The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1880-04-22

A respectable, impeniteDt man C cJmes to
die. He is fat on his back, and could
not get up if the house were on fire.
Medical skill and gentle nursing have
been a failure. He has come to his last
hour. What does satan do for such a
msnP Why, he revives all the disagree
able things in his life. He says: do
you remember those chances you had for
heaven, and missed themP Do you re-
member all those opproDrious words,and
thoughts and actions2 Don't you re-
member them. eh2 Pll make you re-
member them2" Then he takes all tie
past and empties ii on that deathbed, as
| the mail bags are emptied on the post
office floor. The man is sick; h. cannot
get sway from them. Then the man says
to satan: You have deceived me. You
told me all would be well. You said
there would be no trouble at the last.
You told If | did SO and 30, you would
do so and so. Now you corner me- and
submerge me in everything evil" "Ha,
hal" says satan, 81 was on.y fooling you.
1t is fun for me to see you suffer have
been for thirty years plotting your ruin.
1t is hard for you now-it will be worse
after awhile. 1t pleases ne. Lie still,
sir. Don't finch or shudder. Come,
now l will tear off the last hope or ex-
peCtation. | will rend from your soul
the last hope. l will leave you bare for
the beating of the storm. 1t is my bust
ness to strip the slain"
While men are in robust health, and
their digestion is good, and their nerves
are strong they think their physical
strength will get them safely through
the last exigency. They say it is only
coWardly women who are afraid at the
last, and cry out for God. wait till l
come to die; you won't hear me pray nor
cal for a minister, nor want chapter
from the B BILE read" But after the man
has been three weeks in sick room his
nerves are not so steady, and his worldly
companions are not anywhere near to
cheer him up, and he is persuaded that
he must quit life. His physical covering
is all gone. He jumps at the fall of a
teaspoon in a sauser. He shivers at the
idea of going away. He says, "Wife, l
don't think my infdelity is going to see
me through. For Gods sake don't bring
up the children to do as | have done! If
you feel like it, l wish you would read a
verse or two out Of Fanny's sabbath
school hymn book or New Testament"
Bu satan breaks in and says, You have
always thought religion trash and lie.
DON'T give up at the last Besides, you
can not in the hour you have to live get
off on that track. Die as you lived.
With my great black wings l shut out
that light. Die in darkness. l rend
away from you that las. vestige Of hope,
1t is my business to strip the slain"
A man who had rejected Christianity
and thought it all trash came to die. He
was in great agony, and his wife said
"We had better have some prayers"
MARY, not a breath of thatl" he said.
"The slig test word of prayer would roll
back on me like rocks on a drowning
man. have come to the hour of test
l had a chance and forfeited it. | be-
lieved in liar, and he has forsaken me.
Mary, bring me Tom Paiae, the book l
swore by, and lived by, and throw it to
the fire and let it burn, as l nyself soon
shall burn" And then, with the foam
on his lips, and his hands tossing wildly
in the air, he cried out: "BaCkness of
despairl Oh, my God, too latel" The
spirits of darkness whisked up from the
depth and wheeled around and around
him, stripping the slain.
Sin is a luxury now; it is gxhilaration
now; it is victory now. But after awhile
it is collision; it is defeat; it is extermin
alton; it is jackalism; it is robbing the
dead; it is stripping the slain. Give it
up tonight; give it up! Oh, how you
have cheated on, my brother, from one
thing to anotherl All these years you
have been under an evil mastery you
did not understand. What have your
companions done for your What have
they done for your health2 Nearly ruin.
ed it by carousal. What have they done
for your fortune2 Almost scattered it
by spendthrift behavior. What have
they done for your reputation Almost
ruined it with good men. What have
they done for your immortal soul! AL
most insured its overthrow. You are
fastening on toward the Consummation
of all that is sad. Tonight you stop and
think, but it is only for a moment, then
you will tramo on, and at the close of
this service you will 90 out, and the
question will be, How did you like the
One man will say, Il liked it
very WE'LL" and another will say, II did
not like it at ALL" but neither of the an
5wers will touch the tremendous fact, that
If penitent, you are going at eighteen
knots an hour toward shipwreckl Yes,
you are in a battle where you will fal';
and, while your surviving relatives will
AXE your remaining estate, and Green
wood your body; the messengers of dark
ness will take your soul, and come and
20 about you for the next ten million
years, stripping the slain.
Many are crying out, II admit 1 am
slain. admit it," On what battle field,
my brothers2 By what weapons? "In
,oxicating liquor" says one man. "Pol-
uted Imagination" says another man.
MY own hard heart" says another man.
Do you realize this2 Then l come to |
ell you that the Omnipotent Christ is |
.eady to walk across this battle field, |
IND revive, re5usClCaCo ana TA6urreCt |
your dead soul. Let Him take your
land and rub away the numbness; your
head, and bathe off the aching; your
leart, and stop its wild throb. He
brought Lazurus to life; He brought |
-airus' daughter to life; He brought the
,oung man of Main to life, and these are
hrse proofs any how that he can bring
you to life.
When the Philistines came down on
he field they stepped between the
;orpses, and they rolled over the dead |
md took away every thing that was val
liable, and 30 it was with the people that |
ollowed after our army at Chancellors.
,ille and at Pittsburg Landing and at
stone River and at Atlanta, stripping
he slain. But the Northern and South
,rn women-God bless them-came on |
he field with basins and pads and tow.
,ls and lint and cordisls and Christian |
Encouragement, and the poor fellows that |
sy there lifted up their arms and said,
oh, how good that does feel since you |