A DISCOURSE

J-DTITT, SPIRIT, AND ESD

OF LABOR:

PREACHED U THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH,
WESTERLY, E. L, DECEMBER 18; 1853, .

BY FKEDEBIC DENISON;
PASTOR OP THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, WESTERLY, R. I.

WESTEELY, R. I. :
CHAMPLIN & HOYT, PRINTERS.
1854.

A DISCOURSE

DUTY, SPIRIT. AND END

OF LABOR:

PREACHED IN THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH,
WESTERLY, B, L. DECEMBER 18, 1S..;_.

BY FREDERIC DENISON,
m
PASTOR CVF THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, WKSTKRl.Y, P.. I,

WESTERLY, R. I. :
CHAMPLIN Si HOYT, PRINTERS.
1854.

Pawcatkck, Ct., Dec. 21, 1858.
Rev, F. DENISON, Westerly :
Bear Sir: — The undersigned, members of the Congregational
Church and Society in this place, respectfully request a copy of the
Sermon, delivered in their Church last Sabbath afternoon, for publica
tion, believing that it'would be of much benefit to the public.
Very Respectfully, Your obedient Servants,
E. WENTWORTH.
CHARLES H. DENISON.
PELEG NOYES.

Westerly, R. I., Dec. 21, 186S.
To Has. E. Wentworth- Ch ... If. Denison, Esq.. and Peleg Noyes, Esq. :
Gentlemen : — In answer to your note of request, I can only say,
that, should I allow my own jealousy for my reputation to govern me,
I Bhould feel that I ought to retain my manuscript; but as the delibe
rate judgment of many against one should be deferred to, I suppose I
ought to comply. I may, however, add that tho discourse, having its
origin in like manner and circumstances with all my pulpit prepara
tions, should be judged of in respect to its method, style and finish,
as adapted to the desk rather than the press. But, such as it is, I
submit it, With the Regards of the Author,
FREDERIC DENISON,

DISCOURSE

" Not slothful in business ; fervent in spirit ; serving the
Lord." — Romans 12 : 11.
It is a golden truth, that, " godliness is pro
fitable unto all things, having promise of the
life that now is, and of that which is to come ;"
in other words, the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, while it bringeth salvation to the soul,
is the bestowment upon man of a new and
higher life — a new disposition, new feelings,
new hopes and aspirations, new activity, im
pulses, and aims. It takes possession of the .
inner man, and so commands and moulds our
whole being. Purifying and sanctifying the
heart — the fountain of life — it gradually, but
inevitably, evinces its divine origin and de-
velopes its celestial character, by subordinat
ing the whole man to the will of God ; so that,
the Christian motto is, " Whatsoever ye do,
do all to the glory of God."
The gospel, instead of becoming, as some,
from the natural blindness, enmity and pre
judice ofthe carnal heart, have wrongly sup
posed, antagonistic to, and subversive of, our

earthly enjoyments and privileges and the ac
quisition of temporal good, — instead of this, it
is the true and only author and conservator of
what is truly desirable and profitable in our
present and probationary state ; and mean
while that it originates and augments our
earthly happiness — meanwhile that along the
path- way of its victories there springs and
grows to maturity every human adorn
ment — all this is as means to an end ; that
end is, the onward march of Messiah's king
dom in the earth, and our personal meetness
for his kingdom above.
So, the grace of God, that is given us in
Christ through faith, imparts to us as individ
uals and so to society a new and divine cul
ture — the truest and highest culture ; it puri
fies society by purifying the individuals —
the molecules of the mass — and it puri
fies individuals by purifying their hearts.
Thus, like leaven, it penetrates, permeates
and up-lifts our natures. Taking a strong,
holy grasp upon all our feelings, interests, re
lations, duties and enjoyments, it infuses its
divine and transforming energy so as to make
us fit and efficient agents and instruments for
our divine Master's use in renovating and sav
ing the world. It imparts true knowledge,
responsibility, activity, ardor, devotion, and
beneficence. The religion of Christ is promotive of every
good and destructive of every evil ; it burns
the tares, but carefully garners the wheat.
With its redeeming, combining and even cre
ative power it enters into the whole frame-

