Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1895-04-18

n. AlS command we bow
rart or the host have crossed the Aood
ana part are crossing now.
4 SWING H. Q blessed door, until a,
the earth shall go in and live. swim,
out until all the heavens come forth +,
celebrate the victory :
But further, 1t Is door with fasta
lngs. The Bible says of Noah "rh,
LORD shut him in" A vessel w,tho,,
oufwarks or doors would M,
De q SAFE vessel to go in. When Noaf
ana his family heard the fastening q,
tne door OF the ark, they were Yer,
slau. Unless those doors were fast.
ened, the first heavy surge OF the sea
would have whelmed them, and thew
might as well have persisted outside
the ark as, inside the ark. "The Lord
smut him In" Oh, the perfect safety
Of the ark! The surf of the sea and
the lightnings Of the sky may be
twisted into a garland of snow and
nre-deep to deep, storm to storm.
darkness to darkness-but once in the
ark all is well. God shut him in"
There comes upon the good man q
deluge Of financial trouble. He had
MS thousands to lend. Now he cannot
borrow a dollar. He once owned a
store IN New York and had branch
houses In Boston, Philadelphia and
New Orleans. He owned four horses
and enjoyed man to keep the dust
off his coach phaeton, carriage and
curricle. Now he has hard work to get
SHOES In which to walk. The great
deep of commercial disaster was
broken up, and fore and aft and across
the hurricane deck the waves struck
him.
But he was safely sheltered from the
storm. THE Lord shut him in" A
Hood of domestic troubles fell on him.
Sickness and bereavement came. The
rain pelted. The winds blew, The
heavens are aflame All the gardens
of earthly delight are washed away.
The mountains Of Joy are buried fif-
teen cubits deep. But standing by the
empty crib. and In the desolated nur-
sery, and In the doleful hall, once
airing with merry voices, now silent
forever, he cried: 1.-THE Lord gave;
the Lord hath taken away. Blessed
be the name of the Lord" ''The Lord
shut him in"
All the sins of lifetime clambored
for his overthrow. The broken vows,
the dishonored Sabbaths. the outrage.
GUS profanities, the misdemeanors OF
twenty years, reached up their hands
to the door of the ark to pull him out.
The boundless ocean of his sin sur
rounded his soul, bowling like a ST.
moon, raving like an euroclydon. But,
looking out of the window, he saw his
sins sink like lead into the depths Of
the sea. The dove of heaven brought
of the billow only pushed him to-
ward heaven. "The Lord shut him in"
The same door fastenings that kept
Noah in keep the troubles out. I am
glad to know that when man reaches
heaven all earthly troubles are done
with him. Here he may have had it |
hard to get bread for his family. 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
lave HdTu WOTh " get Il HOuSt, Jul III
my Fathers house are many mansions,
md rent day never romes. Here there
ire deathbeds and collins and graves.
There no sickness, no weary watching,
10 choking cough, no consuming fever,
10 chattering chill, no toIling bell, no
,rave. The sorrows of life shall come
Ind knock at the door, but no admit
ance. The perplexities of life shall
,ome up and knock at the door, but no
Ldmittance. Safe forever! All the
Lgony Of earth in one wave dashing
Lgainst the bulwarks of the ship Of
CELESTIAL light shall not break them
lown. Howl on, we winds, and rage,
e seas! The Lord-"the Lord shut
im in"
Oh, what grand old door! So wide,
o easily swung both ways and with
UGH sure fastenings. No burglars
ey can pick that lock. No swarthy
rm of hell can shove back that bolt.
rejoice that do not ask you to come
board a crazy craft. with leaking
ulk and broken helm and unfastened
COR, but an ark fifty cubits wide and
% cubits long, and a door so large
nat the round earth without grazing ,,
1e post might be bowled in.
Now, if the ark of Christ is so grand :,
place in which to live and die and
-iumph, come into the ark. Know
ell that the door that shut Noah In
nut others out, and though, when the !
tiless storm came pelting on their
eads, they beat upon the door, say
~; .Let me in! Let me I'M" the door
d not open. For 100 years they were :
vited. They expected to come in,
1t the antediluvians said: "We must
lltivate these fields. We must be
orth more fiocks of sheep and herds !
cattle. We will wait until we get a
tile older. We will enjoy our old farm !.
little longer" But meanwhile the
orm was brewing. The fountains Of
,aven were filling up. The pry was y
ing placed beneath the foundation of " :.
e great deep. The last year had !,
me, the last month, the last day, !.
e last hour, the last moment. In an
yful dash an ocean dropped from the !,
v. and another rolled up from be- !,
ath. and God rolled the earth and -
y into one wave of universal de- !. !,
ruction. =,
So men now put off going into the y
k. They say they will walt twenty z
ars first. They will have little -
,ger time with their worldly nsso- !,
ties. They will wait until they get = !,