The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-03-31

uerus been dO1ngp DOingp Why, when
Vashti. his first wife, refused to come in
and display her beauty before an obscene
and adulterOus crowd Of princes, he
hurled her, weeping and exiled down
the palace stairs, and divorced her for
nothing but her virtues. His appetite
was his God, and he flung contempt in
the face OF heaven. He had turned his
palace into foul seragliO, and debauch-
ed the empire with his uncleanness. He
had decreed the massacre Of the whole
SG JeW hSO E hing OF eO%Tse SSS Ss
could not sleepl Could you have slept
under such circnmstaneesp Oh there is
nothing like an aroused conscience to
keep man awake when he wants to
sleep. There was ruler who Onr morn
ing was found with his sword cutting a
nest of swallows to pieces. Somebody
came up and said: why do you cut
that nest of swallows to piecesP" why
he replied, those swallows keep saying
that | murdered NY father" The fact
was, that the man had committed the
crime. and his conscience, by Divine
ventrilOquism, was speaking out at that
birds nest. No, Ahasuerus could not
sleep. The more he tried to sleep, the
wider he got awake. All around about
his pillow the past came. There, in the
darkness, stood VaShti, wan and wasted
in banishment. There stood the princes
whom he had despOiled by his evil ex-'
| ample. There were the representatives
| of the house he had blasted by his ILL
famous demand that the brightest be
sent to his palace; brOken-hearted par
| ents crying: "GiVe me back my child
tnOu VulturO1s sOuli The Outrages of
the past fitting along the wall, swing
Ing from the tassels, crOuching in the
corner, grOaning under the pillow, set
| ting their heels ON his consuming
brain, and crying: "Get upi This Is
the verge of HE'LL No sleepl No sleep"
Are there not some here who have Oc-
casiOnally passed sleepless nightsp
What was the reasOn2 Was 1t sickness?
Was 1t OVerwOrkpI Was 1t bereavement?
Was 1t the unrepented sins of your past
| life that came about your pillow Was
| it trOublep You remember how the
clock ticked. You remember how long
| 1t was from the striking of one II the
morning until the striking of two, and
still longer from two to three; and when
at last the day began to look through
the lattice, how quickly you rose up and
surrendered every attempt to sleep.
| There are souls in this house who will
Lord, how can sleepp The house is 80
dreadfully still since my little one died.
| No one to give drink to in the night
No one to wake me in the morning with
a sweet carol. Troubled Troubled Will
not the Lord take me out Of itp" OF be-
reaVed soul, can make up something
YOU can sleep on. AS sometimes they
make pillow of soothing herbs that the
patient may put his head on and forget
his pain, 80 tonight, bereaVed soul,
would make up pillow for thy head
| pillow of Divine prOmises-prOmises
af reunion in fearless realm, promises
of explanation for things that are dark,
promises Of resurrection for all the
dead. OF put your head on that pillow,
and let the fingers of a comforting and
sympathetic Christ close your eyelids in
perfect peace tonight. Hush all your
losses. Hush all your bereaVements.
Hush all your complaints. $50 He giYeth
His beloved sleep.
Rut there are those here tonight who
will not sleep for another reason. This
is the night when your unfOrgiVen sins
will cry out against you. They will
come clamOFing around your pillow as
the sins Of Ahasuerus clamOred around
his pillow. You think you can roll of
solemn impression like this moment.
You will 90 home. The door will be
closed. After few moments of CONVEX
satiOn about what happened at the
} Tabernacle, you will try to compose
yourself for sleep; but If you are an un-
fOrgiVing man. you cannot sleep. You
will stand by your pillow, saying:
Where did you come frOmp What have
you been dOingp No repentance. No
tears. No pardon. No life. No hope. No
: heaven" And you will say: "WhO Is 1t
that so addresses me?" And God will
say: "It is thy Maker and thy Judge;''
and the sweat Of a great agony will
come out on your brow, and before TO-
morrow morning you will get up and
| Rnaal down and OrQV and nrQu That
will be the history of hundreds in this
house tonight. "OP' says some one,
"yOu don't know me. am good sleep
er, and no sooner will put my head on
the pillow than will be unconscious
All perhaps l made a mistake, then, In
regard to your case. may be mistaken
in the prophecy with reference to you
particularly, for you may be one Of those
who go to sleep on earth and wake up
! in hell, where they never sleep. "OP
SAYS some one, "Pll joke OFF all this i'm.
preston. I'll caricature the preacher
I'm good at drawing. And then I'll just
say to my jeering companions, How Is
your sOulp' and with merriment I'll
, drown out all the thought of the pres
ent, and all the thOught of the past, and
: all the thought of the future" No, you
cannot do it. Ahasuerus tried to drown
the voice of his conscience with wine
with libertiniSm, with fame, with all
kinds of indulgence, until, in his satie.
. ty, he actually offered a reward for some
body who would invent new pleasure
and while all the eniOyments, and hon
: Ors, and excitements came rippling vi
against that pillow In the Shushah Pal
ace, ION that night could not the king
; Sleep"
: No, madame; no, sir; IL the Holy Spirit
: is in your heart tonight you cannO
D drown out this religious impression. L
will be as it was last Sabbath night
4 when there were two persons sitting be
fore me so thoroughly given up to mer
: riment while was preaching, though
I | must stop in the midst Of my sermon
: and call them to order; and yet, at thl
9 close of the service they came asking tn
= way to heaven, and they are now In thi
4 house sitting In the peace of Christ, ,thes,
q few days Of pardon giving them NOR
, joy than all the days of their worldl.
l. hilarity. An, my friends, you cannO
= with outside glee stop the inside tremOI
Whirl around all the dancers, clap al
the eymbals OF defiance, fill the air wit
9 guffaw Of ribaldry and mirth, and Ahas
o uerus cannot sleep tonight. o man i'm