The Dickinson press., 1892-06-04

lad came in with a tray of food, and
said, "Eat, it will do you good" The
emperor looked up and said, "you
are from the country" thelad replied,
Eyes" "Your father has q cottage
and few acres OF ground?" eyes. "
"There is happiness" said the defect
ed emperor. ALI! Napoleon never
put the emphasis in the right place
until he was expiring at St. Helena.
On the other hand, look at satisfac
tion amid the worst earthly disad-
vantage. "I never saw until l was
blind" said christian man. 81 nev.
er knew what contentment was while
had my eyesight, as l know what
content is now that l have lost my
eyesight. / affirm, though few would
credit it, that | would not eX.
change my present position and Cir
cumstances for my circumstances
before l lost my eyesight." That
man put the emphasis.
IN THE RIGHT PLACE.
We want to put less stress upon
this world, and more stress upon our
God as our everlasting portion. Dav-
id had found out the nothingness OF
this world and the all-sufiiciency OF
God. Notice how he interjects the
Selahs. ",Trust in the Lord at all
times; ye people, pour out your
hearts before Him. God is a refuge
for us. Seluh." BLESSED be the Lord
who daily loads us with benefits,
even the God of our salvation. Sc.
lah." ".The Lord shall count when he
writes up the people, that the man
was born there. Selah."
But when / speak of the Selah OF
emphasis l must notice it as a start
ling, q dramatic emphasis. 1t has in
the "hark," the "hist OF the drama.
That weakening and arousing en-
phasis we who preach and instruct
need to use more frequently. The
sleepiest audiences in the world are
religious audiences.
You Sabbath school teachers ought
to have more OF the dramatic ele-
ment in your instructions. By graphic
scripture scene, by anecdote, by de-
scriptive gesture, by impersonation,
urge your classes to right action. We
want in all our schools and colleges
and prayer-meetings and in all our
attempts at reform, andi in all church
es, to have less OF the style didactic
and more OF the style dramatic.
Oh! we want in all our different de-
partments OF usefulness-andI | adj
dress hundreds OF people who are try
ing to do good-we want
MORE OF THE DRAMATIC ELEMENT
and less OF the didactic. Tie tendency
in this day is to drone religion, to
whine religion, to cant religion, to
moan religion, to croak religion, to
sepulchrize religion, when we ought
to present it in animated and
spectacular manner.
What we want, ministers and lay
men, isto get our sermons and our
exhortations and our prayers out OF
the old rut. l see q great deal OF dis
cussion in the religious papers about
why people do not come to church.
They do not come because they are
not interested. The old hackneyed
religious phrases that come moving
down through the centuries will never
arrest the masses. What we want
today, you in your sphere and l in
my sphere, is to freshen up. People
do not want in their sermons the
flowers bought at the millinery shop,
but the japonicas wet with the morn.
ing dew; nor the heavy bones OF ex.
tinct megathe1ium OF past ages, but
the living reindeer caught last August
at the edge OF Schroon lake. We want
to drive out the drowsy, and the pro
sale, and the tedious, and the hum
drum, and introduce the brightness
and vivacity, and the holy sarcasm
and the sanctilied wit, and the epi
gramnlatic power, and the blood-red
earncstness, and the fire OF religious
zeal, and do not know OF any way
OF doing it as we'll as through the dra
matte. Attention. Behold! Hark
Selah!
Next, speak OF the Selah OF per
petuity. The Tarsum, which is the
Bible in Chaldee, renders this word o
my text "forever." Many writers
believein agreeing and stating that
one meaning OF this word is 'for
ever" In this very verse from which
take my text Selah means not only
poetic significance and intermissior
and emphasis, but it means eterna
observation-disclosures, Gods govern
ment forever, Gods goodness forever
the gladness OF the righteous forever
OF course; you and havenot survey
or's chain with enough link te
measure the domain OF meaning. IL
this world we must build everythin!
on small scale. A hundred years
are great while. A tower 500 fee
is great height. A journey OF 4,OO(
miles is very long. But eternity!
the archangle has not strength of win
to fly across it, but
| FLuTTERs AND DROPS
like wounded seagull, there is NJ
need OF our trying in the small shadow
Of human thought to voyage acros
it.
j There can be no erernalization O
anything earthly. But forever! Will
you and l live as long as that? w
Il are apt to think of the hearse as ou
last vehicle. We are apt to think O
seventy or eighty or ninety years, ant
then a cessation. Instead OF that W
j find the marble slab of the tomb i
only a milestone, marking the frs
mile, and that the great journey j
beyond. We have only time enougl
: in this world to put on the sandal
J and to clasp our girdle and to pick VI
; our staff. We take our first step iron
} cradle to grave, and then we open tn
: door and start-great God, whittier
} The clock strikes the passing away c
time, but not the passing away c
eternity. NIeasureless! Measureless
} The hambra and hut, betwee1
, chariot and cart, between throne an
: curbstone, between Administer an
3 bare floor, between satin an
/. sackcloth, very trivial. This selah c
t perpetuity makes our gettingready s.
9 Important. For such prolongatio
) OF travel, what outfit of guidebooks
of passports and of escort? Are W
putting out OH desert, simoon-swep
and ghoul-haunted, or into regions c
. sun-lighted and spray-sprinkled gal
dens? Will it be Elysium or Gehenna
= Once started i'll that world, wecanno
stop. The current is SO swift tina