The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-03-15

bWlIu. 1etIs OfbT SILL ONCA
desolation, tears over the impenitent, tears
over the graves made are tho Jordan which
that man had passed. Sorrow pales the
cheek, and fades the eye, and wrinkles the
brow, and withers the hands There are
mourning garments in the wardrobe, and
there are deaths in every family reccrd-Rll
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 vsis exploring the Jordan
IN Palestine, he had his boat all knocked
to pieces in the rapids Of that river. And
there are a great many men who have gone
down ia the river Of death; the Atlantic
and Pacific have not swallowed so many.
IL is an awful thing TO make shipwrecks on
the rock Of ruin; masts falling, hurricanes
flying, death coming, groanings in the wa
ter, meanings in the wind, thunder in the
sky, while God with the finger Of the light
ming writes all over the sky, ~ will tread
them in my wrath. and l will trample
them in my fury"
The Christian comes down to this raging
torrent, and he knows he must pass out,
and as he comes toward the time his breath
gets shorter, and his last breath leaves him
as he steps into the stream, and no sooner
does he touch the stream than IL Is parted,
and he goes through dry shod while all the
waters wave their plumes, crying: 20 death,
where Is thy stingi o grave. where is thy
victoryf" God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes, and there shall be no more
weeping, and there shall be no more death.
Some Of your children have already gone
mp the other bank. You let them down on
this side OF the bank they will be on the
other bank to help you up with supernatu
raj strength The other morning at my Ia
be, all my family present, | thought 10
myself how pleasant IL would be IL could
put all into a boat and then go in with
them, and we could pull across the river TO
the next world and be there all together
No family parting, no gloomy obsequies. IL
wouldn't take five minutes to go from bank
TO bank, and then in that better world TO
be together forever. Wouldn't it be pleas
ant for you to take all your family into
that blessed country II you could all go to
Retherf
remember my mother in her dying hour
said to my father, Father, wouldn't il be
pleasant II we could all 60 together" But
we cannot all go together We must go
one by one, and we must be grateful IL we
get there at all What heaven IL will be
il we have all our families there to look
around md see all the children are PRESENT.
You would rather have them all there, and
you go with bare brow forever, than that
one should be missing to complete the gar-
lands Of heaven for your coronal. The
Lord God Of Joshua, give them a safe Jor
danic passagei
Even children will 60 through dry shod
Those Of us who were brought up in the
country remem Der, when the summer was
coming on In our boyhood days, we always
longed for the day when we were TO 20 bare
footed, and after teasing our mothers I'm re
gard TO it for good while, and they con
sented, we remember the delicious sensation
Of the cool grass when we put our uncov
cred foot on IL.
And the time will come when these shoes
we wear now, lest we be cut of the sharp
places of this world, shall be taken of, and
with unsandeled foot we will step into the
bed Of the river; with feet untrammcled
free from pam and fatigue, we will gain
that last journey, when, with one foot in
the bed OF the river and the other foot on
the other bank. we struggle upward. That
will be heaven. oh, pray for all my dear
people = safe Jor'lanic passage That is
what the dying Christian husband felt
when he saidi How the candle hickers
Helliei Put it out; / shall sleep well To-
night and wake in the morning"
WORD or COMFORT.
One word OF comfort on this subject for
all the bereaved You see, our departed
friends have not been submerged-have
not been swamped In the waters They
have only crossed over. These lsraelites
were just a. thoroughly alive on the west
ern banks OF the Jordan as they had been
on the eastern banks of the Jordan, and
our departed Christian friends have only
crossed over-not sick, not dead, not ex-
hausted, not extinguished, not blotted out,
but with healthier respiration, and stouter
pulses, and keener eyesight, and better
prospects-orossed over. Their sins, their
physical and mental disquiet. all left clear
this side, an eternally flowing, impossible
obstacle between them and all human and
satanic pursuit. Crossed overt Oh,
shake hands CT congratulation with all the
bereaved In tue consideration that our de
parted Christian friends are safe.
Why was there 40 much JOY In certain
circles In New York when people heard
from the friends who were on board that
belated steamcri IL was feared that vessel
had gone 10 the bottom of the sea, and when
the friends on this side heard that the
steamer had arrived safely in Liverpool had
we not a right TO congratulate the people in
New York that their friends had got safely
acrosss And Is IL not right this morning
that l congratulate you that your departed
friends are safe on the shore Of heaven
Would you have them back againi Would
you have those old parents back again. You
| know how hard il WINS sometimes for them
TO get their breath In the stifled atmosphere
Of the summer; would you have them baci.
In this weather. Didn't they use their
brain long tpoughi Would you have your
children back AGAIN. Would you have
them take the risks OF temptation which
throng every human pathway Would you
have them cross the Jordan three timesi
In addition TO crossing 1t already, cross II
again TO greet you now and then cross back
afterward For certainly you would not
want 20 keep them forever out Of heaven.
Pause and weep, not for the freed from pain
But that the sigh Of love would bring them
back again.
/ ask question, and there seems to come
back the answer in heavenly echo: "What,
will you never be sick aRainP Never
sick-again.p What, will you never be
tired againf" Never tired - again Z"
"What, will you never weep againp ''Ney-
er-weep-again" What, will you never
die againY "Never-die-again"
oh, ye army of departed kindred, we hail
| you from bank TO bank Wait for us when
the Jordan of death shall part for us. Come
down and meet us half way between the
widowed banks of earth and the palm
| groves OF heaven. May our great High
Priest go aheed Of us, and with bruised feet
| touch the WINTER and then shall be fulfilled