work or organism of human socio ;.y. And it
influences and commands us only for the
highest personal and relative, present and ul
timate good, giving import, dignity, spirit and
aim to all our purposes, pursuits, enterprizes,
and intercourse with each other. There is
no relation or labor in life that can innocently
deny its claims or elude its sanctifying power.
It reaches every person in every place ; and
among its preceptive injunctions it says, with
much emphasis, "Not slothful in business;
fervent in spirit ; serving the Lord."
This text is an express Christian injunction
touching the common duties of life. It is an
apostolic exhortation, or rather, an inspired
command to industry in our temporal callings.
It specifies three important things ; (1) The
Duty of Labor ; (2) The Spirit of Labor ;
(3) The End of Labor. It designates the
sacred trio of virtues — Industry, Ardor, and
Devotion. It declares that we should work ;
— should work with animated and fervid
diligence ; — should work with a view of
honoring God our Saviour.
We may remark, then —
I. Every person should labor. It is incum
bent on every individual to work. This is a
plain, moral, religious duty. The general
law of the world is, we live by our labor. So
he that will not work may not eat — he shall
not eat with pleasure. Lazy people and slug
gards are under the just condemnation of God.
God has married laziness and leanness, and
given them, as their offspring misery, if not
meanness. All our blessings, temporal and

spiritual, are conditioned lo us upon effort
and industry. And a lazy man is condemned
by every creature around him — by all animals
— jjy all birds, insects, and even reptiles.
These all work and do their Maker's will.
And a lazy Christian is a reproach and libel
upon the Creator, Preserver, and Redeemer
ofthe world ; for the Triune-Jehovah is active,
ever disclosing his energies and attributes in
revealing the problem of his all-sufficiency.
Indeed, I ought rather to say that a lazy
Christian is an impossibility — is a contra
diction of terms ; no man can be a Christian
and a sluggard. Says Dr. Dwight, "Among
all those who within my knowledge, have ap
peared to become sincerely penitent and re
formed, I recollect but a single lazy man ; and
this man became industrious from the moment
of his apparent, and I doubt not real, conver
sion." Many might confirm the principle ad
vanced by President Dwight ; industry is truly
inseparable from Christianity.
Hence, the gospel always spreads most
freely and extensively among the industrial
classes. The opulent and indolent rarely em
brace it, except, it may be, in a corrupted form.
They can endure only a liturgical and ritual
faith, " having the form of godliness, but deny
ing the power thereof."
Men are naturally indolent — since the fall,
this seems to be our normal condition — as we
may still learn from the condition and habits
of all heathen countries. But wherever the
gospel goes, it renovates society in this re
spect, and makes the nature of man, and so

all the face ofthe earth, productive and beauti
ful, as we may abundantly learn from the his
tory of those nations where the gospel has ex
erted its regenerating power. Thus, compare
the present generation of Anglo-Saxons with
our ancestors as they were first found in the
wilds of the north of Europe. Consider what
has been accomplished in the social habits of
the Karens and among some of the tribes of
Africa within the last thirty years even. Com
pare the present condition of many of the Pa
cific Islands with what was to be seen there
only forty years ago. Some of the first ex
ports of these islands were the fruits of the in
dustry of the converted islanders sent as con
tributions to the parent missionary society for
ihe further spread of the same transforming
gospel. In fact, no man can feel that he is one of
God's rational, accountable creatures, invest
ed with deliberative and executive powers —
that he has been redeemed by the blood of
Christ — -has been appointed his representative
and agent, and chosen to eternal heirship with
him, without feeling aroused to new and
higher mental and physical activity, and feel
ing that all his activity should be laid in de
vout consecration before the divine Throne,
and then vigorously employed in that direc
tion in which he can best honor God.
In the first place, then, every individual
should have some regular employment — ^
should be engaged in some active pursuit—
should labor daily with his body or his mind,
and usually with both, in some profitable and

honorable calling. For what has God given
us minds and muscles, knowledge and nerves ?
We were made to think and work ; to earn
our daily bread, our raiment, our shelter, and
all the conveniences and adornments of life,
and to enjoy them by earning them ; and also
to labor that we may assist the helpless, sick,
and suffering among us, and so enjoy the rich
recompenses of personal benevolence. God
made us to be producers and benefactors, in
stead of being mere consumers. Hence every
person should be a cultivator and producer.
By his direct toil of body or mind, or both, he
should add materially and intellectually to the
productive capital and power of the world,
and so the world be the better for his having
lived in it.
The ways in which this may be done are
very numerous ; and we are at liberty to
choose from among these that way or calling
for which we are best fitted by our natural
endowments and our acquired abilities, pro
vided always that in our decisions we inquire
of God through his Word and through prayer.
No man is at liberty to do this or that except
the Lord will. God has a work for every per
son to do. He creates no one without intent ;
for every servant he has a service. Hence,
the first prayer of an intelligent Christian is,
" Lord, what wilt thou have me to do."
And all the he nest industrial callings are
alike honorable in his sight, though proud and
lazy men may make distinctions between them,
calling this honorable and that dishonorable,
this vulgar and that refined. It is as honora-

