Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1891-09-11

wounds paw for my wounds. His bereave
rnents for nv bereavementS. His loneliness
for NV loneliness His heart-hreac for my
heart-break. o God for the sake OF the Lord
Jesus Christine God, the Man, the BenJa-
min, the Brother-dehver my agonized
fatigue O Jesus OF the aching head. hea
nv aching head. q Jesus OF the Bethany
sisters roll away the stone from the doc
of our grave" That is the kind OF praye
that brings help: and yet how many OF you
are getting no help at all for the reason that
there is in your soul, perha1s, a secret
trouble You may never have mentioned
it to a single human ear, or you may have
mentioned it to some one who IS no" gone
away, and that great sorrow Is still N
YOUR soul After Washington Irving was
dead, they found little box that contained
braid of hair and miniature, and the name
of Matilda Hoffman and a memorandum
of her death and the remark something Ike
this: THE world after that was blank
to me- I went into the country, but found
no peace in solitude. | tried to go into so
ciety, but found no peace in society. There
has been horror hanging over me by night
and by day, and I am afraid to be alone"
How many unuttered troubles! No hui
man ear has ever heard the sorrow. On,
troubled soul, ] want to tell you that there
is one salve that can cure the wounds OF
the heart and that is the salve made out
of the tears Of a sympathetic Jesus. And
yet some OF you will not take this soace:
and you try choral, and you try morphine.
and you try strong drink, and you try
change of scene, and you try new business
associations, and anything and everything
rather than take the Divine com oanionshlp
and sympathy suggested by the words OF
my text when it says, You shall not see NY
face again unless your Brother be with
you" Oh, that you might understand
something of the height. and depth, and
length, and breadth, and immensely, and
infinity of Gods eternal consultations.
l go further, and find in my subject hint
as to the way heaven opens to the departing
spirit. We are told that heaven has
twelve gates, and some people infer from
that fact that all the people will go in
without reference to their past life; but
what is the use of having gate that Is not
sometimes to be shut? The swinging of a
gate implies that our entrance into heaven
is conditional. 1t is not monetary cond1-
ton. If we come to the door of an exqu1-
site concert, we are not surprised that we
must pav fee for we know that fine earthly
music is expensive, but all the oratoriOs
of heaven cost nothing. Heaven pays
nothing for its music. 1t is all free. There
is nothing to be paid at that door for en-
trance, but the condition Of getting
into heaven is our bringing our Divine
Benjamin along with us. Do you notice how
often dying people call upon Jesus? It ia
the usual prayer ofHered-the prayer offered
more than all the other prayers put together
Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" One OF
our congregation, when asked in the closing
moments of his life. do you know US"
said: ''Oh, yes, know you. God bless you
spirit" and he was gone. Oh. yes, in
the closing moments of our life we
must have Christ to call upon. II Jacobs
sons had gone toward Egypt, and had gone
with the very finest equipaga, and had not
taken Benjamin along with am, and to
fbou hoC
to answer: ''Sir, we didn't bring him, as
father could not let him go; we didn't want
to be bothered with him." voice from
within would have said: $50 away from
US. You shall not have any of this supply.
You shall not see my face because your
brother is not with you" And It we come
up toward the door of heaven at last, though
we come from all luxuriance and brilliancy
of surroundings. and knock for admlttance,
and it Is found that Christ is not with
from NEVER eRs 0fei knew 2ou f Jscobs
sons, coming toward Egypt, had lost every
thing on the way; if they had expended
their last shekel; if they had come up ut
terly exhausted to the corn-cribs of Egypt
and it had been found that Benjamin was
with them, all the storehouses would have
swung open before them. And so, though
by fatal casualty we may be ushered into
the eternal world; though we may be
weak and exhausted by protracted sick
ness-if, in that last moment, we can only
just stagger and faint. and fall into the
gate of heaven-it seems that all the corn
cribs of heaven will open for our need
and all the palaces will open for our recep.
ton; and the Lord Of that place. seated at
His table, and all the angels of God seated
at their table, and the martyrs seated at
their table. and all our glorified kindred
seated at our able, the King shall pass
portion from His table to ours, and then
while we think Of the fact that it
Jesus who started us on the road, and
and Jesus who kept US on the way, and
Jesus who at last gained adnittance for our
soul, we shall be glad if He has seen Of the
travail Of His soul and been satisfied, and
not be at all jealous if it be found that our
Divine Benjamin's mess is five times larger
than all the rest. Hail! anointed Of the
Lord. Thou art worthy.
My friends, you see it is either Christ or
famine. If there were two banquets
spread, and to one of them only you might
go, you might stand and think for a good
while as to which invitation you had better
accept; but here it Is feasting or starvation.
II it were choice between oratorios, you
might say: 81 prefer the 'Creation,'" or
Il prefer the Messiah" But here it is a
choice between eternal harmony and ever
lasting discord. Oh, will you live or die:
Will you start for the Egyptian corn-crib
or will you perish amid the empty barns of
the Canaanitish faminei 'Ye shall not
see My face, except your Brother be with
YOU"