Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1890-02-13

II
has sandy foundation, and its splendor
will come down, and great viii be the
fall Of it. A home without Godl A
prayerless fatherl An undevoted motheri
Awful awful Is that your Will you
keep on, my brother, on the wrong road,
and take your loved ones with you?
Time is so short that we cannot waste
any of it on apologies, or indirections,
or circumlocutions. You owe to your
children. o father, o mother, more than
food, more than clothing, more than
shelter-you owe them the example of
prayerful, consecrated, pronounced,
out and out Christian life. You cannot
afford to keep it away from them.
Now, as stand here, you do not see
any hands outstretched towards me, and
yet there are hands on my brow and
hands on both my shoulders. They are
hands of parental benediction. It is
quite good many years ago now since
we folded those hands as they began the
last sleep on the banks of the Raritan
in the village cemetery; but those hands
are stretched out toward me to-day, and
they are just as warm and they are just
as gentle as when sat on her knee at
five years of age. And / shall never
shake of those hands. do not want
to. They have helped me so much
thousand times already, and do not
expect to have trouble or trial be-
tween this and my grave whore those
hands will not help me. 1t was not q
very.splendid home,as the world calls it;
but we had family Bible there, we'll
worn by tender perusal; and there was
family altar there, where we knelt
morning and night; and there was holy
Oh -
straight line or hung in loops or fes-
toons, there was scarlet line in the
window. o the tender, precious, blessed
memory of Christian home! Is this
the impression you are making upon
your children2 When you are dead
and it will not be long before you are
when you are dead, will your child say:
If there ever was q good Christian
father, mine was one. If there ever was
o good Christian mother, mine was
one?'
Still further: we want this scarlet
line of the text drawn across the win
dow of our prospects. I see Rahab and
her father, and her mother, and her
brothers and sisters looking out over
Jericho, the city of palm trees, and
across the river, and over at the army
invading, and then up 20 the mountains
and the sky. Mind you, this house was
ON the wall, and suppose the prospect
from the window must have been very
wide. Besides that, do not think that
the scarlet line at all interfered with
the view of the landscape. The as
surance it gave of safety must have
added to the beauty Of the country.
To- day, my friends, We sit in the win
dow of earthly prospects, and we look
off towards the hills of heaven and the
landscape of eternal beauty. God has
opened the window for us, and we look
out. We now only geta dim outline of
the inhabitants. We now only here and
there catch a note Of the exquisite har-
mony.
But blessed bN God for this scarlet
line in the window. That tells me that
the blood of Christ bought that home
for my soul, and shall go there when
my work is done. And as put my hand
on that scarlet line, everything in the
future brightens. My eyesight gets bet
ter, and the robes of the victors are
more lustrous, and our loved ones who
went away some time ago-they do not
stand any more with their backs to us,
but their faces are this way and their
voices drop through tLis Sabbath air,
saying with all tenderness and sweet
ness: Come! Comel Comei" And
the child that you think of only as
buried-why, there she is, and it is May
day in Heaven; and they gather the
amaranth, and they pluck the lilies, and
they twist them into garland for her
brow, and she is one of the May queens
of Heaven. 0 do you think they could
see our waving to- -day2 II is quite
pleasant day, pretty clear, and not
many clouds in the sky. ! wonder
if they can see us from that
good land? / think they can.
If from this window of earthly
prospects we can almost see them, then
from their towers oil light think they
can fully see us. And SO wave them
the glory. and wave them the joy, and
/ say: Have you got through with all
your troubles?" and their voices an
swer: God hath wiped away all tears
from our eyes" say: Is it as grand
up there as you thought it would be?"
and the voices answer: Eye hath not
seen nor ear heard, neither hath it en-
tered into the heart of man, the things
which God hath prepared for those that
love him. I say; "Do you have any
more struggle for bread?" and they an
swer: We hunger no more, we thirst
no more" And say: Have you been
out to the cemetery of the golden city?"
and they answer: There is no death
here" And look out through the
heavens, and ! say: Where do you get
your light from nights, and what do you
burn in the temple2" and they
answer: There is no night here,
and we have no need of candle
or of star" And say: What
book do You sing out Off and they an
swer: @The Halleiujah Chorus.s And
say: In the splendor and magnif-
cence of the city, don't you ever get
lost?" and they answer: The Lamb
which is in the midst Of the throne
leadeth us to living fountains Of
water. 0 how near they seem. Their
wings-do you not feel them2 Their
harps-do you not hear themP And
all that through the window OF our
earthly prospects, across which stretch
eth the scarlet line. Be that my choice
color forever. Is it too glaring for
you? Do you like the blue because il
reminds you Of the sky, or the green be-
cause it makes You think of the foliage,
or the black because it has in it the
shadow Of the night? take the scar
let because itshall make me think Of
the price that was paid for my soul. o
the blood! the blood! the blood of the
Lamb of God that taketh away the sins
Of the world. Isee where you are. You
are attthe cross roads. The next step
decides everything. Pause before you
take it: but do not pause too long. /
hear the blast Of the trumpet that wakes
the dead. Look outl Look out! For
L. s a