Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1907-08-08

my time l have been almost every.
where. have travelled around the
world. have been In nearly all the
cities of America and have been three
times to Europe and am stating what
nnety-nine men out OF n hundred who
live on the Pacific coast are willing to
state-namely, thnt San Francisco Is
the vilest and the most sinful city
upon the face Of the earth It always
was wicked place, and it is wickeder
now, after the fire. than ever before.
Worse Than Before.
Troubles either drive men closer to
God or farther away from God. The
troubles OF San Francisco have made
its good men better. but those trou-
bles have made It's bad men worse.
There you find the most corrupt of NJ!
political intriguers. There you find
the places of sin crowded to the doors
and the churches of Jesus almost
empty. There you find the places Of
infamy doubled and quadrupled year
by year and the churches going back.
Presbyterianism in San Francisco is
not as strong today as ii was tor years
ago. There you find the people for
the most part living in rooms and din
ing in restaurants and turning the
Sabbath day into gala day. DO you
believe that the majority Of the people
living in san Francisco would find the
sweet Influences Of home life a pleas
ure as YOU and | look upon an even
ing spent In the society of our chill
dren ms pleasure: No. To great
extent their lives crave the unhealthy
and vitating and blasting stimulant OF
sin.
1t Is an alarming symptom OF q mans
spiritual condition If the wholesome
influences OF home life are rcpugnant
to him. My brother although you may
be church member. your appetite for
pleasure Is n sinful craving If you can.
not enjoy the pure. clean. refreshing
JOY of Christian association II that is
so. for Gods sake get down on your
knees and pray to your Heavenly Ia
Their that he will purify you SO that
you may find your greatest cnioyments
among his people and among his true.
consecratcd followers.
But there is another Joy which comes
to the higher spiritual life. and that is
the Joy Of Christian service; that is
the JOY of the noble hearted men who
always want to share their blessings
with every one else: that is the iov
Of the true man who. when he has
plenty of bread. wants to share II with
/ the hungry When he has n cure for
/ the blinded eyes. he wants to give it to
! those cropping about in darkness. When
he can unstop the deaf ears. he wants
| to make the deaf to hear and the dumb
to speak. No man is true man who,
when he has an abundance. is not
ready TO share his plenty with those
who are in want. The poet we'll de-
| fined this thought when he wrote
Who seeks FOR heaven alone to save his
May keep the path, but will not reach the
goal,
While he who walks in love may wander
far
Yet God will bring him where the blessed
are.
A Picturesque Castle.
Many years ago 4 noted painter,
Alexander y Smyth, went TO visit near
the towering cliffs In the vicinity of
picturesque Blair castle, in old Scot
land. While he was watching those
massive. overlapping crags he said, is
it not too bad yonder bare rocks are
not crowned with Il covering OF
green" Then he bcthought himself Of
two huge cannon which We're mounted
in the yard of the old castle. "Ah." he
said, ~ know what | will do. | will
have some canisters made to fit these
old cannon. Then will fill those can
listers with all kinds Of grass seeds.
Then | will shoot those canisters
against yonder cliffs, where no foot
of man has ever trod Then those
canisterS will break, the seeds will
scatter and take root. and yonder cliffs
will some day be covered with mass
OF green foliage" This is just what
the Scottish painter did. Many Of
those seeds We're lost. but some took
root. and they sproutcd, and now those
crags near old Blair castle are the
most beautiful of all the surrounding
hillsides. Thus is it with the conse-
Grated gospel life when the true
Christian is filled with the Christ love.
When the face Of Jesus becomes to
him a living, loving inspiring and all
absorbing reality then that Christian
says, Il must bring this Christ love
into other lives; must have Christ
do for others what he has done for
me-" Then the true Christian. as soon
rs he has developed into the higher
spiritual life fills his hands with the
gospel seed He goes forth into the
waste places Of the earth. He scat
tiers those seeds up in the mountains
and down in the valleys; he scatters
them in the homes of the rich and in
the novels OK the poor; he scattcrs
them everywhere, And one of the
chief reasons why know some of you
have never been truly filled with the
Christ love Is because you do not find
my joy in bringing this Christ to your
fellow men Next to seeing Christ's
face ourselves our chief JOY should he
found in bringing that divine love into
the hearts of sinful world.
The Greatest Joy.
But, lastly, remark that one Of the
greatest joys of the Christian Is the
comfort We have in defeating our
dear children and our loved ones to
his service. Every true parent knows
that whoa he attempts to. raise fam
fly there comes time when he realizes