The Penn's Grove record., 1893-04-28


Your present and everlasting welfare is
the object OF my ambition. | rave nc
worldly ambition. had oncr. have ROT
now. 1 LOT the world about az well a.
any one knows it. | have heard the hand,
clapping OF ITS applause. and ] have heard
the hiss OF its opposition, and | declare Ia
you that the for uer is not especially TO be
sought for, nor is ths latter 10 be- feared.
The world has given ne about all the COM
tort n prosperity 1t can Civ a man, ami |
have no worldly ambition. have an all
consuming ambition to make full proof OF
my ministry, to get to heaven myself and
to take a great CROW I with me. Uoon your
table and cradle and armchair and pillow
aud lounge and nursery and drawing room
and Kitchen may the blessing of the
Al Mighty God cnne down.
During these "a years there is hardly a
family that has not been invade I by sorrow
or death. Where are those grand, old men,
those glorious Christian women, who usei
10 worship with us? WHY. they went away
INTO the next world so gradually that they
had concluded the second stanz4 or the
third stanzA in heaven before you knew they
we're gone. They had on the crown before
you thought they had dropped the staff OF
the earthly pilgrimage.
And then tho dear children. Oh, how
many have gone out OF this church, You
could not keep them. You folded them in
your arms and said: 20 Col, | cannot
give them upi Take all else, take my prop
erty, take my reputation, but let me keep
his treasure. Lord, | cannot bear this"
Oh, il We could all die togetheri II wa
sould keep all tn sheep aud the lambs OF
the family fold toy ather until soma bright
spring day, the birds A.cdlnt. AMI the
waters a-glittar, AMI then we coulI alto
gether hear the voice Of t .e gO,i Shepherd
and hand in hand pass throu5 Oh the fooii
No, no, no, mol Oh. it we only had notice
that we are all 10 lepaTt together, an vs.
could say to our families: Tue time has
come. The Lord bids us away" An then
we could take our little children to their
beds and ~straighted out their limbs an | say:
''Now sleep the last sleep, Good night un.
til it is good morning" Aud then we could
go to our own couChes aud say: Nov,
altogether we are ready to go. Our chill
tren are gone; no@ let Us depart"
No, mol 1t is one by one, 1t may be In
the midnight. II may be ia the winter and
In the now coming down twenty inches
deep over our grave, 1t may be in the
strange hotel and our arm too weak to pull
the bell for help. 1t luay be 50 suddenly we
hava no time even to say gooiby. Death is
4 bitter, crushing. tremendous curse.
l play you three tunes on the gospel harp
ot comfort. "Weeping may endure for a
night, but joy cometh in this morning.
That is one. "All things work together Tor
good to those who lows God" That is the
second. "Aud the Lamb which ia in the
midst of the throne shall leaf them to liv-
ing fountains of water, and God shall wipe
all tears from their eyes, That is the
third. During these 81 years 1 AVE tried
as far as l could BY argument, by illastra-
ton and by carlcature To fill you with dis
gust with much OF 3his mo1ern religion
which people are trying now TO substitute
for the religion OF Jesus Christ and the rslig-
lon of the apostles.
| have tried to persuade you that the worst
If ali can't is the cant OF ~skepticism, n IN
stead OF you apOlogizing for Christianity
IL was high time that those who do not be-
lieve in Christianity should apologize to you,
and / have triet to show that the biggest
Williams in the universe are those who would
try to rob us of this Bible, and that the
grandest mission of the church OF Jesus
Christ is that of bringing souls to the Lord
"a soul saving ohu oh
but now those years ara gone. II you
have neglected your duty, If | have neg
iected my duty, II Is neglected forever.
Each year has its work. If the work is
performed within the Il months, 1t is done
forever. II neglected, 1t is neglected for
3ver.
When a woman was dying she said,
hCall them back, 1ney ull hOb know
what she meant. She had been a disciple
of the world. She said, 'Oh, call them
backp They said, "Who do you want US
to call backr' ''Oh," she said, ''call them
back. the days, the months, the years | have
wasted. Call them backF' But you cannot
call them back; you cannot call a year back,
or q month back, or a week back, or an hour
back, or a second back. Gone nee, it Is
gone forever.
When a great battle was raging, a mes
senger came up anu said to the general, who
was talking with an officer, General, we
have taken q standard from the enemy"
The general kept right on conversing with
his fellow officer, and the messenger said
again, General, we nave taken a standard
from the enemy" Still the general kept
right On, and the messenger lost MS patience,
not having his message seemingly apprecia-
ted, and said again, General, We have taken
a standard from the enemy" The general
then looked at him and said, Take another
All, forgetting the things that are behind,
let us look to those that ara before. WIN
another castle; take another standard; galD
smother victory.
Roll on, sweet day of the worlds smanci-
patton, when ''the mountains and the hllls
shall break forth into singing, and all the
trees of the wood shall clap their hands,
and instead of the thorn shall come up the
fir tree, and instead of the brier will come
up the myrtle tree, AMI it shall be unto the
Lord for a name, for an everlasting sligo
That cannot bU cut Off"