St. Landry democrat., 1888-07-14

1
| die for thee"
Again, remark that Christ is precious
| 30 the believer as friend Youhave COM
| mercial friends and you have family
| friends. To the commercial friend you
I go when you have business troubles. You
can look back to some day--it m-y have
| been ten or twenty years ago-when, if
| you mad not had taat friend, you would
have been entirely overthrow in bust
ness. But / want to tell you this morning
of Jesus, the best business friend a man
ever had. He can pull you out Of the
worst perplexities. There are people in
| this audience who have got in the habit
| of putting down all their worldly troubles
| at the feet of Jesus. Why, Christ meets
| the business man on the street and says:
| 'Oh, business man, l know all thy
| troubles. will be with thee. Twill see
J thee through" Look out how you try to
| corner or trample on a man who is back
ed up by the Lord God Almighty. Look
| out how you trample on Him. oh, there
| is financier that many of our business
| !ne1 have not found out. Christ owns all
| the boards OF trade, all the insurance
companies and all the banking houses.
| They say that the Vanderbilts own the
railroads; but Christ owns the Wander
| bllts and the railroads, and all the plot
tlngs of stock gamblers shall be put to
confusion, and God, with his little finger,
shall wipe out their Infamous projects.
How often it has been that we have seen
| men gather up riches by fraud, in
pyramid OF strength and beauty, and the
Lord came and blew on it and it was
gone; while there are those here to-day
who, if they could speak out in this as
semblage, or dared to speak out, would
say:
1.-THE best friend had in 1887, the best
friend / had in 1857, the best friend had
at the opening of the war, the best friend
| ever had, has been the Lord Jesus
Christ would rather give up all other
friends than this one"
But we have also family friends. They
come in when we have sickness in the
household. Perhaps they say nothing;
but they sit down and they weep as the
light goes out from the bright eyes, and
the white petals of the lily are scattered
in the blast of death. They watch through
the long night by the dying couch, and
then, when the spirit has gone, soothe you
with great comfort. They say: stDon't
cry. Jesus pities you. All is we'll, You
will meet the lost one again" Then.
when your son went off, breaking your
heart, did they not come and put the stsry
in the very best shape aud prophes the
return of the prodigal9 Were they not
in your house when the birth angel
Mapped its wings over your dwelling?
And they have been there at the baptisms
and at the weddings Family friends!
But have to tell you that Christ is the
best family friend. 0, blessed is that
cradle over which Jesus bends. Blessed
is tkat nursery where Jesus walks.
Blessed is that sick brow from which
Jesus wipes the dampness. Blessed is
that table whar Jesus breaks the bread.
Blessed is that grave where Jesus stands
W 18th his SCARED feet ON the upturned sod.
saying:
81 am the resurrection and the life; he
that believeth in Me, though he were
dead, yet shall he live"
ttGod is our refuge and strength, an
ever-present help in time of trouble;
therefore we will not fear, though the
earth be removed, though the mountains
be carried into the midst of the sea, though
the waters thereof roar and be troubled,
though the mountains shake with the
swelling thereof. Selah."
The other day there was a sailor who
came into the Bethel in New York and
said:
'tMy lads Che was standing among the
sailors) / don't know what's the m after
with me. used to hear a good deal about
religion and about Jesus Christ. don't
know that / have any religion, or that
know any thing much about Christ, but
when was in mid Atlantic looked up
one day through the rigging and there
seemed to come light through my soul. I
have felt different ever since, and l love
those that once hated. and feel a JOY I
can't tell you. I really don't know what
is the matter with me-"
A rough sailor got up and said:
@My lad, I know what's the matter of
you. You have found Jesus. 1t is enough
to make any man happy"
His worth, If all the nations knew,
Sure the whole earth would love him too.
Iremark aga in: Chris. is precious to
the believer, as final deliverer. GU
and must after awhile get out Of this
world. Here and there, one perhaps may
come on to eighty, to ninety years of age,
but your common sense tells you that the
next twenty-five years will land the ma
jority of this audience in eternity. The
next ten years will thin out a great many
of these family circles. This day may do
the work for some of us. Now, why do
say this? To scare you? No; but just as
/ would stand In your Office. il / were a
business man and you were business
man, and talk over risks. You do not
consider it cowardly to talk in your store
over temporal risks Is it base in US this
to talk little while over the
risks of the soul, that are for eternity?
In every congregation death has the last
year been doing great deal OF work.
Where is your father? Where is your
mother? your child? your brother? your
sister? o, how cruel does death seem to
bel VIII he pluck every flower? Will
be poison every fountain? Will he put
black on every door-knob? W ill he snap
every heart-string: Can keep nothing?
Are there no charmed weapons with
which to go out and contend against him?
Give me some keen sword, sharpened in |
Gods armory, with which / may stab him
through. Give me some battle-a axe that
may clutch it, and hew him from helmet |
to sandal. Thank God, thank God. that |
he that rideth on the pale horse hath |
more than match in him who rideth on
the white horse. st, John heard the con- |
test. the paving Of the steeds, the rush,
the battle cry, the onset, until the pale |
horse came down on his launches, and
Il