The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1895-04-17

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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 house; but in my Fathers house are
many mansions, and rent day never comes.
Here there are deathbeds and coff1ps and
graves; there no sickness, no weary Watching,
chattering chill, no tolling bell, no grave.
The sorrows of life shall come up and knock
at the door, but no admittance The per-
plexities of life shall como up and knock on
| the door, but no admittance. Safe foreverl
| All the agony Of earth in one wave dashing
! 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 a grand old door! So wide, so
easily swung both ways and with such sure
fastenings. No burglars key can pick that
lock. No swarthy arm Of hell can shove
back that bolt. rejoice that do not ask
you to come aboard q crazy craft with leak
ing hulk and broken helm and unfastened
door, but an ark fifty cubits wide and 500
cubits long and a door so large that the
round earth, without grazing the post,
might be bowled in. !:
NV friends. and neighbors, come in right
away. Come in through Christ, the wide
door-the door that swings out toward you.
Come in and be saved. Come and be happy.
'.The Spirit aud the Bride say, Come" Room
in the ark! Room in the ark
But do not come alone. The text invites
you to bring your family. It says, Thou
and thy sons and thy wife," You cannot
drive them in. If Noah had tried to drive
the pigeons and the doves into the ark ne,
would only have scattered them. Some par
ents are not wise about these things. They
make iron rules about Sabbaths, and they
force the catechism down the throat as they
would hold the child's nose and force down
dose Of rhubarb and calomel. You can
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. II pc lifted up
I will draw all men unto Me-" AS the sun
draws up the drops Of the morning dew 30
the sun OF righteousness exhales the tears OF
repentance.
Be sure that you bring your husband and
wife with YOU, How would Noah have felt
If, when he heard the rain pattering on the
roof 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 1t. Sick
ness came, and the finger shrank, but the
ring staid on. The twain stood alone above
the child's grave, and the dark mouth or tho
tomb swallowed up a thousand hopes, but
the ring dropped not into the open grave
| Days Of poverty came. and the hand d1d
many hard days work, but the rubbing OF
the work against the ring only made 1t shine
brighter. Shall that ring ever be lost2 VIII
the iron clang of the sepulcher gate crush 1t
forever T pray God that you who have
| been married on earth may be together IN
heaven. Oh, by the quiet bliss of your earthly
home by the babes cradle, by all the VOWS
Of that day when you started life together,
beg you to see to 1t that you both get Into
the ark.
Come in, and bring your wife or your hus-
band with you-not by fretting about relig-
ion or dingdonging them about religion, but
by consistent life and by o compelling prayer
| that shall bring the throne Of God down into
your room. Go home and take up the Bible
| and read it together, and thenckneel down
| and commend your souls to Him who has
watched you all these years, and before you
rise there will be a fluttering of wings over
your head. angel crying to angel, "Behold,
they pray!''
But this does not include all your family.
Bring the children too. God bless the dear
| children! What would our homes be with
out them2 We may have done much Tor
them. They have done more for US. What
salve for a wounded heart there Is in the
soft palm of child's hand! Did harp or
flute ever have such music as there Is In
child's "good night" From our coarse,
rough life the angels OF God are often driven
back. But who comes into the nursery with
out feeling that angels are lowering around.
They who die in infancy go straight into
glory, but you are expecting your children
to grow up in this world. Is it not ques-
tion, then, that rings through all the corri-
dors and wlndings and heights and depths OF
your soul, what is to become Of your sons
end daughters for time and for eternity2
"Oh," you say ~ mean to see that they have
good manners" Very we'll. II mean to
dress them well, II have myselfto go shabby"
Very good. ~ shall give them an educa-
tfon; I shall leave them fortune" Very
well. But is that all? Don't you mean to
take them into the ark2 Don't you know
that the storm Is coming and that out OF
Christ there Is no safety, no pardon, no hope,
no heaven?
How to get them in? Go in yourself! II
Noah had staid out, do you not suppose that
have staid out2 Your sons and daughters
will be apt to do just as you do. Reject
Christ yourself, and the. probability Is that
your children will reject Him.
An account was taken Of the religious
condition Of families in certain district.
In the families Of pious parents two-thirds OF
the children were Christians. In the families
where the parents we're ungodly only one
twelfth OF the children were Christians.
Which way will you take your children2 Out
into the deluge or into the ark2 Have you
ever made one earnest prayer for their i'm
mortal souls? What will you say in the
judgment when God asks, "Where is George
or Henry or Frank or Mary or Anna2 Where
are those precious souls whose interests I
committed into your hands2"
4 dying son said to his father, '"Father,
you gave me an education and good manners
and everything that the world could do for
me, but, father, you never told me how to
die, and now my soul is going out In the
darkness"
Oh, ye who have taught your children
how to live, have you also taught them how
to die? Life here is not 80 important as the
great hereafter. 1t Is not so much the few
furlongs this side Of the grave as it is the
unending leagues beyond. o eternity,
eternity! Thy locks white with the ages, thy
| voice announcing stupendous destiny, thy
arms reaching across all the past and all the
| future! 0 eternity, eternity!
Go home and erect family altar You may
| break down in your prayer. But never
mind, God willtake what you mean, whether
| you express it intelligbly or not. Bring all
your house. into the ark. Is there one son
whom you have given up? Is he so dissipat-
ed that you have stopped counseling and
praying? Give him up? How dare you give
him up? Did God ever give you up2 While
| you have single articulation Of speech left,
cease not to pray for the return Of that prod
igal. He may even now be standing on the
beach at Hong Kong or Madras. meditating
return to his fathers house. Give him up?
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