Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1913-02-13
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. DO YOUR LEVEL BEST.

BY e. e. Lewis. Sioux City. la.

In striving to do his best one must
not only put forth the best there is in
MN but itmust be devoted to the very
best cause in which he can engage.
This Is always and everywhere found
IN seeking to, lift ones self, and every
one within reach of your influence to
higher moral plane of being, and so
see more clearly the face OF our Faith
er which IS in heaven
What says one, must we all be
preachers" Not a bit of it, IL you
mean preaching from pulpit; much
OF the best preaching is done outside
OF the pulpit, because it is usually ac
companied by. if not indeed consist
Ing entirely of. practice, and practice
Is the greatest accompanist to har-
montze and effectuate preaching that
the world has ever seen.
Noah, we are told. was preacher
of righteousness" but there is no rec
ord of his saying anything He
preached sermon 100 years long in
the building of the ark. every stroke
OF the hammer evidencing to an unbe-
lieving generation his faith in Gods
word Everything in nature was go
Ing on as 1t had for centuries. and it
was a standing, joke to poke fun at
Noah. just as thousands have sneered
at, ana today ridicule. those whose
work built upon Gods word. points to
q future rather than the present. But
Noah persevered, the ark was COM
pleted and God shut him in: and as
for the jeering multitude, the flood
came and swept them all away" while
Noah became heir of the righteous
ness which is by faith"
The finest sermon Edward Irving
ever delivered was from a shoemaker's
bench. When he went to Ecclefechan
they told him Ola cobbler there, pro-
fame man who made sport of all religion
and church goers. Irving found that
he needed some shoe REPAIRS went into
the shop. and while the man worked at
the job, talked about kip and upper and
sole leather, and various things used
by the sons of Crispin, but not a word
about religion. On the next Sunday
the people were surprised to see the
man in church. dressed in his best.
rest asked him how he, scoffer, came
to be there. oh" said he, 'yon
preacher mon kens a about leather"
In q short time he came into the church
and was for years one of Irving'S strong
supports.
When DR.. Mabie was at Belvidere,
Ill, he walked out one day and found
an 1rishnan digging ditch. Mr.. Mabie
fell into conversation about ditching
and other matter of interest to his au-
ditor, until the man said: Where do
you preach?" NO matter where, you
go to your own church, but try to do
what we have been talking off, How
ever. the next Sabbath found the man,
pronounced Catholic though he was.
at DR.. Mabie's church, and 1T resulted
in an entire change of belief and life
One of the most far reaching results
came to the devoted efforts of little
obscure shoemaker in Dover street
London. G: II. spurgeon entered upon
the pastorate OF the Park Street church,
London, in 1854. In 1855 the cholera
broke out with much virulence. Mr.
Spurgeon was daily engaged with fun
erals, and buried many of his friends
One day returning from a funeral and
feeling much depressed he was inclined
to give up. Passing the window of a
Dover street shoe shop curiosity led
him to notice paper wafered in the
window upon which was written: Be
cause thou hast made the Lord, which
Is my refuge, even the Most High, thy
habitation. there shall no evil befall
thee. neither shall any plague come
nigh thy dwelling" Mr.. Sturgeon APP
propriated the text to himself, renewed
his strength, pursued his work revived
his courage and always believed that
the exhibition of that scripture by the
unknown shoemaker, was designed by
Providence for his own fertilization.
Evil is wrought by want of thought
AS we'll as want of heart"
A well developed moral-and with
still greater emphasis, Christian-char-
acter will be thoughtful and considerate,
not only of the rights. but of the com
fort and pleasure Of his fellows. More
over "the quality Of mercy is not
strained" nor confined to human be-
ings. All the lower orders of life wait
upon God to give them their meat in
due season." They, as we'll as our
selves, are fed and cared for of His
bounty and mercy, and when the Lord
says, BE we merciful as your Father
also is merciful." does it not seem to