The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-08-30


his subject for today-viz.. "a Bottle of
Tears" the text selected being Psalms
wi. s. Put thou my tears into thy
bottle"
Hardly a mail has come to me for
twenty years that has not contained
letters saying that my sermons have
comforted the writer's Of those letters.
I have not this summer nor for twenty
years spoken on the platform of any out
door meeting, but coming down 1 have
been told by hundreds of people the
same thing. So 1 think I will keep on
trying to be a "son of consolation
The prayer of my text was pressed
out of David's soul by innumerable ca
lamities, but it is just as appropriate
for the distressed of all ages. Within
the past century travellers and antiquari-
ans have explored the ruins Of many of
the ancient cities, and from the very
heart of those buried splendors of other
days have been brought up evidences of
customs that long ago vanished from
the world From among tombs of those
ages have been brought up lachrymato-
ries. or lachrymals. which are walls
made of earthenware. 1t was the Gus
tom for the ancients TO catch the tears
that they wept over their dead in
bottle. and to place that bottle in the
graves of the departed, and we have
many specimens of the ancient lachry
matories, or tear bottle, in our museums.
When on the way from the Holy Land
our ship touched at Cyprus. we went
back into the hills OF that island and
bought tear bottles which the natives
had dug out of the ruins Of the old city.
There is nothing more suggestive to me
than the tear bottles which ] brought
home and put among my curiosities.
That was the kind of bottle that my
text alludes TO when David cries, Put
thou my tears into thy bottle"
God Knows Our Griefs.
The text intimates that God has an
intimate acquaintance and perpetual re-
membrance Of all our griefs and a vial,
or lachrymatory, or bottle, in which he
catches and saves our tears, and bring
to you the coincidence of this Christian
sentiment. Why talk about grief? Alas,
the world has its pangs, and now, while
/ speak, there are thick darknesses of
soul that need to be lifted. There are
many who are about TO break under the
assault OF temptation, and perchance,
If no words appropriate to their case be
uttered, they perish. 1 come on no FOOLS
errand. Put upon your wounds no salve
compounded by human quackery; but,
pressing straight to the mark, 1 hail
you as a vessel amidsea cries to a pass
ing craft, "Ship ahOyr' and invite you
on board a vessel which has faith for a
rudder, and prayer for sails, and Christ
for captain, and heaven for an eternal
harbOr.
Catharine Rheinfeldt, a Prussian.
keeps a boat with which she rescues the
drowning. When a storm comes on the
coast, and other people go to their beds
10 rest. she puts out in her boat for the
relief Of distressed, and hundreds of the
drowning has she brought safely to the
beach. In this lifeboat of the gospel I
put out today, hoping by Gods help,
10 bring ashore at least one soul that
may now be sinking in the pillows Of
temptation and trouble. The tears that
were once caught in the lachrymatOries
brought UP from Herculaneum and Pom
peii are all gone, and the bottle is as
dry as the scoria Of the volcano that
submerged them, but not so with the
bottle In which God gathers all our
tears.
First, I remark that God keeps perpetu-
ally the tears Of repentance. Many a
man has awakened in the morning SO
wretched from the nights debauch that
he has sObbed and wept. Pains in the
head, aching in the eyes, sick at heart
and unfit TO step into the light. He
grfeves, not about his misdOing, but only
about its consequences. God makes no
record Of such weeping. OF all the
million tears that have gushed as the re-
suit OF such misdemeanor. not one ever
got into Gods bottle. They dried on the
feVered geek. or We're dashed down by
the bloated hand. or fell into the red
wine cup as II came again TO the lips
foaming with still worse intoxication.
But when a man is sorry for his past
and tries to do better-when he mourns
his wasted advantages and bemoans his
rejection or Gods mercy and cries amid
the decorations Of an aroused conscience
for help out OF his terrible predicament-
then God listens; then heaven bows
down; then scepters Of pardon are eX-
tended from the throne; then his crying
rends the heart OF heavenly compassion,
then his tears are caught in Gods
bottle
You know the story OF paradise and
the peri I think il might be put TO
higher adaptation. An angel starts from
the throne Il God 70 find what thing il
can on the earth worthy OF being carried
back 70 heaven. II goes down through
the gold and silver mines OF earth but
finds nothing worthy Of transportation
to the celestial city. II goes down
through the depths Of the sea. where the
pearls lie. and finds nothing worthy Of
taking back 10 heaven. But coming TO
the foot Of a mountain il sees a wanderer
weeping over his evil ways. The tears Of
the prodigal start, but do not fall to the
ground, for the angels wing catches
them. and with that treasure speeds back
TO heaven. God sees the angel coming
and says behold the brightest gem of
earth and the brightest jewel of heaven
the tear of a sinners repentance"
OH when / see the heavenly Shepherd
bringing a lamb from the wilderness;
when I hear the quick tread Of the
prodigal Fastening home to find his
on the wharf and hurrying away to beg
his mothers pardon fer long neglect and
unkindness; when 1 see the houseless
wretched, and the vile. and the sin
burned. and the passion-blasted appeal
ing for mercy to a compassionate God, 1
exclainn in ecstacy and triumph, More
tears for Gods bottlep'
Bodily Affections.
Again, God keeps a tender remem-
brance OF all your sickness. How many
OF you are thoroughly sound in body?
Not one out of teni 1 do not exagger-
ate. The vast majority of the race are
constant subjects Of ailments. There is
some one form Of disease that you are
particularly subject to. You have
weak side or back, or are subject to
headaches or faintness or lungs easily
distressed. 1t would not take very
strong blow to shiver the golden bowl