Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1889-02-22

to swallow great bitteruess or to carry a
heavy yoke; but invit,, you to feel In body,
mind and soul tho tbyill OF Joy which God
has banded down IN the chalices OF the golden
Sabbath.
With what revulsion md with what pity
we must look out on that large class of per-
sons IN onr lay who would throw discredit
upon the Lords day. There ere two things
which Christian people ought never TO give
bath. Take away one. and you tako both.
TRko either, and farewell to Christianity In
this country, farewell to our civil and relig-
ious liberties. When they CO. all CO. lie who
or Rome, IL he be an intelligent Christian,
will pray God that the day will never come
when tue Sabbath of Continental Europe shall
put Its foot upon our shores. had n friend
In Syracuse who lived to DO 100 years OF age
He said to me, in his ninety ninth year: al
went ncross tho mountains In the early his
tory of this country. Sabbath morning came.
We were beyond the rench of civilization.
My comrades were all going out for an oxcur-
sion. | said: No. i won't go: II Is Sunday
Why. they laughed: They said: We haven't
any Sunday here oh, yes said, you
have brought 1t with me over the noun
tains'n a,
There nrc two or three ways In which We
can war against Sabbath. breaking usages In
this day: and the first thing is to get
our Children right upon this subject, and
teach them that tho Sabbath day is tho
holiest OF NIL the Days, md tho best and tho
gladdest. Unless you tench your child under
tho patcrnal roof to keep tho Lords day,
there are nine hundred and ninety chances
out OF n thousand it will never learn to keep
tho Sabbath. You mny think to shirk re-
sponsibility in the matter and send your
child to the Sabbath and the house of
God: that will not relieve the matter.
want to tell you, in tho name of Christ my
Maker and my Judge, that your example
will 10 moro potential thnn any instruction
thcy get elsewhere: and il you disregard tho
Lords day yourself, or in my wise throw
contompt upon 1t, you are blasting your
children with an infinite curse. It Is n
rough truth, know. told in n rough way:
but 1t IL Gods truth. nevertheless Your
child may go on to seventy or eighty years
of nge, hut that child will never get over the
awful disadvantage OF having had Sab
bath-brcaking father or IL Sabbath breaking
mother. 1t is the joy of many of us TINT we
can look back to M early homo where God
wns honored, and when the Sabbath came 1t
WINS II dry of grent conservation and joy
We remeinbnr tho old faces around the table
that sabbath morning. Our hearts melt
when think of those blessed associations
and we may have boon Off and committed
mnny indiscretions and done mnny wrong
things; but tho day will never como when
we forget the carly home in which Gods day
was regarded, nnd father and mother told
us to keep holy tho Sabbath.
There is nnother way in which we can war
against tho SabbnLh-brcaiing usnges of the
country mt this time. and TINT is by making
our houses OF worship attractive and tho re-
ligious services inspiring. plead not for n
gorgeous audience chamber: / plead not for
groincd rafters or magnificent fresco; but |
do pead for comfortable churches, home like
churches-plnces where tho chIrch.Eoinp
population behave MS they ought to- MIKE
tho church welcome to all, however poorly
clad they mny he. or whatever may have
been their past history; for I think the
Church OF God is not SO much made for you
who could havc churches in your own house,
but for the vast population of our grent
cities, who nro troading OIL toward death
with no voice OF mercy to arrest them.
An An! when the pIrodigal comes into
the church. do not stare at him rs
though no had no right to come Give
him tho best sent you can find for him
Sometimes man wakes up from his sim and
he says; III 80 to the house OF God" Per-
hnps ho comes from one motive pcrhaps
from another. He finds the church dark
and the Christian people frigid tnid there
nre no people on earth who cnn he more
frigld thnn Christian people whom they try),
md the music is dull, and lie never comes
again. Suppose one OF these men enters
the church. As lie comes in he hears a song
which his mother snng when he was a boy;
no remembers it. lie sits down, and some
one hands him II book, open mt
Jerusalem. my happy home,
Name ever n ear to me"
EYES, he says, "fhavc heard that many
times.n lilo sees cheerful Christian peopl,
there,cvery mans face psalm of thanksgiv
every Sunday. l have heard that the hous,
of God was II dolcfui place, and Christians
were lugibrious and repelling! lhave really
enjoyed myself!n Tho next Sabbath tho man
Is lngain in the same place. Tears OF re-
pentoncc start down his check; he begins to
pray; and when tho communion table is
spread he sits ut it,and some one reaches over
and says: Il nm surprised to find you hero;
thought you didn't believe i'll such things.n
"Ahln he says, 81 have heen captured. I
came i'll one day, and found you were MI so
loving and cheerful here that l concluded
would come among you. Where thon goest
will go: thy people shall he my people md
thy God my God. Where thou dicst will /
die, ana there will be hured.n
Ali you can't drive men out of their sins,
but you can coax them out-you can charm
them out
would to God that we could all come to
higher appreciation of this Sabbath heri-
.age! We can not count the treasures of
one Christian Sabbath IL spreads out over
us the two wings of the arcllangel of mercy.
Oh, blessed Snbbathl blessed Sabbath. They
scolf great deal about tho old furitanic
Sabbnths, and there is II wonderful amount
OF wit expended upon TINT subject now-te
Sabbnths they used to have in New England.
never lived in New England, but | would
rather trust the old Purtanic Sabbath, with
nll its faults than this modern Sabbath,
which is fast beconing 10 Sabbath at all II
our modern Sahbatism shall produce as stal.
wart Christian character ms tho old New
England ltiritanic Sabbntism. | shall be
satisfied, and shall be surprised.
Oh, blessed day. blessed day! should
like to die some Sabbath morning when the
air is fun of church music and tile bells are
ringing. Leaving my home group with
dying blessing, | should like to look Off upon
some Christiaa asscmblage chanting the
praises of Gotts went up 10 join tile one
hundred and sSfty and four thousand and
the thousands of thousands standing around
the throne OF jesus. Harls! hear the hell
OF tho old kirk on tire hill side of heaven 1t
Is wedding bell, for behold tho Bride groom
cometh. 1t is victor's bell, for we are more
than conquerors through Him who hath
owed us. 1t is Sabi'ath-bell. for it calls
the nations OF earth and heaven to eyerlnst.
Ing repose
"Oh when, thou city OF my God.
Shall thy cOnrts ascend:
Wnerc congregations ne'cr break up
And Saboaths have no end.n
- IN. 81