The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1889-02-01


with the signal of bereavement, and you
found that Amalektish 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
in ashes!
A gentleman went to a friend of mine
in the City of Washington, and asked
that through him he might get consul
ship to some foreign port. My friend said
to him: "What do you want to go away
from your beautiful home for into a for
eign port?" S'Oh," he replied, 'Smy home
is gone! My six children are dead!
must get away, sir. 1 can't stand it in
this country any longer" Ziklag in
ashes!
Why these long shadows of bereavement
across this audience? Why is it that in
almost every assemblage black is the pre-
dominant color of the apparel? Is it be-
cause you do not like saffron, or brown, or
violet? Oh, not You say; 'sThe world is
not so bright to us as it once was;" and
there is a 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 ashes l.
In Ulster County, n. Y, 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 af-
fanced to a minister Of Christ, who had
come to take her to his home. With
hands joined, amidst oongratulatory
audience, the vows were taken. 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, be-
cause they had all been taken for the
bridal hour. The dead minister of Christ
is brought to another village. He had
gone our less than q week before in his
strength; now he comes home lifeless.
The whole church bewailed him. The SOL
emn procession moved around to look
upon the still face that once had beamed
with messages of salvation. Little chill
dren 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 ifs fiowers-some OF them put in the
shape of a cross to symbolic his hope,
others put in the shape of a crown to
symbolic his triumph A hundred lights
blown out in one strong gust from the
open door of a sepulcher. ziklag In
ashes
I preach this sermon to-day 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 1 want all this congregation to go
along with me. l feel shat somehow I
have responsibility in your arriving in
II.
used other inducements. I mean to-day,
for the sake of variety, hoping to reach
your heart to try another kind of induce
ment. Do you really want to join the
companionship of your loved ones who
have gone? Are you as anxious to join
them as David and his men were to join
their families? Then I am here in the
name of God to say that you may and to
tell you how.
remark, in the first place, if you want
to join your loved ones in glory, you must
travel the same way they went. No sooner
had the half dead Egy ptian been resusci-
tated 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 if we want to reach their companion
ship we must take the same road. They
repented; we must repent They prayed;
"
we must trust in Christ. They lived a re-
ligious life; we must live a 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 did
things they ought never to have said or
done. They were sometimes rebeliOus,
sometimes cast down. They were far
from being perfect So l suppose that
when we have gone some things in US that
are now only tolerable may be almost re-
splendent. 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 perished, but Christ
confronted them and said: 81 am the
way" and they took it.
have also to say to you that the path
that these captives trod was a troubled
path, and that David aud his men had to
90 over the same difficult way. While
these captives were being taken off, they
said: ooh, we are so tired; we are 50
sick; we are so hungry" But the men
who had charge of them said; ''Stop this
crying. Go onl" d avid and his men also
found it a 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 struggle! how their
old hearts ached how, sometimes, they
had a tussle for bread! In our childhood
we wondered why there were SO many
wrinkles on their faces. We did not
know that what were called "crOw's
feetp on their ia res were the marks Of
the black raven Of trouble. Did you
never hear the old people, seated
by the evening stand, talk over
their early trials, their hardships, the
accidents, the burials, the disappOint-
ments, the empty -four barrel when there
were so many hungry ones to feed, the
sickness almost unto death, where the
next dose Of morphine decided between
chastity bereavement and an unbroken
home circle. Oh, yes. IL was trouble that
whitened their hair It was trouble that
shook the cup in their hands Ii was
trouble that washed the luster from their
ewes with the rain Of tears, until they
needed spectacles. 1t was trouble that
made the cane a necessity for their jour
ney 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
at al1-you well knew she was looking
into the distant past-until the apron
came up to her eyes, because the me mory
was too much for her2
OFT the big unbidden tear,
Stealing down the furrowed cheek
Told in eloqueuce sincere,
Told OF VOC 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.
s@WhO are these under the ALTAR" the
question was asked. and the response
came. These are they which came out
of great trfbul0tion, and have washed
their robes, and made them white in the
blood Of the Lamb Our friends went
By 5 path Of tears into glory. BE not
surprised If we have to travel the same
pafhWay