The Southern herald., 1885-12-05
SONG OF THE PILGRIM.

20 Death, where Il Thy stlngs o Grave,
where Il Thy victOry3"
That we are pilgrims and strangers
on the earth is such plain and prosaic
fact that we only half realize it in our
clearest thoughts, and are for the most
part living in iorgetfulness of the first
fact and most important fact of earthly
life 1t is march, passage, q jour
ney. a constant movement. Invisible
policemen line the way and repeat in
cessantly: Move on! move on "
''Arise ye and depart for this is not
your rest Here we have no continu-
ing city, but we seek one to come
Civilization may do many things for us,
but 1t can not give US continuing city
here. We may be more comfortable on
the march, but we must move ON.
The law Of life here Is inexorable; the
cradle is at one end, the grave Is at the
other. The TRANSPORTATION Of both is
that Christ lay in the cradle and lay in
the grave. Outside Of this Divine i'm
presencing of our life it is a most pitt
ful and dreary business. Hence all
human art of expression is at its best
touches its supreme note-when it
utters our solemn feeling of the 'in-
evitablo hour" when the march shall
end.
There is q comprehensive contrast in
the songs Of Scripture, wherein the
movement is never into sadness but al
ways into joy. There is a jubilant note
in the saddest recital of revelation.
Christ cries: 1T Is inishedr' and Paul
sings: 20 death, where is thy sting!"
The Preacher" surveys life under the
sun" with an unbroken melancholy un-
I'll he touches its relation to life above
the sun, when he always breaks into a
happier music. In some sort the Bible
is always pushing US out toward song
From the mire and the clay the singer
climbs up with new song in his mouth.
To set the pilgrim to singing on his
march, to light up the grave with the
august beauty Of eternity, to make life
q melody constructed out Of upper har-
monies, to fill the world Of passage with
hymns Of everlasting purpOrt-this is
what the Bible seems always to be aim
ing at 1t says to us: Sing! singT'
The ransomed shall return with singing;
and the songs are the expression Of
gladness and of everlasting joy. Life
becomes joyful thing because the pill
grims are going home. 1t is a journey
through storm and night and graves,
but it is journey home; and therefore
we brave the storm, and face the night,
and welcome the grave because we are
going home. 1t is the substance and
the very marrow of our religion that it
puts angels at the sepulcher. and rolls
away the stone and converts the narrow
portal out Of earthly life into the splen-
did and magnificent gateway into ever
lasting life. Our faith is strained and
often weary; but Paul shall say to us:
"Hope that is seen is not hope" and a
tenderer voice shall whisper: IF it
were not SO / would have told you"
Note well the contrast Of the human
and the Divine music. This jubilant
pilgrims song is not ours Ours is sub
limest in the melancholy strains. Our
poets sound the depths Of our misery, Of
eur despair. The Bible is shown to be
. Divine book by its contrast to our art.
Ours is despairful when It is best; the
Bible is always ready with song, redo
lent of infinite charm and consolation.
The human poet sings to many keys:
s.AI that breathe must die The in
spired book sings: He that believeth
in Me, though he were dead. yet shall
he I've again. AT the grave human
music is sick with fear and hopeless
ness; at the grave the Bible sings: 30
grave. where is thy victoryP"
Our faith needs the support Of an hon
est memory Of these things. We be-
tray ourselves into the hands of doubt