Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-01-14

Doh DOIneF hit must %
off to the store. Z" 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 sees
in that child long line of earthly desti-
MES; he sees in that child
AN IMMEAsURABLE ETERNITY.
As he touches that child, he says: 81
wonder what viii be the destiny of this
little One?'' And while this Christian
! father is thinking and praying, the sweet
promise flows through his soul: ftOf
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-eup, or that which
is like the t'cracking of thorns under
pot - but the joy of domestic reunion
and conservation.
Have I been picturing something that
is merely fanciful, or is it possible for you
and for me to have such home as that?
I believe it is possible.
l have a statistic that I would like to
give you. A great many people, you
know, say there is nothing in the Christ
ian discipline of a household In New
Hampshire there were two neighborhoods
the one of six families, the other of five
families. The six families disregarded
the Sabbath. In time, five of these fam
lilies were broken up by the separation of
husbands and wives; the other by the
father becoming thief. Eight or nine
of the parents became drunkards, one
committed suicide, and all came to
penury. Of some forty or fifty descend
ants, about twenty are known to be
DRUNKARDs AND GAMBLERS
and dissolute. Four or five have been in
state prison. One fell in duel. Some
are in the almshouse. Only one became
a Christian, and he after first having
been outrageously dissipated. The other
five families that regarded the Sabbath
were all prospered Eight or ten of the
children are consistent members
of the church. Some of them be-
came officers in the church; one is
a minister of the Gospel; one is mission
airy to China. No poverty among any of
them The homestead is now in the
hands of the third generation. Those who
have died have died in the peace of the
gospel. Oh, is there nothing in house
hold that remembers God S holy day?
Can it be possible that those who disre-
gard the holy commandment can be
prospered for this life, or have any good
hope of the life that is to come?
Again we ought to have in the Sab
bath the joy of Christian assemblage.
Where are all those people going on the
Sabbath? You see them moving up ard
down the street. Is il 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 service. In what del
icate scale shall 1 W eigh the joy of Chris
tian convocation? It gives brightness to
Hlta.f }, 10 A1,o Oh 4
pressure to the hand, and a thrill to the
heart. You see the aged man lettering
along on his staff through the aisle. You
see the little child led by the hand of its
mother. You look around and rejoice
that this is God IS day, and this the COM
muniOn of saints. cone Lord, one
faith, one BAPTISM Some familiar
tune sets all the soul a-quiver and
a-quake with rapture. We plunge into
some old hymn and all our cares and
anxieties are bathed off. The glorious
Gospel transports us, the Spirit descends,
Jesus appears, and we feel the bound
ing, spreading; electric joy Of Christian
convection.
LOOK upon the Church of God as one
vast hosanna. Joy dripping from the
baptismal font, joy glowing i'll the sacra-
mental cup, JOY warbling in the anthem,
joy beating against the gate of heaven
with hallelujah like the voice of mighty
thunderings. Beautiful for situation!
The joy Of the whole earth is Mount Zion.
1t is the day and place where Christ
REVIEWS HIS TROOPS.
bringing them out IN companies and regf-
ments and battalions, riding along the
line, examining the battle-torn flags of
past combat, and cheering them on to
future victories. Oh, the joy OF Christian
assemblagel
l remark also, we are to have in this
day the JOY of eternal Sabbatism [ do |
not believe it possible for any Christian
TO spend the Lord g day here without
Of heaven. There is something |
in the gathering of people in church on
earth to make one think of the rapt as
semblage of the skies There is some
thing in the song of the Christian church |
to make one Think of the song of the elders |
before the throne, the harpists |
and the trumpeters of God accompanying |
the harmony. The light of better Sab |
bath 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.
ebay of all the week the best,
Emblem of eternal rest. -
The Christian man stands radiant in its |
light His bereft heart rejoices at the |
thought of a country where there is
neither coffin nor grave; his weary body !
CLOVIS at the idea of land where there
are no burdens to carry, and no exhaus-
live journey to take He eats the grapes
Of Eshcol. He stands upon the mountain
top and looks off upon the promised land
He hears the call of the eternal towers
and the tramp of the numberless multi
tude with sins forgiven. This is the day
which the Lord hath made. Let us re-
joice and be glad in it. Oh, We who have
been
HUNTING FOR SUNDAY PLEASURES
IN the street and on the river bank and
N the houses of sin, commend to you
this holy day and holy service! do not
invite you to swallow a great bitterness
Or to carry a heavy yoke, but 1 invite
you to feel in body, mind and soul the
thrill of joy which God has handed down
II the chalices of the golden Sabbath.
With what revolution and with what
pity we must look out on that large class