The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1889-03-21

1880 AS@c-f
about fatality accompanying Sabbath
work is a perfect sham. My corn is
garnered and all is WELL" But before
many weeks passed the Lord God struck
that barn with His lightning and away
went the Sunday crop.
Again, I remark, we ought to have IN the
Sabbath the joy of domestic reunion and
| conservation. There are some very good
parents who have the faculty of making
| the Sabbath great gloom. Their chill
dren run up against the wall of parental
righteousness on that day. They are
sorry when Sunday comes, and glad when
itsgoes away. They think of every thing bad
on that day. 1t is the worse day to them,
really, in all the week. There are persons
who, because they were brought up in
Christian families, where there were
wrong notions about the Sabbath, have
gone out into dissipation and will be lost.
A man said to me: 81 have perfect dis
gust for the Sabbath. I never saw my
father smile on Sunday. 1t was such a
dreadful day to me when was O boy,
never got over it, and never will" Those
parents did not "call the Sabbath de-
| lights" they made it a gloom. But there
are houses represented here this morning
where the children say through the week:
81 wonder when Sunday will comew
They are anxious to have it come. hear
their hosanna in the house; hear their
hosanna IN the school. God intended the
| Sabbath to be especially day for the
father. The mother is home all the week.
| Sabbath day comes, and Cod says to the
| father, who has been busy from Monday
morning to Saturday night at the store or
away from home: This is your day. See
| what you can do in this little flock in pre-
| pairing them for Heaven. This day set
| apart for you"
You know very well that there are many
parents who are mere suffers of the
household; they provide the food and
| raiment. Once in awhile, perhaps, they
| hear the child read a line or two in the
new primer; or, if there be a case of es-
pecial discipline, and the mother can not
manage it, the child is brought up in the
court-martial of the fathers. discipline
and punished. That is all there is of it.
No scrutiny of that child's immortal in
| terests; no realization of the fact that the
child will soon go out in a world where
! there are gigantic and overwhelming
temptations that have swamped millions.
But in some households it is not that way;
| the home, beautiful on ordinary days, is
| more beautiful now that the Sabbath has
| dawned. There is more joy in the "good
morning." there is more tenderness in
the morning prayer. The father looks at
the child, and the child looks at the father.
The little one dares now to ask questions
without any fear of being answered:
Don't bother mel must be off to the
| store" Now the father looks at the
| child, and he sees not merely the blue
| eyes, the arched brow, the long lashes,
the sweet lip. He see in that child long
| line of earthly de5tinies; he sees in that
child an Unreasonable eternity. As he
| touches that child, he says: 81 wonder
| what will be the destiny of this little
| one?" And while this Christian father is
| thinking and praying, the sweet promise
| flows through his soul: ''Of such is the
| kingdom of Heaven" And he feels a joy,
not like that which sounds in the dance,
or is waited from the froth of the wine
| cup, or that which is like the cracking
of thorns under pot" but the joy of
domestic reunion and conservation.
Have been picturing something that is
merely fanciful, or is it possible for you
and for me to have such home as that?
| believe it is possible.
| Again, we ought to have in the Sabbath
the joy of Christian assemblage. Where
are all those people going on the Sabbath?
| You see them moving up and down the
| streets. Is it a festal day? people might
ask. Has there been some public edict
| commanding the people to come forth?
| No; they are only worshipers of God who
| are going to their places of religious serv-
ice. In what delicate scale shall l weigh
the joy Of Christian convocation? It gives
brightness to the eye, and flush to the
cheek, and pressure to the hand, and a
thrill to the heart. You see the aged man
| tottering along on his staff through the
| aisle. You see the little child lie by the
| hand of its mother. You look around
and rejoice that this is the Lords day,
and this the communion of saints. cone
Lord, one faith, one baptism" Some ia
miliar tune sets all the soul a-quiver and
a-quake with rapture. We plunge into
| some old hymn and all our cares and anxi-
| cites are bathed Off The glorious Gospel
| transports US, the Spirit desce nds, Jesus
| appears, and we feel the bounding, spread
| ing electric Joy of Christian conYocation.
| look upon the Church of God as one
vast hosanna. Joy dripping from the
baptismal font JOY glowing in the sacra-
mental cup. JOY warbling in the anthem,
/ JOJ OCetSliA5 cS d1Asb b1O SbJ6 VI 1CdV0u
with hallelujah like the voice of mighty
thunderings. Beautiful for situation!
The Joy of the whole earth in Mount Zion.
1t is the day and the place where Christ
reviews His troops, bringing them out in
companies and regiments and battalions,
riding along the line, examining the bat
tle-worn flags of past combat, and cheer
ing them on to future victories. Oh, the
| JOY of Christian assemblage!
/ Iremark also, we are to have in this
! day the JOY of eternal Sabbatism. I do not
believe it possible for any Christian to
! spend the Lords day here without think
| ing of Heaven. There is something in
the gathering of people in church on
earth to make one think of the rapt as
semblage in the skies. There is some
thing in the song of the Christian church
to make one think of the song of the eld-
ers before the throne, the harpist and the
trumpeters of God accompanying the har-
mony. The light of better Sabbath
| gilds the top of this, and earth and
Heaven come within speaking distance of
each other, the song of triumph waving
backward and forward, now tossed up by
the church of earth, now sent back by the
church of Heaven.
| Day OF all the week the best,
I ET,aflIo ~ a4o a.