IL IL 4,
accomplished his chief work at twenty
seven; Bonaparte was victor over Italy
at twenty-six; Pitt was prime minister
of England at twenty-five: Calvin had
completed his immortal Institutes" by
the time he was twenty-six; Grotius was
Attorney General at twenty-four. Some
of the mghtiest things for God and
eternity have been done in the twenties
As long as you can put the figure >
before the other figure that helps de-
scribe your age l have high hopes about
you. Look out for that figure .. Watch
its continuance with as much earnestness
as you ever watched anything that prom
ised you salvation or threatened you de-
moltion. What critical time-the TWEEN
ties. Wilde they continue you decide
your occupation and the principles by
which Won Will be guided; you make your
most abiding friendships: you arrange
your home life; you fix your habits. Lord
God Almighty, for Jesus Christs sake,
have mercy on all the men and women
in the twenties!
The Waiting Age.
Next | accost those in the t1irties
You are at an age when you fin6 what
a tough thing it is TO get recognized and
established in your occupation or pro-
fession. Ten years ago you thoIght all
that was necessary for success WIS to put
on your shutter the sign of PHI, stefan
or dentist or attorney or broker or agent
and you would have plenty of business.
How many hours you sat and waited for
business, aud waited in vain, three per
sons only know-God. your wife and
yourself. In commercial life you have
not had the promotion and The increase
in salary you anticipated 0" the place
you expected to occupy in the firm has
not been vacated. The produce Of the
farm with which you expected TO support
yourself and those depending on you aud
TO pay the interest on the mortgage has
been far less than you anticipated. or the
prices were down, or special expenses
for sickness made drafts on your re-
sources that you could not have expect |
ed. In some respects the hardest decade /
of life is the thirties, because the results /
are generally so far behind the autie!pa-
tions Il is very rare indeed that q young :
man does SIS did the young man one sun /
day night when he came 10 me and said !
IL. al IH