Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1892-01-16
And il Is all very well for

the young. And 1t Is all very well 1or
us to show how early in life one can do
very great things for God and the well
fare OF the world, but some OF the
mightiest work for God has been done
BY septuagenarians and octogenarians
and nonagenarians Indeed, there Is
work which none but such can do.
They preserve the equipoise of senates,
of religious denominations, Of reform
atory movements. Young men for
action, old men for counsel Instead OF
any of you beginning to fold up
your energies arouse anew your
energies. Let me say to those
In the afternoon Of life: Don't be
putting off the harness; when God
wants it off He will take It off. Don't
be frightened out of life by the grip as,
many are. At the first snecze OF the
influenza many give up all as lost No
new terror has come on the earth. The
microbes as the cause of disease were
described in the Talmud LOO years
ago as 'invisible legions Of dangerous
ones" Don't be scared out OF life by
all this talk about heart failure. That
trouble has always been in the world.
That is what all the people that ever
passed out of this life have died Of
heart failure. Adam had it and all OF
his descendants have had 1t or will
have it. Do not be watching for symp-
toms, or you will have symptoms OF
everything. Some of you will yet die
of symptoms.
But while looking Mt the sun dial OF
Ahaz and see the shadow of it move,
notice that it went back toward the
sunrise instead of forward toward the
sunset-toward the morning instead OF
toward the night. That thing the
world is now willing to do and in many
cases has done. There have great
many things been written and spoken
about the sunset of life. / have said
some of them myself But my text
suggests better idea. The Lord who
turned back that day from going to-
ward shutdown and started it toward
sunrise is willing to do the same thing
for all of US. The theologian who
sticks to old religious technicalities I'M
til they become soporifics would not
call it any thing but conversion. call
it change from going toward shutdown
to going toward sunrise.
That man who never tries to I'M
buckle the clasp of evil habit and who
keeps all the sins of the past and the
present freighting him, and who ig'
nores the one redemption made by the
only One who could redeem. If that
man will examine the sun dial he will
find that the shadow is going forward
and he is on the way to shutdown. His
day is on the road to night All the
watches that tick, all the clocks that
strike. all the sand glasses that empty
themselves, all the shadows that move
on all the sun dials indicate the APP
proach of darkness. But now, in an
swcr to prayer. as in my text the
change was in answer to prayer, the
pardoning Lord reverses things and the
man starts toward sunrise instead OF
sunset. He turns the other way. He
was marching toward indifference,
marching toward hardness of heart.
marching toward prayerlessness,
marching toward sin, marching toward
gloom, marching toward death. Now
he turns and marches toward peace,
marches toward light and marches to-
ward high hope and marches toward Q
triumph stupendous and everlasting.
/ preach the sunrise. As look at
that retrograde movement OF the
shadow on Ahaz's dial remember that
it was O sign that Hezekiah was going
to get well, and he got well. So have
to tell all you who are by the grace OF
God having your day turned from de
cline toward night, to ascent toward
morning that you are going to get
well-well of all your sins, well OF all
your sorrows. we'll of NIL your earthly
distresses. Sunrise!
But, says someone, all that you say
may be true, but that does not hinder
the horrors of dissolution. Why, you
who are the Lords are not going to die.
All that the grave gets of you as com
pared with your chief, your immortal
nature, is as the clippings OF your
unRer uhllS 10 COlhPn1Oo "AA
whole body. Death will be only the
scissoring off OF that which could be OF
no use and the soul has no funeral
over that which would be IN awful
nuisance if we could get rid of 1t.
Sunrise! But not like one of those
mornings after you had gone to bed
late, or did not sleep well, and you get
up chilled and yawning, and the morn
ing bath is repulsion, and you feel
like saying to the morning sun shining
into your window: 81 do not see what
you find to smile about; your bright
ness is to me q mockery." But the in
rush of the next world will be morn
ing after a sound sleep, a sleep thst
nothing can disturb, and you will risS,
the sunshine in your faces, and IN
IN Haauan Wf<fr