9
ble to be a smith as to be a senator ; to be a
carpenter as to be a king. Even the Saviour
ofthe world was a carpenter. It is as noble
to be a fisherman as to be a prince. Some
ofthe apostles were fishermen. It is highly
honorable to be "a farmer, for we were ap
pointed to subdue and cultivate the earth. In
short, every employment, of whatever name,
that produces' more than it consumesKis good
and honorable, and in pursuing it with right
motives a man may serve and honor God.
But all those employments or engagements
which consume from society more than they
create are wrong and wicked. Such are slave-
trading, rum-selling, and many kinds of spec
ulation, which live only upon the ignorance
and vices of men. These and their like are
curses and a consumption to the world, and
a high offence in the sight of God.
Now, in some one of the many industrial
and productive pursuits every person should
be engaged, thus adding to the growth, pros
perity, power and happiness of the world.
No class of men is exempt from this obliga
tion. No distinction is here to be made, not
even for the gifted and opulent. As long as
a man possesses, in a healthy condition, a
mind and limbs, just so long he should be a
worker. However rich he may be, he is still
a servant and steward of God, and holds his
responsible station for the good of mankind.
The talented, the learned, the rich, the pow
erful, the honored, are indeed invested with a
wider and more potent influence in the world
than some others, but by virtue of these very

10
distinctions and possessions their obligations
to industry, ardor and Christian devotion are
correspondingly increased. Thus God calls
them to more abundant labors with their heads,
and hearts and hands.
And not only their usefulness but also their
happiness depends upon their active engage
ment in their callings. An incident illustra
tive of this once occurred in the case of a Lon
don merchant, " who, after having risen to
wealth, by his industry, from a humble station,
resolved to retire to the country to enjoy, as
he termed it, the rest of his days. He pur
chased an estate and mansion in a retired
place and took possession of it. While the
alterations and improvements, which he or
dered to be made, were going on, the hum of
business, noise of hammers, saws, chisels,
men and teams, around him, kept him very
busy and in good spirits. But when his im
provements were finished and his workmen
discharged, the stillness everywhere discon
certed him and he became quite miserable.
He was obliged to have recourse to a smith
upon the estate, for relief to his mind ; and he
actually engaged to blow the bellows for a
certain number of hours in the day. In a
short time this ceased to afford the relief he
desired ; so he returned to London and acted
as a gratuitous assistant to his own clerk, to
whom he had given up his business." So an
idle man is miserable. And he ought to be
so. A man with no business is a burden to
himself and to society. He is to be pitied and
instructed, for he is ignorant of himself and

11
of God's plan and philosophy of the world ;
and, at the same time, he is, by his example,
inflicting more or less injury upon all around
him ; for idleness, like every other sin, is con
tagious. Moreover, indolent men are usually
involved in some direct mischief or folly ; for
the devil is a master — and a task-master, to
all drones and idlers.
But some may say, suppose we cannot find
labor I That is not a supposable occurrence.
While we have sound bodies and minds and
can find air to breathe, we can find employ
ment. It is the proud and lazy who are al
ways complaining about work — that they have
to work hard — or else cannot find work.
They groan like Atlas, as if the world rested
on their shoulders. In short, they are a class
of discontented, discouraged, groaning, grum
bling, rickety, rheumatic, sick, 'sinners. But
good, wise, active, earnest men are always
cheerful and easy, happy and honored.
The wise man has said, "a man's gift
maketh room for him ;" that is, by faithfully
using all those powers received "through na
ture and culture from God," we may and shall
find the place and sphere for which we were
designed. Instead of crying and whimpering
about our not being appreciated, as lazy folks
usually do, we should first show ourselves
competent to do some profitable work, and
that competency will be our sure and suffi
cient recommendation and passport.
And it is decidedly wrong and wicked to
train up children without teaching them to la
bor. Every child should be learaed to do

