The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1890-07-17

w uab budNg NON temperance SOCle-
ties. Not prohibition laws. Not moral
suasion. Conversion did Il. why"
said one upon whom the great change had
come, ''sir, ] feel just as though were
somebody elser There is a sea cap
tain who swore all the way from New
York to Havana, and from Havana to
San Francisco, and when he was in port
he was worse than when he was on the
sea. What power was it that washed
his tongue clean of profanities, and
made him psalm-singer? Conversion
by tho Holy Spirit There are thou
ands of people in this assemblage to-
day who are no more what they once
were than a water-lily is a nightshade,
or morning lark 10 . vulture, or day
is night.
Now, il / should demand that all
those people here present who have
felt the converting power of religion
should rise, so far from being ashamed,
they would spring to their feet with
more alacity than they ever sprang to
the dance, the tears mingling with
their exhilaration as they cried: I'VE
are Witnesses And If they tried to
sing the old Gospel hymn they would
break down with emotion by the time
they got TO the second line:
Ashamed of Jesus. that dear friend
On whom my hopes of Heaven depend7
No! When blush, be this my shame:
That l no more revere His name.
Again l remark that we arc witnesses
of the Gospels power to comfort. There
are Christian parents here who are will
ing to testify to the power of this Cos
pei TO comfort. Your son had just grad
uated from school or college and was
going into business, and the Lord took
him. Or your daughter had just gradu-
ated from the young ladies' seminary,
and you thought she was going to
be a useful woman and of long life;
but the Lord took her, and you we're
tempted to say: "All this culture of
twenty years for nothing" Or the lit
tie child came home from school with
the hot fever that stopped not for the
agonized prayer or for the skillful ply
stefan, and the little child was taken.
Or the babe was lifted out of your arms
by some quick epidemic, and you stood
wondering why God ever gave you that
child at all, if so soon He was to take it
away. And yet you are not repining,
you are not fretful, you are
not fighting against God. What
has enabled you to stand all
the trial? "Oh," you say, II took
the medicine that God gave my sick
soul. In my distress l threw myself at
the feet of a sympathizing God; and
when I was too weak to pray or to look
up He breathed into me a peace that l
think must be the foretaste of that
Heaven where there is neither tear nor
a farewell, nor grave" Come, all We
who have been out to the grave to weep
there-come, all We comforted souls get
up off your knees. Is there no power in
this Gospel to soothe the heart? Is
there no power in this religion to quiet
the worst paroxys of grief? There comes
up an answer from comforted widow
hood, and orphanage, and childlessness,
saying: GAY, ay, we are witnesses"
When man has trouble the world
comes in and says: Now get your
mind off this; go out and breathe the
fresh air; plunge deeper into business
What poor advice! Get your mind off it!
When every thing is Il pturned with the
bereavement, and every thing reminds
you of what you have lost Get your
mind off it? They might as we'll advise
you to stop thinking. You can not
stop thinking, and you can not stop
thinking in that direction. Take a
walk in the fresh air. Why, along that
very street, or that very road, She once
accompanied you. Out of that grass
plat she pluclled flowers, or into that
show window she looked, fascinated,
saying: Come see the pictures"
Go deeper into business? Why,
she was associated with all your
business ambition, and since she has
gone you have no ambition left.
Oh, this is a clumsy world when it tries
to comfort broken heart. l can build
a Corliss engine, l can paint Raphael's
Madonna" l can play Beethoven's
"Erotca Symphony" as easily as this
world can comfort a broken heart. And
yet you have been comforted. How was
it done? Did Christ come to you and
say: Get your mind off this; go out
and breathe fresh air; plunge deeper in
to buSineSS?" No. There was minute
when He came to you-perhaps in the
watches of the night perhaps in your
place of business, perhaps along the
strickland He breathed something into
your soul that gave peace, rest, infinite
quiet, so that you could take out the
photograph of the departed one and
look into the eyes and the face OF the
dear one, and say: sit is all right; she
is better off; would not call her back.
Lord, l thank Thee that Thou hast COM
forted my poor heart"
Again, l remark that we are wit
nesses of the fact that religion has
power to give composure in the last
moment. i never shall forget the first
time l confronted death. We went
across the cornfields in the country. l
was led by my fathers hand,
and we came to the farm house
where the bereavement had come,
and we saw the crowd of
wagons and carriages, but there
was one carriage that especially at
tracted my boyish attention, and it had
black plumes. l said: Whats that?
what's that? why those black tassels on
the top?" And after it was explain
ed to me was lifted up to look upon the
bright face of an aged Christian woman,
who three days before had departed in
triumph; the whole scene made an i'm
preston l never forgot.
In Onr SarmonS and in Our Law axhor-