Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-12-21
THE NIGHT C0METH.
Opportunity for Preparing for Judg-
ment Must Cease Sometime.
SO 1T is WELL TO BE PREPARED.
Procrastination Steals More Than Time, II
Steals the Soul.
THE REV. GEORGE HODGES SERMON
lwRrrrEN FoR THE p1srArcH.,

came to save us, and is coming again 10
judge us-to judge usi Nobody knows
when; nobody knows just how. But every
body who puts faith in the plain word Of
the Master knows that sometime and some
how He will come, and will come to
judge us.
Christ comes in all the crises Of human
life. He said once to His disciples that
they died. 1t is not certain of what event
He spoke, whether of the founding of the
Christian church or of the fall OF the He
brew capital. But it is evident that He
meant some coming before the last. Christ
is always coming, and judgment is always
going on. Every supreme moment, every
great trial, or strong temptation, or unusual
joy or sorrow, or wide opportunity, in the
life of nation or of an individual, is the
hour of Christ's coming. And He
comes to judge US. The coming
of death, then, must be coming
of Christ; and the hour of death must be in
some measure the day of judgment for every
one OF us. Tha: there is life after death, we
know. Our Lord came back out of the
grave to make that sure for all who take
His word. The conditions of that life, how
far it corresponds with our ordinary lie,
and how far and in what it differs from it.
how much of human opportunity ends at
death, we may guess, we may argue out
from here and there vague phrase of reve-
lation; but we know not. So far as we
know, death is the end of opportunity. I
hope it is not 1 hope that in the next life
there will be a chance for people who have
thrown away their chances in this life. Still
more for those who seem not to have had any
decent chance at all.
DEATH IS THE END.
But all that is on the other side of wall
without window. Nobody can be seen
about it. Nobody can calculate upon it. So
far as we know, death sets the signature and
seal to human destiny; and so becomes our
day OF judgment The coming of Christ to
lead us into that land which has the grave for
a gateway, is the end, so far as we can see,
of all the plans and promises and resolu-
tions of man. Whatever is not finished
then. will be carried, still unfinished, into
the presence of the Master. "The night
cometh, when no man can work"
The end of the year approaches; the end
of life approaches; the end of opportunity
approaches. Do we need 10 be told that the
night cometh? Is that strange discovery?
Presently it will be noon, and then the sun
will begin to decline, and the light will
grow dim; presently the light will 90 out
altogether, and the sky will be black above
us, and it will be night; do we need to be
informed of that? And death cometh; do
we need the voice of the preacher to teach
US that? The silver cord will be loosed, and
the golden bowl be broken, and the pitcher
be broken at the fountain, and the wheel
af 0icfa
his long home, and the streets be filled with
mourners. Is that new? That is as old as
human life. Amid all the doubts and un-
certainties which beset US, this we are
absolutely sure of-that we must die.
A TRUTH NOT REALIZED.
But do we realize it? Do we live as if we
But will there be any "by and by?" after
awhile L will do it." Do what? Why,
change my course OF life; be more straight.
forward in my business; and more loving
and less e1acting and complaining, and
more unselfsh in my home; stop that beset-
ting sin OF mine. put it away; hold up my
head like Christian, and try to be Chris
tian; will join the church; will give my
heart to God, and consecrate my life to His
service, and be of more use in the world, and
definitely endeavor after my ideal. Whenf
Tolstoi tells, in q recent parable of his,
about a company of men and women who
were discussing the life which our Lord
Jesus Christ lived, and comparing their own
lives with it., and they all agreed that they
were living unworthily, and were ashamed
of the ease and luxury and selfsness and
unchristlikeness of their daily behavior.
And young man in the company
spoke up and said: 1--WE all confess that
our faces are turned in a wrong direction.
Why, then, seeing that we are following a
false path, do we not turn about. and seek
the true one? AS for me, that is what I
will do. 1 will stop and turn about.
Henceforth 1 will live as Christ lived, de-
voting myself to the service of those who are
worse off than I am, lifting up those who
are down, and trying to be of some use in
the world"
But the young mans father rebuked him.
'It is the place of youth, he said, "to learn
and not to teach; to submit to the guidance
and follow the example of those who are
more advanced in years and in wisdom.
Wait little. Learn all you can. and see
all you can. And, by and by, when your
matured, then, if you see fit to try this ideal
lie, 60 and try il"
THE MAN OF THE EARTH.
After that, one of the married men Of the
company spoke. 81 have seen a good deal
| of liie," he said, 81 am young no longer. My
mind is matured. 1 am perfectly sure that
the course of life which am following leads
neither to happiness of mind nor peace of
conscience. My days are spent in selfish
toll; my whole purpose is to make money;
my whole ambition is occupied with
merchandise, and dresses, and dinners.
Would it not be better henceforth to live
unwordly, putting away selfish luxury, and
training myself and my wife and children to
think less OF ourselves and more of others?'
But all the women of the company OBJ
iected. "a married man," they declared,
had no business to utter such heresy. 1t is
the part of such a one to provide for his
family. As for you, you have spent your
youth in pleasure, and will you make Life
unpleasant for your children? Let them
grow up in peace and quiet and when the
time comes, choose their own course of liv-
ing for their own selves"
Finally, an aged man, who had but a day
or two of his life left, made his resolve: IT
am at the end of my years. Nobody is
| dependent upon me. And am ashamed of
all nv past life, and still more, of my
present life. My whole thought is about
what will eat At last, am determined
what to do. will put it all away, and
live the few remaining days OF my existence
as our Lord commands"
But his sons dissuaded him. "You have
lived so long in one way that it is now too
late to change it. Besides, why make your
self uncomfortable"
And so it appeared, as the conclusion of
the whole matter, ''that no one should lead
good, upright, spiritual life-the utmost