The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1895-09-26

no anxiety about it? Have you no anx.
fety about it?
1 do not care what you do with my
body when my soul is gone, or whetli.
4 er you believe inscremation or inhuma-
j ton. shall sleep just ais well in
wrapping of sackcloth as III satin lined
| with eagles down. But my soluble.
fore | close this discourse I will find
| out where it will stand Thank God
for the intimation of my text, that
1 when we die Jesus takes us. That
answers all questions for me. What
! though there were massive bars be-
tween here and the city Of light, Je.
sus could remove them What though
there were great Saharas of darkness,
Jesus could illume them. What
! though / got weary on the way, Christ
could lift me on his omnipotent Shout
der. What though there were chasms
to cross, his hand could transport me.
| Then let Stephens prayer be my dy-
| spirit" It may be in that hour we
will be too feeble to say long prayer.
| 1t may be in that hour we will not be
able to say the CORDS Prayer" for
| it has seven petitions. Perhaps we
may be too feeble even to say the in
| FAINT prayer our mothers taught us,
which John Quincy Adams, 70 years
or age, said every night when he put
his head upon his pillow:
Now l lay me down to sleep,
| pray the Lord my soul to keep.
We may be too feeble to employ
either Of these familiar forms: but
| this prayer Of Stephen is 50 short. is
! so concise, is so earnest, is SO COM
prehensiye. we surely will be able to
say that: Lord Jesus receive my spr-
it." Oh, if that prayer is answered,
how sweet it will be to die! This world
| is clever enough to us. Perhaps it has
treated us great deal better than we
deserved to be treated: but if on the
dying pillow there shall break the
light of that better world. we shall
| have no more regret then about leav-
| ing small, dark, damp house for one
| large, beautiful and capacious. That
| dying minister in Philadelphia. some
years ago, beautifully depicted it
when, in the last moment, he threw up
his hands and cried out: Il move into
| the light"'
Pass on, now, and I will show you
one more picture and that is Stephen
| asleep. With Il pathos and simplicity
| peculiar to the Scriptures. the text
says Of Stephen: Gle fell asleep"
on you say, what place that was
| to sleep! A hard rock under him.
stones falling down upon him. the
blood streaming, the mob bowling
What place it was to Sleep And
yet my text takes that symbol of slu1n-
! Der to describe his departure, SO sweet
was 1t, so cOntented was it, so peace
| full was it. Stephen had lived a very
laborious life. His chief work had
| been to care for the poor. How many
loaves Of bread he had distributed.
| how many bare feet he had sandalcd,
| how many cots of sickness and dis
treSS he had blessed with ministries
| OF kindness and love. [ do not know:
| yet from the way he lived, and the
| way he preached, and the way he died,
l know he was a lhborious Christian
But that is all over now. He has
pressed the cup to the last fainting lip
He has taken the last insult from hi;
enemies. The last stone to whose
crushing weight he is susceptible has
been hurled. Stephen is dead. The
disciples come! They take him up!
They wash away the blood from the
wounds. They straighten out the
bruised limbs. They brush back the
tangled hair from the brow. and then
they pass around to look upon the
calm countenance Of him who had Ey-
ed for the poor and died for the truth
Stephen asleep.
have seen the sea driven with the
hurricane until the tangled foam
caught in the rigging and wave rising
above wave seemed as if about to
storm the heavens, and then l have,
seen the tempest drop, and the waves
crouch, and everything become smooth
and FURNISHED as though a camping
place for the glories of heaven. SO
have seen man, whose life has been
tossed and driven. coming down at
last to an infinite calm. in which there
was hush of heavens lullaby, Steph-
en- asleep!
I saw such an one: He fought all
his days against poverty and against
abuse. They traduced his name.
They ratified at the door-knob while he
was dying With duns, for. debts he
could not pay; vet the peace Of God
uIOOtlcu ONtl Ills pllloN. anu uiie
the world faded, heaven daWned. and
the deepening twilight Of earth's night
was only the opening twilight of heav-
ems morn. Not Il sigh. Not Il tear
Not 4 struggle. Hush. Stephen asleep
I have not the faculty as many
have to tell the, weat her [ can never
tell by the setting sun whether there
will be a drouth or not can not tell
by the blowing of the, wind whether
it will be fair weather or foul on tie
morrow But I can prophesy, and
will prophesy- what weather it VIII
be when YOU, the Christian, come to
die You may have it very rough
now. 1t may be this week one an
noyance. the. next another annoyance.
It may be this year one bereavement.
the next another bereavement. But
at the last Christ will come. i'm and
darkness will go out And though
there may be no hand close to your
eyes, and no breast on which to rest
your dying head, and no candle to lift
the night, the odors Of Gods hanging
garden will regale your SOUL and at
your bedside will halt the chariot of
the king. No more rents to pay, no