Milford chronicle., 1888-12-21

cumstancesi Nelson, the night before hi
last battle, said; Tomorrow / shall wiz
either peerage or a grave in Westminster
Abbey" And it does not make much differ
ence to the Christian whether be rises or fall
in worldly matters; he has everlasting re
nown any way. Other plumage may be tori
in the blast, but that soul adorned witt
Christian grace is fairer than the dove, it
wings covered with silver, and its feather
with yellow gold.
You and have found out that people VIII,
pretend to be happy are not always happy
Look at that young man caricaturing the
Christian religion, scoffing at everything
good, going into roistering drunkenness
dashing the champagne bottle to the floor
rolling the glasses from the bar room counter
laughing, shouting, stamping the floor
shrieking, Is he happyl | win go to hii
midnight pillow. will see him turn the ga!
of. | will ask myself if the pillow on which
be sleeps is as soft as the pillow on which thai
pure young man sleeps Ahl no. When he
opens his eyes in the morning, will the world
be as bright to him as to that young mar
who retired at nigh; saying his prayers, In
voking Gods blessing upon his own sou
and the souls Of his comrades, and father and
mother and brother and sister far awayi No
no His laughter will ring out from the 81.
loon so that you hear it as you. pass by, but
it is hollow laughter; in it is the swapping Of
heart strings and the rattle Of prison gates
Happy that young man happyl Let him al
high the bowl; he cannot drown an upbraid.
ing conscience. Let the balls roll through
the bowling alley; the deep rumble and the
sharp crack cannot overpower the voices Of
condemnation. Let him whirl In the dance
Of sin and temptation and death All the
brilliancy Of the scene cannot make him for.
get the last look Of his mother, as be left
home, when she said to him; "Now, my son,
you will do right, am sure you will dc
right; you will, won't your That young
man happyi Why, across every night
there fits shadows Of eternal dark
ness; there are adders coiled up in
every cup; there are vultures Of
despair striking their iron beak into his
heart; there are skeleton fingers Of grief
pinching at the throat come in amid the
clicking Of the glasses and under the flashing
of the chandeliers, and l cry; "Woei woel
The way Of the ungodly shall perish. There
is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
The way Of transgressors is hard.n Oh, my
friends, there is more joy in one drop Of
Christian satisfaction than in whole rivers OF
sinful delight. Other wings may be
drenched Of the storm and splashed Of the
tempest, but the dove that comes In through
the window Of this heavenly ark has wings
like the dove covered with silver, and her
feathers with yellow gold.
Again remark, religion is an adornment
in the style Of usefulness into which IL in
ducts man. Here are two young men. The
one has fine culture, exquisite wardrobe,
plenty of friends, great worldly success, but
he lives for himself His chief care is for his
own comfort. He lives uselessly. He dies
unregretted. Here is another young man
His apparel may not be so good, his educa-
tion may not be so thorough. He lives for
others His happiness is to make others
happy. He is as self denying as that dying
soldier, falling in the ranks, when he said;
Colonel, there is no need Of those boys tir-
Ing themselves by carrying me to the hos
pital; let me die Just where am." So this
young man of whom l speak loves God,
wants all the world to love him, is not
ashamed to carry bundle Of clothes up that
dark alley to the poor. Which Of those
young men do you admire the betterl The
one sham, the other a prince imperial
Oh, do you know Of anything, my hearer,
that is more beautiful than to SEQ q young
man start out for Christi Here is some one
falling; he lifts him up Here is a vagabond
boy; he introduces him to a mission school.
Here is family freezing to death; he carries
them a scuttle Of coal There arc eight hun.
dred millions perlshing in midnight heather
darkness; by all possible means he tries to
send to them the Gospel. He may be laughed
at, and he may bo sneered at and he may be
caricatured, but he is not ashamed to &c
everywhere, saying: 81 am not ashamed Of
the Gospel Of Christ. It is the power of God
and the wisdom Of God unto salvation" Such
young man can so through everything.
There is no force on earth or In hell that can
resist him
SIGNIFICANT sPECTAcLEs IN HISTORY.
show you three spectacles. Spectacle the
first: Napoleon passes by with the host that
went down with him to Egypt, and up with
him through Russia, and crossed the cont-
nent on the bleeding heart Of which he set
his iron heel, and across the quivering flesh
of which he went grinding the wheels Of his
gun carriages-in his dying moment asking
his attendants to put on his military boots
for him.
Spectacle the second; Voltaire, bright and
learned and witty and eloquent, with tongue
and voice and stratagem Internal, warning
with his infidelity, yet applauded by the
clapping hands Of thrones and empires and
continents-his last words, in deliIium sup
posing Christ standing hg the bedside-his
last words, Crush that wretchf'
Spectacle the third: Paul-Paul insignih-
cant in person, thrust out from all refined as
sociation, scourged, spat on, bounded like
wild beast from city to city, yet trying to
la tho ruorl1 orood and baor-ar, fls11s an
nouncing resurrection to those who mourned
at the barred gates Of the dead; speaking con- !
solations which light up the eyes Of widow
hood and orphanage, and want with glow Of
certain and eternal release; undaunted be-
fore those who could take his life, his cheek
flushed with transport and his eye on heaven;
with one hand shaking defiance at all the
foes Of earth and all the principalities Of he'll
and with the other hand beckoning messen-
ger angels to come and bear him away, as he |
says: ~ am now ready to be offered, and
the time Of my departure is at hand; l have
fought the good fight, 1 have finished my |
course, have kept the faith; henceforth |
there is laid up for me a crown Of righteous 1
ness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, |
will give me.n
Which Of the three spectacles do you most
admirel When the wind Of death struck 1
the conqueror and the infidel they were
tossed like sea gulls in a tempest, drenched of
the wave and torn of tha hurricane. their
iismal voices heard through the everlasting |
torn; but when the wave and the wind Of /
leath struck Paul, like an albatross, be made
throne Of the tempest, and one day hoated |
way into the calm, clear summer Of heaven,
brighter than the dove, its wings covered
With silver and its feathers with yellow gold.
)h, are you not in love with such areligion-a
eligion that can do so much for a man while
10 lives, and 50 much for man when he
zones to diet ] suppose you may have no
iced the contrast between the departure Of
Christian and the departure Of an infdel.
)eodorus, dying in chagrin because he could
lot compose n joke equal to the Joke uttered
It the other end of his table. zeuxis, dying
n a ft of laughter at the sketch Of an aged
yoman--a sketch made by his own hand.
dazarin, dying playing cards, his friend
holding his hands because he was unable to
lold them himself All that on one side,
compared with the departure Of the Scotch
minister, who said to his friends; II have no
u IL. q 9