Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1894-01-17


| enough for me TO go through this bereave-
ment, but how glad am that he will never
| have to go through it p
So reason with myself, and so you will
| ind it helpful to reason with yourselves.
David lost his son. Though David was king,
| he lay on the earth mourning and inconso-
liable 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 Davied died as early
as that child, he would in the first place have
| that particular bereavement, then he would
| have escaped the worst bereavement of An.
SALON.. his recreant son and the pursuit o.
the Philistines, and the fatigues of his mill
tary campaign, and the jealousy OF Saul, and
the perfdy OF Ahithophel and the curse OF
| Shimei, and the destruction OF his family at
Ziklag, and, above all, he would have es-
capped the two great calamities OF life, tn
great sins of uncleanness and murder. Davit
lived to be OF vast use to the church and the
world, but so far as his own happiness was
concerned, does 1t not seem to YOU that il
would have been better for him to have gone
early2
Now, this, my friends, explains some
things that to you have been inexplicable
This shows you why when God takes little
children from n household he is very apt to
take the brightest, the most genial. the most
sympathetic, the most talented. Why? 1t is
because thnt kind of nature suffers the most
whenit does suffer and is most liable TO
temptation. God saw the tempest sweeping
up from the Caribbean, and He put the deli
cate craft into the first harDor. Taken away
from the evil to come"
Again, my friends, there is blessing in an
abbreviated earthly existence in the fact that
II puts one sooner in the centre of things.
All astronomers, infdel rs we'll as Christian
agree in believing that the universe swings
around some great centre. ANY one who has
studied the earth and studied the heavens
knows that Gods favOrite figure in geom-
etry is a circle. When God put forth His
hand to create the universe, He did not
strike that hand at right angles. but He
waved IT in circle, and kept on waving it
IN circle until systems and consultations
and galaxies and all worlds took that mo-
ton. Our planet swinging around the sun,
other planets swinging around other suns,
but somewhere a great hub around which
the great wheel Of the universe turns. Now.
that centre is heaven. That is the capital o.
the universe. That is the great metropolis
Of ynmensity.
Now, does not our common sense teach Us
that in matters of study it is better for us to
move out from the centre toward the circum-
ference, where our world is? We are like
those who study the American continent
while standing on the Atlantic beach. The
way TO study the continent IS TO cross it or
90 to the heart of it. Our standpoint in tins
world IS defective. We are at the wrong emf
piece Of machinery is not to stand on the
doorstep and try to loOll'In, but 10 20 in with
the engineer and take our place right amid
the saws AMI cylinders. We wear our eyes
out and our brain out from the fact that "
are studying under such great disadvantage.
Millions OF dollars for Oosaryat Dries to
study things aboutthe moon. about the SUI.
about the rings OF Saturn. about tranSits ant
O'cuitatlOns and cciipseS. simply because Our
studio, our observatory, Is poorly situated.
We are down in the cellar trying to stuiyth
palace of the universe, while or departe
Christian friends have gone up stairs anil
:he skylights to study.
Now. when one can sooner get to the !
centre OF things, IS he not to be congra;U-
ated? Who wants to be always in the fresh |
nan class? We study God in his world by |
he Biblical photograph of Him, but We ali |
Know we can in five minutes of interview |
with a friend get more accurate idea OF him |
:han we can by studying him fifty years |
through pictures of words. The little chill |
hat died last night to-day knows more Cf |
God than all Andover and all Princeton. az |
all New Brunswick. and all Edinburgh, AMI |
all the theological institutions in Christeu- |
lon. Is it not better to 20 up to the very |
headquarters OF knowledge?
Does not our common sense teach US that /
{ Is better to be at the centre than to be |
clear out on the rim of the wheel, holding |
lervOusiy fast to the tire lest we be sud |
Through all kinls OF optical instruments |
ryiu@ 10 peer in through the cracks aud the |
,eynO!as Of heaveG-afraIi that both doors !
If the celestial mansion will be swung wide |
'pan before our entraucei vision rushing
,uOut the apOthe,ary shops Of this world. |
wondering if this is good for rheumatism.
md that il good for neuralgia and so ne
hing else Is goo for "a bad cough, lest We
'e suddenly usherei into land of everlaSt-
NJ health. where the InhabItant never says,
/ am sick"
What fools we all are to prefer the cir
to the centrei What a dreadful
uing 1t would be II we should be suddenly ]
Ishered from this wintry world into the
daytime orchards Of heaven, and if our
OF sin and sorrow should be sud
enlv broken up by n presentation Of an
castle. surrounded by parks with |
bringing fountains and paths up and down |
'hlth angels OF God walk two and two.
We stick to the world as though we pre- |
erred cold drizzle to warm habitation, dis. |
ord to cantata, sachclOth to royal purple
S though we preferred piano with four or |
I've keys out of tune to an instrument fully
though earth and heaven hal ]
X hanged apparel and earth had taken on
rldal array and heaven had gone into deep |
lournlnE, all its waters staCnant, all its |
arps broken. all chaiices cracked at the dry |
'riis, all the lawns sloping to tue river |
lowed with graves. with dead angels under
and l want 20 break up your in |
atuation for this world. Itel you ii we are ]
eady, and if our work is done, the sooner |
ye 90 the better, and If there are blessings |
a longevity, l want you to know right well |
here are also blessings in an abbreviated
arthly existence.
If the spirit OF this sermon is true, how |
onsoled you ought TO feel about members Of |
our families that went early. Taken from |
ne evil to come this book says. What
)rtunate escape they had How glad W.
ught TO feel that they will never have TO go |
trough the struggles which We have had 10 |
o through. They had just time enough TO
at out or the cradle and run up the sprin = |
ime hills OF this world and see how it looked, |
nd then they started for better stopping |
lace. They were like sh, = that put in at
Il. Helena, staying there long enough to let
passengers go up and see the barracks Of
yapoleon's captivity and then hoist sail for
he port OF their own native land. They only
ook this world sin transitu." II is hard for |
Is. but it is blessed for them.
And II the spirit ofthis sermon is true. then
Te ought not TO go around signing and
roaming because another year has gone r
'ut we ought to 90 down on one knee bvthe
lilestone and see the letters and thank God
hat we are 3G5 miles nearer home We ought | .
ot TO go around with morbid feelings about !
ur health or about anticipated demise. We l
uSht to be living. not according 10 that old
IL. L.
nat you must live as though every DAY were
ne last you must live as though you were I
} live forever, for you will. DO not be ner-
Gus lest You have 10 move out of a shanty | {
Ito an Aihambra.
One Christmas morning one OF my neigh
orsr an old sea captain. diei. After life had Ii
epartei, HIS face was illuminated as though
q were just going into harbor The fact b
as, he had already gone through the ''Nar-
ows In the adjoining room were the II
hrlstmas presents waiting for his distrihu-
on Long ago. one night. when he td
arrowly Is .aped with his snip from being g
IN down by a great ocean steamer. he had
ade his peace with God, and a kinder n
elghbor or a better man YOU would not find
rs side of heaven. Without a moments
arning the pilot Of the heavenly barbor had
ct him just of the lightship e
The captain often talked to me Of the
1odness OF God. and especially Of a ii ne 4
hen he was about to go in New York htr-
'r with his ship from Liverpool. aud he was
dipnly ilnrr@GGnf that - oTY,-ht Y.1r ! n