The Baptist headlight., 1894-01-18

the sun, other planets swinging around
other suns. but somewhere agreat hub
around which the great wheel of the
universe turns. Now, that center is
Heaven. That is the capital of the
universe. That is the great metropo-
lis of immensity.
knowledge at First Hands.
Now. does not our common sense
| teach us that in matters of study it Is
better for us to move out from the
center toward the circumference
rather than to be on the circumference,
where our world now is? We are like
those who study the American con-
tinent while standing on the Atlantic
| beach. The way to study the con-
tinent is to cross it or go to the heart
| of it. Our standpoint in this world Is
| defective. We are at the wrong end
of the telescope. The best way TO
study a piece of machinery is not to
stand on the doorstep and try to look
| in. but to go in with the engineer and
take our place right amid the saws and
the cylinders. We wear our eyes out
and our brain out from the fact that
we are studying under such great
disadvantages.
Does not our common sense teach US
that it is better to be at the center
than to be clear out on the rim of the
wheel, holding nervously fast to the
tire lest we be suddenly hurled into
light and eternal felicity? Through
all kinds of optical instruments trying
to peer in through the cracks and the
keyholes of heaven-atraid that both
doors of the celestial mansion will be
swung wide open before our entranced
vision-rushing about among the
apothecary shops of this world. won
dering if this is good for rheumatism,
and that is good for neuralgia and
something else is good for bad cough,
lest we be suddenly ushered into land
of everlasting health, where the in
habitant never says, Il am sick"
What fools we all are to prefer the
circumference to the center! What
dreadful thing it would be if we should
be suddenly ushered from this wintry
world into the Maytime orchards of
Heaven, and if our pauperism of sin
and sorrow should be suddenly broken
up by a presentation of an Emperor's
castle, surrounded by parks with
springing fountains and paths up and
down which angels of God walk two
and two,
We stick to the world as though we
preferred cold drizzle to warm habita-
tion discOrd to cantata, sackcloth to
royal purple-as though we preferred
piano with four or five keys out of
tune to an instrument fully attuned-
as though earth and Heaven had ex-
changed apparel and earth had taken
on bridal array and Heaven had gone
into deep mourning, all its waters
stagnant, all its harps broken. all
chalices cracked at the dry wells, all
the lawns sloping to the river plov-ed
with gravel with dead angels under
the furrOw. Oh, | want to break up
my own infatuation, and | want to
break up your infatuation for this
world. | tell you if we are ready, and
if our work is done, the sooner we 60
the better, and if there are blessings in
longevity, want you to know right
well there are also blessings Ia 81 alb
breviated earthly existence.
A Fortunate Escape.
If the spirit of this sermon
how cOnsoled you ought to f. .n,ut
members of your families that went
early. "Taken from the evil to come"
this book says. What a fortunate es-
cape they had. How glad we ought to
feel that they will never have to go
through the struggles which we have |
had to go through. They had just |
time enough to get out of the cradle |
and run up the springtime hills Of this |
world and see how it looked, and then |
they started for a better stopping |
place. They were like ships that put |
in at st. Helena. staying there long |
enough to let passengers go up and see |
the barracks of NapoleOn's captivity
and then hoist sail for the port of their |
own native land. They only took this
world lin transitu.' 1t is hard for us.
but it is blessed for them.
And if the spirit of this sermon is |
true, then we ought not to 90 around
signing and groaning because another
year has gone. But we ought to 90 |
down on one knee by the milestone
and see the letters and thank God that
we are 800 miles nearer home. We |
ought not to 90 around with morbid |
feelings about our health or about an
tlclpated demise. We ought to be
living, not according to that old maxim
which | used TO hear in my boyhOOd. |
that you must live as though every
day were the last: you must live as
though you were to live forever. for
you will. Do not be nervous lest YOU
have to move out of shanty into an
AIhambra
ON Christmas morning one OF INV
neighbors. an old sea captain. died.
After life had departed. his face was
as though he was just 90
ing into harbor. The fact was. he had
already got through the ..Narr0ws.
In the adjoining room were the Christ
mas presents waiting for his distribu-
tion. Long ago. one night, when he
had narrowly escaped with his shin
from being run down by a great ocean
steamer, he had made his peace with
God, and kinder neighbor or a better