Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1893-03-03

into this world and born into the bosom OF
Christ at the sams time. Soon we parents
will have to 60 AMI leave our children. We
fight their battles now, AMI We stand be-
tween them and harm, but our arm will al
ter a while get weak and we cannot fight
for them, and our tongue will he palsie1,
and we cannot speak for them. Are we go
| ing to leave them out in the cold world to
take their chances. or are wa doing all we
can to get them under the wing OF eternal
safety,
But we all neel the protecting wing. X
| You had known when you entsrei upon
manhood and womanhooi what was ahea1
If you, would you have darai to undertake
I life? How much you havS b3e1 through
/ With most life has been a disappo intment;
they tell me so. They have rot attainsi
that which they expected to attain. They
have not had the physical and mental vigor
thov expected. or they have met with re-
bufS which they did not anticipate. You
are not at 40 or 50 or 60 or ~ or 80 years OF
age where you thought you would be. l do
not know anyone except myself 20 whom
lie has been happy surprise. l never ex-
! pecte1 anything, and so when anything
came in the shape OF human favor or com.
Portable position or widening field OF work it
was TO me a surp;iss.
80 ne of my fellow students that | never
would get anybody to hear me preach unless
| changed my styls, so that when ! foun
that some people did come to hear me il was
a happy surprise. But most people, accord =
lug to their own statement, have founi life
disappointment. Iu1eei we all nee1 shell
tar from its tsmpsSts. About O'Clock on
hot August afternoon you have heard rum
bic tn it you first took for a wagon crossing
4 bridge. but afterwari there was a louder
rumbliny. and you said, Way, that is thun-
derr' Aud sure enou III the clouds were be-
lug convoSs1 for full diapaSon. A whole
park OF artillery went rolling dow1 the
heavens and the blinds o; the windows in
the SKY were close !. But the sounds above
were not mora certain than the sounds be-
meath.
The cattle came to tho bars an moansi
for them T. BIZ let dowl that tlsy might
come home TO shelter. and tls fowl, whether
DARK Bcahma or Hamburg or LsghOrn o.
Dominica, began to call 70 its young,
"Cluckm "Cluck' "CiucGr an take them
under the wagon house. or shei, ami had
them all hid under the soft feathers by the
time that ths first plash Of rain stru,k the
roof.
SO there are su idea tsmptests for ouc
souls and, oh how dark it gets, and threat
ening clouds OF bankruptcy or sickness or
persecution or bereavment gather AMI
thicken and blacken, and some run for shell
ter to bank, but II Is poor shelter, aud
others run to friendly advisers. and they fall
to help, ami others fly nowhere simply BE-
cause they know not where to 60 and they
perish in the blast, but others hear divine
call saying, "Cone, for all things are now
ready "rhe spirit and the bride say
come" Aud while the heavens are thunder
ing terror the divine voice protfers mercy,
and the soul comes under the brOoding care
Of the Almighty las hen gath erstl her
chickens under her wing
The wings of my text suggest warmth,
and that is what most folks want TIE rae
is that this is a c)lt world whether you take
it literally OF fguratively. We have big
Ureplace called the SUI, AMI it has a very
hot fire, and the stoSers keep the Goals we'll
stirred up, but much OF the year we cannot
get near enough to this Fireplace TO get
warmed The worlds extremitieS are cold
all the time Forget not tnatit Is colder at
the south pole than at the north pole, and
that the Arctic is not 50 destructive as the
Autartic Once in awhile the Arctic will
let explorers come back but the Autartic
hardly ever. When at the south pole Siip
sails 10. the door of ice is almost sure TO bs
saut against its return.
So life to many millions Of people at th9
south and many millions o. people at tie
north is a prolonged shiver. but wh9n / say
this is cold worll l chiefly mean fgura-
lively. If you want to know what IS the
meaning of the ordinary term OF receiving
the cold shoulder get out OF money a1t
trg to borrow. The conversation may have
been almost tropical for luxuriauce OF
thou yht and speec1, but suggest your neces-
stiles and ses the thermometer dio? % 81
degrees below zero, and in tat wlic1 till
moment before had been a warm room.
Take what is an unpopular position on some
public question. AMI SEQ your trends ny as
chaff before windmill.
As far as myself is concerned. / have 10
word OF complaint. but look oil day by
day and see communities freezing out mea
AMI women OF whom thu world IS not
worthy. Now it takes after one aud now
after another. 1t becomes popular to de-
preciate and defame and execrate AMI l!e
about some people. This is the best world /
ever rot into. but it is the melne5t world
that some people ever got into. Ths worst
thing tat ever happened 10 them was their
cradle and the best thing that will ever
hanpen to them will be their grave. what
PEOPLE want IS warmth.
Many years sgO a man was f)atlng down
IN the ice of the MeTrimac. aud great Ell )rts
we're msde to rescue him. Twice he got mol
If a plank thrown to him and twice he
slipped away from it, because that end oil the
plank was covered with ice, and be cried out,
'For Gods sake. give me the wooden end OF
the plank this time, aud this done ne was
aauied to shore. The trouble is that IN our
effort, TO save the soul there is too much
GOODNESS and icy formality, and so the I'M
periled one slips Off aud floats down. GIVE
il the other end of the plank warmth o.
svmnathv. warmth Of kindly association,
warmth OF genial surroundings.
The world declines 70 give IT, and 10 many
cases has no powar 10 give 1t, aud here Is
where Christ comes in, and, as on cold day,
the rain beating and the atmosphere fuu OF
sleet the hen clucks her chickens under hef
wings. and the warmth o. her own breast
puts warmth INTO the wet feathers ana the
chilled feet of the infant group of the barn,
ward so Christ says to those sick and trostej
ana disgustei 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 world that
does not understand you and does not wan
10 understand you; | will comfort and
will soothe and will be your warmth, "a
a hen gathereth ber chickens under hei
wing" Oh, the warm heart of God is ready
for all those to whom toe world has given
the cold shoulder.
But notice that soma one must take th9
storm for the chickens. All the hen takes
the storm. have watched her under the
pelting rain. have seen her in the pinch
ing frosts almost frozen 70 death or almost
strangled In tbs waters, AM what fight
she makes for tAe young under wing if
dog or hawk or man comes too nelrl Ant
20 the hrOoling Christ takes the storm for
Us. What foot Of anguish and tears that
did not dash upon His holy soul What
hoax OF torture did not uisrce His vitals :
" nat tarSinS CerOeruS Of hell was not let
out upon Him from the kennels
Whs. lie eniusei. OIL, who can tel.
To save our s0nls from dsa.h and h,n
Yes. the hen took the sto-m for the cnict.
ems, AMI Christ takes the storm for US. Once
the tempest rose 50 suddenly the hen could
not get with her young back from the new
ground to ths barn, and there she is under
the fence half dead. AMI now the rain turns
TO snow, and 1t is an awful night, and In the
morning the whiteness about the gills ami
the beak down in the mui show that tue
mother is dead, and the young ones coma
out and cannot understand why thu mother
does not scratch for them something to eat.
aud they walk over her wings and call with
their tiny voices, but there is no answering
cluck. She took the storm for others and
persisted. Poor thing. Self sacrificing even
unto DEATH
And does it not make YOU think OF Him
who endured all for us? So the wings under
which We coma for spiritual safety are blood