12
some sort of work, to know how to get a liv
ing and to live usefully ; else they will be
miserable in themselves, a reproach to their
parents, and a nuisance in society. Usually
parents should teach their children some trade,
though it be but a simple one ; some honest
and productive branch of business, if it is no
thing more than basket-making, which a king
of England once taught his son, and upon
which that son had ultimately to lean for sup
port. It is not only foolish, but also morally
wrong, for parents to become so puffed up
with a pitiable and ridiculous pride as to be
ashamed to have their children work. Surely,
pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty
spirit before a fall ; for such children make
the most worthless part of society, while those
that were trained to work become the first and
best men in the land.
And children should be trained to work,
not with their hands alone, or with their heads
alone, but with hands, heads and hearts. A
good education and a good _trade is all the
capital that a ya&flg'man, as "he enters upon
the world, usually needs; and so all that ho
ought to have. Every young man of ordinary
abilities and health ought to be weaned from
his father's purse when he passes out of his
minority, or at least very soon afterwards. It
is undignified, certatinly, to be a babe and
suckling all our days. An education and a
trade are a sufficient legacy and foundation
for an estate. If with these a young man
cannot thrive and be useful, surely he deserves
nothing more. All true thrift and all genuine

good is the fruit or results of working heads
and toiling hands. God prospers the brave,
intelligent iH_& diligent. _tH^yA''W*'-« ' y ¦
But we must be "fervent in spirit."
II. If it is the duty of every person to work,
it is their duty to work with cheerfulness, ani
mation, ardor, and even enthusiasm. What
ever ought to be done, ought to be done
heartily — out of a ready, full, joyous spirit.
Every man's calling is, in a high sense, a
sacred one — it is the allotment of Providence
to him ; -hence, he should be fervent in the
prosecution of it — should turn to it, not as a
slave to his task, but as a son to his duty.
All men detest lazy servants. Who will sup
pose that the Lord can do less? We live and
labor in the presence of God.
And, by following our labor with order and
enthusiasm, we are more certain of success.
Let every citizen be ardent in his own sphere,
and the whole body Of society will glow with
health and life-giving animation. Prosperity
and happiness will be the portion of such a
people. With such we would choose to live,
labor and die.
It is his ardor, zeal and fervid determina
tion that gives the New Englander his noto
riety and success in comparison with others.
Our motto is, go ahead with speed and spirit.
And the churches in New England, in pro
portion to their membership and wealth, are
the most active and efficient churches in the
world. And what is Jhe explanation ? This
is the fruit of the^devout zeal of our working
fathers. Now England was planted by men

14
not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serv
ing the Lord. And the divine benediction
has descended upon the third and fourth gen
erations. The greatest danger that now threatens us
as a people, is this, that by our steady and
rapid increase in wealth we shall become
proud, inactive and pleasure-seekers, and so
dissipate all our inheritance and our abilities.
When we lose our spirit we lose our power.
And by prosecuting our pursuits with fervor
we not only accomplish our designs more
speedily, and so save much precious time to
be devoted to other noble ends, but we also
do our work much better. With our powers
concentrated upon the object before us, we
overcome with ease all those obstacles that to
the indolent and listless are as lions in the
way; we seize and turn all available circum
stances and influences as valuable auxiliaries
to the achievement of the proposed end, and
we give the highest character and finish to our
work. With will and might our work is soon
done and well done, and we are ready for
fresh achievements. Drones and sluggards
suffer far more in dreading and drudging
over their little labor than active and earnest
men do in the accomplishment of their great
est deeds. To work with a determined and
ardent mind is also very pleasant ; our toil be
comes self-requiting ; in this full, free, fervent
exercise of our powers there is an immediate
personal reward, a real pleasure, a solid satis
faction. We feel that thus doing we are de
veloping our own powers, presenting a worthy

15
example to others, making the world better,
happier, richer, more wise and more virtuous;
— men must approve, and God will graciously
smile upon us.
But we must pass to consider the End of
Labor. III. "Serving the Lord." In all our labors
we should seek to honor God, "in whom we
live, and move, and have our being." This
great truth is often and forcibly taught in the
Scriptures. We are to love God not only
with all our mind, but also with all our might —
with all our working or executive powers.
All our work should be such as God approves
and will bless. Our plans should be a part
of his plans. Our labors should interweave
themselves with his purposes. This principle
is recognized in that clause of the form of
prayer taught by our Lord, in these words :
"Give us, this day, our daily bread ;" that is,
let our labor, this day, be such that thou God
canst crown my efforts with success. And
any employment over which we cannot thus
pray is evil, and should be forthwith abandon
ed. No man is at liberty — however we may
regard human liberty — to enter upon a work
or prosecute a business which is not sanction
ed by the precepts and spirit of the Bible. It
is reported of a clergyman that he once said,
that no man should be engaged in a pursuit
in which he 'can 'not look up and say, "My
Father worketfi hitherto and I work."
Undoubtedly it is right, in the present con
dition ofthe world, that some men should be
rich. Some seem to have a special ability or

