Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1878-02-25

oluerent ears, they were treasured up IN
the sacred Volume that has outlived the
wreck and waste Of time. and shall en-.
dure forever with the seal that God has
set upon il. 1t is not enough to say Of
these men, as we do Of others that stand
in the front rank of thought aud actor,
that the times we're not worthy Of them.
1t is better, | think, to say that they are
worthy Of all time, aud so we may take
up their counsel and example and apply
them to ourselves. II we do so in the
present case we set ourselves to learn the
great lesson Of this life, namely, q stead.
fast dependence and reliance upon the
care aud wisdom and power of God
through all the orderings of His provi-
dence, whether they concern pleasures
or sorrows, promotions or humiliations,
the realization of fondest hopes or bitter
disappointment in our hearts. l speak
Of it as the great and allimportant les.
son of this life, because it is the first for
the young to learn, the last for the aged
to recall; the hardest TO be acquired at
some stages of life, and the most useful
through all. tits written out very surely
and distinctly in the personal experience
of each one Of US by the hand Of the
Almighty himself, but man too often tries
to obscure or defacs it by tracing the
CONCLUSIONS of his own erring judgment
over the sentences Of his Creator. In
this instance the prophet sets forth his
confidence in God, and the glsdness Of
his trust, in the strongest possible frame
of Oriental poetic imagery. Though all
these things should be, though every
earthly token OF the divine favor should
seem to be withdrawn, "YetI will rejoice
in my God; / will joy in the God
of my salvation" That, gentlemen, is
the language of a man Of high and hon.
est resolve who refuses to bind his hopes
and happiness with the fetters of earth
and time, but seeks guidance, and COM
fort, aud promise face to face with God,
and then from the high place of prayer
goes clad more stoutly with sublime
intent" In contrast with this how fee
bly, is displayed our own standard Of am.
bition. or action, or repose. Let us look
at the question plainly. You are yet
young, but, believe me, the flush of
youth will not fade from your brows be.
fore they are scanned With wrinkles OF
care. There are those around you grow
ing old, but not one, | venture to assert,
has lived so long as to realize more than
a fraction Of the plans that be formed 10
early or mature life. There will come
to each Of you a time, / trust far away,
when the scourge of affection may fall
heavily upon you; when you will long
"For the touch of a vanished hand,
And the sound Of a voice that is still"
Who of you is now preparing to be
strengthened Of Gods grace2 You may
suffer the loss, even the very wreck OF
your earthly estate. What portion are
you laying up where your heart and
your treasure may securely rest together?
These are not idle questions. They go
down below the surface OF forms and
professions, out beyond the tangled con.
fusion of these frivolous controversies
that seem to interest you, and touch the
depth and breadth of convictions in the
strength and virtue Of which mQr con.
front the grave issues Of lie. If a man
build q house Of paper, or plant a gar
den in sand, it is not permitted US to
entertain any solid hope Of tie durability
OF his tenement or the certainty
Of bis support. The first tempest
blast or deluge will doubtless de.
prive him Of shelter, and the first
scorching rays Of the sun defraud him
Of food. His fellows, in such a case,
will only laugh at his folly. and perhaps
hardly pity his distress. Yet this same
way of planting and building is pretty
much the average way Of human kind,
and they are few, indeed, who can CLAIM
to be exceptions TO the rule. Hence we
hear Of dishesrtening failure and disap-
pointment, and a confused murmur Of
complaint going up to high heaven
against the manner in which the affairs
of this world are governed and CONTROL
ed, Why, do men realize how utterly
destitute, 50 far as the things OF this
world are concerned, they are destined
to pass out Of it2 This, you may reply,
is a familiar question, and O we'll. worn
theme. So it is; still, it lie one Of those
subjects which God, in His wisdom, is
constantly placing before our rotice.
The loneliness, the restitution Of that
last pilgrimage is absolute; wealth, or
power, or skill, or even fond affection 10
the utmost stretch Of tenderness, can
supply no companion to the soul in its
journey through the valley Of death.
The thought ia one Of solemn conse.
quence-not because it is all of death to
die, for 1t is not; nor because the looks
or language of the dying are so imporiant,
for they are not, but because the event
itself is the dividing line between the two
certain stages of the souls existence
the temporal aud the eternal-and be.
cause the soul, ct that instant, enters
upon its everlasting Inheritance without
so much as q fragment, without 80 much
as a mere latter Of all tic earthly estate
| say, then, Of these earthly objects Of
desire on which we bestoW 50 much Of
labor aud love and care, that they have,
in fact, no intrinsic weight or value, or
dignity, to be compared with the thiags
OF Eternity aud Heaven. Bot If ren ere
told this often, nay, ever If in a measure
f"Ny NpHNDNS ~ NhII w uyk appear 10 hcL
upon the belief Whereisihe fault2 When
the great Mseaulsy GENES to set forth
the qualifications Of the greater Burke
70 appear At the bar Of the House Of Lords
that he might 10 the name Of the com.
mons Of Great Britain impeach Warren
Hastings OF high crimes and misde.
meanors, be ssys Of the former that he
possessed 70 40 eminent degree that
noble faculty Of the mind whereby a
man may look upon the past and tho
future, upon the distant and unreal.
Such a faculty ought no. to be confined
in its development TO the foremost ed.
yocate before the formost tribunal of DO.
htical jurlgpru4eoce when he appeared
70 plead the cause Of an oppressed peo.
pie. IL is needed by every man who
would stand selfpcisel and w~elLpoised
I - a.