Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-08-28

for the sustenance of life; as it is the
forerunner of all the fatal diseases
by which the human race is invalded
and destroyed so it Is an awful sin
for you to fret and worry about the
future and destroy your LIES useful
ness and influence. Can you not as
true Christian men and women go
forth to meet the duties of the present
day and leave the visionary future in
Gods hands? Worry is not harm
less gadny, an insectile annoyance,
buzzing irritant, haphozard playful
habit. 1t is sin which has destroyed
more victims than have ever been
slain upon the field of battle or ground
into pieces between the upper and the
neither millstones Of persecution and
Islander. Beware how you allow its
fatal poison to enter your sinful heart.
Anticipating trouble is form of in
tellectunl and spiritual sin by which
some men are blinded to the apprccia-
ton or enjoyment of present blessings.
Because of this sin they cannot thank
God for their loving wives and de-
voted children. They cannot thank
|
clothing they wear. They cannot
thank him for their opportunities of
usefulness and for health and life
They are always thinking of something
they might have had of something
that might be taken away. They have
no gratitude in their hearts to God for
anything. Every kiss has in it for
them the sting OF n scorpion. Every
sunbeam is ecllpsed by a dark cloud
Every song has in it the echo of
requiem and death rattle. Every
moment Is for them a pallbearer
clothed in black walking by the casket
Of a stenchful corpse.
The Sin of Worrying.
Hogarth. the great caricaturist. once
declared that he never saw a beauti-
full face without instantly thinking
how he could distort it and make it
look ridiculous. So people who are OIL
ways worrying about the future are n
species of sinful, morbid caricaturists,
rendering hideous and repulsive even
the sweetest and the tenderest bless
ings of the present day. They are like
some Of those self absorbed and alb
scntmindcd people you meet and speak
to upon the street. You may bow to
them and talk to them, but they see
not and hear not. They are in their
imaginations q thousand miles away.
Those people who are anticipating trout
blGs can never pluck the flowers God
has planted at their feet; they can nov
er hear the birds, whose wings God
has fashioned, singing over their heads;
they can never look into the unfath-
omed sea of affection which God has
rolled into the deep blue of chld's
eye because they are always living in
the dark caverns, the reptile inhabited
dungeons which their own evil imagi-
nations have created.
In order to overcome this sin of wor-
ryng | want you to try an experiment.
Every hour of every day try 10 think
of the blessings God has given to you
instead of trying to remember all your
troubles. If you have poor memory,
I want you to take a long sheet Of pa
per and write those blessings down as
you think of them, and then every lit
tie while take up this paper and read
over the list. You will need a very
long sheet of paper when you once be-
gin the list. You are going to be sur
prised, Overwhelmingly surprised. at
the great number of blessings you can
put down.
| well remember, many years ago,
when my father once gathered all his
children together about his chair and
gave to each one Of us a long sheet of
paper and told us TO write down our
blessings. At first l could not think of
thing to write, but after awhile the
blessings, the many blessings, which l
had began TO crowd into my brain.
wrote and wrote until after awhile |
had to get another sheet of paper.
Then | wrote and wrote until after
awhile those blessings seemed to pile
themselves up into great mountain.
And then, do you know, after | had
been cataloguing my many blessings
was ashamed to think about any OF my
troubles, They seemed to be so small
and insignificant in comparison with
the mercies with which God had sur
rounded me. My brother, as you begin
today to think Of all your blessings
tell you bluntly and plainly it is d
shame, a sinful shame for you to have
postponed so long learning prayer of
thanksgiving. 1t is n shame, a sinful
shame, that you have postponed so
long the day when you are willing to
get down upon your knees and thank
God for what he has done for you and
for the blessings that have enriched
your life.
| Hymn That Helps.
There are many different hymns
sung In church, in prayer meeting and
at the family altar, but there Is no
hymn that breathes in II sweeter
gospel, no hymn which helps more to
make truer, happier, purer and boiler
Christian life than that hymn with the
chorus:
Connt your blessings; name them one by
Count your blessings see what God has
| done,
This is hymn that ought to be sung
every day from the heart. 1t is
hymn which should aid in transform
Ing life of sinful worrying into one
of trust and gratitude and holy JOY.
Troubles cannot be rightly antici-
pated because we cannot rightly antic-
ipate the grace God will give to his