Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1903-01-12

ant heart the sharp, keen dagger of re-
morse AS a man of honor and charac-
ter, by the grace of God, you today
are going TO be true to those past
pledges. l feel it. | know it. | can
see a new and holy purpose making
your cheeks flush and your eyes fash
with a consecrated enthusiasm. You
would not break a pledge with any
man to whom you gave your word.
Your boast heretofore has always been
that your word is as good as your bond.
Neither will you today, o man, con-
tinue longer to break those old prom
Uses you made to God.
A noted preacher once told of pros
porous merchant who had strange
dream, and yet not a dream. For many
years he had been a member of the
church, but not living his religion as he
ought to have lived it. In his dream he
seemed to be sitting in his study read
ing the evening paper. There was a
| quick knock at the door, and a stranger
entered and stood before him. He fixed
keen and yet loving eye upon the
merchant. His look penetrated the in
nermost chambers of his temple of con-
| science. "One year ago tonight" said
| the stranger, "your daughter was sup
| posed to be dying. Whom did you call
upon for help? Whom did you promise
| to serve at that time? God. Ten years
| ago you were supposed to be lying upon
your deathbed. Had you died at that
| time, you would have left your family
penniless. Whom did you promise to
serve If he made you well? God. Fiji
teen years ago you joined the church
| during a time Of religious awakening.
Have you kept your pledges that you
made to Jesus Christ at that time"
NAY, nay" answered the merchant in
his dream. But l will. From hence
forth will, l will" And from that mo-
ment the sinful merchant lived a new
life. This ensuing year, like the memo
rable dream of the sleeping merchant,
is to open for you a new life. 1t is to
| be a year when you shall endeavOr to
| fulfill the broken promises which you
long ago made to Jesus Christ.
Joys of the Coming Months.
Happy new year to you, sinful man.
|
ing twelve months you shall for the
first time enjoy the sweet blessings and
exhilarations of Christian service. The
Joy of a self sacrificing Christian life
does not appeal to the average uncon-
secrated man. He says to himself:
what is the good of sacrificing for
other people? They never appreciate it.
My doctrine is to look after number one
and let number two look after himself.
The world will always ride a willing
horse to death. Then the only obse-
quies that willing horse will ever get are
scavenger's cart for a hearse and a
glue factory for a crematory. No, no.
no. The beauties of. self sacrificing do
not appeal to me. The more have the
more people respect me. The less
have the less they respect me. The
more 1 am willing to serve others the
more my motives will be misjudged,
and 1 will be misrepresented."
Some time ago l was riding through
the country on a long trip. The team
Of horses was composed of big, pow
erful animal who was just as lazy as
he was big and strong. The second
was little wiry animal who tugged
and pulled all day long. Yet, strange
to say, every time we came to a hill
the driver would take out his whip and
begin to beat the little horse. At last
protested. l said: 'Why do you whip
that little horse? Why do you not hit
that big, lazy brute, who is always
tagging behind and hardly keeping his
traces taut" "Oh,' answered the driv-
er, Il know you do not understand
much about horses when you ask me
such a question as that. The reason /
hit the little horse is because he is the
willing horse. That big horse is the
balky horse. If l hit him, he would
Immediately lie down and begin to
kick this wagon all to pieces. There
fore 1 whip the little willing horse to
keep the big balky horse agoing." Then
l soliloquiZed to myself, for at that
time 1 was not a truly converted man:
"Ah, how true is that of the world. If
man tries to do anything for human
ity, he is the willing horse He is
kicked and cuffed and cursed and
browbeaten. The balky horses, the
oeeAeSS noiSeS' Inc seiAeA nofseS' dre
always the kindly treated horses and
the happy horses"
But though I made that deduction
many years ago have now en-
: tirely changed my mind. The willing
men Of the churches are always the
: happy men, The self sacrificing mer
are always the rich men spiritually
: They are not the selfish men. They are
not those who will grab and keep al
that they can. The Dead sea is bittel
and acrid and saline and repulsivt
> merely because 1t has no outlet and onl,
inlets, while the waters Of the noun
tain brook laugh and gurgle and sing
I merely because it let's all its waters
!. run away toward the sea. Who d,