The Progress., 1894-01-06

and even the tombstone sometimes Is
not sufficient barricadc. If "A soldier
who has been on guard. shiverlng and
stung with the cold, pacing up and
down the parapet with Shouldered
muSket. is glad when some one comes
to relieve guard and he can go inside
the fortress, ought not that man to
shout for JOY who can put down his
weapon of earthly defensr and go into
the kings castle? Who is the more
fortunate. the soldier who has to stand
guard twelve hours. or the man who
has to stand Guard six hours? We
have common sense about everything
but religion, common sense about
everything but transferencc from this
world
Again: There is blessing in an alb
breviated earthly existence in the fact
that one escapes so many bereavementS.
The longer we live the more attach
ments and the more kindred, the more
chords to be wounded or rasped or
.sundcred. If a man live on to seventy
or eighty years of age, how many
graves are clefS at his feet! In that
long reach of time fatker and mother
90, brothers and sisters go, children
go, grandchildren 60. PERSONAL friends
outside the family circle whom they
had loved with love like that of
David and Jonathan.
SO l reason with myself, and SO you
will find it helpful to reason with
yourselves David lost his son. Though
David was king he lay on the earth
mourning and inconsolable for some
time. At this distance of time, which
do you really think was the one to be
congratulated, the short-lived child or
the long-lived father? Had David died
as early as that child died he would in
the first place, have escaped. that par
ticular bereavement. then he would
have escaped the worse bereavement
of AbSa lom. his recreant son, and the
pursuit of the PhilistineS, and the
fatigues of his military campaign, and
the jealousy of Saul, and the perfdv of
Ahithophel, and the curse of Shimei,
and the destruction of his family at
Ziklag, and above all, he would have
escaped the two great calamities of his
life, the great sins of uncleanness and
murder David lived to be of vast use
to the church and the world, but so
far as his own happiness was con-
cerned, does it not seem to you that it
would have been better for him to have
gone early?
One Christmas morning, one of my
ncighbors. an old sea captain, died.
After life had departed, his face was
Illuminated as though he were just
going into harbor. The fact was he
had already got through the Mar
rows" In the adjoining room were
the Christmas presents waiting for his
distribution. Long ago, one night
when he had narrowly escaped with
his ship from being run down by
great ocean steamer, he had made his
peace with God, and a kinder neighbOr
or better man you would not find
this side of heaven. Without a mo-
ments warning, the pilot of the
heavenly harbor had met him just off
the light ship. The captain often
talked to me of the goodness of God,
and especially of a time when
was about to go in New York harbor
with his ship from Liverpool, and he
was suddenly impre e,sed that he ought
to put back to- sea Under the protest
of the crew and under their very threat,
he put back to sea, fearing at the same
time he was losing his mind, for it did
seem so unreasonable that when they
could get into harbor that night, they
should put back to sea. But they put
back to sea and the captain said to his
mate, "You call me at 10 o'clock at
night" At IL o'clock at night the cap
tain was aroused and said: What does
this mean? l thought | told you to
call me at 10 o'clock, and here it is 12."
why" said the mate, Il did call you
at 10 o'clock, and You got up, looked
around and told me to keep right on
this same course for two hours, and
then to call you at II o'clock" Said
the captain, is it possible? l have no
remembrance of that"
At IL o'clock the captain went on
deck, and through the rift of the cloud
the moonlight fell upon the sea and
showed him a shipwreck with one hun
dred struggling passengers. He helped
them off. Had he been any earlier or
any later at that point of the sea he
would have been of no service to those
drowning people. On board the cap
tains vessel they began to band to-
gether as to what they should pay for
the rescue and what they should pay
for the provisions. "Ah," says the
captain, my lads, you can't pay me
ANYTHING; all have on board is yours;
feel too greatly honored of God in
having saved you to take any pay"
Just like him. He never got any pay
except that of his own applauding con-
science. Oh, that the old sea captains
God might be my God and yours. Amid
the stormy seas of this life may we
have always some one as tenderly to
take care of us as the captain took
care of the drowning crew and the pas
sengers. And may we come into the