Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1894-07-05

segment life, and all the preparation
would be ''post-mortcm." post-tuner''l
post-sepulchral. and the wo Id wish
oIe jerk be pitche of into in.piety and
! goIlesSnes-.
chance should be given in the next
world if we have refused innumerable
chances in this? Suppose you give
banquet. and you invite vast number
of friends, but one man declines TO
come. or treats your invitation with
Indifference. You in the course Of
twenty years give twenty banquets.
and the same man is invited to them
all. and treats them all in the same
obnoxious way. After awhile YOU re-
move to another house. larger and
better. and You again invite your
friends but send no invitation to the
man who declined or neglected the
other invitations: Are you to blame?
Has he right to expect TO be invited
after all the indignities he has done
you? God in this world has invited us
| all To the banquet of His Grace He
/ invited US by His Providence and His
/ spirit three hundred and siNty-tive days
of every year since we knew our right
hand from our left. If we declined il
every time or treated the invitation
with indifference, and gave twenty or
forty or fifty years of indignity ON our
part toward the Banqueter, and at last
He spread the banquet in a more luXu-
rious and kingly place, amid thu
heavenly gardens. have we a right b.
expect Him to invite us again, and
, have we a right TO blame Him if He
does not invite us?
If twelve gates of salvation stood
open twenty years or fifty years for on.
admission. and at the end Of that time
they are closed, can we complain Of i.
and say: These gates ought to be
open again. Give Us another chance?
If the steamer is To sail for Hamburg.
and we want TO get TO Germany lay that
line, and we read in every evening and
every morning newspaper that it Will
sail on a certain day, for two weeks we
have that advertisement before our
eyes, and then we 80 down to the doclt,
fifteen minutes after it has moved of
ilto the stream and say: Come back.
tAfA teAA atAtfllAtA EAthAlAts IL - nv ia %
D traat me in this way. Swing up I
The dock again and throw out planks
and let M come on board" Such bee,
haviOr wonld invite arrest as mad
man.
And IT,. after the gospel ship has lair
at anchor before our eyes for years anG
years, and all the benign voices o
earth and heaven have urged us to e.,
on board. as She might sail away at any
moment. and after awhile She sail
without us. is it common sense to eX
pect her To come back? You might n
well g out on the Highlands at Never
sink and call to the Majestic after she |
has been three DAYS out. and expect |
her 10 return, as TO call back an opp1r |
tunity for Heaven when il once has
sped away. All Heaven offered is as a !
gratuity. and for life time we refuse
to take il. and then rush on the bosses |
of Jehovah's bucttler demanding an
otker chance There ought to be. |
there can he. there will be- no such |
thing as posthumous opportunity
Thus. our common sense agrees with |
my text: IF the tree fall toward tn,
south, or toward the north, in the |
place where the tree falleth, there it
shall be
You see that this idea lifts this WORLD |
mp from m important way station to a /
platform of stupendous issues. anc /
makes all eternity whirl around this
hour Bat one trial for which all the
preparation must be made in this world.
or never made at all. That piles up all
the emphasis and all the climaNes ana
all the destines into life here Nc
other chance! o. how that augments
the value and the Importance of this
chance,
Alexander with his army used to sur
round city and then would lift
great light in token 10 the people that
if they surrendered before the light
went out. all would be we'll: but if
once the light went out then the bat
tering rams would swing against the
wall. and demolition and disaster
would follow. Well, all we need for
our present and everlasting safety is to
make surrender to Christ, the King and
Conqueror surrender of our hearts
surrender of our lives. surrender of
everything. And he keeps great light
burning light Of gospel invitation,
light l1indled with the wood Of the
cross and flaming up against the dark
night of our sin and sorrow. Surrender
while that great light continues tel
burn. for after it goes out there win b,
no other opportunity Of making peace
with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ. Talk of another chauce Why,
this is a supernal chance
In the time Of Edward the Sixth. at
the battle Of Musselburgh. a private
soldier, seeing that the Earl Of Huntley
hal lost his helmet. took off his own
helmet ANA put it upon the head of the
earl; and the head of the private sol
der uncovered. he was soon slain. wkile
his commander rode safely out of the
battle. But in our ease. instead of