The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1889-04-18

successfully preach no more religion and
will successfully talk no more religion
than we ourselves have.
What if we could get this whole genera
ton saved! These people who are living
with US the same year and amid the same
stupendous events, and flying toward the
future swifter than eagles to their prey.
We can not stop. They can not stop. We
think we can stop. We say: ''Come now,
my friend, let US stop and discuss this
subject" but we do not stop. The year
does not stop, the day does not stop, the
hours do not stop. The year is great
wheel, and there is a band on that wheel
that keeps it revolving, and as that wheel
turns it turns three hundred and sixty-five
smaller wheels, which are the days, and
then each of these three hundred and
sixty-fve wheels turn twenty-four smaller
wheels, which are the hours, and these
twenty-four smaller wheels turn sixty
smaller wheels, which are the minutes,
and these sixty smaller wheels turn
sixty more smaller wheels, which are the
seconds, and they keep rolling, rolling, roll
ing, mounting, mounting, mounting, and
switching, switching, switching. Oh,
Godl if our generation is going like that,
and we are going with them, waken US to
the short, but tremendous opportunity. I
confess to you that my one wish is to
serve this generation, not to antagonize
it, not to damage it, not to rule it, but to
serve it. would like to do something to-
ward helping unstl ap its load, to stop its
tears, to balsam it's wounds, and to induce
it to put foot on the upward road, that has
at its terminus reclamation rapturous and
gates pearline, and garlands amaranthine,
and fountains rainbowed, and dominIons
enthroned and coroneted, for I can not
forget that lullaby in the closing words of
my text: David, after he had served his
own generation by the will of God, fell on
Sleep"
And what a lovely sleep it was. I'm
flial Absalom did not trouble it. Am
bilious Adonijah did not worry it. Per-
scouting Saul did not harrow it. Exile
did not fill it with nightmare. Since a
red-headed boy amid his fathers focks at
night, he had not had such good sleep.
At seventy years of age he lay down to it.
He has had many troubled sleep, as in
the caverns Of Adullam or in the palace
at the time his enemies were attempting
his capture. But this was q peaceful
sleep, calm sleep, a restful sleep, a
glorious sleep. "After he had served his
generation by the will of God, he fell on
Sleep" Oh, what good thing is sleep
after hard days work. It takes all the
aching out of the head and all the weari-
ness out of the limbs and all the smarting
out of the eyes. From it we
rise in the morning and it is a
new world. And if we, like David,
serve our generation, we will, at life's
close, have most desirable and refresh
ing sleep. In it will vanish our last
fatigue of body, our last worriment of
mind, our last sorrow Of soul. To the
Christians body that was hot with raging
fevers so that the attendants must, by
sheer force, keep on the blankets, it will
be the cool sleep. 70 those who are thin
blooded and shivering with agues, it will
be the warm sleep. To those who, be-
cause of physical disorders were terrified
with night visions, it will be the dream
less sleep. To nurses and doctors and
mothers who were wakened almost every
hour Of the night by those to whom they
ministered or over whom they watched,
it will be the undisturbed sleep. To those
who could not go to bed till late at night
and must rise early in the morning and
DNAOAN Swung AOobON4s ~ WILL DO llC 1OA2
sleep.
Why will you keep us all so nervous
talking about that which is only dormi-
tory and pillowed slumber, canopied by
angels wings? Sleepl Transporting sleep
And what glorious awakeningl You and
l have metimes been thoroughly be-
wildered after a long and fatiguing
journey; we have stopped at a friends
70, he ,3or1,A
of complete Inconsistencies we have
opened our eyes, the high-risen
sun full in our faces, and, before we could
fully collect our faculties, have said:
"Where am l? Whose house is this, and
whose are these gardens?" And then ii
has flashed upon us in glad reality. And
| should not wonder if, after we have
served our generation and, by the will of
God, have fallen on sleep, the deep sleep,
the restful sleep, we should awake in
blissful bewilderment and for little
while say: "Where am 1? What place
is this? Who hung this upholstery? What
fountains are those tossing in the light!
Why, this looks like Heaven? It is.
1t is. Why, there is q building grande1
than all the castles of earth heaved
Otto a mountain of splendor; that
gust be the palace of Jesus. And, look
There, at those walks lined with foliage
more beautiful than any thing I ever saw
before, and see those who are walking
down those aisles of verdure. From
what have heard of them, those two arm
in arm must be Moses and Joshua, him
of Mount Sinai and him of the halting
sun over Ajalon. And those two walking
arm in arm must be John and Paul, the
! one so gentle and the other so mighty.
And those two with the robes as brilliant
as though made out of the cooled-of
flames of martyrdom, must be John Huss
and Hugh Latimer.
But l must not look any longer at those
gardens of beauty, but examine this build
ing in which have just awakened. l look
out of the window this way and that and
up and down, and find it is mansion of
immense size in which I am stopping.
All its windows are agate and its colon
nades Of porphyry and alabaster. WINS,
l wonder if this is not the house of
''many mansion" of which l used t.
read? 1t is, it is. There must be many
of my kindred and friends in this
very mansion. Hark! whose are those
voices, whose are those bounding feet? |
open the door and see, and 10! they are
coming through all the corridors and 40
and down all the stairs, our long-absent
kindred Why there is father fhara Is