Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-08-23

Ruth of my text, for she is going to be.
come Joint owner OF the great harvest
! fields OF Boaz.
Y. Once more: II we want to become
| Christians, we must, like Ruth IN the
text, choose the Christians death and
| burial. She exclaimed: where thou
diest will die, and there will be ou-
ried." | think we all, when leaving tbs
world, would like to he surrounded oy
! Christian influences. You would not like
to have your dying pillow surrounded oy
caricaturists, and punsters, and wine DID,
| bers. How would you like to have John
Leech come with his London picto-
| rails, and Christopher North with his
| loose fun, and Tom Hood with his rhym-
ing jokes, when you are dying? No! no!
no! Let me have Christian nurse in my
last sickness. Let Inc have Christian
physician 10 administer the medicines.
Let 1t be a Christian wife, or parent, or
child, that watches the going out OF the
tides of my mortal existence. Let Chris
| tian men come in the room and read OF the
Illuminated valley, and the eXtingulsh-
ment of grief, and drown the hOarse
blasts Of death with the strains OF "Mount
PIsgah" and saint Martin"
In our last moment we will all be chill
dren. Said DR.. Guthrie, the famous
Scotch clergyman, when dying: "Sing rue
a balrn's hymn" Yes, we will all be
children then. In that hour the world
Will stand confounded around us. Our
friends may cry over us; tears will not
help us. They may look sad; what we
want is radiation in the last moment,
thinking ii will help them to die. In our
last moment we want that bread which
came down from Heaven. Who will give
it to us? oh, we want Christian people
Ia the room, so that il our hope begins to
struggle they may say: Courage, broth
er! all is well. Courager" In that eX-
piring moment | want to hear the old
songs that we used to sing in church and
prayer meeting. In that last moment
want to hear the voice OF some Christian
friend pleading that the sins and short
cOmings of my life may be forgiven, and
the doors OF Heaven may be opened before
my entranced spirit.
"COme sing to me OF Heaven.
When I'm about to die;
Sing songs of holy ecstacy,
To wait my sJul on hIgn."
Yes; Christian people on either side the
bed, and Christion people at the foot of the
bed, and Christian people to close my
eyes, and Christian people to carry me
out, and Christian people to look after
those whom | leave behind, and Christian
people to remember me little while at
ACA ohl EOuCs w nCiG luOu uiSSb VII L
die, and there will be buried"
Sometimes an epitaph covers up more
than it expresses. Walking through
Greenwood cemetery | have sometimes
seen N Inscription which Impressed me
how hard the sculptor and friends were
trying to make out good story III stone.
| saw from the inscription that the man
or woman buried there had died without
hope. The inscription told me the man
was a member Of Congress, or a bank
president, or some prominent citizen, but
SAID nothing about his SOUPS destiny.
The body is nothing. The soul! The
soul! And here by this inscription l see
that this man was born in 1900 and died
in 1873. Seyenty-tive years on earth, and
no Christian hope! Oh, if in all the ceme-
teries OF your city the graves of those who
have gone out of this world unprepared
should sigh on the wind, who would have
the nerve 10 drive through such place?
If all those who have gone out of this
world unprepared could come back to-day
and float through this air, telling the
story of their discontinue. this audience
would fall fiat on It's face, asking to be
rescued from the avalanche of horror.
My hearers, do yOu wonder that this
Ruth OF my text made the Chrstian's
choice and closed it with the ancient form
of imprecation upon her own soul, if she
ever fors0Ok Naomi: The Lord do so to
me, and more also, If aught but death
part thee and me-" They were to live
together. Come the jackals, come the
bandits, roll on Dead seal My hearers,
would you not like to be with your Chris
tan friends foreverY Have there not
gone out persons from your household
whom you would like to spend eternity
with? They were mild, and loving, and
gentle, and beautiful, while here.
You have no idea that the joys of heaven
have made them worse. Choose their
Christ, and you may have their heaven.
They went in washed through the blood
of the Lamb, and you must have the same
glorious a0luuon. With holy violence !
put my bands on you to-day to push you
on toward the immediate choice of this
only Saviour. Have Him you must, OIL
perish world without end. Elect this
moment as the one of cOntrition and
transport. Oh, give one intense, earnest
believing, loving gaze into the wounds
opened for your eternal salvation!
Some of you l confront for the first and
the last time until the judgment, and
then we shall meet. Will you be ready