Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-07-07

ladies' seminary, and you thought she was
going to be useful woman and of long lifei
but the Lord took her, and you were
tempted to saw: "AIl this culture of 20
years for nothingl' 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,
gave you that child at all, if SO soon He was
to takeit away. And yet you are not re-
pining, you are nor fretful, you are not
fighting against God.
CoMFoRTED BY FAITH.
What has enabled you to stand all the
trial? 'Oh, you say, 81 took the medicine
that God gave my sick soul. In my distress
threw myself at the feet of q sympa-
thizing God; and when I 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 neithera tear nor farewell, nor grave"
Come, all We who have been out to the
grave to weep there-come, all ye comforted
souls, get off your knees. Is there no power
in this gospel to sooth the heart? Is there
no power in this religion to quiet the
paro1ysm of grief? There comes up an
answer from comforted widowhood, and Or
phanage, and childlessness, saying: GAY,
sy. we are witnessesl" -
When a man has trouble the world comes
in and says, Now, get your mind off this;
60 out and breathe the fresh air; plunge
deeper into business" What poor advice!
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 we'll
advise you to stop thinking. You cannot
stop thinking, and you cannot stop think
ing in that direction. Take walk in the
fresh airl 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, fas-
cinated, saying: "Come, see the pictures.
Go deeper into busInessi Why, she was
associated with all your business ambition,
and since she has gone You have no ambi-
tion lett Oh, this is a clumsy world when
it tries to comfort q broken heart. 1 can
build a Corlear's engine, 1 can paint q
Raphael's Madonna" can play Beetho-
veu's "Eroica Symphony" as easily as this
world can comfort broken heart. And yet
YOU have been comforted. How was it done?
Did Christ come to you and say, "Get your
mind off this; 90 out and breathe fresh air;
plunge deeper into business?" No. There
was minute when He came to you-per-
haps in the watches of the night, perhaps in
your place of business, perhaps along the
street-and 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, at is all
right, she is better off; would not call her
hack. Lord, thank Thee, that Thou hast
comforted my poor heart.
CONFRONTING THE GRIM MONSTER.
Again: 1 remark that we are witnesses
of the fact that religion has power to give
composure in the last moment 1 never
shall forget the first time 1 confronted death.
We went across the cornfelds in the country.
1 was led by my fathers hand, and we came
to the farmhouse where the bereavement had
come, and we saw the crowd of wagons and
carriages; but there vas one carriage that
especially attracted nv boyish attention,
and it had black plumes. 1 said: whats
that? what's that? 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-
tions we are very apt, when we want to
bring illustrations Of dying triumph. to go
back to some distinguished personsge-to
John Knox or Harriet Newell. But
want you for witnesses. 1 want to know
if you have ever seen anything to make you
believe tina. 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.
"Oh, yes" you say, 81 saw my father and |
mother depart. There was great difference |
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 as if you would like to 90 along
with her. How did they feel in that last |
hour? How did they seem to act? Were
they very much frightened? Did they take
hold of this world with both hands as
though they did not want to give it up?
"Oh, no." you say; no. 1 remember as
though it were yesterday; she had kind
word for us all, and there we're q few me-
mentoes distributed among the children,
and then she told us how kind we must be
to oul father in his loneliness and then she
kissed us goodby and went to sleep 3:
calmly as child in cradle"
A CHRISTIAN MOTHER.
What made her so composed? Natural
mo" you say, mother was
very nervous; when the carriage inclined to
the side of the road, she would cry ont: she
was always rather weakly" What. then.
gave her composure? Was it because she
did not care much for you, and the pang of
parting was not great? "Oh," you saw.
"she showered upon US a wealth of afFection:
no mother ever loved her children more
than mother loved us; she showed it by the
way she nursed us when we were sick. and
she toiled for us until her strength gave
out" What, then, was it that gave her
composure in the last hour? Do not hide
it, Be frank and let me know. "Oh."
you say. ''it was because she was SO good;
she made the Lord her portion, ana she had
faith that she would 60 straight to glory.
and that we should all meet her at last at
the DOT of the throne"
Here are people who say, "1 saw Chris
tian brother die, and he triumphed." And
some one else, 81 saw Christian sister die.
and she triumphed." Some one else will
say, 81 saw Christian daughter die. and
she triumphed." Come, all ye who have
seen the last mopents of a Christian. and
give testimony in this cause on trial. Un-
cover your heads, put your hand on the old
family Bible from which they used to read
the promises, and promise In the presence
Of high heaven that you will tell the trutb
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth
With what you have seen with your own
eyes, and from what you have heard with
your own ears, is there power in this GOSPEL
to give calmness and triumph in the last
sxlgencvY The response comes from all
'ides, from young, and old, and middle
lged: "We are witnessesp'
You see, my friends, L have not put be-
ore you to-day an abstraction, or chimera,