Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1894-04-20

your parents III tDo LOlu. iocTNdulS, 10
obedient to your masters" And the
family will be like a garden . sum
mer morning-the grass plot, and the
flowers, and the vines, and the arch Of
honeysuckle standing in the sunlight
glittcring with dew
Religion IN Misfortune.
But then there will be sorrows that
will come to the household. There are
but few families that escape the stroke
of financial misfortune. Financial mis-
fortune comes to a house where there IS
no religion They kick against divine
allotments they curse God for the in
coming calamity, they withdraw from
the world because they cannot hold as
high a position in society as they once
did, and they fret, and they scowl, and
they sorrow, and they die. During the
past few years there have been tens OF
thousands Of men destroyed by their
financial disTesses.
But misfortune comes to the Christian
household If religion has full sway in
that home, they stoop gracefully. They
say, "This is right" The father says:
perhaps money was getting to be my
idol. Perhaps God is going to make me
a better Christian by putting me through
the furnace of tribulation. Besides that,
why should I fret anyhow? He who
owneth the cattle on a thousand hills
and out of whose hand all the fowls OF
heaven peck their food is my Father
He clothoth the lilies Of the field. He
will clothe me. If he takes care Of the
raven, and the hawk, and the vulture
most certainly he Will take care Of me,
his child.
Sorcr troubles come-siclness and
death. Loved ones sleep the last sleep
A child is buried out Of sight. You say:
"Alas, for this bitter day! God has
dealt very severely with me. l can never
look up. O God, l cannot bear it. "
Christ comes in, and he says; Hush, O
troubled SOUL 1t is well with the child
will strengthen thee in all thy trou-
bles My grace Is sufficient. When thou
passeth through the waters, will be
with thee"
When through the deep waters ! call thee
togo,
The rivers Of sorrow shall not overflow,
For will be with thee thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify TO thee thy deepest distress.
But there are hundreds Of families
represented here this morning where re-
ligion has been a great comfort There
are in your homes the pictures Of your
departed and things that have no Won
derful value Of themselves, but you keep
them previously and carefully because
hands now still once touched them. a
father has gone out Of this household, a
mother has gone ont Of this, a daughter
Just after her graduation day, a son just
as he was entering on the duties Of life.
The Family Altar.
And toother homes trouble will come
l say it not that You may be foreboding
rot that you may do the unwise thing
Of taking trouble by the forelock, but
that You may boready We must 90 one
by one. There viii be partings in all our
households. We must say farewell. We
must die. And yet there arc triumphant
strains that drown these tremulous ac-
cents. there are anthems that whelm the
diree. Heaven is full Of the shout Of de-
livered cantivcs, and TO the great wide
field Of human sorrow there come now
the reaper angels with keen sickles to
harvest the shcayes Of heaven.
Saints viii to the end endure;
Safely Will the Shepherd keep
Those Lc purchased for his sheep.
Go home this day and ask the blessing
on your MONDAY meal Tonight set up
the family altar. Do not wait until you
become a Christian yourself. This day
mite Christ to youl household, for the
Bible distinctly say. that God Will pour
ont his fury upon tAc families that call
not upon his name Open the Bible and
read q chapter; that will make yon
strong. Knee down and offer the ilrst
prayer in your household 1t may be a
broken pctition: it may be only God be
merciful 10 me, q sinner. " But God Will
stoon and spirits viii listen, and angels
Will chant, Behold, he prays!"
Do not retire from this house this
morning until you have resolved upon
the matter. You will be gone. Twill be
gone. Many years will pass, and per-
haps your younger children may forget
almost everything about You, hnt 10
years from now i'll some O"DDa'n wv
LIGHT vOur dauOh+-r VIII be sitting WIN
tLe fa,,:3y Bible on her lap reading to
ner children when shcwill stop, and pc
culiar solcmuity viii come to her face,
and tear viii start, ard the children
viii say, Mother, what makes you
cry And she viii say Nothing, only
was thinking that this is the very BIZ
bic out Of which my father and mother
used to read at morning and evening
prayer. "
All other things about you they may
forget, but train them up for God and
heaven. They viii not forget that.
4 Grand Gift.
When queen died, her three sons
brought IN Offering to the grave. One
son brought gold, another brought sill
yer, bat the third son came and stood
over the grave and opened one Of his
veins and let the blood drop upon his
mothers tomb, and all who saw it said
it was the greatest demonstration Of
affection. Ny friends, what is the grand
est gift we can bring to the sepulchers
Of a Christian ancestry: 1t is a life all
consecrated to the God who made US
and the Christ who redeemed us l can
not but believe that there are hundreds
Of parents in this house who have re-
solved to do their whole duty and that
at this moment they are passing into a
better life, and having seen the grace Of
the gospel in this place today you are
now fully ready 90 return to your own
house and show what great things God
has done unto YOU
Though parents may in covenant be
And have their heaven in view,