The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1895-09-14
limited resource. You only hav. to

limited resource. You bnly have "a
present Christ in your own way.
Brighter than the light, fresher than
the fountains, deeper than the seas,
are all these Gospel themes Song has
no melody. flowers no sweetness, sun
set sky no color compared with these
glorious themes. These harvests OF
grace spring up quicker than we can
sickle them Kindling pulpits with
their fire. and producing revolutions
with their glory, they are the sweet
est thought for the poet, and they are
the most thrilling illustration for the
orator, and they offer the most intense
scene for the artist. and they are to
the ambassador of the sky all en-
thusiasm. Complete pardon for
direst guilt Sweetest comfort
for ghastliest agony. Bright
est hope for grimmest death.
Grandest resurrection for darkest
sepulcher. oh. what a Gospel to
preach Christ the Chief His birth,
Yis suffering. His miracles, His para
bles, His sweat, His tears, His blood,
His atonement, His interccssion-what
glorious themes! Do we exercise
faith? Christ is it's object. Do we
have love? 1t fastens on Jesus. Have
we fondness for the church? 1t is
because Christ died for it. Have we a
| hope OF Heaven? 1t is because Jesus
went there, the herald and the fore
runner. The royal robe of Demetrius
was so costly, so beautiful, that after
he had put it off no one ever dared TO
put it on; but the robe of Christ,
richer than that, the poorest and the
weakest and the worst may Wear.
Where sin abounded, grace may much
more abound"
''Oh. my sins, my sinsi" said Martin
Luther to Staupitz, my sins, my sins"
The fact is that the brawny German
student had found Latin Bible that
made him quake; and when he found
how, through Christ, he was pardcned
and saved. he wrote to friend. say
ing: Come over and join us great and
awful sinners saved by the grace Of
God. You seem to be Only n slender
sinner. and you don't much eNtol the
mercy of God; but we that have been
such very awful sinners praise His
grace the more now that you are SO
desperately egostistical that you feel
yourself in tirst-rate spiritual trim,
and that from the root OF
the hair 10 the tip of the toe
you are scarless and immaculate?
What You need is lookinG-glass, and
here il is in the Bible. Poor and
wretched and miserable and blind and
naked from the crown of the head to
the sole of the foot, full of wounds
and purifying sores No health in US
And then take the fact that Christ
gathered up all the notes against US
and paid them, and then offered us the
receipt. And how much we need Him
in our sorrows! We are independent
of circumstances il we have His
grace. Why, He made Paul sing in the
dungeon, and under that grace ST.
John from desolate Pa;mos heard the
blast OF the apocalytic trumpets. AZ
ter all other candles have been snuffcd
out, this is the light that gets brighter
and brighter unto the perfect day; and
after, under the hard hoofs of ca
| lamity. all the pools OF worldly enjoy
ment haze been tranoled into deep
mire. ut the foot of the eternal rock
the Christian, from cups OF granite
lily-rimmed. puts out the thirst of his
soul.
Again remark. that Christ is chief
in dying alterations. / have not any
sympathy with the morbidity abroad
about our demise. The emperor of
Constapstinople arranged that on the
day of his coronation the stonemason
should come and consult him about
the tombstone that after awhile he
would need. Aud there are men who
are mononaniacal on the subject of
departure from this life By death. and
the more they think of it the less they
are prepared to go. This is an un-
manliness not worthy of you, not
worthy OF me.
Saladn, the greatest conqueror of
his day, while diving, ordered that the
tunic he had on him be carried after
his death on his spear ut the he al of
his army and that then the soldier.
ever and anon, should stop and say:
Behold all that is left OF Snladin, the
emperor and conqueror! or all the
states he conquered. OF all the wealth
he accumulated, nothing did he retain
but this shroud. / have no sympathy
with such behavior, or such absurd
demonstration, or with much that we
hear uttered in regard to departure
from this life to the next There is
commonsensical idea on this sub
ject that you need to consider
there are only two styles of de-
parture. A thousand feet under
ground, by light OF torch, toiling in a
miners shaft, "a ledge of rock may fall
upon us, and we may die miners
death. Far out at sea, falling from
the slippery ratlines and broken on
the halliards. we may die sailors
death. On mission OF mercy in hos
pital, amid broken bones and rceking
leprosies and burning fcvers, we may
die philanthropists death. On the
field of battle, serving God and our
country, slugs through the heart, the
gun cartridge may roll over us, and
we may die patriots death. But,
after all, there are only two styles OF
departure--the death of the righteous
and the death Of the wicked-and we
all want to die the former.
| God grant that when That hOur