The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1902-03-14

is completely swindlcd. lle is 30 overcome
that he cannot -et out OF town during she
week. He stays In town over Sunday, goes
into some church 10 get Christian cOnsoh.
ton, when what is bis amaEement 70 hnd
that the very man who handc him the poor
box In the church Is the one who relieved
him o. his money! But never mind; the
deacon has his black coat on now. lie
LOOKS solemn and goes home, talking about
'the blessed sermon" II the wheat in the
ohuv"h-- -hauld y out into hopper, the
Ant turn Of the crank would make the
ehah ay. tell you. Some Of these men
are great sticklers FOR gospel preaching.
They say: "You stand there IN bands ana
adrplce and gown and preaeh-preach IKE /
an anqel-and we will stand out here and /
attend 10 business. Don't mix things. /
Don't get business and religion IN the same /
bucket. You attend to your matters, and |
we will attend 10 ours" They do not know /
that God sees every cheat they have prac- |
tieed in the last six years. that de ran look
through the iron wall Of their hreproof /
safe; that He has counted every dollar
thew have in their pocket and that day
~ iudqment will come These inconsistent |
Christian men will sit on the Sabbath night
In the house Of God singing at the. close Of
the service. "Rock Of ages cleft for me"
and then when the benediction Is pro-
/ nounced shut the pew door and say as they
20 out: Goodbye, religion. III be back
next Sunday"
I think that the church Of God and the
1 Sabbath are only an armory where we are
to get weapons. When war comes, II
man wants to fight for his country, ne
does not 60 to Troy or to Springfield. to do
battling, but he goes there for swords and
muskets. I look upon the church Of Christ
I 4 L. akk aAh daFg aa only
time where and when we are TO get armed
for Christian conflict, but the battlefield is
on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thurs
day, Friday and Saturday.
Now, be careful to let none OF those an
noyances 60 through your soul unarraigned.
Compel them to administer your spiritual
wealth. The scratch Of a sixpenny nail
sometimes produces loekiaw, and the clip
of a most in6nitesimal annoyance may
damage yon forever Do not let any an
noyance or perplexity come across your
soul without its making you better.
Our National Government did not think
it belittling to put tax on pins and tax
on buckles and a tax on shoes. The lndi-
vidual taxes do not amount to much, but
in the aggregate to millions and millions Of
dollars. And / would have you, o Chris
tian man, put high tariff on every annoy
ance and vexation that comes through your
soul This might not amount to much in
single cases, but in the aggregate it would
be great revenue of spiritual strength and
satisfaction A bee can suck honey even
out Of a nettle, and if you have the grace
of God in your heart you can get sweetness
out OF that which would otherwise irri-
tate and annoy. The only way to get pre-
, pared for the great troubles Of life is to
conquer these small troubles.
And have to tell you, 0 Christian men.
; if you cannot apply the principles Of
Christ's religion on a small scale you will
never be able to apply them on a large
scale. IL you cannot contend successfully
against these small SORROWS that come
: down single handed, what will you do
! when the greater disasters of life come
4 down with laundering artillery, rolling
: over your soul?
! Again, we must bring the religion o.
e Christ into our commonest blessings. Wher
a the autumn comes and The harvests are II
,, and the governors make proclamations, VIZ
, assemble in churches and we are very
thankful. But every day ought to be {
:, thanksgiving day. We do not recognize
3 the common mercies of life. We have Il
q see a blind man led by his dog before W.
begin to bethink ourselves of what grand
. thing It is, TO have undimmed eyesight
= We have to see some wounded man hob
DunE on MS CTuGCn OF WITH MS empty COd
= sleeve pinned up before we learn to thinl
what grand thing God did for us when H
gcve us healthy use of our limbs. We ar
st SO stupid that nothing but the misfortune
ID of otherL can rouse US up to our blessings
e. AS the OK grazes in the pasture up to it
E. eye in clover, yet never thinking VIII
Dr. makes the clover and as the bird picks u
W the worm from the furrow, not KNOWN
es that it is God who makes everything from
to the animalcule in the sod to the seraph o.
OF the throne, so we go on eating, drinkin
or and enjoying, but never thanking, or Sc
Id dom thanking, or, if thanking at all, wit
" only half heart.
ST compared our indifference to the brute
~, but pc 'haps wronged the brute. I do nc
Is know but that among its other instincts
ne it may have an instinct by which it recol
~ nizes the divine hand that feeds it.
Va not know but that God is through i
w holding communication with what we ca
Vi Irrational creation" The COW that stand
Is. under the willow by the watercourse che7
-. lN Ing its cud looks very thankful, and VIII
y can tell how much bird means by i
Is song? The arena of the flowers smells Ill
~ incense, and the mist arising from the rive
/ /. looks like the smoke Of a morning saerife
nc On, that We were as responsive! Yet wi
ne thanks God for the water that pushes l
Oh in the well, and that foams in the cascad
=; and that laughs over the rocks, and th
-, patters in the showers and that claps
=. hands in the sea? Who thanks God fl
lIe the air, the fountain of life, the bridge
7A- sunbeams, the path Of sound, the great I;
IN on a hot summers day? Who thanks Gt
90 for this wonderful physical organism, til
sn- sweep of The vision, this chime of harmon
oqf struck into the ear, this soft tread Of
IaI myriad delights over the nervous tissu
ne this rolling Of che crimson tide through q
.ne terry and vein, this drumming of the heo
DIS ~ 49, oui tb 49, r,at|a &c coursa
me But suppose God should withdraw the
eh, common blessings! Your body would
,uu come an inquistion of torture, the CO
~ would refuse rain, every green thing won