Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1904-03-21

morning? Then when the clocks min
ute hand is pointing to a quarter Of II
would we start to dress and at the last
moment turn the house upside down
and empty all the bureau drawers be-
cause we could not find our gloves or
hatpins or a clean handkerchief, as
come of US are accustomed to do every
Sunday morning? Then would we
rush across Lafayette square over to
the White House and get there twenty
minutes late. as some of us regularly
and systematically always come to the
church service late, where we are to
meet God?
Respect the Head of the Temple.
Oh, no! That is not the way we
should act If we had an appointment
with the president tomorrow morning.
We would positively see that our
clothes were all right before we went
to sleep tonight. Then we would go
to bed early, so that our minds would
be clear and alert and we could re-
say. We would not only be on time,
but little ahead of time. At ten min
utes of IL, instead of ten minutes after
IL o'clock, we would be standing be-
fore the presidents private secretary
presenting our cards for an audience
with the chief executive of the Amer
lean people. In the same way if you
wish to get your chief spiritual bless
ings from Christ you must keep your
tryst with him. You must start your
public worship on time. You must, in
your church manners at least, show
to your Heavenly King the same re-
spect you would accord to an earthly
potentate. A spiritually live church
is one whose worshipers always as
semble on time One of the surest
signs of a spiritually dead church is
the hardness of the church members,
who always expect their seats to be
saved until at least the second hymn
has been sung. and often until the col
lection plate has been passed. The
pews should be filled on time, just as
the Organist at the hour sharp should
be in her place at the ivory keys and
the minister in his place behind the
sacred pulpit
Behaving yourself Alright in church
implies a second act, which is just as
important as promptness at church
service. A church member should be
in his place when the service starts as
surely as he should be at his seat when
the train starts. But he should do
more than sit down when the minister
takes his place. He should, first of
all, kneel and render obeisance and
homage to the Heavenly Father, whose
tryst he, the worshiper, has come to
keep. The very first act of a guest in
a home is to go and pay his respects
to the host or hostess. The very first
act a worshiper should perform when
in church is to pay his respects to the
Christ, who, in a spiritual sense, is the
head of the temple in which the church
member has come to worship.
Church No Place For Levity.
The Episcopalian rector begins his
service in this wise: Lord, l have
loved the habitation Of thy house and
| the place where thine honor dWelleth."
When we enter the house Of God, do
we one and all feel that we are COM
Ing into the presence of the Lord? If
| we do, would we come laughing and
talking and nodding to each other, like
a lot of schoolgirls entering their class
rooms? If we do, would there be so
much whispering among the members,
both in the pews and in the back of the
church? If we do, would there be so
much turning around to watch others
! who happen to come in late, and a dis
position to laugh when anything goes
wrong? People who have visited Euro
pean courts write that there the king
Is first and last in the thoughts of all
the waiting courtiers. AS soon as the
king enters the room, all the waiting
mobiles arise and bow. When the king
speaks, the waiting mobiles listen.
When messenger enters, he not only
kneels, but when he leaves the throne
room he never turns his back upon the
beated king. When we enter the sane
tuary of God, which is filled with the
presence Of God, do we bow as before
/ king? Do we try to keep our face al
ways toward the divine face? Do we
earnestly try to make the prayers Of
The psalmist our prayer? LET the
words of my mouth and the meditation
IF my heart be always acceptable in
Thy sight, o Lord, my strength and my
Redeemer" The church of God ought
70 be something more sacred than a
concert hall or a theater. 1t ought to
De place where a joke and a cachin-
aatien and q chitchat should be just as
much out of place as minstrel show
would be at funeral, by the casket Of
he dead.
In the House of God.
o man and woman, ever keep the
ACE of Jesus Christ before you when
Tou are in the house of God! Every
church building dedicated to the wor-
hip of God is in very truth his house,
n which his presence is manifested as