Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1891-07-13

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a'water lily is nightshade, or morning
lark is yulture, or day is night.
! Now, If | should demand that all those
people here present who have felt the con
verting power of religion should rise, so
far from being ashamed they would spring
to their feet with far more alacrity than
| they ever sprang to the dance, the tears
mingling with their exhilaration as they
cried, ave are witnessesp And if they
tried to sing the old Gospel hymn they
would break down with emotion by the
time they got to the second line;
Ashamed of Jesus, that dear friend
On whom my hopes of heaven depend2
mol When blush be this my shame.
That no more revere his name.
Again, l remark that 1--WE are witnesses"
of the Gospels power to comfort. When a
man has trouble the world comes In and
says; "Now get your mind off this; go out
and breathe the fresh air; plunge deeper into
business" What poor advicel Get your
mind off It'll when everything is upturned
with the bereavement and everything re-
minds you Of what you have lost. Get
your mind off It'll They might as well adj
wise you to stop thinking, and you cannot
stop thinking in that direction. Take a
walk in the fresh air Why, along that
very street, or that very road, she once ac-
companied you. Out of that grass plot she
plucked flowers, or into that show window
she looked fascinated, saying, Come see
the pictures" Go deeper into business!
Why, she was associated with all your
business ambition, and since she has gone
you have no ambition left Oh, this is
clumsy world when it tries to comfort a
broken heart
can build II Corliss engine, can paint
Raphael's Madonna" can play q
Beethoven's symphony as easily as this
world can comfort a broken heart. And
yet you have been comforted. How was it
done2 Did Christ come to you and say:
Get your mind off this. Go out and
breathe the fresh air Plunge deeper into
businessP" No There was minute when
he came to you-perhaps in the watches of
the night, perhaps In your place of bust
ness, 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 de-
parted 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 back. Lord, thank thee that thou
has comforted my poor heart"
DIVINE HEALING FOR THE SICK SOU.
There are Christian parents here who are
willing to testify to the power of this Cos
pei to comfort. Your son had just gradu
ated from school or college and was going
into business, and the Lord took him Or
your daughter had just graduated from
the young ladies' seminary, and you
thought she was going to be a useful wo-
man and of long life, but the Lord took
her. and you were tempted TO say, "All
this culture Of twenty years for nothingr'
Or the little child came home from school
with the hot fever that stopped not for the
agonized prayer or for the skillful physi-
clan, and the little child was taken. Or
the babe was lifted out of your arms by
some quick epidemic, and you stood won
dering why God ever gave you that child
Mt all If so soon he was to take it away.
And yet you are not repining, you are not
fretful, you are not fighting against God.
What enabled you to s.rnd all the trial2
"Oh" you say, III tOSk the medicine that
God gave my sick soul. In my distress !
threw myself at the feet of a sympathzng
God; and when | 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 neither n tear nor a
farewell nor a grave" Come, all ye who
have been out to the grave to weep there
come, all We comforted souls, get up Off
your knees Is there no power in this
gospel to soothe the heart? Is there no
power in this religion to quiet the worst
paroxysm of grief? There comes up an an
swer from conforted widowhOod and or
phanage aud childlessness saying, Gay, ay,
we are Witnesses
Again, | remark that we are witnesses
of the fact that religion has power to give
composure in the last moment | shall
never forget the first time | confronted
death We went across the cornlields in
the country. 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
was one carriage that especially attracted
my boyish attention, and it had black
plumes. said: whats that? what's
thatP Why those black tassels at the topP"
And after it was explained to me | was
lifted up to look upon the bright face of an
aged Christian woman, who three days be-
fore had departed in triumph. The whole
scene made an impression ! never forgot.
ii 10 NJ hEAhoAl ENIbENIEs
In our sermons and our lay exhortations
we are very apt, when we want to bring il
Illustrations of dying triumph, to go back
to some distinguished personage-to II John
Knox or Harriet Newell But | want
you for witnesses. want TO know if you
have ever seen anything to make you be-
lieve that the religion of Christ can give
composure in the final hour. Now, in the
courts, attorney, jury and judge will never
admit mere hcresay. 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 Ofyou 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
ooh, yes" you say, II saw my father
and mother depart. There was great diff
ference in their deathbeds, Standing by
the one we felt more veueration. 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 go along with her. How did they feel
in that last hour? How did they seem to
actP Were they very much frightened?
Did they take hold of this world with both
hands rs though they did not want to give
it up? "Oh, no. you say; mo; remem-
Der as though it were yesterday; she had a
kind word for us all, and there were few
mementoes distributed among the chill
dren, and then she told lis how kind we
must be to our father in his loneliness, and
hen she kissed us goodby and went asleep
as u child in cradle" What made her so
oumposedS Natural Courage2
No YOU say: mother was very nerS-
Gus; when the carriage inclined - the