Democratic messenger., 1894-09-08


have it. Ten thousand dolla.s? Less
than that Five thousand dollars: Less
than that. One dollar: Less than that.
One farthing: Less than that. with
out money and without price" 10
money TO pay. No journey to take. No
penancc to suffer. Only just one decisive
action of the soul, Believe on the Lord
Forgiven and Safe.
Shall try to tell you what it is to be
saved? l cannot tell you. No man. no
angel. can tell you. But I can hint at
it, for my text brings mo up to this
point, ''Thou shalt be saved. 1t means
q happy life here. and a peaceful death.
and blissful eternity. 1t is n grand
thing to go to sleep at night. and to get
up i'll the morning, and to do business
all day feeling that all is right between
my heart and God No accident, no
sickness. no persecution, no peril, no
sword, can do me any permanent dam
age. / ara n forgiven child of God, and
he is bor.:d to see me through. He has
sworn he will see me through. The
mountains may depart, the earth may
burn. the ligh Int of the stars may be blown
out by the blast of the Judgment hurri-
cane, but life and death. things present
and things to come. are mine. Yea,
further than that, it means a peaceful
death. Mrs. Hemans. Mrs. Sigourney.
DIR. Young and almost all the poets
have said handsome things about death.
There is nothing beautiful about it.
When we stand by the white and rigid
features of those whom we love. and
they give no answering pressure of the
hand and no returning kiss of the lip,
we do not want anybody poetizing round
about us. Death is loathsomeness and
midnight and the wringing of the heart
until the tcndrils snap and curl in the
torture unless Christ shall be with us.
l confess to you an infinite fear. con-
Stunning horror of death unless Christ
shall be with me. would rather &c
down into II cave of villa beasts or a
jungle of reptiles than into the grave
unless Christ goes with HE Will you
tell mo that am to be carried out from
my bright home and put away in the
darkness? cannot bear darkness. At
the first coming of the evening must
have the gas lighted. and the farther on
in life ! get the more ! like TO have my
friends round about me.
Fearless of Death.
And am to be put off for thousands
Of years in dark place, with no one to
speak to? When the holidays come and
the gifts are distributed, shall add no
joy to the Merry Christmas" or the
Happy New Year. All. do not point
down to the hole in the ground, the
grave, and call it beautiful place. I'm.
less there be some supernatural illumi-
nation ] shudder back from il. My
whole nature rcvolts at it. But now this
glorious lamp is lifted above the grave.
and all the darkness is gone, and the
way is clear. l look into it now without
a single shudder. Now my anxiety is
not about death; my anxiety is that
may live Alright.
What power is there III anything t.
chill me in the last hour if Christ wraps
around me the skirt of his own gar
ment? What darkness can fall upon my
cyclids then, amid the heavenly day
break? o death, l will not fear thee
then. Back To thy cavern of darkness,
thou robber of all the earth. Fly, thou
dcspoiler of families. With this battleax
l hew thee in twain from helmet to
sandal, the voice of Christ sounding all
over the earth and through the heavens:
80 death, l will be thy plague. O
grave, / will be thy destruction"
To be saved is to wake up in the pres
ence of Christ. You know when Jesus
was upon the earth how happy he made
every house he went into, and when he
brings us mp to his house in heaven how
great shall be our glee! His voice has
more music in it than is to be heard in
all the oratorios of eternity. Talk not
about banks dashed with effiorescence.
Jesus is the chief bloom of heaven. We
shall see the very face that bcamed
sympathy in Bethany and take the very
hand that dropped its blood from the
short beam of the cross. Oh. / want tc
stand in eternity with him. Toward
that harbor steer Toward that goal
run. shall be satisfied when awake
in his likeness.
Giorifled In Heaven.
Oh, broken hearted men and women,
how sweet it will be in that good land
to pour all of your hardships and be-
reavements and losses into the loving
ear of Christ and then have him explain
why it was best for you to be sick. and
why it was best for you TO be widowed.
and why it was best for you to be per-
secuted, and why it was best for You tc
be tried and have him point to an ele-
vation proportionate to your disquietude
here, saying. You suffered with me on
earth; come up now and be gloritied With
me in heaven.
Some one went into house where
there had been good deal OF trouble
and said to the woman there. ''Yor
seem to be lonely" Yes" she said;
II am lonely" How many III the fam
ily:' "Only myself. ''Have you had
any children Il had seven children. ;"
Where are they Gone. "All
gomez "All "All dead" "All. :"
Then she breathed u long sigh into the
loneliness and said, ''Oh. sir. have
been good mother TO the grave.
And so there are hearts here that are
utterly broken down by the bcreave-
ments of life point you today to the
eternal balm of heaven. oh, aged men
and women who have knelt at the
throne of grace for threescore years
and ten will not your decrepitude
change for the leap of II heart when you
come to look face to face upon him
whom having not seen You love: oh.
that will be the Good Shepherd. not
ont in the night and watching to keep
off the wolves, but with the lamb re-
clining ON the sunlit hill. That will be
the Captain of our salvation. not amid
the roar and crash and boom of battle,
but amid his disbanded troops keeping
victorious festiyity. That will be the
Bridegroom of the church coming from
afar, the bride leaning upon his arm
while he looks down into her face and
..... ssp,Ln1l tLny, fotr vnx- Iowa.