Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1906-04-28
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out first making the necessary spiritual
preparation for our own souls.
,i,ri ~ Want q short Cut. -
We are ln exactly the same position
In a"spirituai sense as Is the young
map IN II ttfplporal sense who wishes
tofitsivS tbs WILL BETTER paalisl he work
and take u short cut up the mountain
of fame. Here. for instance. is the
young man. He wishes to be n lawyer.
lie goes 10 an old lawyer and says:
Judge, would like to be u lawyer.
What shall do" What do you know.
my boy" IL the natural question.
"Oh." says the young man. II have
only been to school "a few years and
studied the common branches"
''Then," says the old lawyer, what I
would do Is to go back TO school.
Study. study. study! Fit yourself for
college. Then 90 through the law
school. Sharpen your weapons first be-
| fore you 20 into battle" ''Unnecessa
ry." answers the young man. What
IL 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
IL what Is the law of today" So the
young man refuses 10 sit at the feet OF
| the wise Gamaliels of the great law
schools. lie goes AT once into II law Of
fee. He is coached along and stumbles
along. and In II couple OF years, an I'M
developed boy. or. rather. an immature
man. he IL admitted TO the bar. He Is
| like Il cripple with two wooden crutch-
es and one good leg trying 10 win u
race IN the Olympian games against
the finest athletes of all Greece. He IL
like an old Chinese junk. with lis long
banks of oars and ANTICIPATED javelins.
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 prcpara-
| tons for the same. We are not willing
| to do what God commands us 10 do.
We are not willing to regularly and
Systematically hold certain hours OF
each day sacred for prayer and for Sc
cret communion with God.
Got Their Moneys Worth.
Sonnet ii is religious work Itself
that nonul,oliZes the time. remein-
Der Il Il ar classmate OF mine who as u
Theological student was asked 10 preach
In Il little church near 10 where ! used
to preach as u student. This church
was not able to support regular pas
| FOR 4 he
SO when IL got Il man 10 preach for
Sunday II worked him as hard as some
people drive IL horse which they hire
| from the livery sta BILE for 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 "A Bible class. Then he conduct
ed morning service; then after IA hur-
ried dinner they drove him back into
the mountains, where he had another
Sunday school TO lead and another ser
mon to preach and Christian Endeav-
| or society TO address; then they ran
| him back to the main church again,
where lac had Young Peoples society
| meeting ut which to speak and then
another sermon 10 preach. In other
words. from early morning until 10
O'Clock at night he was speaking or
working all the time. met him next
day aud said. We'll. Howard, how did
you get on." Get on" he answered.
"Why. | had so much 10 do that when
| | crawlcd into bed that night | was
| completely tagged out. ! was so tired
| thut ] could not even say my prayers.
| Just snid. % Lord, ! have been pray
Ing so much for other people that l
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 en-
| gagements SO important that we can
| afford to neglect the sacred hours we
ought TO take every day OF our life for
secret communion with Christ? You
know that many and many literary
mans usefulness has been destroyed
because by the fiattery or the success
OF the world he has been enticed away
from his study. What is true Of the
literary man Is absolutely true OF the
| Christian. Many n Christians spiritual
usefulness has been absolutely destroy
ed because that Christian has been ell
ticcd 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 Lucknow. Gen
eral Havelock always arose two hours
earlier 10 read his Bible and kncel In
prayer No matter how hard the con
filct was raging. Martin Luther always
| took NJ least two hours away from the
world each day 10 pour ont his soul 10
God IN prayer. Tell me. q man. what
art thou doing with those sacred hours
which Jesus Christ bids you give TO
him alone? The world does not know
what you are doing with those hours,
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