The Canton times., 1894-08-31

puCuiC, anu tHc trcc SuduOWS seem 20
deepen, and the brooks weep in sympa-
thy as the procession goes by. But,
mark you, this that am speaking
of was city funeral In great
cities the cart jostles the hearse,
and there is mirth, and glad
ness, and Indifference as the weep
ing procession goes by. In this
city of Main, it was a common thing to
have trouble and bereavement and
death. Christ saw it every day there.
Perhaps that very hour there were
Others being carried out; but this fre-
quency of trouble did not harden
Christ's heart at all. He stepped right
out, and He saw this mourner, and He
had compassion on her and He said:
"Weep not"
Now, have to tell you, o bruised
souls, and there are many everywhere
(have you ever looked over any great
audience and noticed how many shad-
ows of sorrow there areg. come to
all such and say: "Christ meets you
and He has compassion on you, and He
says Weep not" Perhaps with some
it is financial trouble. "Oh." you say,
''It is such a silly thing for man to
cry over lost money" Is it? Suppose
you had large fortune, and 81 iuxu-
ries brought to your table, and your
wardrobe was full, and your home
was beautified by music and sculpture
and painting and thronged by the
elegant and educated, and then some
rough misfortune should strike you in
the face and trample your treasures.
and taunt your children for their faded
dress, and send you into commercial
circles and underlining where once you
waved a scepter of gold, do you think
you would cry then? 1 think you would.
But Christ comes and meets all such
to-day. He sees all the straits in
which you have been thrust.
He observes the sneer of that
man who once was proud to
walk in your shadow and glad to get
your help. He sees the protested note,
the uncanceled judgment, the fore.
closed mortgage, the breaking
evaporation, and he says: Weep not,
I will never let you starve. From my
hand the fowls of Heaven peck all their
food. And will 1 let you starve2 Never
no, my child, never"
Or perhaps this tramp at the gate OF
Main has an echo in your own bereft
spirit. You went out to the grave, and
you felt you never could come back
again. You left your heart there. The
white snow of death covered all the
garden. You listen for the speaking
of voices thatwill never be heard again,
and the sounding of feet that will never
move nyour dwelling again. and there
is heavy, leaden pressure on your
heart. God has dashed out the light OF
your eyes, and the heavy spirit that
that woman carried out of the gate Of
Main is no heavier than yours. And
you open the door, but he comes not
in. And you enter the nursery, but
she is not there And you sit at the
table, but there is a vacant chair next
to YOU And the sun does not shine
as brightly as it used to, and
the voices of affection do not
strike you with so quick thrill,
and your cheek has not so healthy
hue, and your eye has not so deep a
fire. Do not know? Do we not all
know? There is an uplifted woe on
your heart. You have been out carry
ing your loved one beyond the gate OF
the city of Main. But look yonder.
Some One stands watching. He seems
waiting for you. As you come up He
stretches out His hand of help. His
voice is full of tenderness, yet thrills
with eternal strength. Who is it?
The very One who accosted the
mourner at the gate of Main, and He
says: Weep not"
l learn, again, from all this that
Christ is the master of the grave. Just
outside the gate of the city, death and
Christ measured lances; and when the
young man rose, death dropped. Now,
we are sure of our resurrection. Oh,
what scene it was when that young
man came back. The mother never
expected to hear him speak again. She
never thought that he would kiss her |
again. How the tears started, and |
how her heart throbbed, as she said: |
''Oh, my son, my scs,!" And that scene |
is going to be repeated. 1t is going to
be repeated ten Thousand times. These
broken family circles have got to come
together. These extinguished house
hold lights have got to be rekindled
There will be a stir in the family lot in
the cemetery, and there will be rush
of life at the command. Young man,
] say unto thee, arise!" As the child
shakes off the dust of the tomb and
comes forth fresh and fair and beauti.
full, and you throw your arms around
it and press it to your heart, angel to
angel will repeat the story of Main: