Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1888-03-16

for the fact that your Blll IL such a
dissipated fellow ~ The doctor re-
piled: "The promise is when he is
old he will not depart from it.
Bill is not old YETI Subsequent
years showed the wisdom of the
doctors faith. Bill got old and be.
came a Christian.
congratulate the author of my
letter on being the son of a minis
ter. 1t is a wrongful impression
that minister's children are worse
than others. DIR. Hall, in his
journal Of Health, says that in the
biographies of 100 clergymen he
finds they had 40 sons who were
clergymen, and you know that to
be q clergyman means at least
piOusly inclined. The man of this
letter must have his mind full Of
sacred "reminiscences. The pictures
on the wall of his fathers parson-
age were of "Christ's Last SUPPER"
"Rebecca at the Well,' the Egyp-
tians making terrible failure of
crossing the Red Sea. There was
scarcely a figure on the carpet or a
board in the floor that had not been
consecrated by the knee of prayer.
The people who used to 60 and
stay in that house were mostly
Christian. The talk was full of
good things, and cheerful good
things, for there are no men in the
world more fond of fun than minis
listers, nor any houses that ring
with more sportfuIness than theirs.
Get a halfdozen ministers together
If you want lively times. Religion
in the parsonage whore this man
was brought mp was happy rellg-
ion. Some day all these cOnver-
sations and prayers and preachings
and blessed memories will charge
upon his soul and capture it in five
minutes for Christ. That old Chris
tian father, gone into glory, will
vet greet this nnbelieving son.
In this letter you ask me for
counsel, and | give it. In one part
of your letter you show that your
chief study of the Bible has been
in the 9th chapter of Romans. My
advice is that for six months you
stop reading other portions of the
Bible, and read only the evangel
: ists-Matthew, Mark, Luke, and
John. "But is not all Scripture
given by inspiration Of God, and
profitable" Yes; so are all the
medicines in the apOthecaries' shops
, good and useful; but they all have
| different uses, and are to be admin
istered in different circumstances
There are alOes, and arsenic, and
opium, and Peruvian bark--al
q good in their places; ; bat in ont
. condition of the system this medi
cine may cure you, and in another
it will kill you. Now, I say tha
e the 9th chapter of Romans, whicl
n is a glorious tonic to strong Chris
o tians, is to you, in your presen
G condition, arsenic. And, if yor
c don't stop taking it-at any rat
). in such large quantitles-it will xii
I you. You have asked me to pre-
a scribe; and now, in the name o
A the Great Physician, I ask if yol
= will take the prescription YoI
r will never reason your way out o
k these peTplexities.
g If you bad been sailing in on
| direction for five years for Liver
l. pool and not found it, you woul'
=. think it time to try another direc
e ton, and now that you have 10
t. thirty or forty years tried to fn'
n the harbor of peace and have no
!, come in sight of port, any Chris
If tian sailor would tell you to let e
y the iib.sheet and brace around tn
r head yards, taking another tack
y In your present spiritual inyalidisr
n you cannot digest strong meat
10 You can take nothing but the SSH
cere milk How dare you ris
d Yourself now in the 9th chapter
10 Romans You 60 out to conten
20 in that field where strong ChrI
Z tians of forty years standing haY
Z. been cOnfounded. In other word
the first time you take a mnsket
u. your hand you try a Waterloo
at The devil has had his way wit
,p you long enough. He has robbie
r you OF the peace of a whole Inf
ve time, and is now trying to strang
&. your immortality.
ne You say you have been advise
is by Christian people to sacrifice G
IN this subject your reasoning facult
r. | give You no such wretched cou1
I'd sci. Hold your augmentation
20 reserve. The infantry march I'M
I'd the fight on the plain. The bate
rt les are on the hill, and will in DIT
he time be unimbered. SO 60 in
te the discussion with your heart
Hold your logic and argument
% reserve for later period of Il
or conflict. Before you get throuG
,st your earthly battles YOU will net
or not only mimic rifles, but coluI
tv biads.
by Does not this letter tear off
lis the gloss and fascination OF skep
al. cismi There is time in your
on mans life when he thrusts his fl
nj. per i'm the armhOle of his We.