The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1886-09-23
"He hath made our da,s an hand

he hath made our days an hand
breath. James answers the question,
"What is your life p 1T is even as
vapor th.t appcareth for little time
and .hen vanisheth away" Swift as
the wind, short-lived as the tender herb,
transien, as the morning mist, light as
vanity, short rs the breadth Of an hand
is life. and there is but step between
us and death.
The Psalmist compares man to the
flower. He says: "As for man. his
days are as grass as a flower of the
field, 30 he fourisheth; for the wind
pssseth over it and it i. gone, and the
place thereof shall know it no more"
The beauty and force ofthis passage is
seen when We mark that the compRri-
son is with s'the flowers of the field"
The flower that spIinGs up without the
watchful eye and careful hand to guard
and protect; outside the enclosed and
cultivated plat where bloom its more
favored sisters.
Its hold OF life is. more precious
The untimely frosts may blast, the
burning sun may scorch, the hot winds
may blight, the drouth of summer may
wither it. All flowers are tender and
liable to many accidents, but the flow
er of the field is most uncertain. The
rude hands of the thoughtless boy may
scatter its leaves to the winds the
dumb herd may trample it in the dust
and the place thereof know it no more.
But i. is not more uncertain than mans
life Numerous and resis.less are the
forces at work to blanch his cheek, dim
the light Of his eye. check tthe flow Of
lifes crimson current and snatch.
him from his place. Dangers
seen and unseen hover around to de-
stroy. Disease and accident hang up
on his footsteps and crowd his. way
There is the "arrow that Hieth by day"
aimed for its victim ''the pestilence
that walketh in darkness stealthily'
follows his path and the more bold
and open destruction that does its
work ut MONDAY falls upon him. So
(rail is he that"a fly, hair, a grape
,tone will kill"
We must need die and If we escapo
accident and evade disease ye. our
days are numbered and our time will:
soon come. For if by reason ef strength
our day be four score years, vet it is
soon cut off and we fly away.
We begin to die when we begin to
live. l ask you where are the genera
tions OF the past gone, yoa answer :;
the mighty with the weak, tho lofty
with the lowly, the good with the bad.
ali gone to the common grave
The boast Of heraldry and the pomp
of power,all that beauty, all that wealth
ere gave, await alike the inevitable
hour. The paths Of glory lead bat to
the grave"
Where are our fathers and our moth
ers and all We loved SO we'll. You point
me to the mounds marked by the mar
BILE slab and covered with the green
turf where they lie sleeping in the dust
We have seen the old man, 1eaning
upon his staff and totterin2 under the
burden of yesrs, drop into the grave
We have seen the strong man rejoicing
in the maturity and vigor OF middle life
ldienly Cast off. We have seen the
yonng man, his face radiant with the
light of hope. staud upon the threshold
o; an active life, thinking it was the en-
trance to long years of usefulness and
success, and 10 it had sproved to he
the crumbl.ng verge of the tomb. We
have seen the babe, that just began 10
live, taken from its mother s embrace
as gently as the sun kisses the dew
irop from the blade OF grass. until OBJ
has deepened thought into
and conviction has risen up
before us stern, inevitable fact that
We too must die.
g Our wasting lives grow shorter still,
AS months and days incrsaee,
And every beating pulse we tell,
Leaves but the number less"
But why must ,Ue all de
Was it the design of the Creator of
he body that it should feel the ihroea
,f death That it should suffer the |
pains and pangs Of separation Of the |
,oul /; was it q mortal body subject to !
disease. decay and dissolution. that |
.ame from the plastic hand Of It's max
sr and was by Him pronounced to bs
,ood, and very good? Will We not
lave to look elsewhere for an explana-
ion of this universal reign Of death =?
Mill We not have to lay the charge Of
his great calamity at the door Of an
.ther rather than God? All this is
he work of sin. This is the bitter cup
hat transgression presses to our lips
The body is dead because of sin. Sin
s.the cause, death is the effect. 1t was
lot until man diso5eyed and siEned
.gainst God, that the decree went forth
Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou
eturn." The great apostle declared
By man came death" by man sin
ntered into the world, and death by
in and so death has passed upon all
men, for that all have sinned." Sin is
he serpent whose sting is death. SIN
mixes the fatal cup whose drausht kills
oul and body. Sin is the moth in the
oil msn's righteousness the
horn in his pillow that p,erces his ach-
ng brow. . sin thou hast d;ne it
'hou enemy of God and man. Thou
last DESTROYED harmony and created
isorder, instigated war and banished
'eace, desolateG the earth and swept
way the race by pestilence, lamins
nd bloody battles. Thou art the moth
r of all human misery. We trace to
hee every pang uf physical pain ev-
ry throb Of mental anguish every
hroe of spiritual woe. 1t has shrouded
ur homes in gloom. broken the family
ircle. made the vacant place at our
reside and the empty place in oar
cart. 1t has robbed u of our loved
nes and clothed US in the weeds Of
and turn ed the sod for ev-
ry grave.
Sin is the source Of all our sorrow. all
ur woe. Yet men love sin, plead for
Is life, defe nd it against assault, cher
81 it take it TO their hosoms and muse
, into strength that it may SILK its
eadly fangs in their souls. What an
that man should thus treat
is most bitter and relentless foe. Let
lie call upon you to hate sin as God
ates it; to tear this viper from your
cart and trampie it under your feet.
Where sin is destroyed there heaven is.
he text suggests the positive nature Of
he christian knowledge. 1t is not like
idney Smith said carry cobbler pro-
sct to carry the people to India was,
The dream OF dreamer who dreamed
e had a dream" We live in world Of
The foundations of sci
ntitic knowledge are shifting. In sci
nee We advance by the theoretic meth
d. An esta 5lished theory tuday may
e an exploded theory tomorrow. The
ext book ofyesterday must must be re-
ised for today. This posi- ton is not
he dogmatism of a narrow, bisoted
lind. 1t is the unfaltering assurance
/ the great tsouled. broad-minded high
: cultured Paul. He grasped in his
aith the sli embracing, underly ing.