The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1884-03-20

lie with them, ne DiebSes them.
promises and His ordinances are all
This friendship with Christ. will be made
manifest. We will profess Him, we will love
Him, we viii entertain Him In our homes
md in our hearts, we will honor Him, we
will obey HIM we will make His interest
bur interest, we will profess Him above all
Ibings and extol and magnify His name for.
ever and forever.
But observe that this friendship with
Christ ever includes affection for His peo-
pie. Hence Christ said, 'Our friend LaEs-
rns sleepeth." Not my friend only, but our
To have a friend is a jewel Of great
price. A friend sometimes stickethD closer
O brother. Friendship is one, OF the
greatest boons God has bebtowed upon pan.
1t improves happiness and abates niserffby
the doubling Of our JOY and the dividing of
our grief, But il we would have friends we
must be friendly. A good man has always
friends. There can be no lasting friendship
between bad men. Bad men may pretend
to love one another, but their friendship IL q
rope Of sand which shall be broken at any
convenient season. But il a man have a true
and sincere heart and be upright and honest,
then he will have friends. Lazarus was the
friend OF our Savior, and when he died we
SEE that blessed Savior mingling His tearstn
loving sympathy with the afflicted friends.-
We see Him listening to the sorrowiul plant
OF the affecfionate Mary. whe said to Him:
"Lord, ifThou hadst been here, my brother
had not died." He was then brought into
the midst Of the weeping circle. which when
He beheld, 1t il said He grosned in the spir.
it, and was troubled, and said, "Where have
come and see" He then proceeded with
them to the grave Of Lazarus, and it Is writ
ten OF him-Jesus aDept. A more pathetic
sentence never was inscribed. A more nat
ural influence could not have been drawn
When the Jews saw the tears OF Jesus they
said, "Behold how He loved him." To be
full Of sympathy and goodness and cheerful.
ness and helpful hope, causes a man to carry
blessings Of which he 10 himself unconscious
as q lamp OF Its " shining. Such an one
moves In human life as the stars move, on
the lark seas to bewildered mariners.
Happy IL the man who has sympathy In
his soul which acts upon those who are cast
down az April airs upon violet roots. Gifts
from the hands are silver and gold; but the
gold can buy. God made the heart soft that
It might feel. God made the heart tender
that il might sympathize, and surely there Is
enough in the death OF q friend to produce
distress OF spirit and a stream OF tears, 1t is
not weakness, but true manliness to weep on
such q fitting occasion. jesus 0ept. be
wept as a friend. He loved Lazarus. He
WAS Out VI nlb ulbClDlcrJ WIN LIN LIZ hnu
repeated fellowship and communion OF soul.
Some Of the happiest moments OF our Sayior's
life were spent in his home. But now death
has rent in twain the kindly bond-for love
Is the bond of perfectness-the cement Of
h~earts-the atmosphere OF united souls. We
would feel for q dear friend even in ordinary
tronbles-in ordinary conficts-in ordinary
sufferines--but who shall describe the ago.
MES OF death? Who shall describe the turbid
sfraou If Toydou nr the aayerA c0nfiict with
the last enemy2 80 death, where Is thy
sting7 o grave, where is thy victory?" The
sting Of death IL sin, and the strength Of sin
Is the law. But thanks be to God which Civ.
eth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus
Christ.
But notice secondly that our text contain.