10

adaptation for accumulating wealth, and that
too by just and laudable means, however some
may act otherwise. Riches are not an evil
per se ; the evil is in the use made of them.
To carry on large public enterprizes large
wealth must be vested in the hands of indi
viduals, who, in the use of it, are to become
public servants. Thus, they are called to
serve God more efficiently than they other
wise could. But as a general thing we cannot
and ought not to be rich in silver and gold,
houses and lands. Nor are these things ab
solutely necessary for our happiness and use
fulness. Riches too often awake and foster
the latent jealousies and envies that slumber
in human nature.
And certainly no one is justified in planing
and laboring to be wealthy, simply, or chiefly,
that he may be independent and live at ease,
though very many, it is believed, do thus study
and toil. That is a wicked ambition that
prompts men to amass, as it is termed, a for
tune — more properly termed a misfortune —
that is, riches to be used in the indulgence of
the appetites — living in leisure, luxury and
pleasure, following the fashions and ever-
changing follies of the world ; thus turning
all things out of their proper course.
Many think if they were rich they would be
happy. But the rich are usually more unhap
py than the poor. Happiness is the result of
character not of wealth. My acquaintance
with rich men has learned me not to envy
them. I have found that the good and indus-

17
trious, though poor, are the happiest people
in the world.
Others think if they were rich they would
be very benevolent. But in this they deceive
themselves. It is according to the experience
of the world that the richer we become the
more grasping and covetous we grow. Be
nevolence is usually found most abundant in
the middle walks of life, and not unfreqnentlv
among the very poor. It is dangerous to be
rich unless our natures are controlled by di
vine grace. If, therefore, we ask God to give
us riches, let us ask him to give us corres
ponding measures of grace that we may still
act as his servants and use all things for his
glory. Such is human nature that riches usu
ally intoxicate. And I am disposed to think
that it is verily a misfortune to be a rich man's
son. I should prefer to be the son of a hum
ble and devout peasant, and so be left to the
clear blessing of God through my own efforts.
We ought first of all to seek to be useful,
to please God and serve our generation, what
ever the world may think of us. A dying man
once said to his child, "Remember that all
that you can get out of this world is useful
ness." This was a precious legacy to the
child. As God has designed us for some de
partment of active and useful life and labor
we may be assured that in idleness and in un-
consecrated labor, his approbation will be with
held, and so no substantial good be realized.
A certain minister, suffering severely from
chronic diseases, consulted several physicians,
who unanimously concluded that he could not

18
live many years, and advised him to give up
his office because, mental agitation and labor
would certainly be fatal to him. " If I give
myself to repose, how long, gentlemen," said
the sick man, "will you guarantee my life?"
"Six years," answered the doctors. "And if
I continue in office, how long?" "Three
years, at most." "I should prefer living two
or three years in doing some good, to Irving
six in idleness." This was sound doctrine.
Would that it were more practiced. And
nsually we live longer by laboring and doing
good. Let me die when my work is done.
Then let us ask —
1. — What is mfyy employment ? How do I
spend my time ? How do I spend my powers
of body ? How do I spend my strength of
mind ? How do I exercise and employ my
heart? These are precious endowments,
given to be improved. They are not mine,
absolutely, but conditionally. They were
given to be used for the glory. of the Giver,
and in blessing his creatures. " No man liveth
to himself." It is a great sin to squander our
lives, or even any part of them. Every one
should have a calling, and should follow it as
faithfully as an Apostle followed his, so that.
at the end of life he may say as truly, " I have
finished my course."
2. — We should often ask — Why am I thus
engaged ? What are my motives 1 What do I
propose to accomplish ? What good am I
doing ? Of what benefit am I to the world ?
And do I pursue my labor with suitable and

19
becoming fervor and zeal, as though I felt
that it was honorable and right ] And what
are the legitimate and necessary results of my
labor t Can God and all good men look ap
provingly upon me, because I am adding to
the comfort, dignity and happy destiny ofthe
race ? Am I willing that my works should
follow me ]
3. — Let us remember that for all our works,
the'least as well as the greatest, we must give
account unto God. Our works will attest our
characters. " By their works ye shall know
them." May we all be of that number, who,
by patient continuance in well-doing, seek for
glory, and honor, and immortality.