Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1879-03-01
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES JEFFERSON WEST VIRGINIA. SATURDAY
From the Lutheran Visitor.l
THE GRAVE.
By REV. J. p. sNELTzER, D. D.

cred the grave, the last resting place OF
mortals, acknowledge IFS solemnlty. Ii
Is indeed solemn to die; but it is more
serious to make the grave the hnai
home of humanity, to give these bodies,
so much cared for, to the craving
worm for food The possibility OF go
ing down into the dark tomb while the
vita, power are suspended on single
thread, fully aware that the portals OF
eternity have not been passed, increases
its solemni,y. To awake from slum-
Der, to be restored 10 consciousness, 10
recover from state of total suspension
of mental power or physical motion, and
find cold, dark and silent grave, IS
fearful beyond description.
The grave, however, in the light OF
Christian philosophy, knowing thattew,
if any are buried alive; that corruption
must sink into its original elements to
gain an incorrn2tible state; that the
Goldman himself has passed through It's
dark and gloomy domain-loses its ter
ror, and man is assured OF It's rest. 1t
matters not whether that dust lies
in garnished sepulchres, or rests in It's
mothers bosom; whether that body Is
cmbalmed with Egyptian care, or be-
comes food for the crawling worm;
whether those ashes are waited by the
winds of heaven, or washed by the wa
ters of earth; whether that corpse is
consumed by fire, or devoured by wild
beasts; whether that body is decorated
with flowers, or lost beneath the surface
of the earth-wherever that dust may
lie, there the weary are at rest.
Christ, the Saviour Of sinners, who
has brought 10 light more clearly Life
and Immortality, was laid in sepul-
chre. From Friday eve TO Sabbath
morn the grave claimed him as lis vic
tim. Or the third day, by his own
inherent power, lie threw off the tetters
Of the grave.
can angels arm can't snatch him from
the grave!
Legions of angels can't confinc him
there"
He arose triumphantly, Deaths De
stroyer, Hell's Conqueror, and the Graves
Victor, and has removed from the weary
Christian the teirors of the tomb. Now,
the weary child of God follows bis Di-
vine Master with mourniul delight, with
confident hope, with all unwavering
faith, even down TO the gates of death,
the gloom of the grave, the portals OF
eternity.
In the grave the weary arc at rest.
Although God changes mans connte-
nance and makes his beauty 10 consume
away like a moth; although he is driven
from light into darkness and chased out
of The world; although his remembrance
shall perish from the earth and he shalt
have no name in the street; although
the dust shall return to the earth as il
was and the spirit to God who gave it;
yet there, THERE, in the grave, the weary
are at rest: for voice is heard from
heaven, saying, Write, blessed are the
dead who die in the Lord from hence
forth; yea, saith the Spirit, that they
may rest from their labors; and their
works do follow them" Rest for the
body, rest for the soul, rest for the
weary, is only found in the cold and
silent tomb.
ssIs this deaths sea? The impression,
o, how fair!
tile sacred dust
Awaits the resurrection OF the just"
If the body, the earthly instrument
of the soul, is covered with the clods
of the valley, will it arise again from
that bed of clay? II it has been sleep
ing in the grave for centuries, is there
any power sufficiently strong to awake
the sleeper? If it has been scattered
by the winds, can it be gathered! If it
has been incorporated with other organic
beings, can it be separated? Yes, from
the tomb that body shall arise again;
| for man, in his flesh, shall see his Saviour.
| 1t is true, the weary Christian rests in
the grave. He has fought bis last bat
tie on earth. He sleeps bis last sleep IN
the valley and shadow of death. But the
grave shall give way TO the delightful and
enrapturing employments of eternity. No
matter if the grave has received the hu-
man race, from the burial of Abel to
the last new made grave, Paradise re-
gained is coming, and the day is ap'
pointed. No matter If the cold, damp,
narrow prison-house seem unyieldiug
to the strength Of man, He who con-
quered death and the grave will bring
his weary ones with him. No matter
whether this dust has been cared for by
friends and loved ones or not, the All
Seeing Eye has watched over it. No
matter where the body has been buried,
whether in grave yards with others, or
alone by itself; on land, or in the sea;
in metallic caskets; or devonred by vul-
tures-when the all-alarmiug claDgcr Of
the Archangels trump shall reverberate
through earths vast domain the nations
under ground and in the sea will begin
to move and wake 10 life and immortal
ity. Monuments may now mark the
place where loved ones are sleeping, but
the day is coming when every grave
shall give up its victim. The Grave +!
The Gravel! 1t may now cry, "Giye,
give" lie who has redeemed the soul
will be its plague.
''Hope, Christian, hope; there's life be-
yond the grave"
There is something sweetly solemn in
the good old Saxon phrase, "Gottes
Acker;" for the aged pilgrim, who has
reached his four-score years, passed
through the fires of many trials and
aAl ..pJ,,ral the tonot. aod