The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1895-04-27


In the doleful hall, once airing with merry
voices, now silent forever, hs erieds 9TH,
Lord gave, the Lord hath taken e@ay;
blessed be the name Of the Lord" fGne
Gord shut him in"
All the sins Of a lifetime clamored fes hh
overthrow. The broken VOWS, the dis
honored Sabbaths, the outrageous profaoi-
lies. the misdemeanors Of twenty years,
seached up their hands to the door Of che
rk to pull him out. The boundless ocean oil
bis sin surrounded his SOUL bowling Ike
Eimoom, raving like an euroclydon. But,
looking out Of the window, he saw his sin
sink ike lesd into the depths of the sea. The
dove CT heaven brought sn olive branch to
the ark. The wrath Of the bllow only
rushed him toward heaven ''9he Lord shut
him in"
The game door fastenings that kept NoaA
"a keep the troubles out. T am glad to know
hat when man resohes heaven all earthly
troubles are done With uIm. Hero No may
have had hard work to get bread for bis
.aniiy; there he will never hunger any
more. Here he may have wept bitterly;
there "the Lamb that Is In the midst Of the
throne will lead him to living fountains OF
water, and God will wipe away all tears from
his eyes, Here he may have hard work to
get a house; but IN my Fathers house are
here there are deathbeds and collins aad
graves; there no sickness, DO weary Watching,
10 choking cough, no consuming fever, no
shattering chill, no tolling bell, no grave.
The sorrows OF life shall come up and knock
at the door, but no admtttance. The per-
plexities Of lie shall come up and knock on
The door, but no admittance. Safe forever!
All the agony Of earth in one wave dashlng
against the bulwarks Of the ship OF celestial
light shall not break them down. Howl on,
ye winds, and rage, ye seas! The Lord
the Lord shut him in!''
oh, what grand old door So wide, SO
,asi]y swung both ways and with such sure
Iastenings No burglars key can pick that
look. No swarthy arm Of hell can shove
back that bolt. rejoice that I do not ask
YOU to come aboard 8 crazy GRAFT with leak
ing hulk and broken helm and unfastened
door, but an ark fifty cubits wide and 800
cabits long and q door so large that the
round earth, without grazing the post,
night be bowled in
Now, Il the ark OF Christ is 50 grand q
place in which to live and die and triumph,
some into the ark. Know we'll that the door
hat shut Noah In shut others out, and
though, when the pttiless storm came pelt4
Ing on their heads, they beat upon the door,
saying: "Let me In! Let me tn" the doo1
3 not open. For 120 years thsy were in-
1.-.d. They expected to come In, but the
antediluvians said: "We must cultivate
these fields; we must be worth more tooks
Of sheep and herls Of cattle; We Will wait
old farm little longer" But meanwhile
the storm was brewing. The fountains OF
heaven were filing up. The pry was being
placed beneath the foundations OF the CREST
deep. The last year had come, the last
month, the last week, the last day,
the last hour, the last moment.
In an awful dash an ocean dropped
from the sky and another rolled up from be-
meath, and God rolled the earth and sky into
one wave Of universal destruction.
So men now put of going into the ark
They say they will wait twenty years first
They will have little longer nne with theiI
worldly associates. They will wait until
they get older. They say; "You cannot ex:
pect q man Of my attachments and OF my
position to surrender myself Just now. But
-aese-s s!as- storm comes I wih 60 n r., 4
will 1knoEThat am about. Trust me-!
After awhile, one night about 10 O'Clock, 60
gust of wind strikes it, and plank falls.
Dead, and outside the ark! Or, riding in
the park, reckless vehicle crashes into
him, and his horses becomes unmanaSeeole,
and he shouts, "Whoa, whos!' and takes
another twist in the reins and plants his
feet against the dashboard and pulls back.
But no use. It Is not 50 much down tbs
avenue that be- flies as on the way to eternity.
Out Of the wreck Of the crash his BODY is
drawn, but his soul is not picked up. It fed
behind aswifter courser into the great fu-
ture. Dead, and outside the ark! Or some
night he wakes up with a distress that mo-
meatarily increases until he shrieks out with
pain. The doctors come in, and they give
twenty dops, but no relief; forty drops. fifty
drops, sixty drops, but no relief. No time
for prayer No time to read one OF the
promises. No time to get single sin par
doned. The whole house Is aroused in
alarm. The children scream. Tho wife
taints. The pulses fail. The heart stops
The soul flies. Dead, and outside the ark!
have no doubt that derision kept many
people out Of the ark. The world laughed
10 see man go in and said: "Here is q
man starting for the ark. Why, there viii
be no deluge. IF there is one, that miserable
ship will not weather it. Aha, going into
The ark! Well, that is too good to keep.
Here. fellows, have you heard the news!
This man Is going into the arkn' Under
his artillery Of scorn the mans good resp.
ution perished.
And So there are hundreds kept out by the
self, "What would they say at the store to-
morrow morning If 7 should become Chris
han2 When 90 down 70 the club house
they will shout, Here comes that new Chris
han. Suppose you will not have anything
10 dc with Us now. Suppose you are pray
Ing row. Get down on your knees and let
US hear you pray. Come, now, give US
!ouch. Will not do it, eh? Pretty Christian,
you are!'" Is it not the fear Of being
laughed ct that keeps you out OF the kingdom
of God? Which Of these scorners will help
you at the lsst? When you lie down on
dying pillow, which Of them will be there?
In the day OF eternity will they bail you out?
My frtendsSaod neighbors, come in rignt
away. Come In through Christ, the wide
door-the door that swings out toward you.
Come in ard be saved. Come and be happy.
s.The Spirit and the Bdde say, Come" Room
In the ark! Room In the arkl
But do not come alone. The text invitet
you to bring your family. It says, "Thou
and thy sons and thy wife" You cannot
drive them In. II Noah had tried to drive
the pigeons and the doves into the ark ne
would only have scattered them. Some par
eats are not wise about these things. TAay
make iron rules about Sabbaths, and they
force the catechism down the throat as they
would hold the child's nose and force down
a dose OF rhubarb and calomeL You eau
not drive your children into the ark You
can draw your children to Christ, but you
cannot coerce them. The cross was lifted
not to drive, but to draw. "lf be lifted up
will draw all men unto Me-" As the sun
draws up the drops Of the morning dew 80
the sun Of righteousness e1hales the tears o.
repentance.
Be sure that you bring your husband and
wife with you. How would Noah have felt
II, when he heard the rain pattering On the
root of the ark, he knew that his wife was
outside in the storm? No; she went with
him. And yet some Of you are on the ship
"outward bound" for heaven. But your
companion is unsheltered. You remember
The day when the marriage ring was set.
Nothing has yet been able to break It Sick
ness came, and the lnger shranS, out the
ring staid on. The twain stood alone above
the child's grave, and the dark mouth Of the
tomb swallowed up thousand hopes, but
the ring dropped not into the open grave:
Days Of poverty came and the hand did