0 beautiful metaphorical representation Of
desth-"our friend Lazarus sleepeh." Thii
metaphor was used at Q very early period In
reference to M~oses-"Behold, thou shall
sleep with thy fathers" Thus to Job, fol
now saith he, "shall I sleep in the dust, and
thou shalt seek me in the morning, but ]
shall not be-" 30 Daniel speaks, that 'Afany
shall awake" So the Apostle speaks Of
those who sleep in Jesus, whom God will
bring with Him. So Christ in His resurrec
ton Is said to be "The first fruits Of them tina
slept" Observe, IL you please, the striking
resemblance between sleep and death. 1r
sleep the eyes are closed-the ears are seal
ed, and the senses are suspended. Tn,
breathing and the warmth OF the body only
indicate between the one and the other
How truly is this the image Of DEATH NJ
wonder thu little SON thought his father wal
sleeping. Sleep 10 state Of rest and repose
The toll Of the day 10 ~over-fatigue past-ac
tivity ceased. 30 all energy aud labor and
activity end in respect to this world, in ths
sleep OF death. Sleep, too, is Identified with
then night. They that sleep, sleep in the night
and to "die is to lie down in the darkness
"Let me alone" says Job, "that l may tax
comfort a little, before ] go wh-nce ! shall
not return, even to this land Of DARKNESS and
the shadow Of DEATH" Sound sleep is IN
compatible with suffering. WEAKNESS and
pain and anguish are all forgotten in sleep
What a merciful cessation. So in death all
suffering Of the body ends; all care has LEFT
its distrnctiDg seat. Sleep relates only to tLe
repose of the body. The mind never sleeps
1t is always act We. What scenes and events
are familiar to Us in the dreams and visions
OF the night season. And so it is in death
the body alone is still and torpid; the spirit
lives and. thinks and acts and feels, and who
can describe the visions and scenes with
which 1t becomes Immediately conversanti
Sleep is but q temporary suspension OF the
physical powers. In a few hours the man
awskes and sees and hears.and resumes his
~ - ~ ~
the body, much less Of the mind. In the
morning Of eternity, the dead shall hsar the
voice Of the Son OF God, and they that bear
shall live. o, what a scene When, conntls 81
millions shall be aroused by the trumpet's
blast and shall come forth at the bidding Of
their Maker. 81 am the Resurrection and
the Life; he that believeth' in me, though he
were dead, yet shall he live; and whatsoever
liveth and believeth in me shall neyerdie.'
He is the Lord Of providenceSIHe Is the
Lord both OF the dead and the living; He
orders all things; He doeth all things well;
He hath the keys of death and hell. His
presence can alone s~anctify the bsreave.
ments OF life INT make death easy. III sick.
ness and in sorrow let us seek the presence
and grace of Him "who is a Friend that
sticketh closer than a brother.". Under such
trying circumstances as these, let us be soil,
citous' to have the presence and grace Of Him
who can comfort us in our sad bereavements
He alone can give strength to bear sorrow,
to rtstrain its workings, and make it Il bless.
ing. He alone can be all to MS when friends
and kindred die, and he can be to. us more
than father or mother, sister or brother. He
is all In all, the chiefest among ten thou.
sand, and all together lovely. In the mids'
OF battling and neutrality-suspicious. We will
be still-hushing every mourner and breath
ing in holy resignation he prayer, Diyinely
taught, "1hy aoiH be done" 1t is onr com.
fort to know that the darkest cloud is firing.
ed with covensnt love. We can repose il
the blessed assurance that present discipline
is needed discipline, and that all which IL
mystery now will be cleared up hereafter.-
May IL be ours cheerfully to follow the foot
steps of the guiding Shepherd through thu
darkest, loneliest road, and amidst thickning
sorrows may we have grace to say: "ThougE
He SHAY me, yet.will I trust in Him." = :
We have as yet completed but half of oui
text, and yet we have another text yet tc
preach upon, and u very large and copiou.
one, the person whose obsequies we come
to celebrate. 1t is impossible not to speak
something, and yet it is impossible to speak
all. But custom requires that something be
said. 1t is a duty and a debt that we owe uu,
to his memory. We have assembled in this
house Of God, not as a few spectators
through idle curiosity but we have come as
a noble community to express our sorrow,
and sad and solemn weeds cover US all. Nei
Their example nor argument is necessary ia
enlist the sympathies of the people on such
a sad occasion as this. The tidiBgs of his
hasty death moved us-mournfully moved
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