The Bossier banner., 1892-05-12
est wing. See, they fly! they fly! "All

| IcnGhS Oh Ills llle mas Deen WaSIeu.
Then l answer, come with crutches;
come, old men, blind and deaf, come
| to Jesus. If you would sweep your
hand around before your blind eyes,
the first thing you would touch would
be the cross. 1t is hard for an aged
man or woman to have grown old with
out religion. Their taste is gone. The
peach and grape have lost their flavor
They say that somehow fruit does not
taste as itsused to. Their hearing gets
defective, and they miss Il great deal
that is said in their presence.
Their friends have all gone, and
eve 'ybody seems so strange. The world
seems to go away from them, and they
are left all alone. They begin to feel
in the way when you come into the
room where they are, and they move
their chair nervously and say: II hope
l am not in the way" Alas! that IA
ther and mother should ever be in the
way. When you were sick, and they
sat up all night rocking you, singing to
you, administering to you, did they
think that you were in the way? Are
you tired of the old people? Do you
snap them up quick and sharp? You
will be cursed to the bone for your in
gratitude and unkindness.
Oh! it is hard to be old without re-
ligion-to feel this world going away,
and nothing better coming. If there
be any here whd4lave gone far on with
out Christ, l address you differentially.
You have found this tough world for
old people. Alas! to have aches and
pains, and no Christ to soothe them. !
want to give you cane better than
the one you lean on. 1t is the cane
that the Bible speaks of, when it saws:
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort
me-" / want to give you better spec
tacles than those you now look through
t'is the spiritual eyesight of Divine
grace. Christ will not think that you
are in the way. Does your head trem-
BILE, with palsy of old age? Lay in on
| Christs bosom. Do you feel lonely
now that you companions and children
are gone? l think Christ has them.
They are safe in His keeping. Very
soon He will take you where they are
| take hold of your arm and try to
| y
down all your burden. Go with me.
| Only little while longer, and your
sight will come again, and your hear
| ing will come again, and with the
strength of an immortal athlete you
will step on the pavement of Heaven.
No crutches in Heaven; no sleepiess
nights in Heaven; no cross looks for
old people. Dwelling there for ages,
no one will say: Father, you know
nothing about this; step back, you are
in the way" Oh, how many dear old
folks Jesus has put to sleep! How
sweetly He has closed their eyes! How
| gently folded their arms! How He has
| put His hand on their silent hearts and
said: REST now, tired pilgrim. 1t is
all over. The tears will never start
again. Hush! hushr' So, He gives
His beloved sleep. l think the most
beautiful object on earth is an old
Christian-the hair white, not with the
trosts of winter, but the blossoms of
life. l never feel sorry for Christian
old man. Why feel sorry for those
upon whom the glories of the eternal
world are about to burst? They are
going to the goodly cedar Though
their wings are heavy with age, God
shall renew their strength like the
eagle, and they shall make their nest in
the cedar. "All fowl of every wing"
Again: The very bad, the outrage
ously sinful, may come. Men talk of
the grace of God as though it were so
many yards long and so many Yards
deep People point to the dying thief
as an encouragement to the sinner.
How much better it would be to point
to our own case and say: IF God saved
us He can save any body" There NAV
be those here who never had one earn
est word said to them about their souls.
Consider me as putting my hand on
your shoulder and looking in your
eyes. God has been good to you. You
ask: "How do you know that? He has
been very hard on me- Where did
you come from?" Home" ''Then you
have home. Have you ever thanked
God for your home? Have you chill
dren?" yes" Have you ever
thanked God for your children? Who
keeps them safe? We're you ever
| SlCh' 1eS. VINO made Won
we'll? Have you been fed every
day? Who feeds you? Put your
hand on your pulse. Who makes
it throb? Listen to the respira-
tion of your lungs. Who helps YOU to
breathe? Have you a Bible in the
house, spreading before you the future
life? Who gave you that Bible?" OH!
1T has been a story of goodness and
mercy all the way through. You have
been one of Gods pet children. Who
fondled you, and caressed you, and
loved you? And when you went
astray, and wanted to come back, did
lie ever refuse? | know of a father
who, after his son came back the fourth
time, said: mo, l forgave you three
times, but l will never forgive Won
again" And the son went off and
died. But God takes back His children
the thousandth time as cheertully as
the first. AS easily as with my hand
kerchief l strike the dust off a book,
God will~wipe out all your sins.
There are hospitals for ,incurabies.
When men are hopelessly sick, thew
are sent there. Thank God! there is
/ Ill