The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1880-11-25

epraDB 10 INC uhnCoi Oiyihb' w N
witnesses"
Again, l remark, that we are witnesses
of the power of the Gospel to comfort.
When man has trouble, the world
comes in and says: "Now get your mind
off this; 90 out and breathe the fresh air;
plunge deeper into business" What
poor advice. When everything is up
turned with bereavement, and every
thing reminds you of what you once lost
Get your mind off of it. They might as
we'll advise you to stop thinking. You
cannot, and you cannot stop thinking in
that direction. Go deeper into businessl
Wky, she was associated with all your
business ambition, and since che has
gone YOU have no ambition left. Oh,
this is clumsy world when it tries to
comfort broken heart. could build a
Corliss engine, or paint Raphaels Ma
donna, or play Beethoven's heroic
symphony as easily as this world can
comfort broken heart, and yet you
have been Comforted. How was it done?
Did Christ say to you, Get your mind
off of this or that anxiety and care and
trouble2" No; there was time when
he came to you, perhaps in the watches
of the night, perhaps in your place OF
business, and spoke peace to your troub'
led soul; and you said, "It is all right; she
ia better off; | would not call her back;
the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken
away, blessed be the name Of the Lord"
There are Christian parents here to-
night who are willing to testify to the
power of this Gospel to comfort. What
has enabled you to bear up under all the
trial in ife2 You say, Il took the med
icine God gave my sick soul; in my dis
tress threw myself at the feet Of sym
pathizing Savior; and when | was too
weak to pray or look up, He breathed
into me a peace that think must be a
forelaste of that heaven where there is
neither tear, nor farewell. Come, all
We who have been out to the grave to
weep there-come all ye mourning souls
get up off your knees. Is there power
in this religion to quiet the worst parox-
ysm of giiefP Tell me. There comes
up an answer to the Comforted widow
hood and orphanage, saying, AYE, aye,
we are witnesses"
| n gain IOllhlhY WO dlO WlbhCtDCu VI
the fact that religion has power to COM
fort in the last moment shall never
forget the first time | confronted death.
We crossed the cornfelds in the Coun'
try. l was / d by my fathers hand; we
came to the farmhouse where death had
come, and we saw the crowd of wagons
and carriages; but there was one carriage
that especially attracted my boyish at.
tenti n; it had black plumes. sasked:
what is that2 Why those black tasses
at the top2" And after it was explained
to me, and I was lifted up to look upon
the bright face of the aged Christian wo
man, who three days before had depart.
ed in triumph, the whole scene made an
impression / never forgot. In our SER
mons and in our lay exhortations we are
very apt, when we want to bring illustra-
tions of dying triumph, to 60 back to
some distinguished personage-to John
Knox or Harriet Newell. l want to
know if you have ever seen anything to
make you believe that the religion of
| Christ can give comfort in the dying
hourP Now, in the Courts, attorney,
jury, and Judge will never admit mere
heresay. They demand that the witness
must have seen with his own eyes and
heard with his own ears; and 30 l am
critical in my examination of you, and
| want to know whether you haye seen
or heard anything that makes you be.
lieve that the religion of Christ gives
comfort in the final hour2 "0h, yes;"
you say, II saw my father and mother
depart" There was a great difference
in their desthbeds. Standing by t'e
one you felt more veneration; by the
other, more tenderness. Before the one
you bowed perhaps in awe; in the other
case you felt as if you would like to 90
along with her. How did they feel in
this last hour7 How did they actP Did
they take hold of this world with both
hands as though they did not want to
give up2 "Oh, no" you say, Il remem
Der as though it were yesterday; she had
kind word for US ALL and there were a
few mementoes distributed among the
children; and she told us how kind we
must be to our father in his loneiness
then she kissed US good bye and went to
sleep as calm as child in cradle" Now
what made her 80 ComposedP Natural
couragep mo" you say, mother was
very nervous; when the carriage inClin.
ed to the side of the road she would Cry
out; she was always rather weakly"
What then gave her composureP Was
it because she cared not for you and the
pang of parting was not great2 "0h,"
you say, "she gave us wealth of affec.
tioD; no mother loved her children more
than she loved us; she showed it by her
care for US until her strength failed her."
What was it then that gave her compo.
sure in the last hourP Do not hide it.
Be frank, and let me know. "0h, it was
because she was good; she made the
Lord her portion, and she believed she
would go straight to glory, and that we
would all meet her at last at the foot of
the throne" Here are people who say:
IL saw a Christian brother die, and he
tr:umphed." And some one else: 81
saw Christian sister die, and she tri
umphed." Some one else will say: II
saw Christian sister die, or a Christian
friend, or relative die, and they all tri-
umphed in the Lord" Come, all ye who
have seen the last moments of Christians
die triumphantly, and give testimony in
this cause on trial. Uncover your heads
and take OF your gloves; put your hand
on the old family Bible from which
you once read the promises, and take an
oath in the presence of this audience and
in the presence Of high heaven, that you
will tell the truth, the whole truth and
nothing but the truth. With what you
have seen with your own eyes, and with
what you have heard with your own
ears. is there power in this gospel to give
Cslmness and triumph in the last ext |
genCy? The response comes from all |
sides-from the young, and old, and |
middle aged, "We are witnesse,p You
see, my friends, l have not put before
you tonight an abstraction, or a chime
ra, or ANYTHING else. like guesswork. I |