Milford chronicle., 1889-01-25

hand on the door bell, and, behold it was
wrapped with the signal Of bereavement, and
you found thGt Amalel1itish Death, which
has devastated a thousand other households,
had blasted yours You 90 about weeping
amidst the desolation Of your once happy
home. thinking Of the bright eyes closed, and
the noble hearts stopped, and the gentle
hands folded, and you weep until you have
no more power to weep ziklag Is ashesl |
OUR zrKLAo IN ASHES
A gentleman went to friend Of mine in
the city of Washington, and asked that
through him he might get a consulship to
some foreign port My friend said to him;
what do want to 20 away from your beauti-
full home for, into a foreign port" "Oh, be
replied, my home Is gonel My six children
are deadl must get away, sir | can't
stand it in this country any longer" ziklag
In ashesl
Why these long shadows Of bereavement
ecross this audiencel Why is it that IN al
most every assenblage black is the pFedoml-
nant color Of the APPAREL Is it because you
do not like saffron or brown or violetl Oh,
mol You say: THE world Is not so bright
to US as it once was;n and there Is story Of
silent voices, and Of still feet, and Of loved
ones gone, and when you look over the hills,
expecting only beauty and loveliness, you
find only devastation and woe ziklag in
ashesl
In Greene county, Newl York, the village
church was decorated until the fragrance Of
the flowers was almost bewildering. The
maidens of the village had emptied the place
of flowers upon one marriage altar. One OF
their own number was aiiianced to a minis
ter Of Christ, who had come to take her to
his home With hands joined, amidst con-
~ ful~
In three days from that time one Of those
who stood at the altar exchanged earth for
heaven. The wedding march broke down
into the funeral dirge There were not
enough flowers now for the coffin lid, because
they had all been taken for the bridal hour.
The dead minister of Christ is brought to
another village He had gone out from
them less than a week before in his
strength; now he comes home lifeless The
whole church bewailed him. The solemn
procession moved around to look upon the
still face that once had beamed with mes
sages Of salvation. Little children were
lifted up to look at him And some of those
whom he had comforted in days of sorrow,
when they passed that silent form, made the
place dreadful with their weeping Another
village emptied Of its 6owers-some Of them
put in the shape Of cross to symbolic his
hope, others put in the shape Of crown to
symbolic his triumph A hundred lights
blown out In one strong gust from the open
door of a sepulcher. Ziklag in ashes
preach this sermon today because / want
to rally you, as David rallied his men, for the
recovery Of the loved and the lost. want
not only to win heaven, but | want all this
congregation tQ 60 along with me. feel
that somehow have responsibility In your
arriving at that great city. | have on other
sabbaths used other inducements. mean
today, for the sake of variety, hoping to
reach your heart, to try another kind Of in
ducement. Do you really want to join the
companionship Of your loved ones who have
gonei Are you as anxious to join them as
David and his men were to join their feml-
/ LEST Then am here, in the name Of God, to
say that you may and to tell you how.
4 remark, in the first place, if you want to
/ join your loved ones In glory, you must
/ travel the came way they went. No sooner
had the half dead Egyptian been resuscitated
/ than he pointed the way the captors and the
captives had gone, and David and his men
followed after. So our Christian friends
have gone into another country, and it we
want to reach their companionship we must
take the same road. They repented; we must
repent. They prayed; we must pray. They
trusted in Christ; we must trust in Christ.
They lived a religious life; we must live
religious life. They were in some things like
ourselves. | know, now that they are gone,
there is a halo around their names, but
they had their faults. They said and diq
things they ought never to have said
or done. They were sometimes rebelious,
sometimes cast down. They were far from
being perfect So suppose that when we
s.. Al,k 1rr
only tolerable may be almost resplend-
ent But, as they were like us in deficiencies,
we ought to be like them In taking supernal
Christ to make up for the deficits. Had it
not been for Jesus, they would have all per-
ished; but Christ confronted them and said;
~ am the way" and they took It
THE CAPTIvE's PATH UNPLEASANT.
have also to say to you that the path that
these captives trod was troubled path, and
that David and his men had to go over the
same difficult way While these captives
were being taken of they said; "Oh, we are
SO tired; we are so sick; we are SO hungryW
But the men who had charge Of them said:
"Stop this crying. Go onl" David and his
men also found it hard way. They had to
travel it. Our friends have gone into glory,
and it is through much tribulation that we
are to enter into the kingdom How our
loved ones used to have to struggled how
their old hearts achedl how sometimes they
had a tussle for breadl In our childhood we
wondered why there were so many wrinkles
on their faces We did not know that what
were called scrow's feet on their faces were
the marks Of the black raven OF trouble Did
Won never hear the old people, seated by ths
evening stand, talk over their carly trials,
their hardships, the accidents, the burials,
the disappointments, the empty flour barrel
when there were so many hungry ones tc
feed, the sickness almost unto death, where the
next dose Of morphine decided between
CHASTITY bereavement and an unbroken home
circlei Oh, yesl it was trouble that whitened
their hair. It was trouble that shook the
cup in their hands. It was trouble that
washed tho luster from their eyes with the
rain Of tears until they needed spectacles. i
was trouble that made the cane necessity
for their journey. Do you never remember
seeing your old mother sitting, on some rainy
day. looking out of the window, her elbow
on the window sill, her hand to her brow
looking out. not seeing the falling shower al
oil VOC well knew she was looking into the
distant past, until the apron came up to hel
eyes, because the memory was too much fol
herl
Oft the big, unbidden tear,
Stealing down the furTowed cheek,
Told In eloquence sincere,
Tales Of WOO they could not speak.
But this scene Of weeping Ger,
Past this scene Of toll and pain,
They shall feel distress no more,
, Never. never weep again.
"Who are these under the altarp th'
, question was asked; and the response came
'sThess are they which came out Of grca
| tribulatioa, and have washed their robes, ans
> made them white In the blood Of the lamb.
: Our friends went by path Of tears int
, glory. Be not surprised Il we have to trave
the same pathway.
, remark. again. If we want to win tho 50
5 ciety Of our friends in heaven, We viii noi
P only havo to travel path Of faith aud patti
< Of tibulatior but we viii also have 70 posi-