Democratic messenger., 1892-06-04
do You not go into the secret place of


ton. or cloud of poverty, or cloud of
bereavement. or cloud of perplexity."
How glad | am that you told me that.
That is exactly the place to which my
text refers. II was from n cloud that
God answered lsrael-the cloud over the
chasm cut through the Red sea-the
cloud that was light TO the Israelites
and darkness to the Egyptians. 1t was
from cloud. n tremendous cloud. that
God made reply. 1t was cloud that
was the secret place of thunder So
you cannot get away from the consola-
tion of my text by talking that way.
Let all the people under cloud hear it.
II answered thee in the secret place of
thunder"
INFLUENCE OF THE OLD HOME.
This subject helps me to explain some
things You have not understood about
men and women, and there are multi
tudes of them, and the multitude is null
tiplying by the minute. Many of them
have not Il superabundance of educa-
ton. II You had their brain in post
mortem examination. and you could
weigh il. it would not weigh any heav-
ier than the average. They have not
anything especially impressive in per
sonal appearance. They are not very
fluent Of tongue. They pretend to moth
ing unusual in mental faculty or social
influence. but you feel their power; YOU
are elevated in their presence; you are
better man or Il better woman. having
confronted them. You know that in in
tellectual endowment you are their SUI
perior. while in the matter of moral and
religious influence they are vastly Your
superior. Why is this:
To find the revelation of this secret
you must 20 back thirty or forty or
perhaps sixty years to the homestead
where this man was brought mp. II is q
winter morning. and the tallow candle
is lighted. and the fires are kindled,
sometimes the shavings hardly enough
to start the wood. The mother is pre-
pairing the breakfast, the blue edged
fishes are on the table, and the lid of
The kettle on the hearth begins to rattle
with the steam. and the shadow of the
Industrious woman by the flickering
iaine on the hearth is moved up and
iown the wall. The father is at the
barn feeding the stock-thc oats thrown
INTO the horses bin and the cattle
craunching the corn. The children. ear
ing called twice, are gathered ut the
table
The blessing Of God is asked on the
food. and. the meal over. the family
Bible i. put upon the white tablecloth
and a chapter is read and prayer made,
which includes all the interests for this
world and the next. The children pay
not much attention to the prayer. for it
is about the same thing day after day,
but it puts upon them an impression
that ten thousand years will only make
more vivid and tremendous AS long rs
the old folks live their prayer is for their
children and their children's children.
Day in and day ont, month in and month
out, year III and year out. decade i'll and
decade out the sons and daughters of
that family are remembered III earnest
prayer. and they know it. and they feel
it, and they cannot get away from it.
Two funerals after awhile-not more
than two years apart, for it is seldom
that there is more ,han that lapse Of
time between fathers going and moth
FRS going-two funerals put out of sight
the old folks. But where are the chill
iren: The daughters are in homes
Eherc they are incarnations of good
lense. industry and piety. The sons,
perhaps one farmer. another Il mer-
chant. another mechanic. another IL
physician. another II minister of the
Gospel. useful, consistent. admired. hon
Dred. What Il power for good those
seven SONS and daughters. Where did
they get the power: From the schools,
and the seminaries, and the colleges:
Oh, no. though these may have helped.
From their superior mental endowment:
No. do not think they had unusual
mental caliber. From accidental cir
:umstances: No. they had nothing of
what is called astounding good luck.
THE FOUNTAIN OF PIoUS INFLUENCE.
think we will take train and ride
to the depot nearest to the homestead
from which those men and women start
ID. The train halts. Let us stop a few
minutes at the village graveyard and see
the tombstones Of the parents. Yes. the
one was seventyfour years Of age and
the other was sevcnty-two. and the epi-
taph says that after useful life they
died n Christian death" How apprv-
priately the Scripture passage cut on the
mothers tombstone. She hath done
what she could" And how beautiful
the passage cut on the fathers tomb
stone. blessed are the dead who die in
the Lord, for they rest from their labors
and their works do follow them"
On over the country road we ride
the road little rough, for the spring
weather is not quite settled, and one,
down in rut il is hard 10 get the wheels
out again without breaking the shafts
But ut last we come to the lane il
front of the farmhouse. Let me get oui
of the wagon and open the gate while
You drive through. Here is the arbol
under which those boys and girls many
years ago used To play. But il is quite
ont of order now, for the property is il
other hands. Yonder is the orchard
where they used To thrash the trees fol
apples, sometimes before they wcr,
quite ripe. There is the NOW wher,
they hunted for eggs before Easter
There is the doorsill upon which they
used to sit. There is the room i'll which
they had family prayers and where the,
all knelt-the father there, the mother
there and the boys and girls there.
We have got to the fountain of piou.
and gracious influences at last. That i.
the place that decided those seven earth
ly and immortal destinies. Behold
Behold! That is the secret place o
thunder. Boys are seldom more thar
their fathers will let them be. Girl,
are seldom more than their mothers vii
let them he. But there come timc
when it seems that parents cannot con
troll their children. There come times
in boys life when he thinks he knows
more than his father does, and remcm
Der now that | knew more at fifteel
years of age than | have ever known