Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1894-05-12

formed them, and sanoa and those
va,t realm Of New Zealand. and Aus
tr,lia and Ceylon and India want TO
SC what Christianity has accomplished.
want to see now the missionaries have
b; IN lied about as living in luxury and
idlcncSs.
want to lHow whether the hcathen
religions are really a. tolcrahlc and ;ls
comInendablc ~ they were represented
by their adhcrcnts IN the parliament Of
religions at Chicago. | want Ia scc
whether .i"lammcdani$m and Bud
dhism wouls b,. g,~,d things for trans
plantation III America, aS IL asagain and
again been argued. want To hear the
Brahmans pray. ! want to test whether
the Pacific ocean treats its guests any
better than does the Atlantic. | want
to See the wonirous architecture of In
dia, and the Delhi and Cawnpure where
Christ WAS crucifiel i'll the massacre of
his modern disciples, and the disabled
Juggernaut unwhcelcd by Christianity,
and tn see if the Tai which the Emperor
Sha .Iehan built in honor ~ his empress
really means any more than the plain
slab We put above our dear departed.
want to sec the fields where Havclock
and Sir Colin Campbell Won the day
against the scpoys. ! want to s.c the
world from all sides. How much of it
Is in darkness, how much of il Is in
light, what the Bible means by the
lends Of the earth, and get myself
ready To appreciate the extent of the
present to bc made Ia Christ rs spoken
Of in the Psalms. Ask of me, and
shall give thee the heather for thine i'll
heritance and the uttermost parts Of
the earth for thy possession, and so
shall be ready 10 celebrate III heaven
the victories of Christ in more raptur-
Gus song than could have rendered had
| never seen the heathcn denominations
before they We're conquered. And so
hope Ia come back refreshed, re-enforced
and better equipped. and To do i'll 10
years more cifectual work than ] have
done III the last %.
4 Garland and u Palm.
And now, i'll this twenty y-fifth ami
versary sermon. l propose to do two
things-first. to put garland Oh the
grave of the generation that has just
passed off and then To put palm
branch in the hand of the generation
just now coming on the field of action,
for my text is true. ''One generation
passeth away, and another generation
cometh." Oh. how many We revered
and honored and loved in the last gen
Grafton that quit the earth! Tears fell
at the time of their going. and dirges
were put Oh, but neither tears nor dirge
nor somber veil told the half We felt
Their going left Il vacancy i'll our souls
that has never been filled up We never
get used To- their absence. There arv
times when the sight of something with
which they We're asSoclated-a picture,
or book. or IA garment. or a staff
breaks Us down with emotion, but We
bear il simply because we have To bear
il. Oh, how snowy white their hair got
and how the wrinkles multiplied, and
the sight grew more dim, and the hearing
less alert, and the step more frail, and
one day they were gone out Of the chair
by the fireside, and from the plate at
the meal. and from the end Of the
church pew. where they worshiped with
US. Oh. my soul. how we miss them!
But let us console each other with the
thought that we shall meet them again
III the land of salutation and reunion.
And now | twist a garland for that
departed generation. 1t need not be cost
~ perhaps, just handful of clover
blossoms from the field through which
they used To walk, or rs many violets
as You could hold between the thumb
and the foretinger. plucked out of the
garden where they used To walk i'll the
cool of the day. Put these old fashion
ed flowers right down over the heart
that never again will ache, and the feet
that will never again be weary. and the
arm that has forever ceased to toll.
Peace, father, Peace, mother, Everlast-
ing peace, All that for the generation
gone.
The Moving fhrong.
But what shall We do with the palm
branch: That We will put in the hand
of the generation coming On. Yours Is
To be the generation for victories. The
last and the present generation have
been perfecting the steam power, and
the electric light, and the electric forces.
To these will be added transportation.
1t will he your mission to use all these
forces Everything is ready now for you
To march right up and take this world
for God and heaven. Get Your heart
right by repentance and the pardoning
grace of the Lord Jesus. and your mind
right b. elevating books and pictures.
and your body right by gymnasium and
field exercise, and plenty of ozone and
by looking as often rs you can upon the
face of mountain and of SEA. Then start.
In God 5 name, start! And here is the
palm branch. From conquest to CON
quest, move right on and right up. You
will soon have the whole field for your
self. Before another 20 years have gone,
we will De out Of the pulpits, and the
Offices, and the stores and the factories,
and the benevolent institutions, and You
will be at the front Forward into the
battle! II God bc for you. who can be
against you: He that spared not his
own Son. hut delivered him up for Us
all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things"
And, as for us who are now at the
front. having put the garland on the
grave of the last generation. and having
put the palm branch in the hand of the
coming generation. We will cheer each
other iii the remaining onsets and 90 in
Il, fh,. shining p.t,. Sotn,w here. ala mt the.
same time. and greeted Ly the gcner
alton that has preceded Us we will have
to wait only u little while to greet the
generation that will come after Us. And
will not that be glorious: Three genera
tions III heaven together-the grandfa
ther. the SON and the grandson; the
grandmother, the daughter and the
granddaughter. And so with wider
range and keencr faculty we shall real
ize the full significance of the text, ''One
generation passeth away, and another
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