The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1877-09-28
SERMON.
Good Bye


BY IRVING A sRARLEs.
And now, behold, know that ye ALL among
whom l have gone preaching the kingdom OF
God, shall see my face no more.-Acts 20, 1872.
This is part OF Paul's farewell sermon to
the elders of the church at Ephesus.
1. Paul declares that during all the time he
had been with them he had been serving his
Lord and master. Serving the Lord" This
word serving, in the Greek. denotes slave SER
vice. This indicates that Paul made as abso-
lutte surrender of himself to Christ as the
slave does to his master. With Paul, however,
it was willing bondage. Every Christian is
though it may be in very humble manner On
one of the praires OF Wisconsin lived family
ten miles from any neighbors. The lady of the
house says, :" How easy for some traveller to
lose his way in such region as this. have
not the means to erect q lighthouse, but every
night as soon as dark 1 can place candle in
the window. That cannot be seen as far as the
mammoth lighthouse but it can be seen for
four or five miles" Some OF the inmates OF
the house laughed at this arrangement, but
one night, amid darkness intense and pelting
hail and drifting snow, a knock was heard at
their door and there stood shivering IN the
cold, family that had lost their way on the
trackless prairie, and one OF them said they
would have perished before morning were it
not for the light that they saw in the window.
Thus, my friend, If you cannot do some great
good you can do little. II you cannot erect a
great light you can smaller one. In one OF
the congregations to which l preached before
comlug here was man who always sat in
church with his head down. | never could
catch his eye. HIS features showed neither
disgust nor sympathy. That man troubled me
very much until learned that such conduct
was constitutional popularity of his. If you
can't do good any other way when you go to
church you can hold up your head
Work-for sore good be it ever so slowly,
cherish some flower, be il ever so lowly
Labor AL labor ls noble aud holy,
Let thy good deeds be thy prayer to tby God
2. Paul conducted his work with the greatest
HUMILITY. " Serving the Lord with all hui
mility OF mind" It s astonishing how Paul
grew in this particular grace. Soon after his
conversion we hear him say, 81 am unworthy
to be called an apostle" Tbs might imply,
however, that he thought himself very good
Christian. Five years roll around aud we hear
him say, 81 am less than the least OF all the
saints" Another year passes and he says, ~
am the chief OF sinners" His humility kept
pace with bis success. See how this duty of
hiding self is enjolned LET your light 20
shine before men that they may see" not you
but "your good works, " and "may glorify" not
you but "your Father which is in Heaven. ~
Here, then, is thrusting of self into the back
ground.
8. Paul had heart that beat In warmest
sympathy for humanity. "Serving the Lord
with all humility of mind and with many TEARS. ~
| learn from this that it is not unmanly to
weep. Some men boast that they could hear
all the sermons ever preached and attend all
the funerals in the world and never shed a
tear. The Indian prides himself on the same
accomplishment. Tied to the stake, his enc
mics scofing, the flames leapng all about him,
he sheds no tear utters no groan. gives ex-
preston to no word OF complaint. He thinks
1t weakness to weep. l never want my heart
to get into that condition where 1t is so har-
dened and caloused that 1 cannot weep with
those who weep. The heart should be kept
more tender than that 4 wreck was out upon
the ocean. The crew we're dying Of starvation.
One sailor bad hid shell-fish for use when all
other food was gone. He saw little child
dying in its mothers arms. The mother, also.
was nearly dead. When he heard that child
utter its plaintlve cry for food, the tears stole
down his suu-burnt cheeks and, going to where
he had secreted the shell-fsb, he brought that
last morsel Of food and gave it to the little suf
ferer. Jeremiah wrote the Book OF Lamenta-
tions. This mourns over the miserable condi-
ton of Jerusalem and the Hebrew people. He
did not suffer in person. He might haye said
"Why should I mourn am all right" But
the sufferings of the whole nation were 80 felt
by the old prophet that he entities the book
A" The Lamentations of jeremiah"
It is said that il you 90 into q great music
store where large room is filed with pianos,
organs and melodeons, and sound note OF
any one instrument, the same note OF all the
other instruments in the room will vibrate
/ heep tne nohft SO tenueE tDat Wnen note OF
sorrow is struck in the heart OF another the
same note will sound in your own heart.
Work that is done with this warm sympathy
is going to produce results. Mrs. Stowe, in
writing " Uncle Toms Cabin, would frequent
ly lay down her pen and weep over the fate OF
some OF her characters. She knew they were
all imaginary and vet she was so in sympathy
with her work that she could but weep over
their cruel treatment. A production like that
spriDgIng from the warm chambers OF the heart
was well calculated to arouse an entire nation
to arms IN defence OF the down trodden.
A. We find that Paul met trials IN his Chris.
Tan life. Temptations which befell me by
the lying in wait of the Jews" AS you have
seen cat watching and prepared to spring as
soon as the mouse made it's appearance. sc
these Jews were lying IN wait to entrap Paul
Read OF the hardsinps OF THIS apostle as de.
scribed by himself. and no longer think thai
yours is the only heart that has ached. What
soul has not seen dark hours ? Queen Eliza
beth, amid the pomp and splendor OF royalty
is unhappy. The crown is bright but the hear