Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1893-04-28

breathe It'll All throu n the city society
of kind, genial, generous. sympathetlc
people. How they by to you when you are
in troubled How they watch over you whsn
YOU are sick How tender they are with
you when you have buried your dead,
Brooklyn is a good place to I've IN, goa
place to die in, good place to be buried IN,
a good place from which to rise in the
beautiful resurrection.
In such a city have been permittsi 10
have "a years Of pastorate. Daring these
years how many hearthreakS how many
losses how many bereavementsl Hardly
family of the church that has not been
struck with sorrow. But Col has sustained.
you in the past, and He will sustain you in
the future. / exhors you TO be OF COOL
cheer, On thou of tae broken heart. Weep
ing may endure for night, but JOY c)meth
in the morning" | wish over every door OF
this church we might have written thu
word mpathy"-sympathy for all the
young.
We must crowd them in here by thou
sands ami propose a radiant gospel that
they will take on the spot. We must make
this place so attractive for the young that
young man will come here on Sabbath morn
ing, put down his hat, brush his hair back
from his forehead, unbutton his overcoat
and look around wondering il he has not by
mistake got into heaven. lie Will see in the
faces Of the old people not the gloon which
some people take for religion, but tbs sun
shine of celestial peace, aud h9 Will say,
"Why, | wonder il that isn't the same poacsl
tn It snole out on the face of my father and.
mother. when they lay dyingT
Aud then there will CO. ne damp1ess IN
bis eyes through which he can hardly seq,
and no viii close his eyes to imprisou the
emotion, but the hot tear will break through
the fringes of eyelashes and drop upon thu
coat sleeve. He will put his head on the
back Of the pew in front aud sob. Lord
God Of the old people, help me!' We ought
10 lay plot here fo' the religious capture
of ali the young people in Brooklyn.
Yes. sympathy for the old. They have
their aches and pains AMI distresses. Tney.
cannot hear or walk o. see as we'll as they
used to- We must BE- reverential in their
presence. Ga dark days we must help them
through the aisle aud help them find the,
place in the hymn book. Some Sabbath
morning we shall miss them fro n heir place
AMI we shall say, "Wnere is Father So-an1-,
so to-1avr' and the answer will be; "What,
haven't you heard? Toe Kings wagons
have taken jacob up to the palace where his
Joseph is yet alive"
sympathy for business men. twenty
four years of commercial life in New York
and Brooklyn are enough to tear ones
nerves TO pieces We want to make our
Sabbath service here rescue for all these
martyrs of traffic, foretaste of that land
where they have no rents to pay, and there
are no business rivalries. and where riches,
instead of taking wings to hy away, brood
over other riches
sympathy for the fallen, remembering
that they ought to be pitied as much as al
man run over with rail train. The fact is
that in the temptations and mistortuneS OF
life they get run over. You and IN the
s. me circumstances would have done as
badly. We should have done worse perhaps.
If Won and had the same evil surroundings
ami the same evil parentage that they had
and the same native horn procliyities to evil
that they had, you aui | should have been
in the penitentiary or outc9sts OF society.
mo" says some self righteous man, u
couldn't have been overthrow in that way.
You old hypocrite. you would have been the
first to fall
I'VE want in this church to have sympathy
for the worst man, remembering he Is a
brother; sympathy for the worst woman.
remembering she is a sister. II that is not
the gospel, | do not know what the gospel
is. Alb, yes, sympathy for all the troubled,
for the orphans in their exposure, for
widowhoOd with its weak arm iyhting for
bread. for the household which erst re-
sounded witt merry voices aud patterlng
feet now awfu.ly till-brold-winget sym
pathy, like the feathers OF the Almighty;
warm FLOODED sympathy, everlasting SYM
pathy: sympathy which shows itself a the
grasp OF the hani, in the glittering tear of
the eve, in the conSoliny word OF the
mouth: sympathy of blankets for the cold,
Of bread for the hungry, OF medicine for the
SICK, Of rescue for the lost. sympathy!
Let it thrill in every sermon. Let it
tremble in every song. Lett CLEAN in ey9ry
tear and in every light Sympathy Men
and women are signing for sympathy,
groaning for sympathy, dying for SYM :
pathy. tunbling of into uucleanIiness AMI f;
crime AMI psriition for lacI OF sympathy.
May Col give it to US! Fill all this pulpit
with it from step to step. Let the sweep OF .
these galleries suggest its enc'rcling arms
Fill all the house with it, from door to
door, and from floor TO ceiling, until there ,
is no more room for it, and it shall overflow
into the street, and paSsers5y on foot auf in
carriage shall feel the throb OF its magnih- .
cent benediction.
Let that be our new departure as a
church. Let that be my new departure az !
pastor Sympathy Gratitude to Col de-
mands that this morning | mention thu
fact that during all these ~ years ! have
missed but one service through sickness.
When l entered the ministry l was so deli
cate ! did not think l would preach three
months, but preaching has agreed with me,
and think the healthiest thing in all the
earth Is the religion of Jesus Christ! Bless
the Lord, o my soul What ingrates we
are in regard to our health
must, in gratitude to Col, also mention
the multitudes to whom l have been per-
Initted TO preach. 1t is simply miraculous,
the attendance morning by morning, night
by night. aud year by year, and long after
it has got TO be an old story. 1 know somo
people are dainty aud exclusive In their
tastes. As for myself like big crowd.
/ would like to see an audience large enough.
TO scare mel II this gospel is good, the more
that get it the better.
Many have received the gospel here, but
Others have rejected it, Now, | tell you
what am going to do with some OF my
dearest friends who have hitherto rejected
the gospel. You are not afraid OF me, and
am not afraid OF you, and some day, q
brother, l will clasp your hands together,
and | viii turn your face the other way,
and will take hold Of your shoulders. AM
while you are helpless in my grasp vii
give you one hea1long push into ths king
dom of God. Christ says we must comps
you to come in. / will compel you to com'
in. Can l consent to anything else witt
these men. who are as dear to ma as my Owl
soul? will compel vou TO come 10.
Fronting by the mistakes OF tn9 past, 1
must do better work for you and better
work for God Lest | might. through some
81 iden illness or casualty, be snatchel away
before have the opportunity Of doing so, [
take this occasion to declare my love for
you as a people. 1t is different work if
pastor is placed in a church already built
up, and be is surrounded By established cir
cumstancss. There are not ten people in
this church that have not been brought into
the church through my ministry. You are
my family. | feel as much at home here as
DO in my residence on Oxford street. You
are my family-my father my mother, my
sister, my son, my daughter. You are my
joy and crown, the subject Of my prayers.
Your present and er'asting welfare is
the object Of my ambition. | have no
worldly ambition. had once 1 have not
now. know the world about as well as
any one knows IL. | have heard the hand
clipping Of its applause and ] have herd
the hiss Of its opposition. and | declare to
you that the former is not especially to be
sought for, nor is the latter TO be feared.
The world has given me about all the COM
fort and prosperity it can give a man, AMI
have no worldly ambition. 1 have an all
consuming ambition to make full proof OF
my ministry, TO get 10 heaven myself and
TO take great crowl with me. Upon your
table and cradle and armchair and pillow
and lounge and nursery aud drawing room
and kitchen may the blessing Of the
A IL (NA.l