Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1888-07-28
large DOCTORS bin to pay, or you

-" 81 uoNeoA Ois ~ pay
have lost your pocket book, or some
creditor has failed, and yOu are
thrown a.beam end. Well, brother,
yon are in glorious company. Christ
owned not the house IN which he
stopped, or the colt ON which He
rode, or tile boat iu which He sailed.
He lived in borrowed house; He
was buried in borrowed grave.
Exposed to all kinds of weather, yet
He had only one suit of clothes. He
breaktasted in the morning, and no
one c0nld possibly tell where He
could get anything to eat before
night. He would have been pro-
nonnced a financial failure. He had
to perform a miracle to get money
to pay a tax.bill. Not a dollar did
He own. Priyation of domestlcity;
privation of nutritious food; priva.
tion of a comfortable couch on which
to sleep; privation OF all worldly re-
sources.
The kings OF the earth had chased
chalices out of which to drink; but
Christ had nothing but plain cup
set up before Him, and it was very
sharp, and it was very sour. He
took the vinegar.
There also is the sQurness of be.
reavement. There were years that
passed along before your family cir.
Gle was invaded by death; hut the
moment the charmed circle was
broken, everything seemed to dis
solve. Hardly have you put the
black apparel in the wardrobe, be-
fore you have again to take 1t out.
Great and rapid changes in your
family record. You got the house
and rejoiced in 1t, but the charm was
gone as soonas the Grape lung on
the door.bell. The one upon whom
you most depended was taken away
from you. A cold marble slab lies
on your heart today. Once, as the
children romped through the house,
you put your hand over your aching
head, and said: "Oh, if | could
only have it STILL" 1t is too still
now. You lost your patience when
the tops, and the strings, and the
shells were left amid floor; but oh,
you would be willing to have the
trinkets scattered all over the floor
again, if they were scattered by the
same hands. With what a ruthless
ploughshare bereavement rips up
the heart. But Jesus knows all
about that. You cannot tell him
anything new in regard to bereave.
ment. He had only few friends,
and when He lost one it brought
tears to His eyes. fs..
Then there is the sourness of the
deathhour. Whatever else we may
escape, that acid sponge will be
pressed to our lips. | sometimes
have a curiosity to know how | will
behave when come to die. Wheth.
er | will be calm or excited-wheth
er | will be filled with Renaissance
or anticipation. I cannot say. But
come to the point, [ must and you
must. In the past six thousand years
that have passed, only two persons
have got into the eternal world
without death, and | do not suppose
that God is going to send a carriage
for MS with horses of fame, todraw
us up the sleeps of heaven; bnt |
suppose we will have to go like the
preceding generations.
There was a vessel that had been
tossed on the seas Tor a week, and
been disabled, and the supply of
water gave out, and the crew were
dying of thirst. After many days,
they saw SAIL against the sky.
They signaled it. When the vessel
came nearer, the people on the suf.
fering ship cried to the captain of
the other vessel: "Send us some
water. We are dying for lack of
water" And the captain on the
vessel that was hailed responded {:
"Dip your buckets where you are.
You are 10 the mouth of the ANA
zon, and there are scores Of miles
of fresh water all around about you,
and hundreds of feet deep" And
then they dropped their buckets
over the side of the vessel, and
brought up the clear, bright, fresh
water, and put out the fire of their
thirst. So l hail you to-day, after a
long and perllous voyage, thirsting
as you are for pardon, and thirsting
for comfort AID thirsting for eternal
life; and I ask you what is the use
of going in that death.struck state,
while all around you is the deep,
clear, wide, sparkling food of Gods
sympathetic mercy. 0, dip your
buckets, and drink, and live for
ever. Whosoever will, let him
come and take of the water of life
freely"