Milford chronicle., 1889-02-15
how WAY WE sERvE ouR eENERArIoN4

while we put forth no effort to clothe and
! feed and save his soul. Time is a little piece
broken off a great eternity. What are we
doing for the soulsof this present generation?
Let me say it is a generation worth saving.
Most magnificent men and women are in it.
T We make great ado about the improve
ments in navigation and in locomotion and
/ in art and machinery We remark what
wonders of telegraph and telephone and
stethoscope. What improvement is electric
light over tallow candlel But all
these improvements are insignificant COM
pared with the Improvement in the
human race. In olden times, once in
while, great and good man or woman would
come up and the world has made a great fuss
about it ever since, but now they are so
numerous we scarcely speak about them
We put halo about the people Of the past,
but think if the times demanded them it
would be found we have now living in this
year 1889 fifty Martin Luthers, fifty George
Washingtons, fifty Lady Huntingtons, fifty
Elizabeth Frys During our civil war more
splendid warriors in the north and south
were developed in four years than the whole
world developed in the previous twenty
years. challenge the four thousand years
before the food and the eighteen centuries
after the food to show me the equal Of
charity on a largo scale Of George Peabody.
This generation of men and women is more
worth saving than any of the one hundred
and eighty generations that have passed off.
But where shall ebeginl With ourselves
That is the pillar from which we must start
Prescott, the blind historian, tells us how
Pizarro saved his army for the right when
they were about deserting him. With his
sword he made a long mark ON the ground
He said my men, on the north side are de-
sertion and death, ON the south side is victory;
ON the north side Panama and poverty, on
the south side Peru with all its riches
Choose for yourselves; for my part l go to
the south" Stepping across the line one by
one his troops followed, and finally his whole
army. The sword of Gods truth draws the
dividing line today One one side Of it are
sin and ruin and death, on the other side are
pardon and usefulness and happiness and
heaven. You cross from the wrong side to
the right side, and your family will cross with
you and your friends and your associates.
The way you go they will go. If we are not
saved we will never save any one else. How
to get saved2 Be willing to accept
Christ, and then accept him instsntaneously
and forever. Get on the Rock first and
then you viii be able to help others upon the
same Rock. Men and women have been
saved quicker than have been talking about
it, What, without prayer! Yes. What,
without time deliberately to think it overl
Yes. What, without a tear? Yes, Believed
That is ALL Believe whatl That Jesus died
to save you from sin and death and he'll.
VIII you2 Do youa You have. Something
makes me think you have. New light has
come into your countenances. Welcome!
Welcome! Hall Haill Saved yourselves,
how are you going to save othersl By testi-
mony. Tell it to your family. Tell 1t to
your business associates. Tell it everywhere.
We will successfully preach no more religion
and will successfully talk Ee more religion
than we ourselves have.
BEHAVE WELL YOURSELVES.
The most of that which you do to benefit
the souls of this generation, you viii effect
through your own behavior. Go wrong and
that viii induce others to go wrong. Go
Ilf8ul anu llldl Will OlAlcl5 " Eb
When the great centennial exhibition was
being held in Philadelphia the ques-
tion came up among the directors as to
whether they could keep the exposition open
on Sundays, when a director, no was
a man of the world from Nevada, arose and
said, his voice trembling with emotion and
tears running down his cheeks: Il feel like
returned prodigal Twenty years ago went
west and into a region where we had no Sab
bath, but today old memories come back to
me and remember what my glorified mother
taught me about keeping Sunday, and I seem
to hear her voice again and feel as did
when every evening l Bnelt by her side in
prayer. Gentlemen, 1 vote for the observ-
ance of the Christian Sabbath" And he
carried everything by storm, and when the
question was put, ''Shall we open the exhi-
bition on Sabbathl it was almost unanimous,
"No," NO What one man can 90 ifEhe
does right, boldly right, emphatically right
What if We could get this whole generation
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 cannot stop
They cannot 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 hour does not stop. The year is a great
wheel, and there is a land 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-ive wheels
turn twtnty-four smaller wheels, which are
- ss-.a-~ e-z-r r@sa<-Ea .n-a
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, rollinR
rolling, mounting, mounting mounting,
swiftening swiftening, switching. Oh, Cod
if our generation is going like that and we
are going with them, waken us to the short
but tremendous opportunity 1 confess to
you that my one wish is to sarve this genera
tion, not to antagonize it, not to damage it,
not to rule it, but to serve it. would like to
do something toward helping unstrap its
load, to stop its tears, to balsam its wounds,
and to induce it to put foot on the upward
road that has at its terminus acclamation
rapturous and gates pearhne, and garlands
amaranthine, and fountains rainbowed, and
dominions enthroned and coroneted, for ]
cannot forget that lullaby in the closing
words Of my text this morning; David,
after he had served his own generation, fell
asleep"
And what a lovely sleep it was. Unflial
Absalom did not trouble it. Ambitious
Adonijah did not worry it. Prosecuting
Saul did not harrow it. Exile did not fill it
with nightmare Since red headed boy
amid his fathers hocks at night, he had not
had such good sleep At 20 years Of age
he lay down to it. He had had many
troubled sleep, as IN the eaverns of Adullam
or in the palace at the time his enemies were
attempting hiscapture But this was a peace
ful sleep, a calm sleep, restful sleep, glori-
Gus sleep. after he had served his genera