Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1891-07-10


wells Island insane asylum, and al
Utica, and at all the asylums of this
land, who were demented by the fact
that they could not cry at the right
time. Said q maniac in one Of our pub
lie institutions, under Gospel
sermon THAT started the tears:
"Do you SEQ that tear? that is the first
l have wePt for twelve years. / think
It will help my brain" There are o
great many in the grave who could not
stand any longer under the glacier of
trouble. II that glacier had only
melted into weeping they could have
endured 1t. There have been times in
your life when you would have given
the world, If you had possessed it. for
one tear. You could shrek, you could
Dlasphcme, but you could not cry.
| Have you never seen a man hold
ing the hand of dead wife,
who had been all the world to him?
The temples livid with excitement, the
eye dry and frantic, no moisture on
the upper or lower lid. You saw there
were bolts of anger in the cloud. but
no rain. To your Christian comfort,
ne said: Don't talk 40 me about God,
there Is no God; or il there is hate
him; don't talk to me about God;
would he have left me and these moth
erless children" But few hours
or days after, coming ecross some lead
pencil that she owned in life,
or some letters which she wrote when
ne was awav from home. with an. or
cry that appals, there bursts the foun-
tain of tears. and as the sunlight Of
Gods consolation strikes that fountain
of tears. you find out that it is a ten
der-hearted, merciful pitiful, and
nll-compassionate God who was the
father of that rain. 60" YOU saw, "it
is absurd to think that God is going to
watch over tears"
My parents never mentioned the
death of child who died fifty years be-
fore, without tremor in the voice and
a sigh, oh! how deep-fetched. 1t was
better she should die. 1t was a mercy
she should die. She would have been
lifelong invalid. But you can not
argue away a parents grief. How
often you hear ,,, the moan moan; 10, 20!
are the filial tears. Little
children soon get over the loss of pa
rents. They are easily diverted with a
new toy. But where is the man that
has come to thirty, or forty, or fifty
years of age, who can think of the
old people without having all the foun-
tains of his soul stirred up? You may
have had to take care of her a good
many years, but you never can forget
how she used to take care of you.
There have been many sea-captains
converted in our church, and the pecu-
liarity of them was that they were
nearly all prayed ashore by their
mothers, though the mothers
went into the dust soon
after they went to sea. Have you
never heard an old man in delirium of
some sickness, call for his mother?
The fact is we get 50 used to calling
for her the first ten years of our life
we never get over IL, and when she
goes away from US it makes deep sor-
row. You sometimes, perhaps, in days
of trouble and darkness, when the
world would say: "You ought to be
able to take care of yourself'-you
wake up from your dreams finding
yourself saying: 80, mother! MOTHER
In religious assemblage man arose
and said: Il have been very wicked
man; broke my mothers heart; be-
came an infidel; but have seen my
evil way, and l have surrendered my
heart TO God; but it is a grief i never
can get over that my parents should
never have heard of my salvation; !
don't know whether tEey are living or
dead" While yet he was Standing in
the audience a voice from the gallery
said "Oh! my son, my SON" He
looked up, and he recognized her. II
was his old mother. She had been
praying for him for great many years,
and when, ut the foot of the cross, the
prodigal son and the praying mother
embraced each other, there was rain
a tremendous rain, of tears, and God
was the father of those tears
The king of Carthage was dethroned.
His people rebelled against him. He
was driven into Punishment. His wife
wife and children were outrageously
abused. Years went by aud the king
Of Carthage made many friends. He
gathered up great army. He marched
again toward Carthage Reaching the
gates of Carthage, the best men of the
place came out bare-footed and bare
headed, and with ropes around
their necks, crying for mercy.
They said: ave abused you and
we abused your family, but we cry for
mercy" The king of Carthage looked
down upon the people from his chariot
and said: AZ came to bless, didn't
come TO destroy. You drove me out,
but this day pronounce pardon for all
the people. Open the gate and let the
army come in" The king marched in
and took the throne, and the people
all shouted: Long live the king"
Ny friends, you have driven the Lord
Jesus Christ, the King of the
Church, away from your heart;
you have been maltreating him
all these years; but he comes back to-
day. He stands in front of the gates
of your soul. If you will only pray for
mis- pardon, he will meet you with his
gracious spirit end he will say: Thy
sins and thine iniquities will remem-
Der no more. Open wide the gate; will
take the throne. My peace give unto
you" And then, all through this audi
ence, from the young and from the
old, there will be rain OF tears, and
God will be the Father of that rain