Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1888-06-16

tations that drink its substance and
impoverish its existence. Since God
withdrew his presence from this
earth of ours, 1t has been so, and will
be till the end of time. In every
land there is death of love, fam
inc of good, a pestilence of sin. The
universal cry of the impoverished
soul is freedom, peace, and life; for
freedom from the environments of
sin, for peace in the pursuit of its
highest interests, for life unalloyed
with mortality.
Whence can its cravings be salts
fed? Such has been the all absorb
ing question for six thousand years.
Mankind has endeavored in many
ways to satisfy the. SOULS longings,
some by self service, the qualification
of fleshly desires, some by sacrificing
their lives for fame in science, poll
tics or war, some by bowling down to
mammon and bartering their hearts
for gold, each in the end to find the
unsatisfed spirit still beating its
wings against its prison walls seeking
for life. Is there no escape? No
possible restitution?
Hear this message from Heaven:
"For We know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that though he was
rich, yet for your sakes he became
poor that we through his poverty
might be rich" Wonderful conde-
cension! Infinite love!
Then it is to Christ we must look
for the riches of the soul for life, and
to God "who giveth to all men liber-.
ally and upbraideth not" unto Him
the soul may flee for refuge from the
temptations of earth,
Eternal life given by this grace is
the gem that enriches and lifts to the
noblest plane of existence, and is con-
ditioned upon religion, beautiful, true
living, whose very atmosphere is
prayer, love and truth. The divine
lawgiver has commanded that 1--WE
live soberly, righteouly and godly in
this present world" Life is beauty,
action, power; each being is the en-
bodiment of a divine intention and is
charged with divine purpose, moth
ing short of its fulfillment will please
the author of our being. True honor
and joy are not derived from the
great wonderful things of life so
much as the little things which make
up the web of existence and distill in
men the spirit of their worthy char
acters. Nothing pays so well in the
eternal reckoning as the little deeds
of sympathy and kindness of our fell
low men. "He prayeth best who
loveth BEST" ay! he liveth best,
"who loveth best all things both
great and small" He who over
looks the little things of life loses
most of its sweets. Twas for this
that we were given different stations,
dispositions and cares, that each
might share with the other his joys
and sorrows and both be enriched by
the exchange. Some one has beauti-
fully said: "The worlds history is a
divine poem of which the history of
every nation is a canto and of every
man word. The record of every
Orphans sigh, of every widows
prayer, of every noble deed, of every
honest heart throb for the right is
swelling that gentle strain, and when
at last the great end is attained, when
the lost image of God is restored to
the human soul, when the church
anthem can be pealed forth without a
discordant note, then will angels join
in the chorus, and all the sons of God
again shout for joy"
His crown will be brightest in
heaven whose willing hands have
borne most good to earth's poor; his
happiness most complete whose low
ing heart has relieved most suffering.
The soul that has been faithful to
its trust, when its work is done, will
burst its iron letters, earthly ties, and
with one eXuHant bound shall stand
knocking for admittance into heaven.
Death to the righteous is but the be-
ginning of life, for then shall the sin
burdened soul first realize the glori-
GUS gift of Immortality.
There is work then to do, but
'Haste not years can neer atone,
For one reckless action done !
Rest not Life is sweeping by,
Do and dare before you die:
Something mighty and sublime
Leave behind to conquer time;
Glorious it's to live for aye
When these forms have passed AWAY