Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-07-07

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 dependf
MOI When blush, be this my shame:
That no more revere his name.
GOD LIGHTENs OUR BURDENS.
Again remark that we are witnesses
of the Gospels power to comfort. There
are Christian parents here who are willing
to testify to the power of the Gospel to
comfort. Your son had just graduated
from school or college and was going into
business, and the Lord took him Or your
daughter had just graduated from the
young ladies' seminary, and you thought
she was going to be useful woman and
of long life; but the Lord took her, and you
were tempted to say: IAN this culture of
twenty years for nothingW Or the little
child came home from school with the hot
fever that stopped not for the agonized
prayer or for the skillful physician, 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
trialS 'Oh, you say, II took the medicine
that God gave my sick soul. In my dis
tress threw myself at the feet of sym
pathizing God; and when / was too weak
to pray, or to look up he breathed into me
peace that think must be the foretaste
of that heaven where there is neither a
tear, nor farewell, nor a grave" Come,
all We who have been out to the grave to
weep there-come, all ye 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
paroxysm of griefS There comes up an
answer from comfOrted widowhood, and
orphanage, and childlessness, saying Gay,
ay, we are witnesses"
TURN TO GOD WHEN IN TROUBLE
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 advicel
Get your mind off It'll When everything is
upturned with the bereavement and every
thing reminds you Of what you have lost.
Get your mind off It'll They might as well
advise you to stop thinking. You cannot
stop thinking and you cannot stop think
ing in that direction. Take walk in the
fresh air Why, along that very street or
that very road she once accompanied you.
Out of that grass plat she plucked flowers,
or into that show window she looked, fasl
cinated, saying: Come see the pictures I"
Go deeper into business? Why, she was
associated with all your business ambition,
and since she has gone you have no ambi
ton left.
Oh, this is a clumsy world when it tries
to comfort a broken heart. l can build a
Corlears engine, can paint a Raphael's
Madonna" can play a Beethoven's
"Eroica Symphony" as easily as this world
can comfort broken heart. And yet you
have been comforted. How was it doneP
Did Christ come to you and say, Get your
mind off this; go out and breathe fresh air;
plunge deeper into business" No. There
was n minute when he came to you-per
haps 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 pho
tograph of the departed one and look into
the eyes and the face of the dear one and
say: at Is all right; she is better off;
would not call her back. Lord, thank
thee that thou hast comforted my poor
| heart"
"wHEN DEATH COMES TO TAKE US"
Again, | remark that we are witnesses of
the fact that religion has power to give
composure in the last moment. | never
shall forget the first time l confronted
death. We went across the cornfelds in
the country 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
attracted my boyish attention, and it had
black plumes. said; whats that2
What's thatS Why those black tassels on
the top" and after it was explained 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 impression
never forgot.
| In our sermons and in our lay exhorta-
tons we are very apt, when we want to
bring illustrations of dying triumph, to go
back to some distinguished personage-to
John Knox or Harriet Newell. But l
want you for witnesses. l want to know
If you have ever seen anything to make
you believe that the religion of Christ can
give composure in the final hour. Now in
the courts attorney, jury and judge will
never admit mere hearsay. They demand
that the witness must have seen with his
own eyes or heard with his own ears, AND
SO am critical in my examination of you
now; and | want to know whether you
have seen or heard anything that makes
you believe that the religion of Christ gives
composure in the final hour.
THEY DID NOT FEAR ETERNITY.
ooh, yes" you say, 81 saw my father and
mother depart. There was great differ
ence in their deathbeds Standing by the
one we felt more veneration. BY the other,
there was more tenderness" Before the
one you bowed perhaps in awe. In the
other case you felt RS if you would like to
20 along with her. How did they feel In
that last hourp How did they seem to
actS Were they very much frightened
Did they take hold of this world with both
hands as though they did not want to give
it up2 ooh, no." you say; mo, remem.
Der as though it were yesterday; she had a
kind word for us all, and there were a few
mementoes distributed among the children,
and then she told us how kind we must be
to our father in his loneliness, and then
she kissed us good-by and went asleep as
calmly as child in cradle"
What made her so composed' Natural
courageS NO" you say, mother was
very nervous; when the carriage inclined
to the side of the road she would cry out
she was always rather weakly" What
then, gave her composuref Was 1t because
she did not care much for you, and the
pang of parting was not greatP "Oh," yot
say, "she showered upon us a wealth o.
affection; no mother ever loved her chill
dren mora than mother loved us; shI