The Brookhaven leader., 1890-02-27

are the most thrilling ILLUSTRATION fol
the orator, and they offer the most in
tense scene for the artist, and they arr
TO the ambassador of the sky all enthu
siasm. Complete pardon for direst guilt
Brightest hope for grimmest death
Grandest resurrection for darkest sepul-
cher Oh, what a Gospel to preach
Christ over all in IL. His birth, His suf
fering. His miracles, His parallels, His
sweat, His tears, His blood, His atone
ment, His intercession-what glorious
themesl Do we exercise faith? Christ
is its object. Do we have love? II
fastens on Jesus. Have we a fondness
for the Church? 1t is because Christ
died for it. Have we hope of Heaven?
1t is because Jesus went ahead, the
herald and the forerunner.
The royal robe of Demetrius was so
costly, so beautiful, that after he had
put it Off no one ever dared put it on;
but this robe of Christ, richer than that,
the poorest and the wanncst and the
worst may wear.
'Where sin abounded grace may much
more abound"
''Oh, my sins, my SINS" said Martin
Luther to Staupitz, my sins, my sinsr'
The fact is that the brawny German
student had found a Latin Bible that
made him quake, and nothing else ever
did make him quake; and when he
found how, through Christ, he was par
doned and saved, he wrote to a friend,
saying:
Come ever and join us great and aw-
full sinners saved by the grace of God.
You seem to be only slender sinner.
and you don't much extol the mercy of
God; but we that have been such very
awful sinners praise His grace the more
now that we have been redeemed" Can
it be that you are SO desperately egotis-
teal that you feel yourself in first-rate
spiritual trim, and that from the root of
the hair to the tip of the toe you are
scarless and immaculate? What you
need is a looking-glass, and here 1T is in
the Bible. Poor, and wretched, and
miserable, and blind, and naked from
the crown of the head to the sole of the
foot, full of wounds and putrefying
sores. No health in us. And then take
the fact that Christ gathered up Ill the
notes against US and paid them, and
then offered us the receipt.
And how much we need Him in our
sorrows, We are Independent of cir
cumstances if we have His grace. Why,
He made Paul sing in the dungeon, and
under that grace st. John from deselate
Patmos heard the blast of the apocalyp-
tic trumpets After all other candles
have been snuffed out, this is the light
that gets brighter and brighter unto
| the perfect day; and after, under the
kard hoofs of calamity, all the pools
of worldly enjoyment have been
trampled into deep mire, at the foot of
the eternal rock the Christian, from
cups of granite, lily-rimmed and vine
covered, puts out the thirst of His soul.
Again, / remark that Christ is above
all in dying alleviations. I have not
any sympathy with the morbity abroad
about our demise. The Emperor of
| Constantinople arranged that on the day
of his coronation the Stone-mason should
come and consult him about the tomb
stone that after awhile he would need.
And there are men who are monomani-
acal on the subject of departure from this
life by death, and the more they think
of it the less they are prepared to go.
This is an unmanliness not worthy Of
you, not worthy of me. Saladin, the
greatest conqueror of his day, while dy-
ing, ordered that the tunic he had on
him be carried after his death on his
spear at the head of his army, and then
the soldier, ever and anon, should stop
and say:
Behold all that is left of Saladin,
the Emperor and conqueror! OF all the
states he conquered, of all the wealth
he accumulated, nothing did he retain
but this shroud." l have no sympathy
with such behavior, or such absurd
demonstration, or with much that we
hear uttered in regard to departure from
this life to the next There is COM
monsensical idea on this subject that
you and need to consider-that there
are only two styles of departure.
A thousand feet underground, by light
of torch toiling in miners shaft, a
ledge of rock may fall upon US, and we
may die miners death. Far out at
sea, falling from the slippery ratlines
sailors death. On mission of mercy
in hospital, amid broken bones and
reeking leprosies and raging fevers, we
may die a philanthropist's death. On
the field of battle, serving God and our
country, slugs through the heart, the
gun-carriage may roll over us, and we
may die patriots death. But, after
all, there are only two styles of depart
ure-the death of the righteous and the
death of the wicked-and we all want
to die the former.
God grant that when that hour comes
you may be at home. You want the
hand of your kindred in your hand.
You want your children to surround you.
You want the light on your pillow from
eyes that have long reflected your love.
You want the room still. You do not
want any curious strangers standing
around watching you. You want your
kindred from afar to hear your last
prayer / think that is the wish of all
of us. But is that all? Can earthly
friends hold us up when the billows of
death come up to the girdle? Can hui
man voice charm open Heavens gate?
Can human hand pilot us through the
narrows of death into Heavens harbor?
Can any earthly friendship shield us
from the arrows of death, and in the
hour when Satan shall practice upon us
his internal archery? No, no, no, no!
Alas! poor soul, if that is all. Better
a. ,.,;lda.nacc from tree