The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1881-07-21

gone smoothly with your Has 1t ever
pursued you with slanderP Is your
health always good? Have your for.
tunes never perishedP ? Are your chill.
dren all alive and wellP Is there one
dead lamb in the fold2 Are you ignor'
ant Of the way to the cemetery? Have
you never heard the bell toll when 1t
eemed as if every stroke Of the iron
clapper beat your heart? Are the skies
as bright when you look into them as
they used to be when other eyes, now
closed, used to look into tAemP Is there
some trunk or drawer in your house
that you go to only on anniversary days,
when there comes heating against your
soul the surf of great ocean OF agony Z
1t is the cave of Adullam-the cave of
Adullam Is there some David who
fatherly heart wayward Absalom has
broken ? Is there some Abraham who
is lonely because Sarah is dead in the
ia lily plot of Macpellah. After thirty
or forty years of Companionship how
hard it was for them to part. Why not
have two seats in the Lords chariot, 30
that Doth the old folks might have gone
up at once? My aged mother in her
last moment said to my father Father
wouldn't it be nice if we could both 60
together ? No, no, no; we mu t part"
And there are wounGed hearts now,
Some had trouble. The world cannot
give comfort. What can it bring?
Nothing-nothing. The salve they try
TO put on your wounds will not stick.
They cannot with their bungling sur.
gerry mend the broken bones. Zophar,
the Naamathite, and Bildad, the Shuttle,
and Eliphaz, the Temanite, come in and
talk, and talk and talk; bit miserable
comforters are they all. TheV cannot
pour light into the cave of Adullam.
They cannot bring single draught Of
water from "the we'll OF Bet llehem,
which is by the gate" But, glory be to
Jelus Christ, there is comfort at the
gate. There is life in the well at the
gate l will draw up a promise for ev.
cry man, woman and child. l will lay
hold of the rope of the old well, What
is your trouble? "Oh," you say, am
so sick 60 weary of life ailments after
qiments." l will draw up promise :
The i"habitant shall never say am
SICK" What is your trouble? "Oh, it
is loss of friends, bereavement" you say.
1 will draw up promise fresh and cool
ont of the we'll: II am the resurrection
and the life. He that believeth in me
though he were dead, yet shall he live"
What is your trouble? You say it is
the infrmities of old age / will draw
you up promise down to old age.
| am with thee. To hoary hairs will l
carry thee" What is your trouble ?
Oh" you say, 81 have widowed soul,
and my children cry lor bread" l bring
up This promise: Leave ;hy fstherless
children. l will preserve them alive,
and let thy widows trust in me-" "0h,"
avs somel one, "you have missed my
case. That is not my trouble" l viii
not miss it. l bring up now a promise
for every Christian soul "All things
work together for good to those who love
God" break through the armed ranks
of your sorrows and bring to your parch.
ed lips dr. nix of " the water oft well
of Bethlehem, which is by the gate"
Again, this gospel well is at the gate
of heaven. l have net yet heard one
single intelligent account of the future
world from any body who does not be.
lieve in the Bible. They throw such a
log about the subj ct that l do not want
to go to the skeptic's heaven, to the tran.
scendentalist's heaven, to the worldly
philosophers heaven. would not ex
change the poorest room in your house
for the finest heaven that Huxley or Stu.
art Mill or Darwin ever dreamed of
Their heaven has no Christ in it, He ven
without Christ, though you could sweep
the whole universe into it, would be a
hell. Oh, they tell US, there are no songs
there there are no Coronations in heaven
that is all imagination. They tell us we
will do tuere about what we do here, only
on larger sCale-geometrize with clearer
and with Alpine stock Chamber
up over the iCeb9rgs in an eternal vaCa-
tion Rather than that, l turn to my
Bible, and l find Johns picture of that
good land-that heaven which was your
lullaby in infanCy-that heaven which
our children in the Sabbath.school sing
about-that heaven that has well at the
gate. After you have been on long
Journey, and you come in all bedusted
and tired to your hou e, the first thing
you want is refreshing ablution; and am
glad to know that after we get through
he pilgrimage of this World-the hard,
dusty pilgrimage-we will find we'll at
the gate. In tn 1t one wash away will 60
our sins and sorrows. | do not care
whether cherub, or seraph, or my own
departed friends in that blessed land
place to my lips the cup of life, that touch
Of that cup will be life, will be heaven. l
was reading of hoU the ancien's sought
or the fountain of perpetual youth. They
thought that if they could 6r d and drink
)ut Of that well, the old would become
young again, the sick well, and everybody
would have eternal juvenesCeNce, Of
course they could not find it, Eureka !
have und it the water of the well
If Bethlehem, which is by the gate. |
hink We had better mako a bargain with
hose who leave us-going out OF this
world from time to time-as to where we
will meet them. Travellers parting ap.
JulnG plhC0 VI u6GJluBs LhOy SdJ' "O
will meet al home or we will meet at
Stockholm or Vienna or Jerusalem or
Now, when we come to
sand by the death pillow of those who
ire le wing us for the far land, do not let
ls weep as though we would never see
hem again, but let us there standing ap-
point place where we will meet Where
ihall it be2 Shall it be on the banks of
he river2 No, the banks are too long,
Shall it be- in the Temple? No, there is
juch host there-ten thousand times
EN- thousand. Where shall we meet our
owed ones? Let US make an appoint.
nent to meet at the well by the gate.
Oh, heaven Sweet heaven Dear heaven!
Heaven where our good friends are.
Heaven where Jesus is. Heaven!
Heaven
But while l consider there comes a re.
vulsion OF feeling when know there are
souls dying of thirst, Notwithstanding the
we'll at the gate. Between them and the
we'll of heaven there is a great army OF
sin; and, though Christ is ready to cleave
a way to that we'll for them, they will not