Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1891-07-30

swarthy minsr. the tears rolling down his
face, got up and shook his fist and said.
stop that noisy band, and give the baby .
chance" Oh, there was pathos In IL, as
well as good cheer Ia it. There is nothing
70 arouse and melt and subdue the soul
like child's voice. But when it goes away
from you the high chair becomes higher
chair and there Is desolation all about you.
In three-fourths Of the homes Of this con-
gregation there is vacant high chair.
Somehow you never get over 1t. There fs
no one to put TO bed at night; no one to ask
strange questions about God and heaven.
Oh, what is the use of that high chairt 1t Is
to call you higher. What drawing up
ward it is to have children in heayenl And
then it is such preventive against sin. II
father is going away into sin he leaves
his living children with their mother; but
If father Is going away into sin what is
he going to do with his dead children float
ing about him and lowering over his every
wayward step. Oh, speak out, vacant
high chair, and say: Father, come back
from sin; mother, come back from world
illness. am watching you. am waiting
for you" With respect to your child the
words of my text have been fulfilled,
"Thou shalt be missed. because thy seat
will be empty"
AN INVITATION UPWARD.
My hearers, | have gathered up the
voices of your departed friends and tried
to intone them into one invitation upward.
l set in array all the vacant chairs of your
homes and of your social circle, and bid
them cry out this morning: Thine isshort.
Eternity is near. Take my Saviour. Be at
peace with my God. Come up where am.
We lived together ON earth; come let us
live together in heaven" We answer that
invitation. We come. Keep seat for us,
as Saul kept a seat for David, but that seat
shall not be empty. And ohl when we are
all through with this world, and we have
shaken hands all around for the last time,
and all our chairs in the home circle and in
the outside world shall be vacant, may we
be worshiping God in that place from
which we shall go out no more forever.
thank God there will be no vacant
chairs in heaven. There we shall meet
again and talk over our earthly heart
breaks. How much you have been through
since you saw them lasti On the shining
shore you will talk 1t all over. The heart
aches. The loneliness. The sleepless
nights. The weeping until you had no
more power to weep, because the heart was
withered and dried up. Story of empty
cradle and little shoe only half worn out
never to be worn again, just the shape Of
the foot that once pressed it. And dreams
when you thought the departed had come
back again, and the room seemed bright
with their faces, and you started up to
greet them and in the effort the dream
broke and you found yourself standing
amid room in the Neutrality-suspicious..
Talking it all over, and then, hand in
hand, walking up and down in the light.
No sorrow, no tears, no death. Oh, heaven!
beautiful heavenl Heaven where our
friends are. Heaven where we expect to
be. In the east they take cage of birds
and bring it to the tomb of the dead, and
then they open the door of the cage, and
the birds, flying ont, sing. And l would
today bring a cage of Christian consola-
tions to the grave of your loved ones, and
would open the door and let them fill all
the air with the music of their voices
Oh, how they bound in these spirits be-
fore the thronel Some shout with glad
ness. Some break forth into uncontrolla-
BILE weeping for Joy. Some stand speech
leSS III CneH Snoch u ueIlSuU' Ahey sing
They quiver with excessive gladness. They
gaze on the temples, on the palaces, on the
waters, on each other. They weave their
joy into garlands, they spring it into tri-
umphal arches, they strike in on timbrels,
and then ali the loved ones gather in a
great circle around the throne of God-fa-
theirs, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and
daughters, lovers and friends, hand to
hand around about the throne of God-the
circle ever widening-hand to hand, joy to
joy, jubilee to jubilee, victory to victory,
until the day break and the shadows flee
away. Turn thou, my beloved, and be
like roe or a young hart upon the noun
tains of Bether"