The Bossier banner., 1894-08-23
NUMBER 26.

and not gone yet! Eighty I,ears and
not gone yet! VIII he ever go? They
think it of no use to have doctor in
his last sickness, and go up to the drug
store and get dose of something that
makes him worse, and economic on a
coffin, and beat the undertaken down
to the last point, giving a note for the
reduced amount, which they never
pay. l have officiated at obse-
quies of aged people where the
family have been so inordinately
resigned to Providence that l felt
like taking my text from Proverbs:
THE eye that mocl1eth at it's father,
and refuseth to obey its mother, the
ravens of the valley shall pick out, and
the young eagles shall eat it," In 9TH
er words, such an migrate ought to
have flock of crows for pall-bearers!
l congratulate you if you have the
honor of providing for aged parents.
The blessing of the Lord God of Joseph
and Jacob will be ON you.
And here l would like to sing the
praises of the sisterhood who remain
unmarried that they might administer
to aged parents. The brutal world
calls these self-sacrifcing ones pecul-
lar or angular, but if you had had as
many annoyances as they have had
Xantippe would have been anangel COM
pared to you. 1t is easier to take care
of five rollicking, romping children
than of one old, childish man. Among
the best women are those who allowed
the bloom of life to pass away while
they were caring for their parents.
While other maidens were sound asleep
they were soaking the old mans feet,
or tucl1ing up the covers around the in
valid mother. While other maidens
were in the cotillion they were dancing
attendance upon rheumatism, and
spreading plasters for the lame back of
the septuagenarian, and heating catnip
tea for insomnia.
l may say in regard to the most of
you that your parents have probably
visited you for the last time, or will
soon pay you such visit, and have
wondered if they will ever visit you in
the Kings palace. Oh you say, 81
am in the pit of sin!' Joseph was in
the pit. ''Oh," you say, 81 am in the
prison of mine iniquity!" Joseph was
once in prison. 'oh," you say, II
| didn't have fair chance; was denied
maternal attendancer Joseph was
denied maternal attendance. "0h."
you say, Il am far away from
the land of my nativity" Joseph was
far from home. "Oh" you say, ''I have
been betrayed and exasperated!" Did
not Joseph's brethren sell him to a
passing 1shmaelitish caravan? Yet
God brought him to that emblazoned
residences; and if you will trust his
grace in Jesus Christ, you, too, will be
| impalaced. Oh, what a day that will
| be when the old folks come from
an adjoinging mansion in Heaven
and find you amid the alabaster
| pillars of the throne room and
living with the King! They are
coming up the steps now, and the epau-
letted guard of the palace rushes in and
says: Your fathers coming, your
mothers coming!' And when under the
arches of precious stones and on the
pavement of porphyry you greet each
other, the scene will eclipse the meet
ing on the Goshen highway, when Jo-
seph and Jacob fell on each others neck
and wept a good while.
But, oh, how changed the old folks
will be! Their cheek smoothed into
| the flesh of little child. Their stopped
posture lifted into immortal symmetry.
Their foot now so feeble, then with the
sprightliness of a bounding roe, as they
shall say to you: "a spirit passed this
way from earth and told us that you
were wayward and dissipated after we
left the world; but you have re-
pented, our prayer has been answered,
and you are here; and as we used to
visit you on earth before we died, now
we visit you in your new home after
our ascension" And father will saw:
Mother, don't you see Joseph is yet
aEive?" and mother will say: Yes, IA
| ther, Joseph is yet alive?" And then they
will talk over their earthly anxieties
in regard to you. and the midnight
supplications in your behalf, and they
will recite to each other the old. Scrip
ture passage with which they used to
cheer their staggering faith: II will
be God to thee and thy seed after
thee" Oh, the palace, the palace, the
ldldce! IHdG lS WHdJ hlcndTu DdAbeT
called '''Fhe Saints Everlasting
Rest That is what John
Bunyan called the Celestial
City That is Young's Night
Thoughts turned into morning exulta-
tions. That is Grays "Elegy in a
Churchyard" turned to resurrection
spectacle. That is the ''Cotter's Saturday
Night" exchanged for the Cotter's Sun
day morning. That is the shepherd of
Salisbury Plains amid the hocks on the
hills of Heaven. That is the famine
struck Padanaram turned into the rich
pasture fields of Goshen. That is Ja-
cob visiting Joseph at the emerald cas-
tie.
---
There are two precious wocds often
found in the mouth of Christ: Who
sover will, let him take thG witer OF
life freely Whatsoever ye ask in Nj
naw e, that will do" '.Whosoever'' is
on the outside of the gate, and lets in
all who choose Whatsoever" is OF