Democratic messenger., 1889-06-15


gnimg down the street in tho early
light Of the morning, pale with ex-
baustimg work, not hnlf slept out with
the slumbers Of last night, tragedies
Of suffering written all over her face,
her lusterlcss eyes looking far ahead
rs though for the coming Of some
other troublei Her parents called her
Mary, or Bertha, or Agnes on the day
when they held her up to the font,
and the Christian minister sprinkledon
the infants face the washings Of holy
baptism. Her name Is changed now.
hear il in the shuttle OF the worn out
shoes. ] see il in the figure Of the
faded calico. find il in the lineaments
Of the voc bcgone countenance. Not
Mary, nor Bertha, nor Agnes. but
Hagar in the wilderness. May God
have mercy upon woman in her tolls,
her struggles, her hardships, her DESC
lation, aud may the great heart OF
Divine sympathy inclose her forever.
THE GREAT INFLUENCE OF MOTHER.
Again: ] find in this Oriental scene
the fact that every mother leads forth
tremendous dcstinies. You say. THAT
isn't an unusual scene, a mother lead
ing her child by the hand" Who is il
that she is leadingf Ishmael. you say.
Who is Ishmaeli A great nation is 10
DO founded; a nation so strong that it
is 10 stand for thousands Of years
against all the armies Of the world.
Egypt and Assyria thunder against il;
but in vain. Gaulus brings Up his
army; and his army u smitten. Alex
ander decides upon q campaign, brings
up his hosts and lies. For a long
while that nation monopolizcs the
learning Of the world. II is the nation
Of the Arabs. Who founded itl Ish-
mael, the lad that Hagaf led into
the wilderness. She had no idea she
was leading forth such dcstinies.
Neither does any mother. You pass
along the street. and see pass boys and
girls who will yet make the earth
quake with their influence. Who is
that boy at Sutton Pool, Plymouth,
England, barefooted. wading down into
the slush ard slime, until his bare foot
comes upon u piece Of glass and he
lifts il, bleeding and pain struckl That
wound in the foot decides that he be
sedentary in his life. decides that he
be a student. That wound by the
glass in the foot decides that he shall
be John Kitto, who shall provide the
best religious encyclopedia the world
has ever had provided. and, with his
other writings as well, throwing a
light upon the Word of God such as
has come from no other man in this
century. . mother mother. that lit.
tie hand that wanders over your face
may yet be lifted to hurl thunderbolts
of war. or drop benedictions. That
little voice may blasphcme God in the
grog shop, or cry: Forward" TO the
Lords hosts. rs they go out fer their
last victory My mind today leaps
thirty years ahead, aud | see mer-
chant prince Of New York. One stroke
Of his pen brings ship out Of Cam
ton. Another stroke Of his pen brings
a ship into Madras He is mighty
in all the money markets Of the
world. Who is hcl He sits today be-
side you in the Tabernacle. My mind
leaps thirty years forward from this
time. and | find myself in relief as
sociation. \ great multitude Of Chris
tim women have met together for a
generous purpose. There is one
woman in that crowd who seems TO
have the confidence Of all the Others,
and they all look up TO her for her
counsel and for her prayers. Who is
shei Today you will lind her in the
Sabbath school, while the teacher tells
her OF that Christ who clothed the
naked and fed the hungry and healed
the sick. My mind leaps forward
thirty years from now. and l find my
self in an African jungle; and
there is missionary Of the cross ad-
dressing the natives, and their dusky
countcnances are irradiated with the
glad tidings of great joy and salvation.
Who is he. Did you not hear his
voice today in the first song Of the
servicef My mind leaps forward thirty
years from now. and | find myself
looking through the wickets Of pris-
on. see u face SCARED with every
crime. His chin on his open palm.
his elbow Oh his knee-a picture Of de-
spair. As open the wicket he starts,
and hear his chain clank. Tho Jail
keeper tells me that no has been in
there now three times. First for theft,
then for arson, now for murder. He
steps upon the trap door. the rope is
fastened TO his neck, the plank falls.
his body swings into tho air. his soul
swings off into eternity Who is he,
and where is hci Today playing kite
on the city commons. Mother, you
are today hoisting throne or forging
u chain you are kindling star or
diggingA dungeon.
GREAT GROWTH OF SMALL BEGINNINGS.
A good many years ago Christian
mother sat teaching lessons Of religion
to her child; and he drank in those
lessons. She never knew that Lam
phicr would como forth and establish
the Fulton street prayer meeting, and
by one meeting revolutionize the de-
votions Of the whole earth. and thrill
the ctcrnities with his Christian influ-
encc. lamphier said il was his moth
er who brought him To Jesus Christ.
She never had an idea that she was
leading forth such dcstinics. But o,
when see mother reckless OF her
influence. raitling on toward dcstruc-
ton. garlanded for the sacrifice
with insccmly mlrth and goddess.
ness, gayly tripping ON down To ruin,
taking her children in the same dircc-
ton. | cannot help but say: There
they go, there they go-Hagar and
lshmael | tell you there are wilder
deserts than Beersheba in many Of the
domestic circles of this day. Dissi-
pated parents leading dissipated chill.
dren. Avaricious parents leading
avaricious children. Prayerless pa
rents leading prayerless children.
They go through every street, up
every dark alley, into every cellar,
along every highway. Hagar and
Ishmael! and while pronounce their
names, IL seems like the moaning Of
the death wind-llagar and lshmael
l learn one more lesson iron. this
Oriental scene, and that is, that every
wilderness has we'll in il. Hagar and
lshmael gave up TO die Hagars heart
sank within her as she heard her child
rrvinn. ssWufnRf Vvntarl wafar ~