The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1891-07-30

'O''"i pauuucI. Az any rate, ii makes
more racket. That is a strange house
that can be dull with child in it. How
That child breaks up the hard worldliness
OF the place, and keeps you young to GO,
~, and 80 years of age! Ifyou have no
enid OF your own adopt one; it Will open
heaven to your soul. 1t will pay it's way.
It's Growing the morning will give the
day cheerful starting, and its glce a:
night will give the day cheerful c.ose.
You do not like children? Then YOU had
better stay out of heaven, for there are
so many there they would fairly make
yoI crazy! Only about live hundred
millions OF ,em. The crusty old phar-
lsces T.. Id the mothers to keep the chill
dren away from Christ. You bother
him." they said: "you trouble the Mas
ter" Trouble him! He has filled hcav-
en- with that kind Of trouble.
a pioneer in California saws that for
the first year or two after his residence
III Sierra Nevada county, there was not
single child IN all the reach Of a hum
dread miles. But the Fourth OF July
came, and the miners were gathered
together and they were celebrating the
Fourth with Oratlon, and poem, and a
bosterous brass hand; and while the band
was playing. an intauJ's voice was heard
crying, and all the miners were startled.
and the swarthy men began to think of
their homes on the Eastern coast, aud of
their wives and children far away. and
their hearts were thrilled with home
sickness as they heard the babe cry.
But the music went on, and the child
cried louder and louder, and the br ass
band played louder and louder, trying
to drown out the infantile interruption,
when swarthy miner, the tears rolling
down his face, got up and shook his list,
and said: stop that noisy band, and
give the baby chance" OH there
Was pathos in it, as we'll as good cheer
III 1t. There Is nothing to 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 it. There
is no one to put to bed at night; no one
to ask strange questions about God and
heaven. Oh, what is the Use OF tnat
high chair: 1t is to call you higher.
What drawing upward it is to have
a preventive against sin. If father is
going away into sin, he leaves the living
OF his children with their mother; but if
the iather is going away into sin, what is
he going to do with dead children float
ing about him, and lowering over his
every wayward step. On, speak ont,
vacant high chair, and say: Father,
come back from sin; mother, come back
DIV
l am waiting for YOU" With respect to
your child, the words Of my text have
been fulfilled: Thou shalt be missed,
because thy scat will be empty"
My hearers. l have gathered up the
voices of your departed friends and tried
to intone them into one invitation up
ward. | set in array all the vacant chairs
of your homes and OF Your social cir
Gle, and bid them cry out this morning:
Time is short, Eternity is near. Take
my Saviour. BE at peace with my God.
Come up where | am. We lived togeth-
er on earth, come let us live together in
heaven" We answer that invitation.
We come. Keep seat for us, as Saul
kept a scat for David, but that seat shall
not be empty. And oh! 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 he worshipplng God III that place
from which we shall 90 out no more for
ever. thank God there will be no vacant
chairs in heaven. There we shall NEE
again and talk over our earthly heart
breaks. How much you have been through
since you saw him last! On the shining
shore you will talk it all over. The
hcartaches. The loneliness. The sleep.
less 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 pressed
1t. 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
midnlhgt-alone. Talking it all over.
and then, hand in hand. walking up and
down III the light. No sorrow, no tears,
no death. Oh. heaven! beautiful heaven!
Heaven where our friends are. Heaven
they take cage of birds am bring 1t to
the tomb of the dead, and then they
open the door of the cage, and the birds,
flying out, singing. And would today
bring Il cage of Christian consultations 70
the grave of our 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
before the throne! Some shout with glad
ness. Some break forth into uncon
trollable weeping for Joy. Some stand
speechlcss in then shock Of delight. They
sing. They quivcr with excessive glad.
ness. They gaze on the temples, on the
palaces, on the waters, on each other.
The wave their Joy into garlands, they
spring it into triumphal arches, they
strike in on timbrcls, and then all the
loved ones gather in great circle
around the throne of GOd-!athers, moth
ers, brothers, sisters, sous and daughters,
lovers and friends, hand to hand around
about the throne OF God-thc circle ever
widcning-hand to hand, JOY to joy.
Jubilee to jubilee, victory to victory,