Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1904-03-14

collection Z. small evils may accom-
plish. In the Teester valley of the
Himalayas he found a small leech, no
thicker than a knitting needle. But,
though very small, this little leech was
a pest AS an enemy of man and
beast it was reaching forth Cor IS ami
NAL victims from every twig and leaf
and blade of grass. No sooner would
it touch your flesh than it drove in its
little lance and began sucking out the
Efeblood That little leech, though
small. had literally depopulated that
valley of every beast and bird and rep
tile. The huge elephantine monsters
and the striped and furred tigers, as
well as the small rabbits and the grace
full fawns, had fed before it's attacks.
So in church work, the little frictions,
the little bitternesses, the little fault
findings" like the fatal leeches of the
Teester valley, can destroy the spiri-
tual life OF any church. Christian
friends, as with Christ when he took
his Samaritan journey, pray hard, sac
rifice, plead, apologize, overlook fan
cied insult do anything and everything
in your church family that is honom-
BILE rather than have one pew I'M
christianity find fault with another
pew. A fcrgiving layman bowling at
the mercy seat is just as essential for
church harmony as a forgiving minis
ter breaking the bread and pouring out
the wine at the table Of the holy COM
munion.
The Shortest Way Best.
Lastly I think Christ took this
Samaritan journey to prove that the
shortest way in life's work is generally
the best way. This is not absolutely
an invariable rule, but it holds good
in nearly every case. The country
of Samaria lay directly between Jeru-
salem and Galilee. 1t was as much
| between these two regions as the
states Of Indiana and Ohio lie in the
| direct line between New York and
| Chicago But because the Jew hated
the Samaritan he would not go through
| the Samaritan land. Therefore he
| made a big detour. In one sense he
| made as big a detour as the traveller
coming from New York to Chicago
would make if he went by the way of
| Louisville. Ky, instead of by the way
| of Buffalo or Pittsburg. Christ in
| journeying to Galilee simply took the
straight path. He went as bird
would fly overland. He went to Gal
lice through Samaria.
The straight path is nearly always
the right path. When that young
man comes into your store and asks
for a position, if you have not any
vacant place for him tell him so. Do
not say to yourself, Nov l do not
want to hurt that young mans feel
ings, therefore l will tell him to come
back next week or next month" By
such an answer you are doing an injus-
tice to the young man, and you are
doing an injustice to yourself. The
shortest way out Of a difficulty is gen
orally the right way. Even for a sur
geon it is never pleasant act to drive
a knife into the quivering flesh to cut
out the yirulent cancer. Neither is it
| always a pleasant task to tell a person
| of his faults. But when that young
girl who is doing wrong comes to you
|
her as you would like some one to warn
your morally endangered child The
direct way out of difficulty is gen
orally the right way. So, my brother
when you yourself have done wrong
wrong to your fellow men and wrong
| to God-be a Christian man and
straighten out the wrong and make
restitution for your moral deficiencies.
| Confess your sins to God. The short
est way out of difficulty is generally
the right way-the Christian way
Therefore, o man, o woman, will you
not today at the Samaritan we'll seek
Christ and ask his pardon for your
sins? Will you not do as did the So
cial ltcast who at the Samaritan well
found there her Saviour many cen
turtles ago?
Christly Refuge.
The word "Samaria'' as Christly
refuge in all probability will always
mean more to me than to any one else
gathered today within these walls. On
the afternoon of Oct 26, 1894 with a
brother minister, G. B. Trout by name,
1 was resting among the Palestine
hills. Our dragoman had left us some
two hours before to hunt up a saddle
bag which had fallen from my horse.
| While there, alone and unarmed, we
were attacked by the eastern bandits
We were attacked in almost the iden-
teal place where, three weeks before,
two English travellers had been slain
We were driven back and back to the
edge OF the precipice. 1 saw the club
raised to strike down my companion
and knew that my turn was to come
next, when succor and rescue suddenly
came to hand. That night was dark