The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1890-02-27

"Bohold, all that is left of Saadin, the Em-
peror and conquerori or all the States he
conquered OF all the wealth he accumulated,
nothing did he retain but this shroud,"
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.
monsensica idea ON this subject that you and
need TO consider-that there are only two
styles OF departure,
A thousand feet underground, by II hit OF
torch toiling in miners shaft, a ledge OF
rock may fail upon us, and we may die u
miners death. Far out at sea- falling from
the slippery ratlines and broken on the hal
yards, we may die sailors death. On
mission of me. y In hospital, amid broken
bones and reekng leprosies and raging
fevers, we may die philanthropist's death.
On the field OF battle, serving Col and our
country slugs through the heart, the gun
patriots death. But, after all, there are
only two styles of departure 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 tho 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 pillows
Of death come up to the girdle? Can
human voice charm open heavens
gate? Can human hand pilot us
through the narrows of death into
heavens harborl Can any earthly friend
ship shield us from the arrows of death, and
in the hour when Satan shall practice upon
us his Internal archery No. no, no. mol
Alasl Poor soul, il that is all. Better die in
the wilderness, far from tree shadow and
from fountain, alone, vultures circling
through the air waiting for our body, UNI
known to men, and to have no burial, if only
Christ could say through the solitudes; II
will never leave thee, will never forsake
thee" From that pillow of stone ladder
would soar heavenward, angels coming and
going; and across the solitude and the bar
renness would come the sweet notes of heav-
emily minstrelsy.
Gordon Hall, far from home, dying in the
door of a heather temple, said ''Glory to
thee, o GodN What did dying Wilberforce
say to his wife? Come and sit beside me,
and let us talk of heaven. never knew
what happiness was until I found Christ"
What did dying Hannah More sayl ITO go
to heaven, think what that is! To go to
Christ, who died that l might live! Oh,
glorious gravel Oh, what glorious thingit
Is to die? Oh, the love of Christ the love OF
Christi What did Mr.. Toplady, the great
hymnmaker, say in his last hour2 "Who can
measure the depths of the third heaven Oh,
the sunshine that fills my soul! / shall soon
be gone for surely no one can live in this
world after such glories as God has mani
| tested to my soul.n
What did the dying Janeway say? 81 can
as easily die as close my eyes or turn my
,,,e ell fa.x bon. haxra --aI
l shall stand on Mount Zion with the one
hundred and forty and four thousand and
| with the just men made perfect, and we
| shall ascrihe riches and honor, and glory,
and majesty, and dominion unto God and
the Lamb DR.. Taylor, condemned to burn
at the stake, on his way thither broke away
| from the guardsmen and went bounding and
leaping and jumping toward the fire, glad to
go to Jesus and to die for Him. Sir Charles
| Hare, in last moment, had such rapturous
vision that he cried: up
ward, upward, upwardr' And so
great was the peace of one of
Christ's disciples that he put his
| fingers upon the pulse in his wrist and
counted it and observed it; and so great was
his placidity that after a while he said:
"Stoppedr' and his life had ended here to
begin in heaven. But grander than that was
the testimony of the worn out first mis-.
sionary, when, in the Mamartine dungeon,
he cried II am now ready to be offered, and
the time Of my departure is at hand; have
fought the good fight, have finished my
course. 1 have kept the faith; henceforth
there is laid UP for me a crown of righteous
ness which the Lord. the righteous Judge,
will give me in that day, and not to me
only, but to all them that love His appear
ing" Do you not see that Christ Is above
all in dying alleviations?
Toward the last hour of our earthly resi-
dence we are speeding. When l see the sun
set, say: Zone day less to live" When |
see the spring blossoms scattered, say: An
other season gone forever When l close
this Bible on Sabbath night l say: "An-
other Sabbath departed" When | bury
friend. | say: Another earthly attraction
gone forever" What nimble feet the years
have! The roebucks and the lightnings run
not so fast. From decade to decade, from
sky to sky, they go at bound. There is
place for us, whether marked or not,
where you and l will sleep the last
Sleep and the men are now living
who will, with solemn trade carry US to our
resting place. Ay, it is known in heaven
whether our departure will be a coronation
or Punishment.
Brighter than banqueting hall through
which the light feet of the dancers go up and
down TO the sound of trumpeters will be the
sepulcher through whose riffs the holy light
of heaven streameth God will watch you.
|
bering ground, until, at Christs behest, they
shall roll away the stone
So, also Chr list is above all in heaven The
Bible distinctly says that Christ is the chief
theme of the celestial ascriptlon, all the
thrones facing His throne, all the palms
waved before His face, all the crowns down
at His feet Crlerubim to cherublm, sera.
! phim to seraphim, redeemed spirit to re.
deemed spirit, shall recite the Saviour's EARTH
ly sacrifice.
Stand on some high hill of heaven, and IN
all the radiant sweep the most glorious OBJ
iect shall be Jesus Myriads gazing On the
scars of His suffering, in silence first, AFTER
ward breaking forth into reclamation Inc
martyrs, all the purer for the flame through
which they passed, will say: rms Is Jesus ai
for whom we dei.n The apostles, all the
happier for the shipwreck and the scourgin!e
through which they went Will say: Ihis
is the Jesus whom we preached at Corinth,
and at Cappalocia, and at Antioch, and at
Jerusalem" Little children clad in white
will say ''This is the Jesus who took us in
His arms aud blessed US, and when the
storms of the world were too cold and loud,
, brought us into this beautiful place. The
multtudes of the bereft will say: This !:
the Jesus who comforted us when our heart
broken Many who wandered clear off from
God and plunged into va3abondism, but
were saved by grace, will say: rms IS the
Jesus who pardoned us. we were losS on
the mountains, and He brought us home.
We were guilty and He has made us white
as snow Mercy bouudless, grace unparal.
leled. And then, after each one has recited
, his peculiar deliverauces and peculiar mer-
cies, recited them as by solo, all the voices
will come together into a great chorus
which will make the arches echo and re-echo
with the eternal reverberation of gladness
and peace and triumph.
Edward was so anxious to go to the Holy
Land that when he was about to expire he
beaueathed $3.50, 900 to have his heart, after
his decease taken 70 the Holy Land In Asia
Minor, aud his request was compiled with.
But there are hundreds to-day whose hearts
are already in the Holy Land of heaven.
Where your treasures are, there are your
hearts also. Quaint John Bunyan, of whom
spoke at the opening of the dis.
course caught a glimpse of that
place. and in his quaint way
he said: "And heard in my dream, and
lo the bells of the city rang again for joy;
and as they opened the gates to let in the
men l looked in after them, and lo the city
shone like the sum- and there were streets OF
gold, and men walked on them, harps in their