Democratic messenger., 1893-08-12

/ ~--@"--
! reminiscence.
But must not spend any more OF my time
| In going over the advantages of your life.
| lust put them all in one great sheuf, and
| bind them up in your memory with one loud
harvest song, such rs reapers sing Praise
| the Lord We blood bought mortals on earth
| Praise the Lord, ye crowned spirits OF heav-
| en-
| But some OF you have not always had
| smooth life. Some OF you are now In the
shadow. Others had their troubles years ago
| YOU are a mere wreck of what you once were.
| must gather up the sorrows of your past
! life. but how shall do 1t? You say that is
impossible. ms you have had SO somanytroubles
/ and adversities Then will just take two,
! the first trouble and the last trouble.
And when you are walking along the street
| hnd there has been music in the distance
YOU unconsciously ind yourselves keeping
I step TO the music, SO when you started lie
4 your very life was musical timebeat. Tho
/ air was iull OF joy and hilarity. With the
bright clear oar. you made the boar SKIP.
You went on, and life grew brighter, until
after awhile suddenly voice from heaven
said, "Haltr' And you halted. You grew
! pale You confronted your first sorrow
/ You had no idea that the flush on your
/ chiid's cheek was an unhealthy flush. You
| said il cannot he anything serious. Death
! in slippered feet walked round aboCt tho
cradle. You did not hear the tread, bn,
EtltT dWIllle tHc NEutI NA yVN.
walked the floor oh, ii You could, with
your strong, stout hand, have wrenched the
| child from the destroyer!
You went to your room, and you said:
"God. cave my child! God. save my child y
| The world seemed going out In darkness,
/ You said, II cannot bear 1t, cannot bear
! itw You felt as II you could not put the
lashes over the bright eyes never to see them
again sparkle. oh. II you could have taken
that little one in your arms and with it
leaped into the grave, how gladly You would
| have done il Oh. II you could let your
property go. your houses. your land and
| your storehouse go, how gladly you would
have allowed them to depart il you could
| only have kept that one treasured
But one day there arose from the heavens
| n chill blast that swept over the bedroom,
AMI instantly all the light went out. and
there was darkness-thick, murky, impene-
trable, shudderinG darkness. But God did
not leave you there. Mercy spoke. As you
were about to put that cup TO your lips God
said. 'Let it pass" and forthwith as by the
hand OF angels, another cup was put into
! your hands. Ii was the cup of Gods conso-
lation. And as you have sometimes lifted
| the head of a wounded soldier and poured
wine into his lips. so God puts His left arm
| under your head. and with His right Rand
He pours into your lips the wine OF His COM
! fort and His consolation, and you looked ut
| the empty cradle and looked at your broken
heart, and you looked ut the Lords chas-
tisement, and you said Even so, Father.
| for so il seemeth Dcod In Thy sight.
All, il is Your Iirst trouble. How did you
get over it? God comforted you. You have
/ been better man ever since. You have been
! better woman ever since. In the jar OF the
I closing gate OF the sepulcher you heard the
! changing of the opening gate OF heaven and
! you felt an irresistible drawing heavenwlrd.
! You have been purer and holier OF heart ever
since that night when the lite one for tho
las, time put its arms around your neck and
| said: ''Good night. papa. Good night,
mamma Meet me in heaven
But must come on down to your later
sorrow. What was il? Perhaps II was sick
ness. The child's tread on the stair or tho
| tick OF the watch on the stand disturbs you.
Through the long, weary days you counted
| the figures on the carpet or the flowers in
| the wall paper. Oh the WEAKNESS and ex-
haustion! oh, the burning panss. Would
/ God il were morning. would God 1t were
! night, were your frequent cry. But you are
better-perhaps even well. Have youthanked
! God that to-day YOU can come out in the fresh
/ mir that you are in this place to hear God 8
/ name and to sing Gods praise, and TO i'm
! plore Gods help, and TO ask Gods forgive
ness? Bless the Lord who healeth all our
| diseases ami redeemeth our lives from de-
| structioH.
Perhaps -our last sorrow was financial
! embarrassment. l congratulate some of you
| on your lucrative profession or occupation.
on ornate apparel, on commodious resi-
dence-everything You put your hand To
seems TO turn TO gold But there are others
! OF you who are l!ket ship on which Paul
sailed where two seas met, and you are
| broken by the violence OF the waves. By an
unadvised Endorsement. or by n conjunction
of unforeseen events, or by fire or storm, or n
senseless panic you have been lung head
long, and where you once dispensed great
charities now you have hard work 10 make
/ the two ends meet.
Have you forgotten to thank God for your
days OF prosperity, aud that through your
trials some OF You have made investments
whic'I will continue after tho last bank OF
this world has exploded ami the silver and
gold are molten in fires OF a burning world?
Have you, amid all your losses md discour-
aSements, forgot that there was bread on
I your table this morning and that there shall
be a shelter for your head from the storm,
/ and there is air for your lungs and blood for
your heart and light for your eye and glad
and glorious and triumphant religion for
/ your soul?
Perhaps your last trouble was n bereave-
I ment. That helrt which in childhood was
! your refuge. the parental heart, and which
has been n source of the quickest sympathy
| ever since has suddenly become silent for
I ever. And now sometimes whenever in sud-
den annoyance and without deliberation you
/ say. II VIII 10 anu tell ttic
flashes on you, II have no mother Or the
father. with voice less tender. but ut heart as
earnest and loving-watchful of all your
| ways. exultant over your success without
saying much. although the old people do
talk It over by themselves-is taken away
forever.
| Or there was your companion in life.
sharer of your joys and SORROWS, taken, leav-
| Ing the heart an old ruin. where the iii winds
blow over wide wilderness of desolation.
! the sands of the desert driving across the
| place which once bloomed like tho garden OF
| God And Abraham mourns for Sarah mt
! the cave of Machpelah. Going along your
path in life, suddenly, right before you was
an open grave.
People looked down. and they saw it was
) only n few feet deep and few feet wide. but
! to you it was n chasm down which went all
| your hopes and all your expectations.
But cheer up in the name OF the Lord Jesus
J Christ. the comforter. He is not going TO
! forsake YOU. Did the Lord take that child
out of your arms? Why, He IS going To
shelter 1t better than you could. He is going
| to array 1t In n white robe and give IL palm
! branch and have it all ready to greet you ut
your coming home Blessed the broken
/ heart that Jesus heals Blessed the i'm
Fortunate cry that Jesus compassionates.
blessed the weeping eye from which the soft
! hand of Jesus wipes away tho tear.
| Some years ago was sailing down the st.
! John river which is the Rhine and the Hud-
! son commingled in one scene of beauty and
| grandeur, and while was on the deck oil the
steamer gentleman pointed out to me the
/ places OF interest, and he said. ''All this is
| interval land, and it is the richest land in all
the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova
Scotia
! ''what." said I. edo you mean by interval
! land?' ''well," he said. this land is sub
merged for n part of the year. Spring
! freshets come down. and all these plains ars
overnowed with the water, and the water
leaves rich deposit. and when the waters
are gone the harvest springs up. and there IL
| the grandest harvest that was ever reaped.
And instantly thought. 1T is not the
heights of the church and 1t is not the heights
of this world that are the scenes OF the great
est prosperity. but the soul over which the
foods OF sorrow have gone. the soul over
which the freshets of tribuation have torn
their way, that yields the greatest fruits OF
! righteousness. and the largest harvest for
time md tha richest for etarnity" Bless