Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-04-26

He goes TO an old lawyer and says:
Judge. ! would like to he lawyer.
What shall do?" What do you know,
my boyi' is the natural question.
oh" says the young man, Il have
only been to school a few years and
studied the common branches"
"Then." says the old lawyer, what I
would do is 10 90 back TO school
Study, study. study! Fit yourself for
college. Then go through the law
school Sharpen your weapons first be-
fore you 60 into battle" "unnecessa-
ry," answers the young man. What
is the good Of spending the next ten
years Of my life in rummaging through
musty tones? do not care what the
Roman law was. What wish to know
is what is the law of today" SO the
young man refuses TO sit Mt the feet Of
the wise Gamalies of the great law
schools. He goes Mt once into law Of
fee. He is coached along and stumbles
along, and in 4 couple Of years, an I'M
developed boy, or rather, an Immature
man, he is admitted to the bar. He is
ike cripple with two wooden crutch-
es and one good leg trying to win a
race In the Olympian games against
the finest athletes Of all Greece. He is
like an old Chinese junk, with its long
banks Of oars and antiuuated javelns,
going forth to naval conflict with the
armor plated cruisers OF the modern
navy. Thus with us. We want to do
Gods work We desire to win Gods
victories But we are not willing to
make our necessary spiritual prepare
tons for the same. We are not willing
to do what God commands us to do.
We are not willing to regularly and
systematically hold certain hours of
each day sacred for prayer and for Sc
crct communion with Cod
Got Their Moneys worth.
Sometimes it is religious work itself
that monopolizes the time. | remam
Der dear ella ssmatc Of mine who as a
theological student was asked to preach
in n little church near to where | used
10 preach a student. This church
was not able to support regular pas
tor. II was way back in the country
So when it got u man to preach for
Sunday it worked him as hard as some
people drive horse which they hire
from the livery stable for Il day. They
wanted TO get the full worth of their
money Thus they got this young man
up early TO lead the Sunday school and
teach Il Bible class. Then he conduct
ed morning service: then after n hur-
ricd dinner they drove him back into
the mountains where he had another
Sunday school TO lead and another ser
mon 10 preach and Christian Endeav
or society 10 address. then they ran
him back 10 the main church again,
where h. had Young Peoples society
meeting at which 10 speak and then
another sermon 10 preach. In other
words from early morning until 10
o'clock NJ night he was speaking or
working all the time. | met him next
day and said. We'll, Howard, how did
you get on?' Get on" he answered
why. I had so much to do that when
crawled into bed that night | was
completely tagged out | was SO tired
that could not even say my prayers.
just said. % Lord. | have been pray
ing so much for other people that |
am Just too tired TO pray for myself"
| laughed. But for years and years
that picture Of that tired boy has al
ways been before me All, ! say to
myself, how often we get so tired with
meeting the many engagements Of life
that we do not take the needed hours
for prayer, for Bible reading and for
communion with God for our own
souls
But though you and ] may have
many engagements. have we any on
Cagemcnts 50 important that we can
afford 10 neglect the sacred hours we
ought To take every day If our life for
secret communion with Christ: You
know that many and many a literary
mans usefulness has been destroyed
because by the flattcry or the success
Of the world he has been enliced away
from his study. What is true of the
literary man is absolutely true of tho
Christian. Many Christians spiritual
usefulness has been absolutely destroy
ed because that Christian has been en-
ticed away from the sacred hours Of
holy communion with Christ. No mat
ter how early the march was to take
place for the rescue of Luck now, Gen
eral Ilavelock always arose two hours
earlier To read his Bible and kneel in
prayer. No matter how hard the con-
dict was raging. Martin Luther always
took ut least two hours away from the
world each day TO pour ont his soul TO
God in prayer. Tell me, . man, what
art thou doing with those sacred hours
which Jesus Christ \bds you give TO
him alone? Tho world does not know
what you are doing with those hours.
hut Christ knows. Are you neglecting
your proper spiritual preparation for
Christian work? Are You taking the
proper spiritual nourshmcnt for your
own soul: Then. il you are not doing
this. in the sight Of God you are COM
hitting a secret sin. You may hide
that sin from the world, but you can
never hide II from Christ.
The Unpopular side.
Next to our neglect of secret prayer
and quiet Bible reading | believe our
greatest secret sin is our unwillingncss
10 hravely and firmly 90 forth TO advo-
cate the causes of right which are on
tho unpopular side. We see blatant
sins stalking around everywhere, but