Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1893-03-17

to caz OF the heavenly wall. NJ put uo"h
the Jasper for the foundation AMI heapet up
the amethyst for the capital and swung the
IL gates which are 12pelrls. In one instant
He Thought out a universe, aui yet He be.
came child crying for His mother. feeling
along the sides Of the manger, learning to
walk.
Omnipotence sheathsd in the muscle an /
flesh of a child's arm; omniscience stru lg In
the optic nerve Of child's eye: infinite
love beating in childs heart; great Col
appearing in the form of child year old,
wears old. Is years old While all the
heavens were ascribing to Him glory AMI
honor and power on earth, men said, "Who
ia this fellowy While all the heavenly
hosts. with folded wing about their faces
bowed down before Him crying, ".toiy,
ho,y.n on earth. they denounced Him as
hlasnhemer and a sot. Rocked in q boat on
Gennesaret and vet He il is that u1dlrket
the lightning from the storm cloud ana as
mastei Lebanon Of its forests ana nolus vue
five oceans on the tip OF His finger as tne
leaf holds the raindrop. III.
Oh. the complete Saviour, RUBBING ms
hand over the place where we have the pain,
vet the stars of heaven the a1orning gems
OF His right hand. Holding US IN his arms e.1.
when we take our last view OF our dead. OH
ting down with US on the tombstone, anu
while we plant roses there He planting con-
ISOLATION in our heart, every chapter staiH,
every verse q stem, every word a rose a
comnlete Saviour, a complete Bible COM
nlete universe. a complete Jorisnic pass age
Everything that God do,s is complete
Again. learn FROM this Jorllnic passage
that between US and every Canaan of sue
cess and prosperity there Is river that
must be passed. "O5, how ! would IKE
to have some of tli1se grapes On the otder
sidep said some OF the Israelitss to Joshua.
swell y saws Joshua. "why don't you cross
ovsr and get themYi There is river OF
difficulty between us aud everything that is
worth knowing. That which costs nothing
is worth nothing.
God didn't intend this world for an easy
narlor through which we are TO be drawn
In a rocking chair, but we are to work our
passage, climb mastS fight battles, scale
mountains and ford rivers. God make1
everything valuable difficult TO get at FOR
the same reason that de put the gold down
in the mine and the pearl clear down III Ine
sea-to make us dig and dive for them; we
acknowledge this principle in worldly Things;
oh, that we were only wise enough 70 ac'
knowledge it in religious things
You have scores Of Illustrations under
rour own observation where men have al
the hardest lot and been trodden under foot,
and vet after awhile had 1t easy. Now their
homes blossom and bloom with pictures,
and carpets that made foreign looms laugh
now embrace their feet the sum ner winds
lift the tapestry about the window gorgeous
enough for Turkish sultan; impatient
steeds paw and neigh at the door, their car
riages moving through the sea OF New I ORR
life very wave OF splendor.
Who is 1T Why, it is boy who came to
.-;f dOfl in he yQf
all his estate sluug over his shoulder in a
cotton handkerchief. All that silver on the
dancing span is petrifed sweat drops; that
beautiful dress is the faded calico over
which God put His handof perfection, turning
il to Turkish satin or Italian silk; those dia-
monJs are the tears which suffering froze as
they fell. On, there is river OF itiicuty
between us and every earthly achievement.
You know that You admit that.
You xnow this is 50 with regard to the
acquisition of knowledge. The ancients
usei to say that Vulcan struck Jupiter on
the head and the goddess OF wisdom jumped
out, illustrating the truth that wisdom
comes py hard knocks. There was river
of difficulty between Shakespeare, the boy,
holding the horse at the door OF the London
theatre, and that Shakespeare, the great
dramatist, winning the applause OF all au'
diences by his tragedies. Tnere was river
between Benjamin Franklin, with a loaf or
bread under Lis arm. walking the streets OF
PHILADELPHIA. and that same Ben amin
Franklin, TIE philosopher just outside of
Boston flying kite in the thunderstorm.
An idier was cure1 OF his bad habit by
looking through the win low, night after
night at a man who seemed sitting at his
desS turning off one sheet OF writing after
another until almost the dawn OF the morn
1'ho MOI, eittinO fhnra vvritiOr until
morning was Industrious Walter Scott; tle
II an who looked at MIN through the window
was Lockhart, his illustrious biograpler
afterward. Lord Mansfield, pursued by the
press and by the popuIaee. because Of GER
tain line of duty, went on to discharge the
duty, and while the mob were around him
demanding the taking of his life he shook
his fist in the face OF the mob ami sail,
"Sirs, when ones last en1 comes, it caunot
come too soon if he falls in defense Of law
and the liberty OF his country"
And so there is my friends, a tug, tus-
sic, q trial, a push an anxiety, through
which every man must 60 before he comes
to worldly success AMI worldly achievement
You admit it, Now be wise enough to ap-
ply it in religion Eminent Christian char
acter is only gained by the Jordanic
passage, no man just happened to get good
Why does that man know so muca about
the Scriptures! He was studying the Bible
while you were reading novel. He was on
fire with the sublimities o. the Bible while
you were sound asleep; by tug, tussle, push
ing and running in the Christian life that
man got so strong for God: in a hundred
Solferinos he learned how to fight: in hun.
dred shipwrecks he learned how 10 swim.
Tears over sin, tears over lions desolation,
tears over the impenitent, tears over the
Il nh fbok
man had passed. Sorrow pales the cheek,
and fades the eye. and wrinkles the brow,
and withers the hands. There are mourn
ing garments in the wardrobe, and there are
deaths In every family record; all around are
the relics of the dead.
The Christian has passed the Red sea of
trouble, and yet he thinks there is a Jordan
of death between him and heaven. He
comes down to that Jordan OF death and
thinks how many have been lost there.
When Molyneux was exploring the Jordan
in Palestine, he had his boats all knocked to
pieces in the rapids OF that river. And there
are a great many men VINO have gone down
in the river Of death; the Atlantic and
Pacific have not swallowed 50 many. It is
an ewruI rnlng 70 maze S-:-pTT-e~s 80 e''''
rock of ruin-masts falling. hurricanes
flying, death coming, groanings IN 'no
water. meanings in the wind, thunder IN
the sky. while God, with the finger OF ngnl,,
ming. writes all over the sky, 81 will tread
them in My wrath, and 1 will trampie then
in Ny fury"
The Christian comes down to this raging
torrent and he knows he must pass out ana
as he comes toward the time his breath gets
shorter. and his last breath leaves nm as no
steps into the stream, and no sooner does ne
touch the stream than it is parted, and ne
goes through dry shod, while all the waters
wave their plumes, crying:, 10 death, where
is thy stingY o grave, where is thy victory
God shall wipe away all tears from tnef
eyes. and there shall be no more weeping
and there shall be no more death.
Some Of your children have already gons
M the other bank. You let them down on
this side Of the hank; they will be on the
other bank to help you up with supernat-
ural strength. The other morning at my
table. all my family present thought 70
myself how pleasant it would be II could
nut all in a boat and then go in with them,
and we could pull across the river TO tne
next world AMI be there altogether. NC
family parting, no gloomy oosequ'es; IL
wouldn't take five minutes TO 60 from DanS
to bank, and then in that better world 70 De
And the time will come when these SHOES
we wear now, lest we be cut OF the share,
places Of this worl 7, shall be taken on ana
with unsandled foot we will step into tne
bed of the river; with feet untrammele1 !,
rn