West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1888-08-30


style no would throw hfm into the river he
replied: TEL tho king that i will reach
heaven sooner by water than he will reach il
Dy last horses" A certain amount OF Derse-
cution is tonic and Inspiration but too
much OF 1t. and too long continued, becomes
the rock Bolez, throwing a dark shadow
over mans life. What is no TO do them
60 honey say. Good advice that That is
just the place for man TO 90 when the world
abuses MIN. Go homa. Blessed be God for
our quiet and sympathetic homes. But there
Is many a man who mas the reputation of
having home when he has none. Through
unthnkingness or precipitation there are
many matches made that ought never to
have been made. An officiating priest can
nor alone unite couple. The Lord AL
mighty must proclaim banns. There Is
many home in which there Is no sympathy
and no happiness, and no good cheer. The
clnmor OF the battle may not have been
heard outside, but God knows, notwthstand-
ing all the playing OF the 'Wedding March,
and all the odor of the orange blossoms,
and the bene1iction Of the officiating pastor,
there has been no marriage.
Sometimes men have awakened 10 find on
one side OF them the rock OF persecution, and
on the other side tho rock of domestic in
felicity. What shall such one dor Do as
Jonathan did-climb. Get up the heights of
dodS consolation, from which we may look
down in triumph upon outside persecution
and home trouble. While good and great
John Wesley was being sienced by the mag
istrates, and having his name written on the
very time his wife was making him as mser-
able as she could-acting as though she were
possessed with the devil as suppose She was:
9 meyer aonS MN tp X kndass until Che day shs
words; 81 did not forsake her; / have not
dismissed her; 1 will not recall her." Plant
ing one foot-John Wesley did-upon outside
persecution, and the other foot on home
trouble, he climbed up into the heights of
Christian JOY, and after preaching forty
thousand sermons, and travelling two hun
dred and seventy thousand miles, reached
the heights of heaven, though i'm this world
he had it hard enough-'a sharp rock on the
one side, and a sharp rock on the other"
i. Again, that woman stands in the crisis of
me text, who has bereavement and strgg
out mentioning names, L speak from obser-
walton. All, it is hard thing for woman
TO make an honest living, even when her
heart is not troubled, AMI she has fair
cheek and the magnetism of an exquisite
presence. But now the husband, or the
father is dead. The expenses Of the obseques
have absorbed all that was left in
the savings bank; and wan and wasted
with weeping. she goes forth-a grave
a hearse, coffin, behind her-to contend for
her existence and the existence of her chill
dren. When l see such battle as that open
L shut my eyes at the ghastliness of the
spectacle. Men sit with embroidered slip
pers and write heartless essays about women's
wages; but that question is made up OF
tears and blood, and there is more blood than
realms where she can get livelihood, from
the telegraph Office to the pulpit. Let mems
wages be cut down before hers are cut down.
Men have iron in their souls and can stand
it, Make the way free to her of the broken
heart May God put into my hand the cold
bitter cup of privation, and give me nothing
but windowless hut for shelter for many
years, rather than that after am dead there
should go out from my home into the pitilcss
world n woman's arm to fight the Gettysburg,
the Austerlitz, the Waterloo OF life for
Dread.
And yet how many women there are
seated between the rock of bereavement on
the one side, and the rock of restitution on
the other-Bozez and Seneh interlocking their
shadow and dropping them upon her miser-
able way. There is a sharp rock on the one
side. and sharp rock on the other sde.n
What are such to dol Somehow, let them
climb up into the heights of the glorious
promise; leave thy fatheress children: I
will preserve them alive, and let thy widows
trust in Ne" Or get up into tho heights of
that other glorious promise: "The Lord
preserveth the stranger and relieyeth the
widow and the fatherles'." OF ye sewing
woman ON starving wagea OF We widows
turned out from the once beautiful home. o.
ye female teachers, kept on niggardly
stipend. o. we despairing woman seeking in
vain for work, wandering along the docks, AMI
thinking TO throw yourself into the river last
night. OF We women of weak nerves and
aching sides, aud short breath and broken
heart, you need something more than human
sympathy; you need the sympathy of God.
Climb up into His arms. He knows it ALI
and He loves you more than father, or
mother, or husb1nd ever could or ever did:
and instead of sitting down, wringiug your
hands in despair, you had better begin to
climb. There are heights of consolation for
you, though now there is a sharp rock ON
the one side, and sharp rock on the other
side"
Again, that man is in the crisis Of the text
who has a wasted life on the one side. and
N illuminated of 4 On no orb
a man may all his life have cultured delibera-
ton and self-poise il he gets into that posi-
ton all his sslf-posse sion is gone. There are
all the wrong thoughts of his existence. ALI
the wrong deeds, all the wrong wOrds-strata
above strata, granite, ponderous, over
shadowing That rock call Bozez. On the
other side are all the Tetributions OF the fu-
ture, the thrones OF judgment the eternal
ages, angry with his long defiance That
rock call Seneh. Between these two rocks
Lord Byron persisted and Acibiades persisted
and lterod persisted, and ten thousand times
ten thousand have perishel. o. man immor-
tai, man redeemed man blood bought. climb
up out OF those shadows. Climb up by the
way OF the Cross. Have your wasted life
forgiven; have your eternal life secured
This morning Just take one look to the past
and see what IL has been, and take one look
70 The future and see what IL threatens TO be-
You can afford to lose your health yOu can
afford to lose your property, you can afford
20 lose your reputation: but you cannot af-
=
ing. glorious, precious, eternal possession you
must carry alOft in the day when the earth
burns up and the heavens burst
You see from my subject that when n man
goes into the safety aud peace Of the Gospel
no does not demeau himself. There Is moth
ing in religion that leads TO meanness or un-
manliness. Tho Gospel OF Jesus Christ only
asks you 70 climb as Jonathan dd-clmb to-
ward God, climb toward heaven, climb into
the sunshine OF Gods favor. To become a
Christian is not 10 go meanly down; it is to
come gloriously up-up into tho communion
OF saints. up into the peace that passoth all
understanding up into the companionship of
ange's Ho lives up: he die5up.
O! then, accept the Wholesale invitation
which make this morning 90 all the people.
Come up from between your invalidism and
financial embarrasuusnts. Come mp from
between a wasted life and an unillumined
etornity. Like Jonathan, climb with all
your might, instead OF sitting down 20 wiring
your hands in the shadow and In the dark
ness-"a sharp rock on the one side, and a
sharp rock on The other side