Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1893-03-04

and lie about some people. lhis ID the
best world / ever got into. but 1t Is the
meanest world that some people ever
rot into. The worst thing that ever
happened to them was their cradle, and
the best thing that will ever happen to
them will be their grave. What people
want is warmth. Many years ago
man was floating down on the ice of the
Merrimac and great efforts were made
to rescue him. Twice he got hold of
plank thrown to him, and twice he
slipped away from it, because that end
of the plank was covered with ice
For Gods sake give me the wooden
end of the plank this timc;" and this
done, he was hauled to shore. The
trouble is that in our efforts to save the
soul there is too much GOODNESS and icy
formality, and SO the imperiled one
slips off and floats down. Give
it the other end of the plank.
Warmth of sympathy, warmth of kindly
association, warmth of genial surround
ings The world declines to give it and
in many cases has no power to give 1t,
and here is where Christ comes in, and
rs on cold day, the rain beating and
the atmosphere full of sleet, the hen
clucks her chickens under her wings
and the warmth of her own breast puts
warmth into the wet feathers and
chilled feet of the infant group of the
barn yard, so Christ says to those sick
and frosted and disguised and frozen of
the world, come in out OF the March
winds of the worlds criticism, come in
out of the sleet OF the worlds assault,
come in out of the world that does not
understand you; will comfort and
will soothc and will be your warmth,
las hen gathers her chickens under
her wing" Oh, the warm heart OF God
is ready for all those to whom the
world has given the cold shoulder.
Yes, the hen took the storm for the
chickens and Christ takes the storm for
us. Once the tempest rose so suddenly
the hen could not get with her young
back from the new ground to the barn,
and there she is under the fence half
dead. And now the rain turns to snow
and it is an awful night, and in the
morning the wilderness about the gills
and the bealS down in the mud show
that the mother is dead, and the young
ones come out and cannot understand
why the mother does not scratch for
them something to eat. and they walk
over her wings. and call with their
tiny voices, but there is no answering
clucl. She took the storm for Others
and persisted Poor thing. Self-sacri-
iicing even unto death. And does it
not make you think of Him who en-
dured all for us? So the wings under
which we come for spiritual safety are
blood-spattered wings. are night
Swallowed wings, are tempest-torn
wings.
But now the summer day is almost
past, and the shadows of the house and
barn and wagon shed have heightened.
The farmer, with scythe or no
on shoulder is returning from the
fields. The oxen are uuyoked The
horses are crunching the oats ut the
full bin. The air is iSwitched of honey
sucklc and wild-briar. The milkman,
pail in hand, is approaching the barn
ward The fowls, keeping early hours,
are collecting their young; ''cluck!"
'clucll." ''cluck" and soon all the eyes
of that feathered nursery are closed.
The bachelors of the winged tribe have
assembled to their perch, but the hens,
in n motherhood divincly appointed,
take all the risk of slumber on the
ground. and all night long the wings
will stay outsprcad and the little ones
will not utter sound. Thus at sun
down. lovingly, safely, completely, the
hen broods her young. So, if we are
the Lords, the evening of our life will
come. The heats of the day will have
passed. There will be shadows and we
cannot see far. The world of life will
be about ended. The hawks of temp
tation that lowered in the sky will have
gone to the woods and folded their
wings. Sweet .silences will come down.
The air will be redolent with the breath
of whole arbors of promises sweeter
than jasmine or evening primrose. The
air may be a little chill, but Christ will
call us, and we will know the voice and
heed the call, and we will come under
the wings for the night the strong
wings, the soft wings, the warm wings,
and without fear, and in full sense of
safety, and then we will rest from sun
down TO sunrise, las hen gathereth
her chickens under her wing"
Oh, We wanderers from God and happi-
ness and home and Heaven, come under
the sheltering wing Under this call l
see you turning from your old way to
the new way, the living way. the gos-
pei way. A vessel in the British chan
mel was nearing the rocks called the
steep Holmes" Under the tempest,
the vessel was unmanageable, and the
only hope was that tne tide would
change before she struck the