Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1889-05-23
SPRINGS OF JOY.
THE GATES OF HEAVEN AJAR
TaImags Tells of the Pleasures OF a
Real Christian Life.

TEXT: "Thou hast giUen me south land;
giue me also springs Of todter. Aud he gdrt
her the upper springs, aud the neither
springs Joshua xv, 10.
The City Of Debir was the Boston of antiq.
uity-a great place for brain and books. Ca.
leb wanted ii, and he offered his daughter
Achsah as prize to any one who would cap
ture that city. II was G strange thing for
Caleb to do; and yet the man who could take
the city would have, at any rate, two ele
ments Of manhood-brayery and patriotism.
With Calebs daughter as prize TO fight for,
Cen Othniel rode into the battle The gates
of Debir were thundered into dust, and tho
city of books lay at the feet Of the conquer
ors. The work done, Othnei comes
back to claim his bride. Having con-
quered the city, it is no great job for him to
conquer the girls heart; for however faint
hearted woman herself may be, she always
loves courage in q man. never saw an eX-
ception to that. The wedding festivity hav-
ing gone by, 0thniel and Achsah are about
to go to their new home. However loudly
the cymbals may clash and the laughter ring,
parents are always sad when fondly cher
ished daughter goes off to stay; and Achsah,
the daughter OF Caleb knows thatnow is the
time to ask almost anything she wants OF her
father. It seems that Caleb, the good old
man, had given as wedding present to his
daughter piece of land that was mountain
Gus, and sloping southwark toward the
deserts of Arabia, swept with some very hot
winds II was called "a south land" But
Achsah wants an addition Of property; she
wants q piece Of land that is well wutered
and fertile. Now it is no wonder that Caleb
standing amidst the bridal party, his eyes SO
full of tears because she was going away that
he could hardly see her at all, gives her more
than she asks. She said to him: 'Thou hast
given rue south land; give me also springs
Of water. And he gave her the upper
springs, and the neither springs"
What suggestive passage! The tact Is,
that as Caleb, the father, gave Achsah, the
daughter, south land, SO God gives to us
His world / am very thankful He has
given it to us. But I am like Achsah in the
fact that I want a larger portion. Trees
and flowers, and grass, and blue skies are
very well in their places; but he who has
nothing but this world for a portion has no
portion at ALL 1t is a mountainous land,
Sloping Off toward the desert of sorrow,
swept by fiery siroccos; it is "a south land, q
Door portion for any man that tries to put his
trust in it, What has been your experienced
What has been the experience of every
man, of every woman that has tried this
world for n portion? Queen Elizabeth,
amid the surroundings Of pomp, is unhappy
because tho painter sketches too minutely
the wrinkles on her face, and she Indignantly
cries out: "You must strike off my likeness
without any shadowsr' Hogarth, at the
very height Of his artistic triumph, is stung
almost to death with chagrin because the
painting he had debated to the King does
not seem to be acceptable: for George III.
cries out: "Who is this Hogarth? Take
his trumpery out Of my presence" Brins-
ley Sheridan thrilled tho earth with
bis eloquence but had for his last
words: II am absolutely undone." Walter
Scott, fumbling around the inkstand
Drying to write, says TO his daughter: 'Oh.
take me back to my room; there is no rest for
Sir Walter but in the grave" Stephen
Girard, the wealthiest man in his day, or, at
any rate, only second in wealth, says: II
live the life of galley slave; when arise in
the morning my one effort is to work so hard
that I can sleep when it gets to be night"
Charles Lamb applauded OF all the world, in
the very midst Of his literary triumph says:
'Do you remember, Bridget, when VIC used
to laugh from the shilling gallery at the
play? There are now no good plays to laugh
at from tho boxes" But why go so far as
that? 1 used to go no further than your
street to find an illustration of what am
saying
Pick me out ten successful worldlings-
without any religion, and you know what
mean by successful worldlings-pick me out
ten successful worldlings, and you cannot
find more than one that looks happy. Care
drags him across the bridge; care drags him
back. Take your stand at o'clock at the
corner Of Nassau and Wall streets, or at
the corner of Canal street and Broadway, ant
see the agonized physiogomies. You
bankers, your insurance men, your in
porters, your wholesalers, and your retailers
us q class-as class arc they happy? No
Care dogs their steps; and, making no appea
to God for help or comfort they are tossec
everywither. How has it been with you, my
,4nfIi flnI, ,,,,tc
of fourteen rooms than you Torc in the tWt
rooms you had in q house when you started
Have you not had mere care and worrimen
since you won that fifty thousan'
dollars than you did before? Some of tn
poorest mon have. over known have bee
those of great fortunc A man ofsmail mean
may be put in great business straits, but tn
ghastlieSt OF all embarrassmentS is that OF th
man who has large estates. The men wh
commit suicide because Of monetary losse
are those who cannot bear the burden an
more, because they havo only q hundrc
thousand dollars left.
On Bowling Green, New York, there is
house where Talleyrand used to CO. He wa
q favorite man. All the world knew him, an
he had wealth almost unlimited yet, nt tt
close Of his life he says: "Behold, eight,
three years have passed without any pract
cal result, save fatigue of body and fatigr
of mmd, great encouragement for the futuT
and great disgust for the past" Oh, m
friends, this is "a south land" an
it slopes off toward desserts of sol
rows; and the prayer which Achsah mad
to her father Caleb, we mako this day to ou
Father God: "Thou has given me a sout
land; give me also springs of water. An
he .gavo them the upper springs, and tn
neither springs"
Blessed be God! We have more adval
tages given us than we can really appreciate
We have spiritual blessings offered us in thi
and glories in the world to come which shal
call the upper springs. t.-
Where shall finds words enough threade
with light to set forth the pleasure of re
ligion? David unable to describe it in words
played it on harp. Mrs. Hcmans, not find
ing enough power in prose, sings that prais
in canto. Christopher Wren, unable to dc
scribe it in language, sprung it into tn
arches Of ST. Paul's. John Bunyan unabl
to present it in ordinary phraseology, take
oil the fascination Of allegory. Handel, witt
ordinary music unable to reach tho height o
the theme, rouses it up i'll an oratorio. Oh
there is no life on earth so happy as reall,
Christian life. do not mean a sham Chris
there is thorn, there is q whole garland o
roses Where there is one .groan, there ar
three doxologies. Where there is one day o
cloud, there is u whole season of sunshine
Take the humblest Christi an man tha
you l1now-angels of God canopy hin
with their white wings; the lightnings Q
heaven are his, armed allies; the Lord Is hi
Shepherd, picking out for him green pas
lures by still waters; if he walk forth, HEAVIER
is his body guard; If he, lie down to sleep
ladders Of light, angel blossoming, are le