Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1904-01-18
,arnestness and conservation of GU,

private devoticas.
Our public Christian usefulness to a
great extent is dependent upon the in |
tensity of our prayers uttered in Sc
cret. Christian brother, never allow
your prayer closet 10 become dust COW
cred and musty. Never let a time come
when you will break the telegraphic
communication with the heavenly head
quarters for prayer. In Gods great
whispering gallery may your lips learn
to utter the divine pleadings so softly
that they shall sometimes only be
heard by his ear and answered directly
only by his loving voice.
The closed lids of Gods Bible are
often used to extinguish the divine
fame burning within the Christians
heart They can become the barred
and bolted doors of superstition, barred
and bolted by gross ignorance, endun-
geoning the most monstrous of here
sizes in the darkest of cells. They may
become redhot irons putting out the
calm, deep blue eyes of faith and love.
By an ancient eastern law no blind
prince is allowed to sit upon the throne
of Persia. By divine law no Chris
tan can reach that stage of enlighten-
ment fitting him to occupy one of Gods
spiritual thrones without earnest and
prayerful study of the Bible. "Tolle,
legel Tolle, lege!' C'Take and read;
Take and read?D was the divine COM
mand given in vision to young Angus
tine in reference to the Holy Scriptures.
lake and read! Take and readw is
the divine command given to the young
Christian of the present day.
My friends, how are you going to
find out what is the law of God and
the will of God unless you read his
holy word? In Isaiah he distinctly
says, "My thoughts are not your
thoughts, neither are your ways my
ways" Are you and l trying to find
out by studying the Scriptures what
are Gods thoughts and to harmonic
our lives with his life? Are we trying
to find out what is the deeper, richer
meaning of the Saviour's name? Are
we seeking to understand what is the
mission of the Holy Spirit and how
God with the weak things of this
world is going to confound the mighty?
Or are we going around day after day
singing a senseless, silly, siren song:
Jesus will save! Jesus will save! Oh.
am so happy, Jesus will saver when
some of us merely look upon the name
Of Jesus as an amulet, because we do
not know or care who Jesus is or take
the trouble to read the words which he
has spoken for us? Are we going to look
upon the closed lids Of the Bible in a
superstitious way, as did the peasants
of Europe during the dark ages, as
though they were something they had
no right to touch? Up to twenty years
of age the great Martin Luther was
totally ignorant of Gods word
Though studying to be priest he had
never been allowed to personally touch
Bible and was not aware that the
gospels and the epistles comprised
more than the few chapters read by the
priests in public worship. Shall we
continue to be as ignorant Of Gods
word as that? Or are you going to
look upon the Holy Scriptures as a di-
Father to his children, which letter
ought to be carefully studied and it's
commands to be strictly followed out?
Development of Character.
Supposing that your mother died of
consumption when you were a child Of
four years. Supposing that when the
| hectic roses of that fatal disease were
| blooming in the garden of her pale,
sunken cheek she one day had you, her
sleeping baby, placed by her side.
Then while you slept she wrote you a
long letter. In this letter she gave her
maternal advice and parting benedic-
ton. Then she folded that letter and
gave it to your father, saying: Illus
band, give this to my baby boy On the
| day he graduates from the public
! school. Before he decides upon life's
work l want to give him my advice
and tell him what l want him to do. -
Supposing twelve years had now pass
ed and you, at sixteen, were now given
that letter What would you do? First
you would kiss it. You would say;
Mother wrote it with her dying hand
Mother wrote it with lover Then you
would reverently open the yellow
leaves and carefully read that letter
line by line. If you were true son, if
possible you would follow out the de-
sires Of that maternal letter word by
word. New convert in the gospel life
and Christian of older standing, the
Holy Scriptures are Gods letter to US
If we are the Heavenly Fathers true
children we will take the letter and
study it. We will translate the de-
sires of that letter into our own lives
We will make Gods thoughts oul
thoughts and his ways our ways.
But" some new convert says, ''if
the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures is
essential to a truly developed spiritual
character then l am not true Chris
tan. l practically know nothing about
the word OF God except that God SO
loved the world that he gave his only
begOtten Sol that whatsoever believeth
| on oh II,